John, Miriam, and Shirley observed from across the living room. Miriam whispered to them, “My son’s got that twinkle back in his eyes.”
Shirley was thankful because things had been so tense between them for the last few months and this was a welcome surprise. “Yes, that does look like a twinkle in both of their eyes.”
“It certainly appears like it.” John directed his last comment towards his wife, “And...they figured it out all on their own. I had no doubt about it.”
Miriam gave her husband a playful smile, “I can admit the one or two times you were right. This might be one of them.”
Shirley’s cell phone buzzed, it was the phone call she’d been waiting for. “I’ll take this in the kitchen.”
Angel was still sitting in the chair playing with Pita. She’d put some barrettes on the bear while Vicky had been styling her hair. “Daddy…daddy…do you like me and Pita’s hair?”
Jason picked Angel up and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He admired the teddy bear, “You did a good job on Pita.” Then he looked seriously at her as if he was studying her hair. “But I think your hair is more beautiful.”
Angel gave him a smile that warmed his heart, “Love you daddy.”
“Love you too baby girl. Nothing and no one will ever change that.”
The emotion in the room was thick. Vicky’s heart was full watching Jason with Angel. She was also grateful for the knock on the door to interrupt it. It kept her from crying in front of everyone.
She went over to the door, “I’ll get it.”
When she opened the door Sandra was on the other side. She walked into their suite, “Hey everybody.”
A warm greeting was returned by everyone.
Vicky looked at her watch. “It took a little longer than I thought to finish Angel’s hair. I’ve still got to change. I’ll be back in a bit. Sandy can you help me?”
“Oh…yeah, sure.” Sandy put her things down and followed Vicky into their bedroom. Once inside Sandy closed the door behind them and sat on the bed.
“How are you doing?”
“Well, I’m weirdly at peace and terrified about this hearing today. You know it’s been Angel and me against the world for a long time now. The thought that I could lose custody…I just haven’t been able to wrap my mind around that. But, win or lose, I’m going to have to deal with Ryan for the rest of my life. No matter how much I wish he wasn’t her father…he is. The one thing that gives me solace is that no matter what, he can’t erase me out of her life. I’ll always be there fighting for her.”
“If I haven’t told you, you’re an amazing mother…and friend.”
Vicky’s eyes misted “Thank you Sandy. Thank you for loving me through the pain and always having my back.”
Sandy dabbed at her eyes too. “We’ve come a long way haven’t we? You remember the day we met?”
“Are you kidding me? Yeah…you scared me half to death. I’d never worked in customer service before and I thought you were going to fire me for sure after dropping those calls.”
Sandy laughed about that day, “I thought about. I was thinking to myself, I don’t want Joshua to see this exotical looking girl. I knew he was going to be sniffing up behind you just like all the other women he was chasing. I would have loved to have seen his face when he found out his competition was the CEO and owner.”
“My goodness…I was not looking to date him or anyone else for that matter. Ryan had done a number on me.”
“Then, you do understand what I’m feeling right now about Franklin? Vicky, I just need some time to lick my wounds and get my soul together. But, I’m happy that you and Jason seem like you’re getting things back on track. That’s good to see; gives me hope. ”
Vicky dressed in front of the mirror as she spoke and a soft smile spread across her face, “Let me just say you were right. Jason and I finally had a well over-due conversation…about everything. There were so many misunderstandings and both of us trying to deal with…so much on our own. The bottom line is we both want our marriage to work and we’re committed to doing everything we can to make that happen. Can you help me zip this?”
Sandy walked over to zip her dress. She was really happy for them. It reaffirmed that sustained love between two people was possible. She was also a little solemn because just because love was possible, it didn’t mean it would happen for her. She’d hoped Joshua was it and then, she’d thought Franklin was it too. In both relationships, she gave of herself only to have it thrown back into her face.
Even though Joshua claimed to want her back Sandy knew he didn’t understand love; that love was selfless. He was anything but selfless. And after tasting what she thought was love with Franklin, she could never go back to anything less.
Vicky saw the sadness on Sandy’s face from their reflection in the mirror.
She spoke softly, “Sandy, have you talked to him?”
Their eyes connected in the mirror, “No.”
“You should. There is love there. I know it…I saw it.”
“Maybe. I don’t know. I’m just so tired of fighting for men to love me. Damn it…either you do or you don’t. Right now, I’m focusing on me. There…all zipped.”
Vicky hoped that just as she and Jason had managed to work their way through a rough patch…that Sandy and Franklin would too. But, she
