The Swap - Second Chances: Second Chances

by Hart, Alana

  He sent Macy a text. I'm on...

  Within five minutes Macy logged onto her tablet and there she smiled at him, her eyes kept darting around. "I'm making sure Darnell's in bed. He claimed he had a headache so he showered and went right to bed. I told him I wanted to check my emails and grabbed my tablet and came down into my office. Hang on let me go check," Macy said and set her tablet down.

  Will waited and Macy came back smiling big. "Okay, he's asleep in bed. He fell asleep with the TV on. I thought I heard something and I wondered if he were talking to Jenna," she said.

  "I'm glad you're here," Will said smiling.

  "Jenna?"

  "She's in the tub. Exhausted," Will said and made a motion with his hand to his forehead making light of the situation.

  "So should we talk about what happened with us tonight?" Macy asked.

  Will shrugged. "It happened. It wouldn't have happened if your husband and my wife were behaving. They're not and I'm almost to the point that I don't care. You know what I mean?" Will asked with a wink to the web cam.

  Macy blushed. "I do," she whispered. "So the question remains, where do we go from here?"

  "That, my dear, is the question of the century. I suppose we wait and see the implosion of our collective marriages, and then we pick up the pieces."

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jenna stared hard at the test results in her hand. Pregnant. She strained to remember the last time she and Will slept together and it had been so long she couldn't even pinpoint it. She had kept him satisfied with hand jobs here and there but they hadn't connected in many cycles. She swallowed hard.

  She sent Darnell an urgent text. Something happened. We need to talk NOW. I'll be there in a few...

  On the way to work she went over different scenarios about how she'd tell Darnell. Her mind threw questions at her one after the other. Even if she did get Will to sleep with her real quick the baby would obviously look like they came from a black father. She shook her head, there's no way to escape this.

  She sailed past the receptionist giving her a cursory smile and nod as she rushed on down the hall and hoped Darnell had made it in already. She needed to tell him. He came rushing around the corner.

  "Jenna? Are you okay? I got your message," Darnell said and Jenna rushed into her office and looked at the door. Darnell shut it and locked it.

  Jenna fished around in her purse and produced the test. After thrusting it in Darnell's hands she said, "You're the only man I've been with in months. I haven't slept with Will at all since you and I got together, except maybe once in the very beginning. I've had several cycles since then, so there is no mistaking this." Her eyes landed on Darnell as he took in the test and the information she just spewed at him.

  "This is, you're uh," Darnell tried to say but the words escaped him.

  "I guess we need to have a meeting with Will and Macy and come clean. I mean, I can't pull this off as Will's baby. You're certainly darker skinned," Jenna said with a nervous laugh.

  "Well, let me ask you Jenna, are you happy about it?"

  Jenna looked up at Darnell. "Happy? I just got caught having an affair on my husband. We weren't trying to get pregnant and my lover made me pregnant. My lover is also a married man and my boss. Should I be?" Jenna cried.

  "Will and Macy aside, are you happy? I mean a baby! I know we're in a difficult situation but I'm thrilled," Darnell got up and went to Jenna.

  Jenna broke down and cried while Darnell comforted her. "Hey now, it's going to be okay. We will figure this out. We'll just have to have a confession session and see how everyone reacts. Both Will and Macy are reasonable adults. And don't you think they may suspect? I do," Darnell said.

  Jenna turned her teary eyes to Darnell. "Yeah, I guess we need to tell them. When?"

  "Well, no time like the present. Let's do it tonight," Darnell said as he rubbed Jenna's back.

  "Shouldn't we wait until I get a doctor's confirmation?"

  "No. Even if there's not a baby, this needs to come out. Jenna, I'm miserable. I am in love with you. I do love Macy, but not enough to stay faithful. You have been the love of my life forever. I honestly thought I'd never see you again when I married Macy. I tried to stay away from you but it was so hard. Now that we've been together these months I'm happiest at work. I go home and there's stress and tension. Macy deserves better than this. I want to set her free to find the one she belongs with. I want to be free so I can rightfully be with you. But now that a baby is on the way, it's all the more important. This cinches it," Darnell said.

  Jenna nodded. What he said rang true with her and she knew they needed to do this. "I've been miserable at home since before we got together. I tried to make it work with Will. It's like we're two different people, we just don't mesh like we should. I don't know, I guess if you hadn't come back into my life it may have been different. But fate intervened and here we are. Baby and all," Jenna said rubbing her belly.

  "Then we'll tell them tonight."

  "What about our living arrangements. If marriages are over, then homes will be interrupted. I doubt Will will want me sticking around. I'm not sure how Macy feels or what we'll do," Jenna said always the worrier.

  "We'll figure out the details as it happens. We just need to get through this. Don't worry, if Will kicks you out I'll take care of you," Darnell said.

  "What about Macy? She has just claim to your property and business. What will we do?"

  "You know, I don't know about all the details. We'll deal with it Jenna. We have to trust that all will work out. Let's just take it one step at a time here and move on. Let's set up a meeting tonight to tell Macy and Will. We'll go from there," Darnell said.

  "Okay," Jenna said suddenly feeling sick.

  "Don't worry, it will all be okay. It will work out, you'll see. I will make sure of it. I'm relieved to be honest. To get this out in the open and to be able to be with you. Come here," Darnell said and pulled Jenna into his embrace.

  "You know, I think we conceived this baby when Will and I went to your house a few weeks ago," Jenna said blushing.

  "Yes, I'm sure, or the days before that..."

  They both chuckled and kissed. Darnell aimed to keep his promise to take care of her and he'd pay Macy and Will off too if necessary. One thing in Darnell's corner had to be his massive wealth. He smiled through the rest of the day as they set up the meeting with Will and Macy.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Will and Jenna sat in the Pickens living room that evening. Jenna kept eyeing Darnell to determine when would be an appropriate time. Before the meeting Macy had texted Will about it.

  This is it I believe. Come expecting to hear a confession.

  Will glanced at Macy as she widened her eyes as they waited for the small talk to subside. Jenna noted the exchange between the two and started wondering then if they had a thing going on too.

  "What's up?" Will asked looking at Jenna and Darnell. Macy came to sit closer to Will. She kept a pleasant look on her face.

  "I'm sure you all have suspected this," Darnell started to say.

  "First, Will, please forgive me. I never intended to hurt you. This just happened..." Jenna said and stifled a cry.

  Darnell put his hand out for Jenna to stop. He took a deep breath and looked Will and Macy in the eye. "Jenna's pregnant. I'm the father. We've been having an affair for months. We want to come together with you two to come to an amicable resolution here. Macy, I'm sorry. You deserve better than this," Darnell said.

  "Pregnant?" Macy asked as she stared straight ahead and then looked Darnell and Jenna in the eye.

  "I'm sorry Will," Jenna said looking at her husband who just sat there. "Macy, I'm sorry. You've been nothing but nice to me..."

  Will sat up with a grave look on his face. "Yeah, I figured as much. I didn't realize you'd get knocked up though. I have to say I'm disappointed in both of you," Will said looking from Jenna to Darnell.

  "Well, obviously this means we need to do something h
ere. I want to be a part of my baby's life so we need to come to some sort of agreement," Darnell said.

  "So what Darnell? What do you want? You gather us here to tell us in group fashion you two have been cheating on us. Are you saying it's over with our marriages?" Macy asked her eyes pinned on Darnell.

  Darnell just looked at the floor and nodded slightly. "I guess, I'm not sure. Do you want to stay in a marriage knowing I impregnated another woman and then told you about it?"

  "What the fuck man, who are you in love with here? Out with it," Will said with great aggravation in his voice.

  "Look it's not as simple as that. I love my wife, I do. I love Jenna. This just happened. We, Jenna and I, we want to be together. I don't know how else to say it other than to just out with it as you say. I'm trying to be cordial. This is a tough situation," Darnell said.

  "Of your own making," Will said.

  "Okay, okay, stop, everyone please. Will, I'm sorry. I should have told you before Darnell and I ever got together. I didn't. I got caught up in it. I love Darnell. I love you but I've loved Darnell forever. We made a baby. This changes things. I suppose you could say this is a meeting with me asking you for a divorce," Jenna said.

  Macy turned to Darnell. "And I suppose you're asking for one as well?"

  Darnell looked down, guilty for his intentions. "Yes, Macy. We asked everyone here at the same time because this affects all four of us. This isn't a pleasant situation."

  "You think?" Macy said. She cut her eyes quickly to Will then back to Darnell. "Look, Will and I have suspected this for some time. We thought about confronting you earlier but we didn't have concrete proof."

  Jenna raised her eyebrows at Will and sighed. "Hind sight is twenty-twenty. If I could go back and redo how I did this I would. It got out of control. Will, I'm so sorry."

  "Are you? Why couldn't you have set me free before now?" Will said as he hit his closed fist on his legs.

  "Yes I am," Jenna said as the tears sprung free. Darnell wanted to get up and go to her but he thought better of it so he hung back to allow Jenna and Will to sort this out.

  "Stop everyone. No use in name calling, or spewing insults. We're all hurt here. Or at least I guess maybe it's just Will and I. It happened. I suspected, I knew. So what do you want Darnell? Do you want me to move out of the house?" Macy asked.

  "No, there are plenty of rooms, I can move into a guest room. We'll have to hash out the technicalities. Jenna, if you need someplace to stay..."

  "Oh no, she's not staying at the house while I am. Bull shit on that," Macy said.

  "Stop! Everyone, please. I will move out. That way there's no ill feelings on it. And Jenna, you can come with me, since we're already in a family way. Will can have his house. Macy will have hers. Everyone happy?" Darnell said to everyone's shock.

  "I. I don't know. It seems awfully sudden. You two move in together?" Will asked looking at Darnell.

  "Why not? It's done, is it not? Jenna and I will move in. You and Macy can have the homes. No one is out of a home," Darnell said. "And I'll hire an attorney tomorrow to start proceedings. I'd like to get this over with as quick as possible."

  "I'm sure," Will said with his jaw flexing.

  "Macy, I'm sorry. I will gather a few things and will leave tonight. Jenna, I'll let you know where to meet me later," Darnell said. He fought the urge to kiss her but didn't in front of Will and Macy.

  "Well, since you drove yourself here I assume you can get back to get your things. I'll be home later. Macy are you okay?" Will asked.

  "I'm fine. I'm going to talk to Darnell once you all leave," Macy said. Jenna had gotten up to leave the room and Macy mouthed to Will I will call you later.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Macy followed Darnell up to their master suite to talk with him while he packed. "You don't have to leave. This is as much your house as it is mine, and there's plenty of room here for you to stay," Macy said.

  Darnell paused the packing and regarded his wife. He softened a bit feeling bad for how things worked out. "Macy," he started to say shaking his head.

  "Don't. I just want to know. Did you feel I couldn't give you what she did? I mean I'm here for you day in and day out and you chose to turn to her," Macy said her eyes staying steady on Darnell.

  "Macy, I swear to you, I never set out to do this. When I married you I loved you and I thought we'd be married forever. But Jenna just happened. She happened so long ago and we never had closure. You have to know when I ran into her when I hired her it was not my intention to sleep with her. I don't know, maybe I'm a weak man. I fell in love with her all over again. I tried for months to resist the urge. But in a weak moment I couldn't resist and it just escalated from there," Darnell said.

  "So you do love her then. It's not just a heat of the moment?"

  "I never stopped loving her, Macy. I'm so sorry. I failed us, I know. But there's a baby on the way now. I need to do what's right by the baby. I want to be with Jenna. I don't want to hurt you but I'd be lying if I said I wanted to stay here and keep trying," Darnell said.

  Darnell thought it odd that Macy wasn't as upset as he thought she'd be. She seemed to be taking it in stride, calm and almost indifferent. "What do you want out of this?" he asked.

  "What? Like the bank account, the house, the cars?" she asked with a chuckle. "I'm not so materialistic that I want to take it all from you. I don't know that I want this house even. I think we can come to some terms. I'm not going to lie down and cry if that's what you think. You're moving on with life and so will I," Macy said and turned to leave the room. She decided she'd had enough.

  After Darnell left she sent a text to Will. Is the coast clear? It took about half an hour before he texted back.

  It is now. Jenna packed and left. Cyber?

  'K - logging on now.

  Will and Macy met in the chat room. This time Macy didn't have to hide what she was doing and neither did Will.

  "So I guess you are right, they had an affair," Will said smiling and enjoying seeing Macy on the screen.

  "Yeah, not too much to miss there. A baby, wow. How do you feel about that?" Macy asked.

  "Not sure. We had discussed having a baby but it never transpired. You?"

  Macy thought for a moment. "We really didn't discuss having babies yet. Darnell is very driven in his career and in making money. I mean I figured we'd have a baby someday just not so soon. I'll be watching with interest to see how Darnell acts with Jenna," Macy said.

  "Yeah. It's crazy. Jenna kept asking if I was okay. I guess I've braced for this for a while so it really came as no surprise," Will said.

  "And where did they go?"

  "I have no clue. She packed her bags and received a call from Darnell in the interim and said good-bye. She looked a bit peaked so I guess she wasn't feeling great. I don't know, her lover had her meet him somewhere. Speaking of which Macy dear, where do we go from here?" Will said his eyes burning through the screen at Macy.

  Macy smiled sweetly. "I'm not sure Will dear. I do know that two wrongs don't make a right if you know what I mean," she said wistfully.

  "No one has to know. They've left us Macy. Why should we sit at home alone during this? We'll be divorced and free in about thirty to forty days I'm guessing. So why can't we just see each other during that? No one has to know," Will said.

  "Mmm, I don't know, it seems awfully risky," Macy said smiling to the point her cute dimples appeared below her cheeks.

  Will longed to reach out and caress her face. He craved the taste of her red lips. Ever since the brief kiss they shared a couple of weeks ago he's done nothing but dream about kissing her more. "Why don't you come over?" Will asked.

  "William Stuart, the body's not even cold yet and you're ready to move on!"

  "Honey, the body that constituted my and Jenna's marriage died and grew cold long ago." They both chuckled.

  "It feels good to laugh like this," Macy said.

  "Ah, but I'm serious. What's stopping us now
?"

  "I think we should wait until at least the divorces are file, don't you? I mean come on. They are the ones with egg on their face. We didn't do anything wrong. One little kiss a couple of weeks ago doesn't make us the ones committing infidelity. We would have never done that if we hadn't been suspicious in the first place, right?"

  "Yeah, your right. But you know what? I'm actually kind of glad it happened," Will admitted.

  "Are you?" Macy asked, a slight look of confusion on her face. She tilted her head to the side. "Starting out I wouldn't have wanted this. No offence. I didn't take my marriage vows lightly. I would have wanted it to work. But it's been months of cold shoulders and avoidances, I guess I'm calloused to it now."

  "I didn't take my marriage vows lightly either. And starting out I didn't want this. But it's happened and I can say as I sit in my house alone after my wife, pregnant by her lover, has left, that I'm okay. I am glad I met you Macy. I don't know what's going to transpire. But I do know one thing, ever since I met you I enjoy your company. I am looking forward to seeing you again, somehow," Will said.

  Macy blushed. "Me too, Will. Me too."

  Chapter Nineteen

  Darnell booked a suite at the only hotel in town, the largest one they had and brought Jenna to it. That first night she fell into Darnell's arms and just cried. The news of the pregnancy still weighed on her mind and the official split of her and Will's marriage made her sad.

  "Are you sad at all?" she asked Darnell as they settled into bed.

  "No, life is too short to be sad. Honey, I spent the past several months going over this in my mind. I've said good-bye to Macy long ago. She's really a sweet lady and deserves someone who won't cheat on her like I did. But that's not to say that I'm a chronic cheater. Far from it. You're my one true love, Jenna. I'm not going to apologize about that," Darnell said.

  Jenna smiled and rolled toward him, planting a kiss on his lips. "I guess we need to get used to each other, huh?"