Jay's Salvation

by Rowena Dawn

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rebecca snapped at him.

  “But I do know. I know my boys, Rebecca,” he said, gazing between Matt and Jay. “They won’t forgive you. Congrats, grandma. You managed to split the family,” Jonathan said with sadness.

  “I haven’t done anything of the kind,” she retorted. “Marjorie, tell your husband to watch his mouth.”

  “No, she shouldn’t,” Nora intervened in conversation. “Jonathan is correct. Matt will not talk to you anymore. I worked hard to make him accept your presence, grandma. You ruined it. And from what I see on Jay’s face right now, he won’t forgive you soon if ever.”

  “Better said never,” Jay speared the air with a resolute gesture.

  Rebecca frowned and turned to Ellen with a pointed look.

  “Don’t look at me,” Ellen shrugged. “I respect Jay too much, and I won’t try to change his mind. Besides, I’m not the forgiving type of woman. Sorry,” she replied in a tone of voice which showed that she was far from being sorry.

  Rebecca pursed her mouth and narrowed her eyes more. She noticed the satisfied smile on Jay’s lips and thundered him with his eyes. The man merely shrugged and decreed, “Now, I’m hungry. Let’s eat, people.”

  Everyone burst into laughter, excepting Rebecca, and Ellen pulled the man’s head toward her and kissed him full on the mouth.

  “You’re fantastic, Jay,” she whispered to him when she drew back.

  “Good to know you think of me like that,” he replied mischievously.

  “Give me some of Bryan’s chicken,” Josh waved his hand toward Jonathan, who was closer to the side of the table where the chicken laid.

  “Leave some for me, man,” Jay frowned at his cousin.

  “Not so fast,” Rebecca intervened.

  “That’s your favorite expression from what I can see,” Josh looked at his great-grandma with indifference. “Anyways, I’m hungry, so make it fast, Uncle Jonathan.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Everyone breathed with relief once Matt escorted Rebecca to the water taxi, and they saw the back of the old woman. She had spewed all sorts of threats, but no one really cared about what she had to say anymore. Not even the patient Marjorie or the understanding Nora didn’t think to take the old woman's side.

  With Rebecca's departure, the tension within the group vanished, and the people returned to picking at their food and talking all at the same time.

  However, Bryan's heart cringed when he thought that beneath the old woman's anger, sadness must have laid as well.

  He got closer to knowing her during the last few months, and Rebecca was not essentially an evil person. Still, she had a particular opinion about how other people's life should be, and until she was proven wrong, which apparently happened all the time, the woman stuck to her convictions.

  Becka clasped Bryan's hand, and the man turned his eyes to her. He shook his head, letting her understand that nothing was the matter. Then, he brushed his lips off the woman's knuckles tenderly.

  "You were fantastic there, baby. I have to confess that you took my breath away for a few moments. Although I'd have liked it more if you had shown a bit of care about my yacht," he approached his thumb to his index, just to illustrate his words.

  Josh heard his words and laughed. "Yeah, Becka was on the wave. Good for you, Becka," he tilted his head to see his cousin better. "I was afraid that you had become too domestic," the man waved his hand. "You know, getting married, and becoming a mom, and all that."

  "I'll show you domestic," Becka speared him with her narrowed eyes.

  "Didn't you have enough of disputes today?" Matt inquired in a dry tone of voice, and Jonathan chuckled.

  "Anyway," Lily intervened, "I hope you don't think too much of grandma's words," she addressed to Ellen. "She won't do anything else to you, so you shouldn't worry," the redhead shook her head, and her shiny coppery hair bounced.

  "That's true," Marjorie nodded. "Rebecca was against Nora at the beginning, and now she loves her," the woman pointed out. "And the same thing happened to Bryan," she turned her eyes toward the blond giant. "Now, I've heard her several times saying ‘I will have to ask Bryan,’ whenever she needed to make a difficult decision."

  "As if I cared who she loves or not," Jay scoffed. "Grandma won't get another chance to touch Elle," he replied in a determined tone of voice. "I was very serious when I said that we would move out of the province," he pointed out.

  "You might have been serious, Jay," Ellen intervened. "But then, you forgot to ask me what I wanted,” she pointed out, and all eyes turned to her.

  “I’m asking you now,” Jay made a point of saying, gazing at her with sharp eyes. “What do you want, Elle?”

  Jay practically held his breath. He feared that the woman’s answer would make all his hopes crash.

  “First of all, I should tell you what I don’t want,” Ellen stressed out, leveling her eyes squarely on him. “I won’t agree that you break your ties with your family. Your family is a close-knit, Jay. I’ll never agree that you moved away from your parents, brother, and cousins, even if your line of work allows you to live anywhere. Besides, you love this city,” she waved her hand in the direction of Toronto, which lay beyond the water.

  “I’ll learn to love another town too. I think that Montreal or Vancouver would suit me,” Jay observed, and Marjorie gasped in dismay.

  Vancouver was too far away, and she wouldn’t have seen her son too often. Her hand shook, and her cutlery clanked on the plate.

  Jonathan stroked her arm to quiet her fears, and Ellen shook her head.

  “You’re distressing your mother, Jay. No, I won’t move either to Montreal or Vancouver,” Ellen said with determination. “I like it here in Toronto. And another thing, Jay. I don’t understand why you would give satisfaction to Rebecca by showing her that she can make you run out of the town with your tail between your legs,” she looked at him inquiringly.

  “I’m not running away,” Jay replied in a huff although he admitted inwardly that he was doing just that.

  “Then, you’ll remain in Toronto,” Ellen beamed at him. “That’s good to know.”

  “What would be the point to leave without you?” the man shrugged.

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Matt chuckled. “Ellen’s right,” he told his brother. “You shouldn’t give Rebecca the satisfaction to chase you out of the town,” the man shook his head.

  “And don’t worry, Jay,” Jonathan intervened. “Once she sees how good you are together, Rebecca will stop doing anything.”

  “She won’t see anything,” Jay leaned forward and stressed his words. “I was very serious when I said that I don’t want to see her anymore,” the man pointed out. “Anyway, we should go on a vacation, Elle. You still have to wait for that license and have time to kill,” he argued.

  Ellen shook her head. “I’m sorry, Jay, but I can’t go anywhere. My savings are stretched as it is, and I don’t know when I’ll find work again,” she replied morosely. She wouldn’t have accepted to live on someone else’s money.

  “Why don’t you establish your own company?” Matt asked her, watching her with speculation in his eyes. “I often work with individuals that work for themselves and set up a company just because it is easier with the taxes afterward.”

  “I’ve thought about that,” Ellen admitted. “But then, who hires a newbie?” she raised her hands.

  “You’re not a newbie,” Matt pointed out. “You’ve been a police officer for some years and raised to the status of detective. I would hire you without questions,” he shrugged. “And I can also recommend you to other people. My colleagues need investigators all the time. Besides, someone from one of the major insurance companies just told me that they needed to hire another private investigator. The guy they worked with had moved out of the province. And please, note, this offer stands, regardless of your future relationship with Jay,” Matt took care to mention.

  “
What the heck, Matt?” Jay frowned and jumped off his chair.

  ‘Sit down,” Matt ordered to him in a quiet tone of voice. “Ellen needs to know that she has choices, and she does,” the man turned his sharp eyes to the woman. “I don’t want you to feel that if you choose to accept my help, it means that you have to remain with Jay or that Jay might think that you stayed with him because of that. My offer is independent of your relationship. If you choose to walk out of him right now, my offer still stands. If you marry him tomorrow, the same. Is it clear?” he asked her, and Ellen nodded.

  No one said anything for a couple of minutes. Ellen started feeling conspicuous when the silence stretched for a longer time.

  Jay, always attuned to her emotional state, broke the silence. “That means that your savings are not in jeopardy, Elle,” he said in a dry tone of voice. “You can very well accept to go on a vacation with me for a few weeks. Anyway, I will have taken care of the hotel and meals,” he warned her. “You know I’m old fashioned in that matter,” he shrugged.

  Ellen looked at him from under her lashes and bit her lower lip. Jay chuckled and shook his head.

  “No worries, you’ll have your own room,” he said, and Ellen blushed. He approached his head closer to her and whispered, “I know better than to rush into some things, baby. You shouldn’t worry.”

  His words reached Jonathan though, and the man laughed.

  “Shut up, Jay,” Embarrassed, Ellen snapped and slapped the man’s thigh.

  Jay merely shrugged. “Anyways, I was thinking of the Georgian Bay,” Jay mentioned. “It looks awesome at this time of the year, from what I read, even though people prefer it in summer.”

  “Oh, yes,” Marjorie said pensively. “It looks great in autumn. Do you remember?” she turned to Jonathan, her eyes sparkling with a new light.

  The man chuckled softly and brought Marjorie’s hand to his lips. “How could I forget it?” he whispered.

  Ellen watched them nonplussed, feeling awkward to witness their feelings. She looked around and noticed that she was the only one. The others didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

  Nora observed Ellen with an amused smiled in the corners of her mouth. She knew how the woman felt because she’d been there just a little while ago.

  “All right, Jay,” Ellen decided that it was time to break the moment when her eyes fell on Nora’s amused smile. “I’ll go with you to the Georgian Bay. I haven’t been there before after all,” she shrugged.

  As a matter of fact, Ellen had seldom been anywhere. Her childhood and adolescence didn’t abound in happy days, and her adulthood hadn’t offered too many chances to go out.

  “But first, tell me about Camilla,” she said in a dry tone of voice.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  The woman had the feeling that she wouldn’t like what the man had to say. He stared at her nonplussed.

  Josh burst into laughter, and Lily elbowed him to make him stop. Everyone else around the table just stared at Ellen with almost the same expression on their faces.

  “Camilla’s just one blip on my tormented youth,” Jay finally said with a shrug.

  “She must have been a serious blimp, though,” Ellen couldn’t stop to remark. “Otherwise, Rebecca wouldn’t have mentioned her.”

  Jay grimaced. The man didn’t know what to do. On the one hand, he had to keep the secret regarding the conditions to get the trust money, and on the other, he was afraid of what Ellen would say, hearing about his shortcomings.

  Jonathan sensed that Jay felt between the devil and the blue sea. The man turned toward Marjorie and arched his eyebrows.

  The woman nodded and said, “Jay, I understand you’re not interested in the trust money anymore.”

  “Yes, mom, that’s true,” Jay agreed. “You know very well that I don’t need her money. All the awards I won during the last four years, and the royalties I regularly get for my series offer me a way to comfortable living,” he shrugged. “I don’t need grandma’s money anymore,” he shook his head.

  “Then, you should explain everything to Ellen,” Marjorie waved her hand.

  “Allow me to do it,” Josh grinned wolfishly. “I’m sure I can explain everything with much more accuracy than you.”

  “Shut your mouth, Josh,” Jay snapped.

  “Maybe you should tell her about the conditions of the trust first,” Bryan noted in a quiet tone of voice.”

  “I intend to,” Jay mumbled. “But I don’t know how to start,” he admitted.

  “If you want I can explain that part,” Marjorie offered, watching Jay expectantly.

  “Be my guest,” the man waved his hand. “I’m sure you can explain that part better than I.”

  “Well,” Marjorie joined her hands on the top of the table after she pushed her plate aside. “Ellen, I don’t know if you know, but my grandmother had decided to curse the young generations as a result to some disappointments she had the misfortune to have.”

  “She knows about the curse, mother,” Jay fluttered his hand impatiently.

  “Oh, good then. I will explain you the part with the trust,” Marjorie smiled at Ellen. “Grandma put all her money in a trust, you see. One can get the money only if they prove that they love and are committed fully to the person they love, and that person loves them and is committed to them as well,” Marjorie explained.

  “How can she determine that?” Ellen’s eyes rounded.

  “She doesn’t,” Bryan intervened in a dry tone of voice. “But then, she appointed two trustees who are mind readers. They determine if a couple tells the truth or not. I’ve been there and know how it is,” he grimaced.

  “Oh, I see now,” Ellen nodded.

  “You accepted everything easier than I did,” Nora observed, and Ellen blushed.

  “I showed her something I could do before today,” Jay confessed, and Matt smiled.

  “You were smarter than I,” he remarked. “I had a hell of a time with Nora after she found out,” he recollected, turning his eyes to his wife.

  “It wasn’t so easy to swallow,” she said dryly.

  “Oh, Elle didn’t fuss or anything,” Jay waved his hand, proud of her.

  “Aha,” the woman mumbled. “Now, about that Camilla,” she arched an eyebrow, and Josh chuckled.

  “You’re not off the hook yet, Jay,” he noticed.

  “You’re a real pain in the... back,” the edited his words when he saw his mother’s expression. “Anyway, I’ll tell you, Elle,” Jay took hold of the woman’s hand.

  ‘I won’t probably like what he has to say,’ the woman mused. ‘That’s why he turned on the charm.’

  “Yep, sweetheart, it is not too pretty, I admit,” Jay said feeling her emotions.

  ‘I sense what she feels with astonishing accuracy,’ he marveled. ‘I wonder what else I’m capable of doing now that I love her.’ However, the man shrugged inwardly and continued with his explanation.

  “When I was about twenty-two, I decided that I needed the trust money. I wanted to buy everything necessary to create an outstanding comics.”

  “In the end, you did it, son,” Jonathan noticed. “And without the help of Rebecca’s money,” he pointed out.

  “You should know he has already won several awards,” Marjorie said proudly. “Joe Shuster Award, Doug Wright Award... This year, he won the Eisner Award.”

  “Thank you, mom, but Elle doesn’t need a list with all my awards,” Jay noticed dryly. “Anyway, at the time, I thought to try my luck with the trust money,” he shrugged. “I convinced a girl, Camilla, to pose as my lover, and we went to grandma,” Jay shook his head in dismay.

  “And a lot of good did that to you,” Lily intervened. “Of course, the mind-readers busted you right away,” she laughed softly. “And that girl,” she shook her head. “She was probably the worst actress in the whole world,” Lily gestured widely.

  “And stupid to the boot,” Josh didn’t fail to remark. “We had a lot of fun on Jay’s expense, then,
and afterward,” he pointed out.

  Jay shrugged with indifference. Still, he worried about what Ellen would say, and his heart cringed, waiting for her reaction.

  “Now, I understand why Rebecca treated me that way,” Ellen said pensively.

  “Ah, no,” Bryan replied. “She did the same thing to Nora and to me.”

  “To everyone,” Jonathan intervened. “She did it to my sisters in law and to me too. So, Jay’s escapade didn’t make her the way she is,” he said.

  “Anyway, I’m wiser now, and I know that I don’t need her money to succeed,” Jay mentioned.

  “From what I hear, you already succeeded,” Ellen replied, squeezing his hand. “And I think that you needed only your talent.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Ellen and Jay returned at the end of the first week of November, and only because Matt had announced Ellen that all her documents were in order now, and she could start working any time.

  Jay had kept postponing their return date before. Now, he regretted that their interlude at the Georgian Bay ended.

  However, Ellen noted that the end of their vacation didn’t mean that they wouldn’t spend time together anymore.

  “You can count on that, baby,” Jay assured her in a determined tone of voice.

  In fact, the connection between the two of them had become stronger during their vacation. Jay taught the woman how to have fun, and Ellen taught him how to slow down and enjoy a quiet evening in two.

  Jay’s powers had suddenly developed, and the man stopped feeling the need to prove anything to himself. As a result, he didn’t think of gambling even once. He preferred strolling with Ellen or taking her out for a dance.

  Ellen started working on various small assignments, but every spare moment of the day or evenings, she spent at Jay’s.

  While she was out in one of her investigations, Jay caught up with his work. He had a deadline coming soon, and still had some work to do on his latest book in the series.