Love Never Fails

by L. D. Harmison

  “So are you going to move?”

  “I have no choice. He makes the money. I have to follow where the money’s at?”

  They sit there eating their meals sad that they won’t be able to see each other as much. Monica’s going to miss her best friend. Kelly has been there for her for everything she’s gone through. After they eat, they head to the galleria, and do a little shopping. Monica still needed to drive back to Baytown to pick Ella up from school. When she’s driving back, her phone rings and she receives the worst news ever.

  Lauren has been crying. “Monica. Dear, your dad had a heart attack at work.”

  “What?” Monica cries. “Is he alright? Which hospital is he at? I’m on my way?”

  “Dear.” Lauren pauses.

  The little pause her mom did, already answered Monica’s question. She starts hyperventilating trying to catch her breathe. And she screams.

  “Daddy. No daddy.”

  “Dear he was by himself in his office. And by the time his secretary found him, it was too late.” Lauren voice cracks, trying to compose herself.

  At times Jake blames himself for what happened to John. If he was in his office instead of having a meeting with clients, he probably could have saved him. Having to bury her father was the worst thing that has happened to Monica.

  She inherited her father’s company making her the president and CEO, which put a lot of strain on her. She’s worked for Jo-Wills a couple of summers, but that’s it. How is she going to run her father’s business? A business he worked very hard for.

  Since Jake knew the ins and outs of the business, she made Jake the co-president. They are now both owners of a well-established company, thanks to her father. Losing her father affected her in a dramatic way. She had a miscarriage weeks after her father’s passing. She felt like everything was falling apart. With Jake running the business and working so much, Monica felt alone. She needs her best friend, but she’s in another state.

  On Ella’s sixteenth birthday, Jake bought her a car, so she can drive herself to school every day. Monica lays in bed all day depressed of all the things happening to her. Jake would come home from work, with her still in bed. He needs to do something fast. He can’t stand his wife crumbling apart. He builds a home for Lauren on their eighty-one acres, making it easier for Lauren to check up on Monica while he’s at work.

  Every morning, Lauren forces her to get up and eat. Her mom being there helps a lot. She doesn’t feel so alone during the day. It took a year for Monica to finally start getting back to normal self. She is happily surprised when Kelly shows up at her house.

  “Oh my god. What are you doing here? I miss you so much.” Monica hugs Kelly excited to see her.

  “Josh wants a divorce.” Kelly cries.

  “Oh baby. I’m so sorry.” Monica holds tight onto Kelly. “Why?”

  “I’ve wanted to have kids, and he said he wasn’t ready. And now that I’m pregnant.”

  Monica cuts Kelly off, “That fucking asshole. How is he going to divorce you after you get pregnant?”

  Kelly cries in Monica’s arms hurting, realizing she’s going to be pregnant alone. The father of her child doesn’t want to be with her. He has his own life, and he doesn’t want to involve her and their child in it. Monica offers for Kelly to live with them.

  After their divorce gets finalized, Kelly continues to live with Monica while Josh stays in Louisiana. Monica can’t believe Josh did that to her best friend. How dare him. She knows Kelly is in a better situation now. She can have her baby, find her a job, and then start fresh. Plus this is what Monica needed. For her best friend to help get her life back to normal.

  Monica drops off Jake’s clothes to the cleaners, and the lady tells her something that is very shocking.

  “Hi Mrs. Harris.”

  “Hi Suma.”

  “How are you?”

  “I’m doing better. Thanks. I’m here to drop off Jake’s clothes.”

  Suma writes the order slip, and packs Jake’s clothes in a bag

  “Mr. Harris’ clothes is ready.”

  “Ready?”

  “Yes. He dropped it off two months ago, but he never came by to pick it up.”

  “Oh yeah. I forgot. I’ll go ahead and get it.”

  Suma hands her Jake’s clothes, and Monica smiles at her hurt of what she just heard. Why would Jake drop off his own clothes? He’s never done that before. She doesn’t let it bother her. She convinces herself there’s a good reason he did it.

  Kelly goes into labor, and Monica drives her to the hospital. She stays in the delivery room to supporting her best friend. When Kelly delivers her baby, the doctor tells them to welcome her baby boy. After the doctor wipes the slime off the baby’s face, Monica stares at Kelly’s baby, and she feels sick to her stomach. The room is spinning and she wants to throw up. She looks at Kelly crying, frustrated, hurt, and betrayed. Kelly begs her to stay and let her explain, but Monica doesn’t listen. She runs out of the room, and continues to cry. Her phone rings, but she doesn’t answer.

  Kelly is her room holding her baby, feeling alone, and disappointed at herself. Why did she do this to her best friend? She hurt the only one person that has been there for her. She cries, and tears falls into her baby boy’s face. A baby boy that looks exactly like Jake.

  32

  Monica drives home, packs all of Kelly’s things and throws them outside.

  “Dear what are you doing?” Lauren is confused.

  “This bitch is no longer my friend. I fucking hate her. I want her out of my fucking house.” Monica still throwing Kelly’s belongings outside.

  “Dear what happened?”

  “She fucked my husband. Her baby is Jake’s.” Monica falls on the floor covering her face feeling betrayed.

  “How are you so sure?”

  “Mom the baby looks exactly like Ella. That’s why Josh wanted to divorce her. He found out. He didn’t want to be with her if she’s pregnant with another man’s baby. And I don’t blame him.” Monica stutters.

  It’s ten in the morning, and Jake comes home from work. Kelly has told him what happened. He tries to explain. Lauren leaves the room, to let them talk it out.

  “Baby, please listen to me. Let me explain.” Jake bends over trying to pick Monica off the floor.

  “Don’t fucking touch me. I fucking hate you. Get the fuck out of my house.” Monica throws her fist on his chest, crying uncontrollably.

  “Baby, please let me explain.”

  “Explain what Jake? Why you fucked my best friend and got her pregnant. That’s what you want to explain to me.” Monica yells, unable to breathe from crying too hard.

  They sit there in silence for hours, and then Monica grabs her stomach, feeling sicker, “Oh my god. You guys had sex in this house!”

  “No.”

  She flings her finger at him. “Fuck you Jake. I don’t believe anything you say. Get out of my house.”

  “Baby I don’t want to lose you. I love you.”

  “You call this fucking love Jake? You should have thought about that before you betrayed me and fucked my best friend. I had so many chances to cheat on you, but I didn’t because I loved you. I never wanted to hurt you.”

  Jake starts to cry emotionally hurt that he deceived his wife. What has he done? He lost the best thing that ever happened to him. He sits next to her on the floor crying along with her. Once she finally realizes her love for him no longer exists, she stands up, still holding to her stomach, and quietly asks him to leave.

  “Baby please. I need you. Please forgive me. I love you. I can’t live without you.” Jake weeps agonizing at the thought of losing her for good.

  “Jake get out now.”

  “No baby.”

  “Get the fuck out now.” She hollers before locking herself in her bedroom.

  Lauren knocks on her bedroom door to check up on her, and Monica demands to be left alone. Lauren finds Jake still sitting on the floor and sits on the couch watching him
cry. Ella comes home from school, and sees her father on the floor.

  “What’s going on? Why are you sitting on the floor crying daddy?” Ella’s scared, not understanding what’s going on.

  “I messed up baby. I messed up bad.” Jake grabs his daughter down to the floor, hugging her tight.

  “What’s wrong daddy? What did you do?”

  “I messed up with your mom?”

  Ella sits there letting her dad hug onto her tight; hoping him hugging her will comfort his pain away. After a couple minutes of sitting on the floor with her dad, she lifts her dad off the floor, and Lauren helps her. Jake stands, and then bends over placing both hands on his knees. Ella and Lauren rub his back consoling him. Lauren tells Jake for him to stay at her house, and she’ll stay to watch over Monica. Jake forces a thankful smile, and heads to Lauren’s house.

  Monica cries herself to sleep, and doesn’t plan on getting out of bed. Lauren knocks on the door, but Monica doesn’t respond. When Monica hears a familiar voice knocking on the door, she clenches her chest with her fist as her heart aches.

  “Mommy please open the door. I love you. Please open up.”

  Monica gets up and slightly cracks the door. Ella secures her mom in her arms apologizing for her father. They walk over to the bed where they talk it out.

  “Baby I’m sorry you have to go through this. You shouldn’t have to suffer for what happens between your dad and me.”

  “Mom, I’m not suffering. I’ll be alright.”

  Monica forces a smile. She knows Ella will be alright. She’s so strong and well grounded.

  “What are you going to do mom?”

  Monica starts to tear up again. “I don’t know munchkin?”

  Ella grips her hands, “Mom, you have to do what’s best for you. I love you and daddy very much. But you have to do what’s best for you.”

  “Will you love me less if I divorce your dad?”

  Ella’s eyes start to glisten with moisture. “No mom. I will love you unconditionally.”

  She stays in bed with her mom, holding her, comforting her, and reassuring her everything will alright.

  Months go by, and Monica filed for divorce. When Jake was served with the divorce papers at his job, reality finally kicked in. This is real. He lost the love of his life, and the heartache pierced through his heart. Kelly and her baby Eric moved in with step-sister Sarah. Jake helps her out financially. She has him during the day when Jake is at work, and he picks Eric up after work every day.

  This will be the first Christmas Ella celebrates without both parents there. She spends the first part with her mom, then mid-afternoon, she heads to her dad’s to spend it with him and her brother.

  “How’s your mother doing?”

  “She’s alright.”

  “That’s good.” Jake still hurts but forces to be happy for his daughter Ella and his son Eric.

  “Is your grandma spending Christmas with her?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s good. She shouldn’t be alone right now.”

  “Daddy you know she still loves you. She’s just hurt right now. But she still loves you.”

  “Baby, I think her love for me is gone. We finalize our divorce soon.”

  Ella tightens her lips, wishing her mom and dad will get back together. She grabs Eric from her dad, and brings him on the couch with her. Jake sits there thinking of what Monica is doing right this moment. He misses her. He misses her touch, her smell, he misses everything about her. But he knows he has to move on, because Monica wasn’t going to take him back.

  When she filed for divorce, she told her lawyer she did not want anything from him. Even though it hurt her, she sold her part of the company, just so she won’t have any connections with him. She couldn’t handle seeing Jake again.

  Jake knew he messed up. He never had feelings for Kelly. She was just some random woman Jake had drunken sex with every time he’s in town. At first he blamed Monica for what he did. With John’s death and her miscarriage, she neglected him. When Jake went to Louisiana for a business meeting, he saw Kelly at a bar. She was feeling alone and ignored like Jake.

  Josh and her just got into an argument about her wanting kids. One night of unlimited patron shots caused them to have sex. But Jake could have stopped after that one time, but he didn’t. Every time he took a trip to Louisiana, he spends his nights with Kelly.

  When Kelly moved in, he didn’t have the guts to have sex with her in his home; they met up in hotels every other day. They both betrayed and hurt the only person that really cared for them.

  Monica meets up with her lawyer to finalize her requests before they settle their divorce next week. Monica lay in bed feeling alone, depressed, and heartbroken. Exactly a week from today, she and Jake’s divorced will be finalized. Even though he hurt her more than she’s even been hurt in her life, she still loves him. He is the love of her life. But she knows she has to move on. The thought of moving on made her even sicker in her stomach. She hasn’t eaten since she left the lawyers office, and she lay in bed feeling nauseated.

  33

  There’s a knock on the door, and Monica lifts her head off the bed and looks up. It’s Ella. Her eyes are swollen from crying too much. She pulls a chair by her mom; Monica wraps her arms around her shoulder. Ella leans her head against her mom and cries again seeing her brother lay there motionless. Jake reaches for her hand, and they sit there staring at a helpless innocent little boy.

  Ella lifts her head, fixes her attention to her mom. “Mom I have never asked you for anything. And now I’m asking you a huge favor. Please save my brother. He shouldn’t have to suffer for what’s been going on with you and dad. Mom please I’m begging you. You’re the only one that can save him.”

  When Monica had Ella, Ella produced too much bilirubin causing her to have jaundice. Monica’s O negative blood type was incompatible with Ella’s which caused her to have jaundice. After the first time Monica breastfed Ella, and with the doctor’s request, she stopped breastfeeding her. They were afraid her milk was cause.

  Jake swallows the lump in his throat. “Monica I’m so sorry for what I’ve done to you. And I can’t say I would take it back if I could, because then that means Eric would have never been born. But I am so sorry to be asking you this, especially with all the heartache I’ve caused you. But, please save my son’s life. After this I promise I won’t ask anything else from you. You’re the only one that can do this for me?” Jake starts to weep hysterically and lay his head on Eric’s bed.

  Ella runs to her dad’s side, and cries with him. Monica seeing the two people she loves crying shot a stinging feeling of agonizing but loving affection in her heart. Saving Eric meant saving Jake and Ella’s world. Eric is their livelihood. They revolved their lives around him, and losing him meant losing the two people she cares about. She knew what she needed to do. She stands up and leaves the room. Jake and Ella look at each other confused on why she left. They run after her, and find her talking to the doctor.

  “Doctor Wade, I want to donate my blood to Eric.”

  “Mrs. Harris, do you know what your blood type is?”

  “Yes doctor. I’m O negative like him.”

  “Well we’re still going to need to test your blood. But if you want to volunteer, you will need to sign release papers.”

  Monica agrees to do the blood work, and signs the paper required to donate her blood. When the doctor leaves to process everything, Ella springs to her mom, squeezing her; thankful of what her mom is doing. Ella starts to cry, and feeling her sobbing, makes Monica start crying too. Jake wraps his arms them, and cries, grateful to know such a wonderful woman. She didn’t have to do this, but with her unconditional love for them, she saves Eric. When the test results come in, the nurse starts prepping to draw blood from Monica. She lies back on the hospital chair, the nurse sticks the needle, and the blood starts filling up the bag. The doctor allows her family to sit with her and watch.

  “Dear I know I hav
en’t been the best mother-n-law in the world. But I want you to know you are the best woman I have ever known.” Erin’s so thankful.

  Monica smiles thanking her for the compliment. There’s a knock on the door, and Sarah, Kelly’s step-sister enters.

  She runs to Monica, and grabs her hand. “Monica, I want to thank you or what you’re doing. And I know Kelly would be thankful also.”

  Monica turns her head so they wouldn’t be able to see her face, and she starts crying. Her best friend is gone, and now she’s here saving her son’s life. Jake holds onto Ella as she wraps her arms around him, thankfull of what they’re witnessing. Monica loves them so much, that she’s willing to save a little boys’ life. A boy she never had a relationship with. To her, he was a stranger. But somehow she loves him, like he’s her own child.

  The next day, Eric was taken off his induced coma, and slowly woke up. The doctor suggested Jake and Ella be there when he awakens, so he wouldn’t feel scared. Monica is at home, sitting on the swing, drinking tea on her bedroom patio. She thinks of everything she has gone through, and realizes how strong she is. The person her father always told her she was. She stares at her cellphone, debating whether to listen or delete Kelly’s message. She questions will listening to her message make a difference? Will it change her mind about how she feels about her best friend? Her best friend will be gone forever. She takes a deep breathe, and decides to dial her voicemail. She listens to the last message that Kelly left her.

  “Monica, I’m so sorry for hurting you. I wish I could take it back, but I can’t because now I’m blessed with a wonderful son. He brings me happiness, and I have you to thank for that. All those times you told me how Ella makes you so happy. I never understood how you felt, until now. I wish I could be like you. You’re such a great friend, daughter, wife, and mother. I wish one day Eric looks up to me the way Ella looks up to you. If I had a wish, it would be that you guys will be one happy family again. Please give Jake another chance. He really loves you. I see him hurting every day he picks Eric up. You didn’t deserve what we did to you. But you do deserve an explanation. Josh and I have been fighting over having a baby. He kept telling me he wasn’t ready. But deep down inside I knew he still had feelings for you. I could still see it in his eyes whenever you’re around him. I wished he adored me like he did you. But I wasn’t enough for him. I wasn’t you, so he didn’t want to give me what I wanted. Reese’s boyfriend lives in the same town, so after Josh and I fought, I meet her and her boyfriend at a bar. Jake was there with co-workers. Reese invited him to come drink with us. He kept talking about you and Ella, about how much you two complete his life. Reese kept trying to get me and him together that night, so she kept buying us tequila shots. Reese said her boyfriend’s apartment had two bedrooms, so we went back to their place and hung out. We were so drunk. I know we’re all responsible for our own actions. I’m not blaming Reese for this. I am just telling you how it happened. When I found out I was pregnant, I told Josh it was Jake’s just to see the hurt in his face. But he felt relieved. It was an excuse for him to leave me. I had nowhere else to go, so that’s when I came to you for help. We knew we messed up, but it was too late. He loves you Monica. I love you. Please call me back or answer your phone. Please forgive me.” There’s a quick pause then Kelly whispers, “God, please watch over my so.”