"Alright, give me a minute to find her." With a small click, she was placed on hold. A couple of minutes later, he was back. "Lola?"
"Yeah?"
"She wants to speak to you." There was some rustling as Derek handed the phone over and I watched as Lola physically braced herself in case her mom was having an episode and decided to be mean.
"Lola? Is that really you?" Cindy Morelia asked, sounding almost happy to hear her daughter's voice.
"Hey, Mom. It's really me. I wanted to talk to you about something. It’s kind of… serious, in a good way. I wanted to tell you myself, before someone else does."
"Is everything okay? How are things with Alpo? I just got your letter this morning… I’m so happy you two are together!"
"Things are good. We've been seeing each other for a few weeks now. I just want you to be the first to know… that I'm pregnant."
"What?! Oh my gosh, I'm so happy!" Cindy let out a holler. "I'm going to be a grandma!"
"You're pregnant?" A voice from the doorway startled us both and we turned around to see Alpo standing there, his eyes widened in shock. Lola gulped next to me.
"Um… Mom, tell Derek I'll call you back in a little bit. Alpo's here."
"Okay, I will. Thank you for calling me. I love you, my daughter."
"I love you too, Mom." With a click, they hung up.
Lola turned slowly back to Alpo, who still looked shocked. His mouth was slightly gaped open and he kept looking from her to her stomach. I rose from the bed, giving Lola one last squeeze on her shoulder.
“I’ll give you two some privacy.”
“No, Jade. Please stay.” Lola grabbed my hand before I could move further away. She took a deep breath as I sat back down, turning to Alpo.
"I was going to tell you, but I didn't know how. Every time I tried to tell you, I either couldn’t get the words out or something came up. Especially with everything going on with Paul and Jade, I couldn’t say anything. Then I was scared you were going to leave..."
Alpo had walked over to Lola while she was babbling and kissed her deeply, promptly shutting her up. He pulled her close to his body and she clung to him when he broke it off.
"I'm not going anywhere. I promise," he said, resting his forehead against hers. She closed her eyes and smiled. "We're really having a baby?"
"Yeah," Lola looked up to meet Alpo's gaze.
"Well then, let's go tell the others!"
The three of us made our way back down the stairs to the kitchen, Alpo beaming proudly as he slung his arm around Lola’s shoulders. Everyone looked up when we walked in, the room falling silent as they noticed the huge grin on Alpo's face.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention please. Thank you," Alpo said, trying to act formal and failing miserably. "I have something very important to announce. Lola and I are having a baby!"
The room immediately erupted into cheers, and Lola was instantly engulfed by Skylar, who was the closest to her; I wrapped both of them into a hug, tears sliding down our faces as we congratulated Lola. Paul clapped Alpo on the back and Clara was also wiping away tears from her eyes as she embraced the pair. Shouts of congratulations rang throughout the room. Alpo grinned at the love and support, and motioned for everyone to quiet down.
"This certainly wasn't planned to go this way, but now is as good of a time as any," he said before getting down on one knee and pulling a box out of his pocket. He opened it up, revealing a diamond ring. "Lola Morelia, will you marry me?"
"Yes, of course," she said, smiling, and crying as he slid the ring onto her finger. He stood up and kissed her as we burst into a new round of applause and cheering.
"Now there are two weddings to be planned!" Clara clapped happily. Everyone laughed.
Lola held onto her new fiancé, radiating in the happy glow that surrounded her. As everyone went back to eating their dinner, I caught Lola’s eye and she mouthed thank you; I gave her a warm smile in return and the conversation turned to baby names and weird childhood stories. As Paul was explaining a bizarre beach accident from when his dad was still alive, a sharp knock on the front door was faintly heard and Clara excused herself to answer. She came back and smiled at Lola, when another woman appeared beside her. Lola jumped out of her chair, her audible gasp halting conversations in their place as she squealed.
"Mom!"
CHAPTER 13: MISSING PUZZLE PIECE
"Mom!"
Lola stood there, staring at the older woman in disbelief. I couldn’t believe how much Lola looked exactly like her mom, with the same blue grey eyes and black curly hair; it was like looking into a mirror, despite the obvious twenty-something years age difference. The woman smiled brightly and threw up her arms, her raspy jazz singer-like voice ringing through the air.
"Surprise!"
"But how... You were just... I only called less than a half hour ago? How is this possible?" Lola looked confused but clearly happy to see her mother in the flesh.
"I was going to tell you before someone interrupted," she teasingly pouted at Alpo, who bowed his head guiltily as he flashed a sheepish smirk in her direction. "Today was my last day! You called right as I was getting ready to get checked out. I made Derek promise he wouldn’t breathe a word about it to you if you called before I was released."
Lola ran over and hugged her mom, fresh sobs ransacking her body. The sight made me miss my own mother and I hugged Ava tightly, kissing her hair. The woman noticed us over Lola’s shoulder when Paul wrapped his arm around us and kissed the top of my head. She looked at me, her eyebrows wrinkling in confusion.
"Who's this?" She asked Lola, nodding toward us. Lola looked over and smiled, before pulling her over to make introductions.
"Mom, this is Jade, Paul's fiancée. And this is their four-year-old daughter, Ava. Jade, this is my mom, Cindy Morelia."
"Pleased to meet you, Ms. Morelia," I said, shifting Ava to one hip and extended a hand outward to her. She shook it gracefully.
"Pleased to meet you too, Jade. Please, call me Cindy. Your daughter is very beautiful, I can see where she gets her looks from."
"Thank you," I beamed. She turned to Paul and hugged him.
"It's been a long time since I've seen you!" She took a step back to look at him. "You've grown so much since high school."
"Just a couple of inches," he chuckled. "You look good, Cindy."
"Prison's been good to me. They knew I was set up," Cindy shrugged. "Not that it matters anymore. I did the time and I heard karma bit a certain someone in the butt. He was scheduled to go in as I was being released."
"Really? Dad's in prison?" Lola asked, sounding surprised.
"For fraud charges pertaining to his company," Cindy replied, waving her hands in the air for dramatic effort. "Turns out I'm not the first person he tried to screw over. He’s just lucky they made sure I was out first before processing him. I probably would’ve gotten more time for punching him in the face."
"Huh. Never thought I'd see the day where Dad got busted. It's about time... I’m just glad you’re not in there anymore," Lola said, giving her mom another hug.
"Well, I guess this calls for a celebration," Leo said, bringing out a bottle of sweet red wine and a bottle of sparkling grape juice for Lola and Ava. "A toast to new beginnings, new families, and happy lives!"
Everyone grabbed a glass and the clinking was followed by laughter and happy conversations. I excused myself from the celebration to give Ava a bath before her bedtime. As I was helping her wash her hair, Lola knocked on the door.
“My mom and Clara are planning a girl's day tomorrow. Spa, shopping, lunch, the works. Do you want to come? You can bring Ava, or you can leave her with Paul and spend some time away for yourself.”
"Sure, I'll come. It might be good for Paul and Ava to have a bonding day without me around."
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then. My mom and I are going to set up a room for her in the south wing." With a genuinely bright smile, she disappeared from sight
.
I finished Ava's bath and got her dressed for bed, letting her choose her favorite fuzzy pajamas. Tucking her in, I quietly left the room, shutting the door softly. I turned around and almost ran into Paul, stumbling as I lost my footing. He caught me before I fell over, his arms tightening around my waist.
"Where's the fire?" He laughed.
"Sh. I just got her to fall asleep." I playfully pushed him away from the door.
"Good, now we can have some alone time. Want to watch a movie?"
"Yeah, that sounds good." We went to our room and I changed into my pajamas while he picked out a movie. Climbing into bed, I raised my eyebrows when I saw his movie choice.
"What?" He looked at me.
"You want to watch The Phantom of the Opera?"
“Well, yeah. Why not?”
“Because you don’t care for the story. Or the fact that it’s a musical.”
"It's your favorite movie." He looked at me and shrugged, flashing me a smile. “You already know I’ll do whatever it is, including watching a cheesy musical, as long as it means I get to spend time with you.”
"Okay, I can't argue with that.” I giggled, patting the empty space beside me. “Come here already."
He got into bed and I snuggled up to his chest. Halfway through the movie, I was starting to fall asleep, the day’s exhaustion finally sneaking up on me. Paul must have realized that too, because he pulled the blanket tighter around me and kissed my forehead.
"Sweet dreams, baby girl. I love you."
With that declaration softly in my ear, I let myself completely fall asleep, surrounded by warmth, darkness, and the Phantom’s voice singing about surrendering to dark desires.
"You sure you're okay with this?" I asked for what seemed like the millionth time this morning as I double checked my bag, making sure I had put everything in it that I needed.
"I'm sure I can watch our daughter for a few hours while you go out with my mom and the girls," Paul said, rolling his eyes, and laughing at my disheveled state of mind. "Go enjoy yourself and don't worry about us."
"Okay," I hesitated, looking around to see if I missed anything.
"You have everything you need. Go," Paul shooed me out of the room. I laughed and went to say goodbye to Ava, who was playing tea party with her stuffed animals in her bedroom.
"You be a good girl for Daddy, and I'll bring home a surprise just for you," I kissed her cheek and gave her a big hug. "I'll be back in a little bit."
"Okay," Ava smiled before going back to her toys. I kissed Paul goodbye and went to meet Clara and the girls in the foyer.
At Clara’s insistence, Leo had one of the limos cleaned up and waiting for us outside, the driver standing by the door with a warm smile on his face. Clara had said the limo would be more convenient with all the room so the shopping bags wouldn't squish us. The first thing we did on our girls’ day trip was go to the spa and get full body massages. Then we got manicures and pedicures before we headed to the outlet malls. While we were out shopping at a boutique that Clara swore by, I found a coral pink dress that was in my size. It was beautiful, with the sweetheart neckline and true to form shape.
"You should get that," Sky said, holding up a pale blue dress to her body. "You'd look amazing in it."
"It is beautiful," I sighed, feeling the material. Then I looked at the price tag and gulped. "But there's no way I could afford it."
"Oh Jade, that's perfect for you!" Lola exclaimed making her way over to us. "You should get it!"
"I can't afford that. But it is a pretty color." I shrugged and started to look for something else.
"I'll be back," Lola disappeared among the racks of clothes, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor. When I spotted her a few moments later, she was talking to Clara and Cindy on the other side of the boutique. Both women nodded at what she said and they immediately came over to Sky and I.
"Okay girls, no arguing with Mama Clara. As of right now, we are going to give you two a wardrobe makeover," Clara turned toward me. "Think of it as making up for the birthdays and Christmases we missed."
Sky looked pretty excited and I couldn't help but feel kind of excited too. The last time I got something new was before I had Ava. Most of her clothes are new and I usually just go to the thrift shops for me. Clara took me one way and Cindy took Sky another. Lola switched between the two to give advice and help pick out clothes. Among my cart was the coral pink dress and matching heels.
By the time we were done, I was exhausted. I briefly wondered how I was going to fit everything into the closet, but mentally shook my head. I would worry about that when I get home. As the cashier was ringing up the items, an Olaf bean bag chair displayed off to the side of the register caught my eye. A light bulb clicked in my head for Ava’s surprise; I smiled and immediately headed over to the shelf to grab one. Clara chuckled when she saw it and motioned for me to put it with the clothes.
"Don't worry," she said when I began to protest that she was already spending a lot of money on Skylar and I. "It's nice to have some girls to spoil now."
When we got back home, Clara had some of the men help us take the bags in. I held tightly onto the bag that had Ava's surprise and another little pink bag that I had bought myself. Making sure Paul wasn't in our bedroom, I quickly stashed the pink bag in one of the cabinets in the bathroom. I knew he wouldn't look because it was filled with my "girly things", as he jokingly put it when he cleared out space for me during the move. Then I went into Ava's room across the hallway and set up her bean bag chair by the bookshelf Paul made for her. Once it looked good, I went to the top of the stairs and hollered for Paul to bring up Ava. He led her into her room where I was waiting, his hands covering her eyes as he instructed her to slowly walk forward. I stood in front of the chair and we silently counted to three. He moved his hands, Ava blinked against the sudden light, and I pretended to be like one of those game show girls who was showing off the new car a contestant could win.
"Ta-da!" I moved to the side to reveal Olaf. Ava squealed and ran over to the chair. "Your very own Olaf bean bag chair! Now you have something to sit on when you want to read."
"Thank you, Mommy." Ava gave my legs a hug before going back to the chair. Paul walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me from behind.
"Do I get a surprise?" He whispered in my ear, low enough for only me to hear.
"Maybe," I teased. He pretended to pout, and I laughed, pulling myself away from him. "Come on, Ava. Let's go eat dinner."
The rest of the family was hanging out in the kitchen, laughing and joking with each other while they waited for us to come downstairs. Lola and Skylar had the table set within minutes while Clara and Cindy brought the food out. Everyone took their seats and waited for Clara to say grace before filling up their plates.
"That was a lovely dinner," Cindy said a half hour later, dabbing her napkin at the corners of her mouth. "Clara, you are absolutely wonderful in the kitchen. Maybe you could give me some refresher courses sometime."
"Thank you, Cindy! And I’d be happy to help you in any way that I can, to make it easier for you to readjust to life," Clara beamed.
Everyone else murmured their thanks as they got up from the table one by one, wandering off to do their own thing. Lola and Sky were busy helping Cindy clear the table when Clara reached for Ava beside her.
"I'll take care of her tonight," she said, waving Paul and I off. "Go do something, just the two of you."
"Okay... Would you like to go bowling?" Paul asked, grinning mischievously. I giggled, thinking back to our first official date.
"Sure, I'd love to. As long as there’s not a root beer float being dumped onto me. "
Paul drove to the bowling alley and we rented a lane. As I was putting on my shoes, the lights were turned off and the black lights came on. I grinned. Cosmic bowling was my favorite.
"Ready to get your butt kicked?"
"You wish, baby girl."
For the next two and a half
hours, Paul and I playfully bantered like that back and forth. The first game he beat me 230 to 229. I beat him the second game 243 to 238. We were on the tenth frame of our last game and I was trailing behind by two pins. Paul finished with a score of 259, a smug grin tugging on his lips as he brushed past me. I rolled my eyes at him and readied myself for my last turn. Taking a deep breath, I let the ball roll down the lane as smoothly as I could and got a strike, only behind by five. I waited for the ball to come back up the machine and ended up knocking down six pins on the second roll. Paul looked at me in disbelief, his eyes shifting from me to the scoreboard and back again.
"How the hell did you manage that?"
"Luck?" I gave him an innocent smile and batted my lashes.
"Bullshit," he howled with laughter. "I know you better than that, Jade."
"Maybe I did get lucky," I stuck my tongue out at him as we returned the shoes and headed for the car.
"Right, and I'm the President of the United States."
"Go to hell." I laughed, swatting his arm.
The house was eerily dark when we pulled into the driveway. Quietly, we made our way upstairs, giggling like teenagers back in high school. Once we were in our room, Paul flopped onto the bed as I headed for the bathroom.
"What are you up to?" He asked, sitting up when he saw the smirk on my face.
"You'll see," I replied, shutting the door behind me.
I opened the cabinet and grabbed the pink bag. Carefully, I took out the items and set them on the counter. I quickly undressed and slid the thin material over my head. Then I put on the matching panties and took a deep breath, my eyes focusing on the mirror. You can do this, I told myself. Slowly, I opened the door and stood in the doorway, one hand on my hip. Paul looked over and his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"Wow, Jade. You look incredible."
"Thanks." I blushed and walked toward the bed. Paul moved to the edge of the bed and I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Are you sure?" He asked, seeing the question in my eyes. I nodded slowly, biting my bottom lip.
"Make love to me, Paul."
A Heart of Gang (The Centofanti Gang Book 1) Page 11