Synergy

by Georgia Payne

  It felt like forever that she sat waiting, with her weekend bag packed, playing music on her phone and singing along as she waited. Tushaun was at her mothers, she’d dropped him off a few hours ago, and there’d been no communication from Trey, so she assumed he would stay with her mom for the duration of her trip. She didn’t feel comfortable letting Tushaun go to Trey’s when she was so far away, and on such short notice, so she’d left her mom instructions not to answer the phone should Trey call her, and under no circumstances to let Tushaun go with him for the weekend. She wanted routine in her son’s life, for things to be planned in advance, not for his father to give a damn when he felt like it, and have him switch up his plans in an instance.

  Finally, she heard a beeping outside of her house, and she cut the music off her phone. As she picked up her weekend bag, she pulled it to the front door, picking up her keys off the coffee table on the way. Before she made it to the door, there was a quiet knock before it opened and Jason stepped in. He greeted her with a small kiss and took the bag off her, carrying it outside. The Chauffeur had cut the engine and walked to the boot of the car, ready to pop Dee’s bag inside. Once Jason had handed the bag over, he opened the back passenger side door for Dee to get in, before letting himself in the other side. After they buckled up, Jason turned to her.

  “Are you nervous?” he asked, knowing she probably had a big weekend ahead of her, with the album party plus meeting his parents. However, her answer wasn’t what he expected.

  “I’ve never flown before.” She blurted out, deciding it was best to get it out in the open now.

  Jason’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “You never said.”

  “I didn’t really think about it. Didn’t think it was that much of a big deal but now I’m nervous.”

  “Wow. That’s crazy. You’ll be okay though, it’s not a big deal really.”

  “People are scared of it though.”

  “Yeah, but, people are scared of heights, are you?”

  “No”

  “Doesn’t mean what’s scary for one’s gonna be scary for all.”

  “I guess.”

  “I’ll hold your hand” he smiled, taking her hand across the seat and rubbing it gently.

  Jason explained the fact that he had a private jet; so actually, the experience would be a lot nicer than if she was on a regular economy flight. It made her feel a little better, knowing there wouldn’t be anyone else around other than Jason and his team. She thought about the pilot too, and decided since Jason knew the pilot as a regular person in his life; it was a better scenario than it being a total complete stranger on a regular flight. Once they arrived at the airport, Dee saw the jet and she was surprised by the noise and how big it was. While she didn’t expect it to be small, it was different seeing it at eye level than seeing them flying in the sky, they did look small all the way up there. She was surprised by the interior too. She decided a regular plane probably wouldn’t look as nice inside, but Jason’s jet was decorated nicely. It almost looked like somebody’s house, the amount of thought that had been put into the design. She suddenly felt a lot more at ease, and once she sat in the comfortable seat, she sunk into it, letting her fears subside, for the moment, at least.

  As Jason took his seat next to her, they waited for everybody to come onboard. Jason’s PA and best friend Tom was last to board, blaming his wife for keeping him on the phone. Tom sat in the seat across from them. It was the first time Tom and Dee had met officially, despite Tom hearing a lot about her, and remembering her stage performance the first night they went to the club. Dee and Jason spoke a lot about their friends when they were together, and though Jason had now met her two best friends, Dee hadn’t met any of his, so he was excited for them to finally come together.

  “So here she is, the woman we’ve all been waiting for” Tom announced, smiling at Dee. It was a bold statement in Dee’s eyes and she wasn’t quite sure how to respond, so she simply smiled back.

  “It’s her first time flying today” Jason announced to his friend, and Tom responded the same way that Jason had.

  “What?” he elongated, looking between Jason and Dee.

  “I’ve never been out of Detroit” Dee explained, suddenly feeling all eyes on her.

  The three of them made small talk while they waited for the flight to take off. They spoke about Memphis and what it was like, and Jason told Dee about his family dogs. He had two, Millie and Milo, a Golden Retriever and a Black Labrador. Dee had never owned a pet growing up. It wasn’t that she didn’t like animals, because she did, but her family had simply never had the time for one. Her mother worked three jobs, and the kids were either at school or out of the house, so a pet would be neglected. Even now, she was always out of the house so a pet still wouldn’t be ideal. Whenever she’d been around other people’s animals though, she got on well with them. Tip had a male Akita dog named Buster and her friend Keisha from the club had two cats.

  It wasn’t long before Dee felt movement below her, and as she looked out of the window to her left, she saw they were moving on the ground. She looked at Jason with a look of concern.

  “Is this it?”

  “We’re just getting speed, and then we’ll be going up”

  “Can you feel it?”

  “A little. It’s not bad.”

  Soon enough, she felt her body elevated backwards into the seat.

  “I don’t like it” She announced, and Jason and Tom shot each other a look. It was almost amusing to them because they had been on so many flights in their lifetime, they didn’t even notice things anymore. Flying was a regular part of their job, and they’d become accustomed to it. They could eat, sleep, play games and talk like usual on a flight with no problems, it was nothing to them. For Dee, it was a whole new experience. Once the plane had levelled out, Jason squeezed Dee’s hand and told her that was it until they landed. She blew a sigh of relief.

  “So it’s gonna stay like this till we land?”

  “Yep”

  “I can’t even feel it now”

  “You won’t, that’s it”

  Tom shuffled forward in his seat, and turned to Dee. “Congratulations, you’re on your first flight. And you didn’t cry, so that’s a bonus” he joked.

  “Bitch, I don’t ever cry” Dee replied, and the men turned to each other to laugh.

  “You picked a feisty one, man”

  “Wouldn’t have it any other way”

  Chapter 23 – Meet the Parents

  Once she’d survived the landing of the flight, Dee felt a sense of relief that it was over. Though it hadn’t been bad, it was a weird experience and she was just glad to see the back of it so she could concentrate on more important things. Another Chauffeur had picked them up at the airport to take them to Jason’s parents, and her impending sense of doom came back a little bit. She wondered what they would look like, if they would be posh or if their home was a mansion. She wondered what they would think of her, whether they would like her. She was quiet in the car ride and Jason could sense she was worried about it. He tried to put her mind at ease but she still didn’t have much to say. It wasn’t until Dee felt a kick in her stomach that she was reminded why the two were making things work in the first place, and suddenly she remembered that it didn’t matter what they thought, they were getting a grandchild whether they liked it or not. Her feisty spirit seemed to return to her, and as they parked up outside the house, Dee hopped out with a confidence that Jason hadn’t seen since she’d boarded the jet.

  Dee took a look at her surroundings, eyeing up the house in front of them. It was beautiful, and she hadn’t even seen the inside yet. It was a typical ‘straight out of a magazine’ house that she totally expected, with the white picket fence and flowering garden. She could tell somebody had spent time out here in this garden to make it look so nice, so she wondered whether one of his parents was a keen gardener, or whether they had the money to afford a gardener. It was certain that these people had money, and why
wouldn’t they when their son was a millionaire. However, it wasn’t the mansion she was expecting. There was an intercom system to enter the garden, but she presumed it was needed for their safety, or maybe just to stop crazed fans of their sons thinking they could go knocking on the door when they felt like it. Though you could tell it was a big house, it was no mansion. That made her feel a little more comfortable, thinking it was probably a normal house with normal people as opposed to some rich folk with a butler and a maid.

  Their chauffeur took their bags out of the boot of the car and placed them at the front gate, where Jason had pressed the intercom button. Jason thanked the chauffeur, and no sooner than his mother had answered the intercom, the chauffeur had driven away. His mother sounded excited on the intercom, and Jason knew she would have been waiting for them, probably peering through the window until she spotted a car pull up. She was always excited to have her son home for a period of time, but he knew today would have a whole other excitement to it by bringing Dee along. His mother had always looked forward to meeting his girlfriends. While some mothers could be overprotective of their sons, or even have the opinion that no woman would ever be good enough for them, Joy was the opposite. She loved to see her son happy, so she always welcomed women with open arms. Of course Dee was extra special, because she was carrying her first grandchild.

  Jason heard the familiar click on the gate as they unlocked, and he pushed it open, gesturing for Dee to go ahead while he grabbed their bags. Dee waited closely beside Jason inside the gate, nervous to go too far ahead. Just as Jason followed her inside the gate juggling their two bags, the front door opened and his step-father Paul stepped out, making his way to the couple.

  “You must be Dee” he said in his southern drawl, holding out his hand to shake hers.

  “I’m Paul, Jason’s stepdad”

  He smiled, and Dee found herself smiling back. “Nice to meet you” she told him, and Jason thought that he’d never heard her speak so sweetly. It almost made him chuckle.

  “Give me that bag here, son” Paul said, as he took the heaviest bag from Jason, which happened to be Dee’s. Jason always travelled light when he came back home, mainly because his bedroom was still intact at the family home and he still had wardrobes and drawers full of clothes and anything else he needed while there. He only really came back with things he would want, such as his laptop, especially as he never stayed too long. As he made his way up the path to the house, Jason watched Dee walking in front of him, following Paul with her bag. He heard him tell her how excited Joy was to have them stay, and he asked her how the flight was. Dee told him it was her first one, and Paul sounded as surprised as him and Tom had been.

  “Your mom’s in the kitchen” Paul told Jason. “Give that here, I’ll go take your bags up”

  With that, Paul trundled up the staircase which stood to the left of the front door. Beside that was a long hallway, full of pictures on the walls and a table with flowers. Dee looked at her surroundings the best she could in a short space of time. She thought it looked really homey, and that’s when she noticed the smell of baking in the air.

  “Kitchen’s just straight ahead” Jason told her, gesturing down the hallway. While Dee stood in front of Jason, she didn’t start to walk; instead, she hung back and asked Jason to go first. He chuckled, finding it surprising that someone as tough as Dee was so nervous about meeting his mom. Nevertheless, he went ahead of her. As he entered the doorway to the kitchen, he saw his mom stood at the kitchen counter, pouring lemonade from a jug into four glasses. As she saw her son enter the doorway, she threw abandon to the jug, placing it back down on the counter, and practically sprinted to meet him halfway, engulfing him in a tight hug.

  “My baby” she exclaimed, kissing him in between the hug. Jason laughed lightly but held her embrace until she let go.

  “And this must be Dee” she said as she saw Dee stood slightly behind Jason looking uncomfortable. Dee tried her best at a smile as Joy moved toward her, and as she expected a handshake similar to her husbands, she was threw off guard when Joy threw her arms around her for a hug too.

  “It’s so good to meet you” Joy said into her ear as she pressed against her, leaving room for the baby bump. As she moved out of the embrace, Joy instantly turned her attention to the bump, cooing over how beautifully she was carrying, though Dee didn’t think there was a ‘beautiful’ way to carry a baby.

  “It sounds so stupid, but it makes it so real when you see the bump, you know? I can’t believe my grandchild’s in there, it’s so exciting.”

  Just then Joy remembered the lemonade she was pouring on their arrival and moved back to the kitchen counter, asking if anybody wanted some. They both politely accepted and sat on the breakfast bar stools opposite. As Joy poured the freshly made lemonade into four glasses, Dee looked around the kitchen quickly and reality checked herself on where she was and who she was speaking to. Though she’d been seeing Jason a while now, meeting his mother and being in their family home kind of reminded her what she’d let herself in for. She hadn’t gotten pregnant by a random guy in the hood who made his living hustling, she had actually been with a celebrity, someone who was worshipped by millions of people. He had it all here, the white picket fence, the family dogs and a mother making fresh lemonade. As she took it all in, she almost laughed in disbelief, but she stopped herself, and instead, turned it into a smile directed at Joy who returned it before handing over her lemonade.

  “So you excited for tomorrow you two?” Joy asked, as she popped a straw into the lemonade glasses.

  “I’m definitely excited” Jason replied, taking a sip of his lemonade and turning to Dee.

  “I bet you’re still nervous though right?” he asked her.

  “Kinda” she replied, taking a sip of her drink before speaking again. “I just don’t wanna embarrass you.”

  “No!” Joy exclaimed. “Why would you embarrass him?”

  Dee struggled to think of a reply. It was easy to explain to Jason why she might embarrass him, because he knew her and her ways, but Joy didn’t know her at all, so she managed a quiet “my cussing or something.”

  Joy smiled and shook off Dee’s comment. “We all cuss a little girl, don’t worry about it.”

  “But Dee cusses like a sailor” Jason joked, before Dee’s elbow nudged him in the ribs under the breakfast bar.

  Jason jumped a little at the surprise, and started to laugh. Though he joked with her, he wasn’t actually bothered at all if Dee swore or said something deemed ‘inappropriate.’ He knew she was nervous about attending the party and he didn’t want to make her feel any more uncomfortable than she had to. He knew she wasn’t used to attending formal events, and he didn’t expect her to be the queen of England, he just wanted her to enjoy herself, and feel like she could fit into his world a little. He knew it was going to be hard for her to get used to the paparazzi and the questions and the travelling, but it was just something about one another that they had to except. He didn’t particularly like the idea now that he’d seen where she lived that Dee and her son lived in the area they did, but he had to respect that it hadn’t always been a choice for her.

  Though he’d offered many times to move them out, especially in time for the new baby arriving, she’d still refused his offers, and though he was going to keep on trying, he could accept that she was used to doing things of her own accord. She had been raised by a single mother and taught to grind for her own things in life. She’d never had parents or a loved one to provide for her financially, and she was used to being an independent woman. He couldn’t lie, there was something really attractive about seeing a woman who didn’t need a man to help her out, but now the opportunity had presented itself, he did feel frustrated that she wouldn’t let him help her.

  After a few minutes Paul came back down the stairs and into the kitchen. He told Dee and Jason that he’d put their bags in the big guest room, and made his way to the kitchen counter where he saw a glass of lemonade go
ing spare.

  “Oh, you made lemonade” he announced, picking up the full glass and chugging half of it in a few large gulps. After wiping off his mouth, he said “Beautiful” and kissed his wife affectionately on the cheek. Dee watched the two of them interact, and though it sounded silly, she thought it was nice to see folk of an age still be together, and happy.

  She’d never really grown up around couples. Her father was never around as a child. Her brother remembered him slightly, since he was four when Dee was born, but she was pretty sure he went missing after that. Kiki had a different father, and since Dee was six by the time her sister was born, she remembered a man being around for a short space of time, though she remembered nothing about him, only slightly what he looked like. By that point, Jarell was ten, so he remembered more. He remembered this man hitting their mom and trying to get in the way to protect her when he smacked his ten year old frame. Needless to say, the man was gone after that as far as they both could remember. The only thing Monique had ever mentioned was that Kiki’s father was a teacher, and he was smart, which explained where Kiki got her brains from. In the same drunken conversation, Monique had said their father was a ‘dumb fuck , so that explained where they got their brains from’. She laughed afterwards, meaning it as a joke, but words like that hurt.