Free Just Can't Get Enough by Cheris Hodges Page B

anything.”
    â€œI will. How is that boy next door? Has he cut the grass this week?”
    â€œUm, I hadn’t noticed. But I’ll take care of it,” she said as she dashed out the door to avoid any other inquiries about Darius. On the drive home, all Celina could think about was Darius. She didn’t want to admit it, but she missed him. He seemed to be respecting her wishes by leaving her alone. Then again, she didn’t leave him much choice. Celina left early in the morning and returned late at night. Before leaving Columbia, she would stop at a mall and read a copy of the New York Times while sipping overpriced coffee at a coffee shop or she would wander around window-shopping for hours.
    Celina pulled her cell phone out of her purse and dialed her mother’s number. She slowed down as she slid her hands-free ear bud inside her ear.
    â€œHello?” John Malcolm said.
    â€œHey, John, is my mom there?”
    â€œYeah. Is everything all right?” His voice was peppered with concern.
    â€œMore or less, everything is fine.”
    â€œAnd your father?”
    â€œHe’s good. The treatments are working pretty well. He may be coming home tomorrow.”
    â€œExcellent. I’ll get your mother.” Celina listened as John called out for Rena.
    â€œCelina, are you OK?” Rena asked when she came to the line.
    She sighed before saying, “Mom, how did you find it in yourself to love again after Daddy?” Celina pulled over into the right lane on the interstate. Traffic was light and she was thankful.
    â€œWhat kind of question is that?” Rena said. “You’ve never been in love because you’ve never allowed anyone to get close enough to you. Terrick was a good man and you could be married and working on a grandbaby or two.”
    â€œMa, I’m just so . . . I met someone and I don’t want to be hurt. Right now, he seems like a great guy, but I know it isn’t going to last. And Terrick and I had absolutely no chemistry, so there would’ve been no grandbabies.”
    Rena sighed heavily. “Celina, every man is not your father. What happened between Thomas and me was just that, between him and me. It doesn’t mean you’re going to meet the same fate. If this man makes you feel special, give him a chance. Get to know him. That’s what happened with me and John. When it’s right, you know that it’s right. If you’re having these thoughts about him, then he must be something special.”
    â€œI’m scared, Mom,” Celina said. “Just like every man isn’t Daddy, every man isn’t John, either.”
    â€œWell, baby, life isn’t easy and you’re going to have some pain. But you can’t keep running and hiding behind a canvas,” she said.
    â€œI don’t do that,” Celina protested, then slammed on her brakes as a car darted in front of her.
    â€œOh no? What about your fiancé? Why did you give Terrick the ring back?”
    â€œBecause I wanted to move to New York,” she said. “And he wasn’t the man that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I wasn’t hiding from anything.”
    â€œThat’s bull and you know it. Terrick would have moved there too and he still asks about you. The man is heartbroken to this day. He could’ve been the one and you tossed him aside like leftover trash. Don’t do the same thing with this new guy.”
    Celina muttered an expletive at the car in front of her, which seemed to brake for no reason. She darted into the other lane. “Ma, traffic is crazy, I have to go.”
    â€œAll right, Ms. Road Rage. And remember what I said. Pain is a part of life and running away all the time is no way to live.”
    Celina clicked the phone off and focused on the road. She knew Darius would be at home when she got there and it was time for her to stop running.
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    As the sun set on Elmore, Darius