Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Okay, okay, okay. Just breathe Janet. Just breathe. It's all going to be fine. This was two weeks coming. It was bound to come out in one way or another. Just breathe, you did the right thing. You did the right thing. You did the right thing.

Janet walked to her Jeep, got in and headed home. Once she pulled into her driveway she sat in her car and laid her head on the steering wheel. The thing was, she could see Eddie's side to it. She understood him not wanting to face that bedroom. Maybe she should have told him she didn't sleep there for almost two months either. She stayed in her guest room. But she eventually realized that changing location didn't change the act itself, it just had her running from what she did. So, she went back to her room and tried to reclaim.

Maybe I should have been more understanding, bend more. Was she being unreasonable? It's not like she could move, could she? She could just spend all her time at Eddie's place, never have a place of her own? Did that make sense?

She got out of the car and went into her place. Walking around she tried to see the place through Eddie's eyes. She looked at her couch and smiled. How many times had they made love right there? She walked to the kitchen and remembered the first time he tried making her breakfast in bed and burned everything. Walking to the bedroom, she remembered so many times they were together, talking or making love; showering together in that bathroom, sharing a towel afterwards. They had shared so many good memories in this room, how could he throw them all away? But then, all of a sudden images of Rooster pawing at her clothes came crashing around her; wet kisses and the stench of cheap grain alcohol. Rooster pushing her against her dresser, Rooster naked on her bed, tangled in her sheets, on top of her, her head turned away from the sight of him, eyes closed tightly wishing he were Eddie. She felt the bile building up in her throat and ran to the toilet to release it.

I guess that's how Eddie feels every time he thinks about coming in here. Damn, he was right. But what do I do about it?

Janet realized that unfortunately her home would always cast a shadow over her relationship with Eddie.

Darcy fiddled around her kitchen. She had already wiped the counter down three times and checked on the coffee that was already brewed. The smell of her homemade cinnamon buns permeated through her apartment. Ikey was still in the shower and she wanted everything to be perfect. She set the table, casually; mismatched plates and coffee mugs, she didn't want to look too pretentious. She sat on the edge of her couch and waited for him to come out. Then she jumped up and sat on the couch and propped her feet up, pulled a magazine out of the rack and pretended to read it. She was more nervous than a hooker in church. They had slept together for the first time last night and it was amazing. Ikey had been incredibly gentle and he made love to her long and slow, it was the most exquisite torture. If anyone had told her three weeks ago that she would be with David Eichorn; sidekick and wife-stealer, she would have laughed them off. But when he asked her out, he was so sweet about it and he seemed so insecure. It tugged at her heartstrings and she was afraid he still had a firm hold on them. If she wasn't careful she could easily fall in love with this guy. She heard him coming out of the bathroom and she almost jumped off the couch. Schooling herself to play it cool, she continued to pretend to read until he came strolling into her tiny living/dining room.

"Hey baby. You sleep well?" Ikey came into the room and planted a kiss on the top of her head. It wasn't an erotic kiss, but a familiar one and it made Darcy feel warm inside. He didn't leave, or look like he wanted to so he was racking up bonus points by the second.

"Good morning Ikey." Darcy shyly looked up at him and was stunned by the goofy look on his face.

Ikey sniffed the air appreciatively. "When'd you go out and get fresh pastries? I could smell them all the way in the shower. You get them from the bakery?"

"Uh, no, I made them."

"You made them? This morning?" Darcy felt embarrassed, was it too much?

"Well, I made the dough last night before you came over, I baked them this morning."

"You did that? For me?"

"Well, I knew you were coming over and well, I was hoping you'd stay the night and thought it might be nice to have a special breakfast in the morning. But if you don't like sweets, I could make you an omelet…"Darcy was already getting up and rooting around her fridge, "I mean, I have some cheese and ham, some bell peppers, I could make you a western, if you like cheese. I mean, maybe you'd rather some bacon and home fries, I'm sure I have some potatoes in here somewhere…" She continued to root around in the fridge taking things out and setting them on the counter. Damnit. She was nervous as hell and couldn't stop babbling. She didn't dare turn around in fear that Ikey would realize what a nutcase she was and want to leave.

"Darce…" He said it so quietly, she was afraid to hear the rest. "Darce, turn around, look at me." When she did, she couldn't quite read what his face was telling her.

"I'm nervous about this too. I really like you and last night, it was beyond incredible." He took her into his arms and started rubbing her back. "I asked you if you did this for me, because no woman has ever been kind enough to cook for me before and I was shocked. The cinnamon buns are fine. Thank you." He kissed her, gently on the lips, caressing her cheek while he did. Slowly her released her and opened her fridge and started putting the food back inside. She had so many bad relationships in the past that she had never had one that lasted this long without something going wrong. She stood there looking at him still not certain what the hell to do. When he was done, he turned to her and took her hand and walked her over to her little table. Nudging her into her seat, he went back to the kitchen and came back with the buns and the coffee pot. Filling her cup and his, he put the pot back and came and sat across from her. He reached across the table and took her hand, squeezing it gently. She looked up and he smiled. Yeah, she thought, it was pretty much a perfect morning.

"Saw Janet storm out this morning..." Phil sat behind his newspaper and commented, not even bothering to look up from what he was reading.

"Give it a rest Phil."

"Heard you two shouting at each other…."

"Jesus, can't you just get a life?"

"Nope, shut-in, remember?" Phil set the paper on his lap and looked at Eddie. He waited and when it seemed his friend wasn't going to explain, he raised his eyebrow. Disgusted, Eddie sighed out loud.

"Basically, I told her I can't sleep at her place. I just can't bring myself to do it Phil. He was there, with her.. And I can't share that place with her again. It's stupid, I know, but it's how I feel."

"I see. Sooooooooooo, you basically haven't forgiven her yet."

"See, that's just it. I have forgiven her, but I can't forget what happened there. I mean, give me a fucking break Phil… Can anyone see my side of things?" Eddie was pacing the room.

"Oh, I see your side of things. Plenty good. But you knew if you got back with Janet that you'd eventually have to face that room again. I mean, what do you expect her to do, move? It was her grandparent's house; they gave it to her Eddie. She can't just move from that house for a guy that hasn't even made it clear that he's committed to her. Saying I love you is one thing buddy, but the actions, they speak much louder than words." Phil snapped his paper back open and continued to read. Fuming, Eddie rolled his eyes heavenward and walked out the door to sit on the front porch.

"Why are you up so early?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. Good Morning." Ronnie leaned over to kiss Aubrey. She was still had a look of sleep in her eyes, like she was barely holding on to her waking state. He was a morning person, and he had learned these past few weeks that Aubrey was definitely not.

"So, where are you going so early?"

"Home. Leslie's daughter Emily is coming in today and I gotta go meet her. Wanna come?" This had been a bone of contention between them. Ronnie insisted that the only way to do this was to rip the band-aid off and be together 100 percent. Aubrey was worried that showing up at the house would cause Nick pain and make the whole family feel uncomfortable. Ronnie understood but felt like he was the one taking the brunt of the heat and it wouldn't be directed at Aubrey so much.

"I don't know Ronnie, it's still so new…" Ronnie reached over and took her hand.

"Please Aubs. It's time. Let's do this." He searched her face for the answer he was looking for, and nodded when he saw her eyes make the decision.

Blowing out a deep breath, she said, "Okay Ronnie. Let's do this."

Leslie woke up with a start. She sat up in bed so quickly, it took the covers off Robert and her both. He stirred and asked her "What goes on?"

"Shhh!" She listened again and heard the unmistakable laugh of her daughter coming from downstairs. "She's here ! Robert, get up! My baby is here!"

Running around the room, she grabbed her robe and slippers and hauled ass out of the room. Robert had barely sat up before she was gone.

"EMILY??"

Emily looked up from the couch towards the stairs. Her and Nick had been talking non-stop for hours waiting for their parents to wake up. She hadn't seen her mother since Christmas and really missed her. Getting up from the couch, she smoothed out her clothes and tugged on the neckline of her tank, trying not to show as much cleavage. Glancing at Nick, he raised a questioning eyebrow at her. "Oh, just shut-up, you don't know how she can be!" Putting on her sweetest smile she called back, "I'm here Mommy!"

Nick mouthed the word mommy and started silently rolling around on the couch with laughter. She was a mama's girl. For all her worldliness and forwardness, she was still mama's little girl.

"Oh my baby!" Leslie was wrapping her in her arms and holding her tightly, rocking from side to side. She held her away from her body and looked her up and down. Emily started to fidget. "Mom! Honestly. I'm 27 years old, don't go there."

"I didn't say anything!" Leslie held her tongue for about 5 seconds. "But if I was going to say something, I'd start with that blouse you have on, if you can even call it a blouse. And those jeans, I mean, really Em, did you have to sew them on?" Leslie continued to criticize like only mothers can do to their daughters. Deflated, Emily wondered how the hell she was going to make it for a whole month with her mother under the same roof. Nick sat on the couch laughing until he almost peed his pants.