by V. M. Holk
I give her a weak smile and shake her hand, "Thanks." Congratulations, is probably not the word I would use for this.
"Your welcome, if you have any questions give me a call."
I nod my head, still stunned by everything and get up to leave. I watch my lawyer leave the courtroom. I walk into the hallway, someone grabs my arm. I turn to see Kyle.
"Can I talk to you for a minute. Please."
"What do you want?"
"I wanted to apologize for Tessa. It was never planned, you know. I never thought we would end up this way."
"You don't have to apologize to me. You obviously had a back up plan for our marriage. We are done, you can do what ever you want, your a big boy!"
I am so mad, I can't see straight. He looks at me hurt and walks away shaking his head. I can't believe that he thinks that if he apologizes, everything is ok. I don't want to fight with him, especially because of the girls. But the wound is to fresh and an apology won't fix that.
I walk out to my car, and my stomach is churning. When I get to my car, I am feeling sick. I hurry to the lawn and empty what little I have in my stomach. Once in the car, I drink some cold coffee to get the taste out of my mouth. I do feel better, but decide to go home and take a nap before tonight.
Chapter 15
I sit on the couch, waiting for Jaylah to pick me up. I'm still numb from the morning events, yet glad that it is over. I am hoping that after tonight, I can finally move on with my life. I want to enjoy my girls, because they will grow up fast. I will put the rest of my focus into Sweet Pleasures. I hear my phone go off that I a text.
Jaylah 6:02pm
i'm here, mama.....get ur ass down here
Anne 6:03pm
be there in a sec
I take a deep breath, grab my overnight bag and head downstairs. I really need this night, I plan to drink my saddness away. At least I will have some peace, for a night.
~~~
We walk into the restaurant, every one is already there. I hear Lynette before I see her, which makes me smile. Once we reach the back, I see our group. I stop in my tracks, I can't believe how many of my friends showed up for this. My eyes water with emotion, I am a lucky person.
I look around and see Sue at the end sitting with Josie. Seeing Sue reminds me of Wyatt. That is someone else I didn't need to be thinking about tonight. Lynette jumps up from her seat, runs to me and give me a huge hug.
"Hey cuz, how are ya?"
I feel everyone's eyes on me. I take a deep breath and with my eyes closed, "I have been better." I sigh, open my eyes and look around the table.
"Let's get this girl drunk, ladies!!" Lynette yells, with a huge smile on her face.
"Thanks guys, I don't know what I would do without all of you."
Jaylah nudges me to sit. I watch her walk to the bar and order a round of shots. Everyone is looking over at me, I am not sure what to say.
"Okay, bitches. Lets get this party started." Jaylah yells for everyone to hear. She raises her shot and everyone follows her lead. "To Anne!"
"To Anne!" everyone says together.
I smile at all my friends and down my shot.
~~~
Wyatt
When Sue told me she was going out tonight to celebrate Anne's divorce, I did a double take. I knew they knew each other, but I didn't think they were that close. She explained that they were really good friends in high school, but not as close after. Sue is best friends with Anne's cousin, Lynette. She is the one that put this night together with Jaylah, so that is how she was invited.
Sue and I still get together at least once a week. But I think she can feel that we aren't right for each other. We are having fun with each other and filling that lonely void in our lives. It's still not a comforting feeling at the end of the night.
I decide I can't sit home tonight thinking about my relationship with Sue. Plus, knowing that she is out with Anne, will make me crazy. Her divorce is final now, which brings up other thoughts I don't want to deal with right now. I think about her to much as it is.
I give my friend, Joe a call and he is having some guys over to play poker. I am thankful that he tells me to come join them. Being new to town, he is one of the few guys I have friended since I moved here. Most of the people in this town all grew up together, they don't let outsiders in very easily. It's hard feeling like an outsider, when I had so many friends back home. But it helps when you are trying to start over.
Being around new people, means you don't have to talk about the past. They don't know Lynn and our history, so they aren't trying to cheer me up. I know my friends back home meant well, but a guy can only take so much. They were looking out for me, but I couldn't take it anymore. That's when I decided to move.
I'm still not sure how I decided on moving to Richmond. I was looking at a map one day and came across it. I looked it up on the internet and researched job openings in the area. I went on the local papers website, that's when I came across the opening at Tom's. I called him and set up an interview.
Without telling anyone what I was doing, I drove down for the day. Tom and I hit off right away, he is a great guy. After having me change out a starter, to make sure I knew what I was doing. He offered me the job and said I could start as soon as possible.
Tom had told me about the house Mr. Nolan had for rent. Before I left the shop, Tom had called him and set-up for us to meet at the house. Once I had directions, I went and met him. Things fell into place so neatly, it was meant for me to move here.
I shake myself from my thoughts and get ready to go. I decided on the way to Joe's I would stop and pick up a case of beer and snacks. I am hoping this will be enough of a distraction from my thoughts. At least for one night.
~~~
Anne
Ever since we got to Chap's, my hand hasn't been without a drink. As soon as I finish one, someone is handing me another. We have done shots a couple of times together as well. I am definately feeling the calmness, that alcohol provides.
I was thankful at dinner that no one suggested the Buffalo Bar. I don't think I can go there for awhile. Chap's is another local bar, my cousin Lynette, loves to go here. She use to date the owner Mike, back in high school. Lynette loves her husband Steve, but she likes to flirt as well. It's harmless, playful flirting and she can do that with Mike. She started dating Steve in high school, after Mike. They have one of the strongest marriages I have ever seen.
Jaylah grabs my arm as Lynette takes the drink from my hand. They both drag me out to the dance floor. We are having so much fun out there and I haven't thought about my troubles since we got here. One song ends and another begins, we all keep dancing.
I step off the dance floor to get a glass of water, to quench my thirst. I walk past the stage to the ladies room and stop in my tracks. Is that who I think it is? He looks at me and gets a sneer on his face. I fill with such anger, I can't believe this asshole is here.
I look behind me and scan the dance floor. Thank god, Jaylah is dancing with Sue and Lynette to one of her favorite songs, "Tootsie Roll." She isn't looking in my direction and seen who has walked in.
I feel myself sober up some and walk up to Ben. "What the FUCK do you think you are doing here, asshole!"
He actually has the audacity to look offended. "Why Anne, why so hostile?"
"Don't play stupid with me. You are NOT allowed to be anywhere near Jay and you FUCKING know it!"
He smiles at me, it actually looks evil. I shiver at the mere look of him. I want to slap him across the face, my hand actually itches. I wipe it on my pants to keep from doing it.
"I wanted to say hello to my Jaylah," he smirks.
"She is NOT your Jaylah, anymore."
"tsk, tsk... I heard your divorce is final," he chuckles at my surprised expression.
"How...I mean, that's none of your business."
"All I wanted to do was make sure you are okay," he sneers at me.
I am sick to my stomach, how the hell did he know
about my divorce. I have to get rid of him before Jaylah sees him.
"Ben, if you don't leave right now I will call the police," I say unsure of myself. How can he have such an affect on me.
He simply smiles at me for a moment. "Now Anne, no need for that. Tell my love I miss her and that I am always here."
He turns around and leaves out the back door. I look back at the dance floor, Jaylah is still dancing her heart out. I am so thankful she didn't see Ben. I run into the bathroom, and empty my stomach, for the second time in one day.
When I get back to our table, Jaylah looks over at me with a concerned look. "Hey are you ok? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Yeah, I'm fine. I got sick in the bathroom, that's all."
She looks at me, not sure if she believes me. I look away not wanting to give anything away. I look over to our friends and smile.
"I'm ready for another shot." I yell to the bartender.
I am hoping that I can drown away what happened. I look down at my hands and they are shaking. I rub them against my pants to get them to stop. I am hoping nobody else notices how shakin I am.
~~~
My head is pounding, I slowly turn over. Oh man what a night we had. After seeing Ben, it was a buzz kill for me. I still can't believe he showed up there. I don't know how he knew about me and that we were there. I am thankful that Jaylah wasn't with me. She doesn't need this shit from Ben. She has enough on her plates with her parents.
When I got back to our table, we all did some shots, then more shots. I am so thankful that Jaylah didn't question me anymore about what was bothering me. I figure she thought it was about Kyle and our divorce, at least that's what I hope.
We drank and danced all night, I didn't want it to end. I haven't had that much fun since we all were in high school. We use to have the best parties back then, with no worries.
Steve ended up picking all of us up. We all poured into their mini-van and talked him into taking us out for breakfast. The poor guy was stuck with us women, at the Coney Island. Actually, I don't think Steve minded so much. We were there for over an hour and enjoyed our end to the evening. We walked in to the house at around 5am, it was a long fun night.
I have no idea what time it is now, but I really don't want to get up. If I didn't have to use the bathroom so bad, I wouldn't. I do my business and decide I need to make coffee, then take some tylenol. I look at the clock in the kitchen to see that it's one in the afternoon. Well at least I got sleep, but I don't feel like I got much.
I hear Jaylah walking around upstairs in her room. I wonder how she feels, she drank more than me. She can handle her alcohol better than I can, but still we drank alot.
I decide to make some toast, while I wait for coffee. I hear Jaylah coming down the stairs and she walks in the kitchen.
"Mmmm, you are a god send. The coffee smell woke me up. How are you feeling?"
"I have a headache, but its getting better. How about you?"
She looks at me and smiles, "I'm ok. I drank two large glasses of water and took tylenol, before I went to bed."
I smile back, as I mentally kick myself for not doing the same. "I should of done that, too. Oh well, what's a girl to do."
We laugh together. I butter my toast and make a cup of coffee, then sit at the kitchen table. As I am eating, Jaylah makes the same for herself. When she is done, she comes and sits next to me. We eat in silence.
"SO, do you think your dad can drive us to Chap's to pick up my car?"
"I'm sure he can. He works until two on Saturdays. I will give him a quick call."
She nods and takes a drink of her coffee. I can see she is thinking of other things, but I decide better on pushing the subject. One thing about Jaylah, she opens up when she is ready to, most of the time. I know when its something big and can always get her to spill. But I can tell it's her going over something in her head and I let her be.
I get up and go into the living room to grab my cell phone. Once I find it in my purse, I call my dad.
Chapter 16
Today is the start of the yearly "Richmond Winterfest" it helps to bring more business into our town. The theme this year is pirate's, so we decided on having an ice sculpture done of a treasure chest full of sweet goodies. They always hold it the second weekend of February, which helps with Valentine's sales as well. People that don't usually come in, get to see all of our sweets, especially the ones we only have for Valentine's day.
We have a table set up for our dollar hot chocolate. The kids love to make their own, and we leave a jar out for money. We are really busy, making parents their coffee and sweet orders.
I run in the back to get more cups for our hot chocolate table, when Shannon runs to me. Kyle took the girls this weekend, because of how busy we are at the shop.
"Hi honey, where is your sister?" Katie walks in, as I ask. She smiles at me and gives me a hug. "Are you guys having fun?" I ask them both.
They nod their head, "Yeah we are mom, we know you are busy. We asked daddy, if we could come say hello." Katie says.
"Well go get a cup of hot chocolate and have fun. Love you, girls." I give them both a quick kiss and head to the front with them.
I see Jaylah and Amanda working behind the counter, filling orders. We also have the two weekend girls, Kayla and Julia working today. I hand Kayla, the coffee cups to put at the hot chocolate station. As I walk behind the counter, I glance out the window. I see the girls, with Kyle, talking and laughing. As I start to turn, I get a glimpse of Tessa, wrapping her arm around Kyle's middle. She looks through the window and gives me a smirk.
"What a bitch! I swear if we weren't so busy, I would wipe that fucking smirk off her face!" Jaylah says behind me.
I turn to Jaylah and laugh, "God I love you." I am surprisingly not as upset as I thought I should be.
"I know you do, darlin'" she says. We both get back to our busy day.
~~~
Wyatt
Sue called me this morning, she invited me to go walk around town with her. It's Richmond's annual "Ice Festival," along with a Chili Cook-Off. Chili is one of my favorite food groups, so I am looking forward to that.
Sue and I haven't been spending much time together, yet we always seem to know when one of us is feeling lonely. I have been really depressed lately. I always have problems this time of year. Lynn and I got married on Valentine's Day. Yeah it was corny, but at the time it was sweet.
I meet Sue at the Chili Cook-Off, this afternoon. She walks up to my truck with a huge smile on her face.
"Hey stud, how are ya?" she asks.
"Not bad, how you been doing?" I smile back at her.
"Not to bad either, been working my ass off."
She wraps her arm in mine and we walk in to try out the chili's. Once we paid our money, we went and checked out all the chili's. I had no idea they would have this many to try. I like my chili spicy, so I grab the spicy ones to start off with.
Once we find a seat, I start to eat and look around. I recognize alot of faces, because of working at the shop. That's when Tom sees us, waves and walks over.
"Well, hello Wyatt, Sue."
"Hi, Tom." I reply.
"Hi, Mr. Bowman. How are you?" Sue replies.
"I'm good. Well you kids have fun." Tom says, as he looks at Sue, then me.
"See you Monday, Tom."
Man, why do I feel guilty about being with Sue. The way Tom looked at us, made me feel like I was doing something wrong. In a lot of ways Tom reminds me of my dad. Thinking of him, makes me miss home. I shake myself from my thoughts, I need to stop feeling sorry for myself. I continue eating my chili and vote on my favorites. When we are done, we decide to leave our vehicles here and walk.
We walk around town to see all the ice sculptures, in front of the businesses. The sun is shining, but it's still really cold. I can see "Sweet Pleasures," coming up, I get excited at the idea of seeing Anne. I meantly shake myself, I don't understand why I get like this when it comes to Anne.<
br />
"Want some coffee?" Sue says, as she nudges me.
"That sounds great. But can you run in and grab it for us?"
"Sure," she replies with a confused look on her face.
I know I am acting strange, but I don't want to see Anne right now. I already think about her way to much, plus I don't want to see all the Valentine stuff. I stand outside and wait for Sue to grab our coffee's. I knew I shouldn't even look through the window, but I can't help myself. There she is. God, she is beautiful, but she doesn't look very happy. I heard Tom tell Rick that her divorce was final. I'm sure that's why she looks unhappy.
~~~
Anne
I turn around at the sound of the bell and see Sue walk up to the counter.
"Hello Sue, how are you?"
"I'm pretty good. How are you holding up?"
"I've been better, but I'm glad it's over. What can I get you?"
She gives me her order and I wonder if she is with Wyatt. I look out the window and there he is. He is pacing back and forth, he doesn't look happy. I hope that everything is ok, my dad hasn't said anything was wrong with him. Dad really likes Wyatt and I get constant updates on his life. I busy myself with making their coffees and figure I will hear sooner or later if something is wrong.
"Here you go Sue. Tell Wyatt I said hello, okay?"
"Sure, Anne. Thanks."
I'm not sure what that look was that she gave me, I can't worry about it. It's been a bad day and I want it over. I only have a couple more hours, then I can call it a day. I plan on going upstairs, put on my pajamas, put in a movie with some wine. Jaylah has been trying so hard to cheer me up lately, it hasn't worked. She is the best, but I need some time to myself, to work through my feelings.
~~~
It's been getting better everyday. I know that sounds cliche', but its the truth. I am thankful, that this is our busy time of year at the shop. Valentine's is the holiday of sweets, I use to always love it. But this year, I am only going through the motions. I am not feeling all the love, now I know how single people feel. I use to feel sorry for them, not understanding what their problem was.