Love Over Everything — Chapter 28

“You look pretty mama.” Tyler smiled at his mom.

“Thank you, my love, you look handsome too.” She crouched to his height, kissed his left cheek and adjusted his bow tie. Tyler was putting on his cute Tuxedo.

Naomi made sure she and her son were matching because he was her date. Today was Naomi’s father’s birthday so her mom planned a birthday dinner for him, just to celebrate with close friends and family.

“Let’s go, mommy, we won’t get a piece of cake if we get there late.” Tyler pouted.

Naomi smiled, cake was definitely Tyler’s favourite. “Let me grab my clutch and we will be on our way.”

Naomi searched her closet for a clutch that matched her outfit. She finally found one and instantly shoved some things inside. Her phones, wipes, car keys and one of her credit cards.

“I’m ready pumpkin, let’s go.” She stretched her hand to Tyler. He clasped his tiny hand with hers and they walked out of her room.

Naomi wanted to make a stop at Tyler’s room when he let out a groan. "Tyler love, I just need to pack some change of clothes for you. It won’t take long, okay?”

“I promise not to dirty my clothes mommy.” He gave her his puppy dog face.

She sighed before giving in to his plea. “Okay then, let’s go.”

Naomi smiled as she drove into her parents’ mansion, She could see a lot of cars parked that it took her awhile to find a spot to park her car. She knew her mom would never keep her promise when she said she was only going to invite a few friends. She had no doubt the small get together that was planned had turned to a big party.

She got down from the car and helped Tyler out of the backseat, She handed him the gift he bought for his Grandpa and they walked in together.

Roland Browne was in the midst of three of his friends when he heard his precious grandson call him. “Grandpa???” Tyler called and ran towards him.

Roland passed his glass of wine to one of his friends and squatted, ready to embrace Tyler.

Tyler wrapped his left hand around his Grandfather’s neck and hugged him. “Happy Birthday Grandpa, Long life to you.” He smiled.

Roland had the happiest smile on his face. “Thank you, buddy, I love you so much.” He kissed his cheek.

“I got a present for you, Grandpa.” He handed Roland the gift.

“Thank you Kiddo.”

“I see we are matching.“Roland referred to Tyler’s outfit.

Tyler smiled, "Yes, Mommy bought it for me. She said I’m her date so I have to dress up like this. I love it, It makes me look like a big boy." He used his tiny arms to demonstrate how big of a boy the tux made him look.

“Grandpa, is there still cake? Can I have some?” He whispered.

Roland laughed out loud, “Sure buddy, we were waiting for you to arrive before we cut the cake.”

“Really?” He grinned and Roland replied with a nod.

He passed the gift to one of the maids who was passing by and lifted Tyler in his arms. He walked back to his group of friends and introduced his grandson to them.

Words cannot describe how much Roland loves his Grandson. He thought Luis was going to be the first person to give him a grandchild since Luis was the firstborn but he was happy anyway.

Roland was hurt when he found out about Naomi’s pregnancy, she hid it from them more than she should have. Everything made sense when they realized she would always avoid seeing them physically.

Till date, Anna and Roland had no idea who Tyler’s father was because their stubborn daughter wouldn’t say anything about it. But they were proud of the way she raised Tyler.

“Look who is looking yummy?” Luis teased, before hugging his Sister.

She chuckled, “You better don’t let Linda hear you. Where is she by the way?”

“Over here, best friend.” She heard someone say from behind.

“Oh my!” Naomi covered her mouth with her right hand.

Luis smiled proudly and then went to stand beside Linda, He wrapped his arm possessively around her waist.

“When did this happen? I still saw you like three days ago.” Naomi asked, surprised.

Linda shrugged, “I remember sleeping with a flat stomach two nights ago and woke up to this.” She caressed her well-defined baby bump.

Linda was worried because she wasn’t showing at almost three months. She was afraid something was wrong with the baby or something will eventually happen to the baby even after the Doctor’s assurance that everything was fine.

Naomi smiled and placed her right hand on the small bump. “I can’t wait to meet him or her.” She looked down at her best friend’s belly with adoration in her eyes.

“It’s a boy.” Luis grinned.

“Really?” Naomi exclaimed. Luis replied with a nod while Linda said a ‘Yes.’

“This....this is amazing. Tyler will eventually have someone to play with. I’m so happy for you two, Congratulations.” She pulled Linda first into a hug and then her brother, Luis.

“Do Mom and Dad know?” She asked.

“Yes, they are aware. Though mom was hoping for a girl, she’s still glad it’s a boy and Dad was over the moon when we told him.” Luis answered.

Before Naomi could reply to her brother, she felt someone tug at her dress. She looked down and saw her little champ. He had leftovers of cake icing at the corner of his lips.

“Grandpa gave me cake mama. It was very yummy.”

Naomi smiled and crouched to his height. She opened her clutch, reached for wipes and cleaned his mouth.

“Remember you promised mommy not to get dirty, make sure you keep your promise.” She said as she wiped his hands too.

Tyler hugged Linda’s leg tightly, he did the same to Luis and Luis ended up picking him up.

He said to his Sister and wife "I can’t believe I will be holding someone like Tyler very soon, Sometimes I think I’m ready and other times I think I’m not"

Naomi smiled, “It’s normal but you will do fine.” She assured.

“Tyler do you remember the toys Aunt Linda and Uncle Luis bought for you the last time they came to visit?” Naomi asked. He nodded.

“So what do you say to them?”

“Thank you, Aunt Linda and Uncle Luis. I love my toys very much.”

Luis smiled and then kissed his forehead. “You’re welcome, buddy. Keep on being a good boy for mama okay.” He said and little Tyler responded with a nod.

“He’s so adorable.” Linda cooed. “You’re welcome, Sweetheart.”

Luis was about to usher Naomi, Linda and Tyler to the living room to go join other guests and maybe find something to eat when he noticed Naomi looking as If she just saw a ghost, She suddenly looked pale and he could see her trembling.

“Naomi?” He called her attention. Linda was already by her side with her hands on her shoulder.

“I have to get out of here.” She panicked and reached for Tyler who was in her brother’s arms.

“It’s Dad’s birthday, you can’t leave just like that. What is the matter?” Luis asked.

Naomi could not speak because of the lump in her throat. She buried Tyler’s face in her neck, patted his back softly before pointing towards a certain direction.

Luis turned to look at what Naomi was pointing at and unknowingly he cursed. “Shittt!” he now understood the reason for her reaction.

“Calm down Naomi, maybe you should go stay in your old room. Leaving the party is not a good idea, at least not this soon.”

She swallowed painfully before she replied. “I never knew mom was going to invite them. She said the birthday was purely for close family members. They must not set their eyes on Ty. I can’t let that happen.”

He gave her right shoulder a light squeeze. “Remember mom is not aware of the full story so there is no way she would have known.”

“I need to be alone for a while, I’ll head to my old room.”

“I’ll come with you.” Linda offered and they made their way to Naomi’s room. Her parents never changed anything in her room even after she moved out of the mansion. But some maids cleaned up the room from time to time.

Naomi placed Tyler on the edge of the bed and gave him her phone to play with.

She strolled to the other side of the room and took a seat on the resting chair. Linda sat beside her and took one of her cold hands in hers. “Calm down, Naomi.”

“I can’t Linda, things are just harder than I expected. I know I will definitely have to tell Chris about his son but every time I make up my mind to do so, something else discourages me. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I feel guilty about what happened years ago. I didn’t trust him enough to believe his side of the story.”

“Julius and Sarah won’t think twice before they conclude Ty is Christopher’s son, the resemblance is just so much. I don’t want them to find out before Chris.”

Linda gave Naomi’s hand a light squeeze. “I understand you perfectly but I think the truth is ready to reveal itself. You can escape seeing Tyler’s grandparents tonight but you may not escape it another time. You can take the first step by telling your son about his father and then try contacting Chris.”

Naomi cried, “I don’t want Tyler to end up with a broken heart. He gets attached to people easily, Christopher’s life is five states away while my life, job, and family are here in California. How is this going to work? Chris has a life in Miami, a company to run and a daughter to look after.”

“Christopher runs a million-dollar company, I’m sure he has been in situations where he had to come up with genius solutions so I have no doubt he will figure something out, ” Linda said.

“Enough of the worry Naomi, just take the first step.” She added.

Luis walked in with a plate of cookies and sippy cup which contained orange juice. He handed them to Tyler who happily dug in before joining his sister and wife.

“It turned out they just arrived and they aren’t leaving anytime soon. Mom said it has been long since they've seen each other so they need time to catch up before Sarah and her husband leave for Miami.”

“They are the only ones right?” She asked her brother who instantly understood what she meant.”

“Yes, So would you rather talk to them since you haven’t figured out how to tell Chris?”

“She wants Chris to be the first to know.” Linda interrupted.

“I’ll just take my leave as soon as Tyler is done eating, ” Naomi whispered.

“I know I never had a good relationship with Christopher and I think I kind of owe him an apology for how I beat him up that day. Nevertheless, he deserves to know about Tyler. So hurry up with whatever plans you have.”

“Mind you, I know this is not only about Tyler, but it is also about you. I know you still love him.” Luis added.

“I don’t want his first child to see me as someone who was the cause of her parents’ separation....”

Luis chuckled, “You overthink things, Sis.”

“In my own opinion, I think you’ve sacrificed enough and it’s time for you and Ty to be happy with Chris. You will be in awe when you meet Christopher’s daughter, I give you my word, ” he added.

“Why are you crying, mama?” Tyler asked, concerned as he stood before Naomi and his uncle.

Naomi wiped her tears with the back of her palm and put on a sad smile.

“Mommy is having a little headache but don’t worry I’ll be fine okay?”

“There’s one more cookie on my plate. You can have it, mama, it will make the headache go away.”

Before Naomi could reply to her son, he ran to where the cookie was, brought it to his mom and fed her.

••••••••••••••

Naomi cursed silently as she came to a halt, “No no no, not when I’ve come this far.” She grumbled internally because she and Tyler were a few steps away from getting into her car.

Even without turning back to look at the person that called her, She could tell who it was, from the voice. Sarah Smith, Tyler’s grandmother.

Shiiiiiit!!!!