Double Trouble by Erosa Knowles Page B

of you, different personalities and all. You are my joy, I love you exactly the way you are.” She brushed a kiss across his forehead. “He meant you could be dead, and that you are lucky to be alive. And so in that regard, you are lucky… we all are. Because I can’t…” She inhaled and then released it slowly. Blinking rapidly, she looked away and then back at him. “I can’t imagine being here, in this life, without my Adam. So… suck it up and accept the fact that you are one lucky guy.”
    Tears filled his eyes and trickled down his cheek as they sat quietly gazing at each other. With his unhurt arm, he wiped his face. “Love you Mom. Thanks so much for always… you know being here, never giving up on me or Abe. You could’ve…so many times, but you didn’t.”
    Her heart squeezed. “I could’ve what?” she demanded.
    He turned away. “Left us. I know it was hard, god-mama used to tell you to stay in town until you finished college instead of driving for hours to reach the campus. I used to stay up waiting to hear your car and then you walking in the house before I could go to sleep. She would tell us to be good so you could rest and how hard it was for you to be there and in college.” He released a long breath, totally oblivious that had just gut-punched her. As much as she loved and appreciated her godmother for taking them in, what that woman had done to her son infuriated her.
    She took his hand and squeezed it to get his attention. When he met her gaze, she leaned forward. “I am not the kind of mother or woman who allows other people to raise my children. If I had to walk five miles to school, I would still walk back every night. The Lord allowed me to be with you and Abe. You. Are. Mine.” She said fiercely, wanting to imprint this conversation in his mind forever. “No one separates me from my children, no one. I wish you or Abe had told me this before so we could have settled the matter.” She held up her hand when he tried to interrupt. “Not that I didn’t appreciate the quiet moments to study, I did. I appreciated how thoughtful you two were, but I had no idea her words were the fuel behind that. God-mama was old school, we’ve talked about that a number of times. Some things she said you keep, other things you put on a shelf marked maybe, and the rest get tossed into the fire. No one is right about everything, no one.”
    He nodded slowly. “She had some strong viewpoints.”
    That was the understatement of the decade. As her godmother grew older, her health declined and she became more fanatical. Belinda had thought to show her appreciation for everything she had done to her godmother by allowing her to name the twins. When the older woman named them after well-known biblical characters, Belinda tried to recant the offer. She did not want to saddle her sons with unrealistic expectations.
    “Both names are of men who started new beginnings, I want you and the boys to always remember they were the beginnings of a new life for you and for me,” her godmother had explained. After she saw how much it touched the woman to have the honor of naming her sons, and heard the explanation of the names, she relented.
    “Yes, she did, but her heart was in the right place, never forget that.” She tapped his hand in camaraderie.

Chapter 7
     
    Blaine watched his brother pace just outside the curtained area where Lindy had gone. Donald had never been big on patience when it came to family. Anything else and he could out-wait Santa Claus.
    “Donnie?” Blaine said with a grin.
    Donald’s head snapped up as his face reddened. He glanced at the closed curtain before speaking. “Yeah… uh… it was her name for me.” He paused as his gaze sharpened. “I didn’t know you called her Lindy, too.”
    Blaine’s face warmed and he knew it matched his twin's. “Same thing, she hated Linda.”
    Donald nodded and the silence returned.
    Blaine’s thoughts raced over everything they had learned in