The Other Side of Love (Forever Love #3)(12)
Author: J.S. Cooper

“Betty!” Sidney admonished her and I laughed easily.

“I agree, Betty. Lucky is the second-most perfect girl for me, after you. Unfortunately, you’re both taken.”

“Oh, Noah. Ssshhhh.” She shook her head but I could see the small smile on her face, showing me that she was happy at my words.

“You sweet talking my wife, boy?” Sidney patted me on the back and his eyes sparkled at me. “You do know she’s a married woman?”

“I can’t help it if she leaves you for me.” I grinned back at him, and my heart filled with affection for him as he gave me a wicked smile.

“Take her, you’ll be doing me a favor.”

“I’m sure Zane would feel the same way.” Lucky laughed. “He’d be only too happy to give me away.”

“That boy would kill Noah if he laid a hand on you.” Sidney growled. “I just got my boy back. I’m not ready to lose him again so quickly.”

“Ha ha. Neither am I.” Lucky squeezed my arm before following Betty into the kitchen. “I’ll leave you two alone for a bit and go and help Betty in the kitchen.”

“So, it’s good to see you.” Sidney gave me a big hug and studied my face. “You look different.” He nodded as if agreeing to a comment someone had made. “You look like a man who has been to the edge of the world and back.”

“Really?” I half-smiled. “Though I do feel like I’ve been to the edge of hell.”

“I’ve missed you.” He sat down on a couch, gripping the arms, and my heart sank as I realized how much thinner he looked. His hair was also completely gray, and as I stared at him, it struck me that he had aged significantly. I felt sad that I had missed a year of his life—a year was such a long amount of time.

“I missed you as well. Thank you for keeping my secret.”

“It was hard. I’m not going to lie. Your brother looked like death warmed up. If it wasn’t for Lucky being there for him, I’m not sure I would have been able to have kept it a secret.”

“I would have understood if you had felt the need to tell him. It wasn’t fair to burden you like that.”

“I was honored that you trusted me enough to tell me.”

“You’re one of my best friends.” I spoke honestly. “I thought about you a lot when I was away.”

“So how was it in Palm Beach?” Sidney gave me a wide smile and his eyes danced with mirth.

“You know, I wish I had been in Palm Beach.” I laughed. “And you’re going to keep at it until I tell you where I was, huh? I was in a city called Palm Bonita, and trust me, Palm Bonita was not a city that would have been featured on Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous.” I shuddered in remembrance. “Though it may have been the set for the Twilight Zone.”

“That great?” He shook his head and smiled before his expression turned more serious. He looked me and up and down slowly and then spoke again. “I can tell it was tough. Your eyes tell a different story now.”

“They do?” I looked at him in surprise. “I didn’t know that my eyes told a story, period,” I said and then laughed.

“Yes.” Sidney sat back and stretched his legs out carefully. “When we first met, your eyes were full of hope, wonder and sadness. Though the sadness was for me and my story. You were sensitive to what I had been through. You were full of compassion and sincerity, but it was for my story. Now that sadness shines through you as if it has also touched your soul. Your eyes have a tinge of bleakness as well, as if your heart has been cracked a little bit. You’re sad now. You’ve seen other sadness, I think, and this sadness has impacted your life.” He squinted at me, and was silent for a moment as he assessed my face again.

“Wow, you’re good.” I said slightly uncomfortable at how easily he had been able to read me. I looked to the side of the room and studied the family photographs on the table. “You never told me you were a psychic.”

“I’ve gone through unspeakable pain. I don’t talk about it much because the past is the past, but real pain. Gut wrenching pain, it never leaves you. And once you’ve been through it, you can tell when someone else has.” His voice was light, but intense. “Did you know that when I was fifteen, my brother dated a white girl? A pretty young blonde girl. She was a nice girl. Very sweet. They used to go to the movies. Well, one day some neighborhood boys from her school found out and they told my brother to stay away from her. My brother, he didn’t listen. We were in the North, you know. We didn’t think we had to worry like in the South. In the South, we wouldn’t have even looked at a white girl. Well, those boys, they didn’t like my brother’s answer. One night after he walked Ellen, that was her name, home, he got jumped by about five boys. Beat him black and blue. His nose was bleeding, his lip was cracked, and we come to find out later that he had a few cracked ribs. Well, my brother didn’t want to make no fuss. He didn’t want to get anyone into any trouble. We found out later that Ellen’s brother was involved in the jumping.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. That’s awful.”

“My brother lost sight in his left eye, and Ellen went on to marry one of the boys that beat my brother up.” Sidney’s voice was sad. “I never could understand how people could be so hateful and vile. That was the incident that broke my trust in humans and their innate goodness. People ain’t all good. That’s what you got to understand. Some people are just evil. There is no reason to it. It’ll break your heart once you realize that. You’ve realized that now. You’ve witnessed the cruelty that exists in some human beings. I can see it in your soul.”

“I have.” I nodded slowly and realized how aptly he had voiced the pain I know felt. Once again I was blown away by how accurate Sidney was in his evaluation of me and his ability to see into my soul and heart. “You’re good.”

“I wish I wasn’t.” He smiled at me sadly. “If there was one person I wished would never experience the cruelty of humans to one another, it would be you, my son. You more than anyone shouldn’t have to feel and witness the evil in the world. For you are all light, my boy. You were the one that made me believe in goodness again.”

“And I’m a good ol’ white boy.” I grinned at him, touched by his words and he laughed.