by Tigris Eden
"We have nothing between us except this table, Tracey."
She laughed.
"Oh, come now, Jackson, can we just speak plainly?"
“I thought we were?"
The waiter returned with his drink, and Jackson took a sip, letting the full flavor of the bourbon settle in his gut.
"Jackson, you and I both know you're not a one-woman man. You get bored easily."
“If you thought that were true, you wouldn’t be trying to explore this so-called ‘thing’ between us.”
"Quite the opposite. I like a challenge, and I know for a fact you'd never get bored with me."
He was bored now.
He'd never given Tracey any indication that he had romantic feelings for her. Quite the opposite. He'd been polite. Respectful. Never alluding to anything. Why would Tracey even think he was interested?
"I'm not into you like that. Don’t make this more awkward. Especially if you and I are supposed to be partners.”
“It’s because I've never shown interest. I’m showing some now.”
It was Jackson’s turn to laugh. He had to give it to her; her confidence would probably be a turn-on for any other man, just not him.
"It's a little late. You never had a shot, Tracey. You're my boss. You’re beautiful, sure, but not my type. The woman I'm going to marry is my Anna, no one else will do. Not now, not ever. She’s irreplaceable. Now, we're here to work. Let’s do that. Close the case and go our separate ways."
"You sure, Jackson?"
"Positive."
''All right then, have it your way. But you’re missing out on a damn good time.”
He ignored her comment, and when the waiter returned, Jackson ordered his food and went over the details of the case.
"I have some leads I need to follow up on, and then I'm going to see Fabiano’s brother at Rikers."
“His brother? Why?”
"Because I think he has more information. A possible lead to where we can find Fabiano.”
"Really. How so?"
"Don’t worry about it, Tracey, I got this. I need you to follow up on some other items. We’ll work this case better if we can gather the intel separately and then meet at the end of each day. Share information. We’ll cover more ground. But, if at any time, either of us feels we need the backup, then we do that. I don’t see us having a problem, but you never know. Right now, we’re just doing the groundwork, gathering information to put together a solid case.
"Sure. What do you need me to look into?"
"I have a container number. Want you to check out the docks. See if there is anything there we'll need."
"We've been to the docks several times. Came up empty on all occasions."
That was because someone was making sure to cover their tracks. If the information he had in his bag was correct, this time, things would be different.
"Not this time. This time, I think you'll find something."
"Like what?"
"You'll tell me tomorrow after you check into the information I give you.”
Their food came, and they ate in silence. He wanted this case closed. Fast. Jackson wanted to go home to Anna. She needed him, and he needed her. They were both dealing with a traumatic experience, and he wasn’t too much of a man to admit that the thought of losing Anna had wrecked him. Completely. He could only imagine what she was struggling with. That she could have died? He had no idea how she was even able to cope with that. There were plenty of times when he and Treat were caught in the crossfire, and after every case, they always had to spend a couple of days with the agency’s therapist. It wasn’t because they were weak, it was to ensure they didn’t break. It allowed him to put up a wall, block shit out, and deal with things when he was ready. Anna didn’t have that kind of training, and she wasn’t exactly open with her feelings either. She’d told him she was scared, that she didn’t feel safe in their home. But that was the extent of her sharing. The only time she was truly open was when they were making love or fucking. Both acts of physical intimacy splayed his Anna wide open. He could read everything. Body movements, the different tones of her voice, her facial expressions, the rhythm of her heart, all tell-tale signs of what was going through her head. His face heated when he thought of the last time they’d made love. He wanted a complete retelling of that evening, only this time, Fabiano wouldn’t be in his house to stab Anna.
“You’re quiet over there, Jackson."
"Steak’s good. It's in front of me, figure I don’t want to mess up a perfectly good slab of beef by sitting here talking."
Tracey looked put out by Jackson's answer. He wasn’t lying when he’d said the steak was good. It was.
"We should meet up in the morning, grab coffee."
"Tracey, I'm trying to close this case, not fuck around with coffee and donuts. This isn’t Starsky and Hutch or Miami Vice. You're not my partner. You're my boss."
“What's your point, Storme?"
“My point is, grabbing coffee in the morning is fucking pointless, and a waste of time. I don’t want to be out here. I want to be back home."
"In Beauville? Seriously, Jackson? You're so much more than that." Tracey laughed out loud. The patrons in the restaurant were now all engaged in their conversation.
"Tracey, you're making a scene." Whatever her problem was, he wasn’t going to be a part of it.
Jackson called for the check, dropped cash on the table, and politely excused himself. Tracey didn’t try and stop him. Out on the curb, he hailed another cab, and this time, he was taken to the right hotel.
He was tired of everyone taking an interest in his life. If it wasn’t a woman, it was a man trying to end him. The people in town were nosy. Hell, even his mother and Vivian were troublesome.
Shit.
Vivian.
He didn’t have to like her, but she was Ava’s mother. He should at least check in with his mother and see how bad things were. He didn’t want to bother Anna. She had enough on her plate with Ava. And recovery. Joey was pregnant, and Treat would be pissed that he called to check on Vivian. He knew his mother would embellish the facts, make Vivian’s attempt at gaining attention by cutting herself overly dramatic and worthy of his immediate return. Jackson ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. One more thing he did not want to deal with. The women in his life were lively if nothing else. His chest literally felt heavier at the thought of talking to his mother. But it had to be done. He didn’t dislike Vivian, but he didn’t care either way about her problems. His mother picked up on the first ring.
“Jackson, finally you call. I've been with Vi all night, darling.” She sounded so concerned, as if Vivian were one of her own children, and in that respect, the only one who received the nurturing was Joey. His mother, for the most part, merely tolerated him.
“Mother."
She talked right over him.
"It was horrible. So much blood. They say she can’t leave; she's on suicide watch. You need to come home. Be with your family.”
Funny thing about his mother. She knew he was marrying Anna, and hadn’t shown up to the hospital except to push her case of why he should be with Vivian. Piece of work.
"Mother, I'll be home when I can."
His mother started crying. Crocodile tears, of course, but she didn’t care. She was going to play her part of distraught mother to the fullest. Jackson rolled his eyes. She couldn’t see, and it wouldn’t have mattered if she had.
"What will I do, Jackson?"
"Go play Pinochle with the Garden Society. Spend money. Or how about not being so damn weak-minded. Vivian's just playing you."
"Jackson, how dare you talk to me in this manner.”
"Take it down a notch, Mother, or I’ll disconnect.”
“Well, what about Ava? She should see her mother.”
“Ava is with Anna.”
"Anna is not family."
"She is. She's gonna be my wife, and there’s nothing you can do to change that. One more word about it an
d I cut you off."
That stopped her crocodile tears.
"Jackson, Anna can’t watch Ava, Vivian won’t allow it. It will make her condition worse. We want her to get healthy. The poor girl."
This was why he could only take his mother in small doses. She, herself, wasn’t right in the head.
"Vivian is also off in the head; therefore, her opinion doesn’t matter. I'm Ava's father, I know what’s best for her."
“You haven’t been a father for a full year, how the hell do you know what's good for Ava?"'
She was right in one aspect, and so wrong in the others.
"Mother, you’ve never parented me, so you can’t go pretending you’re giving out sound advice. I think the only reason Joey turned out okay is because of Pearl, but that’s another story, for another time.”
His mother gasped in outrage, and he knew she would have said something, but Jackson cut her off before she could get another word in.
“My daughter stays with my Anna, who will someday give birth to more children. Get used to it. Commit it to memory, and hope my fiancée is nicer than I am and allows you within an inch of our children. Because if left up to me, I wouldn’t give you the opportunity to belittle and poison their minds.”
“What son talks to their mother this way?”
“The kind that never had the love of their mother.”
She ignored him again, as if she couldn’t be bothered to respond to his last comment.
"You need to come home, Jackson. I need you here to help with Vivian, and so does Ava."
"Ava has Anna. My daughter is in good hands. I trust Anna completely. You, not so much.”
Again with the sobs.
"Please come home, son. We need you."
Jackson sighed over the phone. He really didn’t like being so callous with his mother, but she gave him no other choice. At the end of the day, she was still his parent. The call was getting to him.
"Mom, I gotta go. Need to check on Anna and Ava."
"What about Vivian?"
Frustrated, he said, "Do whatever. I'm hanging up now."
Some would say he was a jerk to Corrine, and sometimes he'd agree. But on days like this, there was only so much he could take. Corrine was not a mother to him at all. She resented him to the point that there was a time he’d thought she hated him. He couldn’t let her bring him down. He needed to hear his little girl’s voice and Anna's, too. It wasn’t that late, they’d still be up.
Anna answered on the first ring.
"Jackson, hey."
"Hey, baby. How's Ava?"
"She's good. Actually, she’s right here, playing with Joey's plastic cups."
"Why is she doing that? "Jackson asked, laughing into the phone.
“Joey only has baby toys, and Ava has alerted us that she’s a big girl and that she doesn't play with baby toys. We should really think about getting her a doll baby.”
''How are cups toys more for big kids?
"Well, Joey has nail polish, and is letting your daughter polish plastic cups."
"Let me talk to my mini Picasso."
That made Anna laugh, which in turn, made Jackson happy. She had the best laugh. She'd brighten anyone's day, and it was exactly what his daughter needed. She needed Anna's light and carefree attitude. He couldn’t discredit Vivian’s parenting skills, Ava was well behaved, very outspoken, and had a beautiful heart. That could be because of Margo, he thought. And it could be, but he was going to hold out hope that somewhere in there, Vivian had a hand in all that, as well.
"Daddy? What are you doing?"
"Talking to you, Ladybug.”
Ava squealed into the phone. He could tell she was excited as she screamed, "Auntie Joey, I'm on the phone with Daddy."
"Talk to Daddy, honey."
“Okay, Honey!” Ava giggled. Jackson had to put the phone on speaker, or his daughter would bust his eardrums.
"Ava, Daddy wants you to stay with Anna and Auntie Joey and Uncle Treat."
"Okay, Daddy. When will I see Mommy?"
How to answer that?
"Mommy's not feeling well, Ladybug. As soon as she’s feeling better, we'll take her get well flowers.”
"Ooh. Honey, Daddy said I can bring Mommy get well flowers when she feels better."
Jackson heard Anna tell Ava how much fun it would be to bring Vivian flowers.
“Ladybug, I love you. Can you put Anna back on one phone?"
"Yeah. Love you, Daddy. Bye.”
"Bye, pretty girl."
Ava giggled again, and then Anna was on the phone.
"Miss you, Jackson.” Her voice was sad, forlorn.
"Me too, darlin’. You make sure you're the one with Ava. I haven’t heard back from the lawyer, but I’ll send him another text tomorrow.”
"Yup."
"How are you feeling?”
"Surprisingly, okay. Be a whole lot better when you’re here."
“Ditto.”
"Text me when you can. I know you need to focus. The better your focus, the faster you can come home. I want to get married on a beach,” she blurted.
"Do you now?”
He’d marry her underwater if that was what she wanted.
"You bet your ass I do. Looking forward to being the Mrs. Storme. India gave me the idea. Gives me something to focus on while you’re gone.”
Well, he’d given India the idea, and had already picked the location. Anna would freak if she knew. He’d told her he didn’t do sappy romance. Storme, stepping up. He almost laughed, but held it in. He had his reasons for picking a beach. He wanted to get the full effect of Anna in all kinds of beach attire, then he was going to fuck her until she was blind, make love to her until she couldn’t walk, and kiss her until her lips were swollen. Then he’d do it all over again.
“All right, you focus on planning the wedding. I'll go and catch the bad guy."
"Good deal." She breathed.
"Love you, Anna.”
''Love you more, Jackson."
"Doubtful."
She laughed again.
"In your dreams."
“Reality, baby. You and me. We're it."
“Yeah." Her voice became a soft whisper. "You and me.”
Until Her: Chapter 6
“Girl, you are cheesing from ear to ear."
I was smiling pretty hard. Despite Vivian and her brand of crazy, I know that everything is going to be all right. I’m not going to think about all the bad shit that can happen. I’m only going to see the good. Jackson will catch his man, and then he'll come home to me.
"Yeah, love does that to you,” I say in a dreamy voice.
''Apparently," India says, sitting next to me.
"You bring up the destination wedding?"
"Yeah, he gave me the green light to plan."
India darts off the couch and does a little dance and shimmy, clapping her hands wildly like a crazy woman.
"Hell to the yeah. Jamaica, here we come. Time to get back to the roots of it all. Hot men, and even hotter nights. HOLLA!"
“Indi. Calm. Down.”
"Did I hear Jamaica?" Joey asks.
''You sho did, Joey Cavanaugh, and guess who is planning that bitch? Me, dawg, me!"
I'm excited. But my current ailments won’t let me get up and celebrate. But I'm jamming on the inside. I'm picturing white sandy beaches, mojitos, and sweaty, naked nights. Turquoise water, island music, and all the scenery Jamaica has to offer. I’ve only been a few times for photo shoots. My mom’s side of the family is Jamaican, but if you ask her now, all she’s willing to talk about is her southern roots. She’s never been to the country of her ancestors. It makes me happy that she’ll be able to go now. Either way, I’m excited. I’m not sure about the honeymoon, but I know I want it to be long and wonderful.
"India, pull out the computer. I already know a place," I say. I did a photo shoot once in Negril, and it was perfect. "Gurl, if I know you, it’s trendy. But let me get this one out the gate. I kind of
have an inside contact on this.”
I’m not about to stop Indi or any of her ideas. If she wants to handle this, I’m all for letting her set up shop and run with it. I have too much on my mind with all the doctors and worrying about whether or not my man is going to make it out of the current shit storm unscathed. I nod.
"Oh, Anna, I’m so happy for you. I hope this happens after the little Cavanaugh gets here. I want to wear a beautiful dress that fits."
"Oh, Joey, I got you. You're gonna be a radiant Matron of Honor," I say.
"Sweetie, I plan on rocking it like it’s nobody’s business, and then, of course, rocking Treat."
We all laugh.
"We know you'll be rocking that fine ass man of yours," India says, eyeing Joey from head to toe.
“All right we need to cap the guest list to intimate. Family and close friends only."
"Agreed," I say.
We're excited about making plans. India takes the computer from me and starts doing research. Joey is making a list of potential guests, and Ava is screaming that she wants to be the prettiest princess.
“You will be, Ladybug," I assure her.
"You promise, Honey?"
I still can’t get over how Ava calls me Honey. It’s cute, although deep down, I like Honey Mom, better.
"I promise."
"Yay!" Ava screams, twirling around in circles until she gets dizzy and plops on her butt.
''All right, Ava. Let’s clean up this mess on the floor and table and let Honey and India go over wedding stuff. You and I will help Uncle Treat.”
"Okay.”
Ava is all too happy to help clean up. Although she does more directing than anything else.
"Hey, India."
"Yeah, toots, what’s up?"
"After the doctor and therapy tomorrow, can we stop off somewhere?"
“Anywhere you want to go, I got you.”
"Let’s go by the shop, and then I want to look at some tattoo places.”
"You want ink? You know Skrilla does that at Quincy’s shop.”
“Yeah, take me to Q’s. I have a tattoo in my head. I think it will be perfect. Gotta heal first, I know, but it’s a great celebration of life piece.”
“Okay, cuz, I got you.”
Until Her: Chapter 7
