It's Complicated 2

by Sophia Latriece

  My eating habits still weren’t normal, which was starting to concern me because I had never had that problem before. I figured it was stress related so I went about my life as normal as I could, given the circumstance. I hadn’t been back to work since everything happened and I honestly didn’t see myself going back any time soon. Especially with the new information that I received from my dad about him and Jake’s plan to get us back together. I needed a break from my life and I needed to figure out a plan; and fast.

  The coming weekend was our family reunion which couldn’t have happened at a worse time. Why? I was sure that word was out about Jake and what took place. Jake was family. Everybody would want to see him, especially my cousin Brock who had moved out to California after High School. I could only imagine what the weekend would be like once he caught wind of what Rico did to Jake. To add icing on the cake, my fiancé was Rico’s cousin who I would be introducing to the rest of the family. I thought about not going, but I knew neither dad nor Kyle would let me skip out like that.

  The closer it got to the weekend, the sicker I got. Both literally and figuratively. Darrin made me go to the doctor to have some blood work done. Since my mom suffered with sickle cell, he was always on me about making sure that I took care of myself. The only other time I had been sick was when I was pregnant and I knew that wasn’t the case. At least I had hoped.

  I explained to the doctor that I had been under a lot of stress just to give her a head’s up on what was going on in my life. My blood tests came back normal; my blood pressure was normal. Everything was normal according to all the tests that she ran. Her diagnosis was to get some rest and stay hydrated.

  6

  The family pool party was at my dad’s house. As much as I didn’t want to go, I knew I had to. Darrin and I drove separate cars. He said he was going to be late getting home, and he wanted to make sure I got a chance spend time with my family. Sounded like some bull to me but I went with it. When I walked through the door the first person I saw was Brock.

  “Hey fam”, he yelled from the kitchen, “what it do? Where you been man; I been waiting for you all day”?

  “Hey cousin”, I replied walking over to give him a hug.

  “Where your man”?

  “Oh, he’s on the way. He got off work late”.

  “Oh, yeah”.

  “Yeah”, I laughed because I knew it was coming.

  “You know your boo outside”.

  “Who would that be, Brock”?

  “Who would that be? Gul stop. You know who that would be. I’m chilling tonight though. We all good. Can’t wait to meet my new cousin in law”.

  We walked out to the patio and there was Jake sitting next to Kyle who was on grill duty. Dad was on the far side of the lawn socializing, while a host of my little cousins and other relatives were in the pool. After greeting some of my family members, I made my way over to the grill with Kyle and his partners in crime.

  “Kyle, I know you put my steaks up man”. I said as I approached.

  Kyle always separated my steaks from everybody else’s because he had a secret sauce that nobody knew about but us and we kept it that way.

  “You know I got you baby girl”, he replied.

  “Jacob”, I said acknowledging his presence.

  “Kammie”, he replied.

  “Man. Y’all need to stop playing”, Brock spoke up, “Y’all know y’all in love. Y’all want to be together. Y’all always gone have ties so just do it man. Y’all making me sick”.

  “Broderick Amir Lawson, I would appreciate it if you would stay out of my business”, I said to him, “Jake and I are friends, that’s all. I am happily engaged and will be getting married soon”.

  “Who are you trying to convince? Me or you? You need to stop trippin’ Kam. God brought y’all back together. Think about it. What if this was His way of stopping you from making a big mistake. Everything happens for a reason, right? And tell me this, y’all were supposed to have been married; what stopped you? Jake getting shot had nothing to do with your wedding. You didn’t get hurt. Your fiancé didn’t get hurt. So, tell me, Kam, why y’all ain’t married”?

  “Broderick, I said leave it alone”.

  “No, Kamerai Jai Lawson, I will not leave it alone. You’re my lil cousin and I’m supposed to protect you. Jake loves you girl. That man risked his life trying to be with you. He came all the way from New York just to see you. He flew you all the way to New York just to see YOU”.

  “No Brock, he was being deceitful. Him and your uncle had their own agenda. They set me up. I hate when y’all do that. Always think y’all know what’s best for me. Well, how about all y’all just leave me the hell alone”.

  I was too outdone. That was the very reason that I didn’t want to be there. I went in the house, up to my bedroom and locked the door. It was too much. What angered me the most was that Brock was absolutely right. I had thought about it, I just never said anything because I wanted what I wanted. I was engaged to be married and truthfully, what happened with Jake didn’t stop our wedding. It was my idea. I said that maybe we should wait until things cooled down. On top of that, we weren’t even having a big wedding. It was just a few of our close friends and family in a small venue. I didn’t even have bridesmaids.

  I laid across my bed and stared at the ceiling contemplating my life and how jacked up it had become. Just as I thought I had it figured out, I heard a knock at the door. I had made up in my mind that if it was Jake I was going to push him back down the steps.

  I opened the door and there standing in front of me was my tall, sun kissed, chocolate drop. I fell in his arms. He carried me over to the bed, laid me down, and held me.

  “I was thinking”, he said, “We should just do it. I mean, we already have the license, we’ve already lost money on the venue. Let’s just do it. Let’s get married, Kam”.

  “But, we are getting married”, I replied, “we said we were gonna wait until everything calmed down first though”.

  “Kamerai, I want to marry you. As far as I’m concerned that situation is dead. I saw him outside. I spoke to him. I know he’s y’all family, but I’m your husband. You think I don’t know what’s going on? You gotta make a decision, baby”.

  “I’ve made my decision, Darrin. Let’s get married next week. Just me and you. That’s all that matters anyway, right”?

  “Right”.

  In my head I was thinking all wrong. Dead wrong. I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to marry Darrin anymore. I wasn’t sure if Jake coming back was fate or not. What if this was God’s way of stopping me from making a big mistake? If it was His way of getting my attention, He would have to be way more upfront than that. Darrin was serious about getting married, so, if God didn’t want it to happen, He would definitely need to do something and fast. I needed a sign, a burning bush if you will; a ram in the bush even.

  Although I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to go through with the marriage, one thing I was sure of was that I needed to get to the bottom of Darrin’s unusual behavior. I told him about the conversation that I had with his mom and he did not deny anything that she said. He said that seeing Jake like that made him think of his cousin and he used the same coping method that he had used in times past. He confessed that he had done cocaine a few times following the shooting but assured me that he was done with it.

  I didn’t believe it one bit. At the same time, it wasn’t reason enough for me to be done with him. I loved him and I was willing to help him get through his storm. I mean, because that’s what people do when they are in love with someone, right? Given this new information I knew that Darrin needed me and there was no way that I was going to leave him with all that he was going through. So, there it was, I had made my decision. I was going to marry Darrin no matter what. Jake and I were over!

  7

  The weekend passed right on by, and Monday came in with a force. Literally. I woke up to excruciating pain in my abdomen. I had never felt a pain like that befo
re. It was like someone punched me in the stomach, followed by a needle sticking me and then being cut with dull scissors. I could hardly walk.

  The pain was so unbearable, that I was taken to the examination room as soon as I got there. The nurses were poking on me, rubbing me in places that I didn’t think they should have been rubbing. A male doctor came in and asked if I could give him a urine sample and I side eyed him so hard. It’s funny now but it wasn’t then. I told him if he thought I was getting out of that bed in as much pain that I was in; here comes Jesus on a pogo stick. I think he got my drift because he went and got a bed pan for me to go in. They took enough blood from me to donate to a third world country. Darrin had been in the waiting room while they were trying to fix me.

  After about thirty minutes, Kyle came back to check on me. I asked for Darrin and according to Kyle, he received a phone and had to leave right away. He told Kyle to call him as soon as they found out something.

  You know, I’ve always told myself that if I ever got a chance to start my life over, I’d do so in a place where no one knows me, can’t get access to me, and would never think to look for me. I had been telling myself this for years, jokingly but seriously at the same time. Never in a million years did I think that I’d really have to do it; or get to do it for that matter.

  That morning was the last time I’d seen Darrin, in person. He called Kyle to tell him not to let me come to the house. He told him that whenever I was released to take me to his house and that he’d call me later. He never did tell Kyle exactly what happened. The hospital ended up releasing me the next morning. According to my diagnosis I was severely dehydrated and stressed. My doctor put me on bed rest until further notice. I can’t exactly say that I completely obeyed those orders.

  Kyle did exactly as he was told and took me to his house once I was released from the hospital. I was laying on the sofa in his den half asleep when the news came on. I never watch the news, but this time I couldn’t turn away. I could not believe what I had just seen. I made Kyle take me to the airport and I got on the first flight leaving out of the country and I’ve been here ever since.

  It’s funny how life plays out sometimes. Just when you think things are going one way they take a b-line and go a completely different route. That all happened one year ago today. One thing that I can say is that for once I am finally happy. I feel free and I’m able to enjoy my life. I speak a new language now; French. Sitting here in my quaint little apartment experiencing life and living it to the fullest.

  As for Darrin and I. We never got back together. Darrin had gone back to his old ways. Actually, he never stopped. The real estate business and the trucking company were just a cover. Yes, he made good money doing both, but he had never really left the drug life alone. Seeing him and my house on the news that day was my burning bush; my way of escape. I guess it’s true what they say. Sometimes, drug dealers are just as addicted as the drug addicts. Darrin is such a good guy and I wish him the best.

  You know, life doesn’t always give you do overs, so when it does, it’s in your best interest to take advantage of the opportunity. I can honestly say that my life isn’t as complicated anymore. I think I actually understand love now. I understand what it means to be love, what it means to give love and what it means to simply, LOVE.

  I used to talk about my plan of escape when I was a little girl. I said that I would move to Paris, become a Frenchman, and maybe even change my name. I’m happy to say that I have done them all. I have a daughter now. She’s three months old; Jai Kyle. She’s already a daddy’s girl and rightfully so. She’s his twin; her rich caramel skin, thick, curly hair and big brown eyes. Yeah, I guess I left out me being pregnant as part of my diagnosis. Which explains why I was not eating well and was always nauseous.

  I came to Paris to start over and leave my old life behind. I can’t say that I was shocked when once again, an unexpected guest showed up at my doorstep. This time, I am so glad that he did. I am so excited to say that I am happily married to the man of my dreams. The one who was meant for me from the beginning of time.

  Life is a journey and I definitely plan on enjoying this ride forever. I can honestly say that my life isn’t so complicated anymore. It’s peaceful now and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m with my soul mate. I guess it was fate because after all, his soul can’t mate without mine…..

  Au Revoir!