A week later
Lynn pulled the door open, gazing down at a little girl. She stood there with a bag in one hand and a Barbie doll in the other. "Gwanny!!! (Granny!!!)"
"Kara." she embraced the little girl in a hug. "How's my beautiful grand daughter?"
"Lookie." she held up her doll. "She got car and food. And...and Ken." she broke out laughing. "Pay wit me?" she ran her hand over her curly thick hair.
"Sure. But after we get you settled in your room." she stood up, watching her son approach her. "Hey, Randall." he gestured a vomit sign. "Haha, stop that."
"My name is not Randall. Please remind me to change that whenever I get a chance." he leaned in, pecking her on the cheek. "How you been? Lookin' beautiful as ever." she rolled her eyes mischievously. "I hope you don't mind if we crash here for a couple of days."
"Of coarse not. Do me a favor and show Kara to her room." she gazed in on another girl who looked like she could be four or five. "And who is this pretty little girl? You must be the famous Oteriah. What's that line again?"
"I gotta have my pops." she broke out laughing.
"That's it!" she embraced her in a hug. "You're so beautiful. You look just like your mommy." she smiled warmly. "Why don't you go inside. Justin will show you to your room, okay?" she brushed pass her, making her way further inside.
Giselle stepped up on the porch with a few bags in her hands. "Hello." she greeted with a smile. "It's been a while."
"Yes it has." she eyed her figure. "You look absolutely beautiful." she embraced her in a warm hug. "It's so good to see you again."
"You too." she pulled away to gaze in her eyes. "You always look the same. It's like you're not aging one bit." she spoke, following her inside.
"Aw stop that. You're making me blush." her smile slowly faded when she met eyes with the familiar older guy. That moment she laid eyes on him, she knew something bad was going to happen. Because he was the one who caused the horrible break up between her and Justin.
"Um..." she had no idea what to say.
"Hello, Giselle." he approached her. "I got it right this time?" she forced a smile on her face.
"Yes sir. It's good to see you again." he stretched his arms out, inviting her in a hug. "Uhhh..." she hesitantly wrapped her arms around him, holding him firmly. What an odd moment for her.
"You look beautiful." she pulled away from him, peering directly into his eyes.
"Well uh, you don't look too bad yourself."
"It is so good to be home." she shut her eyes, immediately recognizing the voice. "What are we..." he trailed off, locking eyes with the man he never wanted to see again. "Um..." he looked away, flashing Lynn a serious look. "Can we talk? In private." he brushed pass her, making his way towards the den.
"Damn. That's definitely not a good sign. Giselle, why don't you go put your things away. We'll meet in the kitchen."
"Yes ma'am." she ambled up the stairs to the room. Justin stood by the table in the den, scrutinizing a picture of him hanging on the wall. He had to be about ten years old, because of the thick curls in his head. He hated them and for some reason, that was what attracted most girls. Half of the women he had dated loved his hair. The ole' poodle hair, he would call it.
"What's up?" he leisurely twirled around, meeting up with his mother. "Before you...get all upset with me..."
"I'm already upset with you." he interrupted.
"Listen..." she moved in closer to him. "Randall came on short notice. After he found out you were visiting me for a couple of days. You wanted to make up with you." he shook his head pathetically.
"That man doesn't wanna make up."
"Yes he does! You have to believe, he's a changed man."
"Mom..." he began. "That's bullshit and you know it. He's not a changed man. I mean, why all of a sudden he wants to change? After being in and out of our lives for over two decades." she held her head down. "What has he done to you? You used to take up for me whenever he tried to pull some shit like this. Now you're on his side. It's like, he never did anything bad to us to begin with."
"Justin..."
"I love you mom, and...I can't stand around and watch him play you like this." he moved in towards her. "You want him here, fine. But that doesn't mean I have to talk to him. Especially after what he put me through." he kissed her on the cheek. "I'll see you in a few." he brushed pass her, leaving the room.
When he entered the living room, he gazed at Giselle who sat on the sofa talking to Randall. They both looked away to gaze at him. "Hey. Why don't you join us. We were just talking about...this picture of yours." he gritted his teeth angrily. "Have a seat." his father offered.
"I would like to sit by my fiancé. If you don't mind."
"Oh..." he slid a few inches away from her. "Sure." he took a seat beside Giselle. "Okay, this is Justin when he was probably three. He used to love playing in the sand box at the park. I would twirl him around in that...what do you call it? The whirly thing."
"Oh I know what you're talking about. I forgot what it was called." Giselle spoke up. "I used to love playing it that too. Me and Nadia would take turns twirling each other." Justin sat in between them, not bothering to say a word. He knew if he did, it would have escalated to an argument. "You okay, baby?" she asked in concern.
He held his head down, intertwining his fingers together. "He's probably thinking about a few things. He would always behave that way when he had a lot on his mind." he slowly gawked to the side to stare at him, with the most meanest look on his face. He watched as his father sat there, flipping through the photo album.
"How would you know how I act when a lot is on my mind? You were never around." he spoke with a slight bit attitude.
"Yes I was." he replied, never taking his eyes off the pictures. "I was always around. You just never paid attention."
"You mean to tell me, you're calling me a liar?"
"You wants something to drink?" Lynn interrupted, sitting a tray of icy cold beverages on the coffee table. "Pink Lemonade. Fresh from scratch."
"I'll take one." Randall reached out, immediately watching another hand slide the tray away from him.
"Ladies first." he watched as Justin grabbed two glasses of juice, handing one to Lynn and Giselle. "It's so ashamed how I have to show my own father how to treat a lady." he rubbed in. Giselle sat there, forcing her laughter in. She had to admit, what he said was very hilarious to her. The same for Lynn. "Any way, my lovely mom and...beautiful fiancé." he turned their direction, pretending as if Randall wasn't there. "I have some great news. The network is working on the third season for Livin' Large."
"Wow. That's great." Lynn spoke in surprise.
"Yeah. They said that the show is doing great so they're gonna air a third season." he smiled proudly. "I mean, here I am...doing great in my career. And you would have thought that everything would go downhill after being humiliated and used by a guy who claims to be my father." Lynn's smile slowly faded. "I promised myself to never let him put me down. He may have ruined us back then, but I won't let him ruin is now. I was thinking about buying you a bigger house." he spoke to Lynn. "And I was gonna get us a ten bedroom mansion." he referred to Giselle.
"Wow. I...I don't know what to say." Giselle was speechless. "You mind if we...talk in private?" she stood up, making her way up the stairs.
"Oh, sure. I'll be right back." he followed her up the stairs towards the bedroom. As soon as he entered the room, he felt a hand fly across his face.
"What the hell's the matter with you?" he stood there, holding his cheek in pain. "Why are you doing this? I don't understand you at all. You never told me that you were gonna just up and buy us a bigger mansion and your mother a bigger house. What's wrong with this one? Huh?" he flashed her a confused look. "What's wrong with our house? You wanna know what I think?" she approached him. "I think you're just trying to show off in front of your father. You're trying to break him down as if you haven't done enough damage to him."
"..."
"I'm getting tired of this, Justin. You need to stop treating your father this way. I know he was an asshole towards you and your mother, but you have to get over it. It's time to move on. The only thing that should matter now is your family. And I hate to tell you, but you're gonna push us away if you keep this up. I refuse to be with you if you can't let something so ancient go. You're behaving like a child." he stood there with tears in his eyes. "You're taking all of this out of proportion. And you don't even realize that you're hurting your mother when you behave this way." she looked away, crossing her arms over her chest. "She forgave him a long time ago." he met eyes with hers. "Why can't you?"
"I dunno. You make it seem so easy."
"It is easy! And that's something you're not trying to get. I can really tell he's trying to work this thing out with you. If he wasn't, he wouldn't be here." he looked away as a tear slowly escaped his eye. "I'm gonna go back down there and join your mother. I hope you really try to think about what I said. You don't have to be best friends with him. Just try and be loving to him. For your mother at least." she leaned in, kissing him on the lips. He quickly grasped her hand, stopping her in her tracks.
"You don't mind if I...step out for a few. I need to get some fresh air." she smiled slyly.
"Yeah. Do what you think is best." she yanked the door open, exiting the room. He grabbed his keys, quickly making his way out the door. When he hopped in the car, he conveyed it to life and drove off.
_____________
Is your man on the floor
If he ain't let me know
Let me see if you can run it, run it
Yeah in deed I can run it, run it
Justin sat at the bar taking sips of his vodka. He gazed around the room, realizing that there were only senior citizens in the place. But there was one girl who caught his eye. She sat all the way in the back drinking on a cup of tea.
For some reason, she looked familiar to him. Like someone he knew a long time ago. He stood, slowly ambling towards her table. "Um ahem..." he cleared his throat, getting her attention. "Is this seat taken?" he referred to the empty chair across from her.
"Uhhh no." he smiled, slowly taking a seat in the specific chair. "Um, I'm Gina." she introduced.
"Jus..." he trailed off, immediately realizing where he knew her from. "Gina Bell? The chick who used to pee to bed." she held her head down, feeling completely embarrassed.
"It's nice to see you again, Justin. And yeah...that's me. Pee girl." she looked away, chewing on a stick of gum. "I didn't think you would be back in town so soon."
"I didn't either. This is where I grew up. I can never forget this place." he surveyed his surroundings. "There's no place better than home." she peered in his eyes.
"You tellin' me. I'm so ready to leave this place." she stood up, straightening out her outfit. "I better get back to work." he flashed her a questioning look.
"Wait a minute. You work here?" she rolled her eyes.
"Enough, Justin. Just because your dreams and aspirations came true doesn't mean you have to come back and put your 'used to be friends' down." he watched her head towards the bar. He didn't understand what went wrong. He wasn't aware that he was behaving that way. Then Randall had popped up in his head. Maybe he was being a little too harsh with him. He just couldn't get over the fact that he left him and his mother for another woman.
Maybe there was a reason for all of that. Maybe it was the other way around. What if Lynn asked for a divorce?
He devoured the last bit of his vodka, releasing a soft burp. "I need another drink." he stood up, making his way towards the bar.
10:59 p.m. (Later on that night)
Randall, Lynn and Paul all sat in the living room playing a round of poker. "Hahaha!!!" Lynn laughed. "I knew you were going to make that move. I had no doubt." they were all startled by a loud bang. The three of them quickly looked away, focusing on Justin who stood by the door with an emotionless look on his face. "Justin..."
"Why are you guys still up? Shouldn't you be in bed. Mom...dad. And..." he flashed Randall a disgusted look. "...Randall." he approached the kitchen, dragging his feet along the way. This was definitely a sign that he was drunk.
"You have a lot of nerve." Lynn whispered, following behind him. "What is wrong with you? How could you show up here completely drunk?"
"I'm not drunk." she noticed his eyelids were hanging very low and his eyes were blood shot red.
"Randall..."
"Don't call me that." he warned. "As a matter-of-fact, I'm going to the place tomorrow to take that...ugly ass name off my birth certificate." all he could remember was feeling a hand fly across his face.
"How could you talk this way?" she spoke with tears in her eyes. "You completely hurt your father when you made that comment back there. How could you call your step father dad but address your biological father by his first name? That was very disrespectful of you."
"Maybe because Paul was more of a father to me then he was. That jack ass..." she swung her hand, slapping him once more.
"Stop it!" she cried. "You should be ashamed of yourself. Behaving this way towards your father. People deserve second chances, don't you agree? 'Cause in that case, Giselle should've never given you another chance." she turned, departing the room.
Now this had to be bad if he got his mom upset.
The following morning (8:23 a.m.)
Giselle joined Lynn in the kitchen, helping her prepare their plates. "So um...everything okay with you?" Lynn broke the silence between them. "You haven't said a word all morning."
"I dunno. I just...I feel like something went wrong. Justin didn't come home last night and...that's not like him to just up and vanish like that."
"What do you mean? I saw him last night. He showed up around eleven." she turned to face her.
"Really? Well I didn't see him. I dunno. Maybe I was sleeping when he showed up." Justin entered the house, shutting the sliding door behind him. He peered in the kitchen while hiding something behind his back.
"Morning ladies." he ambled towards them. "I got you something." he held out two bouquet of flowers. "Daisies for you." he handed to his mom. "And roses for...my lovely fiancé." she leisurely accepting the roses from him, returning a serious look. "Um..." he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I just wanna apologize for my...rude behavior towards you and my father last night. You were right. You're always right." she smiled sweetly.
"I'm gonna go put these in some water." she walked pass him, leaving the kitchen. Giselle stood against the counter, still holding the roses in her hands. He gazed at her, not knowing where to start from. He knew he had a whole lot of explaining to do. Especially since he hadn't showed up last night.
"I know I have a lot of explaining to do and..."
"You damn right you do." she turned her back to him. "What is going on with you? I mean, you leave me and Kara last night and didn't even bother coming back. Do you even realize you have a family now?" he stood behind her.
"Of coarse I do. That's why I'm buying a bigger house for us." she bit her lip, forcing the sobs in. She wanted to break down in tears because she knew their relationship was slowly coming to an end. Right after they had gotten back together from their long separation.
"Do you even wanna be committed?" he wrapped his arms around her. "I just have this bad feeling that we're gonna break up again." she cleared the lump in her throat. "I don't wanna go through that again. It was horrible." she sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"That's the last thing that's gonna happen to us. We're not breaking up again. You hear me?" he pecked her on the cheek. "I refuse to let that happen again." she gradually turned to face him. "I slept in the guest room last night. So you see, I was here all along. I just needed some time to myself to think of a few things."
"Did you clear your head? You know, from all of your stress." he bit his lip, scrutinizing her closely.
"Yeah. I thought about it. I've decided to bring this whole thing to an end with me and my dad. I just...somehow got a reality check. I don't know if it was the two hard slaps I got from my mom." she chuckled softly.
"She slapped you? Twice at that. Hahaha."
"Yeah. Still hurts." he spoke, rubbing his cheek. "I'm really sorry. For everything." she wrapped her arms around his neck, slowly meeting lips with his.
"It's okay." he slid his tongue in and out of her mouth, teasing her. "Ahaha. Meanie."
Moments later...
Randall sat out back on the patio watching Oteriah and Kara play in the Jacuzzi. "Hot! Hot! Hot!!!" Kara screamed.
"Mind if I sit here?" he looked up, gazing at Justin. "It's boring in there. I thought maybe I could come...sit with you. You know, keep you company." he smiled sincerely.
"Sure. Have a seat." he took a seat at the table across from him. "It's a very beautiful day. Very hot."
"Yeah." he swallowed some of his wine cooler. "She likes it here." he spoke, surveying Kara who seemed to be enjoying herself.
"She's a split image of Giselle. Just pretty as can be." he chuckled softly, slowly gawking his direction to meet eyes with his.
"I um, I know we haven't been...communicating like a father and son should. And I know I was being a real jerk towards you." he paused, gathering up all of his thoughts. "Mom explained everything. How you guys met and...how it all ended. And I just have to apologize for not trying to understand it. I just...I thought you were this guy who didn't care about his family. Because you never called and you hardly came to see us. I didn't know what to think."
"Son..."
"No, dad. I really need to say this." he returned an interesting look. This was actually the second time he had ever remembered him calling him that instead of Randall. It actually made him feel special. "I'm sorry. I'm just now realizing that you cared about us all along. Relationships were not meant to last forever. And that was something you guys proved, but I'm gonna prove everybody wrong. You can make it last forever. You just have to be willing to go through all of the...heartaches and pain. I mean, what's a relationship without fighting? There wouldn't be the...fantastic make up sex afterwards if there wasn't fighting and arguments."
"I know what you're saying. Haha."
"Yeah. But um...that's basically what I wanna say. I wanna apologize for everything I've ever done to you. All of the mean things I've said and..."
"It's okay. I understand why you were behaving that way. I mean, I probably would have too if I thought everything went that way." he looked away, putting his focus on the girls. Why was he only seeing Kara? Where could Oteriah have vanished to so sudden?
"Oh my god. Where's Tee Tee?" he shot up, running towards the little girl. "Kara? Where's your sister?" she pointed to the water. He squinted his eyes, gazing at a body laying at the bottom of the Jacuzzi. It was a little difficult for him to see her due to all of the bubbles sparkling in the water. "Shit! Oh my god." his heart pounded uncontrollably. "Please don't tell me..." Randall jogged up behind him.
"Is she okay?"
"Ahhh!!!!" she shot up from out of the water, screaming her head off. "Gotcha!" they both stood there in total shock. He had never felt so nervous and petrified in his entire life. It actually felt like he was going to pass out.
"You bad girl." he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I gotta go get me a drink." he turned, proceeding the opposite direction. Randall covered his mouth, forcing in his laughter.
"How did I do?" she asked. He gestured an 'OK' sign.
"Great job." he whispered. "Next, I want you to scare your grand mother. Haha." she grinned evilly while rubbing both her hands together.
Story Tags: assistant
