The Storm (Fairhope)

by Laura Lexington

  “Your paintings will be famous one day, Jana,” the owner of a local gallery often told me with a twinkle in his eye. “Paint what you see in your heart.”

  As Andrew’s Tacoma veered down our street, my childhood memories faded when I noticed the familiar cars lining our driveway. “Andrew? What’s going on?”

  “Surprise!” He grinned boyishly. “Your mom and I decided you were in serious need of a party. Happy birthday!”

  I nearly shrieked and leapt into his arms after he opened the door for me.

  Andrew slipped his arm around my waist, and we strolled to the backyard together. I beamed graciously as my family and friends yelled, “SURPRISE!” Mama, Julianne, my mother and father-in-law, Holly and her family, Grace’s mother … even Gavin was there, his gorgeous face tainted with dark bags.

  The deck was beautifully lit with white Christmas lights that we left up year round, and our fire pit, the steel sides carved with Bama symbols, sat in its place of attention in the center. All eyes were on me expectantly.

  “Wow,” I said finally. “I’m speechless. Thanks to all of you.” My welcome was met with sweet smiles and a couple of birthday cards.

  Gavin approached me tentatively, his hands buried in his pockets. “Good luck, Jana. I know this is what Grace wanted for you. If she were here, she would probably be loaded by now, screaming for Covington to kiss your ass.” We both laughed at his accurate portrayal of her behavior, but within seconds our laughter turned to tears. My crowd of supporters sniffled as we embraced, hanging on to what we had left of her.

  “Thank you,” I whispered. “I need to talk to you later, okay? You never told me what you texted me about … that day.”

  His embrace tightened around me, allowing no glimpse of his expression. He did not reply, but the sudden tension between us sent a jolt through me.

  Before I could press him, Grace’s mom joined our hug. “I love you, Jana.” She presented me with a chocolate buttercream birthday cake; the one Grace usually picked up for me. “You’re like a second daughter to me.”

  I felt empty and strange celebrating a birthday without the best friend who beat me to blowing out my candles, insisting that she could wish better for me … the best friend who ate all my leftover roses, and insisted on heaping seconds at midnight.

  I failed miserably at my effort to be brave for Grace’s mom, unable to stop stinging tears from sliding down my cheeks like waterfalls. “I miss her so much. There aren’t words…”

  Biting her lip, she gripped me tighter, knowing how much I loved her daughter.

  Andrew gently laid a hand on my shoulder and cleared his throat to get the crowd’s attention.

  “Thank you for coming to this party for Jana—a party not just to celebrate the last year of her twenties, but to celebrate making a very difficult decision,” Andrew said. “This lawsuit will not be an easy road. We appreciate your support, your prayers, and your willingness to keep this decision confidential for now.”

  “We don’t understand why this happened, but we are choosing to play the hand we have been dealt. Until this happened to Jana, we did not realize that gender discrimination was still such an issue. Our attorney is confident she will win.” He gave my hand a squeeze. “I am very proud of her, as I know you all are.”

  “Love you, Jana.” Julianne smiled, tucking wispy strands of hair behind her ear as the wind blew. “You are the best device rep I know, and your character and ability is going to win out in the end.”

  I hugged her tightly. “I know this is difficult for you, given that you still work for Covington. Thank you for your support and friendship.”

  Holly stepped forward next and wrapped her arms tightly around me. “Happy birthday, Jana. One good thing that came out of your losing your job is our friendship, and for that, I’m thankful. But I hope you kick their tail!”

  Most of us giggled at timid Holly’s attempt to be spunky.

  My father-in-law, Allen, bent down and kissed me on the cheek. “If anyone can do this, it’s you, sweetheart. We will be here to help you every step of the way.”

  Thank you, I mouthed, a bit overwhelmed by everyone’s support.

  Andrew cleared his throat rather loudly. “By deciding to move forward with the lawsuit, Jana is giving up a sizeable severance along with insurance benefits. We have found a plan for Jana and Calla, but it is very expensive, so we are going to be cutting way back. So, if anyone wants to take us out to eat, feel free…” He grinned teasingly, his antics met with laughter and eye-rolling.

  “You let me babysit that beautiful girl, and I will send you and Jana to dinner with a blank check,” Grace’s mother cooed, and Andrew responded with an affectionate kiss on top of her head. “I’m serious, Andrew!”

  Andrew shrugged noncommittally. “In that case, what are you doing next weekend?”

  I jabbed him in the side, relieved that he always nudged his way into lightening up even the most serious of circumstances.

  Holly’s husband lifted his hands, and the rest joined him in a round of applause at the end of Andrew’s casual speech. Andrew responded with a satisfied smile and enveloped me in a confident embrace for show.

  “Goodbye, assholes. Hello, dollar signs.” He waved the severance agreement like a flag, fluttering in the wind. Whistles and cheers erupted as he placed the papers in my hands in an exaggerated fashion.

  I closed my eyes, my heart pounding with adrenaline, and … let go. I let go of Covington Company, my identity that was woven so tightly in my career, let go of my life with Grace as I knew it. The flickering embers burst into powerful flames as the papers crashed into the fire pit, engulfing the air with smoke within a two-foot radius. The papers instantaneously shriveled into ash.

  It was done. I was stunned at how lighthearted I felt after burning thousands of dollars. Daddy was right when he said money wasn’t everything. These people who loved me, the best friend who was taken from me? They were everything.

  “To take this risk is right,” Mama whispered softly beneath the chatter of everyone around us. She wiped a cake crumb off my chin, smiling at me lovingly, seeing me as the tomboyish little girl I once was.

  “I know, Mama.” I leaned my head on her shoulder. “I feel good about it.”

  “Enjoy the last year of your twenties. Although, if you ask me, it only gets better from here.”

  I nodded my head with conviction. “You have to be right. I’ve lost so much … it can only get better from here.”

  I sprinted to the half-eaten birthday cake, daringly cutting an enormous second serving in Grace-style fashion. I relished every sugar-stacked bite, chugging down every last drop of her favorite icing, smiling through tears that wouldn’t stop trying to surface as a memory dawned on me…

  Once the monumental twenty-one passed us by in its whirlwind of casinos and nightclubs, Grace and I joked that one day we would be “forever twenty-nine.” Now, as I stood stuffing my face with cake, overwhelmed in unimaginable grief, I realized that she truly was forever twenty-nine.

  THOUGH THE LAWSUIT was officially public knowledge, pretending it was my little secret was my safety blanket. Our celebratory burning of my severance agreement with my friends and family was probably not the best idea if I wanted to keep my decision hush-hush. God knows Daniel could not keep his mouth shut, and considering my brother was an emergency room physician, the juicy gossip that Senator Cook’s daughter-in-law decided to sue would make the papers in record time.

  Today, Covington sent a vendor to confiscate the rest of my company property. I was more than ready to close this last chapter of my employment.

  The loud rumble of the door to my storage unit opening muffled Calla’s whimpering. I set her carrier down in time to see a piece of shiny white computer paper flutter to the ground.

  That’s strange, I thought. I had never had anyone jam a flier under my storage unit door.

  Looking closer, I saw it was folded in half and taped neatly. I eyed sharp red ink, obviously
penned with a permanent marker. This was not a flier.

  Perplexed, I cut the tape with my finger.

  Think you’re a badass, Jana? Everyone knows. You will never get a job in device again. If you knew what was best for your family, you would have signed that severance and moved on. Do you seriously think you can win a lawsuit against Covington? Your father-in-law can’t help you with this one. You didn’t make the cut. Accept it.

  I gasped, my heart rate speeding up. “What the hell?”

  Was that a threat?

  Calla gurgled and smiled at me, her dark eyes dancing with amusement. Thank God she was too young to understand what just happened.

  I remembered the notice I received in the mail about the storage unit cameras being under repair for several weeks. Only someone who knew the cameras were down, and had an access code, could have slipped the note under my door.

  My heart sank. The cat was out of the bag … they must already know.

  It could only be one of two people.

  “Jana,” one of the two said.

  Freezing in place, I balled up the note in my fist. The hairs on the back of my neck bristled at the sound of her voice. I whirled around suspiciously and caught Brooke inches from me, fixated on my clenched hand.

  I managed to avoid Brooke since my baby shower, but in months, she looked different—older. Crow’s feet framed her eyes, and her laugh lines appeared more pronounced. Brooke’s curls were tamed with a straightener, and her snaky lips were as red as freshly spilled blood. She offered a counterfeit smile that failed to mask the brackishness in her honey-colored eyes.

  “Hello, Brooke,” I said carefully. I desperately hoped my violent shaking was unnoticeable. I refused to show her what was in my hand, no matter how long she stared blatantly.

  Nonchalantly, she looped her arm across my shoulders. “How have you been? How’s that baby?” Much to my chagrin, she peered at Calla and cooed. “She’s very pretty.”

  “Thank you.” I fidgeted nervously. What could I say to get her the hell away from me? The nasty message resonated, and my pulse quickened as I grew more furious by the moment. If she didn’t write it, it was Collin, and I despised them both.

  “So … what are you doing?” She nudged nosily toward my nearly empty storage unit.

  “I’m checking out, Brooke. Giving Covington back the last couple of items.”

  She gazed at me with fake pity. “Oh, Jana … this must be so hard for you.”

  My eyes landed on my dusty President’s Circle plaque. Brooke had never made it into that circle, but she still had a job. I was never sure how much work she actually did, considering her territory manager was a superstar. The only job she was doing had the word “blow” in front of it. With as much practice as she got with the college baseball team, she ought to be a fellatio femme fatale.

  “At least you don’t have to deal with Collin anymore. We all know he’s a dick. So, you got a great severance, right?” She folded her arms and tried to hide her smirk.

  She definitely knew about the lawsuit.

  Boldly, I faced her. “No.” Protectively, I loosened Calla from her carrier and nestled her against my shoulder. She lifted her sweet lips to my cheek and chattered baby talk, and I sighed and reminded myself that she was all that was truly important.

  “Oh.” Caught off guard, Brooke was at a loss for words. What did she expect me to say? Well, my severance would have been fabulous, but I’m suing Covington Company instead. No way.

  With my free arm, I rummaged through my company belongings and started to make a neat stack for the vendor. Brooke ignored my obvious signal to end the conversation and kept running her mouth.

  “I am sorry about Grace. You know, she was always so popular in college, but I always knew something was wrong with her. Nobody is that fun and energetic all the time … and I heard she stayed in the bed for weeks when she was depressed.” She was fishing for controversy, her tone soured like vinegar. “I wish she would have turned to God instead of killing herself.”

  Oh, no, she freaking didn’t. Someone please keep me from disfiguring this bitch.

  I bit my lip until blood drew, willing my racing heart to calm. Every bone in my body urged me to choke her, to strangle her until she could not breathe and her hissy eyes bugged out of her head. As Calla’s tiny fingers played with my hair, I decided to avoid a jail sentence in favor of motherhood.

  I glared at her. “Her death has been devastating for her friends and family.”

  Brooke raised her eyebrows. “I bet. Gavin’s raising their daughter alone, huh?”

  I ignored her.

  “That’s a shame. He’s such a catch, though...” She paused, a vindictive expression on her face. “Maybe he’ll find someone a little more stable.”

  My mouth watered nauseatingly. How dare she?

  My disdain for her burned with a fiery passion. As if she had said nothing wrong, she smiled and reached her arms out toward innocent Calla, who laughed gaily.

  Pointedly, I shifted my body so Brooke could not take Calla from me. There was no way she was touching my child.

  If she wanted to be ugly, I could play this game. Gone was my cool, calm, and collected persona when I lost my job and my best friend, and found I could be more pretentious and cunning than I thought possible.

  “So, Brooke, how’s Jeff? You two seem to be pretty tight. Inseparable.”

  She pursed her lips. “I’m not sure what you mean by that, but he’s fine. He’s a good friend.”

  “Uh-huh.” She asked for it, and now she would face Jana Cook in full-out bitch mode. It would not be pretty.

  “When exactly did you start fucking him?” Dramatically, I snapped my fingers and threw my hands in the air. “It hasn’t helped your career much, has it? Seems you’re still stuck in an associate position.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe you should have spread your legs higher up the totem pole.”

  Her mouth fell open in shock.

  “Is he any good, Brooke? Do you close your eyes and picture someone else? I imagine it’s tough screwing someone who could almost be your dad.”

  “What … what—” she sputtered, her face blood red.

  “C’mon, Brooke! Cat got your tongue? Everyone knows, sweetheart.” Venom dripped from my tongue. “You two should be more careful.”

  “It’s not—it’s not like you think…”

  “Oh, really? How is it then?”

  As if on cue, the vendor assigned to my termination case arrived seconds later. I’d texted him the access code to get in.

  “Jana Cook?” He held a clipboard in his hand.

  I nodded and placed Calla back in her carrier. “Yes, sir. I have everything ready.”

  Satisfied to have gotten the last word, my wave sent Brooke away with a stoned expression on my face. Wearing a look of defeat, she sprinted off, her tennis shoes pounding the floor. I wasn’t exactly proud of my behavior, but she deserved it.

  Brooke turned one last time, her distraught gaze resting on the balled up note in my hand.

  Brooke and the threatening note of the previous week forgotten for the moment, I relished the coldness of my iced orange juice. I fingered the edges of my right to sue notice from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of Alabama, the symbol of the first step of the journey I was no longer afraid to take. Folding the notice neatly, a sigh of relief escaped me. Shortly after Jack officially filed the lawsuit, Covington submitted a motion to dismiss based on a technicality, but it was denied. After we crossed that bridge, we were prepared for the case management conference, where necessary pre-trial conference dates would be set. With every step we checked off, my confidence grew.

  A sense of wonder crept into my heart as I reflected on my sweet family over breakfast, after Andrew left half an hour early to help with an extra project at work. The hole in my heart that Grace’s death pierced would never truly heal, but my strength inched upward as the whisper and Andrew comforted me. Andrew’s fierce determination to care
for me disproved my belief that my love for him could not grow, my feelings for him climbing to new heights. From his tender kisses on my cheek when he thought I was asleep, and his shameless humming of country songs in the shower, to the way chills shot up my spine when he breathed those three simple words: “I love you” … his presence entangled me in a romance that most women pray for. My heart melted nightly as I watched him gaze at Calla in her angelic slumber, stroking her tiny fingers and toes before turning out the light. I vowed to make every single waking moment I spent with the two people I loved most to count.

  I also vowed to keep my precious memories of Grace alive for as long as I lived. To ease the burning in my stomach that prohibited me from sleeping at night, I needed to shatter Gavin’s silence, to find out what he needed to tell me that fateful morning. To find out what Grace kept hidden.

  After my twenty-ninth birthday party, Gavin blatantly avoided me. He refused to return my texts, phone calls, and once, I am almost certain he ignored the doorbell when I brought dinner unannounced. Although I excused his actions initially, understanding his monumental loss, it was time to rekindle our friendship. His attempts to avoid me would come to an end today.

  I walked into Sandra’s Place ten minutes late so he would have zero chance to see me first and bolt. With a gurgling Calla bouncing on my left hip, looking sharp in a smocked bubble that Holly’s youngest had grown out of, I slowly walked to the back corner where Gavin was sitting alone, his back to me.

  “Gavin.” Resting my hand on his shoulder, I kept my voice even and friendly. I could not compromise my chance to reel everything I needed to know out of him. No matter what secrets he held, he was still the love of my best friend’s life, and I would always care for him.

  “Jana?” The shock registered across his face, which quickly went white as he understood it was I, and not Andrew, who would be his lunch date. Being the clever devil I was, I texted him from Andrew’s cell the night before and forced Andrew to play along. Gavin glanced down at Calla, who grinned and flung her arms out to him.