Chapter 12

Lauren

Lauren was sitting in her room, looking over her party plans. She was checking the guest list, making sure that everyone had gotten their invitations. There were several people who hadn’t received one and many of them went to a different school. She still needed to get in contact with her party planner to make sure that everything that she was supposed to take care of was set, so Lauren picked up her cell phone and decided to do that now.

“This is Nira,” the party planner answered after the second ring.

“Hi, Nira, this is Lauren.”

“Hey, Lauren, I was just about to call you. How’s everything?”

“Everything’s good. I do have a few more invitations to send out and I wanted to make sure that all loose ends were tied on your end,” Lauren informed her.

“Well, that’s what I was going to call you about,” Nira said. “I’m sorry to tell you that the DJ for your party has backed out. Apparently, someone else is having a party that night and offered him twice as much money as we offered.”

Lauren sighed heavily. She couldn’t believe this. Two weeks before her party and she didn’t have a DJ. “Well, what am I supposed to do? How are we going to have a party without music?” she asked frantically.

“Lauren, calm down, honey,” Nira told her. “I’m already in contact with someone else, but he might cost a few hundred more.”

“I don’t care, just please get him before next week,” Lauren practically begged.

Nira laughed. “Don’t you think you should consult your parents before giving the consent that they will spend more money on a DJ?”

Lauren knew she would have to ask her parents, but she needed to get this man before someone else did. She’d talk to her parents about it later. Besides, they gave her practically anything she wanted, so it shouldn’t even be a problem. “I’ll ask them, but could you please put an offer on the table and try to snatch him up before we lose him?”

“I’ll do that, but I’m also going to call your parents to make sure they are well aware of their expenses.”

“Okay.” Lauren shrugged as if she really cared; she was having this party if she had to pay for it out of her own pocket. Don’t get carried away, Lauren, she laughed to herself.

“I’ll talk to you later,” Nira said before hanging up.

Lauren tossed her phone onto her bed and exhaled. She was hoping that this party would be the party of the year. That’s why she was trying to go all out regardless of the expenses. She wanted her peers to talk about this party at their twenty-year class reunion. She also was hoping that she could tell her children that her party was where she and their father first began dating.

Though she knew she was risking a lot, Lauren wanted to be with Sterling. She couldn’t think of anything more that she wanted for her birthday than to just be his girl. She wanted him to hold her and protect her; she wanted to feel his warm, sensual lips against hers. She would love for Sterling to dance the night away with her and seal the magical evening with a good-night kiss; if she could get more out of the night and offer Sterling her virginity, Lauren’s life would be complete.

She hated the fact that he was her teacher, but that didn’t matter to her when it came to what she felt in her heart. Sterling was well aware of his position and the risks that dating her would have, but he had agreed to come to her party, not as a chaperone, but as a guest. He knew Lauren’s intentions and he’d told her that they could have nothing more than a student-teacher relationship. Lauren felt as if he was sending mixed signals and to her that was a good thing because, though his actions showed that he was apprehensive toward her, they also revealed his interest in pursuing a relationship with her. Jayda had told Lauren that she was in way over her head and that only made Lauren’s pursuit of Sterling intensify. She would get Sterling to fall for her if it was the last thing she did.

It wasn’t that Lauren couldn’t find a guy her own age; she was definitely capable of getting any guy’s attention, but she liked a challenge. She was a lot like Brenda in that she enjoyed the thrill of the chase, except Lauren liked to play the cat and she loved a mouse that barely stayed within reach. Guys like Jarred were too accessible and much too clingy. Jarred would be perfect for Lauren if he would just back off and allow her to draw toward him. That’s why she loved Sterling; he continuously pushed her away, knowing that she wasn’t going to stop until she got what she wanted.

Lauren had been labeled as stuck-up and snotty by guys and girls, just because she knew what she wanted and set high standards for herself when it came to picking a mate or even a friend. She couldn’t care less what people said about her though because she knew she was the best all around, and those who thought otherwise were considered jealous.

Lauren lay back on her bed and smiled; for someone who was envied and talked about by so many people, she was extremely popular. How ironic, she thought. She shrugged; as long as her popularity status didn’t waver, she’d let what others said about her roll through one ear and right out of the other.

 

Jayda

“Mama, do you need any help?” Jayda asked as she stood in the entryway of the kitchen.

Heather looked up at her daughter and smiled. “Why don’t you come cut these onions for the spaghetti sauce?”

Jayda moved toward the island that sat in the center of the kitchen and began cutting the onions that rested on the cutting board. The kitchen was silent, with the exceptions of the knife slicing through the onion and the sound of the running water that Heather was using to clean off the tomatoes. Jayda knew her mother was still upset about her separation; her parents had been together since their college years, and if she excluded the last few months, Jayda couldn’t remember a time when her parents didn’t publicly or privately exhibit their love for each other. Sure, they had their disagreements, but so did every other normal couple. Jayda just didn’t know what had gone wrong. Why had her father started to be unfaithful? That was a question she didn’t know the answer to, but she was determined to find out.

“Mama.” Jayda’s voice finally broke through the lingering silence.

Heather looked up. “Yes, baby?”

Jayda inhaled deeply before asking, “What happened to make Daddy do what he did to you?”

Heather turned away and resumed slicing the tomatoes. The silence that had blanketed the room before returned and Jayda sighed, figuring that her mother didn’t want to discuss the issue. She went back to chopping the onions and decided not to ask any more questions, but silently hoped that her mother would reveal what had disrupted their stable home.

“Your father doesn’t know what he wants,” Heather suddenly said.

Jayda turned and gazed at her mother in confusion. She knew there was more to the statement, but Heather didn’t say anything else. Knowing her mother, Jayda decided not to pry, but knew she would find out the complete truth soon enough.

By the time dinner was ready, the twins had come home from their afterschool activities. Cameron was on the basketball team and Candice was a cheerleader. Their practices usually ran through the afternoon and to the early evening, but they always made it home for dinner. Jayda walked to the front door and waved to the woman who’d just dropped her siblings off before closing the door and locking it.

“Hey, guys,” Jayda greeted them.

“Hey, Jay,” they returned the greeting solemnly.

Their sister looked at them sorrowfully. “You can eat as soon as you guys take your showers.”

She watched as they sulked up the stairs. Jayda knew they missed their father; so did she. Even though their home hadn’t been its happiest in the last few months, they all knew that their family wasn’t the same without Preston around.

While the twins showered, Jayda decided to call Evan. She needed someone to talk to and knew that he would provide a listening ear.

“Hey, babe. Wassup?” Evan answered on the first ring.

Jayda smiled as her face warmed to his voice. “Hey, Ev. Can I talk to you about something?”

“Sure,” he replied. “I’m listening.”

Jayda began telling him about the situation at home and how her parents had temporarily separated. “Everybody’s just moping around as if the world has ended,” she informed him as tears began to roll down her cheeks. “And it feels like it has. My dad’s only been gone for about a week, but it feels as if he’s been gone for years and I miss him so much. And my mom . . . she won’t tell me anything. When I asked her about it all she said was that my dad can’t seem to make up his mind about what he wants. I’m trying to be strong for everybody, but I feel so weak myself. I don’t know what to do.”

Evan listened as Jayda cried for a moment before offering his advice. “Jayda, I’ve known you for some time, a long time, and you are a strong woman—that’s who you are by nature. So trying to force yourself to be overly strong for your family right now isn’t necessary because even if you don’t try, that characteristic is going to come out in you always. You need to let your guard down and show your emotions. Just like you’re talking to me right now and showing how you truly feel about the situation, you need to do that with your parents. Let them know that this is bothering you; tell them that you’re hurting. As long as you walk around as if everything’s okay, they’re going to assume that you’re all right and you’re not affected by the problem at all.”

“But, Evan, I just told you that I asked my mother about it and she barely gave me a response,” Jayda cried.

“That’s because you haven’t shown any emotions concerning it. I don’t mean go to her crying and falling out, but let her see your heart and tell her how you feel about being left in the dark.” He paused before adding, “Now, there are some things that go on in a marriage that parents will keep from their kids because it would be too much for them to handle. So if your mom tells you that it’s something you wouldn’t understand, trust me when I say that she’s probably right. And if that’s the case, leave it alone until she, or even your dad, feels like they’re comfortable telling you what’s really going on.”

Jayda still had tears coming out of her eyes, but she felt slightly better. “I hear you, Evan, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to do what you’re asking, but I know I will do it. Thank you so much, for listening to me.” She chuckled softly. “I can’t believe I just cried in front of you.”

Evan laughed. “I’m sure you were beautiful doing it.”

Jayda couldn’t help but smile at his words. She hadn’t known that he was so sweet. Though they hadn’t formally begun dating, Evan was already treating her like his number one lady. She couldn’t wait until they made it official.

“Thank you again,” she said right before hearing her mother call her down for dinner. The way Heather screamed her name, Jayda was sure that she’d been summoned more than once. “Evan, I have to go.”

“All right, babe, I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” he said.

“Okay, bye.” Jayda was hesitant to hang up the phone, but when her mother called her name again, she knew she had to.

She smiled as she quickly placed the phone on the hook and went into the bathroom to wash her hands before heading downstairs to the dinner table. Cameron and Candice were already sitting in their usual spots and they were all waiting for Jayda to do the same so they could bless their food. As Heather said grace, Jayda felt it weird to not hear Preston’s deep baritone thanking God for allowing him to share another meal with his family and asking that their food be blessed and nourishing to their bodies. But Evan’s advice stuck with her and caused her smile to remain throughout the prayer in spite of the situation.

As they began enjoying their meals, Jayda hadn’t noticed that her smile was still in place until Cameron snidely pointed it out. She realized that everyone was looking at her, waiting for an explanation.

“What? I was just on the phone with a friend,” she said, struggling to remove the wide grin from her face. She had to admit that it was a hard task seeing as how Evan had shown her how caring he was. That was something she hardly ever saw in the guys who approached her.

“She was probably talking to that cute baseball player from her school,” Candice chimed in.

“Evan?” Cameron asked as he shook his head. “I should’ve known.”

“Evan?” Heather questioned with a raised eyebrow. “The guy you went out with Saturday?” she asked with a slight smile.

“Yes, ma’am,” Jayda said. “He’s really nice, Mama, and I’ve known him for a long time.”

Heather put her hand up to stop her daughter’s rambling. “If he makes you happy, that’s good. Just try not to get yourself hurt, baby.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jayda responded softly.

As they continued to enjoy their dinner, they shared light conversation, trying hard not to focus on the fact that their father was not at the head of the table. Don’t worry Mama, Jayda silently said. Evan won’t hurt me like Daddy hurt you.