by Mona
business sense, Andre’s capital, with Desmond’s connections, Aeikan Sports and Marketing was born.
“Uuhh, so you just forgot we were behind you, huh? You see my brother and all else is forgotten.” Ava Aeikan walked in to the lounge area and sat in between Andre and Desmond as she hugged them both.
“You and Angie walk too slow,” Arianna smiled at Ava. Ava laughed as Angeline walked in and hugged Andre.
“No heifer, don’t even try it. You see your man and you run like someone is trying to kidnap his ass or something,” Angeline joked as she made eye contact with Desmond.
“Shit, maybe they were,” Andre laughed as he kissed on Arianna’s neck.
“Boy, don’t knowbody want you,” Angeline responded with a smirk as she sat in the lounge chair across from them. Everyone laughed as Angeline turned her attention to Desmond. “Hello Desmond, how are you?”
Desmond looked over at Angeline as he drank from his corona. “Peachy, and yourself?” Desmond responded in a sarcastic tone. Everyone busted out laughing except for Angeline. Desmond enjoyed teasing her for the simple fact he always suspected she secretly crushed on him, but would pretend otherwise.
Angeline rolled her eyes as she turned her attention to Andre. “So, Dre, will you have A.J. out of the house by noon so I can set up? That’s the time I told my crew to arrive at your house.”
“Yup. Ri and I leaving early in the morning to head home, so I say by eleven I will have him out of the house. I told Mama Ro to have him ready.” Andre explained.
“Okay, great. Also, next week, Malachi’s welcome home dinner. We didn’t finish working out the details… so, I was thinking…”
“Wait, wait, and hold up,” Desmond interjected as everyone looked his way. “You having A.J.’s birthday party and Mal’s welcome home dinner at your house?” Desmond looked at Andre.
“Yeah, fool. Now what the hell is your problem?”
Andre shook his head. Leave it to Desmond to make things difficult. Desmond
straightened himself up from leaning on the couch as he flagged down a waitress.
“My problem is, I’m not driving to no damn Marlboro two weekends in a row. I don’t understand how there are mansions around this way, and your black ass chooses to go buy one all the way in Marlboro, New Jersey.” Desmond edged on as a waitress approached them.
“That’s what my baby wanted. Whatever she wants, she gets. Yo, you always have a problem with some shit. Why don’t you get your driver to drive your ass if you don’t feel like driving.” Andre asked.
“Champagne all around,” Desmond announced to the waitress as he handed her a hundred dollar bill.
“My driver is on vacation and It’s not just about the driving, I just don’t want to be around there two weeks in a damn row, besides, your neighbor has one more time to look at me the wrong way and she’s going to have a serious problem.”
“Whatever Des, Ms. Inez never gives us any problems or looks at us the wrong way. You have issues,” Arianna retorted as she rolled her eyes at Desmond.
“Well, of course she doesn’t give you any problems, you as bougie as they come, and your husband over here is partially one of y’all, so you two are good.” Desmond responded as everyone laughed.
“Fuck you, nigga,” Andre laughed as the waitress appeared with five glasses of
champagne.
Standing up, Desmond picked up each glass off of the tray and handed one to Andre, Arianna, Ava and Angeline, while grabbing one for himself. “Okay, before we make a toast let’s settle this. I’ll be there at A.J.’s birthday party tomorrow at your house, but Malachi’s dinner will be at my house.” Desmond suggested as Angeline frowned.
“Wait a minute. I’m catering both events and I already have both events thoughtfully planned out and what I have planned for Malachi’s dinner requires a grand dining room like Ari and Dre’s. From what I remember, you live in a condo and your dining room is only half the size of theirs. It just won’t work.” Angeline said with frustration as she glared at him.
“Well, first of all, I’m glad you remember that I live in a condo and what the inside looks like, which means you’ve been thinking about a brotha,” Desmond teased with a smirk as Angeline did her best to appear unbothered. “Second of all, I just purchased me a little something. It might not be as lavish as mister fancy over here, but I think it’s suitable for all of your catering needs,” he continued as he points at Andre.
Rolling her eyes, Angeline tried to play it cool but underneath she was sweating bullets. Secretly, she held a deep attraction for Desmond’s cocky and arrogant self, but she refused to ever admit it or let him know. She had done a good job at writing off men within the past two years and since doing so, she never felt so relaxed. She refused to let a silly attraction interrupt that. Finally realizing everyone was staring at her while waiting for her answer, she pulled her self together.
“Okay, well, I’ll need to come by Monday or Tuesday to check it out so I can get a feel how I want to set everything up.”
“Aight cool. You get my number from Dre or Ari and we can make that happen. So, now back to the toast, because I’m tired as hell and ready to get out of here,” Desmond raised his glass. Everyone followed his lead as they raised their glasses as well, “Aight, I would like to toast to family, friends and to life. Also, to our boy Malachi, after twenty years he’s finally coming home. Let’s drink to that! Cheers!” They yelled together as they tapped their glasses and drank their champagne.
Chapter Three
Andre & Arianna’s Home, Marlboro, N.J.
“Hey mom,” Andre Junior greeted Arianna as he hugged and kissed her cheek.
“Happy Birthday, baby!” Arianna shrieked as she hugged and kissed Andre
Junior all over his face.
“Uugh! C’mon, mom! I hate when you do that!” He wiped his face with the back of his hands.
Arianna and Andre laughed as they watched him being extra dramatic. Andre Romero Aeikan II was the spitting image of Andre with his butterscotch skin tone, thick eye brows, soft, wavy hair and full lips. He did however inherit Arianna’s light brown eyes and beautiful smile. When asked what his nationality was due to his unique features, he would proudly reply Haitain, Italian and African American. With Arianna’s Haitain background and Andre’s mixture of Italian and African American, Andre Junior was well aware of his background.
At age ten, he was highly intelligent and quite charming which were traits he inherited from both his parents.
“Boy, knock it off, and Happy Birthday.” Andre grabbed Andre Junior in a light choke hold. Finally letting go, Andre mushed him on his head.
“Stop, dad! I just got my haircut! Do you like it?” He patted his waves down.
“Yeah, I like it. Who told you to match my fly?” Andre smiled.
“Actually, you matching my fly, but, oops… you didn’t hear that from me,” he did his little two step dance as he took off running towards their house. Arianna laughed as Andre linked his hands with hers.
“That boy crazy,” he kissed Arianna on the lips. Once the kiss ended
they entered their beautiful home.
“Well, he takes after his dad. He behaves the exact same way you did when you were ten,” she laughed. Andre also laughed remembering meeting Arianna at the age of ten. He sometimes found it hard to believe he was now married to her and had a ten year old of their own.
“Hey Dad, when school is over next week can I stay in New York with you and mom?” Andre Junior asked.
“Boy, did you forget that school ended two weeks ago and your behind is in summer school?” Andre and Arianna walked into the kitchen.
“I know, but I will be done next week. C’mon, it’s boring here. I wanna spend the summer with my friends, please?” Andre Junior whined.
They laughed at their son. They were very well aware that they spoiled Andre Junior, yet, they still tried to balance it out and not overdue it. They gave him the best of everything, bo
th Andre and Arianna knew what it was like to have everything and to have nothing. Arianna lived a life of privilege in her birthplace, Cabaret, Haiti until her father Joseph St. Jean died of a massive heart attack when she was only ten years old. Arianna and her mom relocated to the states where they started a new life in a housing project called Grover Manor in Elizabeth, NJ, where she eventually met Malachi and Andre. Life was a struggle for years. Arianna’s mom worked hard to provide for her daughter, but it was never the way it was in Haiti.
Andre, on the other hand, went from not having much to having it pretty good. Andre was seven years old when his mom Justine met and married his step father, Romero ‘Muse’ Aeikan, a local hustler who owned a few liquor stores around town. Romero gave the best to Andre and his mom. They never wanted much for anything. Romero loved Andre as if he was his own son and when he married Justine, he gave Andre his name, Romero as well, and he changed his last name from Justine’s maiden name, Cirelli to Aeikan. Romero loved and raised Andre as his own after Justine passed away after giving birth to their daughter Ava. Andre was there by Romeo’s death bed when he passed away from prostate cancer when Andre was nineteen years old and Ava was nine years old.
“So, can I?” Andre Junior asked.
“Okay. Just as long as you get an A in your summer math class, and since it is your birthday. By the way, go finish getting ready because your dad is taking you to breakfast for your birthday; just the two of you. Okay?” Arianna confirmed as she smiled at him.
“Aight, bet,” Andre Junior kissed Arianna on the cheeks as he ran off to finish getting dressed.
Arianna laughed. “That boy is too smooth, just like his daddy.”
Andre wrapped his arms around her waist. “Thank you,” he whispered in her ears as he hugged her.
Laughing, Arianna wrapped her arms around his neck. “Here we go.”
“Here we go, what?” Andre looked at her.
“You always say, thank you for my son whenever you get sentimental.” Arianna said to him.
Andre laughed. “Well, shit, that’s how I feel. Matter of fact, when you giving me another baby? I want a beautiful little girl who looks and act just like you.”
Well, it’s not like we haven’t been trying,” Arianna reminded him with a slick grin.
“Well, we need to try harder, especially now we know for sure there’s nothing wrong with neither one of us since we had ourselves checked out. So we’re going to keep trying, okay?” Andre hugged her.
“Yes, daddy,” she whispered in his ears.
“Shit, now here you go, you know I go crazy when you call me that. Makes me want to take you upstairs and do some damage,” he said as his hands slid down to her backside.
“Boy, you not about to do nothing. We have a party going on later on this afternoon. It’s hard to believe you two don’t have ten babies running around here with how damn freaky you are.” Rolonda James entered the room.
Andre and Arianna laughed as they quickly pulled apart. Despite the fact they were grown and married, they still felt like school kids doing something wrong when they were around Rolonda .
“Hey, ma,” Andre greeted her as he kissed her cheek. Arianna did the same.
“Hey baby,” she replied as she hugged Andre in return.
“Thanks for staying with A.J. for the week. My mom will be here today and staying with him this week coming up. After next week he’ll be staying in New York with us,” Arianna announced as she hugged her as well.
“Oh hush, I’m glad to do it. When I’m home all I do is run around for those church people. I’m glad to get away.” Rolonda smiled. Rolonda James had been a second mom to Andre since the age of seven when he and Malachi met and became friends. She then became a second mom to Arianna as well. Andre had taken great care of her in all these years Malachi was away. They were a family and she loved taking care of Andre Junior.
“Well, we’re grateful anyway. So, check it, I’m going to take this boy to breakfast while you ladies and Angie set up. I’ll see you two later,” he kissed Arianna on the lips and left out of the kitchen.
Chapter Four
Dr. Field’s Office, New York City
“Hello, Arianna I’m Dr. Oliva Field and I will be your new therapist. Thank you for requesting me,” Dr. Field’s smiled at Arianna as they shook hands and proceed to take a seat on the brown leather chair.
“No, thank you, you come highly recommended. After my therapist Elise
Sheppard passed away, I didn’t want to be bothered with any one else so I spent the last four months with no counseling, until my cousin gave me your business card. She’s in the catering business and one of her client’s mentioned you and well, here we are,” Arianna smiled in return.
“Well, I’m glad you chose me. Now I wanted to start real quick with a question. I was looking over your file and I noticed about eight years ago in addition to your one on one sessions with Dr. Sheppard, you and your husband Andre Aeikan started seeing her for couple’s therapy. Now, although I did not know Ms. Sheppard well, I was very familiar with her professionally, and I knew she didn’t specialize in couple’s therapy. I’m just curious to know why she made an exception in your case? I mean, only if you are comfortable with discussing it,” Dr. Field said as she wrote in her note pad.
Clearing her throat, Arianna prepared herself to take a stroll down memory lane. After seeing a therapist for the last twenty years, discussing the past had become easier and less hurtful. Thanks to Dr. Sheppard, she had conquered her demons. One would say she was cured and no longer needed therapy, however, that was farthest from the truth. Victims of sexual abuse are never really cured. Definition of cure is: restore to health or normality, and these victims never go back to normality.
In Arianna’s case, she appeared normal. She was beautiful, intelligent, successful, and lives this luxurious life with her handsome husband and her son. Outside looking in, she looked as if she had not a care in the world, but she was the prime example of never judge a book by its cover.
Although she had conquered her demons, there were left over scars. Many don’t get to see the insecure Arianna, the self-conscious and sometimes sexually challenged Arianna. Although she and Andre seemed to have a pretty healthy sex life through the years, there have been some obstacles and she at times felt some what inadequate. Despite these scars, she functioned quite well. Her family kept her sane and Andre and A.J. were her world.
“I don’t mind discussing it,” Arianna revealed as she smiled. “Well, viewing my file, I know you are aware of my history and the cause of me coming to therapy in the first place.
“Yes, I am,” Dr. Field replied with a nod as she continued writing in her notepad.
“Well, as a result of coming to Dr. Sheppard since I was fifteen, she became a friend in addition to being my therapist. As my friend I would confide in her outside our sessions. To make a long story short, eight years ago, I discovered Andre was cheating on me. I actually caught him in the act and was very hurt and upset. I even left him. It was quite traumatizing. I packed mine and our son’s belongings and just left. We were separated for six months. After six months of constant begging, apologies, gifts, trips and more apologies, he proposed. A month after the proposal, I finally accepted and went back to him only on the condition that we would attend couple’s therapy. Since Dr. Sheppard was my therapist and she was the only one I trusted, she agreed to counsel us. We were married four months later and we have been attending couples counseling ever since.” Arianna explained as she partially smiled at the memory. What started out as painful experience turned out to be one of the happiest moments of her life.
“Oh, wow,” Dr. Field smiled. “So, how have things been since you’ve been married? Are there any more issues of infidelity?”
Arianna sighed as she played with her hair. A habit she’s formed when she got nervous. “Truthfully, not that I know of. Either he has been faithful to me the last seven years or he has done an excellent job at hiding it if he
is cheating.” Arianna admitted.
“I see. Well, what does your heart tells you, and are you happy?” Dr. Field asked.
“Well, I’ve been real happy. He does love me. I feel that. As far as him being faithful? My heart has given me mixed signals here and there, but that can just be my insecurities playing tricks on me,” Arianna confessed. She continued playing with her hair. Truth is, many things played on her insecurities and Andre’s love was one of them.
The therapist nodded as she wrote more of whatever it was she was writing in her notepad. Once she was done writing, she looked up and smiled. “Well, It looks like our time is just about up. If you don’t mind, next time, I would like to discuss more on what happened to you when you were fifteen, and also, I would like to discuss Malachi James. Will that be okay?”
Arianna forced a smile. “Sure, that will be fine.”
Later That Night
New York City
Arianna turned off the kitchen lights and made her way through her and Andre’s penthouse. She walked up the stairs and headed to their bedroom. She loved this penthouse. It wasn’t as extravagant as their ten bedrooms and seven bathroom home in Marlboro, NJ, but it was just as lavish. As she reached their bedroom, Arianna stood in the doorway and watched Andre with lust filled eyes. After seventeen years, Andre was still as handsome and sexy as ever. He taught her everything she knew about intimacy and love-making. He taught her how to embrace her sexuality and the difference between a good touch and a bad touch.
It took a long time before she allowed him to touch her and get close. Andre broke down those barriers. He was patient, loving and attentive. The night they made love for the first time was the night she fell in love. She was an emotional wreck but never once did he get frustrated or agitated with her. Andre helped her come to terms with all the negative events from her past and for that she would always love him.
