Mrs. Jones: Book One (The Jones Series #1) (6 page)

Santana smiled and headed to take his work clothes off.

I sent Joey message after message saying how sorry I was, but he sent back message after message full of curse words and everything else in between.

~***~

I felt as though I’d taken on another life….again.

While Santana worked, I was around the corner at Joey’s; helping out with his girls.

It had been weeks since Silvia left, and though he’d hired help to watch them while he worked, there were other things that he needed help doing such as combing their hair, sick troubles or shopping for them.

And guess who was doing it?

Yes…I was.

I wasn’t sure if it was out of guilt or love but either way, I went by Joey’s house at least every other day.

I was getting bigger and bigger and Joey had started to act as though his requests were a burden on me. They were; but it was the least that I could do. If I’d told Silvia no, sure maybe she would have ratted on me to Santana---but at least the girls would have still had their mother.

How could I have been so selfish?

But I couldn’t fix it now. What was done…was done. Even if I wanted to try to talk some sense into Silvia, I had no idea where she’d gone. She’d just taken my money and left.

After a while, Joey had decided that it was best for him to move back to North Carolina with the girls, so that his family could help him with them.

I wasn’t sure why, but I felt some kind of way when he broke the news to me.

Isn’t this what you wanted?

My mind constantly taunted my heart, but I was so confused.

Joey had even said that I was free to be with Santana and that he would no longer press the issue about the baby.

Joey was giving up right before my very eyes…and I felt terrible.

I felt terrible for paying Silvia to keep her mouth shut. I felt terrible for knowing that she was leaving and not telling him. I felt terribly sorry for the girls and in a way for Joey.

Overall, I just felt like crap.

But was there any other way?

The day came for Joey to leave and I was an emotional wreck.

I was eight months pregnant, and I couldn’t stop crying.

Joey leaving was the best thing that could ever happen.

Then why was I so sad?

We promised to stay in touch but he was clear that he wanted to be gone before it was time for me to go into labor.

I guess he didn’t want to do anything crazy like actually try to come up there and see it. After all, he knew himself better than anyone.

“I love you,” he said.

I couldn’t say a word.

Joey touched my stomach.

“I love you too,” he said softly.

That’s it.

The waterworks started and they didn’t stop no matter how much I wanted them to.

Joey held me for a while, trying to calm me down, but it was no use.

God, what’s wrong with me?

He was answering my prayers…still yet it wasn’t enough.

Eventually, I had to watch Joey, the girls and the movers drive away.

I felt the same exact way that I’d felt when I’d left him when I was thirteen.

Our relationship had always been built on a friendship, which is why it was always so hard for us to leave each other alone. Nevertheless, here again, I was losing my best friend.

I cried and cried and then cried some more.

I was trying to calm myself down but nothing seemed to be working.

The baby started to move and I tried to be considerate but my heart was hurting.

I tried to think logically, and think things through but the only thing I could think about was Joey.

After a second more, I dried my eyes and then searched my purse for my cell phone.

Taking a deep breath I waited for the ringing to stop.

“Hello?”

“Joey come back---- and get me. I’m going with you,” I whined.

~**********~

Chapter Six

Okay, so I’d had a moment of weakness. Joey had even turned around to pick me up but I knew that I couldn’t go with him.

I had to accept the choices that I’d made, and I’d chosen Santana. Joey held me in his arms, and told me how much he loved me and he promised that he would only be a phone call away. He said that we could still talk like we used to, but it wasn’t going to be the same.

Finally, I let him go, and I tried to send my feelings with him but they were still that and I was sure that they probably always would be.

I’d always loved Joey…and I always would.

Since he’d been gone, Santana and I prepared for our bundle of joy. We had about two weeks to go and I couldn’t wait for her to get here---and not to mention that I couldn’t wait for this pregnancy to be over.

I’d been in a lot of pain, so as I sat in a hot bubble bath, Santana washed my feet.

“If there was one thing that you could change about your life…what would it be?” Santana asked.

I thought long and hard about his question. Of course I couldn’t give him a real answer, but nonetheless, I’d but some thought into it.

I wondered just what I would have changed. If it would have been getting married the first two times, or getting involved with Joey. Maybe it was the abortions or sleeping with my sisters’ husband.

Wait a minute…I’d forgotten all about that. And I’m glad that I had. My sister would have killed me if she ever found out.

My sister’s husband was technically my
first
. Joey had been my first at pretty much everything, except real intercourse. We were young and had fooled around plenty of times and though he’d been ready to go all the way, all the time, after a few strokes, I’d always stop him.

But my sister’s husband was a different story.

My sister Shante and I were complete opposites. She was conservative, shy and quiet; which was one of the reasons that her early age pregnancy shocked me.

Although I was a loner, I was always a ball of energy. I had spunk and I was exciting and adventurous.

I’ll never forget that night.

I’d just turned eighteen and I was helping my sister pack for their big move. Her husband, Clyde, had been offered a job in Europe, and as soon as the adoptions had cleared, they were leaving the states.

Shante thought it was a good idea to get me drunk. She said I might as well learn to live a little while I was young, before I married and was stuck being the face of the family. So as we packed, she and I poured drink after drink. Clyde occasionally came into the room for a drink or two, but for most of the night he was out of sight, and out of mind.

Anyway, that night she had way too much alcohol and passed out on the living room floor.

I waddled to the bathroom, barely able to see, and that’s when he came in behind me.

Clyde.

He touched me and though I didn’t mean to…I touched him back.

And the rest is history.

I’d never been attracted to him and had no idea that he’d been interested in me but he didn’t hesitate once he had the opportunity.

With his hand clamped over my mouth, I allowed him to pleasure me on the bathroom sink.

The next morning, I wasn’t sure if it’d actually happened but when noticed that I wasn’t wearing any panties, I knew that it had.

“Um, Niveah, are you missing something?” My sister had joked twirling my panties around her finger.

She had no idea that they had been taken off by her husband. She simply assumed that I was too drink and had somehow taken them off once I’d gone to use the bathroom.

Clyde and I barely even looked at each other. In fact, after the incident, it seemed as though he hated me and did everything in his power to keep Shante away from me. To this day, if she called me, he would go into a fit.

I couldn’t believe that I’d done such a thing, to my own flesh and blood. But that was definitely one of those things in life that you force yourself to forget.

And until that very moment, I had.

“Niveah?” Santana called out to me.

“Nothing; I wouldn’t change a thing,” I responded to him.

~***~

I woke up to what sounded like whimpering.

“Santana?” I called.

The toilet flushed and my husband appeared in the bathroom door way.

“What’s wrong baby?” Santana asked walking over to me.

“I was just about to ask you the same thing,” I said staring at him.

His face and eyes looked just fine.

Maybe I was just hearing things.

“Nothing,” I said.

“Your phone has been ringing all morning. It was that J guy; the one with the business proposal for your business. Every time I answered, the call was disconnected. Maybe you should call him back and see what’s going on; if you’re feeling up to it. I’ll go make you breakfast in bed. With only two weeks left, there’s no way I’m leaving your side. I told the fellas that they were on their own for about two months.

Santana exited our bedroom, and I hurriedly called Joey.

We spoke briefly. He was only calling to see if I’d gone into labor or had the baby. He stated that he at least wanted to see a picture of her when she arrived, if that wasn’t too much to ask.

It wasn’t. After all, he was giving me the chance to make my marriage work, and for that I was more than thankful.

After hanging up with Joey, I saw that my parents and both of my siblings had called. I was definitely surprised that my sister and even my brother had called, so I called my parents to make sure everything was okay.

“Hey Mama, is everything okay?”

My Mama, Mrs. Savannah Knox, had always been my role model. She was strong minded, opinionated, smart and beautiful. She’d always been so strict on us; stating that she wanted more for us, than she’d had. But none of us lived up to her expectations. My brother Antonio had been in and out of jail for making some of the stupidest mistakes. He hadn’t made it to college, and my sister had chosen to marry instead of an education. I’d actually gone just to please Mama, but I hadn’t done a thing with my degree. But she’d like the fact that I’d married men that were financially stable. She’d always made the comment that at least if I wasn’t going to make my own money, I had enough sense to marry someone with enough of it. It never made much sense to me though. I’d never known Mama to have a real job, but she’d made it clear that it wasn’t by choice. It was only because Daddy wanted her place to be at home. It was clear that she hated it, but she did it to please him, and I guess pleasing him was more important than pleasing herself. I’d always said that I wouldn’t become her, but in reality, I had---in a way.

“I’m planning a surprise birthday party for you father in a few weeks. Do you think that you’ll be able to make it? Do you think my grandbaby will be here by then?” Mama asked.

Daddy’s birthday was about a month away. If this baby hadn’t come by then, I would go in my vagina, and pull her out myself. Though I wasn’t too sure taking her on a road trip was the best idea so soon.

“She should be here by then Mama, but I don’t know if driving her for that long period of time would be such a good idea. I’ll have to see. So, I guess that means you guys won’t be coming up for the birth?” I pouted.

I hadn’t seen my parents since the wedding and I missed them.

“I want to but I’m not sure. You know your father hasn’t been feeling his best lately, which is part of the reason why I wanted to do something special for him for his birthday this year,” Mama said.

Daddy had cancer. The doctor’s had told him that he only had six months when he was diagnosed; but he has lived six years and was still alive. He had refused all treatments and medicines, stating that he refused to spend his running back in forth to hospitals. He simply started taking better care of himself by exercising, becoming a vegetarian, living and laughing. I truly believe that and his faith had kept him alive and healthy thus far.

“He’s getting worse?” I asked.

“No; but he’s getting tired. He still isn’t too ill, but it’s as if he’s starting to give up and anticipating death. His doctor said that it had finally started to spread and I guess the news makes it all the more real for him,” Mama responded.

I could hear the sadness in her voice which made me want to cry.

“Well Ma, how are you holding up? How are you feeling?” I asked her concerned.

“Who me…I’m fine. I hate seeing him suffer…but I’ve been waiting on him to die for years,” she said bluntly.

Huh?

What?

I started to comment but she started speaking again.

“Maybe once he’s gone, I ca finally do something for me. It’s not that I don’t love your father, I love him to death. Life with him has been good. But the last forty plus years have been about him. The last few years that I have left should be all about me,” she said.

I knew that Mama meant every word that she’d just said. It made me think.

Is this what I have to look forward to?

My parents had been my idea of perfect, and I’d always looked up to them and honored their marriage. But in twenty years I definitely didn’t want to feel the same way that Mama felt; which only confirmed that it was time for me to do something for me. It was time to start my business so that I had an outlet and something that I could be proud of. It would be something that was mine and something that was all about me and what I wanted. Personally, I believed that every woman needed that.
After hanging up with Mama, I found a notepad and really started writing down ideas and plans for my future business.

I was now all the more anxious to get this pregnancy done in over with.

A husband, baby, and a career…sounded good to me!

~**********~