“Yes?”
“I hope you and Daesha are using protection. I don’t want to be a father and grandfather at the same time.”
“Why would you even say that?”
“I am not blind son. I saw how disheveled Daesha was when we entered the house. Just promise you will act responsibly when it comes to sex.”
“I always have, dad.” He stated heading upstairs.
Amaia was on the phone with Joesi. “Amaia, I can’t believe you have been dating Aahsod for two years and never told me.”
“Joesi, I didn’t know what you would say. Like I said before, you are my best friend but also my late husband’s sister.”
“You really think I am that shallow?” Joesi asked with the hurt evident in her voice.
“No, I don’t think that. It is just hard to share something that I wasn’t really sure of how it was going to end.”
“Amaia, you were dating him for two years. Regardless of the outcome, you still could have come to me to talk. My brother would be happy that you chose to go on with your life. Daesha was only eleven when he was diagnosed and thirteen when he died. You waited four years to even get involved. I know you were dedicated to my brother. No matter what my Mom thinks.”
“Thanks, Joesi. I really needed to hear that.”
“Wow, engaged and pregnant! You are doing it big aren’t you.”
“Yes and worried about my mother at the same time.”
“Your mother will be fine.”
“She isn’t going to approve of Aahsod.” Amaia stated.
“I know she gave you hell about my brother and my mother gave him hell about you but you can’t let family dictate who you fall in love with.”
“Joesi, that’s easier said than done.”
“Well, I am only a phone call away if you need to talk.”
“Thanks. Good night.” Amaia stated.
Joesi said good night and hung up.
The next day, Tahj was pacing the office as he nervously awaited his mother’s arrival.
“Tahj, you are going to walk a hole in the carpet with that pacing.”
“Sorry, dad, I’m just nervous.”
Aahsod was about the respond when Jovita walked through the door. Aahsod thought that she was still a vision of loveliness. She resembled Eva Longoria. She was only 5’ 2”. Although she was a combination of Caucasian and Hispanic, her Hispanic features were more dominate except for her sapphire eyes. Tahj had her eye color. Her long straight black hair hung to her waist. She looked immaculate with her hair, makeup and wardrobe. When she approached Tahj, he was afraid to touch this perfection.
“Tahj you are as handsome as I dreamed.”
“Hello.” Was the only response he gave.
“No hug?” she asked.
Tahj wanted to be angry with her but as soon as she embraced him, his heart melt and Jovita cried inside as her son embraced her back. Finally Jovita pulled back.
“I know this is hard for all of you. I would not have disrupted your lives if I was not dying. I could not go on without seeing you.”
“What are you dying from?”
“Leukemia. I needed a bone marrow transplant but my other two children Juan and Joi were not matches. None of my family would get tested because of how I abandoned all of them years ago. I was hoping you would get tested to see if you are a match.”
“That’s a lot of ask of me after abandoning me twenty four years ago. A hug is one thing but bone marrow is another. I cannot agree to this right now. I really have to think about this. You are asking entirely too much. I know you are dying but I barely know you. Juan and Joi have had you their entire lives because you chose that. Would you be standing in front of me now if you weren’t in need of testing my bone marrow?”
Jovita mouth dropped open from shock.
“I didn’t think so. Since you made me wait, now it is time for me to make you wait. Give your number where you are staying to my father, a father that has been there for me every single day of my life. Just remember that the man that you see before you is the man he has to be proud of.” He departed angrily from the office slamming the door.
Jovita turned to Aahsod. “You have to convince him to at least get tested.”
“I think you heard what he said.”
“My life may be in his hands.”
“You left his life in my hands twenty four years ago. You really cannot expect him to come around and jump for joy because you walk in saying you are his mother. Motherhood is more than biology.”
“How long is he going to make me wait?”
“Let’s hope it isn’t twenty four years like you made him wait.”
“That’s not fair, Aahsod.”
“Life isn’t fair, Jovita. Give him some time. Just write your cell phone number down and I will give it to Tahj. I hope you made arrangements to be here for a while.”
Jovita did not respond. She wrote the number down on the legal pad and departed from the office. When she was gone, he rang Amaia’s office to have her come down for a talk to discuss the brief meeting with Jovita. He knew how soft hearted Amaia would be about this situation but he would support Tahj’s decision no matter what.
Amaia entered with a smile. “How did things go?”
“She has leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. She only came to see if Tahj is a donor match.”
“Are you serious?”
“Very.”
“How did Tahj react?”
“Anger made him tell her he had to think about it. Jovita immediately became self centered thinking about her own health rather than her son’s feelings. I made her go back to her hotel and wait out his decision.”
“I hope he eventually helps her.”
“I knew you would say that but this is one time that I cannot say love conquers all when it is truly, madly and deeply, Amaia. It has been twenty four years and she has not even tried to be a part of his life in any way. You cannot blame him for the way he feels regardless of the circumstances.”
“Aahsod, I realize that but you cannot overlook the fact that this woman will die without the transplant. He may have her life in his hands. That’s a big responsibility for anyone to have to deal with even if he knew her at all. I just hope he can eventually come to terms with the situation and help her if he is a match.”
“It is not as though she is dying tomorrow. She looked too healthy for it to be any time soon.”
“So she is beautiful?”
“Why do you ask that?”
“Too healthy? Just admit that the woman is still beautiful. You have immaculate taste, Aahsod so I am sure that Jovita was near perfection.”
“I haven’t always had immaculate taste. I did go through a rough patch a while back but moreover Jovita cannot compare to you.”
“That really confirms she is beautiful. You are trying to make me feel good. Don’t worry I am secure about us.”
“Enough about that. Are you and Daesha going to plan this Christmas wedding?”
“Yes, I am heading on home to do just that. Daesha was supposed to pick up a lot of swatches and magazines so that we can get started with things. She and I will just have to get busy with planning. Like Daesha said, I don’t want to be showing when we get married.”
“I can hear her saying that. When is your next obstetrician appointment?”
“Tuesday, why?”
“I want to go with you.”
“You don’t want to wait until after we are married?”
“No, that way I can let the physician know that I am making an honest woman out of you.” He stated with a smile as he pulled her into an embrace.
“I would love for you to join me.” She snuggled into his embrace.
Chapter 7Amaia and Daesha went to visit Naomi Jennings at the hospital. Beverlee was in the waiting room when they arrived.
“Amaia what are you doing here?”
“I think you know. Don’t use any excuses with me today. I am going to go see mother.
”
“I don’t think that is wise. Mother and I had a long discussion about your relationship with Aahsod and she became upset again. She could not believe you had kept this secret for two years and I was your accomplice.”
“You had no right to discuss anything about me and Aahsod. I will never trust you enough to confide in you about anything again.”
“I really don’t care. You shouldn’t have been keeping the relationship a secret from mother for two years.”
“It sounds more like jealousy than concern for our mother.”
Beverlee was about to retort when Daesha spoke up. “You may be my aunt and I may be showing disrespect but something has to be said. My mother puts a lot of value in trust. Trust is what helps people bond together. I know you aren’t fond of me because my father was Caucasian but as long as two people are happy then you should be happy for them. My mother sacrificed a lot when she decided to stay with my father. He has been gone from our lives long enough for my mother to find the happiness she is entitled to. If Aahsod makes her happy then I’m happy for her. You are just jealous because my mother has a relationship and you don’t. Maybe if you would learn to be nicer to people you would find someone special.”
“Why you little bitch!” Beverlee reared her hand back to slap Daesha but Amaia grabbed her wrist to prevent the blow.
“Don’t you even think about hitting my daughter. No one and I mean no one lays a hand on my daughter but me. Now is not the time for this. I will deal with you some other time. We’re going to visit mom.” Amaia stated releasing Beverlee’s wrist.
Naomi was awake but resting when they entered the room. She looked up at them with sad eyes. Jacob Jennings was sitting beside the bed holding her left hand.
“Hi, mom, are you all right?”
“Tell me it isn’t true,” Naomi said in a weak voice.
“Now isn’t the time to talk about this, mom.”
“I have to know.”
Amaia leaned against the bed and held her mother’s right hand. “We are getting married. We love one another. You have a grandchild on the way.”
“Why can’t you stay within your race?”
“Mom, Aahsod is a dark Indian American.”
“But he isn’t black. If you are so much in love, why all the secrecy?”
“I’d rather discuss this when you are better.”
“Why, so I can have a relapse?”
“Mom, how can you even suggest such a thing?”
“I don’t know why you are acting so shocked about my reaction. You know that I never approved of your relationship with Laurence. I just tolerated it. Beverlee informed me that Daesha doesn’t even like Aahsod.”
“Nana, I never told Aunt Beverlee that I didn’t like Aahsod. I just never like the secrecy of the relationship. There are a lot of things that I have found out that make me want to get to know him better. You really should give it a try.”
“I can’t believe you are being so understanding about all of this.” Naomi shook her head softly.
“Mom, I have something to ask that I wanted to ask when I was with Laurence.” Amaia asked releasing her mother’s hand.
“Which is?”
“How can you not be color blind when Dad is as light skinned as he is?”
Naomi gasped as Jacob Jennings’ stood up in anger “Amaia Elayne, stop it!”
“No, I won’t stop it, dad. It isn’t fair.” She looked back at her mother. “Answer me, Mom.”
Naomi looked at her daughter with eyes filled with angry tears before speaking. “You are so disrespectful. You are someone I don’t even know right now!”
Amaia sighed before responding. “Do you ever stop to think that maybe I love him as much as you love dad?”
“Don’t you dare compare the love your father and I share to the ugly thing you have with this man!” Her anger caused her breathing to become labored and the heart monitor started beeping.
“Calm down Naomi.” Jacob Jennings stated with a concerned look on his face.
“If you marry him, I will never forgive you for it!” Naomi yelled in anger.
The nurse entered the room and asked everyone to leave so she could get Naomi stabilized. “Come on mom, let’s go home.” Daesha stated.
When they arrived home, Daesha walked her mother upstairs. Once Amaia had changed into a gown and crawled under the covers, Daesha went back downstairs to call Aahsod. He answered on the first ring.
“This is Daesha. We just came from the hospital. I think you should come over. Mom needs you.”
“I’ll be right over.” He hung up the phone and informed Tahj where he was going before he departed.
When he arrived, Daesha opened the door for him. “Thank you for calling me.” Aahsod stated.
“I always do what is best for my mother. She is upstairs in her bedroom.”
Aahsod mounted the stairs quickly. Amaia was lying on her side weeping softly. He went over and sat on the bed. Amaia turned to look at him. “Mom stated that if I marry you, she will never forgive me for it.”
“She is just talking out of anger.” Aahsod stated.
“No, she isn’t. She really means it.”
“Why are you so worried? Do you realize that we are one another’s dream, fantasy and hope? I can be everything that you need. I told you to have faith and love will conquer all because ours is truly, madly and deeply.”
She rolled to the other side of the bed and got up with anger. “Those words won’t comfort me this time. Do you have any idea how it makes me feel that my mother doesn’t want to give me her blessing about my soon to be marriage to you and that I am carrying her grandchildren? It’s like fucking Déjà Vu!”
“Amaia, calm down. I can be everything that you need.” He doesn’t remember ever hearing her swear.
“No, I won’t calm down damn it! I can’t just marry you as if it isn’t going to destroy my relationship with my mother!”
Aahsod stood up. “So you would actually forego our becoming husband and wife for your relationship with your mother?”
Amaia wiped away the tears angrily. “You have no idea what it took to reestablish my relationship with my mother after marrying Laurence.”
“Yet you knew that when you got into a relationship with me.”
“Don’t try to turn this back on me. You chose not to share how you felt about me until recently so how was I to know that this relationship would lead to a proposal?!”
“Like I said you chose to continue to see me. You were in agreement to keep this relationship a secret regardless of how long it would last. I love you with every breath that I take and now you are going to let your mother dictate who you should love and marry? You aren’t thinking rationally.”
“Well, excuse me for not having a close family unit like you! Oh, but it isn’t really is it? Look at your son and his mother. So don’t stand there trying to preach to me when your life is just as screwed up as mine! Maybe we should just rethink all of this!”
Aahsod stood there staring at her with maddening silence that unnerved Amaia. Finally he spoke. “Are you saying the wedding is off?”
“Just postponed.” She said continuing to meet his gaze.
“Amaia, do you really love me?”
“Of course, so much that it makes me want to cry from the shear joy of it.”
“Then you should be able to forego your mother’s selfishness and allow me to surround you with my loving comfort with the protection of my love.”
“I can’t do that right now.”
Aahsod sighed as he walked over to her and took her hands in his. Amaia thought he was going to pull her into an embrace but he shocked her by removing the ring from her finger.
“When you grow up and decided you want to marry me then call me and I will gladly put this back on your finger.” He turned and walked out of the room.
Amaia willed herself not to cry or call him back into the room. She let the tears silently fall after he was gone. It wasn’t
long after that Daesha was rushing into the room. “Mom, Aahsod said the wedding was off and left. Is that true?”
Her mother held up her ring finger to prove his words were correct.
“What happened?” Daesha asked.
“You don’t need to get involved.” Amaia stated as she brushed away the tears.
“Not get involved? Really, mom, really? Just tell me what is going on?”
Amaia sighed and laid on the bed without responding. Daesha just got on the bed, pulled her mom into an embraced and snuggled.
Aahsod immediately went to see his parents. Kasar and Behula Patel were silent as their son relayed the events that had just taken place between him and Amaia. When he finished talking, neither spoke.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
Kasar looked at Behula before speaking. When she nodded, he turned back to Aahsod.
“Son, we love you but we truly think it would be best if you married, Kareena Zinta.”
“You can’t be serious.” Aahsod stated as he remember that Kareena was almost the spitting image of Deepika Paukone.
“You know that she is divorced now and willing to still marry you.”
“Father, you cannot be serious. I am in love with Amaia.”
“Yet her family is against this arrangement. You have strayed from your culture long enough. We have tolerated you trying to find love in all the wrong places. We truly feel that you should be with Kareena and things will be better.”
“I cannot believe my parents are actually saying this. You raised me to be colorblind but you are not being the same way.”
“We also raised you to be sensible. You have had relationships outside of your race for quite some time and none have proven worthy.”
Aahsod looked at his mother who resembled Deepti Gupta. “Mother, do you feel the same way?”
“Son, I am an obedient wife. I am letting your father speak.”
“We are not in India. We are in the USA. How do you feel?” Aahsod asked his mother.
Before Behula could speak, Kasar butted in. “It doesn’t matter what your mother thinks. I have spoken.”
“Well father, I want to hear what my mother has to say.”
Kasar sighed and sat back with his hand propped on his face. Behula cleared her throat.
Truly Madly Deeply Page 6