I knocked on the door to Jack Jameson’s office nervous as hell. Jason practically begged me not to talk to the man, but something inside of me felt as if it was only necessary. Sure, Jason could talk to him but it wouldn’t be the same. Knowing Jack’s crazy persuasive ass, he’d probably leave on good terms with his father. We never discussed the obvious influence his dad had on him because I could tell it was a sensitive subject for him. Hell, any aspect of his personal life was taboo to talk about. It will always surprise me that Jason wears his heart on his sleeve like this. That’s where we weren’t one in the same. Granted, we both have crazy families, we share the same passion for a variety of things, and we like to have our alone time…but amongst the things that make us completely opposite is the fact that Jason is an optimistic romantic while I was a pessimistic Debbie Downer.

He hasn’t completely changed my outlook on life but he has most definitely changed the way I view love. He makes me believe in silly shit like fairy tales and Disney princess stories. I never wanted to get caught up into believing such impossible happy endings, but it basically happened to me. I think a soul mate is someone that can make you become the happiest person you can be and I am that.

Ever since the tragic death of the two people who loved me the most, my parents, I never thought I would be blessed with another chance to open my heart up and allow another person to consume every part me. I was scared and I kept thinking that if I ever loved someone….cared for someone with all of my heart, God would take them away from me just like he did with my parents. It might have taken us a while to realize that we are nothing without each other, but in the end it paid off. I am happier than I have ever been and I am loving harder than I’ve ever loved. It feels good to not have that negative voice in the back of my head telling me that it’s all going to end soon.

Before I had walked up, his two security guards greeted me. Over time, I became good friends with them due to having to run an endless amount of errands to this particular office.

“Hey Keyshia! Long time, no see, girl” one of the burly guards, Richard, shouted out. He somewhat resembled Vin Diesel, very handsome. And his deep voice reminded me of roaring thunder. I was a bit intimidated by him when I had first encountered Jack’s guards. After learning that they had a soft spot for dimples (I know, weird right?) I flashed mines every chance I got. They ate that shit up.

“For real. How are you guys doing? How are my sweet little girls?”

The other one, Thomas, spoke before Richard could utter a word. “Amanda’s doing okay and Rachel is just now recovering from the flu.”

“Aw man. I’m glad she’s feeling better. But hey, I wish I could hold a conversation with my favorite men…but is it okay if I go see Jack? I have to tell him something.”

“Baby girl, you know we just can’t let anybody walk up in there without an appointment” said Richard.

“But it’s important. It’s about Jason.” I tried my best to give off a pouty expression. “I’ll be quick! I promise!”

Before the men could protest, Jason randomly showed up and stood beside me. “Let her through.”

I sucked my teeth and rolled my eyes like a teenage girl. He knew that I could handle this alone, but he still had to make an appearance. The guards said “yes sir” in unison and stepped aside.

“I told you I could do this without your help.”

“Yeah? Well, I told you that I had to be somewhere near. Go ahead and knock on his door. I’ll be waiting out here.”

Jason kissed my cheek before watching me walk up to his father’s office. The look he had on his face was the look that caused me to start feeling nervous. Walking up to the building was a walk full of confidence and self-assurance. Now I felt like I needed to throw up right on the spot.

Pride wouldn’t allow me to turn around and ask Jason to accompany me so I continued to knock, even though I began to sweat like crazy. I knew there was no turning back when Jack’s personal assistant answered the door.

Clearly, the man had a thing for blonde-haired women with gigantic balloons attached to their chests. It seemed like every time I came to his office, there was a different lady answering the door.

“May I help you?” she asked with a strong southern accent. Almost sounded like Alicia, but more annoying.

“Is Mr. Jameson in?”

“He is, but-“

“Can I see him?”

She had the door cracked so that I could only see her and only her. “He’s not seeing anyone who doesn’t have an appointment.”

“Yes. I know that, but this is very important. It’s about his son.”

For a second, her face went from a fake smile to a look of concern. I thought that was going to be my leeway in, but she quickly reverted back to that sickening expression. “How are you in any relation to Jason?”

Jesus Christ, how many times to I have to go over this? Like, how many times do I have to tell these people that I am his assistant? When will Jack learn to accept it, I guess that’s the question?

“I’m his assistant. Now will you let me in?-“

“Crystal, who’s at the door giving you problems?”

Before she could answer, I shoved her aside and forced myself into the massive room. Jack’s head shot up and he crinkled his thick eyebrows together. Crystal started rambling on and shouting about how I wasn’t supposed to be in here. Jack quieted her as soon as she started threatening to call the cops.

“I’m sure she’s here for a valid reason if she got past my guards. Unless she killed them. You didn’t kill them did you?” he smirked.

Horrible joke.

I gave Jack a disgusted look and crossed my arms over my chest. “No, you idiot.”

“Whoa. Wait, who the hell do you think you’re talking to?” Jack calmly asked, with a hint of amusement in his voice. “You obviously have the slightest clue to who I am and the amount of power I possess.”

“Oh please” I almost wanted to shout. “Will you let this act go? It’s pitiful, even for you. You know who I am and I think it’s about time that you stop refusing to acknowledge the position I hold in your life and start accepting it.”

“Mr. Jameson I can call the police if you want me-“

“Crystal, please. Get out.”

“But-“

“Now…” he sighed, showing signs of frustration.

She nodded her head, gave me one last look, and scurried out of the office. It took him a few seconds to recollect his thoughts and figure out what he was going to say next.

“What gives you the right to storm in my office and start acting foolish like this?”

“Who am I, Jack?”

“That was not the answer to my question.”

“Who am I?!” I demanded, with a little volume added to my voice.

He leaned forward at his desk and scoffed. “You’re my son’s assistant.”

“Great, you don’t have short-term memory. I was worried for a second.”

“What do you want?”

“For you to come to terms with how shitty of a person you are.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. I mean, I’m sure you know how much your personal life is screwed up because of the idiotic, assholish, decisions you’ve made.”

“I hear this everyday almost and you actually expect me to be fazed by your words.”

“You will be.”

“How are you so sure?” Jack challenged.

Here it is. Here’s my window to tell him. Just spit it out Keyshia…

“Because…well, because I’m about to give you a second chance. An ultimatum.”

“I don’t need a second chance, sweetheart, believe me.” The expression on his face told me otherwise. I could see a glimpse of hope. “Especially not from you.”

“Yeah, if it helps you sleep at night, keep telling yourself that.”

Jack looked up at me like he was getting annoyed with my presence. “What is it that you want? I do not have time to converse with you about such a silly matter.”

“I’m nine weeks pregnant” I blurted out.

Just as I expected, his eyes widened. So big that I thought they were literally going to plop out of his sockets. He looked overwhelmed. His lips began to move but nothing came out.

So I continued to speak.

“As you already know, but…once again, refuse to accept, your son and I are in a relationship and it’s obviously deeper than what you think it is.”

“How much do you want?”

“What?” He’s kidding right? He HAS to be…

“You heard me” he gulped. There was this huge vein in the middle of his forehead that began to throb. “How much is it going to take for you get the hell out Jason’s life? You’re doing nothing but fucking it up and as his father, I can’t just sit back and watch his life fall apart.”

Those words took a blow to my heart. They hurt. I knew coming here to talk to him would be a pain in the ass and deep down I knew he was capable of saying some hurtful shit…but damn. I was not prepared to hear something like this.

He spoke again before I could. “So how much is it going to be? Name a price and I’ll give it to you.” I stood speechless as he dug into his drawer and fished out what looked to be a checkbook. “There will be a few conditions. The main one being that you leave New York and never speak to him again. You and that thing you’re carrying in your belly.”

Tears started to flow down my cheeks like they had a mind of their own. A huge wave of pain crossed over me, making me physically cringe. I wanted to scream, slap the hell out of him, and cry all at once.

He just referred to my precious baby as a thing.

Trying to remain calm, I wiped the tears away and took a few steps closer to his cherry wood desk. “I don’t want your fucking money, you imbecile. What I want is for you to realize that I love your son more than anyone I’ve ever met...anything in this world! And I hope you know that nothing you do is going to tear us apart. Nothing!”

“Not even ten million dollars?” he pressed.

“Stop! Just stop with that. Stop trying to pay your way out of stuff you don’t want. There isn’t a price you can possibly name that will make me leave the love of my life.”

“If you say you love him, you will do this for him. You want to see him happy? Get the hell out of his life and stop ruining it.”

“Ugh” I frustratingly spat out. “You’re so disgusting and brainwashed. Why on earth would you try to repeat history like this?”

“Meaning?”

“You’re doing everything your father did to you.”

Jack squirmed in his seat and blinked. “You know nothing about my father you insignificant little-“

“All of these words are insignificant to me so I suggest you stop trying to break me. I’m stronger than you think I am. And I will not leave this place until I get what I have to say out.”

He remained silent and almost looked defeated.

“I feel so sorry for you sometimes. Your father forced you to leave the woman you wanted to spend the rest of your life with and you were too weak to fight him and stand up for yourself.”

“You-!”

“Alessandra is the nicest woman I have ever met. Absolutely wonderful! How could you do that to her? You broke her, Jack…”

“You met my Allie?” he barely whispered after moments passed by, as if he felt a sudden wave of emotion.

My heart clenched at the sight of his sudden change in mood. He went from this emotionless, cruel, asshole to what I imagined to be his twenty-two year old self.

With his head bowed, he asked “How is she?”

“Still hurt, but she’s doing great…now that’s she’s finally met her long lost son and all.”

Jack leaned back in his chair and slowly ran his hand down his face. “I uh…I just don’t want my son to have a bad life and end up regretting it” he finally admitted.

“He’s not you. And you are not your father. I see some good in you and that’s mainly why I have yet to truly cuss your ass out. What I don’t understand is how you put this racist front on and act like you don’t like the color of my skin. The mother of your child…the woman you fell in love with for God’s sake is of another race. What kind of logic do you even have?”

“Anything that reminds me of her is something that I automatically hate because she’s my weakness and I cannot afford to have any weaknesses! She was my downfall!! I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with someone outside of my race. How could I allow myself to do that when I already knew the consequences?!”

“It’s true that you don’t have a choice in the matter of who you fall in love with and by the looks of it, you loved her…but why didn’t you fight for her?”

“Because, like you said before…and this is my first time openly admitting this…I was brainwashed. It’s taken me years to realize it, but I know I was. I’d do anything to get my Allie back.”

“You took the only thing she had to live for away from her and expected her to get over it.”

The room was engulfed in an uncomfortable silence for a while. Judging by his stressed out expressions and glistening eyes, my job was done…well, partially done.

“Before I leave, I want you to know two more things: we’re engaged and I will not allow you to take away Jason’s happiness because of your own mistakes. He’s the exact opposite of you with his mother’s heart. There’s no reason to why he would deserve a miserable life.”

Jack nodded his head and did a quick sniffle. “I appreciate you for making me face my past, Keyshia. I really do.”

“You’re welcome. And like I said before, I came to give you a second chance. I don’t want my child to be grandparentless so I’m asking you now. Do you want to be in their life now or what?”

“I...you have to give me time to think about this.”

“You shouldn’t need time, but whatever. I’m glad we could get through this conversation without needing to call the police.”

He chuckled and stood up out of his chair for the first time. “I have gained a new respect for you…and deep down, I know that you will make my boy happy.”

I gave him a light-hearted smile as I turned around and made my way towards the door.

“And Jack?”

“Yes?”

“You should have thought about the future of your business before letting the person who brought in the highest revenue go over the silliest thing…”

When I got to the other side of the door, I giggled to myself at his expression (which was full of regret and guilt). Jason rushed to my side hoping that I would regurgitate everything that happened.

“It went better than I thought it would.”

********************************

A week after confronting Jack, I felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders. The only thing I had to worry about was letting everyone else know. Jason wanted so desperately to tell the media, but I didn’t want my life all out in the open like that. I also wanted our kid to live a normal life.

“We’ll have to figure something out before you start showing, baby” Jason said. We were sitting on the bed in his apartment while he painted this beautiful sea green color onto my fingers. He was such a sweetheart for taking care of my left hand because God knows it would have looked a hot mess if I did it myself.

“I know. I think I have an idea but I’m not entirely sure if it’ll work out in my best interest.”

“What is it?”

“You can tell spill the news on your favorite late night talk show. Or Ellen. I love that woman. Whatever you decide. Once you announce the pregnancy and engagement, we need to get the hell out of here and move to Brazil.”

“Sounds like a plan. Although, we’ll still get some buzz about it in Rio.”

“Will it be the same as New York?”

“No, definitely not.”

“Okay then. Do what you have to do.”

“Are you sure about this? I’ve been itching to get on Ellen’s show but I keep having to deny her for scheduling reasons. Now would be the perfect time.”

“I’m one-hundred percent sure. It’d be nice get it over with so we can move on with our lives. And people need to know that you’re spoken for.”

He looked up from painting my ring finger and blushed heavily. “It’s adorable when you’re jealous.”

“I’m not jealous. Isn’t it obvious that I’ve got you tightly wrapped around my finger?”

“That, my darling, is a true fact.” It didn’t take me long to burst out in a fit of giggles as he put the polish down and started to kiss me in my most ticklish places. I held my hands in the air for surrender.

“Stop! You’re gonna get polish over these nice white expensive sheets” I mocked.   

He spread my legs apart and positioned his body in between my legs. “Yeah, that and something else…”

“Ew, you’re so nasty” I joked as I cautiously wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me.

Jason

The next two months were spent moving all of our stuff to Brazil, announcing the big news, and of course planning the wedding. It was all so hectic, but absolutely worth it.

It was a little embarrassing to see that I had double that amount of stuff that she had. With all of my shit, we had to make at least three trips to Rio. For the moment, we decided to settle in a nice little condominium off of the coast. It was temporary, but very comfortable. For the future, I intend on purchasing my first house and asking my mother to come live with us.

It’ll be perfect. I can see it now.

The interview with Ellen went seamlessly smooth. Although the producers had forewarned me about what questions she was going to throw at me, she still surprised me. She’s definitely a sweetheart though. The whole audience erupted with applause and hoots and hollers when I announced it. Almost immediately after that happened, Nancy (my publicist) had began to receive an endless amount of phone calls. All of the major talk shows and magazines wanted to interview me and get more information about my sudden revelation.

Instead of getting into all of that, we packed up the rest of our stuff and headed to our new home for the last time. Before we left, Keyshia told her closest friend (Lauran) about everything and invited her to the wedding. We scheduled it to be on her birthday, the day we first met. An easy memory.

The list of people invited to our private wedding was very short, but it was perfect to say the least. If they were coming from the States, their travel fare and accommodation was taken care of.

It was a beach wedding on a breezy day in the middle of December. Everything from the bachelor’s party up to the wedding cake design was flawless. Keyshia didn’t have much family. In fact, she had no one, so I made sure the people she loved and cared for the most who weren’t exactly biologically related to her got to see her on her special day.

I stood at the front of the faux pulpit directly beside the minister, awaiting the arrival of my future wife. My heart began to beat furiously in anticipation of seeing her beautiful face. Right as the bridal song began to play through the strings of the melodious harp, my hands began to shake.

The fitted tuxedo I wore felt like it was getting tighter due to my extreme nervousness. My body was suddenly becoming aware of Brazil’s year-round sweltering heat. All of that went away when Keyshia rounded the corner and started walking down the isle.

My eyes flew past the sight of our guests and straight to her. She had on this white delicate gown that looked like it could easily be ripped off. What seemed to be lace was wrapped tightly around her gorgeous physique. Her cute little baby bump showcased itself from under the dress. Keyshia’s long brown hair was pulled up into a loose updo with a few strands hanging down the sides of her face. A precious white orchid rested on the side of her hair.

She looked breathtaking. There weren’t enough words in the English language that could describe how I felt in that moment.

Since both of her parents were deceased, my mother took the honor of walking her down the isle. Alessandra, as well, looked stunning. I admired the way she looked in her crème colored dress. It flowed in the wind like curtains did to an open window.

I looked at Keyshia and our eyes instantly connected. My body reacted to her as if it were our first time meeting. A blush burned my cheeks. What was this? Eighth grade all over again?

Each of us had one person who represented our bridesmaids and groomsmen. Keyshia had Lauran and I had Tom, my ex-CIA buddy that never let me down. He had been trying to calm me down all morning because I was full of anxiety. The bachelor party we had the previous night was barely in my memory because of all the drinks we threw back. A few of my colleagues that followed me to Rio surprised me. They invited strippers, of course, but I had to pass. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to have a good time; it was that I couldn’t stop relating their presence to when I had first met Keyshia. She had told me about what her friends put her through and how she never wanted to be treated like that ever again. She felt low and disrespected.

How could I look past that and play around with these women? I did have a good time during my last night as a “free man”. The guys kept pressuring me to drink like I was at a frat party. Of course that turned out badly. I barely woke up in time to get ready and I saw that I sent a few drunken texts to Keyshia. They were nothing too embarrassing, just a bunch of words that probably took away a small piece of my manhood.

Yeah, so back to the wedding.

When she and my mother finally approached the minister and I, Alessandra gave Keyshia kisses on both of her cheeks and then cupped my left cheek in her right hand.

“Cuide dela” was all she said, meaning: “Take care of her.”

I nodded my head and gave her an endearing kiss on her right cheek. “I will.”

She must have noticed how anxious I was to get to my future bride because she quickly stepped aside and allowed Keyshia to stand in front of me.

Slowly moving a lock of her hair that blew into her face away, I looked down and grinned. “You look ravishing, enchanting, breathtaking…perfect.”

“Thank you” she whispered, already choked up. “Don’t make me cry. I worked really hard on this makeup and my emotions are acting all kinds of funny right now.”

“Sorry” I quickly whispered.

“You look so nervous, bay. It’s just me” she giggled. “Guess what? I have no shoes on because my feet are starting to get swollen and icky.”

I chuckled at her ridiculous statement. “What?”

“Ladies and Gentleman” the preacher began to speak. “We are gathered here in the beautiful city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to join this man and woman in holy matrimony. Marriage is a solemn institution to be held in honor by all, it is the cornerstone of the family and of the community. It requires of those who undertake it a complete and unreserved giving of one's self. It is not to be entered into lightly, as marriage is a sincere and mutual commitment to love one another. This commitment symbolizes the intimate sharing of two lives and still enhances the individuality of each of you.”

I took Keyshia’s soft hands into mines and began to caress them. We both gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes as the Man of God gave us the chance to recite our self-written vows.

Keyshia took the initiative of going first...

“Ah…what can I say? I feel like I’ve been confessing my love for you for forever…geez” The audience laughed along with us. “Um, I promise that I will love and care for you, and I will try in everyway to be worthy of your love. You are my lover, my teacher, my accomplice, and my true counterpart. I will always be honest with you, kind, patient, and forgiving. You have made me a better person and I know that this is the best decision I will ever make because you’re the perfect man for me. And you will be more than the perfect father. I love you, Jason.” 

Damn. I was allowed to cry at my own wedding right? Ever since she came out looking like an angel that fell from the high heavens, tears kept springing to my eyes. I didn’t care if it wasn’t masculine. I’ve been waiting for this day to come for years.

“How am I supposed to top that?” I joked and once again, the audience laughed. “I love you for your beauty, your intelligence, your strength...and for the way you always know how to make me perform everything to the best of my ability. So on top of all the other vows that I will make to you, I also vow to always appreciate how lucky I am to have someone who makes me feel the way you do and to continue to try as hard as I can to make you feel as special as you make me feel, forever and ever. I believe in you, the person you will grow to be and the couple we will be together. With my whole heart, I take you as my wife, acknowledging and accepting your faults and strengths, as you do mine. I promise to be faithful and supportive and to always make our family’s love and happiness my priority. I will be yours in plenty and in want and in failure and in triumph. I will dream with you, celebrate with you, and walk beside you through whatever our lives may bring. You are my person -- my love and my life, today and always.”

The tears pouring down her face almost made me lose it. Behind her, Lauran had her hand pressed against her chest. She had tears streaming from her face as well. Matter of fact, all of the women in the audience were crying.

“I told you not to make me cry you bastard” Keyshia whispered as she tried to carefully wipe her tears away. I reached out with a smile on my face and helped her.

“Jason, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health, remaining faithful to her as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

“Keyshia, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him in sickness and in health, remaining faithful to him as long as you both shall live?”

“I do” she nodded, still trying to recollect herself.

The minister clasped his hands together and flashed a charismatic smile. “It is my pleasure to pronounce you husband and wife. Mr. Jameson you may now share the first kiss with your new bride, Keyshia Jameson.”

I like the sound to that.

“You don’t even have to tell me twice.” Keyshia gasped as I swiftly pulled her into my arms and dipped her backwards to give her a soul-searching kiss. She placed her hands on both sides of my face and deepened the kiss as the crowd cheered and roared with whistles.

It was the happiest moment of my life.

*********************************

During the reception, things got a little weird.

While I danced with my new bride, I caught Alessandra looking to be in a state of shock. My eyes crossed the room and over to the where she was gazing.

Jack.

He was standing in a dark corner looking oddly mysterious. I would be dramatic and say “who invited him” but I couldn’t do that because I was the one who invited him. Who would have thought that he’d actually show up though?

“What’s wrong?” Keyshia asked, looking up at me.

I continued to sway her back and forth as the song picked up. “My dad’s here.”

“Really?! That’s awesome. I’m glad he decided to show up. Has Alessandra seen him yet?”

“She’s looking at him now. They’re making this weird eye contact.”

She gave me a worried expression. “Should we intervene?”

“No, not yet. Let’s see what happens.”

Jack and Alessandra

Jack couldn’t help but to stare at the beautiful woman he left twenty-three years ago. At first he didn’t want to go to his son’s wedding, but he knew Alessandra would be there. That Reynolds girl had mentioned something about getting a second chance and he felt as if it was a sign. He knew that he needed a start over and this could be his first step to true happiness.

During the long plane ride to Rio, he kept rehearsing what he was going to say to her, but nothing seemed to fit. Nothing he could say would make up for how sorry he felt for leaving such a horrible imprint on her life. Jack Jameson was responsible for ruining a lot of people’s lives, but this was the only situation in which he could never forgive himself for. He felt empty because of the lack of closure.

So here he was, finally getting a chance to speak to the lady who carried his child and encompassed so much pain inside. She looked more beautiful with age. With her long, light brown, way hair and the way she looked with that form-fitting crème colored dress on, all he wanted to do was throw her over his shoulder and make love to her as if time never passed between them.

But of course he couldn’t do that. Judging by the overwhelmed-with-emotion look she carried in her eyes, he knew that he’d have to take baby steps. And for the first time in a long time, he was willing to do that. So he put one foot in front of the other and began to amble across the room and towards the dance floor.

Alessandra began to back away slowly. Almost like she was scared of him. Before she could get away, Jack carefully wrapped his hand around her thin arm and pulled her close to him.

“I do not want to talk to you” were her first words to him. Fuck, he missed that sweet accented voice of hers.

Instead of walking away like the coward he wanted to be, Jack slid her hand into his and began moving their bodies along with the beat to the jazz music.  “You don’t have to, my angel, let me do the talking.”

“You’re not smooth, Jack. I am not the weak, brainless, little girl that you left all those years ago.”

“You were never weak. You were strong, stronger than I was and still am. And you weren’t brainless. You were intelligent and smart and perfect. It was me who was fucked up, not you. I didn’t mean to manipulate you and I know that there are not enough sorries in the world that will ever make up for the years of heartache I put you through…but…I just need to get this off of my chest.”

Alessandra, still refusing to make direct eye contact, wiped away a few tears. “I will not fall for this again…”

“Listen....” There was a long pause before Jack said the next part. “Te amo”

“Stop…” she whispered, immediately trying to squirm away from him.

He grabbed her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. Jack’s heart dropped when they came in contact with her mezmorizing steel gray eyes that he missed so very much. Dammit.

“Você é o amor da minha vida. I’ve been thinking about you everyday for the past twenty-three years. “

His thumbs wiped her tears away as she stared at him blankly. “You can’t do this to me” she cried. “Please, stop.”

“I’m not saying we have to get back together and forget about everything that happened, but I want you to know that I will fight for you until the day I die. Yes, Allie, I’ve made mistakes. I know that…but you have a pure heart and I know you are capable of forgiveness. You’re the only woman I will ever love…”

“Dad? Mom? Is everything alright over here?” Jason interrupted. A grin crept upon his face after saying those words. “Wow, I thought I’d never say that.”

That was Alessandra’s window to flee. She scuttled away as quickly as her little feet could go. Jack didn’t bother to run after her because he knew she needed time to get her thoughts together.

“Yes, son. Everything is perfect. Change is hard ya know…”

“Yeah, but it’s all worth it in the end.”

Keyshia

While sipping on a cold refreshing glass of sparkling white grape juice, I sat in amusement at the sight of the ladies attacking each other over the bouquet I had previously thrown behind my head. They were like wild animals over there. I could practically here them growling!

Lauran finally busted out of the crowd jumping up and screaming with the bouquet of roses tightly gripped in her hands. She had won and was obviously ecstatic about it. I veered my eyes over to her handsome plus one and beamed. She told me during my bachelorette party that she was in love with him and that he was her perfect man. Avery, that was his name, had a certain way he carried himself. I liked it. He was quiet, but every word he spoke was full of something meaningful. With his flawless dark brown skin, 6-foot stature, full lips, and slanted brown eyes, Avery could compete and easily win in a Lance Gross look-a-like contest. The man was gorgeous, but wasn’t too arrogant about it.

It warmed my heart to see Lauran happy like this and with someone who brought out the best in her. She was no longer the follower we knew her to be. She learned how to stand up for herself and have more confidence. Her and Avery have been living together in a nice apartment right outside of Harlem for a while. It’d be nice to see them get married someday.

“Girls are so vicious” Jason teased. He stood behind me with his arms wrapped tightly around my waist, gently caressing my growing bump.

I placed my free hand on top of his and continued to stare straightforward. “Well, sir…I say you get as many books you can and read up on how to deal with one because that’s exactly what we’re having.”

Jason swirled be around, making spill some of the juice and gave me a wide-eyed expression. “You found out?! Without me?!”

“Calm your tits, babe. It was supposed to be a surprise.”

“Well fuck. I’m more than surprised. I’m so happy.”

I laughed and put the glass down on the nearest table. “I can see…”

“Hey, what happened to your friend and her idiot brother?”

“Alicia?”

“Yeah.”

“I have no idea. Lauran mentioned something about how she moved back to North Carolina because she got fired from her job and her brother will no longer let her stay with him.”

“Talk about karma…”

“Right? I can’t wish anything bad on her though. What happens, happens…So what’s going on with your parents?”

“My dad has just realized that he’s not a good person and now he’s trying to get my mom back. It’s like a demon attempting to go on a date with an angel, ya know?”

“I’d really love to see how that plays out”

“Me too. Love is so crazy. It can make you forgive even the foulest type of person”