Second Time Around

by Darrin Lowery

  Jayna had just packed her last bag when she heard the knock at the door. On her cocktail table were magazines about Hawaii, her ticket, and her purse. She usually didn’t entertain company at her place and these days she was seeing no one, so the knocking was unexpected. She opened the door and was surprised at what she saw on the other side.

  Brandon was standing there. He wasn’t smiling, but he wasn’t frowning, either. Most of all, he was there. Jayna was speechless. He was the last person in the world she expected to be at her door.

  “Can I come in?”

  “Uh, yeah. Sure.”

  Brandon walked in and had a seat on the couch. He looked at the magazines and brochures while he sat.

  “Going somewhere?” he asked calmly.

  “Uh, yeah. I’m going to Hawaii.”

  “Business?”

  “Personal. I need to clear my head, so I’m going out there to relax and perhaps become stress and drama-free.”

  “Stress from work?”

  “Stress from you.”

  She didn’t mean for it to come out that way, but it did. It was said. It needed to be said. She wasn’t trying to argue. Her tone wasn’t malicious. She said what she said matter-of-factly.

  “I’m stressing you out? I haven’t been here.”

  “You haven’t been here, but you have been here and here.” Jayna pointed to her heart and her head.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “No, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that my past, such as it was, had the affect that it did on our relationship. If I could have done things differently, I would have. If I could go back in time and change things, I would. But I can’t. And I can only say sorry so many ways.”

  “So are you running to Hawaii?”

  “No. I’m done running from my past and my problems. I’m going to Hawaii.”

  “Do you want some company?”

  That threw Jayna completely off. It was about as unexpected as his arrival.

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

  “I said, do you want some company.”

  “For what? To be your booty call or something?” Jayna placed her hand on her hip.

  “No. No, nothing like that. You see, I came here to talk to you. Vaughn and I both had to make a stop first before I came here and before he went to see Korie, but I came over here with a purpose.”

  “Oh, and what would that be?”

  “Well, I came to ask you to move to L.A. with me.”

  “I’m sorry—what?”

  “I came to ask that you move with me, to L.A. I’m asking that you relocate. I’m asking you to be with me again. I’m asking for your forgiveness.”

  “Wait, you—you’re asking me—for my—forgiveness?”

  “Yeah, you see, no matter how I try to fight it, I can’t stop thinking about you. I can’t stop loving you. It’s the damndest thing. Now, don’t get me wrong, you hurt me. You embarrassed me. But that didn’t change things. I mean, it did. I was very mad about everything. Actually, I’m still pretty mad about everything. But what makes me even madder is the fact that I still love you. And I can’t see me being without you.”

  “What are you saying?” Tears streamed down Jayna’s face.

  “I’m saying that I asked my boss if I could take over the L.A. office so we could have a fresh start.”

  “A fresh start?”

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think we both could use a change of scenery.”

  They both laughed. Then they hugged. Jayna felt so at home in Brandon’s arms.

  “What did Mr. Harris say about you moving to L.A. to head up that office?”

  “He said no. He said that he didn’t need me to head up the L.A. office. He said he needed me at the corporate headquarters here in Chicago.”

  Jayna looked at him. She looked stunned. She couldn’t believe that he came back. Worse yet, she couldn’t believe that he was possibly giving up his career for her.

  “And what did you say?” She had a look of worry on her face.

  “I told him I couldn’t stay in Chicago. I told him I wanted to remain with the company and the headquarters, but I couldn’t stay in Chicago.”

  “And what did he say?”

  “He said, ‘Brandon, you’re like a son to me. I understand what you are going through and one day you will be running all of this, so I see no reason why we can’t move the corporate headquarters to L.A.’”

  Jayna had an excited look in her eyes.

  “You mean he’s willing to move the company to keep you?”

  “He is.”

  “Wow. Baby, I am so happy for you!”

  “I miss you calling me ‘baby’.”

  “I miss calling you ‘baby’.”

  “So you will relocate?”

  “Be your girlfriend again in L.A.? I think I can do that.”

  “No, not my girlfriend.”

  Jayna looked puzzled. Then Brandon retrieved a small box from his pocket.

  “I mean . . . as my wife.”

  He got down on one knee. Jayna’s eyes were filled with tears.

  “Jayna, will you marry me?”

  She got down on both knees with him. Tears filled her eyes.

  “What about my past?”

  “It’s in the past.”

  “How would people view you?”

  “I don’t know. I guess we’ll figure that out in Hawaii. We can begin sorting things out there. You still haven’t answered me yet.”

  “This is all so sudden.”

  “It is. But it’s also the right thing to do. So, what do you say? Will you be my wife?”

  “Yes. Yes, Brandon, I will marry you.”

  They hugged, they cried, and then they got ready to leave for Hawaii.

  “Wait a minute. You said that you and Vaughn needed to make a stop. Was that stop to the same place?”

  Brandon smiled. “It was. He should be proposing to your girlfriend shortly after he gets there.”

  Oh my God, Jayna thought.

  Chapter Forty

  Korie had just opened the door for Vaughn when her cell phone began buzzing. She invited him in and then rushed to the bathroom as if she had to pee. She was checking her phone to make sure that it wasn’t Darren who was calling. She looked down at the screen and was surprised to read a text from Jayna.

  BRANDON JUST PROPOSED TO ME. VAUGHN IS ABOUT TO

  PROPOSE TO YOU! OMG! OMG! OMG! MAKE THE RIGHT

  DECISION.

  Korie looked at the screen and read it a few times before texting back.

  R U SURE? she responded.

  Her heart was beating fast in her chest and she felt light-headed. Seconds later, her phone buzzed again.

  DEFINTELY SURE. BRANDON TOLD ME. HE AND I ARE

  LEAVING FOR HAWAII IN A FEW MINUTES.

  “Is everything okay in there?” Vaughn asked.

  “Everything’s fine; I’ll be out in a few, make yourself at home. How was the trip?”

  “It was okay, how were things here?” Vaughn asked through the door.

  “Busy. Things were pretty busy while you were away.”

  Korie began texting back.

  HAWAII? WTF? WHY R U GOING TO HAWAII?

  “They must have been busy. I hardly heard from you while I was away,” Vaughn said.

  “Sorry about that. I figured if anyone would understand it would be you.”

  Korie’s phone buzzed again,

  I WAS GOING TO CLEAR MY HEAD AND JUST GET AWAY

  FOR AWHILE, BUT NOW I GUESS I’M GOING THERE TO GET

  MARRIED!

  “I understand. That’s one of the things that I love about you . . . your independence.”

  “How was the deal, did you close it?”

  “I sure did.”

  “Congratulations.”

  “Korie, are you sure you are okay?”

  “Yes. I, um, ate something that didn’t agree with me. Why don’t you just have a seat in the living room? I’ll be right out, okay?” />
  “Okay.”

  She started typing on her phone and texting Jayna again.

  HEIFER, YOU CAN’T GET MARRIED IN HAWAII. WE NEED

  TO PLAN YOUR WEDDING! YOU CAN’T ELOPE! WE’RE BEST

  FRIENDS. GO TO HAWAII AND BRING UR ASS BACK!

  Minutes later Korie’s phone buzzed again.

  K. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO SAY TO VAUGHN?

  Korie texted back.

  DUNNO.

  Her phone buzzed again.

  MARRY HIM...

  ...WHAT ABOUT DARREN?

  ...IF HE REALLY LOVES U, HE WILL C THAT HE IS ONLY IN

  UR WAY...

  ...I STILL LOVE HIM.

  ...YOU CAN GROW TO LOVE VAUGHN.

  ...BUT DARREN ALREADY PROPOSED. I ALREADY HAVE HIS

  RING.

  WHAT DO I DO?

  ...K, I GOTTA GO. I HOPE U DO THE RT THING. LOVE U

  Korie walked out of the bathroom after washing her hands. Vaughn had been walking around the living room patiently waiting for Korie to surface.

  “So, how have you been?”

  “I’ve been okay, how are you?”

  “I’m good. I’m good. So, listen, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something?”

  “Sure.”

  Korie tried to remain cool, calm, and collected. Her heart was beating fast in her chest at the prospect of Vaughn proposing. What would she say? She already had accepted Darren’s proposal. It didn’t help that Vaughn seemed to be approaching the whole matter like a business merger.

  “Korie, I have something to say. Listen, I haven’t felt the way that I feel for you in a long time; a very long time. Now, I’ve been around the block a few times. In that, I mean I have some mileage on me. I’ve been all over the globe and if there is one thing that I know, it’s that love is both a luxury and a necessity. In other words, it’s rare, its valuable, and it’s needed. Now, a lot of people know that love is a luxury but they can’t find it. Others know that they need it, but can’t find it. Some people marry just for the sake of being married and in that, they hope that they’ll grow into love. I think if you find love, true love, once, then you’re good. Twice, and you’re blessed. Korie, I came over here to tell you that I think I have been blessed; blessed that I’ve found you. What I’m trying to say is that I love you and I want you to marry me and I want to have a whole lot of babies, in that order.

  “Now I, know that I’m a lot older than you. I know that I may not always be able to fulfill your physical needs. But I know this. If you let me, girl, I will love you like no other man will. Not only that, but all that is mine is yours. I’m not asking for a prenup. I’m not asking for any drama, I won’t cheat on you and, again, if you give me a chance, I will give you the world. I want you to wear this ring and I want us to marry anywhere on the globe that you want to do it. I want to marry you and I want our wedding to be the mother of all weddings. No restrictions and money is no object. What do you say?”

  Korie was speechless. Vaughn laid everything out and he was basically offering her the world and all it had to offer. She would never have to work again, she would never want for anything, and anything that she desired she could have; beginning with the mother of all weddings. She was speechless. She thought she knew what she wanted. She thought what she wanted was Darren and a life with him. All that seemed to go out the window when Vaughn played his hand.

  “The wedding of my dreams?”

  “The wedding of your dreams.”

  “Anywhere on the globe?”

  “Paris. Rome. London. That spot you liked in Tokyo, anywhere.”

  “My friends can’t just fly anywhere like that.”

  “No, but I can fly them in, if need be.”

  “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

  “I love you. You make me feel brand new. You make me feel like a man should feel. You make me want to be a better man. And you know what? Not a day or a moment goes by that I don’t think of you. I want you to marry me. I want you to have my children. I don’t want you to want for anything. What do you say?”

  “I guess there isn’t anything left to say . . . except yes.”

  Chapter Forty-one

  Korie felt guilty.

  She felt guilty for sleeping with two men at once. She felt guilty for leading one man on. She felt guilty because of the things that she would do over the next week. She accepted two proposals when she should have only accepted one. She fooled around with two men when she should have only been with one. Finally, she gave one man her heart and let the other back in.

  She should have never let the second man back in.

  He had his chance. He blew it.

  She thought about the sex. It was something that she had been struggling with since day one. Sure, she couldn’t have sex all day, every single day, but did she need to? Was sex that important? Also, would she have sex everyday with Darren, or just everyday that the relationship was new? Accepting Darren’s ring was a mistake. Like Jayna said, sex tended to cloud a woman’s judgment. Had Darren not returned, Korie would have married Vaughn, hands down.

  That was another thing: Was Darren a godsend or someone the devil sent back into her life? It’s funny how when a woman just began to get over a man or just began to get herself together, that same man who broke her heart would pop his ass up again, acting like he was a changed man. Darren should have changed while he had her. Men needed to hold on to good women when they were blessed to have one. Korie thought to herself that she might still love Darren, but she was going to give Vaughn a chance. She was going to give love with him a chance. She needed time to get herself together; time to see where this thing with Vaughn might go. If anything, if Darren really loved her, he could wait. He could wait another five years, just as she had for him.

  She moved in with Vaughn. She didn’t tell Darren right away. Just as it was going to be hard to tell Vaughn no, it would be equally hard telling Darren. She didn’t know how she would tell him. How do you tell someone that you are moving on without them, while things look like they’re perfect?

  She told Darren that she was busy with work and she moved in with Vaughn in one day. She took her clothes and her jewelry. Everything else she had thrown in the trash. She paid her lease up for the remainder of the year, just in case things didn’t work out. She had the utilities cut off.

  She phoned Jayna and told her of her decision. Vaughn proposed on a Monday. Korie put Darren off for as many days as she could via phone and it was Thursday that he received his ring back. She sent Darren’s ring back to him by express mail, sending back the ring and a note. She thought a note would be the most appropriate way to tell him. She also decided that if she were going to marry Vaughn, there should be no secrets between them. She needed to tell her fiancée about her ex-boyfriend. Her note to Darren read as follows:

  I’m sorry. I am truly, truly sorry. I don’t know how to say this. But it appears that we had our chance at love and that time has passed. I don’t regret the past two weeks. They have been wonderful. But you left. In a way, you abandoned ship. I understand that I might not be the woman I am today had we stayed together, but we didn’t. Maybe I was meant to be the woman that I am now, the way that I am now and perhaps it was meant for me to get to this place in my life via the journey I had with you. I love you. I do. But again, our time has passed. I can’t chance you walking out on us again. I can’t chance you leaving me again. You say that you love me. You say that you never stopped loving me. But love wasn’t enough to stop you from walking out on me like you did five years ago. It hurts, but I have to say good-bye. I have to at least see if what I have with Vaughn is real or not. I have to give my relationship with him a chance. He loves me. I love him. Just as I began to fall in love with him, you popped up and changed everything in my life. I used to pray to God to send you back into my life. I don’t know how to say this, but I think maybe it was the devil that answered. Darren, I can’t marry you. If things don’t work out between Vaughn and me, yo
u will be the first person that I call. I waited five years for you. That’s five years too long. Again, I’m sorry.

  With love,

  Korie

  Darren was crushed. His heart was broken. He looked at the ring and couldn’t believe what Korie was saying. He received the ring at work, and minutes after he received it, he drove to her apartment. He used his key to let himself in and all traces of Korie were gone.

  He jumped back in his car. Panic set in as the thought of losing his one true love burned in his head. It then dawned on him to go to Vaughn’s house. He did. He drove like a madman and onto the shoulder of the expressway to get to Vaughn’s Wilmette mansion. He raced to the gate of the grand home and rang the bell. No one answered. There were no cars in the driveway and no sign of Vaughn anywhere. He dialed Vaughn’s cell phone.

  “Hello?” Vaughn said.

  “Uh, hi Vaughn. It’s Darren. I—well, I need to speak with you.”

  “Go ahead. Say what you have to say.”

  Vaughn sounded upset. He sounded annoyed.

  “I need to tell you something. It’s hard for me to say, but there is something that you have to know.”

  “You mean about you and Korie?”

  Darren was speechless.

  “Your silence makes me think that you’re stunned or surprised. She told me everything.”

  “Everything?”

  “Everything. I can’t believe that you proposed to her. I can’t believe that you would pursue her knowing that I was with her!”

  “Vaughn, you have to understand, I was with her first. I didn’t know that the woman you were in love with was my ex. Is she with you? I need to speak to her.”

  “You’re kidding me, right? There is no way in hell that I would put you on the phone with my fiancée.”