Another Chance to Love

by Cheris Hodges

  Maybe she wouldn’t have carried a chip on her shoulder for so long if she had known that her father actually cared about her.

  Paige shook the thoughts of her childhood out of her head as she began loading her laundry into the washing machine. Mickey was lucky, she surmised. He had what Paige considered a perfect father.

  Brian would do anything for his little boy and made no apologies for loving his son. The last thing she wanted to see happen was for Olivia to get another chance to take that little boy away.

  I know Brian loves me and if we get married before his court case, that won’t change how he feels about me. It will just change how he looks to the judge, she thought as she absentmindedly dumped washing powder in the machine. Paige made up her mind— she and Brian were going to get married sooner rather than later.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Mickey ran up the front steps of his house into Brian’s arms. “Daddy,” he exclaimed as they embraced.

  “Hey, champ, guess who’s inside cooking us dinner?”

  Mickey smiled and said, “Miss Paige!!”

  Brian nodded, then looked at his sister. “Gabrielle, why don’t you join us for dinner?”

  “I think I will, so I can check out sister girl’s cooking skills,” she said as she closed her car door. Gabrielle walked up the steps and poked Brian in the stomach. “I can see she’s been feeding you well.”

  Brian held his stomach in slightly as he ushered her inside. “Whatever. Paige, Gabrielle is joining us.”

  She emerged from the kitchen wearing a white apron over her jean skirt and tank top. A sprinkling of flour dotted her bare feet. “Cool, because I think I may have overdone it,” she said.

  Gabrielle smiled as she spotted the engagement ring. “You wear the ring well,” she said. “I’m glad Brian gave it to you.”

  Paige blushed. “Thanks. Why don’t I get you something to drink?” She turned toward the kitchen.

  Gabrielle pressed her elbow into Brian’s rib cage. “The other one never offered me a glass of water the entire time you were married,” she said in a hushed whisper.

  Brian pinched Gabrielle on the arm. “Don’t start.”

  Moments later, the family was seated at the dinner table, ready to feast on meatloaf, steamed cabbage seasoned with smoked turkey, macaroni and cheese, and dinner rolls. The adults were drinking iced tea with mint and Mickey had a big glass of milk.

  “Paige, is this going to be a weekly thing? Because I can get used to it,” Gabrielle said as she piled her plate with food.

  “Well, I hope it will be.” She glanced over at Brian.

  They’d decided to tell Mickey over dinner that they were getting married. Brian nodded as if he could read Paige’s mind. It was time.

  “Champ,” Brian began. “Miss Paige and I have something to tell you.”

  Mickey looked from Paige to Brian. “It’s more like I have something to ask you.”

  Gabrielle smiled as she looked at them. Paige reached out and grabbed Mickey’s hand.

  “Would it be okay if I married you and your dad?” she asked sweetly.

  Mickey pulled his hand from Paige’s grip. “No!” the little boy shouted. “If you marry us, you might get a divorce and leave us too!”

  Brian rushed to Mickey’s chair. “No, son, that’s not going to happen. Paige and I love each other very much and we love you too.”

  Mickey focused his doe-shaped eyes on his father. “But you said you loved Mommy too and you still got a divorce.”

  “That’s because your mother was a bi...” Gabrielle mumbled.

  “Gabrielle, you’re not helping,” Brian hissed. Turning back to Mickey, he kissed his son on the cheek. “Mickey, Paige, and I are going to be together forever.”

  “That’s right,” Paige said. “Sometimes, adults don’t know what they really need until it speeds down the road at them. And your mother will still be a part of your life. So, you’ll have two mommies now.”

  The little boy nodded and looked at Paige. “Do you promise you won’t leave us?”

  Paige crossed her chest with her index finger. “I cross my heart.” She walked over to him and kissed him on the forehead. “And you know what, we should all go to the beach tomorrow.”

  Brian looked at her as if she were speaking Spanish. “What?” he asked.

  Paige stood up and smiled nervously. “We should get married, tomorrow, before you go back court.”

  Brian was taken aback by her suggestion. “Paige, we need to talk about this later,” he said.

  “No,” she replied. “Brian, I know you love me and it doesn’t matter if we get married now or six months from now.”

  Brian forced a smile and took Paige into his arms. “I know why you’re doing this,” he whispered as he held her. “I’m not going to let you do it.”

  She kissed him on the cheek. “Try and stop me.”

  Mickey clasped his hands together. “I want to go to the beach!”

  Brian and Paige broke off their embrace. “We’ll see,” he said.

  “Let’s just finish dinner.” As they ate, Brian and Paige exchanged glances. He wondered what she was thinking. If he knew anything about women, he knew that their wedding day was important to them. He couldn’t rob Paige of a white dress topped with tiara and her friends standing around watching her say ‘I do.’

  Despite the fact that Brian would do anything to keep his son, he wasn’t going to do it at Paige’s expense.

  After dinner, Brian and Paige cleaned the kitchen while Gabrielle and Mickey watched the Cartoon Network.

  “So, are we getting married tomorrow or what?” Paige asked as she dipped her hands into the soapy water.

  Brian shut the water off and looked at her. “No, we’re not. I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but Paige, you’re never getting married again.”

  “Excuse me?” she replied with a smile.

  Brian returned her smile. “When I put the wedding band on your finger, I’m not going to let you take it off. And I’m not going to let the most important day in your life be used in my custody case at all.”

  “Brian, I don’t need all the frills of a big wedding. Besides, the only person that I would invite would be Patrick.”

  He raised his eyebrow at her as if to say, Yeah, right.

  Paige continued. “Besides, it doesn’t matter if the wedding is big or small, now, or later. We still love each other.”

  Brian dried his hands. “And that’s why our expression of that love is going to be more than a quick run to the justice of the peace.” He cupped her chin and kissed her lips gently.

  “Brian, you and I both know that if you go to court with a Mrs. Brian Jackson, the judge will look more favorably at you getting full custody of Mickey.”

  Brian folded his arms across his chest. “Paige, Olivia left Mickey alone in her house and he could’ve died. I don’t think any judge is going deny my custody request. And, didn’t we have it out because you thought I asked you to marry me to strengthen my custody case?”

  “And I was wrong to doubt your love, but Brian I don’t want to lose Mickey either,” she said.

  Brian’s heart melted, but he didn’t change his mind. He was not going to let Paige be a pawn in his battle with Olivia. “We’re not eloping, so call your best friend and start planning our wedding,” he said as he let her go.

  Paige rolled her eyes and went back to washing dishes. “Well,” she said moments later. “We should take Mickey to the beach. It would be a nice cap to the summer for him.”

  “All right, I’ll agree to that,” Brian replied. “One piece or a string bikini?”

  “What?” Paige furrowed her eyebrows.

  “Which suit do you have?”

  She rinsed her hands off and dried them on a dishtowel before turning to him with a wily smile on her face. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

  Brian lifted Paige off her feet, spinning her around. “Woman, you drive me crazy and turn me on and love
me and my son. I’m crazy about you, Paige Grayson.”

  She took his face in her hands, caressing his cheeks. “I love you, Brian.”

  Gabrielle burst into the kitchen. “Excuse me,” she said. “Brian, that woman just pulled up in the driveway.”

  Brian lowered Paige and looked at his sister. “You mean Olivia?’

  “Yeah, I thought I saw crows flying around out there,” Gabrielle snipped.

  When Brian and Paige walked into the living room, Olivia was standing at the front door, waving at Mickey. He waved back at her, but Brian could tell his son wasn’t too happy to see his mother. “Hey, champ, why don’t you go into your room and let me talk to Mommy. Then you can visit with her, if you want too.”

  Mickey nodded and headed down the hall with no argument. Brian headed outside, not wanting to let Olivia into the house. He knew she and Gabrielle would argue and there would be no telling how she would react when she found out that he had asked Paige to marry him. The last thing Brian wanted was for Mickey to hear a bunch of arguing.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  “Brian, please don’t do this.” Olivia’s eyes watered over with tears. “What happened in Atlanta was a mistake that will never happen again. Please don’t take my son away from me.”

  “You have the gall to come her and try to plead your case when because of you Mickey almost died and will be scared for life? Are you on drugs? I don’t know what’s going on with you.”

  She turned her back to him. “I-I don’t know. I went out there looking for something and it was here all the time. I should’ve stayed home with you and Mickey. We just got married so young and I felt like I gave up something and I wanted to get it back.”

  Brian smirked. “So, you’re Dorothy in the land of Oz now? This isn’t your home anymore. Mickey will always be your son and I won’t stand in the way of your relationship with him. But until he’s old enough to take care of himself, you won’t be left alone with him.” Brian touched Olivia on the shoulder, forcing her to turn around to look at him. “If you really love Mickey and if you ever cared about me, you’ll stop fighting me on this and just let him stay here. Any time you come down here, you can see him, under my supervision. I don’t want this to get nastier than it has to be. Just know that when it comes to protecting my son, I will do what I have to do.”

  Olivia seemed to tremble as she cried. “Brian, I will never get over the fact that I almost killed my son. But you have to at least try and understand.”

  “No, I don’t,” he exploded. “You left me, you came back and saw I wasn’t sitting in the dark pining for you, and you tried to use my son to get even with me. What I understand is I gave my heart to the wrong woman when I was a teenager. I don’t care why you did what you did. I don’t care if you want to make it up to me somehow. I just want you to get some help. Find out why you can’t put the needs of you son above your own selfish desires.”

  “I knew this was a mistake,” she hissed. “I just can’t do anything right, can I? Brian, I’d like to see my son now.”

  “If he wants to see you, then fine. But I won’t force you on him. Mickey is hurting physically and mentally and it’s because of you. So don’t come in here making demands to see my son.”

  She pushed Brian in the chest. “You will not keep my son from me!”

  “Why are you acting as if you care now? Did you care about him when you left him alone in that house? Did you care when you let your mother feed him shrimp? I don’t want to hear this bull about you caring for your son when you know the only reason you want to press this issue is because of Paige.”

  Olivia glared at Brian. “You think I’m that shallow? I love my son,” she said. “He needs me in his life and you can’t deny that.”

  “Mickey needs a responsible mother and right now that isn’t you. If you want to fight me on this, fine, let’s fight. But Mickey won’t be hurt,” he said as he turned to head inside the house.

  Olivia followed him inside, pushing Brian out of the way and dashing down the hall to Mickey’s room. He didn’t follow her, because he didn’t want to fight with her in front of Mickey. When Gabrielle started down the hall, Brian grabbed her arm.

  “Don’t,” he whispered.

  “Who in the hell does she think she is? Barging in here as if she has a right to be here.”

  Brian looked at Paige, who looked as if she wanted to rush down the hall herself.

  “Olivia is still his mother and as long as they’re in the house, I don’t have much of a problem with her seeing him. But she will never take my son out of the city limits again,” Brian said, keeping his eye on Mickey’s bedroom.

  Paige watched as Mickey and Olivia walked into the living room. “Can Mommy stay for a little while?” Mickey asked.

  Gabrielle huffed and stomped into the kitchen. When Olivia glanced at her, Paige stood up. “Olivia, there are some leftovers if you want something to eat,” she said. Brian looked at her in disbelief. Paige herself felt as if she were having an out of body experience. She didn’t want Olivia to stay, but obviously Mickey did.

  “No, thanks,” Olivia replied.

  Mickey pulled on her hand. “Guess what, Mommy! Miss Paige is going to marry us.”

  Olivia blanched and Paige smiled inwardly. “Brian, you didn’t tell me your news.”

  “It’s really none of your business,” he said in a deep growl. “But if you must know, Paige and I are getting married.”

  Paige waved her left hand in Olivia’s face.

  She turned her nose up at the ring. “Isn’t this convenient,” Olivia said snidely. “Ready made family. Just add Paige and stir.”

  “You need to leave,” Brian said. “Mickey, kiss your mother.”

  Paige looked at Mickey as he hugged Olivia. “Why don’t I walk you to your car?” Paige said.

  “I don’t need you to walk me anywhere.”

  Paige glowered at her. “It would make me feel better.”

  The two women exchanged heated glances before walking outside. Once they stepped off the porch, Paige turned to Olivia.

  “Haven’t you caused Mickey to suffer enough?”

  “Oh, you don’t want to go there with me. You may be living in my house, sleeping with my husband, and trying to fill my shoes, but I gave birth to that boy.”

  “Then why don’t you act like it? Olivia, I love Mickey and I know I’m not his mother, but I won’t let you hurt him again,” Paige said. “Why don’t you slither back into the hole you crawled out of and stop harassing this family, my family?”

  Olivia sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. “Let’s get one thing straight. Brian, and Mickey will always be my family. You’re just picking up my sloppy seconds.” Olivia hopped into her car and tore out the driveway.

  Paige turned around and saw Brian standing on the porch. “I didn’t pummel her, even if she does deserve a swift kick in the rear.”

  Wrapping his arms around Paige, he led her back into the house.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Days after Olivia showed up at Brian’s house, they were back in court. Judge White didn’t seem too happy to see them again.

  “I’m getting pretty tired of seeing these same faces in my courtroom,” he said as he looked up from the docket in front of him. “I thought we had this matter of Brian Jackson Jr.’s custody settled.”

  Gerald stood up, caressing his suspenders. “Your Honor,” he began. “In light of recent events, we have reason to believe that Brian Jr. isn’t safe with his mother. May I approach?”

  The judge nodded. Gerald handed him a copy of the Atlanta Police Department’s report about the fire and Olivia’s arrest.

  “The former Mrs. Jackson left a five-year-old alone in a house with candles burning. There was a fire and the little boy could have died. She has proven that the only way she should be allowed to see her son is under supervision.”

  The judge reviewed the documents as Gerald walked back to his table. Judge White frowned as
he read the report.

  “Mrs. Jackson,” he said. “What’s the meaning of this?”

  Her lawyer stood up. “Your Honor,” Kittle said.

  Judge White threw up his hand, cutting the man off before he could go any further. “I don’t want to hear from you. I asked Mrs. Jackson a question.”

  Olivia dropped her head and wrung her hands. “I made a bad decision,” she said.

  The judge huffed. “A bad decision is getting a bowl haircut. Leaving a child alone is neglect. I try to keep families together, but you leave me no is granted. You will have limited visitation at Mr. Jackson’s discretion. The child will not be left in your custody without supervision.”

  “Your Honor, please don’t do this to me!” Olivia exclaimed.

  Judge White banged his gavel. “You did this to yourself. Next case.”

  Brian stood up and shook Gerald’s hand. He looked over at Olivia who had her head buried in her hands. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed. Brian felt sorry for her, because in some deep recess of his heart, he cared for Olivia. After all, she was the mother of his child. He walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

  Olivia looked up at him, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. “Come to gloat?” she asked.

  “I came to ask you if you want to see our son before you go back to Atlanta,” he said.

  Wiping her eyes and nodding, Olivia sighed. “Thank you, Brian. I do want to see Mickey. I need to apologize to him.”

  “Why don’t we take Mickey out to get something to eat?”