by Janae Keyes
“Mom! I said bring side dishes, not a whole restaurant,” I gasped as I looked at all the pans of food my mom had brought.
“I just wanted to make sure there was enough. You know me,” my mom reasoned. I shook my head and went to my dad who pulled me into a tight hug.
“My Bri-Bri. Thank you for coming out the other night,” he beamed with delight as he spoke about his show.
It ended up being a packed house and everyone seemed to laugh at every single joke he told. He was surely on his way to the top and would be selling out arenas in no time. The only snag that night was when Veronika tried to intervene, but that wasn’t going to be the case today, today would be perfect.
“No problem dad, we had a great time. Patrick says when the show airs he wants to throw a party and we can all watch in his home theater upstairs,” I informed him. My dad’s smile was now wider than ever.
“Where is that son of mine anyway?” He asked me. I loved that Patrick was a member of our family with no questions asked. My dad had never been a big fan of Keaton, but accepted him because I loved him. There was no way to compare Patrick’s relationship with my family to Keaton’s because they were so drastically different.
“Outside at the grill,” I informed him. My dad turned to the counter and picked up an aluminum pan.
“Let me take these ribs out there and teach that boy how to really throw down on the grill,” my dad said with his booming voice. I laughed as I watched him head out back. I looked out the window to see my dad and Patrick greet one another. You’d think they’d known one another for years and they seemed to get closer every day.
AFTER HELPING MY mom with the food, April arrived, as well as Patrick’s parents. I stood at the bar with a drink in my hand, watching Patrick in the pool with the children of my sister and April. He held April’s youngest Ali in his arms while wading around the pool. He was a natural with the kids.
“He’ll make a great dad someday,” commented April as she came next to me. I nodded. I was disappointed that that day might be soon and with Veronika.
I’d come to realize that I wanted to be with Patrick for a long time and I wanted to have children with him. Then I thought of Patrick and how it seemed he was more excited a bit every day about this baby. It broke my heart to think of how broken hearted he would be if the baby was not his. I hated that she could be toying with his emotions for her own selfish reasons.
“Mommy, I need to pee!” Screamed out Ali from Patrick’s shoulders. The look on Patrick’s face was priceless as he held her up for April to grab. April scurried as quickly as she could to her toddler and took her from Patrick’s hands before rushing into the house with her.
Patrick came out of the pool and grabbed his towel. I knew he might want a drink and I put one together while he dried off. He came right over to me and I handed him his whiskey on the rocks.
“Mmm, my girl knows exactly what I like,” he murmured into my ear as he pulled me close.
“I try,” I answered sweetly before I allowed him to peck my lips. This was happiness at its best and I was going to soak up every ounce of it. Patrick held me by the waist while he sipped his own drink. I looked over to the sitting area by the fire pit where our parents seemed to be having a good time together. “Our parents seem to be getting along,” I mentioned.
“Yeah, that’s great,” Patrick beamed.
I watched my dad stand from his seat and make his way over to where we had the music set up. I realized what he was about to do.
“My dad is about to get his hands on the music. Brace yourself,” I warned and Patrick laughed. Only seconds later the top 40 Spotify station we had playing was gone and it was Michael Jackson.
My dad went right over to my mom and pulled her from her seat. It was the most adorable sight as he tugged her along with him to dance. I laughed as my mom tried to fight, but eventually gave into my dad. Patrick and I watched as Gerald and Patricia joined the dancing. Patrick sat his drink on the bar before taking mine from my hands and doing the same with it. With his hands on my hips, he pulled me out to where our parents were dancing.
“No, no… Paddy,” I squealed trying to fight, but laughing too hard as he continued to pull me with him. Like my mom, I eventually gave in and started to sway my body to The Way You Make Me Feel. My arms went around Patrick’s neck as he pulled me close. Surprisingly, this felt good, it felt free. We were enjoying ourselves as we ground our bodies closer. Patrick spun me to where my back was to him. I looked back and gave me a grin as I felt his arousal rubbing against my backside. My mind wandered to when everyone was gone and we would have the night together. At once the look of lust and glee seemed to disappear from Patrick’s face. I didn’t know what changed until I looked forward to see Veronika.
“What’s she doing back here already?” I growled as we both stopped dancing. Patrick’s hands left me and he jogged to her right away. I was gritting my teeth trying to keep myself from being upset. Today had been going perfectly. I watched Patrick take her by the hand and walk into the house with her.
I went right to the bar and poured myself a shot of tequila. I no longer wanted to feel in the moment and the right cure for that was liquor. I drowned down the shot, my throat burning, but I didn’t care. I poured myself another.
“Was that Veronika?” Came April’s voice at once. I nodded as I drowned down my second shot, coughing a little bit at the burning. “You are not getting drunk without me.” April took the bottle from my hands and poured herself a drink.
I saw Patrick coming from the house, Veronika right behind him as he fussed at her in German. I shook my head. Another time ruined by her, she wasn’t going to let up and I knew it.
“That the bitch?” came Anam’s voice. I spotted my waddling sister coming my way. “Mom told me all about the situation with Patrick and the chick. I’m sure I can take that bitch out, no problem.” As angry as I was, I wanted to burst into laughter. My sister didn’t take crap from anyone. I remember as a kid, though she picked on me, she always had my back with any bully that tried to come at me.
“I’m not letting you fight anyone at nine months pregnant,” I insisted.
“Yeah, chill out Gangsta-Boo,” April added. “Though, it might help you go into labor.”
“Exactly!” Anam agreed with April. I couldn’t believe these girls. I poured myself another tequila and took it down. At this point the burning no longer bothered me, but comforted me in a strange way.
I spotted Patricia coming in my direction, she looked bewildered and I knew why. Patrick had told her about the baby, but he’d failed to tell her that he moved Veronika out here because he knew his mom would be extremely upset.
“Why is Veronika here?” She asked me right away, as I was drowning down my fourth shot.
“I think you need to have that talk with Patrick,” I said truthfully. It wasn’t my place to discuss his reasoning with his mother. I saw Patrick have Veronika sit at the table before he came in my direction.
“Patrick, why is Veronika here?” Patricia demanded answers from Patrick.
“Let’s go inside and talk mom,” said Patrick with a long face. “She says that she decided to come back early. I told her since she is already here, she can eat then. Bri, can you help her with the food?” I could see the stress on Patrick’s face and I let out a sigh. As incredibly annoyed as I was, I didn’t want to make Patrick more stressed than he already was.
“Okay,” I answered. I walked to the table where we’d set up the food and made a small plate with a little bit of everything for Veronika before walking to her at the table.
“Ugh, finally. Took you long enough,” she spat. I was shaking as I tried to not say anything to her. I was trying for Patrick. I just tried to think of how much I loved Patrick. “Now, get me water,” she demanded.
“Listen, you don’t have any authority to tell me what to do,” I growled through gritted teeth. She simply laughed.
“You are a cute little slave you know. Th
at is all you are. You fuck Patrick when he needs it and I get to be the woman who has his child. He would never have children with someone like you. So you see I have all the authority because at the end of the day, I have Patrick like this,” she twirled her finger around and around in a circle. “I am the mother of his child and all of this is mine as it is my baby’s. So as I said, go… get… me… water.”
I was seeing red for one of the two times in my life until that point. The first was when I learned that Keaton was cheating on me. I’d kicked him out of our house that night and took a hammer to his surfboard.
The plate of food that I had in my hands was now on Veronika. I looked her in the eyes and stuck my finger in her face. I’d had enough of her and she’d showed her full and true colors to me. Part of it was the alcohol flowing through my veins and the other part was my pure frustration.
“Bitch, you listen and you listen good. You do not want to cross me. I’m from the 707, I won’t just hurt your feelings, I will cut you,” I growled out, feeling my entire body boiling. I saw her eyes widen and in a split second the biggest crocodile tears I’d ever seen were falling from her eyes.
“Bri, what the hell?” I heard Patrick’s voice. I turned to see him behind me looking shocked.
“Patrick, she threw the food on me and threatened the life of me and our baby,” Veronika cried out. I wanted to give her a standing ovation at that moment because she was performing better than some Oscar winning actresses.
“Brielle!” Patrick growled. “Lay off her. You’ve upset her. Her blood pressure is already high and you are over here threatening her,” he snapped angrily. The way he spoke to me was a way he’d never spoken to me before, it was so reminiscent of my years with Keaton. There was so much anger in his voice. He didn’t even try to hear my side of it. She was right, he was wrapped around her finger.
“You know what… Fuck you!” I pointed to Veronika. “And fuck you!” I pointed to Patrick. “I’m gone.” I walked right into the house. I was finished with this entire situation. I didn’t want to be apart of this anymore. I couldn’t take knowing that Patrick would always have her side though it was obvious she was using him, his baby or not.
I went straight upstairs and grabbed my bag. I wanted to get out of here as fast as possible. Anything I saw that was mine, I shoved into my bag. I was so angry at Patrick and angry at myself for staying in this mess. I should have left long ago, but I stayed only to be treated like trash by the man I loved. I hated him at that moment. I sniffed back tears as I found the last of my things.
“Bri!” I heard April’s voice. I saw her standing in the doorway.
“I need to go,” I cried as I tried to not collapse into a mess.
“You are too drunk to drive anywhere. I told Nate to get the girls and we will drive you home. We can pick up your car at another time,” explained April. I was so grateful for my best friend.
Patrick
DAMN EVERYTHING TO hell. Today was a disaster and now I was consoling a very upset Veronika while I found myself angry with Brielle. I hated how all of this had gone down. I was upset with Veronika for coming home early in the first place, but what happened with Brielle was uncalled for though I felt terrible for raising my voice to Brielle. I had a headache from all of it.
Once everything happened, it all seemed to fall like dominos. Brielle stormed off with April cursing me as she and her husband gathered their kids. My mom was next to leave, I’d taken her inside and told her that I’d moved Veronika out for the pregnancy and she went off the rails. My mom went on and on about how Veronika was using me for money and the baby couldn’t possibly be mine. She yelled at me until she got into the car with Gerald. I hated having my own mother angry with me.
I rubbed my temples as I sent Veronika off to take a shower to clean the food off her. I was frustrated when I heard my cell phone chime. I dragged myself from the couch and into the kitchen where Brielle’s mom was packing up everything they’d brought for the party. She gave me a look, she didn’t need any irate words to express her own anger with me. I let out a breath as I picked up my phone from the counter.
BRIELLE ELLIOT: You and I are more than completely done. I don’t do this anymore. You treat me like trash there with my family. Fuck you and your hoebag. I hate it all. Don’t ever even try with calling me. You ass fuck never. I don’t never needed you, you listen with me.
I tried to hold in my laughter. When I’d gone to ask Brielle to make Veronika some food, I’d seen her doing tequila shots with April. Her text message was completely the tequila talking and it wasn’t Brielle at all. I shook my head as I set my phone back on the counter. I knew I needed to talk to her eventually, but I would wait until she’d had time to calm down and sober up. I leaned against the counter and groaned. I spotted Brielle’s dad walk into the kitchen in search of his wife.
“Anam and all have just left,” he informed his wife. He glanced over to me. I knew I was going to hear it. I’d promised him that I wouldn’t hurt Brielle ever and here I was breaking her heart. I took a breath to prepare for his words. I’d hurt his daughter and I deserved his wrath. “Patrick…”
“Yes, sir,” I answered.
“I’m not sure what is going on here with you, Bri, and this other girl, but you know I don’t like seeing my baby upset,” he spoke strongly with conviction. I didn’t like seeing Brielle upset either.
“I know and I’m sorry. I will make this right. A lot has been going on and I hate that Bri had to be brought into this,” I explained or at least tried to.
“You better, don’t forget I know where you live… as I am in your house right now. If you are going to be with my little girl, you will make her happy. I watched her be unhappy for a long time and I’m not going to allow that again.”
“I know and we will work this out.”
“I’m ready,” called out Brielle’s mom.
“Mom, dad, thanks for everything and I promise I will make this right with Bri. I will,” I promised them. I watched them pick up their things. “I love her too much to let her go like this.”
“We know you do,” her mom acknowledged, giving me a small smile. “We know.”
I watched them leave. I was going to give her time. I needed to make things right with her before the night was over though, I wasn’t going to allow us to enter another day before this was resolved.
I walked back into the living room to see Veronika exiting her room wearing a powder blue nightgown. She looked refreshed, I was happy about that fact. I walked right to her and gave her a weak smile.
“Feeling better?” I asked. She shrugged as tears started to fall from her eyes. Right away I started to rub her back. Getting her upset was not a good thing, I didn’t want her blood pressure going up. I hated all of this. “Ronnie…”
“I don’t know she attacked me so. I just asked for water, I was feeling warm. I was nice about it and she attack me like some animal. Patrick, I don’t like her around, it makes me upset. It makes me scared for the baby.” Veronika looked truthfully scared and upset. I was so conflicted.
“Ronnie, Bri is my girlfriend and I love her. I can’t just break-up with her. She means alot to me and I’m sure she didn’t mean to upset you. I know her, she has a good heart, she wouldn’t hurt anyone,” I attempted to explain.
“Maybe I go back to Deutschland, it will be safer for my baby,” she said looking determined. I couldn’t just let her go back to Germany. I’d made the decision to be a part of my kid’s life and Veronika was willing to come here. My heart pounded.
“No, things will be okay. I will talk to Brielle. You won’t have to worry about the baby. I promise you won’t.” I was begging Veronika now. I wasn’t going to lose my child through this. I’d made the decision to be the best father I could be, better than the man who should have been there for me. We would work things out, but it was going to be a challenge. Brielle needed to understand and there needed to be some compromise, if not I was going to pick my child.
MY HEAD WAS pounding as I lay on my couch curled in a ball. This day couldn’t have gone any more wrong. April and Nate drove me home. During the drive I sent a very angry and drunken text to Patrick, breaking up. I came home and turned my phone off before spending the next couple hours vomiting because of the tequila, and crying because of my broken heart.
I heard a key in my front door. I figured it must be my mom trying to check on me as nobody could get through to me over the phone. I let out a sigh and sat up. I felt defeated inside. My front door opened and I heard footsteps before the sound of his voice reached me.
“Bri, are you home?” Patrick called out.
“What do you want?” I growled angrily. I quickly grabbed my pounding head. I didn’t feel well enough to deal with any of this. Why was he even here? I’d told him it was over. I was done with him and Veronika. I didn’t want to be a part of this sick game she was playing with him.
I saw him come into view. He looked sad and defeated as he saw me. He leaned against the entranceway to my living room. I closed my eyes, trying to lessen the pain that was shooting through my head. I needed a painkiller. I let out a moan before I opened my eyes.
“I sent you a text, but I guess you are here to yell at me more,” I said.
“I got it. It wasn’t the most legible text ever. I think it was the alcohol texting and not you,” Patrick responded before he came towards me. He sat next to me on the couch. I looked into his honey eyes. His eyes had so much pain. “Bri, I don’t blame you for leaving or wanting to leave me. I know it is not an ideal situation for anyone and Veronika can be a pain to deal with,” he let out a sigh. “I’m sorry for yelling at you. I was frustrated and it was wrong of me. Babe, I understand if you are completely done with us. I don’t know if I could ever be as patient as you have been. You’re amazing and I know I can take that for granted, but…” I knew there had to be a but somewhere. “You were wrong for what you did and said to Ronnie. She didn’t deserve that.” I rolled my eyes.