The Couples Retreat

One On One Meetings

Kaidence Opened Up A Bottle Of Wine And Filled Two Wine Glasses Up Halfway. She Handed Layla A Glass And Sat Down With Her Own Glass In Hand. Layla Downed The Glass Of Wine And Sat It On The Table.

"Dang. Do You Want Another Glass?" Kaidence Asked. Layla Nodded. Kaidence Filled Her Glass Up And Layla Took Her Time Drinking The Second Glass.

"So Tell Me What's Going On." Kaidence Said. Layla Sighed And Told Her The Entire Story. Kaidence Didn't Interrupt At All And She Just Nodded Her Head Every Time Layla Would Pause.

By The Time Layla Was Done Talking, She Was Crying Her Eyes Out. Kaidence Grabbed Her Some Paper Towels So She Can Dry Her Eyes.

"Everything Will Be Okay." Kaidence Assured Her.

"No It Won't." Layla Cried.

"It Will Though. My Husband Use To Do Drugs And At First I Tried To Accept It, But Once We Got Even More Serious...I Begged Him To Stop. Of Course He Didn't Do It And That Almost Cost Him His Life." Kaidence Said.

"Really?" Layla Said. She Nodded.

"He Was Shot And Robbed One Night. They Took His Drugs, His Money, And Our Dear Friend Ricky's Life. I Thought He Was Dead For Three Years, But He Wasn't. He Was In The Hospital For A Year, And In Rehab For Two Years. One Night, He Miraculously Showed Up On My Doorstep And I Ended Up Leaving With Him. Three Months Later, We Were Married And Two Months After That...I Got Pregnant With My Twins." She Said. Layla Wiped Her Face.

"Wow...That's A Beautiful Story." Layla Said.

"Yeah. It Had A Beautiful Start, That Slowly Climaxed Into Something Horrible, And Ended Even More Beautiful Than It Started." Kaidence Said.

"But That May Not Happen With Me. I Have A Horrible Case Of Bad Luck." She Said.

"Maybe...Maybe Not. It All Depends On How You Two Try To Work It Out. Do You Love Jalen?" She Asked. Layla Nodded.

"Okay. And Are You Ready To Give Up On Everything You Two Have Built Together?" She Asked. Layla Shook Her Head No.

"Well See...That's A Start. Now You Two Need To Talk. Have Another Glass Of Wine While I Go See If My Husband Is Done Talking To Him." She Said. She Poured Layla Another Glass Of Wine And Went Looking For Marvin And Jalen.

Marvin And Jalen Were Sitting Outside As They Both Smoked A Blunt.

"So What's Going On Man?" Marvin Said. Jalen Looked At Him And Shrugged His Shoulder. He Didn't Feel Comfortable Telling A Complete Stranger All His Business. Marvin Chuckled As He Hit The Blunt. He Could Sense That Jalen Was Uncomfortable, But He Really Didn't Give A Fuck! He Was Gon Make This Nigga Talk Whether He Liked It Or Not.

"Look Man. Something Is Up Between You And Ya Girl And I'm Just Tryna Help Ya'll Out. You Was Looking All Hurt And Shit When I Came In So Again...What's Going On?" Marvin Said. Jalen Sighed As He Grabbed The Blunt From Him.

"I'm All Fucked Up. I've Been Doing Shit That I'm Not Proud Of, But I Can't Help It." Jalen Said.

"Mhm. How Long You Been Doing Blow?" Marvin Asked, Getting Straight To The Point. Jalen Choked On Some Smoke As He Coughed Hard.

"How The Hell You Know?" Jalen Asked.

"I Use To Blow Too. I Know One When I See One." Marvin Said. Jalen Sighed.

"This Shit Has Taken Over My Life Man." He Said. Marvin Nodded.

"It Is Addictive Homie. Lemme See Ya Arms." Marvin Said. Jalen Held Out His Arms And Marvin Examined Them.

"Hm. You Ain't Used A Needle Yet So That's Good." Marvin Said.

"Hell Naw! I'll Never Use A Needle!" Jalen Snapped. Marvin Chuckled.

"I Said That Same Thing, But Blowing Up Ya Nose Will Eventually Stop Getting You High. Then You'll Turn To The Needles. Take It From An Ex Drug User. If You Don't Stop Now...You'll Lose That Girl In There Forever. Is That What You Want?" Marvin Asked. Jalen Sighed And Shook His Head.

"Okay Then. I Damn Near Lost My Wife To This Shit And I Damn For Sure Wasn't Gon Let A Good Woman Like That Get Away. Her And My Kids...Man They Give Me Life. They Are The Reason I'm Clean Today." Marvin Said.

"I Wanna Get Clean. For Her, For My Kids, And For Myself." Jalen Said, Honestly.

"Well Then Step Up, Get Ya Ass In Rehab, And Straighten Your Shit Up!" Marvin Said. Jalen Nodded.

"I Will. Thanks Man." Jalen Said.

"No Problem." Marvin Said. They Finished The Rest Of The Blunt Just As Kaidence Came Outside.

"Oh...There Ya'll Are. Are Ya'll Done Talking?" She Asked. They Nodded.

"Good. Well...She's In The Kitchen And She's Ready To Talk." She Said. Jalen Nodded As He Stood Up And Headed Into The Kitchen.

Kaidence Sat In Marvin's Lap As They Shared A Kiss.

"I Think They'll Be Okay." Kaidence Said.

"Me Too. Hopefully Anyways." Marvin Said. Kaidence Giggled.

"Come On. Let's Go Hang Out With The Other Couples." She Said, Pulling Him Into The House.