Beyond Appearances

Hugs and Kisses

I fell asleep once again, but was woken up by the laughter of little girls. I sit up and rub my eyes trying to get the sleep out of them. When I look down to the floor I see Landry and Valentina playing with dolls. They look up and smile when they see me. Landry shouts out, "Morning Aunt VV!"

Landry crawls up on the bed after greeting me. Valentina follows. They lay next to me, and start giggling when I start a tickle fight.

Before they could wet themselves I stopped. "So what brings y'all to my room?" They stop giggling. Valentina is the first to speak. "Daddy said we had to cheer you up. That you were real sad, and needing loving." She smiles a sweet, but shy smile.

"Well girls, I think I need some hugs and kisses!" They start laughing and puckering up. Landry was dangling off my back, and Valentina was hugging me from the side. They kept kissing me, and squeezing me. We all couldn't stop laughing. Little girl love is the best kind of love. You know it's genuine because at that age they speak their minds.

We were all laughing so much, we didn't notice that Johnny and Sarah were watching. The girls stopped when they noticed too. "Come on mommy, come have a hug party with us. You too Johnny!" Leave it to Landry to turn it into a family affair.

To my surprise Sarah and Johnny did. We were all cramped on my bed rolling around hugging, and puckering up. Sarah got up first. "I almost forgot lunch. It's gonna burn!" She hopped up, whisking Landry and Valentina away. "Come on ladies, we got a meal to prepare." Smooth Sarah, real smooth. Now me and Johnny are just on the bed still laughing.

I'm the first one to sit up. "You wanna go help?" He shakes his head, and we stand up. I tame my hair, not wanting to frighten Trent or Jr. Before I could leave the room, Johnny stops me.

"Has he tried calling or texting?" Of course we're back on this topic. Just when I start to get out of the funk. I'm honestly ashamed of myself. How could I not know that my best friend was seeing someone? I really beat myself up when I think about the little boy.

"No, but I haven't bothered to look at my phone. " He nods, and stares at me. "What? Do I look like a freak? Do I have bad breath?" He laughs. "No, I was just thinking of how lucky we all are to have you here." With that he's down the stairs before I can even respond.

We all sit down at the table and enjoy lunch. Sarah outdid herself with the chili. She made it spicy, just the way us southerners like it. Her cornbread just put it over the top. We all filled ourselves to the brim, not able to shovel another bite in. I volunteer to do the dishes considering I've been in a slump, and rather unhelpful.

Johnny brings the rest of the dishes that I couldn't carry and deposits them into the sink. "So, have any plans tonight?" I continue scrubbing, not looking up. "Nope. Just going to sit and wallow in the fact that I got played." He creeps up behind me, and takes the sponge out of my hand. The tears start falling. He spins me around so I'm facing him, and he embraces me.

"Not tonight V. Tonight we are going to forget. Yeah?" He looks down at me. I can only imagine what I look like. I probably have snot coming out of my nose, and red eyes. Yet I smile up at him, and shake my head yes. "That sounds perfect."

I finish washing, while Johnny dries. I head up to get ready for the night ahead of me. I start by picking out an outfit. I settle on blue skinny jeans that have tears right where my tattoo is, a blank tank top, and a faux leather jacket. Causal, but still proves the point that I tried. I move on to my makeup, and do a simple smokey eye, that makes my eyes pop. And lastly, I work on my hair. I slather some taming products through it, and straighten it.

I look in the mirror, truly stunned by how good I look. Not trying to be vain, just amazed that you couldn't tell that I've been crying almost all day. I finish off by brushing my teeth, putting in deodorant, and adding a spritz of my favorite perfume, Sunkissed by PINK. After one last peek in the mirror, I grab my biker boots and head down the stairs.

Johnny is at his apartment getting ready, so I take the time to gather my wallet, keys, and to thank Sarah for watching Valentina for us. My saint of a sister, just humbly nods, and says, "You're welcome." She hugs me, trying to make me feel better, without bringing up the whole dilemma. We are interrupted by Johnny knocking and walking in.

"You ready V?" I'm immediately left speechless. He shaved the little scruff that started to appear, put on a denim button down shirt, and wore a pair of jeans that accentuated his butt perfectly. Not to mention his intoxicating cologne.

He walks right past us, and heads into the living room to say goodnight to Valentina. He leans down and scoops her up, showering her in hugs and kisses. I take a quick picture on my phone capturing the candid moment. How could Mariana not want a piece of this life. They aren't even mine, but I love them to death.

Johnny finishes his goodbyes and greets Sarah. "Thank you for watching Valentina for me." To think that this man had a delinquent bone in his body, is outrageous. But people change, and he's living proof that it's not always for the worst.

Johnny grabs my hand, and drags me out of the house off to a mysterious location. Sarah looks at me, and winks. I think she knows just where we're going. I love her, but sometimes she's just plain ol' trouble.