Mending the Soul

by Alexis Lauren

  "Ok guys, sit down. Looks like it's time for a little talk." Jenna said. The kids went and sat in front of Jenna and Nicholas, one on the love seat, one in the glider. "Ok, where do I start? Um…Nicholas and I have been spending a lot of time together, and over that time, we've developed these feelings for each other."

  "What Jenna is trying to say is that we are together. Jenna is my girlfriend and I'm her boyfriend. Does that make any sense?" Nicholas jumped in on the explanation.

  "Duh, we know what boyfriends and girlfriends are. We aren't four years old, daddy." Emma said rolling her eyes.

  "Do you guys have any questions for us?" Jenna asked.

  "Are you getting married?" Colby asked.

  "Um, well we haven't discussed it, but I love your mom very much. We aren't getting married right now, but we might in the future." Nicholas told him.

  "So when you get married, are you going to get rid of me and Emma? My friend Joey lived with his mom and when she got married, her mom gave him away." Colby said nervously.

  "What? No! Cole, I love you so much, I could never get rid of you. I love Emma too, just like Nicholas loves you. Neither of you are going anywhere! You'll be lucky if I let you move out and get married before your 30 years old." Jenna teased, ruffling his hair.

  "Mom, watch the 'do! Will you ever learn?" Colby said with an attitude, but a sweet smile spread across his face.

  Emma sat there quietly, not quite sure what to say. She had so many questions in her head, she was just afraid to ask them.

  "Emma, honey, what do you want to ask. You can ask us anything you want. No one will get mad, and no one will laugh at what you ask." Nicholas assured her.

  Emma hesitated. "Is Jenna going to be my new mom? And if she is, is she going to leave me too?"

  Jenna looked at Nicholas with sadness in her eyes, only to be matched by his. Tears started to form in Jenna's eyes as she looked back at the scared little girl. Jenna started to answer, but Nicholas put his hand on her arm to stop her.

  "Emma, come here." He said and patted to his knee. Emma slowly made her way over and sat in his lap. "Honey, your mom didn't leave you on purpose. She died in an accident and no one could control what happened. If she could, she would be here with you now, but God wanted your mommy to be with him. There are some things in life that we can't guarantee, but I know this for sure, Jenna will never leave you willingly, and neither will I. As for her being your new mom, that's something you will have to decide on, in time. If we get married, then you can choose whether to call her mom or not, but it's not something you need to worry about right now, ok?"

  Emma nodded her head and hugged her father. "I love you Daddy." She said as tears fell from her eyes. She looked over to Jenna and saw that Jenna was crying too. Emma hopped off Nicholas's lap and reached her arms around Jenna's neck and hugged her. "I think I'll call you Mom." She whispered in Jenna's ear.

  Jenna smiled through her tears and nodded, not able to speak at the moment, as she didn't trust her voice. When Emma let go of her neck, Jenna asked if the kids had any more questions. When they said no, Jenna told them that if they thought of any, they could ask whatever and whenever. "Now, who's ready for me to make some breakfast?" Jenna asked happily.

  "Me!" Both kids shouted in unison.

  "I have an even better idea. Let's go out for the breakfast buffet. It's been quite a morning, and I think I need to treat my three favorite people to some breakfast!" Nicholas told them. The kids jumped up and down, they loved going to the buffet because they had a cool play area there. "Ok, go get dressed and brush your teeth and we'll leave."

  Colby ran up the stairs like a shot and Emma ran out the back door to go to her house to change, leaving Nicholas and Jenna alone in the living room. "Well, that didn't go too horribly." Jenna said with a half-smile.

  "I think everything is going to work out just fine. Now, go get ready or else I'll drag you to the buffet in your pajamas!" Nicholas told her and smacked her ass lightly when she turned to leave.

  "Watch it mister. I have the ability to make your nights very lonely, don't forget." Jenna teased as she walked up the stairs. As soon as she was out of sight, Nicholas walked out the back door to go home and change himself and to help Emma get ready. He smiled the whole way.

  As Jenna took a quick shower and got ready to go to breakfast, the conversation with the kids played through her head again. Something stuck out in her mind, something that she was going to need to talk to Nicholas about as soon as she could get him alone again. She just hoped that he wouldn't freak out about it, and given his previous actions, she worried that he just might.

  *****

  After breakfast, and a stressful trip to the grocery store, the four were finally back at Jenna's house. Jenna and Nicholas sat down in the living room, trying to plan the details of the party taking place the next day. "Ok, we got all the food that we'll need for tomorrow as long as a million unexpected people don't show up, but now we need to call and invite everyone. Hopefully we won't have to make another trip to the store, two eight year olds and an immature man don't mix with the crowds that are there the day before a holiday!" Jenna said.

  "Hey, it's not our fault that people didn't appreciate us taking food that we needed out of their carts instead of us finding it on our own. People were just too grumpy today!" Nicholas said, trying to be serious. In the end, both him and Jenna ended up laughing as they relived some of the nastier reactions.

  "Ok, we need to get this done. No more goofing off until the business for the party is complete, got it?" Jenna tried to be stern. "Now, you call the people you want to invite and write down who's coming on this pad of paper. I'll use my cell phone to call the people I'm inviting and when we're done, we'll see how many can make it on such short notice. If I have to, I'll go back to the store, ALONE, to get more stuff."

  They made their calls and ended up with a pretty large list of people that planned on coming. Luckily, Jenna though she had enough food to feed everyone. Jenna looked over Nicholas's list, and all the people that were coming were people that she had met before. The only one she was nervous about was his mother. She knew that she needed to talk to him before they told his mother about their relationship, to bring up what happened this morning.

  "Hey Nicholas, remember our talk that we had with the kids this morning?" Jenna asked.

  "How could I forget?" He laughed.

  "Well, they brought something up, and I had no clue how to answer them and I wanted to know what you were thinking about it, and if it scared you." Jenna told him.

  "Oh, you mean the marriage question?" He asked.

  "How'd you know?" She looked at him in awe.

  "Well, it was pretty obvious you were kind of taken aback by it. I don't know what to tell you. You know that I love you, and you make me happy. I can't see my future without you in it, and that kind of makes marriage a logical step right? Not that I'm ready for that right now, and I don't think you are either, but I'm not exactly opposed to the idea for the future. Am I scared?…A little, but that feeling gets smaller and smaller each day I spend with you, and the scared feeling is replaced with the love I feel for you." He said honestly as he looked into her eyes.

  "Wow. What a change. Are you the same Nicholas Tiller?" She asked with a smile.

  "Nope. I've changed a lot. I feel like a whole new person!"

  "So if your mom corners us and asks that question tomorrow, I'm letting you field it since you do such a good job explaining it." Jenna said as she wrapped her arms around Nicholas and kissed his lips lightly. "Now, let's get cooking. We can make some of the stuff today so we don't have as much to do tomorrow. Now get on it, Tiller!"

  Nicholas smiled and pulled her in for another kiss, ignoring her work orders for the time being.

  *****

  Monday morning, Jenna woke again in Nicholas's arms. She looked up into his eyes, to find them open and looking right at her. "Wow, you're awake before me this morning. That's rare!" She teased.

>   "Well, I wanted to watch you sleep for a change. Besides, you told me that we had to be up early to get ready for the party. I can't help it if you're just lazy!" He joked.

  "You're right, I better get moving!" Jenna said and jumped out of bed. She had almost made a clean getaway before Nicholas grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to bed.

  "Not so fast. I haven't even gotten a good morning kiss yet. You aren't getting away that easily!" He told her before claiming her lips with his own.

  Just before things really started to heat up, Jenna pulled away. "You're just trying to side-track me. I have to get in the shower, and you need one too."

  "Well then let's save water and take one together." Nicholas suggested with a sly smile.

  Jenna looked at Nicholas while a million thoughts ran through her head. Yeah, it was probably a bad idea if they showered together, but they didn't end up having sex last night, so maybe shower sex wouldn't be so bad? Jenna walked over to her bedroom door and twisted the lock. She gripped the bottom of her nightgown and pulled it up over her head. She tossed it to Nicholas who was laying on the bed with his mouth hanging open in surprise. Jenna walked to the bathroom and turned the shower on, then went to her medicine cabinet and took out a condom. She laid it on the counter and said to Nicholas, "You have a present in here, just waiting to be opened."

  Jenna got into the shower and felt the water cascading over her body. As she looked out the glass panels of the shower stall, she saw a still stunned Nicholas walk into the bathroom and look on the counter. His body was ready for Jenna as soon as he saw his 'present', so he opened it up and sheathed himself before sliding into the shower next to Jenna.

  "I figured the shower will help to cover up the sounds of us making love, but we still need to be quiet." Jenna said as she wrapped her arms around Nicholas's neck. She jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, careful not to slam into him too hard to send them both flying out of the shower.

  Nicholas looked at her as her hips wiggled over him. "Are you ready already? No foreplay or anything?" He asked, not wanting to disappoint her.

  "I'm ready, just give it to me!" Jenna said, almost desperately.

  Nicholas did just as she had asked of him and he slid into her. He backed her up against the shower wall as he quickly drove her to the brink of her climax. After hers passed, Nicholas let his explode.

  "Sorry, I couldn't wait much longer." Nicholas said sheepishly.

  "Nicholas, that's what a quickie is all about." Jenna said with a smile. "It was perfect!" She told him as he put her down. She gave him a deep, sensuous kiss as she reached for the used condom to throw it out. When she got back into the shower, they took turns washing each other’s bodies, trying not to take too much time.

  After their shower, Nicholas ran over to his house to get dressed. Jenna got herself ready for the day, then went to get started in the kitchen. By the time Nicholas got back, the kids were up and eating bowls of cereal for breakfast. Jenna offered one to Nicholas, but he declined and helped her make the food for the party instead.

  A few short hours later, friends and family started to show up for the cookout. Colby was so excited to see that Mike Mussina was one of the first people there. He dragged him into the house to show him how cool his mom had decorated his bedroom, then he introduced him to his dog named 'Jeter'. Mike laughed at that one and couldn't wait to tease his buddy Derek about the dog that looked so much like him. Colby hung on Mike's every word, and didn't want to leave his side for anything. Mike ended up in the back yard with him and Emma, teaching them the basics of pitching.

  Nathan and Vanessa showed up shortly after, carrying dessert to share. They had offered to help with more than that, but after all their help in the past couple of weeks, Jenna told them that dessert was more than enough. Nathan and Vanessa were proud to see that their hard work had paid off and that Nicholas and Jenna were both happy again.

  Finally, Nicholas's mom, Mrs. Tiller arrived. Nicholas and Jenna were on the deck, grilling up the meat and chicken when they saw Emma run a blue streak across the lawn. She shouted "Grandma! Grandma! Guess what! Daddy's got a new girlfriend and she's going to be my new mom!" Nicholas and Jenna looked at each other with wide eyes and shot down the deck. When they got there, it was worse than they thought. Not only was Nicholas's mother standing there, but Leslie's mother had walked up also.

  "Nicholas, what's going on?" Mrs. Tiller asked.

  "Mom! Nice to see you!" He hugged her. He turned to Leslie's mom and said, "Linda, nice to see you again. It's been a while."

  "Linda called me up and asked what I was doing today and I invited her to come along. I didn't think you'd mind." Mrs. Tiller said, not quite sure what to make of the situation yet.

  Emma got done hugging both her grandmas and went to stand between Nicholas and Jenna, holding one of each of their hands. "Both my grandmas are here, isn't that so cool?" She asked.

  "Of course we don't mind if you asked Linda to come along." Nicholas said and gave her an awkward hug. He turned to Jenna who was feeling very self-conscious around the two older women sizing her up. She didn't know who Linda was, but from what Emma had just said, she had a pretty good idea. "Jenna, you know my mom." The two women said hi to each other. Nicholas went on and introduced her to the other woman, "And this is Linda Childs, Leslie's mother."

  Jenna gulped. It was just as she had thought. "Nice to meet you. Can I get you ladies something to drink?"

  "Nice to meet you too." Linda said, without any sincerity. "I don't think I'll be staying long, so I'm fine without anything to drink."

  "Now Nicholas, what is this nonsense that Emma is sprouting?" Mrs. Tiller asked.

  "Emma, why don't you go play with Colby for a little while." Nicholas told her. When Emma started to protest, Nicholas gave her a look that said not to disobey him. After she left, Nicholas turned back to his mother. "I think Emma is getting a little ahead of herself, but yes, Jenna and I are in a relationship."

  Linda's jaw dropped. "How dare you cheat on my daughter?"

  "With all due respect Linda, Leslie isn't ever coming back. She died almost three years ago, and I think it's time I moved on with my life." Nicholas told her, trying to remain calm.

  "Her grave is barely cold and you move on? I thought you were better than that Nicholas!" Linda cried.

  "Linda, it's been almost three years. Don't you think I deserve a life too? Just because Leslie's is gone doesn't mean I should stop living. I'm still here. I need to be happy with the life I have now." Nicholas said.

  "You should be ashamed of yourself! And you!" Linda turned to Jenna. "What do you do, just go around looking to prey on young widowers? Have you no shame?"

  Nicholas grabbed Jenna's hand and looked at her as her eyes started to gloss over with tears. "Now wait a minute! You are out of line Linda. First of all, I won't have you disrespecting Jenna at her own house. Second, she didn't 'prey' on me. She became my friend when I needed one most, and I fell in love with her. I'm sorry if you don't understand that, but that's how it is. If you don't like it, you can leave."

  "Well, you've finally said something that made sense. I think I will leave. Just know that I'm no through with you yet! Good day!" Linda said and turned around and walked out.

  Nicholas turned to his mom. "I'm sorry you had to find out like this. But, yes, Jenna and I are together now and I hope you can accept it."

  "We'll talk about it later. Right now I need to try to calm Linda down." Mrs. Tiller said and followed Leslie's mother out of the back yard.

  "Well, that went smashingly, didn't it?" Jenna asked sarcastically, pale as a ghost.

  "Jenna, I don't care what Linda thinks. All that matters is that you and I are happy with what we have. My mom will be ok. I think she's just in shock right now, especially with the way Emma told her about us. We really should have done it in private, not at a cookout. I realize that now." Nicholas said. He pulled her into his arms and held her tight. He kissed the top of her head, then ba
cked up to look into her eyes. "I love you. That's all that matters!"

  "I love you too." She said with a sad smile.

  "Good, now let's party. Who needs the old people anyways!" He said with a laugh.

  Nicholas dragged Jenna back up to the grill and took over for Nathan and Vanessa who had filled the vacancy when the grandmas showed up. Vanessa put her arm around Jenna's shoulders and blew a raspberry on her cheek. Jenna laughed and returned the gesture. After that, Jenna's mood lightened and everyone had a great time.

  Chapter 20 Talk with Mom

  After the last guest from the cookout had left, Jenna and Nicholas looked at each other with a sigh of relief that it was finally over. They looked around Jenna's backyard to see how much of a mess they were going to have to clean up before they could call it a night.

  "Well, it's not really too bad. I think that placing all the trash cans around the yard helped to keep it cleaner." Jenna said optimistically. "Good idea Nicholas. I knew I kept you around for some reason!"

  "Hey, I'm not just another pretty face, I'll have you know!" Nicholas teased back.

  "You got that right!" Jenna joked.

  "I'm wounded! That hurt, that hurt deep!" Nicholas cried as if he was in pain, with his hand clenched over his chest.

  "I'm sure you'll get over it. Now, shouldn't you be cleaning or something?" Jenna laughed.

  The clean-up went fast, giving Jenna and Nicholas some time to sit on the deck before they parted ways. The kids were already asleep, each at their own house, as it was a work night for Jenna and Nicholas. They had agreed that the only sleepovers would be on the weekends, when none of them had school or work the next day.

  As they sat enjoying their remaining time together, cuddling on the porch swing, Jenna heard a noise on the side of the house. "Nicholas, I think someone is over there." She whispered nervously.

  Nicholas got up from the swing quietly to see what the noise was. As he rounded the corner of the house, he saw someone walking towards the street. "Can I help you?" He called out. The figure stopped and turned around, giving Nicholas a view of their face. "Mom?"