Special thanks to direfaery for helping me get out the slump on this one.
Jaeger:
Two weeks after we were all back at home, our families chewed our asses up one side and down the other. Then Ani chewed us up some more. It was like we went back to square one. We agreed to see her or one of her associates once a week just to talk about ourselves without the others present.
We immediately set to work figuring out who this devil bitch of a woman was in the video. Candon's brother even miraculously disappeared. Danielo, one of his new partners and his husband Gil got on it right away. I resigned from the company to work with Candon.
Paul and I were surprised that Candon made this move. We knew how much his father's company meant to him. But after listening to his reasons and reflecting on what his brothers' pulled, I couldn't blame him.
I was sitting in the kitchen with my cousin Lizette one afternoon playing with her little son. Liz and I were close and I ran to her sometimes when things were perplexing. When she heard about the video and us breaking up, she was constantly on my ass. Today was no different.
"You love Candon and Paul. Everyone knows it. You three act like you don't know it."
"It's not enough."
"Dammit, Jay!" She slapped me upside the head. This bitch. I groaned, rubbing my head. That hurt!
"You're always looking for an out. Stop being so afraid to give all of yourself to someone. You can't keep hiding your tail and running. Life is a constant test. It doesn't stop til you die. Some tests will be easy and you'll breeze right through them. Some will break you and shake you to your core. In the end, you come out stronger and wiser."
I flopped back in the chair and sighed heavily. "I don't want to keep breaking up, making up, breaking up."
She rolled her eyes and picked up my little cousin. "Then don't, dummy. Duh."
"Liz-"
"Throw yourself all in. You guys were going to do the commitment ceremony, just do it."
I threw my hands up. "But we haven't resolved the last thing."
She dismissed me with a wave. "Do it as you go along. Married people do it all the time. How many times do they stay together and work on shit?"
She didn't let me answer.
"All the time. And some have bigger problems than you." She kissed her daughter and put her on the floor so she could run out the room. Her dark brown eyes landed on mine.
"You're going to be working on your relationship forever. That's just reality. It's not like Disney. It's never happily ever after. There is jealousy, body image, low libido, sickness, money issues, family, kids, work - all kinds of shit called life. It.never. stops. You learn to deal and move on." She squeezed my hand.
"Thanks, Liz. I guess I didn't really think about that."
"Mmmhmm." She crossed her arms and leaned back. "So what are you doing about this heffa that sent the video?"
I swallowed my soda quickly. "Some detectives are looking for her. We got an ultrasound picture in the mail. She claims she's pregnant."
Liz sucked her teeth.
I played with the tab on the can. "We're talking to a lawyer about something called 'pregnancy entrapment.' But from what I'm hearing, it'll be difficult to prove."
"Figures."
Didn't it? I snorted. "Just in case, we're offering to adopt and pay her off."
Her eyes widened at that. "Really?"
I nodded.
"Jay, that's huge!"
"Yeah, I guess it is." I suddenly felt a burst of anger. "It just fucking pisses me off that this bitch came in and just undid everything we worked so hard for."
Liz chuckled. "Is that really her fault?"
"What? Hell yes!" Were we on the same planet? Who else is at fault for this?
She sat up and tilted her head slightly, a stupid ass grin on her mug. "Did she tell you and Paul to react without talking to Candon? Did she make you pack and move out? Did she make you not take his calls? No." She pointed a manicured acrylic nail at me. "You two did that on your own."
I glared at her as her words were absorbed into my soul. The jerk was right. Paul and I jumped to conclusions and reacted without getting all the facts.
"You were all overconfident because you were able to overcome the little things with ease and it took one major event to fold you."
I grit my teeth.
"You're not crickets. Stop jumping when shit comes your way. All that shit you learn in therapy don't mean a damn thing if you don't use it."
I put my elbows on the table and buried my face in my hands. A year later I was still doing the same shit. I was so fed up with myself. How were my boyfriends still around?
"You guys definitely need to through with the ceremony and get a house and shit."
I laughed softly and looked at her. "Just like that."
"Mmhm."
I left her house and drove around for a while just thinking of all the people I knew in relationships. My own parents didn't have the Disney marriage. They fought a lot when I was younger. There was jealousy. A frying pan to the head once. Mom going to her parent's once. In the end, they talked it out and got back together. My brother has even spent a night or four on our sofa when he and his wife had a row. Even my brother-in-law passed out crying on our sofa. Relationships are just like that. They take work and as long as everyone is willing to work, it would be fine.
I went ahead and signed powers of attorney and put their names on everything I had of value. I had my will drawn up and divvied everything up between them and my parents. If anything hppenend to me they would be able to handle what needed handling without problems. Not that my family would give them a hard time. But this was something that physically and legally connected them to me. When I handed them their individual folders, Paul broke down crying. Candon stared at me in shock.
"Do you know what this means, Jay?" Candon asked a slight tremble in his voice.
I nodded. "I do."
"Even if we're not married?"
I shrugged. "It's fine. But if you don't want to – "
Paul quickly rose to his feet. "No!" He cleared his throat and wiped his eyes. "No. Um...I want to. I'm honored. I just didn't think with all that has happened-"
I cut him off. "I love you guys. I do. I don't think I'll ever love anyone like I love you. A year ago I ran away because of what? Jumping to my own stupid conclusions. We broke up recently for what? Making stupid assumptions and not listening. We've been through a lot together and I foresee more bumps in the road." I pointed at the folder. "I don't want this to be one. If we ever decide to do the commitment ceremony then great. If not, it still won't change this."
Candon stood this time looking wide eyed. "You'd still want to do the commitment ceremony?"
I nodded with a smile.
Paul looked at him then back to me. His blues were swimming with hope. "You're sure?"
I nodded again. "But there's no pressure. Do or don't. I'm fine."
Candon whipped out his phone. "Let's do it."
Did I hear that right? I blinked a few times. "What?"
He looked up from his phone. "Today."
"Candon?"
"We've lost so much time. Let's just do this."
I looked over at Paul. He was already on his phone. "Mom?"
I looked back at Candon. He was also on the phone. I couldn't believe it. Shaking my head, I pulled out my phone and called my parents.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Mom, I need you and dad to meet us this evening."
"Oh? What's up?"
The smile on my face got bigger. "We're getting married."