Lust and Lies (The Jamie Reynolds Chronicles #1) (21 page)

My sex drive was only high when I had someone, but once that person left, then it was just me and my neon pink friend, but we only met up briefly. I never used my dildo so much until I met Toni.

***

It had only been two weeks into our eight weeks apart and Toni was regretting his decision to join the navy. He called it a prison every chance he got. By the third week I noticed the calls stopped and the letters began. I got at least two to three letters per week.

Our relationship felt strong again like how it used to be when he lived in Atlanta and I lived in New York/New Jersey. His letters made me fall in love all over again. He was truly gifted with words, and he knew just what to say to make me love him all over again. I just wished we had this same strong connection when he got back home.

Do You Need Me to Call 911…

It had been almost five weeks and my love for Toni was growing stronger and stronger. I truly missed him and couldn’t wait until I visited him in Great lakes for his graduation. I had even picked up a new gig, which started in two months, which was perfect because my last day with Macy’s was one week before I started that gig. I had some PTO saved up from Macy’s, and since I pretty much worked all the time while Toni was gone, I was excited for the break. It kind of sucked going home to an empty house, so working extra hours was my outlet.

I also started making friends with Denise and the ladies at Macy’s. We would do happy hour and even go to a club once in a while. I had fun but felt bad to update Toni on what I did because I knew he would be a little jealous, so I was mindful of what I said.

“Hey, girl, you okay?” Denise asked while I was sitting in the break room.

“I’m good, I think I have cramps or something because my side is killing me.”

“Are you on your cycle?” she asked.

Normally I wouldn’t even answer her, but this time I did. “No, I’m not.”

She pulled up a seat next to me and asked, “Is it time for your cycle to come?”

I replied yet again with, “No.”

“Have you been to the doctor? Have you taken a pregnancy test?” she slipped in without hesitation.

“Girl, I ain’t pregnant. I just had my period two weeks ago,” I lied. “My shift is almost over; then I’ll head home and just relax since I’m off this weekend. I was going to pick up some extra shifts, but I think I need the time off.”

I was so glad my shift was over as I hunched over in pain and managed to drive myself home, but first I ran into the drugstore to pick up a pregnancy test. “I can’t be pregnant,” I said to myself. I never missed a pill, and yes, my cycle was a little late, but I never had regular periods after my surgery, and my ob-gyn said that it was normal.

Just as I walked out of the store and got back into my car, my mother called. “Good afternoon,” she said.

“Good afternoon, Ma,” I replied.

“Are you still coming over this weekend to help me with the garage door?”

“I don’t know, Ma, I haven’t been feeling too well, so I was trying to rest this weekend.”

“You’re not working?”

“No, I’m off this weekend and told them I couldn’t work any extra shifts so I can rest.”

“What’s going on? You got a cold?”

“No, I have a really bad cramp in my side, but I’ll be okay. Maybe just some hot tea and a good night’s sleep will help.” My family is West Indian, so we believe hot tea and some rest can cure almost anything.

“Okay, well, call me tomorrow and let me know if you’re feeling any better,” she said as she hung up the phone, but tomorrow never came. I ended up not even taking the pregnancy test and was up all night in pain. The pain got so bad I was crying and couldn’t move out of bed. I finally broke down and called my mother. It was after ten p.m. and I sounded really bad on the phone.

“Jamie, are you okay?” my mother asked with concern.

“No,” I said, “something is wrong and I can’t even move my stomach hurts so bad.”

“Do you need me to call 911?”

“No, but can you come over and take me to the hospital, please?” My mother was less than eight minutes away, so I figured she would be at my home faster than the ambulance, and I didn’t want my nosey neighbors knowing something was wrong with me.

Within minutes my mother was at my home as I crawled down the stairs. My mother helped me to the car and off we went. I don’t know if it was the motion in the car, but by the time I got to the hospital, I was in tears from the pain. I was rushed to the ER with no wait.

My mother was very concerned, but I had no insurance, so I was even more concerned as to who would be picking up this bill.

I sat in pain as the nurse tried to push all areas of my stomach and then they requested to do a CT scan. I had to drink some clear stuff so they could do the CT scan, but I couldn’t keep it down and ended up throwing the stuff up like three times. The doctor finally said just take her to the back and hopefully she kept down enough fluids.

Thank goodness, I kept enough of it down and completed the CT scan, and then I was moved up to a room where they added IVs to my body.

After a few hours my mother finally was able to come upstairs as the doctor spoke to us both about what was going on.

“How are you feeling?” the doctor asked.

“I’m feeling much better now,” I replied, since I had pain meds to ease the pain.

“So do you eat a lot of fried foods or fast foods?” the doctor asked as my mother laughed because she was always worried about my eating habits and knew I didn’t eat junk.

“No, Doctor, I don’t. I eat pretty clean, I don’t eat red meat, pork or very many fast foods at all. Why do you ask?”

“You have gallbladder disease,” the doctor said without hesitation.

“Wait, what is that? Is it serious?” my mother asked.

“No, it’s pretty common for people who eat a lot of fatty foods, but it’s caused by inflammation due to irritation to the gallbladder wall. We may have to remove the gallbladder,” he said with ease and walked out of the room.

“Wait, I don’t eat fatty foods, I eat pretty healthy,” I said, trying to stop him.

“Okay,” the doctor said as if he didn’t believe me. “Well, sit tight. We’ll see how your body does over the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours.”

I was crushed. I couldn’t believe this. This was nuts; I was a health junkie. Yeah, I ate an occasional fried food every now and again, but for the most part it was less than the average person.

***

“Jamie, how are you feeling?” my mom asked as I woke up from a deep sleep. “You must have been tired, as you’ve been sleeping for a few hours and I know you don’t sleep in the middle of the day. Your phone rang and I answered it and had a nice conversation with Mr. Toni. He seems like a nice guy. He truly cares a lot about you as he was asking to fly back to New Jersey to see you.”

“Wait, what? Toni is flying back?” I asked in a daze.

“No, it looks like he can’t, but I told him I’ll keep him updated on your condition. I hope that was okay?” my mother said, as if I would be upset with her for being by my side and speaking to Toni.

“That’s fine, thank you.” My mother knew me and knew this was hard for me. I was the strong one in the family, and getting sick, being in the hospital, was not really me. I’d rather sit through the pain and deal with it than go to the hospital. To even call her and ask for help she knew I must have been in some serious pain.

Forty-eight hours later I was well rested and feeling much better. The doctor even said my gallbladder was fine and there was no more sign of the inflammation and they sent me home. No surgery or anything. I was so happy and grateful. I hated the fact I was more concerned with the hospital bill rather than my health during my time in the hospital, but ended up going back to work the next day. My mother wasn’t too happy about that, but she understood.

***

“Hey, J,” Toni called. “How are you feeling today? I was so nervous and scared when I called and spoke to your mother. Gallbladder disease, who would have thought that? I should watch out because I eat more fatty foods and fast food than you,” he said, joking. But he was so right, he eats way more crap than me.

“I’m fine, feeling much better and thankful I didn’t have to have surgery. The nurse says people can live without a gallbladder, but the good Lord gave me a gallbladder, so I want to keep what the good Lord gave me,” I said, laughing. “Besides, I got lucky with not having a bill because of my income, but I don’t know if that luck would have covered the surgery if I needed it.”

“I hate the fact you don’t have medical insurance. You know the military has great insurance and I’ll ask how to get you added to my insurance and keep you posted.”

“Okay, thanks. Anyway, enough about me. It’s good to hear your voice. How are you feeling? How is everything?” I asked but already knew the answer, as his letters had been very detailed and he mentioned the phones were bugged, so I knew he wouldn’t speak the truth over the phone. He was so paranoid and it was funny, but I felt bad laughing when he talked about the government and big brother.

“It’s cool, I’m learning so much and can’t wait for graduation. I’m thinking about my job and trying to figure out what direction I want to go with this new career path.”

“Oh, that’s great. What are your options?”

“They have it all, I was thinking of a chaplain, playing on the football team, engineer or IT?”

“Wait, you can learn those in the navy? Don’t you need to come in with experience to get those jobs?” I didn’t know much about this navy thing, but I knew one couldn’t just walk off the street and be a chaplain, engineer or an IT specialist without experience, and I didn’t think the football team was a job.

“They train you, but I’m exploring all of my options. Hey, I have to run, but I’ll call and check up on you later today.”

“Okay, love you,” I said.

“Ditto.”

Our relationship had been an emotional roller coaster. When we had space and distance, it was a great relationship. I felt we talked more and I fell back in love with him all over again, but those last few months in New Jersey were hard. I hated the fact I focused so much on the past because it was a new day and I had heard great improvement and growth from him when we spoke on the phone. Even his letters had a plan. Maybe this navy thing was a good idea.

***

“Hey, babe. I have some exciting news for you.”

“Hey, Toni, what’s up?” I was very relaxed on the phone, as I’d just finished having a meeting with my neon pink friend.

“Man, today was a great day. We finally was able to pick our new roles in the navy.”

“Oh, okay.” I was excited he was so excited, but I didn’t know what his job was, so I wasn’t that excited. “So, so, what did you end up getting? The IT gig?” I said, knowing he wouldn’t get the IT job, but I was trying to sound supportive.

“No, I’m going to be a chef.”

The phone went silent, as I didn’t know what to even say.

“Babe, did you hear me? I’m going to be a chef. You know how much I love to cook?”

“Seriously, babe, you never cook. You actually don’t like to cook, you like to eat.”

“Ha, ha, you got jokes. No, man, I’m excited to be going to chef school because I always wanted to be a chef.”

Where was he getting this stuff from? He never mentioned wanting to be a chef; he was the one who made eggs in the microwave.

“I’m a little shocked, as I never expected you to take a job like that since you spoke about a career job like IT or engineering, but if you’re happy with your choice, then congrats.”

“Hey, well, I’m just tired of being in Great Lakes and a chef had the shortest school.”

“Wait, what? You picked a career because it had the shortest time in school? Do you think that was the best way to make a life-changing choice like that?”

“This is a new adventure and I’m excited. Why do you always have to try to burst my bubble?”

“I’m sorry, I’m not trying to burst your bubble. I’m just trying to understand your reasoning for the decisions you make. You say this will affect me as well, so I’m also invested in the path you’re taking in this new adventure in your life.” I hated sounding selfish, but I had to be during this time.

“Babe, I’m happy with my decision, and yes, going to chef school is the shortest school, but I think it will open up doors for us. Everyone needs a chef, so the demand for chefs will help us in the end. I was considering Atlanta, New York or somewhere overseas like Japan?”

At this point I was so hesitant to hear Toni’s plan, as everything he had said to this point when it came to the navy had been ass backwards, so I didn’t know what to believe anymore. I hated not knowing enough about a situation and having to rely on his words.

“Babe, if you’re happy, then I’m happy. How long is school anyway? What’s next?”

Toni and I spoke for another thirty minutes as he filled me in on the next steps with everything. I had no choice but to rely on his information and see what happened. I still had my house in New Jersey, my new gig starting in a few. This was my first independent movie in New Jersey, and it was a nine-month job, which was amazing. I guess everything was going to be okay.

Graduation Day…

I was so excited to go to Illinois. This was my first time, so I was like a kid in a candy store. I arrived at Chicago airport and raced to my rent-a-car so I could drive around the city to check everything out. I called Toni to let him know I made it safely but got his voicemail. I knew they had a little more of a relaxed schedule since it was two days before graduation and they knew most of their family would be in town. I left him a quick message and went on my merry way. Chicago was nice and reminded me of a little New York. I loved sightseeing, so naturally I got lost in the time and realized I had been driving around for an hour before Toni finally called me back.

“Hey, babe, where are you?”

“Great question, I’m somewhere downtown, just taking in the view.”

“Well, I couldn’t wait until seven p.m. to see you, so I caught a ride and will meet you at the hotel. I should be there in, like, thirty minutes.”