*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter. They were greatly appreciated. THank-you all so much*
Alex's point of View:
I walk into the kitchen to see my husband Dave sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee. "Do you want something to eat?" I ask him as I get in the cupboard to get out something to make a sandwich with.
"Did you hear? Jonah had another birthday," he says before taking a sip of his coffee. "Another birthday you and I weren't invited to and another party we missed," he says. "He's 3 and he doesn't even know us."
"Maybe one day he will," I say pulling out the bread. "Do you want something to eat?"
"I'm not hungry," he says. "Did we do the right thing with Jordyn? I'm not sure sending her to Tampa was the best idea. I think we could have helped her out here. We shouldn't have sent her away."
I put the bread down on the counter and sit next to him at the table. "Dave, we did what we needed to do. Sending her away was the best thing for her and the best thing for Jonah. Keeping her here wouldn't have helped and we would have lost her to the streets again."
"We could have lost her to the streets while she was in Tampa too," he argues. "I just think we made a mistake sending her away."
"I don't think we did, Dave. I think sending her all the way to Tampa was the best move for her. She still has friends here out on the streets and the temptation would have been stronger here. We needed to pull her away from it all. We did what we needed to do. She went to Tampa, took her GED, started college and made a life for herself out there. She needed a new start. She couldn't have gotten that here. She needed to start fresh."
"I know you're right but I hate myself for sending her and Jonah away. Now we aren't even a part of her life and that hurts."
"We honestly weren't part of it when she was here either, Dave. Jordyn is dealing with a lot right now. She still harbors some feelings against us. I hope one day she sees that we did the best thing for her. I miss her but I'm happy she's doing so well. Your mom said she is holding a 4.0 in school, holding down a job and raising her son. She's doing well, Dave and that's what we need to be happy about because honestly after Kris beat her up the way he did and she was on her death bed I never thought we would be able to get our little girl back but we are slowly but surely. One day she's going to see that we did the best thing for her by sending her to Tampa. And your mom says there's a guy in the picture."
"What?" he asks. "I'm proud of all her accomplishments. I know it was the best thing but I miss her. I would like to know my grandson at some point in his life. He's adorable," he says, "and what is this new guy all about?"
"Jonah looks exactly like Jordynn when she was younger. They are twins," I say with a smile, "as for this new guy according to your mom she met him through the couple that took care of Jonah for a while. They started out as best friends and now they are together. She said they have been spending a lot of time together."
"Just what she needs a guy to come in there and ruin all her progress," he says cynically. "She doesn't need a boyfriend. Jonah and her life should be her number 1 priorities."
"Dave," I say, "and he's a wrestler."
"Oh for fucks sake," he says. "Of all the men she could get involved with she chooses a wrestler. She doesn't need a man as far as I am concerned."
"At least it isn't a pimp or a drug addict," I say. "He at least has some type of future plan going for him and your mom says he treats her really well and he is great with Jonah. She said Jonah really loves him and that Jordyn seems a lot happier now. He does a lot for both of them. Does it matter that he is a wrestler?"
"You make a good point," he says, "I just hate we have to hear this information from my mom and not from Jordyn. I just want to talk to her once and see how she's doing."
"Someday," I say. "I know it's hard and she's upset with us but she will realize one day we did the best thing there was for her. She's doing well, Dave and that's something to be happy about. Not one of the other kids have talked to her either except for Ben. I thought she would have at least talked to Chelsea or Kaylee but she hasn't."
"Chelsea is dealing with her own life," he says, "she barely talks to me these days and Kaylee is out in PA doing her thing. Josiah is out in California living his life and Sicily is getting ready to graduate high school soon. Ben has his own life in Florida and now Jordyn has her own life in Florida. Why can't they all come back to Phoenix?" he asks.
"You and I have been waiting for this for so long," I say with a smile. "This is what we wanted. We wanted our kids to grow up and have lives of their own. Once Sicily leaves for college in August we will finally have our home back to ourselves like it was before Chelsea was born. We've waited years for this. I would love for them all to come visit BUT I want to enjoy the peace and quiet of not having kids in the house. It can be just like it was before we were married," I suggest. "Doesn't that sound fun? Do you remember what it was like before we had kids?" I ask taking his hand into mine. "All the sex? A whole day of making love to each other? Remember those days?" I ask.
"Yeah," he smiles. "I sure do which is how we ended up with Chelsea."
"No that was the beach in Australia," I laugh, "but life back then was amazing. Don't get me wrong I love our kids but I am so happy they all have made lives for themselves elsewhere. And we can hope that we have raised them well enough to be wonderful human beings and great parents. Don't you want those days back?"
"Of course I want those days back but after 26 years I'm going to miss the chaos around here."
"Oh trust me there will be plenty of chaos when the kids come back to visit with their kids and then we're going to want our peace and quiet again. I think we did a good job even with Jordyn. I think we did as best as we could with her. I think she will make us proud. I'm happy that she has her life planned out and she's come so far in the last 3 years. Just give her time, Dave. She'll come around and talk to us. I know she will."
"I hope so," he says. "I just hope we did the right thing for her."
"Stop beating yourself up, Baby, we did everything we could for her and sending her away was the best we could have done. Look how well she is doing now. I don't think she would have done this well if she stayed in Phoenix. Tampa was the best place for her and this guy sounds good for her."
"I guess," he says. "So Sicily is out and the house is really quiet. We're alone want to spend the afternoons the way we used to?" he asks with a smile making me smile.
"Oh, Baby," I say with a smile before I kiss his lips softly. He stands up from the kitchen table and scoops me up into his arms carrying me upstairs for us to enjoy our time alone.
JORDYN:
"So how was your night?" asks my grandma as I walk into the kitchen after taking a shower and getting Jonah dressed for the day. Seth left about 30 minutes ago. It was the first time we ever spent the night together. It actually felt amazing to sleep in his arms all night and enjoy his company.
"It was good," I say with a smile.
"What did you do?" she asks. "I noticed Seth stayed the night last night."
"He did," I say pouring myself a glass of water with a smile on my face. "It was the first time he has ever spent the night here or that we spent the night together. We didn't plan it."
"I see," she says. "You're on birth control right?"
"What is it with everyone and that question? No I'm not on birth control and I don't plan to have sex any time soon," I say. "That's a lot for me to think about and a lot happened to me. I'm still dealing with those scars. I don't think I'll ever truly be ready."
"Sex can be good, Jordyn," she says.
"Oh Grandma," I say wincing, "you're not going to go into a talk about your sex life are you?"
"No," she laughs, "but you associate sex with pain because of what happened with Jonah's father. You're always going to think of it as pain but sometimes well most of the time sex can be good. The real sex about love and commitment, there's nothing more beautiful than giving yourself to a man that loves you and that you love becoming one together."
"Okay that's enough of that conversation," I say sitting down next to her at the table. "I know it can be beautiful but I don't see how something that brought me so much pain in the past could be so beautiful in the future. I don't know. I'll figure it out one day I guess."
"You'll see some day when you're ready, Jordyn. I'm proud of you. You're doing so well in school. A 4.0 GPA that's wonderful and you're doing a great job with Jonah," she says. "You make me proud."
"Thank-you," I smile. "So how was work last night?"
"The same as it always is," she laughs. "What about you?"
"Chaotic," I respond. "We were completely understaffed and it was busy as hell. I was glad to get home to my man."
"I bet you were," she says. "So what's going on there with you and Seth? You're together now?"
"Yeah," I smile, "we're together. I love him."
She smiles and says, "Jordyn, I'm happy for you. I think Seth is a wonderful guy for you. You chose well."
"Thanks, Grandma," I say before drinking some water. "You ever feel like someone is the one before you even truly know them?"
"I think that's called true love," she answers.
"Is it possible to love someone so much and want to spend the rest of your life with them no matter how long you've known them? I think Seth is the one."
"It's possible, Jordyn. It's very possible. You think that about Seth?"
"Yeah," I say. "Every day, I always picture us getting married, living together and raising Jonah together. I like him a lot, Grandma. I just don't want to see what life would be like without him. I think it sounds silly to love someone so much this soon but I can't help it. My heart tells me that he is the one I am going to marry."
"You should always listen to your heart," she says, "have you told him about your past yet?"
"I haven't," I say. "I'm nervous. What if he walks away after I tell him about everything I did and who I used to be? My heart will be broken."
"That's the test, Jordyn," she says wisely. "If you tell Seth the truth about your past you will know if he truly loves you or not. If he doesn't truly love you he won't get over your past and he will run away but if he does love you," she says with a smile, "if he loves you he won't worry about your past he will worry about who you are and he will stand by you and want to continue having a relationship with you. He's a good guy, Jordyn. I don't think he's going to run because of your past. I see how he looks at you. He's not going anywhere."
"I hope not and he's going to adopt Jonah," I tell her.
"Oh really?" she asks. "That's an interesting turn of events. Why is he doing that may I ask?"
"Because he said if we didn't work out he still wants to be a part of Jonah's life. He wants to be his dad. I never expected it either. I mean he and Jonah have a great bond together and Jonah calls him daddy. I think it is good for him and if we do get married Jonah will have the same last name as us."
"He's a good guy, Jordyn. He truly cares about you and Jonah. I think you found a keeper."
"I think I did too," I smile. "Until he knows how I used to be."
"He's not going to care. You need to tell him, Jordyn. And you need to do it soon."
"Okay," I say. "I'm going over to his apartment tonight. I will tell him tonight."
"Good," she says with a smile. "You need me to babysit Jonah?"
"Actually Tay said she wanted him to spend the night otherwise Seth and I would have taken him to the movies but we are actually going out on a date alone for once," I laugh.
"Good," she says with a smile. "I talked to your mom today," she says and my smile fades.
"Okay," I say. "How was that?"
"She misses you, Jordyn. Your dad misses you too. They want to visit with you and they want to meet Jonah."
"They should have thought about that before they shipped me off."
"Jordyn, do you have a rough life here? Are you struggling here?" she asks.
"No, Grandma," I answer. "I'm not and I don't have a rough life but they still sent me away when I could have stayed in Phoenix with them."
"But you needed a new start, some place fresh and you have done extremely well here. They love you, Jordyn and all they wanted was to see you succeed and make something of yourself. And you're doing that just fine. I know you're upset with them but how long are you going to be angry with them for doing the best thing they could do for you at the time?"
"I'm not angry at them. I'm angry at myself, Grandma. I'm angry because I screwed up. They did everything they could for me. They gave me everything I could ever want but that wasn't enough for me and I went out with Kris and never came back. I let them down. I disappointed them. I'm angry at myself for what I did and how I used to be. I could have had a much better life if I had stayed in my home. I really let them down," I admit. "I should have been better for them."
"But no one understood the problems you were facing ever since you were a little girl. I'm not laying all the blame on your bipolar but you had a lot going on mentally and weren't in the right place. It wasn't all your fault entirely but you're doing better now and you're turning into an amazing young woman. They will be so proud of you. I think you need to talk to them at least your mama."
"Do you think they hate me for everything I have done?"
"Do they hate you?" she asks. "No they don't hate you. They love you so much Jordyn. They have always loved you. They will always love you. They hate what you did but they don't hate you. They love you so much."
"I love them too," I say with tears in my eyes. "Do you think they are awake or not busy now?" I ask.
"I don't think so. Give them a call and talk to them," she says with a smile.
"Okay," I say. "I'll do that. Thanks, Grandma," I say with a smile. "I love you."
"I love you too, Jordyn," she says hugging me. "Here," she says handing me her house phone. "Call your parents," she says.
"Okay," I nod with a smile before she gives me the privacy I need to talk to my parents. My heart starts to race as I dial my mom's number. I take a deep breath as I hold it up to my ear and swallow hard as the phone begins to ring.
*A/N: What do you think of Jordyn's parents Dave and Alex? Why do you think Dave regrets sending Jordyn away so much? Do you think they will ever get to meet Jonah and have a place in his life? What did you think of Dave's reaction when he found out Jordyn was involved with a man? What did you think of Jordyn's talk with her grandma? Do you think she helped open her eyes on things? Do you think Jordyn is going to tell Seth about her past? How do you think it will go? What about Jordyn finally calling her mom? What do you think made her decide to call her mom? Please review and thank-you for reading.