For Your Love

by Vanessa Miller

  “Toya! I can’t believe it’s you,” the voice exclaimed with joy.

  Instantly, there was a feeling of familiarity. She knew that voice. Toya turned around and found herself face-to-face with her best friend from high school. She hadn’t seen Gina Melson since graduation. They swore they would keep in touch, but they enrolled in different colleges that were in different states. Then, they never seemed to be home from college at the same time.

  Then when Toya discovered that Gina had started dating Jarrod, that ended it for Toya. Her two best friends were attending the same college and falling in love, and even though Toya had been hundreds of miles away, she felt like a third wheel, so she distanced herself from both of them.

  Jarrod was now back in her life thanks to Thomas marrying her mother, and she had just run into Gina. “You here visiting your parents?” Toya asked, holding Princess’s leash tightly.

  Gina shook her head. “Not this time. I moved back here a month ago.”

  “That's good to know,” Toya said and meant it. For years she had missed having both Jarrod and Gina in her life. “Are you staying with your parents?”

  Gina pointed toward the townhouse in front of them. “Moved in last week.”

  “Wow! I live in this community too. My building is right around the corner.”

  Princess barked and started yanking her leash forward.

  “You must work from home to be able to walk your dog in the middle of the afternoon.”

  “Something like that.” Princess yanked the leash again. “Let me finish walking this dog.” Toya gave Gina her address. “If you have time, stop by, I should be back in a few minutes.”

  “I just might do that.” Gina opened her car door and took two bags of groceries out. “Let me unload this, and I’ll come hang out with you for a minute.”

  True to her word, Gina was at Toya’s door within twenty minutes. Toya grabbed a bag of Lays chips from the pantry. She took the onion dip out of the fridge. “Do you still like orange sodas?” She asked while the fridge was still open.

  “I’m strictly on water these days. I did a sugar fast a few years ago and haven’t gone back since.”

  “So, you’ve gotten healthy on me.” Toya held up the chip bag. “Do I need to put this back and get the celery instead.”

  “Oh no, I haven’t gotten over my love of Lays chips, which is one of the reasons I run a couple of miles every day.”

  “Such discipline. I wish I had it. Whenever I’m feeling down, I eat a half bag of these chips with this onion dip.”

  “Well, it isn’t affecting you at all. Looks like you weigh the same as you did when we were in high school.”

  Toya laughed. “I passed that fifteen pounds ago.” She put the chips in a bowl, handed Gina a bottle of water and then sat the chips and dip in front of them as they took a seat in the living room.

  Gina scooped a few chips in her hand and dipped one. “You’re hiding those extra pounds well because I can’t tell you’ve gained anything at all. Now me, on the other hand, I’m shaped like an apple, so when I start gaining weight, it shows up in my belly first. Which is not good, so I work hard to keep those dreaded pounds away.”

  Toya sat down on the sofa with Gina. Before they knew it, two hours had gone by, the bowl had three chips left. “You want another bottle of water?” Toya asked as she got up to add more soda and ice to her glass.

  “No, I’m good.” Gina held up her bottle to show that she still had some water. “But you know what I’m curious about?”

  “What?”

  “Okay, I get that you’re not married, just like me but I don’t understand why?”

  Toya wasn’t ready to discuss Marvel with Gina just yet. In their two-hour conversation, they had talked about many things, but not the most horrific parts of her life. So, she simply shrugged and said, “Just haven’t met the right man, I guess.”

  “But you’ve known him all your life, Toya. I just don’t get why things didn’t work out with you and Jarrod.”

  “Me and Jarrod?” Toya looked at Gina as if she had suddenly grown two heads. “You and Jarrod were a couple in college, remember?”

  Gina drank the rest of her water and then joined Toya in the kitchen. “Oh, I remember alright. All he did was talk about you every time we were together. We barely even kissed, because Jarrod didn’t really want me as his girlfriend. He wanted someone he could share memories of you with.”

  “That’s crazy, Gina. You and Jarrod both told me that you were dating.”

  “I think Jarrod thought he wanted to date me at first, but when you stopped calling us and wouldn’t accept our phone calls, things really got bad for him. He mopped around campus and even threatened to call your mom to talk some sense into you.”

  A look of embarrassment crossed Toya’s face as she handed Gina another bottle of water. “So, y’all knew that I was mad?”

  Gina nodded. “I tried calling you so many times. I thought for sure that when you came home for Christmas our junior year that you would call me, and things would go back to the way they had been. But I never heard from you.”

  Toya tapped on her forehead as she went back in time, trying to remember what she was doing. “Wait a minute. I did come home that Christmas. And I saw Jarrod and his family, but he didn’t tell me that you two weren’t dating anymore. Nor did he attempt to ask me out.”

  “I can’t believe that. Before we left school for our break, I made him promise that he would fess up about how he felt about you. I can’t believe he chickened out like that.” Shaking her head, Gina then said, “Now everything makes sense.”

  “You’re losing me again.” Toya had been completely caught off guard by the whole conversation. Jarrod had never expressed any interest in her. He treated her like a little sister.

  “All I know is Jarrod changed when he came back to school. He rarely spoke to me, then he started dating all these random women like he needed to prove something to himself. I honestly thought he would get it together once you and he started dating.”

  “We’ve never dated,” Toya practically screamed the words.

  “Wow.” Gina’s eyes widened as she tried to make sense of what she had heard. Then she asked, “Did he ever slow down and get married?”

  Toya shook her head. “Still dating a bunch of big boob women.”

  Gina laughed at that. “I don’t remember if the women he dated in college were big breasted, I just know that there were so many that I eventually stopped counting and started minding my own business.”

  “Same here.” Toya pointed toward Princess. “I even let him turn me into a dog sitter so he could have all his free time for the ladies.”

  “Well, at least you two are friends again.”

  “That doesn’t bother you, does it?”

  “Of course not. I told you, Jarrod and I were never a thing. Believe me, Jarrod was not the love of my life. Sometimes I wish he had been. He has a good heart.”

  The way Gina said that made Toya think that whoever her friend had fallen in love with, the man must have been some kind of monster. Right then she wanted to spill the beans about the monster in her own life.

  Gina looked at the time on her cell phone. “It is getting late. I’ve got to get going.”

  “Don’t be a stranger,” Toya said as she walked her to the door.

  “Same to you. I showed you where my house is, so the next visit is on you.” Just as she was walking out the door, Gina turned back to Toya and said, “I really needed this. So glad I ran into you today. Please don’t ignore my calls this time.”

  They had exchanged phone numbers during their conversation. Both of them had locked each other's contact info in their phones. “I won’t, I promise.”

  6

  “You had company today?” Jarrod asked when he noticed two paper plates on the living room table and a big bowl with a few chips in it.

  Toya’s head swiveled around like she had been caught. “Huh, what?”

  He point
ed at the coffee table while he put the leash on Princess. “You’ve got two plates over there.”

  “Oh yeah, right.” She snapped her finger as if she’d almost forgotten her entire afternoon. “Thanks to Princess, I ran into someone while I was on one of my four walks per day with her.”

  “How did Princess act while you were talking to your neighbor?”

  Toya shrugged. “Princess was peeing when I was tapped on the shoulder. I have to admit, I almost peed right there too. My heart was beating so fast, that if it had been a man standing there when I turned around, I probably would have passed out.”

  “But Princess barked at her, right?”

  Toya shook her head. “She kinda whimpered when I stood there talking too long. She wanted to find her spot to take her dump.”

  “So, you're telling me that somebody approached you on the street, tapped on your shoulder and Princess didn’t even bark at them?” Jarrod couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He bought this dog because they were known protectors.

  “She wasn’t exactly random. I’ve known her for a long time, just haven’t seen her in a while.”

  “Wow!” Jarrod got down on a knee in front Princess and spoke to the dog like she was human. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, don’t we girl?” He turned back to Toya. “I need a t-shirt or sweater that you have worn recently.”

  “Trust me, with those biceps, none of my shirts will fit you.”

  “Hahaha,” he gave her a fake laugh, then with a serious look on his face, he said, “I need the shirt.”

  “Okay, geesh. You don’t have to be so touchy I was just joking.” Toya went into her bedroom and took the t-shirt she wore earlier in the day out of the laundry and handed it to Jarrod.

  “Thanks.” He took the shirt and put it under the dog's nose. “You smell that? That’s Toya?”

  “I don’t have a smell,” Toya said, offended at the notion that she smelled.

  “Everyone has a scent. Yours just happens to be a light florally scent.”

  “I smell like flowers, huh?”

  “You do to me.” He looked up at her. Their eyes locked. Jarrod felt heat like a fire had started at his feet and drifted all the way up to his heart. He was a fool for loving a woman who wanted nothing to do with him. Jarrod turned back to the dog.

  Princess was standing on all fours, Jarrod said, “Sit.” Then helped the dog put her back two legs into a sitting position. “Get me her treats.”

  Toya went into the kitchen and took a bag of doggie treats out of the cabinet and brought them back to Jarrod.

  Princess was once again standing on all fours. Jarrod said, “Sit.” And the dog sat.

  “Oh, my goodness. She did it.” Toya was excited to see that Princess actually listened to commands.

  Jarrod handed her a treat. “Good doggie,” he said as he rubbed the dogs head. He then stood up and stepped away from the dog. Jarrod pointed to the spot in front of him and said, “Come here.”

  Princess trotted over to the spot, Jarrod pointed at. Jarrod then said, “Sit.” And she did. “Good doggie.” He rubbed her head again and handed her another treat.

  “She actually listens. I can’t believe it. Do you know how many times I’ve tried to get her to get off of my house shoes? She lays on them and won’t give them back.”

  “I think she’s just messing with you. Come over here.” Jarrod reached for Toya, she put her hand in his and then stood in front of Princess with him. Jarrod held onto her hand just a moment longer than necessary.

  Toya dropped his hand. “Okay, so what do you want me to do?”

  “Tell her to bark.”

  Toya gave Jarrod a questioning glance. “She’s not going to bark just because I tell her to.”

  “Just try it.”

  “Bark,” Toya said in a lackluster manner.”

  Princess just stared at her.

  “Do it again and be serious with it this time.” He handed her a treat. “Let her see it.”

  “Okayyyy.” Toya playfully shoved Jarrod. Then held up the treat in front of Princess and said, more authoritatively this time, “Bark.”

  Princess barked.

  “Hand her the treat.” Toya tossed the treat in Princess’s mouth. Jarrod rubbed the dog’s back. “Good girl.”

  Toya snapped her finger. “I should have said, good girl to her when I gave her the treat, right?”

  “Yes, you want to reward her with a treat and affirm her with your words and actions when she does something you want her to do. German Shepherds are smart dogs, and they catch on quickly as long as you’re not sending them mix messages.”

  “Yeah, mix messages are a terrible thing,” Toya said as she walked away from Jarrod. She went into her bedroom and rolled her suitcase out. “Well, you have fun with Princess tonight.”

  “I will. And thanks for letting me stay here tonight. My complex is such a stickler on this no pet issue. I just don’t want to lose my deposit when I move out of there next month.”

  “Clean up behind yourself, and I’ll see both of you tomorrow.”

  “Give Tia and Jayden a hug and kiss from me.”

  ~~~

  Holding Jayden in her arms, Toya felt more at peace than she had in the last six months. She was apprehensive about leaving her community where she felt safe, but now she was so glad that she had come. “Look how big she has gotten. My goodness, it seems like it was just yesterday that I was rocking her to sleep, and she felt so tiny in my arms. Now she’s like a butterball.”

  “That's because it wasn’t yesterday. You haven’t seen Jayden in three months.”

  That couldn’t be true. Had she actually let three months go by without seeing her precious niece? What would happen if Robbie got the promotion and they moved all the way to Nashville? She had to do better as a sister and an aunt. “I’m sorry sis, I hadn’t realized that I had let so much time go by.”

  “You just better be glad that Jayden still remembers you,” Tia scolded.

  “You could visit me too, you know?”

  Tia shook her head. “We’re down to one car right now, and with Robbie’s schedule, it’s hard for me to get the car for anything but grocery store runs and doctor’s appointments.”

  “Sounds like y’all are making it work though.”

  “Robbie’s frustrated that he doesn’t earn enough to get me a car, but I told him that while I’m at home with Jayden, I don’t have that many places to go anyway.”

  “How soon would you have to move to Nashville if he gets the job?” Toya hated even the thought of her baby sister and niece moving to Tennessee, but if they are struggling financially and this promotion would help their money situation, then how could she stand in the way.

  “The management position is at his plant. We won’t have to move if he gets the job. But he might have to attend quarterly meetings at headquarters.”

  “That’s even better.” Now, Toya was truly excited for them. She prayed that Robbie received this promotion so he could do everything that was in his heart for his family.

  Tia made green tea for her and Toya and sat a plate of the Toll House cookies that she had baked on the table in front of them.

  “Are those pecan turtle delights?”

  “Girl, you know I got you. When you told me you were spending the night, I picked a pack up after I dropped Robbie off at the airport.”

  Happily munching on a cookie, Toya told her sister, “I haven’t had one of these in months. I keep forgetting to order these cookies.”

  “Why don't you just pick it up at the store when you do your grocery shopping?”

  Toya hesitated for a moment, picking up her tea, she took a sip. Growing up as a church girl, Toya hated lying, so she took a deep breath and admitted, “To tell you the truth, I’ve been having my groceries delivered.”

  “Are you kidding?” Tia’s eyes lit up.

  Toya braced herself for the judgment to come. No one understood why she needed to have her groceries delivered. It wasn�
��t like she had a broken leg or was a senior citizen as Jarrod informed her.

  “My grocery store down the street just started doing delivery. I would love to do that, but I just don’t like the idea of paying the delivery fee, especially when it cost more than the gas I would use to drive over there.”

  Toya didn’t want to get into it, so she changed the subject. “Guess who I ran into today, you’ll never guess.”

  “Well then, go ahead and tell me.”

  “Gina.”

  Tia looked puzzled, then her eyes brightened as she asked, “Your best friend from high school? That, Gina?”

  “You have a good memory. And yes, that Gina. She moved back to town and now lives in the same community as I do.”

  Jayden had fallen to sleep, Tia took her to the bedroom and laid her in her crib. When she came back to the family room with Toya, she said, “So what has Gina been up to?”

  “It sounds like she is doing well in her career. She’s a marketing consulting and has just opened her own firm.”

  “That’s awesome. I always wondered about her and about what happened to the two of you. I mean, y’all had been so close.”

  “Yeah, it was my fault. I was a stupid kid back then. But I am glad that I ran into her. Hopefully, we can become friends again.” Toya wanted to tell Tia what Gina had said about Jarrod coming home for Christmas during their junior year of college to confess his love for her. But since it never happened, Toya felt silly mentioning it. Still, she wondered why Jarrod told Gina that if he didn’t plan on doing it?

  7

  When Toya arrived home the next day, Jarrod was still training Princess. At first, she thought everything he was doing was cute. He was just a dog owner trying to show off his pup. But then he told her that one of his friends was on their way over and he needed her to allow him through the gate.

  “So, now you’re having company at my place?”

  “Nothing like that. I need to train Princess on something, and I need a stranger for this.”

  When the man arrived. Toya buzzed him through the gate. She expected Jarrod to open the door and let the man in, but instead when the man stepped to the door, Jarrod turned to Princess.