Marissa sighed as she sat down on the living room surrounded by piles of wrapping paper, tape and boxes. She had been in a foul mood for a few days now and it wasn't letting up anytime soon. She heard the front door open and she couldn't help but smile as her two year old son, who had now been nicknamed Zander, run straight into her arms. She kissed the boy on the side of the head and slightly glared at Gemma who took a seat on the couch.
"How's your day going baby?"
"Your son is an asshole." Both women turned to the little boy who repeated his mother's words causing Gemma to raise an eyebrow at Marissa who just rolled her eyes.
"Have you met his parents? The kid's language will never be normal." She stood up and grabbed Zander and walked him into his bedroom. She settled her son on the bed and popped in his favorite movie, knowing that after a day at the park with Grandma Gemma, he was bound to be sleep soon. She walked back to the living room with a bottle of wine and two glasses.
"What did my son do now?"
"He basically told me that he wouldn't accept Abel's gifts unless I delivered them in person." It had been close to three years since Tara and Marissa's fight and with the exception of a few awkward conversations, they avoid each other like the plague. Well, Marissa avoided Tara. It was not her fault that she could hold a grudge like nobody's business.
"You told me that you miss the boys."
"And I do but I don't think that I should go to Abel's birthday party at Jax and Tara's house when I am still fighting the urge to throw her in the fucking oven." Gemma nodded because she understood how Marissa felt. However, Tara was connected to her grandbabies and her son, so Gemma had to suck it up and be around Tara.
"No one's expecting you to be best friends again, but don't you think that you can at least make an attempt to be cordial? If not for you, then for the boys. Tommy and Zander are close in age and I'm sure they would love to spend time together." Marissa glared at Gemma as she took a sip of her wine.
"You tell Jax you are fucking Tig yet?" Marissa smirked as Gemma's eyes grew wide. It was no secret that TIg had always harbored special feelings towards Gemma. After everything that had happened with Clay, Tig and Gemma had grown closer over the past sixteen months. Gemma tried to downplay what was going on but Marissa swore on more than one occasion, Tig had her giggling like a school girl.
"Why are you changing the subject?"
"Why won't you answer the question?"
"Who I'm sleeping with is not Jax's concerns."
"I'm sure the King won't see it that way." Marissa sighed as she refilled both glasses. "You already know I love Tig to death so I fully support what the hell it is that you two are doing but Gemma, have we learned nothing from keeping secrets in this goddamn town?" Gemma went to open her mouth but the front door opened again and Jax, Happy and Juice walked in the door. Jax looked at the various toys on the floor and smiled prompting Marissa to give him the finger. She groaned as his laughter followed him all the way outside.
Marissa sat in SUV for a good ten minutes before finally opening the door. She was parked on the street in front of Jax and Tara's house and this was the last place that she wanted to be. She opened the back door and gently woke her sleeping son. She watched with a smile as it took forever for his black eyes to adjust at his surroundings. He looked so much like his father that it was downright adorable. She helped Zander climb down from the car seat and she straightened out his white tee shirt.
She looked up when she heard Zander scream "Daddy" and watched as her son ran full speed ahead towards Happy who managed to pick him up without ever dropping the beer in his hand. Marissa opened the trunk and started grabbing bags. When she walked towards Happy she gave him a kiss and took a sip of his beer.
"How long do we have to stay?"
"Tara went all out. There is some bouncy shit and enough candy that we may have to pry the kid out of here." Marissa rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. The family of three made their way into the backyard and Marissa sighed. Went all out was an understatement. The backyard had turned into Funland and Zander was squirming to get out of his father's embrace so that he could go play. Marissa laughed as Zander made a beeline for Tig who was standing by the humongous chocolate stand.
"Behave yourself today." Marissa looked up at Happy and smiled.
"I'm mature enough not to pick a fight at a kid's party Hap." Hap just raised his eyebrow at his wife causing her to laugh. She walked towards the table that held all the gifts and she set her bags down. She turned when she heard her name being screamed and she braced herself in a squatting position just as a six year old Abel launched himself in her arms.
"Hey birthday boy." She pulled back and kissed the little boy on his forehead. She smiled at his coy smirk that he obviously inherited from his father and told him to enjoy himself. The party was filled with more adults than kids, but that was the way things worked around here. The boys never passed up an opportunity to throw a party, even if it was for a child.
"I didn't think you were going to show up." Marissa felt her spine stiffen as she stood up and faced her former best friend.
"I wasn't going to."
"What changed your mind?"
"Your old man." Marissa got a good look at Tara. Her dark hair was shorter and pulled back in a ponytail. She was dressed conservatively in a pair of linen pants and a tank top. Gemma had told Marissa that Tara was never fully able to perform to her true abilities in the operating room anymore and had taken the assistant to the Chief of Staff position at the hospital. Marissa knew there was no way Tara was satisfied with this change. Marissa got tired of the silence and went to walk away when Tara's voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Is this how it's always going to be between us now Rissa?" Marissa crossed her arms over her chest.
"What do you want from me Tara?"
"I want my best friend back!"
"Then you should have thought about that before you pulled the shit that you did."
"You are just as guilty as I am. You gave Jax those letters….well the letters that you deemed important."
"I was just protecting my family." Marissa retorted using the same answer Tara had given her all those years ago.
"That's not fair."
"Fuck fair. You started a chain of reactions that left a hurricane of destruction and you were just going to pack your shit and run away AGAIN. Not that I'm surprised. You always did have a history of running away when shit got too complicated." Marissa took a breath to calm her nerves. "Look I can't do this now. I am just here to allow Zander to get to know the kids and give Abel my gifts. I did not show up here to go another round with you." Marissa turned her back and walked towards the slide where Gemma was standing watching the kids like a hawk.
"Things didn't go well I'm assuming?"
"I need a drink."
The party had been exhausting and Marissa didn't know who was more reluctant to leave: Happy or Alexander. She pulled up into her driveway and leaned her head on the steering wheel until she heard Happy open the backdoor. She got out of the driver's seat as Happy picked their son up and followed her in the house. He waved her off when she tried to take him and headed towards the back bedroom. She was getting changed in the bedroom as she listened to Happy getting Zander ready for bed. She couldn't help but smile; whispering was never Happy's strong suit.
She released her hair from its ponytail as she put on a tank top and boy shorts. She laid across the top of the bed and grabbed the TV remote. She smiled when she heard Happy shut their bedroom down and straddled the back of her legs. He placed a kiss on her shoulder blades before starting to massage them gently.
"You have fun today?" Marissa moaned in response as Happy hit a particular soft spot on her back. She had spent most of the party running around with kids. It was mainly an excuse to avoid having another confrontation with Tara. She groaned when Hap stopped massaging and slapped her ass. She turned over and watched as Happy started to peel off his vest and get ready for bed.
"I've been thinking." Happy looked at her from their master bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth. "I don't want to work at the shop anymore." She watched Happy rinse out his mouth before he answered her.
"Why not?"
"The shop wasn't supposed to be a permanent thing and I kind of want to do something else with my life, you know?"
"What did you have in mind?"
"There is an empty store on Main Street. I was thinking about opening up a consignment shop, maybe get Gemma involved."
"How long have you been thinking about this?"
"A few weeks now. Zander will be in pre-school in about two years which should give me enough time to get the business off the ground."
"What about the money to startup?" He knew that she still had a lot of money left over that Dante had given her when he died but after that money almost got her killed, she void never to use it again.
"I have pretty good credit. I figured I could go to the bank for a business loan." Happy nodded as he moved to lie down in between her legs. She moaned when he started to lick the side of her neck in such a sensual way that she was sure she could come without him ever putting his hands on her. She lifted her hips to allow him to pull her shorts down and all of the day's stress was soon forgotten.
The following morning Marissa knocked on the door to Gemma's house with Zander on her hip. He was at that stage where he didn't always want to be coddled but Marissa was determined to keep him her little boy for as long as she could. The second Gemma opened the door, she handed Marissa a glass of mimosa.
"You are going to need it?"
"What the hell for?" Marissa asked as she walked in the house and stopped dead in her tracks. Sitting at the dining room table was Tara with folders laid out in front of her.
"I didn't see her car." Marissa whispered to Gemma.
"Jax dropped her off. He's having a boy's day or some shit." Marissa groaned to herself. She had come over with the intentions of talking to Gemma about the consignment shop and now she was stuck being cordial for the second day in a row. She instructed Zander to give Gemma a kiss on the cheek before she placed him in front of the TV in the living room. She downed her glass in one gulp and cracked her neck before sitting down at the table. She smiled gratefully at Gemma who refilled her glass without having to be asked.
"I'm glad you're here." Marissa raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "I'm taking over the fundraiser duties for the school." That was a shock on so many different levels. The fundraisers had always been Gemma's thing and just because she was no longer Queen didn't mean that Gemma wasn't still capable of running things. Marissa cut her eyes towards Gemma who seemed to be biting her tongue to keep from screaming.
"What does that have to do with me?"
"I need your help to set up booths with Gemma. Plus I figured the two of you could handle the food portion." She slid a piece of paper towards Marissa that stated how much food needed to be prepared. Marissa sighed but remained silent as Tara continued to talk.
"I haven't been able to gain as many sponsors as in previous years."
"That's because no one trusts or likes you." Marissa said before she could take it back. She took a deep breath before continuing. "Why are you doing this Tara? The fundraiser is not a club thing; it has always been Gemma's project. The reason why you can't get sponsors is because for years, businesses have been used to working with Gemma. Why are you taking that from her?"
"Oh so you're sympathetic to me taking something from Gemma? How ironic." Tara said laced with sarcasm.
"Jesus Christ. Is this what this is all about? You couldn't get out of Charming so now you are doing everything you can to get back at me and Gemma and since we are not a pair of weak bitches, you have to resort to taking control of a fundraiser that you have no experience in? Very fucking mature." Marissa grabbed her bag and stood up to collect her son. "Grow the fuck up Tara." Marissa quickly walked out of the house, slamming the door in the process.