Blinking back tears she had been unaware of up until that moment, she angrily wiped her eyes. She hated to have to beg the bastard for help.
Taking a deep breath, she told him what she needed. “I’m in Zimbabwe, and I have to get to the states, fast. I literally don’t have time to wait around and deal with the usual crap with customs and security. I know you know people that can help me avoid any delays I would have if I took a commercial flight out. Jenny needs me Max, she’s dying.”
He was silent for a moment, and her stomach clinched, fearing he would refuse to help her.
“Tell me where you are sweetheart. I can have you out in less than an hour. And…I’m sorry to hear about Jenny, she’s such a sweet woman.“
She gave him the info, thanked him, then hung up, relieved. She suspected he would have one of his friends in the intelligence community he worked with come and get her, and she would be out of the country in less than an hour, just as he had promised.
She began packing, mixed feelings about him running through her heart and mind. Was it simply gratitude? Or something more, remnants of those wonderful days so long ago?
*********************************************************
Chapter 3
Jenny checked her email again, and had been several times per day, ever since she had sent her message to Aisha. When her best friend’s email addressed popped up she felt relieved, releasing a breath she was unaware she had been holding.
The message was short. She was on her way, she was in Africa at the moment, but would be at the house in thirty-four hours.
Getting up slowly from the desk, she rubbed her temples, hoping to ease her pain, The headaches were steadily getting worse, along with nausea and having trouble with her balance. She had been doing her best to hide the worsening symptoms from Connell. She sighed, thinking that it hadn’t been that difficult, since he left the house every morning before daylight, and worked in the fields until well after nightfall. Megan, and Ben’s wife Helen, had been helping around the house and with the children. She knew she was lucky to have such close friends, and a wonderful mother-in-law.
Her thoughts going back to Connell, she knew he was deliberately avoiding her, except for driving her to the doctors office. She understood that he was having problems dealing with the situation, and that he simply couldn’t or wouldn’t accept it yet, but she needed to talk to him, and he was going to listen to what she had to say. He had to face a few things.
Making her way to the kitchen she had to slow her pace, steadying herself by putting a hand on the wall. Closing her eyes, she waiting for the dizziness to pass.
Helen was helping Megan put away the food the women from her church had been bringing by. She knew from the looks on their faces they would fuss at her for getting out of bed. She loved them and appreciated their concern, but was getting tired of them trying to force her to stay in bed all the time and talking to her like she was a toddler.
“What are you doing out of bed?” Helen asked as she put her hands on her ample hips, wrinkling her brows in disapproval.
Jenny ignored the look and kept walking as she said, “I need to talk to Connell and air out the guest bedroom, Aisha is coming. She just emailed me.”
Helen nodded but said nothing. She wasn’t pleased to hear the news though. Although she had never met the woman, she had certainly heard a lot about her, much too much. One night not long after they were married, Ben had told her one night (after one too many beers) about the huge crush he had had on what he called “an amazing black Goddess,” he had known in college. Helen, jealous under the best of circumstances, was furious to hear him speak so openly about it, and with a dreamy look in his eyes at that. So the few times Aisha had came to the farm to visit, Ben was not allowed to come over. “I’ll go air that room out for you.” she mumbled as she left the room.
Megan gently placed Shawn down in the play pen, getting ready to object. She knew her son didn’t really care for the woman, and she didn’t want things to be any more stressful than they already were.
“Megan, can the children stay with you for a few days?” Jenny asked, beating her to the punch and ignoring her look of disapproval.
Megan wanted to voice her concerns about her friend coming, after all, this was time for family. And the fact that Connell hadn’t been seeing or talking to anyone really bothered her. She had tried talking to him, but he had simply said there was nothing to discuss. But judging from the determined look on Jenny’s face, she decided to not push the subject. After all, her daughter-in-law certainly didn’t need to be upset herself.
“I’ll get their things together.” she said, then grabbed Abby’s hand and led her away.
Jenny took a deep breath and went to the intercom, pushing the talk button. “Connell?” She waited for him to answer, knowing he was in the chicken house and that he could hear her. “Connell!” She said a little more forcefully, making herself slightly dizzy. She waited another moment, then slammed her hand on the button and shouted, “Either you come to the house, RIGHT NOW, or I’ll be coming THERE! And you don’t want THAT, Mister Man!“ she shouted, then leaned against the counter, dizzier than before, trying to calm down.
“Jenny, I’ll be up in twenty minutes. I have to feed the chickens and lock the barn.” his voice finally answered.
Feeling relieved, she slowly made her way into the sitting room, where she laid down on the couch, allowing herself to relax.
“The room is ready and I told Megan I would drive her and the kids to the apartment.” Helen said uncertainly as she peeked in the doorway.
“Thanks hon.” Jenny replied in a tired voice.
Not long after the women and children had left, Connell came in. He walked slowly, sore from the two weeks of hard work he had been busy with since hearing the terrible news. His face was drawn, and dark bags had formed underneath his eyes. He peeked in the den where she was laying on the couch, then turned to leave, but she sat up, calling to him.
“Honey, come on, I want to talk to you. I need to talk to you.”
He looked at her, concerned and alarmed that her voice was a bit slurred. He looked down at his feet, trying to compose himself, then sat down beside her, waiting. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her, she looked so frail, so he stared instead at the comforter that had fallen off the couch and onto on the floor.
She sat up, tucked her feet under her, looked at him, then balled her hands in her lap. “Aisha emailed me back, she’ll be here in about a day and a half.”
He crossed his arms over his massive chest and nodded in silence, not really wanting to talk about her.
Touching his arm, she said, “I’m going to ask you to make me a promise, Connell. I know you’re dealing with a lot, we all are, but I need to hear you say you will do this one thing for me, it’s my final wish.”
He finally looked at her, reached out and wiped a tear from her cheek, and ran his calloused thumb over her lips. “Honey, you know I’ll do anything for you.” he said in a strangled voice.
She gave him a weak smile, glad to hear him say it. Bless his big heart, he loves me so much he’ll do it, I know he will. If nothing else, just for me…….she thought.
Reaching, she pressed her hands to both of his, loving the powerful and rough feel of them. Blinking back more tears, she softly said, “ I want you to promise….I need you to promise, that you‘ll raise the children, with Aisha.”
Connell sat looking at her in stunned disbelief, as if trying to process what she was saying. Surely she’s not suggesting what I think she is…. I’m just tired…. and not hearing right…he thought.
She said nothing, just sat there looking at him, waiting for a reply.
“Ummm, Jenny, am I correct on this, you want me to raise MY children with that woman? You want me to let Aisha raise OUR kids? Is that what you’re saying, honey?” he said calmly, trying to be patient and thinking that maybe her illness was affecting her judgment. He closed his eyes, p
raying for the millionth time for the entire nightmare to end.
“Connell?” she prodded.
Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see her drawn face actually become animated, her blue eyes, although still dull, seemed to show a faint twinkle of light as she nodded.
He snatched his hand away and jumped from the couch as if it was on fire, unable to believe what she had just asked of him. “Oh HELL no! No sir, no way no how, no no no NO!“
Watching his reaction, she sensed he was about to bolt from the room, and she rose to her feet unsteadily, holding her hands out, appealing to him. “Please..PLEASE Connell! She’s the only woman I trust to love and take care of all of you, especially Shawn and Abby! Connell, they NEED a mother figure! PLEASE, can‘t you UNDERSTAND that?” she said, desperation in her voice. She rested her hands on her breast, and continued. “I know in my heart that this is the best for them. They will NEED her, and YOU will need her. She’s such a good, loving person Connell, despite what you may think. And she’s strong. She is what I want for all of you….”
Running a hand over his stubbled jaw, he wondered how much he was expected to take before he completely lost his mind. Putting his hands down he let his head fall back and he looked up as if expecting to see some sort of divine insight written on the ceiling. He decided to reason with his wife and hope the tactic would work.
“Jen, you know what you’re asking, honey? Listen to me, you know Aisha honestly doesn’t like me. Hell, I’d go so far as to say she hates the sight of me. She looks at me like I’m a cockroach, and don’t even deserve to be with you….” he said, and held out his hands to stop her protest. “Jen, even if I said yes, do you believe, do honestly believe, that she would just put her entire life on hold and come here, for good? To stay for good? Hell, she doesn’t even like this place, when she comes here it’s just to see you, and the kids. And all I ever hear, whenever she condescends to speak to me, is when am I gonna’ let you and them go stay at that fancy-ass beach house of hers, or her condo. She’s not going to stay here more than a few days, even if I stayed out of sight!”
There was silence for several seconds, and could tell by the look on her face that his argument was getting to her. Seeing the hurt look on her face, he was suddenly furious with himself, and wanted to kick his own posterior. He should have just kept his mouth shut. If that was her last wish, he should simply respect it, say yes, give her piece of mind, and deal with the fallout after…after she left.
But despite everything, he had to try just once more, he didn’t want a potentially disastrous situation affecting their children later either. Moving closer to her, he put his hands on her shoulders gently and looked her in the eye. “Honey, I’ll take care of the kids, I’ll make sure no harm ever comes to them. You know I would never mistreat them, after all, they’re also a part of you” he said, his voice shaking with emotion. “ But as much as you love Aisha, honey, she’s simply not cut out to be a mom, and she would be miserable here. And if she’s miserable, we would ALL be miserable, can’t you see that? Besides, I really don’t think she’s suited to raise Abby.”
He hated to put it so bluntly, but in his eyes Aisha wasn’t exactly a shining example of what he wanted his daughter to follow. Not that she was necessarily a bad person, but Aisha never knew from day-to-day where she was going to lay her head at night, and she had made bad choices in men that he didn’t want his little girl to follow. He had met her ex-husband once, and knew the pansy was no good at a single glance. All these things he tried explaining to her over the course of half an hour.
He finally finished by saying, “Honey, just let me do what I promised I would do the day we were married, let me take care of you, and our children. I don‘t need, we don‘t need, Aisha.”
Jenny looked into those gray eyes she loved so much, had fallen for so long ago. He still was the most handsome man she had ever laid her eyes on, and he still made her heart skip a beat when he looked at her. She loved him dearly, she wanted her family to be happy, and she wanted him to be happy and move on with his life. She knew if he gave Aisha a chance, she could make them all happy, eventually. She would make a wonderful mother. She knew deep in her soul that her friend was the one.
Taking his hand in hers, she gave him the pleading look she knew he hated, because he could deny her nothing when she did. He tried to look away, but her frail hand gently stroked his powerful jaw and turned his face to meet hers. “Promise me, please? Promise me, you can never know how much this means to me. Give her a chance, Ok? Connell, she is meant to take my place. Don’t ask me how I know, I just do.”
Taking a deep, exasperated breath, he decided to humor her. What does it matter anyway? I’ll never love anyone like her. If promising makes her last days happy and gives her peace, then I’ll do it. After all she has given to me, it’s the least I can do. Besides, Aisha is too damn self-centered to ever give up her lifestyle to help raise someone else’s children. Two days of hard work and Shawn’s shitty diapers will send her packing and running to the nearest spa……he thought as he looked at his lovely wife. He would give her her promise, but wouldn’t feel bad later when Aisha did exactly what he knew she would do, and that would be to go on with her self-important little world.
“Alright, alright….” he huffed, then shook his finger at her. “ You have my promise, but there’s one caveat: my kids are being raised right here, nowhere else, understand?“ he said, pointing the same finger at the floor.
She nodded, giving him a small, satisfied smile. “Alright, fair enough.” she said.
He grunted in satisfaction, knowing that Aisha would rather slide bare-ass across broken glass than stay on the farm, or near him. He was banking on the fact that she would (like him) promise Jenny, then find a way to back out later. She wasn’t the kind to be committed to anyone or anything, except her work, her joke of a marriage had proven that.
Grunting once more, he kissed her on the forehead and grumbled, “Better get back to work, we still have bills to pay.”
He left quickly, not wanting her to see him break down yet again.
Going back to the couch and stretching out wearily, she felt exhausted from the conversation, but actually surprised that he had given in so quickly. She had thought she would have to work on him for days just to get him to agree to think about it. Draping a frail arm over her eyes, she thought about going back to bed and taking her pain pills, but decided to remain where she was. Wondering now how she would get Aisha to agree, she prayed softly. “Lord, I have so much to do…just give me the time to do it…please, that is all I ask.” she muttered, then drifted off to sleep almost immediately.
**************************************************
“You should try to get some sleep. You won’t do anyone any good if you get sick from exhaustion.”
Giving Max an irritated look, Aisha had been surprised when he had met her in Frankfurt Germany himself, saying he would accompany her to the states. She watched him closely as he nervously played with his ring, one with his family crest on it. Something was up with him, he only did that when something was bothering him. Why, after all this time, he wanted give her support, she couldn’t imagine. But she didn’t believe he was truly concerned about her.
Although she hated to admit it even to herself, he still looked great. His usually olive skin sported a deep, rich tan, and his stylish brown hair that was cut short had a hint of gray now, giving him a suave, sophisticated look. Warily, she remembered falling for his looks and his charm, and those dark, piercing eyes. Those eyes had always seemed to see past the walls that she put up, but in the end he had proved that he was no different than any other man she had ever met.
“Max, I’ll be fine, and you should have stayed with your nice family. I’m sure the wife wasn’t happy about this, am I right?” she snapped. It would do her well to keep in mind that he had hurt her once, and had never looked back.
He sat back and looked away, unable to meet her icy stare. Flicking an
imaginary piece of lint off one leg of his expensive slacks, he said, “You were my family once, Aisha. Why would I not be concerned for you, after hearing the terrible news about your best friend? C’mon, even I know she’s like a sister to you.”
Her heart tightened at the reminder that Jenny was dying, and she looked down, feeling slightly guilty for coming down so hard on him. Despite his faults, now or then, she knew he genuinely liked and admired Jenny a great deal. He had looked up to her in admiration, almost like she was an angel and he an unworthy sinner being graced with her presence. Jenny had that affect on people, always had, and her ex-husband hadn’t been immune to it. Still, you better be careful. Remember, even Adolf Hitler had at least one good quality, he loved children…..she thought.
With a neutral expression on her face, she simply said, “Thank you for getting me out so fast, and thank you for getting me out of all the red tape. But Max, I don’t need your emotional support, nor do I want it. I’m sorry if that hurts your feelings, but remember, when I really needed you the most, emotionally, you were too busy screwing another woman to notice. You didn’t care then, so why should you care now?”
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