Cry For You_A Second Chance Romance

by Shaniel Watson

  Then he said, “Don’t you miss Jacob’s mommy? You were friends. Jacob and me are friends again. Maybe you could be, too. When you are, it makes everyone happy because then we have more time to play together. Who wouldn’t want more time playing with their best friend, if it makes them happy?”

  Out of the mouth of babes. Gotta love this kid. He’s so fucking right. Instead of pulling up in front of The Office, we’re in front of the restaurant. It’s early evening, and the dinner rush hasn’t made it in yet, so it’s kinda empty. The waitress I’m talking to tells me Lacey will be out in a minute. I ask her if she could give us the corner booth at the back, and if it was possible, could she send Lacey out to take our orders, but not tell her it was me. That we want to surprise her.

  She smiled and winked at me, quickly agreeing. I only asked she did that because I wasn’t sure if she would come over if she knew who she was going to wait on.

  She walks over to our table, pad in hand, a smile on her face, ready to take our order. Her eyes meet mine, and the smile falters but quickly reappears when Jackson cheerfully says, “Hi, Jacob’s Mom!”

  “Hi, Jackson.” She smiles at him. “How’re you doing?”

  “Good. My dad and I want to know if we can come over to play with Jackson and you?”

  She looks at me, brows raised. “Is that what we’re calling it?”

  I shrug with a smile. “If that’s what you want, as long as you let us come over and play.” I wink, and she blushes.

  Yeah, we might have a chance.

  “Do you think you can get a break and sit with us for a minute?”

  “Give me a minute.”

  She goes to the front and speaks to the waitress. Her boss, Sam, stops her to say something then gives me a look that, if I’m not reading wrong, says I’m going to kick your ass. He pats her on the shoulder then she’s back sitting across from me, next to Jackson.

  “I heard what you did today. Thank you for sticking up for Jacob,” she says to Jackson.

  He smiles. “You’re welcome. Jackson and I are best friends again.”

  “I’m happy for that. You two make a good team.”

  “They do,” I say, looking at her, and she looks at me.

  “I’m happy you helped Jacob, but I don’t want you to get into trouble either. Hurting other people physically is wrong. Do you understand?”

  His smile loses some of its shine. “I understand. My mom and dad had a long talk with me. A loooong one,” he says making us chuckle.

  “Can I ask you something?” he says to her, turning serious.

  “Sure.”

  “Why does my Daddy have your name on his skin?”

  “Jackson,” I groan. If he asked me, I would have told him.

  “It’s okay, Landon,” she says with a nod, giving her full attention to my son. “A long time ago, before your daddy had you and before I had Jacob, and before he knew your mommy, we were friends.”

  “Like me and Jacob?”

  “Almost.”

  He cocks his head to the side. “Why did you stop being friends?”

  “Life happened. We changed and grew apart. He moved away.”

  “Like my mommy and daddy?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “I thought my dad was going to move away and leave us too.”

  “Jacob, listen to me. Your daddy loves you more than anything in this whole world. He would never leave you. I’m sure of it, just as I’m sure of how much I love Jacob. I would never, ever leave him. You’re the most important thing to him and your mother. You will always come first in their lives, no matter how many new people come in and out of it.”

  He looks up at me with questioning eyes. “Really?”

  “Really,” I say, voice shaky at what was revealed from a seemingly innocent conversation.

  “Really,” Lacey says, hand on his back, the other on her chest. “Cross my heart, never to tell a lie.” He nods, smiling, and she asks, “Can I have a hug?” He nods again, and she squeezes him. “Thank you for being such a good friend to Jacob. Can we be friends too?”

  “Yes! I like you.”

  “Thank you.” She lets him go and tells him she’s going to order him a cheeseburger with fries, and chocolate cake if he wants. Of course, he says yes. We sit until his food arrives, then move to the next both to talk.

  I hold my hands out to her on the table asking her to hold on to me. She looks at them. Scattered emotions blowing over her face, I say, “Please. Take a chance on me and step out on faith that I would never hurt you intentionally. Faith that my love for you runs deep as the love for my son. Please.”

  She places her hands in mine, and I hold on. “You said you needed someone who was going to stand up for you and your son, without being divided. Whose loyalties aren’t split between two families. Maybe I wasn’t ready to give you that completely before, but I am now. Give us another chance. I promise to put you first above all others. I will never leave your side, no matter how turbulent and disastrous this life gets. We will weather the storm together, ride it out hand in hand, as a united front of love. That is my promise to you. You, Jacob, and Jackson will be my world.”

  I hold on to her hands with all the hope and expectation of a man on death row, about to find out the verdict of his last appeal. The one that will determine if he will have an extended stay of life, a second chance to breathe, live.

  I wait and wait. And wait. To the point, I feel as if I’m going to burst out of my skin until I hear the word she made me suffer for.

  “Yes.”

  Holy shit. The relief of one word propels me out of my seat, pulling her into my arms. “I love you. I never stopped loving you.”

  “I love you,” she says in my ear, arms around my neck.

  I hold her face in my hands, so she knows the rest. Knows I mean every word I said. “I moved out of the house. I filed for divorce two days ago. Bree has already agreed to joint custody, and if all goes well, in about five months our divorce will officially be final.”

  A breathtaking smile spreads across her face, and it’s damn beautiful. “Are you all right with this? Is Jackson?” Doubt threatens to clouds her smile.

  “We talked to him. We are all good.”

  “Yes, we are.” She holds my face, bestowing the most heart-stopping kiss on me, blocking out everything around us, so much so we didn’t realize the little gathering around us until the applause and cheers started.

  Reluctantly I pull away, and she shyly tucks her head against my neck. “I’m sorry about them.”

  “I don’t mind. Every time we kiss, it’s like our first time, and we deserve a round of applause.”

  Bree and I decided if this was going to work smoothly with the kids, we would all have to get along. The kids would need to see this firsthand. We wouldn’t have to be friends, but we could be cordial and respectful of each other. I was apprehensive at first, but Landon and I talked about it, and I decided to go over to her house, and Bree and I took the boys to the park. After the initial awkwardness, we got right to it, there on the park bench.

  “He has your name written across his heart, Lacey, literally. I’m not angry with you. Jealous? Sure. You had something from him I never had.”

  “What’s that?”

  “His heart. He’s a good man and a good father; I can admit the truth even with our differences. His time with me was temporary. Then he found you again, or I should say our sons found each other.” She smiles. “I’m not going to go into hysterics with you. No need for the drama. It is what it is.” She looks at our sons playing with the other kids. “I got what most women still want: husband, child, a home. I didn’t pressure him for any of it. He gave me those things. What I want to know is, what makes you so unforgettable? Why did you break up, if your love was that special?”

  “He didn’t tell you?” I ask, shocked, eyes still trained on the boys.

  “No. He refused. Discussions of you were off-limits. I left it alone.”

  I thin
k about it. If I want to tell her. If I want to open up myself and my son to yet another person.

  “I think you owe me that, since it looks like you’ll be heading off with my soon to be ex-husband, and you’ll be picking up where you left off as college sweethearts.”

  She absolutely needs to know the truth. “No, I don’t owe you an explanation, but you probably need to know the truth. So you know how hard this is, especially for Landon to be stepping into Jacob’s life, being the male role model in his life. Assuming the role as a father figure.”

  I wave to my son and watch him laugh, happy, without a care in the world. That makes my heart sing with joy.

  “I was raped. He couldn’t handle it.” She gasps, hands covering her mouth. “Not that he couldn’t—I found out I was pregnant as a result of the rape, and I decided to keep the baby. He couldn’t handle that. That was Jacob.”

  “Oh my God, Lacey. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. If I did, I wouldn’t—”

  I stop her, because I’ve heard a lot of apologies from people who had nothing to do with it. The only one I should have gotten never came. I wouldn’t want it, if it ever did. “It’s fine. It is now, but back then it was a disaster. My whole life was wrecked. I lost everything in me.”

  I tell her the entire story from begging to end.

  “Mr. Stanton, are you sure?”

  “Yes. We were kissing, and just as I was about to enter, she stopped me. She changed her mind. She didn’t want her boyfriend to find out. I said okay. Pulled up my pants and left. Didn’t see her again till she left the party. There is a house full of people who can verify where I was. They have,” he says smugly.

  “So you are absolutely sure there was no penetration? You didn’t enter her body at any time during the night? Just to be clear, that’s what you are saying?”

  “That’s what I’ve said. We didn’t have sex that night. She wanted me to stop, and I did.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “You can keep asking; my answer won’t change.”

  “Your Honor,” my lawyer says.

  “Mr. Stanton, please answer the question.”

  “I’ll repeat it again, just in case you’ve forgotten, Mr. Stanton.” My lawyer smiles at him, looking straight into his eyes. “You did not enter her body at any time during the night? Oral, manual, or penile-vaginal intercourse?”

  “Yes. I’m sure. I am not her attacker. She has the wrong guy.”

  “Mmm...” She walks back to her desk and opens a file. “You’re a religious man. Do you believe in miracles, Mr. Stanton?”

  “No.”

  “Your Honor,” his lawyer interrupts. “Where is prosecution going with this?”

  “I promise this relates to the case, Your Honor.”

  “Proceed.”

  “No miracles. Do you believe in odds and statistics?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “I have some here.”

  “Objection.” His lawyer rises.

  “To what?” my lawyer says.

  “Where is she going with this?”

  “Please bear with me, Your Honor, I’m getting to the point right now.” To the absolute chagrin of his lawyer, the judge allows her to continue. “Like I was saying, you claim no penetration occurred while you were with my client, Ms. McQueen.” She looks at the papers in her hands. “Statics don’t lie, Mr. Stanton. Do you know the statistic for a virtual stranger attacking a victim is 12%? That’s surprisingly low, wouldn’t you say, Mr. Stanton?”

  “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had a reason to look it up.”

  “It is, compared to the likelihood of being attacked by a person you know: an acquaintance or friend, which is 82%. Pretty high, wouldn’t you say?” He shrugs his shoulder nonchalantly. “Let’s compare that to the odds of being impregnated without penetration or ejaculation. Impossible, says every expert I’ve spoken to. We must have a miracle, which you do not believe in, because ny client is, in fact, pregnant with your child.”

  He explodes, standing up, unleashing the temper he’s been skillfully hiding beneath a wealth of money and his family name. “She’s lying! That’s not my kid! She’s not pregnant. This is a trick.”

  His lawyers make a fuss while the judge orders him to sit back down, demanding that his lawyers to get their client under control. After a brief word with our lawyers, the judge lets my lawyer continue with a stern warning.

  “I have more facts which don’t lie, Mr. Stanton. Match. 99.9% match. You are undoubtedly a DNA match for the fetus being carried by a woman you claim penetration or ejaculation did not occur with. Do you know what the statics are on that? I’ll tell you, but they don’t lie.”

  His face turns beet-red, looking at me, boiling with anger. My lawyer turns to me and says, “Would you please stand, Lacey?” Shaking, head down, I rise. “Could you please open your coat for us?”

  Shaking fingers, faced with a room of strangers and my attacker staring down at me, I do. Taking deep breaths, counting over and over again…123…123…until my jacket is off, and my bulging stomach can be seen by everyone, a secret no more .

  “Thank you, Lacey. You may sit. This is how I see it: she rebuffed you and your advances one too many times. You were seething mad. Outraged. How dare she reject you once again, insulting you? You couldn’t let it go. You were going to show her who was in charge. You followed her that night, attacked her, ripped away her dignity.

  “You demeaned her in one of the most horrific ways possible for a man, woman, or child. Physically, she will heal. Mentally, she will never be the same again. She will have the scars no one else but she can see and feel. Her life and her peace of mind and security in a world she has to walk through every day and night are gone. All because you couldn’t stand rejection. How dare she tell you no?

  “This was a violent, vicious crime, which deserves the maximum penalty of time served. This young woman will never get back what was lost that night. But you can give her something no one else can, that is invaluable: justice, and peace of mind, knowing her attacker is behind bars. Unable to hurt her or anyone, ever again.”

  She came back to her seat and said in my ear, “We got him.” I silently sat there and cried.

  “He decided to take a deal. Less time, if he would give up all his parental rights to my son, and an agreement that when he got out he wouldn’t move back to this town.”

  “Oh, my God, Lacey. I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything. I would prefer it if you didn’t, if you didn’t treat me or Jacob any different. We are the same people before I told you.”

  “Of course.”

  “He went to jail for me, him and Trigg did. My lawyer worked her ass off for them and pulled some strings. He was so angry. So much hate. He doesn’t have any of that anymore. That’s because of you and Jackson. You saved him. Thank you.”

  “Now I’m a crying mess.” She wipes her eyes. “Thank you for telling me. Now I understand. You make him whole, and he’s a better man than I knew.”

  I agree, but we make each other whole.

  I sit in the back of a room filled with people, watching my girlfriend on stage give an eloquent speech on survival. Almost brought tears to my eyes as she tells her story. She was asked to give a speech by the woman who leads the survivors of rape group she used to attend. I’m so proud of her. She didn’t think she could stand up there and give a speech to a banquet room full of people. She did. When we got home, as soon as we got through the door, I put my arms around her, and her arms go around my neck. I let her know how amazing and strong I know she is.

  “I see you. I see who you are. You are not a victim anymore. You are a strong, capable, compassionate woman, with a strength I couldn’t even imagine having.”

  “Wow. All those things.” She presses her lips to mine.

  “I’m not finished.”

  “Then continue.” She smiles.

  “You are a quiet strength. Your resilience astounds me. I hope to
prove myself to you, to be half the man you deserve me to be.”

  She brings my head down, our foreheads together. “I have that. I’m thankful for every day we have together.”

  I kiss her, grateful for every day I get to spend with this beautiful woman. Grateful even more for second chances.

  One Year Later

  You want to know how the proposal was, don’t you?

  It went something like this…

  We threw a rocking party, everyone dancing and having fun. Landon and the boys took me by the hand and sat me down in a chair.

  “I have something to ask you.” I was floored; I wasn’t expecting this. “First, Jacob, do I have your blessing to ask for your mother’s hand in marriage?”

  “Hell, yeah!” he says, making everyone laugh, including me in my shocked state.

  Laughing, he says, “Will you have me, Lacey McQueen?”

  Jacob beats me to it first. “She says yes!” The room quakes with laughter.

  “Don’t you think that’s a question I should answer?” I look at him, not able to hold a straight face.

  “You’ve already seen him in his underwear, so it’s yes.”

  “Jacob!” my cheeks burn as I shake my head at him.

  Landon laughs with the crowd. Jackson face-palms in his hand.

  “I didn’t picture this moment with comic relief,” Landon says.

  I just shake my head, laugh, and say, “We accept!”

  five months pregnant…we couldn’t wait.

  Landon kisses my stomach. The boys are on the floor in front of us, excited because we found out the sex of the baby today. They’re telling us they decided they want a sister.

  Landon says, “Sorry to disappoint you, boys. That’s not the way it works. It’s not made to order.” He rubs my belly. “If it was, you weren’t going to be consulted.”