by J A Fielding
“You look so beautiful,” he said in a whisper.
“So, I shouldn’t care that I am in sandals even though we are no longer in a warm sunny resort looking at a perfect water body that is sun kissed on the horizon?” she asked and he smiled.
“No. And I think you would do great in the marketing sector. You have a way with words.”
She took another bite of her samosa.
“This was a bad idea,” she said shaking her head.
“It was either this or get our ears chewed off by two sides of what is obviously a very opinionated family.”
She smiled at him.
“I know my family is a mess and loud and dramatic.”
He nodded.
“It is what makes them so special.”
She frowned.
“Are you sure you don’t regret anything?” she asked and he shook his head.
“I would never.”
“Even when I flare up and look like a giant hippo because I am carrying the fruit of your loins inside my body?” she asked and he smiled.
“It is your fruit too. I kind of remember you being present when we made them,” he said matter of factly as he leaned in and kissed her cheek. “And we still have a few minutes to burn before people get here. So, maybe…” he started before kissing her other cheek.
“You went from being so scared to get intimate because you were concerned you were hurting the babies to this nymphomaniac overnight, not that I’m complaining.”
He shrugged.
“So, if you’re not complaining, why can’t we just make a run for the bedroom? Or better yet, the guest room downstairs?”
He was already leaning in to kiss her and she let him brush her lips with his own. She put her finger on his lips and took a long deep breath.
“Well, as tempting as that offer is right now, I really can’t do it because this.” She pointed at her hair and her face. “Took half an hour to perfect and I love you, baby. I really do, but I am not messing up this do until we get rid of the guests.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good.”
“But I should warn you, that dress is making things very hard for me. And I mean, literally.”
“Would it help if I just changed into a t-shirt and sweats instead?”
He shook his head.
“It is not the clothes. It’s you and…this,” he said as he looked at her chest. “It is like they are just begging for me to touch them.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll get to play with them soon enough without the probability of scarring Rosa for life.”
He laughed and she held his face with one hand before kissing him softly. She pulled back and gently ran her fingers through his hair. “So, what were you doing anyway?”
“Going through my emails. Trying to answer the ones I can.”
She raised an eyebrow over the other.
“Trying?”
“Trying but desperately failing.”
She pulled back and sat down at the counter as she took the final bite of her samosa and reached for another one.
“Anything else on your mind?” she asked and he shook his head.
“Why would you think there is something on my mind?”
“Because you always get like this…burying yourself in work or at least try to bury yourself in work when you are trying to clear your mind.”
He nodded and took a long deep breath.
“There is something, isn’t there?” she asked.
“I got a text from my mother,” he said and she nodded.
“Okay.”
“My grandmother is also coming.”
She raised an eyebrow over the other.
“Your grandmother?” she asked looking a little confused.
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand, you have never really talked about your grandparents. I always thought they were deceased or something.”
He shook his head.
“No, I should only be so lucky.”
Trina gasped.
“Axel!”
“It’s true. My grandmother and I are not on the best terms mostly because she is a racist b…” His voice trailed off when he noticed the look she was giving him. “We don’t talk because she is racist.”
“Oh, okay. That’s good to know.”
“It didn’t start with you, Trina. She has always been like this.”
She shook her head.
“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” she said and he exhaled loudly as he powered off his laptop.
“All right. Eight years ago, my school had these two kids from India. A boy and his sister.”
Trina nodded.
“Okay.”
“We were close, Rajesh and I, and my grandmother hated the idea of our friendship. It was like having a big stain on her favorite dress or something and it only got worse when she got me and Radha, that’s Rajesh’s sister…she caught us on the back porch and it was like all hell had broken loose. The way she spoke, the way she looked at her…at us with utter disgust…” He shook his head and exhaled deeply.
“Oh, baby…I’m sorry,” Trina said as she reached for his hand.
“I don’t know why she thinks the way she does, but I found out much, much later what she really thought about interracial relationships. She is one of those people who believes in America for Americans.”
Trina frowned.
“America for Americans? As in A4A? The terrorist group?” she asked and he nodded. “Those guys are evil. I mean the make the KKK look like freaking angels.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
“And do your parents know that? Do they know what your grandmother stands for?” she asked and he shrugged.
“They do. Everyone does. I think they just choose to tolerate her because she is the family matriarch…I mean, why do you think I broke off from the family drama to set up Ornen?” he asked and she shrugged. “I wanted to be free of her. Free of the messy family relationships.”
Trina bit her lip and put her half-eaten samosa down.
“I don’t know what you are going to do about your grandmother, but she does not sound like someone I want to have around Ethan and Ellie. I mean, they will be biracial and in essence that makes you a race betrayer. That is not the kind of hateful life I want my kids to grow up in.”
He sighed loudly.
“I know. And I don’t want to expose them to someone like that either…I mean, the world is already terrible enough without people reasoning like that.”
She shrugged.
“Just sitting here wondering why your parents are still tolerating her.”
“It’s bullshit really,” he said. “That is why I am usually so blissful not including my family in anything personal.”
“But your parents…you have always been very close. I mean, I know about your Wednesday night Skype calls,” she said and he nodded.
“My immediate family is awesome. I have no issue with them. It is just my grandmother and all my other relatives who think the same.”
She shook her head.
“There are more people in the family who have the same thoughts as your grandmother?” she asked in surprise and he nodded.
“Sometimes I think those members of the family make up the whole A4A.”
“So, and I am just throwing this in there, being of Scandinavian descent and everything, doesn’t your grandmother and other like-minded people in your family realize that in essence, they are the immigrants in this scenario?” she asked.
He shook his head and buried his face in his hands.
“I know it’s ridiculous. But if my folks don’t get a way of keeping her from here, I might not be a free man long enough to meet our children,” he said.
“Don’t say that. We will have the Andersons and the Crews here and believe me the Crews side of the family has a way of dealing with such people.”
He looked at her and shrugged.
“How do you propos
e they will make this work exactly?” he asked and she laughed.
“Have you tried being a black person in America?” she asked. “Between my crazy aunt, me, my mother, and my own grandmother who is her own special kind of crazy, trust me when I tell you we’ve got this. We have three or maybe four generations of dealing with racists.”
She bit her lip and got off her seat before she made her way to where he was. She was smiling as she held the back of his neck and took a step closer to kiss his cheek.
“I’m sorry you married into a crazy family,” he said in a soft voice and she shook her head.
“Don’t be. Crazy always attracts crazy. At least I know now why you found me attractive,” she pointed out just as Rosa walked into the kitchen.
“The cake is here, and an airport shuttle just pulled up in the driveway,” she announced and Trina exhaled loudly.
“Thanks, Rosa.”
“And so the fun begins,” Axel said in a soft voice.
“We’ll be fine,” Trina said giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.
*****
As it turned out, being prepared for the worst was not such a bad thing. Trina did not know what to expect in meeting the only member of the Anderson family she was yet to meet but knowing that it was a person who was going to treat her like some third-class citizen really helped her approach. And she soon came to realize that Axel had not been exaggerating at all. Maintaining a straight face was harder than she thought and it was hard for her own family too.
It had been an awkward two hours a she sat next to Axel wondering if it would be rude for her to just walk out when Victoria walked up to where she was.
“I’m sorry, Axel, but I have to steal her for a minute. It’s work,” she said and Trina nodded.
“Of course.”
Axel tightened his grip around her hand making her turn to look into his eyes.
“Please take me with you,” he whispered and she smiled.
“Go to your happy place. Trust me, it works.”
She pulled away and led Victoria out to the back porch.
“So, I think things were a little frosty in there,” Victoria started as Trina leaned against the wall.
“Tell me about it.” She gently pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. “It is a mess in there.”
“How come? I mean, I know you were always trying to avoid your parents, but I always thought that things were cool between you and them ever since the wedding.”
Trina sighed and began walking into the garden.
“Things are cool. It’s not my family I am worried about.”
Victoria shook her head.
“Don’t tell me it’s the Andersons. I mean, you are closer to them than you are your own family.”
“It is the new member of the family I got to meet who is causing all this tension,” Trina said. She sat down and exhaled loudly. “I feel like I am hosting a really twisted version of Family Feud. No money, no fun. Just an annoying white woman who thinks the world of herself.”
“Just what did she do?” Victoria pressed as she sat down next to her.
“She is a racist bitch. That’s what.”
Victoria shook her head.
“What?”
Trina nodded.
“Yeah. She has been telling Rosa that she has very good English for an immigrant and she looked at me and the first thing she asked was whether I have taken a break from the hard drugs.”
Victoria forced out a laugh.
“Why didn’t you punch her in the face right then and there?” she asked.
Trina shook her head.
“Because I am never going to see her again and because I do not want to give birth in a prison infirmary,” she said, smiling.
Victoria laughed.
“Prison infirmary? Really?” she asked. “You would get a warning or something.”
“Not really because she is a feeble old woman and I promise you, I don’t think I would stop at just one punch.”
Victoria smiled and sat down next to her.
“Well, I hate to bring business to you on a day like this, but this couldn’t wait,” she started.
“All right. What’s going on?”
“Al really came through for us with Sonya if that is even her real name,” Victoria started and Trina shook her head.
“What do you mean ‘if that is even her real name?’ What are you talking about?” she asked.
“Well, as it turns out, Sonya has been a serial intern if I can call her that all over the country. And she always has the same scheme. Cozy up to the boss and then when they fall out, she leaves with a nice check but this sting she pulled with Lucas is her biggest job yet.”
“Retirement plan or something?” Trina asked and Victoria shrugged.
“I don’t know. But she has never had a sword this big hanging over any man’s head.”
Trina shook her head.
“So, are you sure we can trust this?”
“Definitely. Apparently, Al got a friend to help out as he was looking into Sonya’s finances and there were a lot of red flags. And just like that, we got everything we need to get our client out of this mess without costing him everything he’s got,” Victoria explained.
“That is the best news I have heard all day,” Trina said, smiling.
“Well, you better get in touch with Lucas…” Victoria started before she noticed the look Trina was giving her. “Or I will get in touch with Lucas.”
“Good.”
“Now, about HHM,” Victoria went on and Trina shrugged.
“What about HHM?”
Victoria sighed loudly.
“You still haven’t gotten back to them about the capital contribution.”
Trina sighed loudly.
“They sent me a letter telling me that they were going to delay paying back my capital contribution for another eight months because the last two quarters have not been so great. How am I supposed to reply to that? It is not like I can messenger a picture of me flipping them out.”
“I think they are just trying to form a relationship after basically burning every bridge back when you were still working there.”
“Well, I think they are suddenly getting friendly because of Bree Fonseca.”
Victoria shook her head.
“How would HHM even know about Bree Fonseca?” she asked and Trina shrugged.
“Bree Fonseca dropped her law firm last year in a very public melee during the New York Fashion Week. It was quite obvious that she was going to be looking for new representation and with them setting up their new headquarters here, it was obvious that HHM would want to get into bed with her. Metaphorically of course.”
Victoria took a long deep breath.
“Well, that makes sense. And there is also the fact that where Bree Fonseca goes, a lot of fashion businesses sprout. So, there is a lot of potential work for a lot of companies.”
Trina shrugged.
“Case in point. And I will roll in my grave first before I even give them the time of day…I mean, what they did makes my kids’ great grandmother look like a saint in my eyes.”
“Well, I am happy to be a part of Crews-Anderson and not HHM,” Victoria said, smiling.
“And I am happy you took a chance on me,” Trina said as she reached for Victoria’s hand.
“You leaving was a real-life Jerry Maguire moment and I was definitely going to grab the opportunity.”
Trina heard her name being called from inside the house and sighed.
“I have to go back in. But make the call to Lucas. We can have the final settlement meeting tomorrow.”
She got up and exhaled loudly.
“Finally, everyone will get to know what I’m having. I’m so tired of pretending not to be excited every time someone offers to buy me something for the baby. They should be buying two of everything,” she said as she began walking to the door.
“Hold up.” Victoria ran to where she was and stood in front of her. “You’
re having twins?” she asked in a whisper and Trina nodded.
“I have kept it quiet for long enough.”
“Oh, my God!” Victoria said, still whispering. Her face was all flushed from containing her excitement.
‘“I know, right?”
“So, are we talking two girls? Or two boys?”
Trina smiled.
“One of each actually. Ethan and Ellie.”
“That is so cute…does anyone else know?” Victoria asked and Trina shook her head.
“We have kept it under wraps until today of course when I cut that pink and blue cake in a few minutes.”
“So, I am the first person to find out?” Victoria asked and Trina nodded. She threw her arms around Trina’s shoulders. “I told you that trip to the Alps was the best thing that would ever happen to you.”
“Actually, I don’t remember you saying that.”
“Well, I did, but you were too busy complaining about the whole cold atmosphere thing to hear me,” Victoria pointed out, laughing.
Chapter 8
The alarm had just gone off when Axel’s eyes fluttered open. He turned off the alarm and gently ran his hand up and down Trina’s arm when he heard her groan softly.
“You’re awake?” he asked.
“OF course, I am. Your alarm is like a sick bird in my ear,” she said in a groggy voice.
“I’ll get rid of it.”
“You have been saying that for a year.”
“And I mean it this time. I promise.”
He gently planted a kiss on her head and she curled up even closer to him.
“Have you heard from your family?” he asked.
“Yeah, they got home okay. You?”
“Yes. They did. And hopefully I never have to see or talk to my grandmother ever again.” He kissed her head again. “I’m so sorry…about everything.”
“Don’t be. It is not like you have a choice on who your family is.”
Axel grunted.
“Yes, unfortunately.”
“Well, one thing’s for sure. I am done with family reunions for a while,” she pointed out matter of factly.
“You and me both. I mean, if I never have to host another family event, it will be too soon,” Axel said and she smiled.