Curly Q

by Jamallah Bergman

  “Well, I got an unexpected visit from you know who here,” Madison said.

  “And I had to see her when I came back,” Austin mentioned.

  “So we got together and now, we are here since I have the weekend.” Madison soon realized that her sister was slowly but surely getting the jest of their visit.

  Her mouth and eyes grew wider and wider by the second. “No you two didn’t!”

  All they could do was laugh as Austin took Madison’s hand and kissed it while they continued looking into each other’s eyes.

  “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!” she shouted hugging them both. It seemed like Candace kept asking about ten thousand questions they didn’t even have time to answer. “When? How? No wait—I KNOW how but...”

  Then while this was going on, Madison couldn’t stop laughing.

  Austin looked so lost and confused as he glanced over at her.

  “Didn’t I tell you that I knew she was going to say ‘I knew it, I knew it, I knew it’ when she found out about us.”

  “Yes, you did.” He laughed too, as he looked back at Candace. “She was a nervous wreck the whole drive over here. I have to admit I was too, we don’t know what Jonathan will think about us getting together like this.”

  Candace sighed and held her sister’s hand as she looked at Austin with a smile. “I think it will be okay, it’s just that he loves Madison to death like she was his own sister. When she got that divorce, he was so upset and mad with Paul. He didn’t understand why he would do something so stupid. He’s supposed to be on his way with the kids, he went to pick them up from karate. How are you going to do this?” Candace asked them both.

  Madison looked over at Austin as he gave Candace a blank stare.

  “I will have a talk with him,” Madison told them both. “I think he will understand more coming from me. Hopefully, he won’t go off on me which I know he won’t. But if he hears it from me then it will make more sense to him.”

  “Let’s get your stuff to your rooms or are you both sharing a room?” Candace joked.

  “We are sharing a room.” Madison told her, sticking out her tongue as they went up the stairs to the guest room.

  Jonathan and the kids didn’t come back home for another hour. When they came in, they found Madison, Candace and Austin out near the pool.

  “Auntie, when did you get here?” Janessa asked as she gave her a huge hug.

  “Not long ago, sweetheart, I see you went to karate, how did that go?”

  “It went great! I did a lot of kicking and I did a lot of shouting and stuff, it was so cool!” She smiled as Madison kissed her forehead.

  “Well, I wasn’t expecting to see you two here…together,” Jonathan told them with a smile.

  Madison knew it was a forced smile. “We wanted to come by and visit. I also needed to talk with you Jonathan about something.”

  “Why don’t we go inside kids and get you ready for dinner and Austin, why don’t you come and help me out?” Candace asked as they all got up and left the two alone.

  “So, what do you want to talk with me about Curly Q? It looks like you have a lot on your mind.”

  Taking a deep breath, she looked at Jonathan and smiled while twiddling her fingers. “Well, I wanted to talk with you because something has happened in my life that might or might not change how you feel about me.” She continued wringing her hands together.

  Jonathan pulled his chair in closer. “Does what has happened in your life deal with Austin?”

  Nodding in agreement with his question all Madison could hear was the impending groans as the look on his face would have probably stopped a thousand ships.

  “I can’t believe you would get mixed up with someone like Austin, don’t you know why we don’t get along?”

  “Jonathan, I know the whole story about Candace, the kiss and the aftermath. But this is now and I can’t understand why now you guys can’t get along. The past is the past and you can’t keep reliving it every single day when it comes to you and your brother. You need to bury it and move on. Like if something was to happen to him while he was out of the country, or maybe at home. You would never get the chance to do the things that you guys have wanted and needed to do together. You can’t keep holding a grudge like this for so long. I’m in love with him Jonathan, simple as that.” Every part of her tightened up as the stress of finally letting it all go relinquished itself from her body, but the tears kept flowing along with her words.

  “Please don’t cry Madison, you know it gets me to see you crying and looking at me like that, you know I can’t handle it.” He held her hand.

  “I just want you to talk with Austin and just put everything on the table and get back to being brothers again, for me.” Madison pleaded while wiping her tears away.

  Breathing a heavy sigh mixed with a relentless groan, Jonathan shook his head. “Alright, I’ll talk to him but I’m just doing this for you ok?”

  Giving him a big hug, Madison felt elated. She knew it was rough for him but as long as he agreed to do it, she was happy. “Austin!”

  Austin rushed from the patio. He looked at the two of them and walked over to Madison, seeing her red eyes. “Are you alright? Why are you crying?” He went into his pocket and gave her his handkerchief.

  “I think you two better do some talking and straighten out some things.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek and looked over at Jonathan to give him a nod. She left the two alone as she walked in to join Candace and the kids in the living room.

  Austin stared at his brother as he went over to one of the chairs to sit down.

  “You know I don’t like this Austin but I told Madison that I would talk things out with you. First off, I want to say that I don’t want you to hurt her because she means a great deal to us and to me. She’s like the sister we never had and if she hurts, then I hurt right along with Candace. Let me ask you something, why her? Of all the women on this planet, you had to fall in love with her.”

  Austin had to smile because this was honestly the first time in forever since his brother had talked with him for longer than a minute. “You’ve known Madison longer than I have. What was it about her when you first saw her that made you like her?”

  “Well…” He sat down next to him. “The very first time I met her was when she found out that Candace and I were engaged. She told me she wanted me to meet her. Madison was always busy with work and she was lucky enough to get her to come for lunch. When I first laid eyes on her, I was completely shocked. All I could see was this brilliant smile, those wondrous eyes and tons of curls. I never thought that one person could have so many curls on top of their head but they were so beautiful along with the rest of her. After that day, we got to see more of her as well as Paul. I have to say I never did care for him and it’s not because of the fact that they got a divorce and all. It was way before that happened. You know how when you meet someone for the first time, that first time is a lasting impression on you for life. He acted cocky, very cocky and so sure of himself but I tolerated it because of the fact that one…he was my brother in law. Two, he was Madison’s husband and three and most importantly, she was Candace’s little sister. But after a while, I think Candace realized that I didn’t care for him at all. So from that time on, she only tried to invite Madison over to our house or to outings with us. But I have to say I was drawn by her personality and her spark that I also saw in Candace. I even saw her at work.”

  “Really, how was that?”

  “She’s like a tiger in the court room, she is one of those no holds barred type of attorneys. You would never know it by her sweet innocent demeanor, though. She was handling a case for some people who were going up against this big time corporation. The way she hammered in on that one guy over a statement he had made was priceless. Hell, I almost pissed my pants myself as if I were the guy being questioned. The lawyer for the corporation kept saying, ‘Objection, Objection’ over and over again, but she gave it right back and continued questioning
him until the poor boy cracked under the pressure. But when she came here after the divorce, that fire in her was almost gone, she wasn’t the same.”

  “Well, when you find out that your significant other is in the bed with another person, yeah that’s enough to make you think back over the years. Making you wonder what you did wrong, what you could have done to make things right…” Looking into his brother’s eyes, Austin told him, “And I will never make that mistake with Madison. She will never be taken for anything but the precious woman she is.”

  Jonathan kept staring at his face. “Just treat her right and don’t ever hurt her.”

  “Listen bro that will never ever happen. I never intended to fall in love with Madison but it happened and whenever I thought about her while I was away, it was unbearable for me not having her around. She’s the one for me and she completes me more than anything in this world. I would kill myself if I were to hurt her in anyway. I know that you might not believe that, but I mean it from my heart.”

  “I can see that now. I thought that you were just going to end up using her.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Because, for as long as I’ve known you, that’s all you did, after you and Christina divorced, you just got worse with women. You dated one and then break it off to go with another. Every country you visited, you had a woman in it.”

  “But that was then. I’m not the same as I used to be, man. You can’t hold that against me for something in the past. I needed to grow up. I’m ready for this now.”

  Jonathan sighed running his fingers through his hair. “Just do me one favor alright?”

  “Sure. what is it?”

  “If I find out that you’ve done anything wrong by her, cheated on her or anything, I got permission to kick your ass.”

  Austin started to laugh and stuck out his hand. “Deal,”

  Jonathan laughed and accepted his brother’s hand as he immediately drew him in for a big bear hug. It was the first time in a long time since they did this and it felt good that finally, the rift between them was over and done with.

  Austin looked over and saw both Madison and Candace watching them, both were teary eyed and crying over what they’d just witnessed.

  “Oh, come on, no crying, dammit!” Jonathan scowled.

  Both brothers laughed then went to the sisters and hugged them.

  Chapter Ten

  Later that night after everyone went to bed Madison walked into the kitchen, turned on the light and headed for the fridge. Looking around, she grabbed the pitcher of lemonade and some stuff to make a sandwich with. While making her food, she heard a shuffle of feet coming as her sister walked in.

  “I heard someone in here, you couldn’t sleep either huh?”

  “Nope and plus my stomach was growling since I didn’t eat much of dinner. Want a share of the sandwich?”

  The two sat and ate their half of the sandwich and drank lemonade in silence.

  “So how is he in the sack?”

  Madison almost spit out her drink and tried not to choke. “Damn, why don’t you warn someone when you ask a question like that? I can’t believe you even asked that!”

  Candace just stared at her, still waiting to hear the answer to her question as if she could care less about the shock factor.

  Quietly, Madison poured more lemonade.

  “Well, what’s the answer woman?”

  Madison raised a brow and shook her head in supposed disgust. “He’s amazing.”

  Candace squealed with delight.

  Madison just laughed while taking the last bite of her sandwich. “Are you happy now that you know?”

  “I’m just happy that you are finally happy with someone. I knew that once you met Austin, you two were going to hit it off good.”

  Drinking her lemonade, Madison smiled then took her cup and plate to the sink she gave her sister a hug goodnight before heading back to her room, walking in slowly towards the bed.

  Austin woke up and saw her get in, then pulled her close to him. “You feel so nice, where’d you go to?”

  “To grab a snack,” Turning around to face him, she snuggled next to his neck as he sighed. Her finger softly rubbed against his chest while they went back to sleep once more.

  Madison had turned over in her sleep and opened her eyes.

  Janessa was looking right down at her. “Auntie, wake up,” she whispered with a smile.

  “Who is that?” Austin groused.

  “Our cute wakeup call...I think,” Madison quipped.

  Austin started to laugh as he peered over her shoulder at Janessa.

  “Mom is making breakfast, blueberry pancakes, and the works. You better come and get some before daddy eats them all!”

  Sitting up, Madison grabbed Janessa and pulled her close to her in a bear hug while Austin tickled her.

  She laughed so hard and loud that they all ended up laughing.

  “Tell your mom, we’ll be in there in a few minutes.”

  The little wake up call got out of bed and left the room.

  Madison laid back down. “Good morning sweetheart,” she murmured while stretching a bit.

  “Morning hon, we better get on up. Those pancakes smell like heaven and I’m starving. You want to go ahead and take a shower or you want me to take mine?”

  “Or we can just not figure out who goes first and just us going in there together,” Madison told him while getting out of bed to grab her bag.

  “You have the best ideas, Curly Q. Go ahead and start up the shower and I’ll grab the towels,” Austin suggested.

  Madison rolled her eyes at the silly nickname but she did smile while heading to the bathroom.

  A half hour later, they made their way to the kitchen.

  “Good Morning you two,” Candace greeted them, stacking another warm blueberry pancake on a plate.

  “I hope you’re making more over there because I am starving,” Austin said as he grabbed the plate of pancakes from Candace.

  “Did you sleep well?” Jonathan asked.

  Madison nodded as she took a strawberry and bit into it.

  Once they made their plates, they all went into the dining room.

  “So what are your plans for today?” Candace asked.

  “Well, I needed to go by my studio to pick up some photos and take them by Neil’s place for next week. Other than that, my day is wide open.”

  “They’re having an art festival over in the next town maybe we all can go after you get back,” Candace suggested.

  “That sounds great.” Madison smiled while they all continued to eat their breakfast.

  Everything was delicious from the bacon to the pancakes and scrambled eggs. Never had she eaten so much in her life for the first meal of the day. But it was the joy that she really ate up when she watched Austin and Jonathan laughing and talking together. Seeing them joking with one another made her feel proud that they were finally were talking again.

  “Even though this food is good, I better head on out to get this stuff done so we can head off to the festival.” Wiping his mouth, Austin went to put his plate in the sink then went over to Madison and kissed her on the cheek before leaving.

  “I better go and get the kids ready. Come on you guys, let’s go.” The kids got up and followed Candace.

  Jonathan gathered their dishes. “You want any more pancakes?”

  “Are you kidding? I am going to be drooling syrup if I eat anymore.”

  He laughed as he stacked the dishes to rinse them off, putting them into the dishwasher.

  She handed her plate over to Jonathan to rinse off. “I’m going back to my room, freshen up, and relax a bit before Austin gets back.” Patting him on the shoulder, she headed back to their room. Turning on the television, she flipped a few channels, trying to find something to watch but found nothing as the pancakes were soon making camp in her stomach and making her sleepy. Her heavy eyes closed and her entire body became relaxed as it sunk deep into bed.

/>   Dreams started to cloud her mind while she found herself near the ocean as a warm breeze blew over the palm trees and ruffled the white linen dress she’d been wearing while she walked along the black sandy beach. It seemed like she’d stepped into one of the pictures she’d seen so many times online. The smell of orchids filled the air as she continued feeling the sand between her toes. The sun lowered along the horizon making golden orange hues mixed with the lavender and pink along the skyline. While she walked, Madison saw someone coming towards her from the other end of the beach. As she continued walking, she could see Austin towards her with that handsome smile on his face and only wearing a pair of white linen pants, his long hair blowing in the wind as he grabbed her around her waist and swung her around. They both laughed like children would do at play. Then Madison ran as Austin gave chase along the beach. The wet sand pushed underneath their feet as they left footprints that soon were washed away from the surf.

  Stirring from her wonderful dream, Madison sat up in the bed and stared at a smiling Jonathan at the foot of her bed.

  “I didn’t want to wake you up but we’re going to meet Austin at the fair. He said it’s going to take a little longer than he thought with his friend. I gave him directions, so he’s going to meet us at the front.

  “Okay.” Stretching as she got up, Madison went to the bathroom as Jonathan left the room.

  The art fair was something Madison knew she would have to come to more often. The event was huge and there were so many people it was surprising to her how they were even able to walk.

  “Wow, will you look at all these people here!” Jon. Jr. gushed as he looked up at his dad.

  “Yeah, they always have a good turnout for this fair each year,” Candace added.

  “Can we go on in now?” Janessa whined as she looked around.

  “We have to wait for Uncle Austin to come sweetheart,” Madison told her, looking around while people started making their way from the parking lot towards the entrance. She felt just as excited to go to in as Janessa was.