Don't Make Me Over 26

Typically, Stevie was not prone to bouts of anger or outbursts. Aside from his arguments with Stacey, he hardly ever raised his voice or became outwardly inflamed. His anger generally produced brooding. He wasn't sure why Jonesy's words irritated him so… maybe because she knew Sheila better than he did and if SHE had doubts… maybe they were warranted… He didn't like to think that.

Since he first began talking to Sheila, all he wanted was for things to not only work between them, but to be great. Some part of him wanted to save her, even though he didn't fully understand what from. That was a mistake, on his part; he knew that. There was no such thing as heroes and if there were, he would hardly be a candidate for such a role. But, with her – he just couldn't help himself.

The day that they met, he noticed her long before she even realized that he was around. She had been managing her move with professionalism and this bossy air about her that was cute but concise. But, she would also pause to clown with her friend Cameo and go back and forth in playful arguments with her friend Shadonza. She was business-minded, but also socially capable. However, Stevie noticed almost immediately that her demeanor changed completely when she interacted with a man. She didn't become rude or less capable – but she became noticeably distant, detached. Someone had hurt her… some man, he was pretty sure of it. And when she told him about it, not wanting to beat around the bush, he handled it calmly. He didn't know her then.

It was terrible that it happened, but he had the same level of response that he might to hearing about something that happened in the news. It sucks, but it didn't really touch his life. That was an embarrassing truth about him. Stevie hardly cared about the things that happened to the people outside of his family and few friends. It just seemed exhausting to care about things that one couldn't change, or to try to change things and have that be the death of you. No… Stevie reserved his concern for the people closest to him, to those important to him. It didn't take Sheila long to be etched onto that short list.

And now… he didn't know what to think. She told him that she trusted him. She said everything to him, but the "L" word. But, she hadn't really come to trust him, had she? For some reason, he thought that when they had sex, after what happened to her; that meant that he was important. She never asked about a condom. They never spoke of the obvious what ifs. She was the only woman that he ever came inside of and it simply was their way. He started to think himself entitled to it. He felt special. Privileged. But, he felt far from it as Jonesy spoke about Dottie and Sheila's past, and especially so when she discussed that Sheila had been having these problems, lately.

Sheila hadn't mentioned a word of it to him. When they talked about Christmas, she was excited to spend Christmas together. She said that she had a surprise for him and that she could hardly wait to see him. Stevie sighed and leaned back, resting his head against the wall inside of the jail, as he waited. Why are you being so fucking selfish? This is why nobody loves you… You're a selfish asshole.

He shut his eyes. His Honeybee was inside of a jail cell, drunk and likely confused, ridden with guilt over a girl whose death she couldn't prevent and he was pouting that she didn't tell him all of her painful burdens. Maybe he didn't need a girlfriend. Maybe everyone was right – that he wasn't cut out for it, that he was too self-absorbed. But then again, who else was willing to wait all night in a place like this, just so Sheila could see a familiar face upon being let go? Now, you're being arrogant. Stevie got up. He needed to get some air.

Sheila awoke in the middle of the night and whispered, "What the hell?" She looked around her at the other women, some sleep, some pacing, some just awake and flustered, and some drunk. She got up from her seat on the floor and ran a hand through her hair… Sonofabitch!

She had been at Dottie's grave for hours, drinking when that dude came up to her and tried to make her leave. Something about it's Christmas Eve and if families came to visit their loved ones and some drunk was there it violating, blah blah blah… Well, she wasn't about to leave just because some dude said so and she cussed him and poured some wine out for Dottie. Who did that guy think that he was? She had no idea that he was the groundskeeper, and that he called the cops. Now, by the time the cops got there, that much was a complete blur.

"Shit!" She hissed and her head spun. She shouldn't have drank so much. She shouldn't have drank, at all. Generally, she had a glass of red wine a day. Tonight, she had maybe 2 bottles and a couple of shots of whatever it was that Shadonza left over at her house after the little get together they'd had once she was without child and able to drink again. Sheila was no drinker.

She waited until she was 21 to drink for the first time, and didn't even get drunk that night, because all of her already 21 year old friends and those who weren't, but drank anyway did so, before she could even get a buzz. And there was no way that she wasn't having a designated driver, so she watched everyone else do it and didn't envy them, at all.

The first time that she got drunk, she passed out and woke up in a van with some guys that looked like the band from Jennifer's Body and one of her friend's cousins that she had only just met the night before. She swore that she would never get drunk again, but the frat party was full of drinks and people kept handing them over to her. She wasn't as drunk as she had been that first time, but she wasn't exactly sober when she rushed off with Hunter Carrington… her stomach started to turn thinking about him. That eager and anxious way he groped and practically mauled her… and then his friends, Josh Coleman and Rick Nelson. She screamed and grabbed her hair. Then, they did the same thing to Dottie. Sheila settled on the floor and rested her head on her knees. The room was spinning, she was burning up, and Dottie was in the ground, this Christmas.

By Christmas morning, Sheila came out of the cell with some of the other women and started when she heard, "Honeybee," hoarsely called. She turned and took one look at Stevie, red eyes with dark circles underneath them… he'd slept here. She shook her head, bit her lip and started crying. Stevie approached her slowly, but quickly wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair, "It's okay, Honeybee. I'm here for you…"

"I'm sorry. I don't know… Last night, I just caved. It's like… I didn't really react at the time. I started getting my shit together, ready to fight 'em when I got what seemed like a better deal. I've struggled more with what happened to her than what happened to me and last night, I don't know…"

"Sheila," he said, cupping her face as she cried, hysterically. "I'm never going to understand what you went through, but I can understand knowing somebody who went through something and not being able to help them. I understand that perfectly. You can't change what happened with her, and she's now beyond your help. But you're still here, Honeybee and I'll be damned if I let you fall apart. You've come too far to give up on yourself. I brought your car home last night. My car's outside. You ready to go home?" She nodded and squeezed his hand. He gave her a smile and pulled her along, gently to his vehicle.

Stevie had driven to the graveyard and found Dottie's grave… The police had simply left all of Sheila's things there, and he supposed that Carmen was so concerned about Sheila being in jail that she didn't think to get it, either. Stevie began collecting the items and noticed her keys were there too. "Jesus!" He whispered and grabbed them. He paused when he saw a framed photo of a light skinned black woman with long hair and a little gap between her teeth. She was pretty. He guessed that was Dottie. Dottie Westerton, he read the gravestone, before leaving, in Sheila's car with her stuff.

When he got to her place, he put everything inside and locked the door, pocketing her set of keys, and walked back to the cemetery. He supposed that he could have called a cab, but there was something peaceful about the numbing that the cold was sending through him. It took the focus off of the pain in his chest. The nagging pain that maybe she didn't feel the same way about him that he thought… He hated that feeling. He never wanted that between them. When he got back to his car, he got inside and thawed off… and cried for a couple of seconds. No longer than three minutes. Evans men simply didn't do that, he wasn't going to do it over a woman who didn't even trust him… Stevie sighed and began driving back to the jail. He wasn't going to disregard her just because she couldn't find comfort in him. He wasn't even sure if he could, if he tried. It terrified him, to feel this strongly about somebody. At least he didn't have to admit it.

When she came out, she looked like a zombie. Her hair was disheveled, her face was shiny with the oil of her skin and she was walking stiffly. She was shocked to see him. She looked sorry. She didn't have anything to be sorry about. It wasn't her fault. If it were anyone else, Stevie would be quick to judge. He would presume that they should have been wiser, more logical, and reasonable. But not with her. It wasn't her fault…

Sheila arose, sometime in the afternoon. Stevie was still asleep. She climbed out of bed and checked her phone to see all of the messages from last night and this morning. Shadonza and Cameo simply sent Christmas blessings, so they obviously didn't know about her stunt the previous night. Jonesy… she sent more messages than a little bit, so she was the first that Sheila called, "Hey, Jonesy. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas. How are you feeling?" She asked, concerned.

"Like a dumbass," Sheila said. "I didn't mean to make everybody worry. Imagine my damn surprise when Stevie was at the jailhouse, waiting for me."

"So he did end up there? And… is everything alright with you two?" Jonesy asked.

"Not particularly. We both soaked in the tub for a while when we got here, washed up and got some rest. He washed my hair and oiled my scalp for me, tied my head up and had me cradled on his lap afterwards, until I fell to sleep. I woke up a few minutes ago in the bed, he's still there, sleeping," Sheila replied.

"That sounds really sweet, Sheila," Jonesy commented, impressed and proud of her little brother for taking care of her friend.

"Yeah, but he wasn't talking. I couldn't tell what he was thinking and when I looked at him, something was different. He seemed… shut off to me," she said, in a small, sad voice.

"That's Stevie, though," Jonesy said. He's shut off to everyone."

"He hadn't been, in the past. I've possibly fucked things up between us with this. It's like a flicked a damn switch or something. I… I really don't like it."

"Are you going to make it to my mom's this evening?" Jonesy asked.

"Girl, yes. Now, I need to call Carmen and Grace and get up to start getting ready." She looked over at Stevie, still asleep. "I'll just let Stevie continue to rest for a little while, but we'll be there."

The joy that overcame Jonesy's face when she saw Stevie and Sheila on the other side of her mother's door after opening it was undeniable. She smiled and hugged Sheila tightly, then looked at Stevie, tilted her head at him questioningly and reached out tentatively for a hug, which he snatched her up into and lifted her off of the ground. "I see my family is here," Stevie commented, nudging his head at the dusty old truck that looked completely out of place on these premises. He chuckled at it and Jonesy had them come inside.

"Look who's here!" She called out and Mary and Dwight came to give their son a hug. Stacey sauntered up and punched him in the arm, to which he simply rolled his eyes at her. Soon, he was in this really mellow and comfortable groove with them and Sheila was sort of… just there.

"Every time I look at this girl, I want to go slap the hell out of Godfrey," Maryvonne said, looking right at Sheila. "Merry Christmas, Sheila."

"Merry Christmas, Miss Maryvonne," Sheila said, with a chuckle. Godfrey was simply shaking his head at his wife's comment as he assembled something for Ra.

"Let me just tell you one thing, right here and right now. If you even look like the thought of sex is passing through your mind in my house, I'll have you skinned and stuffed," Maryvonne said, then smiled brightly and picked up a tray, "Try the shrimp brochette, Dear." Sheila blushed at Maryvonne's mention of the sex thing as she reached for the prawn wrapped in bacon and cheese and pepper.

"She was on the phone, at the time," Jonesy explained to Sheila.

"Everything alright with you and Sheila?" Sheila heard Dwight ask Stevie, even though he was speaking quietly and other people in the room were speaking.

"I don't even want to talk about that," she heard him reply and she sighed, taking a bite of the appetizer.

"Good stuff, Miss Maryvonne," she said with damp eyes, cleared her throat and asked, "I forgot where your restroom is."

"Mercedes, take her," Maryvonne said, "And I better not hear any sex for the entire duration that you're here."

"Trust me, you won't," Sheila said, shielding her face as the tears threatened to spill out.

Maryvonne gave her a shocked and confused look, perplexed by the presence of her tears as Jonesy rushed her away and everyone else turned to look at them practically fleeing. Stevie rushed to chase, but Sam held out a hand to stop him and shook his head. This only made Stevie feel even more insecure about things between he and Sheila, but he would let Mercedes sort out whatever was up, since apparently, that was who she wanted to share with…

"Did you two ever talk?" Jonesy asked her in the bathroom.

"Nope. I tried to and he brushed it off and told me that it wasn't my fault and not to worry about it. But… I feel like he's upset with me or something. And I can't help it if he don't talk to me." She wiped her eyes.

"Give him some time. I know that we don't think about it when we're going through, but the people that we love sometimes have a hard time with what we're going through, too. Not in the same capacity, but enough that we have to give them a chance to deal, too."

"I like your pinky ring. Is that new?"

"Oh!" Jonesy said and pulled out her phone to show off her Christmas gift," I thought that I had his ass beat, but he's full of tricks." Sheila gasped as she assessed the jewelry. "I can't stand him!" Jonesy belted out.

"It shows in the way that you look at him like he's the only man alive and the glowing that you do and the way that your eyes light up when he makes you laugh. I'd bet every cent that I got that you can't stand that muthafucka," Sheila said and winked at her.

When they came back, they saw two very concerned young Evans men looking at them, questioningly. Jonesy smiled and went to Sam, stopping right in front of him with her chest touching him, making him twitch in his pants. "Why are you being messy?" He asked her.

"Shut up and give me a hug, Sammy-Boy," she told him and he did just that and kiss on the side of the head, for good measure.

Stevie put his hands in his pockets, nervous to touch or even approach Sheila, at the moment. "You good?" He asked her and she nodded… clearly lying, but whatever. He wasn't pushing it. It would only make that sharp pain in his chest elevate. "Okay, then," he told her and went back to sit with his parents, where she followed him and sat down, latching on to his arm as she did.

Godfrey sat at one end of the table and Dwight at the other and they all joined hands to say grace, except for Maryvonne, as she had Ra on her lap and was keeping her in place so that her Christmas excitement wouldn't violate the time of thanks. When they all said amen, she let the child go play with her toys again. "I don't think that we've ever bought that many toys between our three kids as she has just here," Mary commented, looking at Ra make the tough choices of which thing to play with and which thing to abandon.

"You think that's bad – you should see how she is with Babycakes, who is not even here yet," Sam said. "I swear, it's like she chose the most complicated stuff to put together for that nursery."

"I chose the best of what Mercedes wanted for her little girl. She gave me the design and I only purchased the merchandise. Blame your fiancée for that," Ryvie said.

Mercedes nearly choked on her drink when her mother said the "F" word. Sam smirked and stroked her hand, as he replied, "Ryvie, you know how your daughter feels about all that marriage nonsense." He winked at Mercedes and she shook her head, mouthing 'unbelievable.'

"I also know that you went through her rings to get one sized for her and she's wearing it on her pinky because it won't fit on her ring finger," Ryvie said.

"What kind of secret agent man ARE YOU?" Mercedes asked, placing a hand over her heart.

Sam laughed and said, "She sees something shiny and new on your finger and she was just able to take a guess. But, you did mess up with the engagement talk. We aren't even at that level, yet." Ryvie pursed her lips and held her hand out to Godfrey. He sighed, rolled his eyes and handed her some cash. "I can't stand y'all," Sam said, shaking his head.

"It's Godfrey that wants you to make an honest woman out of the girl. I told him a logn time ago that Mercedes is about as honest as she's gonna get," Ryvie commented.

"I don't know how to take that," Mercedes said, as Sheila snorted.

Ryvie glanced at her now, "And you, young lady. As long as you're in my house an walking around looking just like my daughter, I intend to treat you like one… what happened to you, earlier?"

"Mom, stop," Mercedes said. Sheila looked better and she didn't need her shit getting stirred up… and Maryvonne was not the person to ask anyone about anything, with her naturally abrasive manner.

"Oh, I was feeling bad about some mistakes that I made. I hurt somebody that I really care about and I don't know how that person feels about me right now, so… It's kinda a rough day," Sheila said and took a sip of her juice. Stevie bit his lip and focused extremely hard on his fork.

"I'm sure that this person still loves you. They're probably just too much of a dick to admit it," Stacey said. Stevie threw her a look and she shrugged.

"Not at this table, young lady," Maryvonne said. "You have to be able to pay your own bills and in the process of doing so to use language like that in my home."

"Oh… sorry, Mrs. Jones. I didn't mean to," Stacey said as Stevie chuckled, softly. Sheila appreciated Stacey's words, though. She knew that the girl didn't really care for her, but she also knew that despite all the arguing between them that Stevie and Stacey loved each other a lot and for her to step out and say that, she meant it and Sheila believed that she meant it for good.

"She talking about you?" Maryvonne asked Stevie, putting some chicken in her mouth and chewing as she stared at him, waiting on an answer.

"I have no idea what's going on," Stevie said and raised his glass to the woman.

"You need to have and idea," she commented. "You fuck somebody in your parents' house, with them, your underage sister and another person in the house, you ought to know what's going on with them as much and as often as you can."

"Ryvie!" Godfrey hissed as everyone else looked shocked, uncomfortable, all other kinds of things. Stacey was entertained, to say the least.

"What, Godfrey? You know good and well if Mercedes ever pulled something like that, even in her adult state, even in her pregnant state, even if it was Sam, who you love to fucking death, that we'd have to call the police to get you off of him."

"Dad, you know Mama ain't shi… shame! She'll only behave worse if you try to stop her," Jonesy said, trying not to laugh at this situation, because clearly, Sheila was very uncomfortable.

Sam said, "For the record, I wouldn't do anything like that to y'all. I'm scared of you both and I respect you too much."

"It had nothing to do with my lack of respect," Sheila said, to Sam. He raised an eyebrow at her and she scoffed and shook her head. "Whatever, Man. Merry Christmas." She got up and headed for the door.

"Didn't you drive here?" Stacey whispered to Stevie.

"She's not leaving. She just needs some air," he said and went after her.

Maryvonne commented, "She better not be leaving and waste damn near that entire plate of food."

"Does it pain you to be a hospitable person?" Mary asked her.

"Oh shit," Dwight and Godfrey both said, in unison. Mercedes cut a gesture across her throat to Mare. Don't do it, Mary. You don't know my mom…

"Hospitable? No. But, it does bother the hell out of me when people allow their children to do whatever the hell they want and don't teach them about what respectable humanity is."

"And that's who Dwight and I are? People who don't teach our children about being respectable, when we are the ones that spent years mending your daughter after you tore her up for no reason, just like you just did Sheila, when she TOLD you that she was having a bad day!" Mary snapped.

Maryvonne flinched at Mary's words and nodded, "I did mess up with my daughter. I know that and maybe I'm not as mellow as you are, Mary Evans, but I love my family just as much, if not more than you do. So don't you pretend that because you spend most of your time becoming one with the fucking earth that you understand everything in the world."

"I think it's YOU who has to always be right. You're always judging. Always preaching, and never giving out love. Even right now, your relationship with Jonesy is you buying her and her baby stuff, because your cold heart has no way of doing anything that she is going to remember with true fondness once you're gone." Maryvonne jumped up from the table and Godfrey quickly rushed to grab her arm.

"What the hell, Godfrey? You think I'm going to attack the woman. I don't have the heart for that. You know I barely got into fights when I was healthy. But, I've grown tired of looking at her whiny ass face."

Maryvonne had creeping tears burning her eyes and Mary covered her own face with both hands and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Ryvie. I shouldn't have said those things."

"Stick to your guns, Mary," Ryvie advised. "That cowering stuff is exactly why your kids will never be great."

"Mom!" Mercedes snapped, but Maryvonne was leaving the room.

"Well damn," Dwight said, and rubbed a hand down his face. "Godfrey, I am terribly sorry about all of this."

Godfrey shook his head, "I've been married to her long enough to know that this wasn't actually an attack." He made his way to check on her, but Mercedes stopped him.

"I'm going, Daddy. She needs me right now," she told him, rubbing her belly, already exhausted from all of the damage control she seemed to be doing today. She found Maryvonne in her gazebo, with her oxygen, and a baby book. "Mom, you know that isn't true, right? Maybe it's what she thinks, but you KNOW that what we've been building is more than you throwing money at my needs and me happily snatching it up, right?"

Maryvonne chuckled and said, "One of the last people on earth who will be able to make me feel bad about myself is Mary fucking pothead Evans."

"But, she did hurt you, Mom and you aren't less of a woman if you admit that," Mercedes said as she sat down.

"She didn't hurt me. The memories of the times that I could have chosen to handle things better and didn't hurt me. I don't take back anything that I said to her. I meant every word and she meant every word. That's fine. The problem is that she was right that I wasn't a good mother… but then again, I think that I'm right that she isn't a good one."

"She's a good mother, she's just a different type of mother than you are. I'll be a different type than both of you and I think that we'll all be good mothers. It's not a competition."

"It is when she proceeds to tell me how much better she was to you than I ever was," Maryvonne said and wiped a tear, which only pissed her off to even shed. "I wanted to stab that bitch with my fork. This is my house. Who does she think she is?"

Mercedes wrapped an arm around her mom and said, "She was just upset that Sheila got upset, Mom."

"No… she's been holding that in for a while. I saw it in her eyes. Mary's been wanting to tell me all of that, but since we've been working on us and she didn't know me before then, she hasn't had the room to. I gave her a shot and she took it. I kind of admire her gall, now that I think about it."

"Mom," Mercedes whispered, "I know for a fact that nobody will ever love me the way that you have," she grabbed her hand and completed the sentence in her regular tone, "It isn't like other people's and some might even say that it's crazy, but I love you and I know that you love me, money aside. Our past is messed up, but I know that it's a burden for you to keep the secrets that you've kept because of things that happened to me. I keep wondering if Finn comes for her if I would even have the guts. If I could even…" Jonesy started crying and Maryvonne held her.

"Mercedes, Finn is not going to come near either of you. Even if you couldn't do anything, you know that your mom has you covered," Maryvonne whispered. She lifted her chin with a hand and looked her in the eyes. "He wouldn't make it into your neighborhood before I put his ass down." Mercedes felt like she should be afraid of the look in her mother's light greenish brown eyes when she made that promise, but instead, she was comforted. Ryvie gave her a genuine smile and a soft, small kiss on the lips, like she often did when she was a scared little girl and needed her mommy to make her feel safe. She cleared her throat and asked, "I don't look like I've been crying, do I? Because I don't want Mary to think that Round 2 is going to be easy for her."

"Mom, can't you just leave it?" Mercedes asked.

"Didn't you just tell Godfrey that if you do that, it'll only make it worse? Come on, now. I'm not going to stop until she cries, too. It's only fair. This is my house, after all. I need to maintain dominance." Mercedes sighed as she stood up and helped her mother to stand, too. She collected the book and they headed back inside. Everyone was quiet when they walked in and Mercedes had to admit that Maryvonne looked flawlessly unphased as she set the book down next to Mary's plate and said, "Just in case you want to see proof of my terrible mothering skills."

"Proof of the do what?" Sheila asked, coming back to the table with Stevie, hand in hand.

Sam shook his head and said, "This is some shit, this Christmas, that's the do what," he said quietly.

"Sam!" Ryvie snapped.

"But, I do pay my own bills, Ryvie!" He said.

"Yeah, but you kiss my daughter with that mouth, so I don't want to hear it," she said, smirking at him. Sam laughed.

Dwight said, "So, Ryvie… sorry about the whole, all of what happened a little while ago."

"What happened?" Stevie asked.

"Mary tried to snatch my wig, and didn't realize that this shit is all natural," Maryvonne said. Godfrey groaned and she simply smiled.

"I was out of line," Mary said. "And I apologized to you, and Jonesy, I apologize, to you, as well. I shouldn't have said such things about your mother, whether or not I feel that way."

Jonesy shrugged and said, "As you can see Maryvonne Jones is capable of taking care of herself. I'm not in this." She leaned to Sheila and whispered, "You two okay?"

Sheila smiled brightly and whispered in her ear, "He told me he loves me…" Mercedes squealed and began to kick her feet around and she and Sheila slapped at each other's fingers with their hands, giggling.

Sam leaned in to Stevie and said, "Look at our girls…"

Stevie caught Sheila's eye and smiled at her. "I can't even stop," he told Sam.

"What are they over there gushin' about?" Sam asked.

"The 'L' word," he said and looked at Sam, "It came out." Sam squeezed his shoulder. "I'm done for, aren't I?" Stevie asked.

"I think she had you at hello," Sam said and gave him a playful shove.

"I think that Christmas is actually going pretty well, for us. It's better than I expected," Mary said.

Maryvonne smiled at her, "What were you expecting?"

"I don't know. Pandemonium?" Mary said.

"Hmph, not in this house. That would have to be taken outside," Godfrey joked. "You know how much money I spent on this place?"

"Godfrey had the house built for Maryvonne after he became a dentist. He brought the land surrounding their old house and had this one built, just like she wanted… before he became the renowned dentist that he is today," Sam said.

"That's mighty nice. I wanted to be able to do stuff like that for Mary. Didn't quite make the best decisions in my younger years and so I didn't get around to the whole college and career thing…" Dwight said.

"You did a damn good job with what you had, though. Honestly, out of anybody that our daughter has ever been interested in, Sam is by far the best of them."

"Azimio," Maryvonne reminded him, then quickly told Sam, "I'm not saying anything against you, but Azimio is my boy."

"Mom, when did you EVER like Azimio?" Mercedes asked.

Maryvonne widened her eyes and she shook her head, "I love Azimio, Mercedes. I'm surprised that he has fessed up to it, since you and I are now on speaking terms."

"He's your mole! That motherfucker!" Mercedes got up from the table, snatching her phone.

"If one more person jumps up and leaves this table!" Godfrey complained. "You couldn't wait to say that, Ryvie?" He asked her.

"Not everything that goes wrong is my fault, Godfrey. You're the one that brought him in and I'm not discussing this in front of all these people."

"You've been talking to my mom!" Mercedes fussed.

"Merry Christmas!" Azimio cheered. "Dave-O! Jonesy's on the line."

"Hey, Jonesy!" She heard Dave yell from the back.

"That's how she knew stuff about me when we weren't talking. Why didn't you tell me this?" Mercedes asked.

"The woman missed her daughter. She knew she made mistakes and she didn't know how to fix them. You didn't want to work nothing out and if I would have told you that she did, you probably would've cut me off, too. It was best for everybody."

"Did she pay you?" she asked.

"Well, yeah. Mrs. Jones does stuff like that. She's willing to pay for what she wants and it helped me to go to college and to start up the business. It wasn't hurting you and it helped her to feel better about things. You two are doing well, now – so I don't see why you're tripping."

"I'm not tripping, but damn…"

"You are tripping and you know that you've done some secretive shit, as well, so don't bring it to tripping levels. You know I love you and you now know that I love your mom and there's nothing wrong with the fact that I kept it from you when you couldn't or wouldn't handle it well."

"How is my baby?" She heard Dave ask from the background.

"She's fine. She's tripping balls because today has been an emotional rollercoaster. I'm having some pains," Mercedes admitted. Azimio repeated the report to Dave, then the phone was snatched.

"You need anything? What kind of pains?" He asked.

"It's fine. Typical pains, Dave-O," she said. "You knew too, huh?"

"She kinda was gonna finance that whole pretending that your baby was my baby detail… but, now we won't have to do it because of the other plan that she set in…" he paused and she could hear a bit of shuffling. Azimio was silencing him.

"What other plan, Dave?" She asked.

"Here's Azimio, bye, I love you!" Dave said and passed the phone back.

"Hey, Girl," Azimio said.

"Azimio… you better talk!" She said.

"WHAT?" Everyone heard Mercedes scream from the other room, on her phone and Sam looked at Godfrey and Maryvonne. Godfrey sighed and shook his head like there was impending doom approaching and Maryvonne simply glanced at the doorway, waiting for her to storm in, which she did. "A deal, Mom? You… went for a DEAL?"

"You don't know the details and you know how I am, so don't start with me. Have a seat and cool off, before you upset the baby," Maryvonne said.

Now, Godfrey spoke up, "You don't need to talk to her like that. She has every right to know what's going on, Ryvie."

"Godfrey, you have no idea what you're talking about. Contrary to popular belief, I know my daughter, right now and she can't handle this and shouldn't have to. Sit down, Mercedes. Enjoy Christmas," Maryvonne said. Mercedes glared at her and went to sit down. "Let's try to start all of this over, shall we? I'm glad to have everyone here and I hope that this Christmas will be a memorable and a first of many, as we are two families that will eventually be joined as one and definitely going to both be a part of my granddaughter's life. We'll have to make it all work."

"Thanks for having us, Maryvonne. We appreciate it," Dwight said. Everyone else was pretty much quiet. Mercedes was seething and Sam kept rubbing the back of her hand, wanting her to calm down. He didn't want her blood pressure to spike, as it had done a few times, but he had to admit that he was concerned about this "deal" that Mercedes was livid about. Merry Fucking Christmas… he sighed and kissed the back of her hand and was rewarded with a smile. Banter eventually started up around them. Maryvonne looked exhausted, so she was quiet most of the rest of the time, which made things more peaceful. Mercedes wasn't saying anything. Stacey was watching her, with concern, but faking smiles every time that she was caught.

Mary, Dwight and Godfrey had a compliments tournament on their good parenting points and how Jonesy and Sam turned out (and their future mutual grandchild). Mercedes rested her head on Sam and whispered, "I don't feel good. I need to go home."

"K, Babe." He made the announcement to everyone and Maryvonne got up, to walk them out.

"Should… we stay?" Stacey asked, uncomfortably.

"Well, for a bit. We have to get used to the Joneses," Dwight said and smiled at his baby girl. She nodded, but he could tell she was not liking this. "You can see if you can go with Sammy and Jonesy."

"Yeah, I'll do that," she said, getting up and rushing out.

"This shit was HIGHLY dysfunctional," Stevie said, getting a bit of laughter out of everyone left at the table.

"Mercedes, don't storm away," Maryvonne commanded.

"Mom, I don't feel like dealing with this, alright? We'll talk later!" She snapped.

Maryvonne grabbed her hand and told her, "I meant what I said earlier, you realize that, still, right?"

"Yes." She bit her lip and took a deep breath. "I know, Mom. I just… that woman wants to take my baby, out of spite – not even to love her. How could you offer her money?"

"Because that was all that she would respond to, short of offering her son freedom," Ryvie said.

"Wait, what?" Sam asked.

"Trust me, Mercedes, I've been doing things like this a long time and you won't have to worry about her or him and Jazz won't either." She gave her a hug, as Stacey came out of the house. "Let's get together tomorrow, just me and you, okay?" Maryvonne offered and cupped Jonesy's face for a kiss. She turned and told Sam, "Take care of her."

"I always do," he reminded her. When they got into the truck, with Stacey behind Jonesy's seat, Sam took Jonesy's hand and she leaned back to take a nap. She could hardly wait until this baby was born, because the stress was killing her and making her even more stressed, because she worried about what it was doing to the baby. "Just calm down," Sam said as her hands began to shake.

"Sorry. I think I'll feel better after a nap," she told him.