New Beginnings (2 page)

Angel paused “Well…Joslin is goin’ to take me to get ice-crème and then she is takin’ me to park.  She is so nice mommy.  We painted funny pictures last night and we ate popcorn and watched Nemo.  Can I stay for ice-crème and park?
Pleeease
?”  Angel sounded so excited Vicky didn’t have the heart to tell her no.

“Well, let me talk to Mrs. Rutherford again to make sure it’s ok. I love you honey.”

“I love you too mommy.” Angel handed the phone back to Mrs. Rutherford. 

“Angel thinks Jocelyn is going to take her to get ice-crème and the park.  She seems to have really taken to her.  Is the park far?”

“I know what you’re thinking but I’ve known Jocelyn for quite some time.  She’s a wonderful girl and highly sought after nanny.  Angel will be safe and it will give her a chance to play with some kids her own age for a little while.  Trust me on this you and Jason need this time alone and Angel is having the time of her life.  We all are.  As a matter of fact, if it’s ok with you, John and I can bring her home tonight after dinner.” 

She and Jason really could use the alone time and Angel seemed to really be enjoying herself.  “Well, if you don’t mind
...I guess that would be alright.  Thank you and not just for today but…for EVERYTHING.”

“No, thank you.  I haven’t seen Jason so happy since he met you and Angel.  I’ll do my part to help where I can.  You just do your part and continue to make my son happy. Is that a deal?” 

“I’ll do my very best, I promise.”

“Good. Now it’s my turn to find the silly rabbit so I’ve got to go.” They said their goodbyes then disconnected the call. 

Vicky didn’t know if her heart could be any fuller.  She didn’t know what she did to deserve all this but she thanked her lucky stars.  

Soon after she’d hung up the phone with Mrs. Rutherford, her cell phone rang. Vicky picked it up “Jason?”

“Sorry sweetheart it’s not Jason.”

“Oh, Sandy?”

“Yep, it’s little old me.  I just wanted to know how everything went last night.  And, I want all the juicy details. Don’t leave anything out.”

Sandy and Vicky had become really close friends over the past few months.  At first, Vicky thought it might be awkward seeing as Sandy was her supervisor in customer service at CkR International but surprisingly, they had really bonded.  They’d been big support to each other as they tried to navigate the complicated waters of love. 

Vicky giggled, “Well, it started out wonderful, got a little rocky, and couldn’t have ended better if I’d planned it myself.”

“What the hell does all that mean? You must have missed that part of class when they explained what ‘details’ meant? Well, since you did let me explain what it means.   I want a play by play from the time Mrs. Rutherford picked you up from your house to about 3 seconds ago.”

“
Okay, okay.  Mrs. Rutherford is an incredible woman.  She hooked me up.  When I wear make-up I typically buy it from the local pharmacy down the street or the local beauty supply store. Well, she had her professional glam squad ready to turn me into a princess.  They did my hair and my makeup.   Can you believe that?  She also had one of the most gorgeous gowns I’d ever seen ready for me to wear to their anniversary party.  I’m sure you can appreciate this; it was Dolce and Gabbana along with a pair of red-bottoms that you would have killed for.”

Vicky heard Sandy groan, “I am so jealous.  Looks like you’ve found your very own fairy godmother.  You’ve got to send me pictures as soon as you can.”

“I will.  I promise.  Anyway, once I was ready I waited for her to text me that Jason had arrived.  She wanted me to make a grand entrance.  It seemed like forever to get the text.  When I finally got it and made my way to the party I ran into the CFO, Franklin Roth.  You know he’s a really nice guy once you get to know him.  Since Jason and Franklin are best friends, maybe the four of us should do dinner or something.   Anyway, all of Atlanta seemed to have come out for this party.” 

“Were the Reeds there?” Sandy was curious as to how that was going to go?

“Yes.  That’s when things got a little rocky.  You know they’ve been friends with Jason’s family for years and it was pretty obvious they didn’t want me around.  I can’t prove it or anything but I’m sure they tried to set me up to send me off.”

“Set you up? Like, how exactly?”

“Well, Mrs. Reed sent me to the balcony to find Jason but what I found was her precious daughter Bridget wrapped all up in Jason’s arms.  It made me want to throw up.”

“Bridget sounds like she hasn’t given up on being Mrs. Rutherford yet.  What did you do? I would have slapped both of them.”

“I think you’re right.  But, no, I walked away.  Jason didn’t know I was coming and technically we were broken up.  I wouldn’t have wanted to disrespect Mrs. Rutherford’s home. She’d done too much for me.  So, I went to go pack for home.  Only the story didn’t end that way.  Jason came after me.  We made up and are going to try to figure our relationship out.  People be damned.”

“You sound like you are leaving quite a bit of the make-up session out.”

“I am. Some things are just for Jason and me.” Vicky giggled like a school girl.

“Did you tell him yet?”

“He’s aware.”

“Hmm
m, that’s sounds interesting but we’re going to have to finish this call up a little bit later Josh just text to let me know he’s on his way over.”

“Are things better between you two?”

Sandy sighed, “It’s about the same.  I don’t ask for too much because I know he’s not ready to give it to me.  Although, the little girl down in accounting is working my last nerves, her hints that they are messing around are not very subtle.  I try not to worry about what I can’t control.  When we are together it’s just us.  I enjoy the time that we are together and that’s that.”

“Well, Sandy, you deserve a fairy-tale too. I hope you find it.  Please think about that.  So, I’ll talk to you later then?” 

“Of course, I’ll call you later.” They disconnected and now it was really time for Vicky to take a shower and go find Jason.

In just a few words, Vicky left a lot for Sandy to think about after they hung up.  She knew Vicky meant well but after their conversation it left her feeling discontented.  At the end of the day Sandy wanted what Vicky and Jason had.  It wasn’t jealousy though, no, she was genuinely happy for Vicky and Jason.  She didn’t know him very well but she knew Vicky was in love with him and he seemed to be in love with her.  Sandy hated that Vicky was right, she did deserve more and she wanted more.  She shouldn’t have even bothered to answer Joshua’s text message seeing as he stood her up last night. 

They had been seeing each other for almost two years and what direction this ‘thing’ she had with him was going or if it were going anywhere at all was anybody’s guess.  Sandy was all too aware that she wasn’t getting any younger.   She wanted more than he was willing to give.  But, if she asked for more she knew she’d lose him completely.  She deserved better but she wasn’t prepared to give him up just yet.  However, something was going to come to a head soon.

In the past, she’d been able to deal with the fact they weren’t exclusive but lately, he’d become more and more disrespectful and she wasn’t putting up with that.  She’d waited for hours at the restaurant for him to show.  He could have at least called or text to let her know something came up.  He just didn’t show.  Well, he’d better have a pretty good explanation.  Short of a hospital stay won’t be good enough.

Joshua Jones
stood outside Sandy’s door.  He was a bastard and he knew it.  Last night was crazy.  He’d meant to meet up with Sandy but he’d been hanging out with the guys at the bar and by the time he checked his watch it was already after 10:30p.  They were supposed to meet up at Nick’s restaurant on 53
rd
at 7:00pm.  He knew she was long gone by then and probably pissed.  He wasn’t in the mood to deal with an angry red-head.  So, he called up Alicia from accounting.  That’s what he needed a woman who didn’t ask too many questions and just was ready for whatever whenever. 

He didn’t know why he was even still seeing Sandy.  It could be because she was beautiful, smart, sexy as hell, and would call him on his bullshit.  Who was he kidding…she was all of that but it was the sex.  The sex between them was explosive.   He needed to get a grip though and end it.  They had been seeing each other for almost 2 years.  That’s the longest he’d ever dated anyone.  Typically, six months was his limit.  Women started to get too clingy after that and he was nowhere near ready to settle down.  However, he could tell that she was starting to get antsy.  He knew the expiration date on this affair had passed but wasn’t quite ready to give her up just yet. 

Joshua rang the doorbell.  She kept him waiting for a few minutes.  Okay, so she was still pissed about last night and was going to let him stew for a few minutes.  He guessed he deserved that.  He knew Sandy was home because he’d just text her 20 minutes before and her car was in the driveway.  Joshua rang the bell again.  He’d heard her footsteps as she walked up to the door, then he heard her unlocked it before slowly opening it.  However, Sandy didn’t move to allow him to come inside.

“Hey babe.  Sorry about last night.  I got caught up.” He looked at her with this cocky grin then started to bend down to kiss her.

Sandra stood there at the door with her arms folded across her chest.  Her blue eyes were blazing with anger.  She reached out and slapped Joshua across his face. She hissed at him “You had me sitting at that restaurant waiting for you and looking like a fool! I’m many things Joshua Jones but a fool is not one of them.”

Joshua snatched her to him lightening fast.  Sandra wasn’t prepared for that.  He bent down and kissed her brutally hard.  She initially struggled against him.  But, Joshua wouldn’t let up.  He continued to kiss her silly until she succumbed to being in his arms.  She slightly opened her mouth for him and that was all the invitation he needed to push his tongue into her mouth.  He kissed her until she couldn’t remember her own name.   No one had ever made Sandy feel like this and being with Joshua was really the only place she wanted to be.  Sandy stopped struggling and wrapped her arms around his neck.   Joshua knew he’d won this round as he picked her up, closed the door, and carried her straight to the bedroom.

Vicky was just leaving the bathroom when she heard Jason in the bedroom.  He had finally come back.  She figured he hadn’t gone too far.  His back was to her so he didn’t see her coming
up behind him.  It sounded like he was rehearsing something and he looked frustrated that it wasn’t coming out right.  He ran his hand through his gorgeous hair and turned around like he’d been caught with his hands in the cookie jar.  She couldn’t be certain but Jason looked like something was off.  Vicky had felt bliss for all of two waking hours.  She was tired of all the drama that had surrounded their relationship and hoped there was nothing wrong.   As she walked towards him, Vicky continued to towel dry her hair as if nothing was wrong.  She was determined to make sure today was wonderful no matter what.  Jason silently watched her walk towards him.  When she stood directly in front of him, Vicky threw the towel onto the bed, wrapped her arms around his neck, and leaned her forehead into his.  He pulled her into his arms and they stood together holding each other for just a few moments. 

Whatever tension she felt in his body seemed to drain away
when she kissed him.  When they pulled apart Vicky voiced her concerns.

“Everything ok?”

Jason took a deep breath and nodded that everything was fine.

“I
hope so because we deserve a little bit of peace.  Plus, I just spoke to your mom and your parents are going to bring Angel home later this evening.  So, until then it’s just you and me.  What are we going to do with ourselves?”

Jason
loved the twinkle in her eyes.  He was proud to know he was the reason.  Jason pulled Vicky’s hands to his lips and kissed them.  It seemed he was going to put whatever it was that was bothering him on the back burner for now. 

“I want to show you something.” Jason helped
Vicky put on her robe and led her out onto the balcony.

Vicky’s hands flew to her throat in surprise.  Jason had been very busy while she’d been in the shower.  “Oh my goodness Jason! What d
id you do?”  The entire balcony was covered in flowers.  There were roses everywhere.  There were red roses, white roses, and pink roses in every direction.  Everywhere that Vicky turned there were ROSES!  Jason moved to seat her at the table and gave her one long stemmed red rose then he sat down himself.

Jason laughed at the
surprise and beauty of her face.  He’d also had an amazing brunch prepared for them.  “I hope you’re hungry since we missed breakfast this morning.  No need to worry about working out today.  You and I burned a lot of calories so eat up.” 

Vicky reached across the table and touched his cheek “You didn’t have to do all of this for me but I love it. And, yes…I am starving.” He leaned into her hand and kissed the inside of it.

“I just wanted today to be special.  I want today to be a day you’ll always remember.”

“Do you really think I wouldn’t?  No one has ever made me feel the way you have Jason.  I feel like my heart is going to explode.  I can’t believe I wasted so much time being afraid of loving you.  Well, that stopped last night.  When I told you that I’m ready to fight for us, I meant every word. I won’t let anyone or anything come between us again.  I promise.”