Soulmates Dissipate (19 page)

“So you’ve been suffering from frequent migraine headaches lately?”

“Yes.”

“How often do the headaches occur and how long do they last?”

“They started about four weeks ago. They start early in the morning, as soon as I lift my head off my pillow, and continue until I go to bed at night.”

“Are you able to sleep at night?”

“No. The headaches usually wake me up at least once. I’ve been taking extra-strength medicine but it only reduces the level of pain.”

“What do you think is the cause of your headaches?” she asked.

“Melanie.”

“You’ve been concerned about Melanie?”

“It’s a long story, but basically she’s stolen my fiancé away from me
and
turned him against me.”

“What role does your fiancé play in all of this?”

“I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking.”

“If he is or was your fiancé, then what made him turn to another woman?”

“This is becoming too much,” Jada protested.” My head is starting to pound again.”

“Okay, I won’t ask you any more questions,” said Dr. Bates.” I’ll write you a prescription, recommend you see a counselor, and consider taking some time off from work. Perhaps you should take a vacation. I can recommend a great counselor. If you’d like to see her, ask my receptionist for the number,” said Dr. Bates as she opened the door.

“I already have someone I can talk with. Someone I trust.”

“That’s great. Always remember to love yourself, Jada. Self-love and faith are the best medicines on the market and they’re still free. So stock up.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you next week.” Jada walked out and bypassed the receptionist.

“So, what did the doctor tell you?” Candice asked as she gave Jada a hug.

“The same thing Mama told me this morning. I need to see a counselor. The same thing you told me earlier. I need a vacation. She prescribed medication for the headaches.

“I wish I could take the rest of the week off, but I have
two
shoots scheduled for tomorrow and one all-day shoot on Friday. At least Karen will be in the office,”Jada said. Candice maneuvered through the traffic.” Let me call Jazzmyne and see if she can come over this evening.”

“Hello. This is Jazzmyne. May I help you?”

“Hi, Jazzmyne. This is Jada. I really need to talk with you about
my
problems. If you’re too busy, I can schedule with someone else.”

“I’m never too busy to help a friend, and Jada, you’ve been like a sister to me. When would you like to get together?”

“How about seven?” Jada suggested.

“Seven is good. That gives me time to cook dinner. Calvin will drop me off, but I need a ride home.”

“No problem.” Jada turned off her cellular.

“Well, I’m glad she can make it,” Candice said.” Time heals all wounds. You’ll be fine and I’ll be here by your side. What are you going to do until seven o’clock?”

“Nothing really,”Jada responded.” I’ll probably lie down and rest. Maybe prepare something to eat later. Candice, I don’t know what to do with myself, I feel so lost without Wellington. I wanted to
have his children, share his dreams,
and
grow old with him. I wanted so many things with Wellington. I don’t know if I’ll ever love anyone the way I love him.” Jada didn’t want to start crying again but she couldn’t help herself. Her heart ached and her head pounded.

“You have to calm down,” said Candice.” I’ll draw you a nice warm bath and stay with you until Jazzmyne comes.”

“Thanks, but I really want to be alone,” Jada insisted.” I’ll be fine. Really, I don’t want you to stay.” Jada waved good-bye to Candice and walked into the lobby. When she got upstairs, Jada took Candice’s advice. She drew herself a nice hot bath. She lit her favorite scented candles, put on some smooth jazz music, and swallowed two extra-strength Excedrin tablets with lots of water.

Jada’s Jacuzzi felt heavenly. The last time she’d been in it, Wellington was with her. The intercom startled her. Jada realized she must have dozed off. She grabbed the soft oversized red towel from the rack and wrapped it around her dripping wet body. A light trail of water followed. Jada greeted Jazzmyne at the elevator door.” Hi, thanks for coming. Excuse me for a moment. I fell asleep in the Jacuzzi. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be right back.”

Jada dashed into her bathroom, rubbed coconut oil over her body, and toweled off. She slipped into a casual, ankle-length, sleeveless black cotton dress and returned to the living room.

“Hi, Jada. How are you?”

Jada hunched her shoulders, shook her head, and sighed.” I’m trying not to fall apart again.”
She figured it was best to speak her mind. She took two large throw pillows from the couch and placed them on the floor.

“It’s better if you sit while we talk,” said Jazzmyne.” When you lie down, your emotions move to the foreground and your ability to rationalize moves to the background. Now, I want you to start wherever you feel comfortable. I’ll just listen until you are finished, and then we’ll have a discussion.”

Jada took a deep breath and paused for a moment. Jazzmyne patiently sat in silence.” In the beginning, it all seemed like a fairy tale. Sometimes I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.” Jada stared into the unlit fireplace.” I mean Wellington was the perfect gentleman. We’d talk for hours about any and everything. We laughed, and a few times we even cried. When he gave me this ring, he told me it was my soulmate ring. And when the time was right, he moved it from my right ring finger to the left one. No one ever gave me a diamond soulmate ring.” She drifted for a moment, but Jazzmyne continued to sit in silence.

“He announced our engagement at his house,” Jada continued.” In front of his parents, my mother, and Mr. Hamilton. It was beautiful. Wellington reassured me our feelings were the only ones that mattered. But his mother was virtually outraged.

“That’s when Melanie came to visit. Mrs. Jones asked Wellington if Melanie could stay with him. Of course, he agreed. She was supposed to visit for two weeks. Next thing I knew she had a top position with my company. So now
I work for her
and I hate it.

“I pleaded with Wellington. I tried to get him to see she was tearing our relationship apart. That’s when he told me he was going to marry her, and my life has been going downhill ever since.”

Jada paused again.” I guess that brings us to this point.” She didn’t want to ramble on or sound like an owl so she stopped talking.

Jazzmyne paused for a moment. Jada looked at her face, which resembled a computer processing information. Jada could almost hear the programming unit churning.

“So, do you still take time to meditate and pray daily?” asked Jazzmyne.

That’s not what Jada expected her to say at all, but she answered, “I still pray, but I must admit I haven’t taken time out of my schedule to meditate and pray daily like I used to.”

“After I leave tonight,” she said in a quiet voice, “I want you to spend at least thirty minutes praying and at least thirty minutes meditating.” Jazzmyne’s voice had a calming effect on Jada. Her body began to relax.

“Now I have to be honest with you, Jada. I’ve been a counselor for almost ten years. Except for the few months when I was homeless. I had
faith
that if I sat on the same corner
every day,
someone would eventually help us. I’m blessed that person was you. At certain times in my life I was the client. You know that. So,
I can tell,
you’ve intentionally left out some very important information. Jada, you have to trust me. I’m only here to help you. Not to hurt you. But I can’t if you won’t tell me the real reason why your relationship with Wellington has failed.”

Damn, was Jada talking with a psychic or a coun
selor? But at this point, the tables had turned. Jada decided to tell Jazzmyne everything.

“I’m embarrassed and ashamed that I would allow such a thing to have happened.” Jada’s eyes began to swell with tears. A lump was lodged in her throat.” Melanie, Wellington, and I had a ménage à trois. At the time it seemed like fun, but immediately afterward Melanie started acting like
she
was Wellington’s woman.

“I became threatened by her acts and overreacted out of fear, I suppose. I was afraid of losing Wellington to her. Then Wellington said she was pregnant. He confessed they had been intimate before the three of us were involved. My emotions raced out of control. I slapped Wellington
and
Melanie. I acted like I was the starting pitcher at the World Series and threw eggs on everything I could at Wellington’s house, except the dog. And that was only because he didn’t have one.

Jazzmyne’s eyes never widened. Her eyebrows didn’t move.” I see,” she said. She sat on the floor and faced Jada. She held her hand and said, “You must learn to forgive yourself. You’ve got to stop carrying around the guilt of your sins. We all sin, Jada. You’re
not
infallible. And there’s no measuring scale in heaven that says your sins will be weighed heavier than the sins of others. You’re a Christian woman. Therefore, you already know that God has forgiven you.” Tears silently streamed down Jada’s face one behind the other as if they were taking turns.

“You also have to accept responsibility for your actions,” she said.” You must stop blaming Melanie for what she has done as a means to justify what you have done. You must forgive yourself and as
difficult as it may be—as a Christian—you must forgive Melanie.

“As far as Wellington is concerned, he seems confused. I would bet money on the fact that he still loves you, except I don’t bet. But you get my point. His mother has put her desires and needs before that of her son. She acts like she loves her son. Only God can judge her. As long as Wellington and Chris do what she wants, Cynthia’s happy.

“Wellington will only be free to love you when he realizes that he does not have to live up to his mother’s expectations. You can’t open his eyes so stop trying. But one day he will see his mother for what she truly is. If it is meant for the two of you to reunite, it will happen. But don’t live your life waiting for it.”

Jazzmyne was so wise and so rational.” Let me share a poem with you entitled ‘Soulmates Dissipate,’” said Jazzmyne.” Maybe it will help you to understand what you’re feeling:

“Wellington will always be a part of your life. Whether you accept that or not, is up to you.

“Now let’s talk about Jada,” Jazzmyne said.” It is time for you to move on with your life. You may want to consider changing jobs. It’s not running away from your pain. It’s detaching yourself from that which is causing you pain. You’ll never be happy working at Sensations as long as you have to work with the constant reminder of
all
you have lost.”

Jada began crying and laughing and gave Jazzmyne a big hug.” I love you.”

“And I love you too,” said Jazzmyne.” Every once in a while we lose our lease on life, but it’s up to us to determine if we want to renew it or let it expire.” Jada finally understood what Jazzmyne had written on that sign the day they met.

“I’ll talk with Wellington, but I won’t tell him what we’ve talked about and I won’t discuss our conversation with you. So don’t ask.”

“How are you going to convince Wellington to talk with you?”

“I have my ways. Don’t forget, Shelly is his biggest fan,” Jazzmyne said and smiled.” He’s so proud of her. Wellington has a big heart, Jada. But he’s still
a man.
And he was honest enough to tell you the truth. Maybe it wasn’t what you wanted to hear. But it was the truth. The problem is you refused to meet him halfway. It wasn’t his entire fault. Jada, you must learn to break the cycle that kills. Be true to yourself, and the others will heal.”

“Speaking of healing, I know I didn’t mention this, but Wellington told me he was adopted and someday he would like to find his real parents.” Jada hoped it would give Jazzmyne some insight.

“Now
that
is interesting,” Jazzmyne said as she shook her head.” Actually that helps to shed light on why his mother is so selfish. She’s probably never embraced him as her child. He may just be another token of all the great deeds she has accomplished in her life. I’m so glad you told me.”

Jada could hear the CPU turning again.” I’d love to stay longer, but I’d better get home to my kids before it gets too late. I’ll call Wellington tonight.”

“Thanks, you don’t know how much you have helped me.” Jada stood and stretched her legs.” I’m going to pray and meditate as soon as I get back home.”

J
ada high stepped in her beige three-inch heels and brand new pantsuit.” Good morning, Jada,” Karen said.” My, don’t we look refreshed.”

“Karen, I’ve renewed my lease on life.” Jada strutted in front of Karen’s desk like she was modeling.