Seasons
Page 19
“Oh my God, Jason! What? I . . . I wasn’t expecting this. I don’t know what to say.”
“You say, ‘yes.’ And if you had gone with me to run my errands today, you would have had the privilege of picking out your engagement ring. Do you like this one? If not, we can exchange it.”
Jaci was still sitting with her mouth open. “It’s beautiful, honey. I couldn’t have made a more perfect choice.”
“Well, are you going to give me an answer or keep me in suspense?”
“Yes, I’ll marry you. But . . .” She hesitated, and her eyes filled with tears. “You’ll have to bear with me because I need plenty of time. As you well know, I have some trust issues and I don’t want to rush into anything that will ultimately make both of us miserable. In fact, I suggest we consider going through premarital counseling. We may find out we’re totally incompatible. And I want to make you happy, not sorry you married me.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen, but I agree, the counseling is a good idea,” said Jason. “But Jaci, understand this: We can’t wait too long, okay? I’m ready right now. If it was up to me, we would get married today.”
“Jason! See, there you go, didn’t we just agree to . . .”
“Okay, okay!” He held up his hands in surrender. “I’ll back off for now, as long as we agree not to wait too long. We’re not getting any younger and I want all the time I can get with you.”
Feeling uncertain about how she should respond, Jaci scrambled for something else to talk about. “Is Wynola a friend of yours?”
His look let her know he was aware of what she was doing, before answering. “More of an acquaintance. I’ve known her for years.” He didn’t mention how the woman had always flirted with him. “Why do you ask?”
“Well I saw her sitting at your table last night and I was just wondering.”
“She and Linda seem to know each other. That’s why she was sitting there.”
“She and Linda? Ooookay! That explains why I’ve been having such a hard time with Wynola lately.”
“What kind of hard time?”
Jaci relayed her ongoing problems with Wynola that had caused an uncomfortable working environment.
“What! And you don’t know what’s gotten into her?” Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. “I wasn’t paying much attention last night since my mind was on other things, but as I think about it, they were very chummy. I need to find out what the relationship is between them. Don’t worry about it, though, I know how to get her off your back. In any case, you won’t have to deal with it much longer. As soon as we’re married, you’re out of there.”
“Wait a minute! Who said anything about me quitting my job? That’s something we’ll have to talk about.”
“Well, I don’t want to talk about it now. I just want to enjoy this time with you. But we’ll see.” He had every intention of winning that particular argument. When the phone rang a few minutes later, they were so involved with each other that it caused them both to jump.
Maxie
Maxie impatiently waited as the telephone rang on the other end. He hoped Jacetta was home since it was the weekend, but he was prepared to hang up if the answering machine came on. He refused to leave any more messages. He was almost surprised when she answered.
“Jacetta? This is Maxie. What’s happening?” There was a long pause on the other end before she answered.
“Maxie, let me give you my daughter’s number. That way you won’t ever have to call here again.” She rattled off the number to him. “She knows you’ll probably be calling.”
“How’re you doing?” Maxie asked. “You can’t talk to a brother for a few minutes?”
“No I can’t, I’m busy,” she said before hanging up the phone.
Maxie wasn’t at all thrilled by her action and refused to accept it. He quickly redialed the number.
Again, he heard her intriguing voice say “Hello?” with a question in it. “Jacetta, Maxie again. You know, for the sake of our daughter, I was hoping things could at least be amiable between us. This continued hostility on your part is not helping anybody. Did George call and talk to you?”
Jaci took a deep breath before speaking, then decided she just couldn’t let it pass. “First of all, don’t insult me by saying things like ‘our daughter.’ You and I both know those words are not a true depiction. Secondly, what you’re calling hostility is really indifference. The hostility went out the window a long time ago. As a matter of fact, it happened on one of those days when I had to take on two more jobs just to make sure my daughter would have food, clothes, and a decent roof over her head. Let me be more specific. It was the day I stopped hoping and gave up on you somehow catching a little decency and maturity and realizing your obligation to a little baby girl you were partly responsible for bringing into this world. Don’t try to lay a guilt trip on me, mister. Because as far as I’m concerned, any guilt to be claimed is all yours. Thirdly, yes I did speak to my uncle. And since you’re too dense to know it, I’ve already given you much more than you deserve, and I meant it when I said there’s no need for you to call here again, Maxie. Like I said, I’m busy and I would appreciate it if you would adhere to my wishes.”
Maxie was quiet for a moment before continuing. “I don’t know what that is if it’s not hostility. That just let’s me know that we need to talk and clear the air between us. I was thinking that I could come down there one weekend so we could get together and . . .” He was still talking when he heard the dial tone in his ear. She had hung up again.
He slowly replaced the phone, fighting back what he recognized as anger. He’d heard a man’s voice in the background telling her to hang up. He was tempted to call back again, but figured it wouldn’t be wise. His determination stiffened. She was crazy if she thought he was going to go quietly away.
Jaci
Around two in the morning, long after Jason left, Jaci’s phone rang, dragging her out of a deep sleep. Her heart beat wildly as she picked it up, filled with dread and bracing herself for bad news. She knew a call at this time of night couldn’t be good. “Hello?” she answered in a sleepy, questioning voice.
A woman’s menacing voice came across the line. “Heifer, you must be real stupid! Or don’t you understand plain English?” Cold chills ran up Jaci’s spine as the woman continued. “Looks like I’ll have to do something else to let you know I’m not playing with you.” The woman paused for a second as if she expected a response, and when she didn’t get one she continued. “If you don’t leave J.P. alone, I’ll see to it that you’ll be very sorry.”
Jaci was still sitting up in bed holding the receiver long after the woman hung up. She knew when she finally laid the receiver back in the phone cradle that she wouldn’t get any more sleep. Who in the world could that have been? She searched her sleep-fogged mind for possible suspects. Maybe it was a wrong number, she thought, grasping for any explanation that would make sense. But no, the woman had mentioned J.P. She was definitely the target. She shivered, realizing this potentially dangerous person had threatened her.
After church the next day, she had lunch with Sister Sadie’s family, then checked on Randi and the baby, and finally went home and waited to hear from Jason. He called around four, and she told him about Linda’s threat at his office and the harassing call she had received.
“Why haven’t you told me about this before? Doggone it! Jaci, when are you going to realize you don’t have to handle everything by yourself?”
“Well, to be honest, when Linda said those things, I thought maybe she was just angry because you had just yelled at her for making me wait so long. And I was trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. I didn’t want to get her into trouble if it was just a passing thing. But after last night . . . well . . . I don’t know. I can’t be certain it was Linda, but I can’t think of anybody else it could be. What about you? Do you have some woman with a fatal attraction for you? If so, let me know so I can cut you loose right now.”
“No,” Jaci objected. “Don’t do that. Not until we know for sure it’s her. She could be innocent. And I’d hate to be the cause of her losing her job if she is.”
“We’ll see. In any case, I want to know if you get any more of those threats. Okay?”
J.P.
Thanksgiving Dinner
The Gilmore Family Thanksgiving dinner rotated from house to house each year, and now it was J.P.’s turn to host. It wasn’t a big deal because he had everything catered, with the exception of his mother’s and aunts’ stuffing and sweet potato and pecan pies.
Jaci reluctantly accepted his invitation to join his family for dinner. She hated the thought of meeting all of his family at one time, and she hated social affairs anyway, especially with people she didn’t know.
“Okay,” she told him unenthusiastically. “I’ll come, but I have to leave early.”
“Why don’t you invite Randi and her family? That way, we’ll all be together and you won’t have to leave.”
“No, they always go to John’s parents for most of the day, then come to visit me for a while.”
“And where do you usually go?”
“Sometimes I go to church, then spend the day by myself relaxing. And sometimes I hit several places where I’ve been invited. It just depends on how I feel.”
“That’s over,” he said, not liking the idea of her spending the holiday alone.
Jaci arrived on Thanksgiving Day with a beautiful floral arrangement for J.P.’s table. “You told me not to bring any food, but I wanted to bring something,” she explained.
“You didn’t have to bring anything but yourself,” he said hugging her tightly, pleased at her thoughtfulness. He knew the women in his family would be impressed.
Lots of people were already there. Several women bustled around in the kitchen, and, of course, the men and a few women sat in front of the big screen television watching a game.
Jason led her around the house, introducing her to everyone.
“Well, it’s about time!” a heavyset, nice-looking woman emphatically stated when they stepped into the kitchen. “I’m Cecelia Gilmore, this guy’s mother. He’s been in big trouble for not bringing you to meet me. I’m very happy to finally meet the woman who has made my son so happy.” She inspected Jaci appraisingly from head to toe, summing up everything about her in that comprehensive look. “We’ll have a talk sometime today. After all I’ve heard about you, it’s time I found out a few things myself.”
“Don’t look so scared,” her husband, Big Pat, said, coming over to hug her. “Her bark is worse than her bite.”
“And yours is not?” Jaci asked, remembering his proposal on J.P.’s behalf. They both laughed.
Jaci was still carrying the flowers. She handed them to Cecelia and asked, “May I help with anything? I’m not really a good kitchen hand, but I’d like to help if there’s anything you need me to do.”
“Don’t believe that, Mom!” J.P. said laughingly. “This woman can cook. Just ask Patrick. And you know what a picky eater he is.”
Cecelia accepted the flowers with a big smile. “These are beautiful. Thank you so much. I’ll just go put them on the table right now. And yes, you can help us get the food set out so everyone can serve themselves.”
Jaci
Jaci went to work helping Cecelia, glad to have something to do.
More people arrived, including a man with a cynical look on his face, whom Jason introduced as his brother, Ron. He, too, examined her in an assessing way, and Jaci could tell just by his eyes that he might try to start trouble with her.
They finally organized the food and got everyone seated at a table. Most of the older people sat around the large dining room table. The young adults staked out the kitchen area, and portable tables were set up in the family room for the children and those unwilling to leave the game on television.
They all ate heartily, and most of the massive amounts of food disappeared.
After the meal, Jaci wandered into the beautiful living room, which was decorated in white with gold and black accents. She stood admiring the black art in the form of framed paintings and sculptures, as well as the impressive white grand piano, sitting in a place of prominence, when she heard someone walk up behind her.
“What do you think? You like the decor in here?” Cecelia asked, looking at one of the pieces of art.
“Yes, I do. Although it’s rather cold and sterile,” Jaci answered.
“Well, I don’t like it. It’s too stark, not enough color, no plants or anything to make it homey. But what do I know? That professional decorator J.P. hired said it was perfect.”
“If you saw my house, you would know that I agree with you about the color. I like vibrant colors too. But I do like the clean uncluttered look in here. Probably, what you don’t like is that it looks more like a showroom than a living room.”
“Hmmm! You’re right. It does look more like a showroom than a room to be lived in. What say we sit down and put it to some use?” As both took a seat across from each other on the matching white sofas, she continued. “Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?”
Jaci felt like she was on trial. “Okay. Let’s see. I grew up in a small community known as Riverwood, Arkansas. I come from a very large family. After I graduated from college, I moved to Dallas, and later, here. I have a daughter whom I raised by myself, and two grandchildren. I work for the city in the Housing Compliance Department—been there over twenty years. For the last few months, I’ve had the opportunity to work part-time for Jason, doing some quality control work, and I love it. I’m a member of the Grace Community Church, where I sing in the choir and every once in a while get to teach a Sunday school class. I’ve been there almost as long as I’ve lived in Houston. And . . . let’s see . . . I think that about covers everything.”
“How long have you lived here in Houston?”
“Over twenty-two years.”
“And what made you decide to move here? Did you have family already here?”
“No, I didn’t. I moved here to take a job. But when it didn’t work out, I ended up working for the city. I hadn’t planned to be there long—just until I could find something better. But shortly after I started, the bottom fell out of the economy, and jobs became scarce, so I was glad to have it. After I had been there long enough to have a little seniority and get vested, it made sense to stick it out.”
“Mom! Are you in here interrogating Jaci?” J.P., followed by his dad, came into the room. His uncle Stanley didn’t lose any time following them. Then came Uncle Stan’s wife, Aunt Lucille.
“Oh Lord!” Jaci thought. “Now I’m really in for it.”
J.P. sat on the armrest of the sofa where Jaci was sitting, facing his parents. His aunt and uncle sat beside Jaci. Jaci felt Jason’s arm slide around her, pulling her close to him. She knew he was trying to show his support, but actually, all he did was make her feel more uncomfortable.
“Oh, so this is where everyone ran off to!” Patrick and one of the cousins came into the room with cameras. Patrick carried a video camera, and the cousin a digital camera. “Hold still and smile everybody,” the cousin said. “Just act natural everybody and keep talking,” Patrick added.
When the cousin (Jaci couldn’t remember his name) pointed the camera toward her and Jason, Patrick yelled, “Wait!” He hurriedly put the video camera down and ran to sit on the floor between Jaci and Jason, throwing his arms over their laps. Jason tightened his arm around her shoulders and leaned in even closer to her for the picture. “Will you move?” she said tersely after the picture was snapped.
“Nope!” he answered calmly.
She loo
ked around the room again and her eyes landed on the piano. “Who plays? Or is that just a showpiece?”
“Oh no,” his mother said. “J.P. plays, and plays well—both the piano and the organ. So does Patrick if you can ever get him to sit down and play.”
Jaci looked up at J.P. with surprise. “Well, I’ve found out something new about you today. I didn’t know you were a musician. I’m impressed.”
“I keep trying to tell you I have all kinds of talents. Just keep hanging around, you’ll see.”
Before she could respond to his bragging, his mother asked, “What about you, Jaci? Do you play?”
“Well, I like to try. But I don’t know if I could be called a musician. I love piano and organ music. Jason, you’ll have to play something for me sometime.”
“We’ll have to get ya’ll teamed up one of these days,” Aunt Lucille said. “Maybe at our next Family and Friends Day program at church.”
“Um. I don’t know about that,” Jaci replied, shaking her head. “I don’t know if I’m that good.” She looked at her watch. “Oh my, I’ll have to be leaving shortly so I can spend some time with my family. I’ll be happy to help get the kitchen in order before I leave though.”
Cecelia jumped up. “A girl after my own heart. Come on; let’s get to it. I’ll be ready for my nap pretty soon.”
They made quick work of putting leftovers in storage containers and cleaning up the kitchen. They were almost finished when Jason’s brother and a guy introduced as Walt strolled into the kitchen.
Uh! Oh! Jaci thought to herself. These guys are out for blood.
“Soooo! Jaci. Is that your name? Jaci?” Ron asked mockingly.
“Actually, my name is Jacetta. Jacetta Pauline Winters. It just got shortened over the years to Jaci. Anything else you want to know about my name?”