by Leen Elle
My heart suddenly thundered against my chest as Jennifer walked to the crib and leaned over. "How's my prince?" She asked in a tender like voice I never heard her use before. I came closer as she lifted a bundle in her arms.
"I was pregnant around the same time Jasmine was, but he survived." She whispered. I looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms. She smiled down at him and I've never seen a scene so beautiful in my life.
"What's his name?" I asked hoarsely.
"Jace. His name is Jace. I hope you don't mind." She said.
I shook my head. "No, Jace is perfect." She gently held him out and I softly took my son in my arms.
"Hey, little man." I said. Jace made a face like he was going to cry.
"It's okay, he doesn't recognize your voice, that's why, but he will in time." Jennifer said, stroking his head.
"You out did yourself this time, Jen." I laughed softly.
"Here's the proof of my love, Aaron. This isn't my first time being a mother, but it sure feels like it. When Jaime was born, I felt nothing, nothing at all, at first I thought it was in my nature to reject everybody, but the only reason why I couldn't accept Jaime was because he wasn't made out of love. I guess you can call me picky, and I'm not at all perfect, but I don't regret anything. That's why I'm not going to say sorry for what I did to you." She said, "And I'm not going to beg you take me back, so take what I have to offer or leave."
Jennifer hadn't much at all, but motherhood did her wonders. "Well, it seems I don't have a lot of choices, do I?" I asked as I placed Jace back in his crib. We quietly left the room and returned to her room.
"So? What is it then?" She asked.
"Let's forget about everything, I'll do whatever you want, but come back home with me; I want you and Jace with me, along with Jade." I said. "And, James and Jasmine if we have to. I've grown fond of James, though, prissy and all."
Jennifer laughed as she wrapped her arms around me and we sealed our deal with a searing kiss. "I missed this." She sighed.
"Well, how about we go for kid number three?" I asked.
She rolled her eyes. "You would say that."
Epilogue
12 Years Later
Jaime
"I know, you should get a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and name her Lady Izzy." Jade said as we were sitting at my parents' kitchen table. The whole family was outside cooking on the grill, but I wanted Jade's help, and look how that turned out.
"Those bug eyed freaks? No. And I'm not going to name a dog Lady Izzy, it's practically inviting other dogs to beat it up." I said. It's been a year since Scraps died, and I was looking for another dog to adopt to take with me when I left for Texas at the end of summer.
"Lady Izzy is a gorgeous name! Jaime, let a little love touch your heart." Jade said, fluttering her eye lashes.
"Love my ass, I want a manly dog, something that will announce my manhood to all of my manly acquaintances." I said. Jade laughed.
"You mean your friends?" She asked.
"What are these friends you speak of? They sound very unmanly." I said.
"Okay, enough, if you want a manly dog, why not a Doberman Pinscher?" She asked. I sort of had that dog on my list for a while. I've always wanted a Doberman.
"Aren't Dobermans mean?" Jace asked as he walked in to get out a case of drinks from the fridge.
"No, you just have to show the dog who's the boss if not it will do whatever the hell it wants." I said. Jade snorted.
"You completely lack in leadership skills." She said.
"I take offense! Jace, go fetch me a hamburger!" I yelled at him.
"Get it yourself." He said, leaving the kitchen. I turned to my little sisters, the twins. They were watching television in the living room.
"Go get me food!"
"The girls looked at me like I was some sort of thing that crawled out of the sink. "You still owe us from the time we covered for you when you snuck out of the house." June said.
Jordan looked at her sister. "Which I think we shouldn't have done, what if Mom and Dad found out?"
"Jasmine and James? I'm sure their punishments aren't half as bad as my mom's." Jade said.
"Yeah, Jennifer is a tight ass." I said.
"Mom is not a tight ass!" Jade laughed in spite of herself.
"She is too, she tried to convince Mom to not let me go to A&M in Texas. If it wasn't for Dad, I wouldn't be able to go and study to become a veterinarian. That little bit-" I felt something hard smack me on the back of my head and I looked up to see Jennifer holding a spatula in her hand.
"You say another word, brat, and I'll make sure the rest of your days here are a living hell, you understand?" She threatened.
"Trust me, you're reason number one that I'm leaving." I said. She smirked down at me.
"Good to hear. The food is ready, let's go." She said. June and Jordan dashed outside followed by Jennifer.
"Your love-hate relationship is tense." Jade said.
"Yeah well, you get used to it after a couple of years." I said.
"Do they ever age?" Jade asked as she looked out the window that led to the backyard.
"I don't think so, they don't even look near forty, I'm jealous." I said, getting up and standing next to Jade.
"Me too, I think I'm developing wrinkles before Mom is." She said. I turned to her and looked at her closely.
"Yeah, you appear to be having some spider webs going on right there." I said.
"Eww! Jaime!" Jade cried, slapping my hand away. I laughed.
"What happened to the shy little boy I knew so many years ago?" She asked, as she laughed as well.
"I don't know, I guess I grew up." I shrugged. "How about you, you aren't that stuck up brat from back then." I told her. Jade smiled slightly.
"Whether we like to admit it or not, Jaime, we both have a bit of our mothers in us, our real mothers." She said. I looked out and saw Jennifer wiping some ketchup from Jane's face, the youngest Hale.
"Yeah, but I don't think I'll ever be able to view her as my mom." I said.
"Look at them, Jaime, look at our family. We've been through hell and back, but we finally made it here." She said. "I've never seen them any happier."
"Yeah, I guess it was worth the wait." I said. I saw Mom look up and waved at us.
"Well, come on, they're waiting for us." Jade said and we both walked out the back door.
* * *
Jasmine
"Mom! Mom! Dad said that if I eat too much, monsters were going to come and try to eat me!" Jane cried loudly jumping into Jennifer's arms. I held back a smile as Jennifer stormed towards Aaron.
"What the hell did you say you to my daughter?" She shouted at him.
"I was teasing! Teasing!" Aaron cried. I heard James chuckle from the grill.
"What a bittersweet moment. I will admit, I like having them around every once in a while." He said. I looked up at him and he smiled. He leaned forward to kiss me and met him halfway.
"Yeah, Aaron is great with the kids." I said. Jaime appeared in front of us.
"Hook me up with some hamburgers, Old Man." He said, holding out his plate.
"Of course I'm starting to wonder if this one is mine or not." James said, serving him. Jaime winked at us and walked to sit with Jace.
"Well, time can change a person, look at Jennifer, she's almost a better mother than me." I said.
"No one is better than you, love." James said.
"I'm starting to think God switched our places from the very beginning. I think He thought we should find our places on our own, with a few lessons in between." I said. James turned to me.
"Yeah, you were supposed to be with me in the first place, glad to see you finally found your way." We kissed again before I caught up to my sister.
"Well, good enough for you?" I asked her. Jennifer shrugged.
"It's alright, I guess." She said.
I looked sideways at her, and she grinned. "Always the joker." I said.
"Who would h
ave thought we would end up like this." She said, placing an arm around my waist.
"Yeah, I've never been happier." I said.
"Neither have I." Jennifer said.
I never would have thought that any of this would be the outcome of a simple…
Love switch.
THE END
Copyright © 2013 by Leen Elle
