Jaelyn's POV
Feliz Dia dos namorados, everybody! And yes, I just said, 'Happy Valentine's Day,' in Portuguese and Danny taught me how to say, 'Happy Valentine's Day,' in Italian that is; Buon San Valentino. For the past three days, Mr. Stanley and Tessa have been arguing in Italian because Mr. Stanley's wife, Cynthia is spending the Valentine's Day vacation with us.
Three days prior...
Danny's family and my family are heading to our hotel suites when the clacking sounds of the heels grow louder. Low and behold is a woman with copper brown curls in a bun, black lips, beige complexion, bags underneath her eyes, her cleavage is baring in that short Bulgari dress she's wearing in the winter time underneath the fur coat from Prada, a handbag from Michael Kors, and a pair of Fendi sunglasses up on her head, who has a cigarette in between her lips before she lets the smoke dissolve in the lobby of the hotel resort.
"Who is she?" I query.
"That is Cynthia." Trisha answers. "And my ex wife." Randall jumps in. "And is Bobbi's sister." Danny adds. Oh, my gosh! That Cruella is Randall's ex wife, and Bobbi's sister?
"If she's trying to find a store in a hotel, she's in the wrong place. This isn't Beverly Hills, California!" Kandi retorts and we all begin to snicker. Cynthia snaps her head at us, giving us a black look after raising her eyebrow. "Bluegum." She mutters. "What did you just say?" Mr. Stanley, Tessa, Trisha, Danny, Randall, Kendra, and I confront Cynthia.
"Cagna, e meglio pensarci due volte o ti cazzo voi e la vostra merda, non sara in grado di vedere la luce del giorno mai piu(Bitch, you better think twice or I'll fuck you and shit up, you won't be able to see the light of day ever again)!" Tessa threatens. Cynthia drags the cigarette to her lips and turns to Danny, cupping the side of his face. "Danny, baby... Why are you with that fat bitch? She's an African't, Danny! Who doesn't have a job!" I snapped my head at her. Is this fucking broad for real, for reals now? And why the fuck was she flirting with my man?
"Miss Bougie, I'm a grown ass woman and I have an amazing job that makes a lot of good ass money! You're looking like the kind of woman who can't find a decent store to buy more fancy clothes. And let me tell you; this hotel is not your wardrobe closet, Miss shop-till-you-drop-where-your-parents-dropped-you-off." I vindicated and crossed my arms in front of my chest.
She scoffed, "Whatever." She fixed the collar of Danny's shirt. I begin to sense my face turning red as a tomato, my veins are pulsing on my wrists when my hands form into fists, and I am seething through my teeth. "Danny, you ought to be better off having a woman of our kind, not her and that other banjo lipped high yellow girl forcing you and Randall into becoming Oreo lovers!" Cynthia frustratingly complains by rolling her eyes and tightens her jaws.
"Hold on! My friends and I may have lighter and darker complexions of an African American, but I am beautiful and you don't ever discriminate us by the colors of our skins! We are a rainbow! Take a look around you, you evil racist witch! I wish I could curse you out, but I can't because there are children around and you ought to respect what our kids look like! We're an integrated family and friends!" Kendra defends.
Cynthia feigns her yawn. "I don't care!" Cynthia titters and turns to face Danny. "Danny, forget about church! How about you and I screw?" Cynthia murmurs. I know that money-grabbing gold digger did not just reference me as a fat bitch and references Kendra and I- Well, mentions me as an African't! Bitch, please! I have a good ass job! What's wrong with interracial relationships and keeping our Christian faith to her? "Cynthia, you know I already have a girlfriend and her name is Jaelyn. I don't want you; I already have Jaelyn by my side. And you may be right, Cynthia; Randall and I are officially Oreo lovers!" Danny vindicates and his hand swathes around my waist as I move closer to his side. Cynthia growls and takes another drag of her cigarette.
"Miss, I'm afraid you must smoke outside and if you refuse, you need to depart because this is a family resort." The receptionist says brusquely. The woman scoffs, removing the cigarette from her mouth, and flicks it across the desk, hitting the receptionist's hand. She hisses in pain, covering the burn with her other hand. "You know what, Miss? Get out! Get out! Bob, please escort her out!" The receptionist exclaims. "Sure thing, Tammy!" The security guard shouts as he jogs to Cynthia and binds.
"But, my husband in front of the reception's desk is getting ready to rent the rooms! Where the fuck do you want me to go, you wetbacks?!" Cynthia angrily rants. The Walker family and my family turn our heads at Mr. Stanley, who was now dangling his head in shame and pinching his nose bridge with his fingers. "Merda (Shit)!" Mr. Stanley curses.
"Stanley, did she just call you her husband?" Miss Tessa questions with disbelief lacing in her voice and I can tell we all stare with cow eyes because our eyes are gluing at Mr. Stanley. Just as he's about to respond, Miss Tessa cuts him off. "No, save it, Stanley! I maybe your ex-wife, but I cannot believe you have the temerity to marry one of our own son's ex-wife!"
"Dad, when did this happen?" Danny, Trisha, and Randall inquiry at the same time.
"It started four days after Randall and Cynthia got married." Mr. Stanley confesses. My mouth gapes. Why didn't Mr. Stanley tell his family? "You got with my ex-wife four days after my honeymoon?! Do you know how that makes me feel?" Randall clench his teeth where his jaw tautens. His eyes darken and I peer at Danny, Trisha, and Miss Tessa exhaling heavily as they shake their heads in disapproval. Randall stampedes to the wall and raises his fist and strikes it against the wall, following by an indignant growl.
"Please, excuse my behavior, ladies and gentlemen." I motion my head at the receptionist. "Your rooms are all set and here are your room cards. And again, I'm very sorry you guys had to see that." Tammy apologizes as she gives us our room cards the same time we thank her and head to our rooms.
"Tammy?" I turn around to see Paige offering Tammy the receptionist her bottle of cold water for her wound. She offers Paige a Dum-Dum lollipop. Paige's eyes broadens, she gasps for air, and her mouth widens before she obtains the lollipop.
"Mommy! I got a lollipop!" Paige exclaims with her eyes beaming. I smile, but it doesn't last long because of how Danny and his family are feeling about their father not alerting them that he's married to Randall's ex-wife. To allow them to regain their composure; Kendra, Cousin Michelle, Camille, Vera, Kandi, Samantha, and I decide to go to the gym to inhibit the rising tension Danny and his family are experiencing in the lobby. I don't want to be a distraction to Danny and his family while they're trying to apprehend why Mr. Walker chose to marry Cynthia without asking his family for their opinions.
An hour and half after the girls and I went to the fitness center in order to allow Danny and his family to blow off a lot of steam, we walk back to our suites with his family. I shared my suite with Danny while Randall, Kendra, and Violet shared their own room. Mr. Walker would be sleeping in a pull up bed as Miss Tessa would sleep on the bed. Trisha, Jackson, and Iris have their own suite room. When Danny and I came back to our suite, he squeezed me in his arms and his face was filled with remorse as he apologized to me.
Present Day
The knock on the door interrupts me from removing hair pins from my hair to create curls. "Coming!" I exclaim and head to the door. I open it and there are Kendra, Violet, Trisha, Iris, Camille, Paige, and Cousin Michelle are wearing T-shirts and a pair of jeans with their shoes on. "Happy Valentine's Day morning, Jaelyn!" The girls respond in unison.
"Are you ready for breakfast?" Kendra questions. "Yeah, let's go!" I agree. Danny already has the card for our room and reminds me if I wanna see him for breakfast. We head to the breakfast area and the breakfast bar is a breakfast buffet! On my plate, I have buttery pancakes with maple syrup cascading, two bacon strips, a cinnamon roll, and a glass of orange juice before sitting down beside Danny. "Happy Valentine's Day, la mia ragazza voluttuosa." Danny smiles. "Happy Valentine's Day to you, Danny." I say and he gives me a kiss on the lips. Our kiss break. "At eight o'clock, do you and your family want to come with my family and me to my Uncle Giuliano's kitchen? He is a pastry chef from Sicily, Italy and moved to Mystic Islands, New Jersey fifty years ago." Danny mentions.
"In the next hour?" I question. "Yeah, but there's no need to rush. We have time to eat and talk." Danny assures. "Yes, I will, Danny." I answer.
**************
8:00 AM
Our family, Danny, and myself are in Danny's Uncle Giuliano's kitchen that is the exact replica of a kitchen at a restaurant and home economics classroom to bake cinnamon rolls on the steel tables. We are wearing aprons, our hair is put in a ponytail or a bun, our sleeves are rolled up, and we wash our hands.
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen. And happy Valentine's Day. As you know; I am Trisha, Daniel, and Randall's uncle Giuliano and I am Miss Tessa's brother. You can call me Chef Guiliano. Today, we will be baking a heart shaped cinnamon rolls and on your stations, you have all the Mise en place in front of you alongside a sheet of directions of baking the cinnamon rolls. Gentlemen, after you complete baking the rolls, you will be cooking your girlfriend/fiancee/wife's favorite entree's and write a message why you love your women." Chef Guiliano says. "Now, begin!"
We begin by preheating the oven before forming the cinnamon rolls into shapes of a heart on a baking sheet tray with parchment paper and putting the tray of those cinnamon bad boys in the oven prior to setting the required time.
Twenty minutes later, the timers go off and the guys are taking the trays out of the oven while us girls are preparing the cream cheese frosting.
"I'm glad we're doing the heart shaped cinnamon rolls because if we're baking a cake and Luke suddenly decides to make a Rocky Road cake; I'd be like, 'Rocky Road is sure not gonna rock and roll in my stomach!'" All of us in the kitchen start laughing wildly.
"Michelle, you are ridiculously funny! How come you don't like Rocky Road?" Trisha chuckles the question.
"Because when I was, like, seven years old, my Aunt Gloria and I wanted to have Rocky Road ice cream, but when I tasted it, my stomach began its constipation, similar to prunes and I was like, 'My butt needs to throw up!'" Cousin Michelle explains and we are laughing out loud again. "You are too much!" Trisha giggles.
"Trisha, do you remember when we were on our spring break from the NYU and my Cousin Michelle was yelling, 'Pool party, y'all!' And then, she saw some guy who was looking at her when he was actually looking at the spinach on her chest. Some random girl approached to him and Cousin Michelle forgot that she can't walk on water, and instead of walking on water, she fell in the cold water and nobody was in the pool! Remember that, Trisha?" As you all know; Kandi and Trisha went to the NYU and become best friends when Kandi was in her sophomore year and Trisha was in her freshman year in addition to becoming college roommates at the Rubin Hall dormitory. I didn't know Kandi and Trisha are lifelong friends until this past New Year's Eve dinner.
"Oh, my gosh! Yes, I do!" Trisha laughs and whips up the cream cheese frosting in the bowl. We complete our cinnamon rolls by glazing the cream cheese frosting and Danny's finger swipes from the bowl of cream on the tip of my nose. "You tried it, Danny Mateo Walker!" I giggle with him.
"Danny! Vai a lavarti le mani!" Chef Giuliano commands and I understand that he's telling Danny to wash his hands because he snaps his fingers and rubs his hands together.
9:30 AM
Our families and I are visiting to the Christ Church because the Pastor is summoning to us about the sermons of love and forgiveness. The choir is making the church clap and jump in glory. Two hours after the choir sing, Pastor Tony asks if someone needs to confess their sins to Jesus Christ. Danny and Randall are one of the thirty eight people who are walking to the aisle and Pastor Tony with the promise of forgiveness.
Danny's POV
I make my way to the line in order to confess Pastor Tony about my personal seventh commandment out of the ten commandments as a Christian. Coming forward as the line leader, I shake hands with Pastor Tony, who has a firm grasp. "Thank you for attending today's service, young man! What's your name and what is your sin?"
Taking a prolonging breath, I clap my hands together and confess, "My name is Danny Walker and my confession is after my fiancée passed away almost five years ago, I have been treating my cure of grief by being involved in licentious relationships with twenty seven women. But, I did use a condom because I refuse to give and receive an STD to one of the women I encountered with. I have a new girlfriend of two months and I really cherish her personality along with her beauty and chemistry between me and her. I don't want to be a user to dragoon her into a situation she would later regret in her life. I'd rather allow God to assure us to take our pace of physical affection slow at a time. We have the temperance to save sex later on because it would be a sin for a relationship to have physical bonding occurring too quickly."
Pastor Tony gives me the smile as warm as a sun no matter what season, the sun is warm. "Can you direct me where Jaelyn is?" Pastor Tony asks. I turn my head to my bella fidanzata voluttuosa who is glancing at me with tears streaming down her cheeks. "So that's Jaelyn, huh? She really is blessed to be declared as your girlfriend. Bow your head to the floor, son." I do what I am told and Pastor Tony's palm presses onto my forehead as he begins to pray.
"Dear Heavenly Father, Please cleanse my new friend, Danny and help him flee from the youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. The devil is a lie and you, my Lord, are our Savior, healer, adviser, creator, and our Father who is truly auspicious in Heaven and on Earth as your legacy and your presence lives on in our hearts. Amen." Pastor Tony speaks his prayer to me and God.
"Amen." I repeat and Pastor Tony pulls me in for a hug and a handshake before I proceed back to Jaelyn. Angela Bofill's song, I'm On Your Side begins.
"What did you confess to Pastor Tony?" Jaelyn queries. Here is the question I should've thought about when I was walking up to Pastor Tony, but I am so infatuated with her inner and outer beauty and fearing about how she'd react about my sin. Deciding to take the exact breath I let out a while ago, I manage to tell her what I just confess to Pastor Tony and God with God's truth in God's house.
"I told Pastor Tony that I had a sex addiction by sleeping with twenty seven different women after Bobbi passed away." I concede. The look on Jaelyn's face expresses shocked, repelled, forlorn, and disappointed as more tears spill down her face. "Did you sleep with that racist woman? I'm saying, 'woman,' because I don't and will not curse in church and I will not misuse the Lord's name in vain." Jaelyn asks. This is the side I never know about Jaelyn before because she is sassy and funny and she sounds jealous.
"No, Jaelyn! I never slept with Cynthia and will never sleep with her! To be honest; she tried to persuade me to have sex with her, but I spurned because if I slept with her; Bobbi would remind me by popping into my head many times and my opinion is that incest is invasive. I'd rather have you monogamously. These words that are just coming out of my mouth are my personal verdict words to you, Jaelyn." I state sincerely.
Jaelyn looks down at our intertwining fingers as she sighs. "I'm sorry for jumping overboard, but I happen to be the jealous type and I've never felt jealous before, to be honest because I began to have a pit of jealousy when she whispered in your ear." Jaelyn avows. I drape my arm around her and lean to her right temple to place a kiss. I raise our knuckles to my mouth and kiss her knuckles. She chuckles. "Okay, Danny! I get the memo." We lean in for a kiss. "I'ma pray for you, Danny Matteo Walker." Jaelyn adds. La mia fidanzata spirituale voluttuoso or my spiritual voluptuous girlfriend is truly a God-send angel.