by Glina Fastiv
1
Some things in life just don't work out... no matter how hard you try or how desperately you want for them to work out in a way you'll be able to live with, it just won't happen. I've learned this the hard way; however, I am a firm believer in the whole "everything happens for a reason" thing most people tend to call bullshit on.11
Everything does happen for a reason... it's true if you actually think about it. Seriously, just consider that.28
Anyway- back to my semi-bad midlife crisis that's taking place. I've been engaged for the past three years, okay? Yeah, that's a long time to be engaged, but it's only because my fiancé and I both have chaotic lives and no time to spare... Before we got engaged, we were together for seven years on and off, and honestly those were the best seven years of my life. He's the love of my life, I couldn't imagine spending a day without the guy! All of those thoughts changed about, hm... four months ago.8
Why four months? No, it wasn't a random and sudden realization. This had to do with another person who waltzed into my life at the wrong time I guess. I'll skip the details of it, that'll be some fun stuff to review later... I'm sure you can use your imagination to figure out the rest of this little story though, I was engaged to the love of my life, things broke apart, and now- I'm with the new and improved love of my life. Got any ideas? Yeah, everyone thinks they do. But here's the thing- you're wrong. You're so wrong and way further off than you even know, but by the end of this you'll be able to make sense of my madness. So, here goes the story of my broken engagement turned perfect romance.
***
"You say it like it's a bad thing!" I tease my fiancé as he makes fun of my lingerie collection that I've magically accumulated through the years of being with him.
"Maybe you should get some upgrades, babe. I've seen all of those twenty times over." He says and walks to me, sliding his big and somewhat dry hands around my waist. His lips press firmly against mine and the familiar taste of spearmint gum tingles on my lips, accompanied by the strong smell too.27
Danny always smells like spearmint, that's his favorite gum and you'll never catch him without a piece.5
"Mm, maybe. I'll go buy more soon I guess." I say and put my arms over his shoulders, taking my hand through his dark brown hair and bite my lip.
"Great, my birthday looks pretty promising then." He says, obviously referring to his birthday-night festivities with yours truly...
"We'll see how well you behave!" I joke and he kisses me again and my smile appears as it always does. "Shouldn't you be at work?" I ask him and pull my hand over his chest.
He sighs, "I'm leaving now. I'll miss you today, be good and I love you." He tells me and tucks away a loose strand of hair in my face.
"Yes sir." I laugh and he lets his hand fall over my ass and then steps back, "I'll call you for lunch, Jen."
This is an every morning thing for us. He goes to work at his dad's company, and he leaves me to watch the house and the dog. He doesn't want me working, which I personally don't agree with, but hey, sometimes you have to make sacrifices for those you love.124
After what seems like forever, my baby returns home and I'm more than excited to see him. "I missed you a little extra today." I say as I follow him upstairs and into the bedroom while he pulls his tie off and throws it on the bed.
"I missed you too, babe." He says and unbuttons his shirt, paying minimal attention to me. I roll my eyes silently and think of ways to capture his attention. The most obvious way is sex, so of course I'll be taking that route.
I push my shorts over my hips and kick them to the side. I toss my shirt with them and then grab his tie from the bed and drape it over my shoulders. He's so occupied with taking his shirt off that he doesn't even notice. I clear my throat and he faces me and a grin appears on his face.
"Oh, hello." He smirks and walks closer.
"Like I said... I really missed you today." I mutter and kiss his lips slowly. I'll spare the details of what happens next, but you can use your imagination to fill in the blank space.
46
I am laying in bed wearing nothing and my fiancé lays with me. "So, we have a family thing to attend next week." He says and grabs my hand to play with the ring he gave to me.
"What kind of family thing?"
"The kind with my family, at my parents house. My sister, the one who has been out of the country for the past four years, is finally coming home and my mom wants to surprise her with a nice dinner. Plus, I want my soon-to-be wife to finally meet my sister. You two will hit it off great, I can sense it!" He says.25
"I'd love to." I smile and scrunch up my nose.
"Perfect. I'll leave my card tomorrow and you can go shopping, but get something nice." He tells me.4
"Okay. I'm gonna go shower." I say and get out of our bed and make my way to the bathroom.
"Still pinching myself that I get to sleep with you!" He yells, teasing me as I walk away from him.
2
Shopping is actually one of my least favorite activities. I hate everything about it to be totally honest. That's why I drag my little sister, Jackie, along with me. She's only two years younger than me, so we are actually really close... Pretty much inseparable. That probably has a lot to do with the fact that our mother forced us to share a room from the time that I was six and she was four.26
"Do you like this?" I ask her and grab her another dress from the rack.
"It's pretty! What are you trying to be? Sexy? Innocent?" She asks and continues searching for a dress.
"I can't be too sexy in front of his parents, Jackie."
"Sure you can. You just have to play it smart. Don't be whorish-sexy, just be... classy-sexy." She grins and pulls out a black dress.5
I shake my head, "no." My sister rolls her eyes and I take my dress of choice to the fitting room and try it on.
It's pretty. It's white and comes to my thighs, not tight at all. It does show some cleavage, which I'm okay with, and my legs look really great too.1
I show my sister and she likes it, but she won't admit it because she wants me to dress like I'm going to a night club. I change back into my jeans and go pay for the dress. I love when I can shop for something and be done within an hour or two, it makes things much less painful for me.
After shopping is done, we go back to Danny and I's house and I cook lunch. I love to cook, it's my favorite way to relax and relieve stress. Danny likes it too, but for different reasons. Usually, on Thursday nights, I cook dinner for him in a lingerie set and an apron, but we don't have to get into that.10
"So, how's Danny?" Jackie asks me.
"He's good. His sister is coming back to the states after four years of being gone next week, so that's why I needed the dress." I say.
"That's nice. That's the one you haven't met, right?"
"No, I haven't met her. I've heard a few things about her though. I don't even know her name to be honest with you. She's younger than he is though." I shrug.4
My sister nods, "good. Hopefully you guys can become friends. Mom has been bugging me about Léon again." She explains. León is my sister's on-and-off boyfriend of three years. They've had some pretty nasty fights and break-ups, but they absolutely cannot stay away from each other! It's ridiculous.6
"What is she saying?"
"Well, I- he came by the other night and I snuck him in. We went to my room and things were fine. Then, when I tried to sneak him out mom saw him... she's just- she's overreacting to it. She hates him for no reason!" She says.
"Jackie, you know she has a reason, plenty of them actually. I don't even like the guy. He called you some pretty horrible stuff." I say, siding with my mom for once.1
"But... he didn't mean all that." Jackie insists. She has herself convinced, for sure.
* * *
"You like it?" I ask with a bright smile as I do a little spin in front of Danny. I wanted to show him the dress I got.
"It looks beautiful on you, which isn't very surprising." He smiles.
"Mm, I love you." I say and kiss him softly. He kisses me back and I go to the closet to change back into my sweatpants and t-shirt.2
"Hey, babe? I wanted to talk to you..." he says. Oh no, he scares me when he does this.
"About what?" I call out, trying to hide my nerves in my voice.
"Come here." He says.
I go to him and he sits on the bed and I follow, nervous as hell.
"I know how I feel about you, and I know we are getting married and all of that stuff, but I want to take things to the next level." He says.
I laugh and look at him funny, "how so? Babe, I wear a ring. It doesn't get much more official." I laugh and tuck my hair away.
"I mean... let's have a baby." He says.24
This totally blindsides me, "a baby?"
"Yeah. I want a family with you, Jen." He says and puts his hand on my thigh.2
"Danny, I don't know... a baby is a lot to take on. Plus, how would your parents feel about that?! I really don't th-"
"It's just a suggestion." He says, cutting me off.1
"Babe, you're never home. I'm not complaining because I know what you do for me. I know you're working and all that, but baby I don't know if I'm ready to just... raise a kid. I- I really don't know how that would work." I say. Truth be told, I don't want a baby. At all.1
"Come on, just- think about it?" He smiles and I nod my head, knowing very well that I won't be thinking about it. "In the meantime..." he says and strokes my thigh, "it wouldn't kill us to practice our baby-making skills." He smirks.6
I bite my lip and giggle. "Was all of this just a lead-up to get into my pants tonight?" I tease him.
"No! I'm serious about the baby; however, hearing you moan wouldn't be a bad thing right now." He says and kisses my neck.
"Oh, you want me moaning?" I ask him and look at the ceiling while his lips explore my neck.
"Mmhm." He mumbles, keeping his lips on my skin.
"Better be ready to play rough then." I whisper to him.
I really can't believe he suggested having a baby... a baby!!! Neither of us are ready for a freaking baby. He's psycho.
3
Finally, Saturday has arrived. I'm curling my hair in the bathroom while Danny gets dressed in the bedroom.
"Hurry, please!" He yells at me from the other room.
"Shut up." I snap back and turn the curling iron off, pulling my fingers through the hot curls to loosen them a bit. "Babe, I need my shoes. Can you put them in the car?" I ask.
"On it, meet me in the car." He says.
I spray myself a wall of perfume and walk though it and smile to check my teeth. Okay, I'm ready.
I go downstairs and my bare feet smack the pavement on our garage, "you rush me." I grumble and get into the passenger seat of Danny's car and put my heels on.
"You look amazing, nonetheless." He compliments and his hand takes a spot on my knee while we go to his parents house.1
Once we get there, he drops me at the door and drives the car to the back so that it's hidden from his sister when she arrives. I go inside and spot some familiar faces. I've met most of his family with the exception of a few distant cousins.... and his little sister.
"Jennifer! Hi doll, you look fantastic. Where's Danny?" His mom greets me and pulls me in for a hug.
"He went to move the car. Can I help with anything?" I ask her.
"No, it's all taken care of." She smiles kindly, "his sister should be here any minute now."5
I nod my head and glance towards the door, seeing my fiancé coming my way. He puts a hand on my back and hugs his mom with his other arm, "you look handsome." She says and kisses his cheek, leaving a faint, pink lipstick print. I giggle and wipe it off for him and then everyone gets quiet when the door makes a sound. The door opens and Danny's father comes in first, then a girl with pretty, wavy brown hair.
"Surprise!" His mom and family yells. His mom quickly goes to the girl and hugs her tightly.
Danny smiles and walks closer and hugs her too. "It's so good to see you." He says and kisses her head.
"I missed you, jerk!" She jokes with him. I stand back quietly and let them have their moment.
After things get settled and calm, Danny walks me over to his sister and makes the introduction. "Jennifer, this is my sister Leah. Leah, I would like you to meet my fiancé."
I smile and shake her hand. God, she's pretty, and her teeth are ridiculously perfect and white.3
"It's so good to finally meet you. Mom's mentioned you more times that I can count, but this is the first time I've seen you in person... which is weird because you two have been together for so long." Leah says.
I smile and Danny kisses my cheek, "you two can chat. I'm gonna go give dad a hand." He says and disappears.
"Always doing something..." she mutters.
"Huh?" I ask and look at her.
"Danny... he's always doing something. He can never sit still and just chill out." She says and points to an empty couch.
"Oh, yeah-right. He's always busy." I say and shake my head, feeling dumb. I walk to the couch and scoop the back of my thighs to hold my dress in place when I sit.
I know, I know- how have I not met his sister after being with the guy for almost ten years total? Simple, his sister is a traveler. No, really- she's always in some crazy place. I've seen pictures of her on the walls of my soon-to-be in-laws house, but I've never talked to her.
"He's always been a busy-body..." Leah tells me.
"I believe it. He was busy the day I met him." I joke and she smiles back at me.
"So, when is the wedding?"
"It's in four months... will you be here still?" I ask Leah.
"I will. I'm not leaving the country again for the next year. Next year I'll be going to South America though. I'm not staying for quite as long this time, but I'll still be gone for two years."
"That's a pretty long time. Props to you for being able to stay away for so long. I'm a big family-person." I say and find a drink and take it.
"I used to be that way, but I've sorta fallen in love with the whole travel thing. It's peaceful, it's something new every day." She says with a warm smile.
"Whatever makes you happy..."
"What do you do for work?"
"Oh... um, your brother actually prefers that I stay home. If I wasn't a stay-at-home- fiancé, I would be doing something with real estate or interior designing." I say and take another sip of white wine from the glass. I don't even like white wine that much.
About this time Danny sits down behind me and his hand comes around my waist and goes to my thigh like a magnet. "You girls find something to talk about?" He asks and I smile.
"We did." Leah nods and gives him a strange look, "don't mess this up, Danny. I like her." Leah teases and she stands up and walks away, giving a wink as she leaves.9
I look at my fiancé and he smiles and kisses my lips quickly, "you hit it off?"
"I guess... you're so different from your sister." I point out.
"That's a good thing?"
"Maybe." I tease him and kiss him again.
I feel like we should be coming together now... I'm meeting his whole family and our wedding is getting closer by the day and everything should be falling into its place, but it's not right. Something is just not right.
I feel weird about things and it might just be the fact that he mentioned he wants to have a baby, but still....
4
I guess you could say that I am a little bit less than thrilled with Danny right now. Look, I'm usually super relaxed and chill
about everything that goes on around here, but this time- I'm annoyed.
Danny works Monday through Friday, every week. He provides for me and I love him for that. I totally respect what he does and I never complain about him not being here! But this time... he kissed me goodbye this morning and then, an hour ago, he texts me and tells me that he and his father had an emergency trip halfway across the country? Ugh, it's so frustrating.7
As I sit here, annoyed and hungry, I get a call.
"Hello?"
"Jennifer, hi honey!"
I realize that it's Danny's mom pretty quickly. "Oh- hi! How are you today?"
"I'm great, thank you. I was calling to see if your were busy this evening? With the boys gone I figured you, me, and Leah could go out for some dinner and catch up on things." She suggests.
His mom is such a sweetheart, I truly adore that woman.
"Of course! I would love that, do you two have a place in mind?" I ask, politely of course.
"I'll ask Leah once she's done with her shower. I may just have her text you from her phone, is that okay?"
"That's perfect." I say.
"Alright, honey. We'll see you soon!"
I guess this is better than sitting at home by myself.
Leah texted me the address to a restaurant so I'm here, waiting. After a few minutes, I see Danny's mom and I wave and smile. I stand up and hug her before she sits. I don't hug Leah only because I don't know her well and she might be a germaphobe... who knows?12
We start to eat, discussing wedding things and Leah's recent travel... it's a nice dinner.
Finally, after nearly three hours of nothing but talking, Danny and Leah's mom let's out a yawn and shakes her head, "alright, Leah. I think it's time to head home. I am exhausted!" She says.
"Oh- gosh. It doesn't feel that late to me because of this jet lag. I'm so messed up." She laughs and stands up.
I smile and stand too, and I'll admit it... I don't want to go home and be bored.
"Leah, if you're interested I can take you home later on. I'm not tired at all and I think we could find something to talk about." I offer.6
She looks at her mom, "you want to drive?" She asks.
