Games (31 page)

Then as quickly as she appeared,
Shannon disappeared.

“Talk about the difference between night and day,” Brian said, shaking his head as he continued toward his vehicle.

Brian closed his car door then gave Shay a soft gentle peck on her lips.

“Why did you do that?”

“It’s been three months, ten days and eighteen hours since I’ve been this close to you. I need a shot in the arm.” He smiled.

She tilted her head
, and asked, “How are those night and weekend classes coming?” She then kissed him back.

Back at the house, Reggie was so happy to see Brian and Shay together again that he offered to do the Sunday dinner dishes. Brian and Shay took advantage of the free time and did something they should have done a long time ago. They talked
—really talked.

As they walked around the lake behind the Blackhawk estate, they learned a lot about each other. They were surprised to learn that they both struggled with the same guilt
-ridden feelings about their sexual impurity. They expressed their fears and their ambitions. She told him the things she liked about him and the things she felt he needed to work on. He did the same for her. At the top of his list was trust.

“Why didn’t you trust me?” Brian stopped walking and collected Shay’s hands in his. “Shay, you have been a constant fixture in my life since the day we met. You probably know me better than I know myself. You finish my sentences and speak my thoughts faster than I can voice them. We feel each other’s pain. True, I should have leveled with you about really being in love with you,” he pointed at her, “but you
know
me. Tell me you honestly didn’t know I have loved you from the beginning. Tell me you didn’t know it that first night we made love. Tell me you didn’t feel it.”

“I did feel it. Truth be told, I’ve always felt it,” Shay admitted, blinking back tears. “Haven’t you?”

Brian nodded. “Yes. Then why didn’t you trust me when I told you nothing happened with Shannon? I believed you when you said nothing happened with Jason. You were over two-thousand miles away from me and all I had was your word. That was enough for me.”

Shay used her hand, still encased by his, to wipe her cheek. “After committing fornication with you I didn’t trust myself anymore. We traveled into forbidden territory together. Something we both vowed to God we would never do. I didn’t trust my own judgment anymore. I couldn’t trust you.”

“I had the same struggle in the beginning, but my love for you never wavered. I do love you, Shay, and I would never purposefully hurt you. If I thought for a second that I desired another woman, I’d end our relationship before cheating on you.”

The pure love radiating from Brian burned Shay’s soul. It was at that moment she knew without
a doubt, Brian would be hers forever. Resting her head against his chest and enjoying the feel of his immense arms enveloping her, Shay felt safe and secure. She felt blessed.

At the end of the three-mile walk, they had a clear understanding of each other’s feelings and expectations
, something they never had before. They even set boundaries for themselves in regards to upholding biblical principles on premarital sex. They both agreed not to place themselves in situations that would leave them vulnerable to sexual sin again.  Back at the house they continued talking in the den into the wee hours of the morning.

Julia came downstairs at six o’clock the next morning to find Shay stretched out on the couch asleep. Brian was asleep too, on the floor next to the couch. “Thank you
, Jesus,” she whispered and placed covers over them and went into her study for her daily meditation time.

Thanksgiving Day found the Pennington house packed to capacity. Four of Julia’s siblings and their families along with Reggie’s family, plus Tyrone and Nikki joined them for the holiday. Alysse had completed her chemotherapy treatments and was well enough to travel. So when Brian called, she went and bought a new wig and made arrangements to come.

Shay was surprised when Taylor and Staci showed up at the front door. She’d just spoken to them the day before and neither of them mentioned coming over for dinner. Justin and Leah drove up from Los Angeles. She wondered why they didn’t just stop at their grandparents’ home in the San Fernando Valley, instead of driving four-hundred miles for a home-cooked meal. She wondered the same thing about her uncle Jonathan flying in from Arizona, but didn’t bother mentioning it. The Simones were known for traveling at the drop of a dime.

Shay and her family mingled to the sounds of Ben Tankard. Everyone acted a little strange, especially her mother and Alysse. They wouldn’t let her out of their sight and Reggie had a permanent smile on his face. Her aunts took turns asking what her plans were for the near future. Her
uncle Carey, Marcus’s father, kept hugging her and telling her how she wasn’t his little Shay-Shay anymore. Auntie Nikki walked past her on several occasions and just shook her head, and said, “Girl, I remember the day you were born.”

She didn’t notice anything strange about Brian’s behavior though. Since their reconciliation three weeks ago, a permanent grin branded his face. She hadn’t seen much of him in the last two weeks because he was taking care of some business with his father, and of course there was school. She didn’t mind his absence because she was still actively searching for employment and because she was now secure in their relationship. Today, he spent most of his time yelling at the flat screen television over the football game with her male cousins.

Shortly before dinner was served the doorbell chimed.

“Happy Thanksgiving,” Shay said and invited
Shannon in.

“Your mother invited me,”
Shannon explained. “I hope you don’t mind me being here?”

Shay waved
Shannon’s apprehension away. “Of course I don’t mind. I left all that mess in the past. Come on in, I’ll introduce you to everyone.” Shay went around the room and formally introduced Shannon to her family members she hadn’t met.

Brian spotted
Shannon and Shay together. He hurriedly left his boys and joined Shay.

“Happy Thanksgiving,
Shannon.”

She held her head down. “Happy Thanksgiving, Brian,”
Shannon said in an unfamiliar soft voice.

Brian could tell she was uncomfortable by the fidgeting. He bent down and gave her a light hug. “I told you everything was all right. I’ve forgiven you.”

“Thank you.” Shannon smiled slightly just as Marcus joined them with a Henry Wienhard’s root beer in hand.

“Hey, cuz, why didn’t you introduce me to this lovely young lady?” Marcus asked, while smiling at
Shannon.

Shay looked at him sideways. “Marcus, what are you talking about?”

“How come I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting your beautiful friend?” Marcus’s eyes remained on Shannon.

Shannon
looked up at Marcus and rolled her eyes.

Brian stood there with his mouth open.

“Marcus, you know you’ve met her before,” Shay snapped. Then it occurred to her that Marcus hadn’t seen Shannon since her transformation.

Marcus stepped closer to
Shannon. “You’ll have to excuse my cousin and her bad manners. She really does have better home training. Let me introduce myself, I’m Marcus Simone,” he said then took a swig of root beer.

Shannon
put her hand on her hip and rolled her neck. “Marcus, it’s me, Shannon.”

Before he could stop himself,
Marcus spit out his root beer, right into Shannon’s face.

Brian and Shay fell over with laughter.

Embarrassed, Marcus stammered, “I’m so sorry-I…Let-me-”

Shannon
held up her hands. “Forget it, Marcus!”

“Come on,
Shannon, I’ll show you where the bathroom is.” Shay giggled.

After the ladies were gone, Marcus looked at Brian with amazement. “That’s
Shannon? What happened to her?”

“It sure is and from where I stand, it looks like you liked what you saw,” Brian teased.

“Man….I…What….How?” Marcus couldn’t even form a sentence.

Brian left Marcus standing there trying to remember how to put more than two words together in a sentence. A moment later, Marcus turned to see Justin and Craig pointing and laughing along with Brian.

When Shannon returned from cleaning herself up, Marcus approached her again. She saw him coming and held up both hands. “Hold on, let me get an umbrella.”

He laughed, but she didn’t, so he turned serious. “Look,
Shannon, I’m sorry, but I didn’t recognize you. You look so, so different. You sound different too. I didn’t know it was you.”

Shannon
cowered her shoulders and spoke so low he barely heard her. “Marcus, I know I look different, but this is the real me.”

Marcus watched her for a moment, as if he were making an assessment. She nervously folded her arms around her midsection. “
Shannon,” he said finally. “Keep up the new look. The real you is very nice.” He turned and walked away just as Julia announced dinner was served.

Reggie gave the traditional Thanksgiving prayer. The family and guest
s then took turns expressing what each of them was thankful for before everyone dug in. On more than one occasion, Shay looked up from enjoying her food to find at least one person smiling at her. That one person was Brian.

Completely stuffed, everyone congregated into the living room. Shay wondered why everyone chose to crowd into one room when there were other rooms available. Then she spotted Marcus’s keyboard on a pedestal in the corner and assumed he was going to entertain the Thanksgiving crowd with his music.  She went back into the dining room and helped Leah,
Taylor and Staci with the dishes. It was a tradition at every family gathering, the grandchildren handled clean-up duty.

“Shay, why don’t you go into the living room and let us tackle this mountain?”
Taylor suggested.

Shay walked by her and placed the stack of used plates on the center island. “I don’t mind helping with the dishes. Anyway, I can hear Marcus play anytime.”

When she left for the dining room again, Julia came into the kitchen. “Where is she?” Julia asked excitedly.

“She’s in there collecting dishes.” Staci pointed toward the dining room. Julia left without another word.

Uncle Jonathan was waiting for Shay when she dropped off the second load of dishes. “Can I see you in the living room for a minute?” he asked seriously.

“Well, sure,” she answered, more confused than ever.

Her cousins snickered amongst themselves while Shay washed and dried her hands. As soon as she walked out the threshold, they laughed then raced to the living room.

Inside the crowded living room, Shay immediately knew something was up and that she was at the center of it all. All eyes were on her as she followed her uncle Jonathan to the only vacant seat in front right next to the fireplace.  Julia and Alysse were standing on opposite sides of the empty chair just smiling like they needed a trip to the county psyche ward. Reggie stood behind them with a
handheld camcorder.

Shay finally sat down and Brian appeared out of nowhere with a dozen long
-stemmed red roses. At that moment, Shay realized this would be a Thanksgiving she would never forget.

“These are for you.” He squatted down in front of her and placed the roses across her lap.

“Thank you,” she said softly, trying to keep her emotions in tack. Julia passed her a tissue, because it was just a matter of time before Shay would lose control. The Simone women were known for shedding sentimental tears.

“Shay,” Brian continued, “I love you more than I know how to say.”

“You’re doing all right to me,” Mark said from behind Alysse. Several others agreed.

“If I could sing, I would sing you a song. But since I can’t sing, I wrote these words.” He placed a scroll in her hand. She motioned to open and read it, but he restrained her.

“You can read it later. I gave the words to Marcus and he has put them to music.”

Shay looked over Brian’s shoulder at Marcus, who was grinning, then back at Brian.

“As you listen to Marcus sing the words, remember you’re listening to my heart.”

Shay started to cry and so did most of the other females. Even
Shannon dabbed at her eyes.

When the music started, Brian stood and extended his hand to her. “May I have this dance?” She handed the flowers to her mother and yielded to him. They slow
-danced as Marcus serenaded them.  As they moved in perfect rhythm she allowed the words of the song to resonate in her heart. She loved the song. Shay laid her head against his chest and cried some more. Brian held her even tighter to emphasize what the words meant.

“Whew,” Alysse used her hand to fan herself. “I can’t take too much more of this.”

“Neither can I,” Nikki added.

When the song ended the crowded room erupted with cheers as Brian knelt down on one knee and took Shay’s left hand into his.