Chapter 29

Deja had gone through most of the day in a complete daze. She had agreed to leave within the next few days, but wasn't sure if she was actually going to go through with it. She didn't want to argue with Mort and he seemed to think that was for the best if she went away for a while.

She didn't think the house renovation lie would work on her mother so she figured she'd just tell her mom she wanted to come visit. It had been nearly a year since they'd seen each other and Deja was actually looking forward to a get together with Janice and Richard.

Mort was at his desk, but he wasn't working on his novel. He was lost in thought. Deja assumed he needed time to think of how he would get rid of Shooter. She picked up the phone and called her mom.

"Hi, Mom," Deja said, after Janice picked up.

"Wow, that's spooky," Janice said.

"What?" Deja asked.

"I was just getting ready to call you," she laughed.

"Yeah, that is spooky." Talking to her mother always put a smile on Deja's face. "What were calling for?"

"I wanted to share my wonderful news with you!" Her mother sounded very excited.

"Do tell," Deja said.

"Richard asked me to move in with him...in Ocho Rios!"

Deja paused for a moment, thinking she hadn't heard correctly. "Ocho Rios, Jamaica?"

"Yes! When we were down there on vacation he, we, really liked it. He said he could see himself living there. About five days ago he surprised me with the paperwork for the house! Can you believe that?"

Deja was in total shock. "Wow, I...I don't know what to say."

"We're actually going back down this Friday to see the house in person and see what kind of work needs to be done to it."

"Do you really want to move out of the States. Especially with me pregnant and all?" Deja didn't want her mother to leave her, but she wanted her to be happy and if that meant moving to a whole new country then so be it.

"I thought long and hard about that. But Deja, I'm almost 60 years old. I have to start living for me, ya know? And just because I'm moving to Jamaica doesn't mean I'm never coming back here to visit. I plan on seeing my grandbabies as much as possible. And of course, you and Mort are more than welcome to come see us."

Deja was taking all this information in, but it was a bit much for her to swallow. "What about your place?"

"Well, it's an apartment so there's not much to it. I'll have to break my lease, of course, but that shouldn't cost me too much. It's Richard's place I'm concerned with. I'm hoping he can find a good real estate agent to sell it. It must be worth at least $500,000."

Deja knew Richard was well off, but she didn't think it was to this extent. "Do you at least plan on saying good-bye in person?" Deja asked.

"Of course, honey. Richard and I were thinking of coming up there to see you before we left this week. Maybe tomorrow or Thursday?"

Well, Mort's doing some work to the house and he'd hate for you to see it in this condition. Maybe I can down there?" she asked, hating to lie to her mother.

"Do you really want to drive that distance alone? You must be a good four hours from us," her mother asked, concerned.

"Mort could drive me halfway and we could meet somewhere. Then I could spend the night with you all and Mort could meet us back at the halfway point on Thursday," Deja suggested.

"That sounds like a plan. We could meet at 'Lucy's Diner,' that would be about halfway, wouldn't it?"

"Sure," she told her mother.

"Good then. We'll meet tomorrow afternoon, say around...2 pm?" Janice asked.

"Sounds good to me too. I'm excited for you to meet Mort."

"Me too, sweetie." They both hung up and Deja began to pack her bags.

Mort drove as Deja sat next to him. She had packed much more than she needed. Deja was only staying for the night, but she had led Mort to believe that she'd be staying with her mom until Mort was able to get a grip on his Shooter 'situation.'

"I'm really going to miss you," he said, looking at her.

She smiled at him. "Me too."

"I hope I can figure all of this out before the babies are born." His words were heartfelt.

Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, he placed the other on her growing belly. She still wasn't really showing, but she was more prominent in that area than most woman during this stage of the pregnancy. Must be because she's having twins, Mort thought.

He was happy to finally meet Janice, and Richard, but hated it was under these circumstances. Deja knew the trip was only overnight and didn't know what she'd do after her time was up. She couldn't stay at her mom's or Richard's because they were under the impression she was coming back. She had already worked everything out in her head. She just hoped it all went according to plan.

Pulling into 'Lucy's,' Deja spotted her mom's SUV. She literally jumped out of the car and ran to the passenger's side, where Janice was seated. Janice hopped out of the car and gave Deja a huge hug. She held her tight and Deja felt like she was five years old again. The only person that could comfort her like her mother was Mort. He had gone to the trunk to remove her bags.

"He's cute," Janice whispered into Deja's ear.

"I know," Deja grinned.

"Doesn't really look like your type though."

Deja knew her mom was right, but she was glad she was attracted to Mort nonetheless.

"Did you pack your whole house!" she asked Deja.

"Didn't know what I'd need," Deja laughed. "You know I tend to over pack."

"I see," her mom noted.

Janice made her way towards Mort and hugged him like she'd known him forever. Deja loved the way her mom embraced Mort. That meant her mother approved and that was very important to Deja.

Richard, who had been inside the diner, came out with a few slices of pie in to-go boxes. Deja made her way over to him. "Hi, Richard!"

"Hey, hon," he said. "How are you?"

"Good, you?"

"Couldn't be happier," he grinned.

"Let me put these slices of pie in the car, so I can give you a proper 'hello'."

He placed three of the boxes in the backseat and held the fourth in his hand. "Now come here and give me a hug," he said.

Deja walked over and hugged him. She really liked Richard. He was a good guy. She couldn't ask for anyone better for her mother. His hand reached down to her stomach and his smile widened.

"I can't believe you're having twins!"

"I know, talk about shock," Deja laughed.

"So is that him?" he asked, pointing to Mort.

"Yeah, I'll introduce you."

Deja made the necessary introductions and Richard handed Mort the last slice of pie. He figured Mort might need something to eat on the ride home. Mort and Richard put her bags into the SUV. "She sure isn't a light weight packer," Richard said to Mort.

"Yeah, I know," Mort let out a nervous laugh. He thought both Janice and Richard were very nice, but meeting the 'parents' was always a little nerve racking.

"I need to run into the restroom before we leave," Richard stated.

"Me too," Janice agreed.

As they walked into the diner, Deja backed Mort into the side of his car. She began to passionately kiss him. Hoping no one was watching. "What was that for?" Mort said, out of breath.

"Something to hold you over till I get back," she winked at him. She hadn't kissed him like that since the night the 'incident' occurred. She was still working through that, but didn't know when she'd see him again. She didn't want to think of their last intimate encounter as being the rape. She wanted to remember this moment. She wanted it etched in her memory.

"I'm going to miss you," she said.

"Me too."

"I hope you get this all worked out," she said sincerely.

"I will, I promise."

He opened the car door and slid in. Janice and Richard made their way back outside and waved good-bye to Mort. Deja leaned down and kissed Mort one last time. Making her way over to her mother's car, she began to cry softly.

The car ride to Richard's place was long and boring. She was exhausted and the fact that it was 90 degrees out wasn't helping.

They decided to stay at his place since it was so spacious. She got out of the car and made her way inside. His cook was preparing them a three-course dinner and Deja couldn't wait. She'd only eaten there once before and from what she remembered it was delicious.

Richard took her bags to one of the guest rooms. She and Janice walked to the back yard and admired the exotic plants and expansive pool. Deja had a seat on the patio and Janice brought them two glasses of lemonade. Richard had some work to do so he went into his home office and worked until dinner.

Deja and her mother caught up on everything. Deja told her mother about her and Mort's plan to turn the extra room downstairs into the kids' room. She was excited about all the changes taking place in her life and couldn't wait for the children to be born.

Janice went on about their house in Ocho Rios and how in love with Richard she was. Marriage wasn't in their forecast, but Janice didn't mind. As long as Richard treated her right, she was happy.

Dinner was served and they feasted on fried calamari with marinara sauce, Greek salad, asparagus, rack of lamb, sautéed potatoes and crème brulee. It was even more amazing then the last meal Deja'd had there.

The pregnancy was starting to wear on Deja and she was getting sleepy around 10 pm. She retired to the guest room and decided to call Mort before falling asleep. The phone rang several times before the machine picked up. She decided not to leave a message. She'd call back tomorrow.

Deja and Janice were in the backseat of Richard's Rolls Royce. Richard had some last minute business needs he had to tend to so he wasn't able to join them on Deja's trip back. They pulled out of the driveway and Deja figured now was the best time to put her plan into action.

"I'm gonna call Mort and make sure he's on the road," Deja said to Janice.

"Okay," Janice said.

Deja pretended the other end was ringing although she hadn't dialed a real number. Now was time to put her best acting to use.

"Hi Mort," she said. "You on your way?"

She paused, allowing time for a response. "What!" she blurted out. "Well, what should we do?"

"Hold on, I'll ask." She turned to Janice and told her that Mort's car had broken down and wouldn't be able to pick her up. She asked Janice if Richard would be mad if the driver took them all the way into Tashmore Lake. He could drop her off at 'The Lounge' and she'd get Lilly to take her home.

"We'll take you all the way to your house," Janice insisted.

"No, it's been a minute since I've been to work, so I need to go by there anyway."

"Well, if you say so," Janice gave in.

She dropped Deja off at 'The Lounge' and the driver carried her bags inside. Deja hugged and kissed her mom good-bye.

She passed the driver on his way out and she watched the Rolls Royce pull out of view. She made her way inside and saw Lilly behind the counter. She sat down on a bar stool and asked for a glass of water.

"Haven't seen you around lately," Lilly said, handing Deja the water.

"I called in a couple of times and then I took a vacation. I should be back this week though," she paused. "Lilly...I'm pregnant...with twins."

Lilly's eyes grew in size and she began to smile. "Congrats!"

"Thanks," Deja smiled. "Mind if I ask you for a favor?"

"Shoot."

"Mort's doing some renovations to the cabin, for the babies, and he didn't want me inhaling all that...stuff. Do you think I could stay with you for a while?"

"I don't think that should be a problem. I mean you did help me during the beginning of Todd's disappearance," Lilly said gratefully.

"Speaking of that, has anything come up on that?" Deja tried to sound as concerned as possible.

"No. The police here are idiots. And Newsome's their ringleader." Lilly rolled her eyes, and looked like she'd had enough of what Tashmore county considered law enforcement. "Their still investigating," she said mockingly.

"I'll just help out tonight since I'm already here," Deja offered.

"I think with you being pregnant with twins you probably need to take it easy. And a bar full of smoke is certainly no place to be."

"Well, I can't freeload off of you."

"How about we come to an agreement. You don't work here and help take care of my kids instead. You know, help them with their homework when they come from school, get them ready for bed on nights that I work, all that good stuff."

That offer sounded great to Deja. That way she wouldn't have to leave the house and risk the chance of running into Mort. Deja agreed and waited in the back until the bar closed.

Deja had been living with Lilly and her kids for about two weeks now. She was missing Mort terribly and had only talked to him a total of three times since she'd been gone. She had no idea what he was up to and he normally kept things pretty brief with her on the phone.

To keep herself occupied while the kids were in school and Lilly was working, she played on the internet, burned CDs and watched lots of television. She was becoming a bonafide couch potato. She'd never been this dormant before and it was beginning to depress her.

She'd been downloading all types of love songs on the internet to ease her sorrow. They only put her into more of a slump. She come across one Beyonce song that had her mesmerized. It described her relationship with Mort perfectly. She was a fan of R&B music, but Beyonce was never a favorite of hers, but this song just hit a nerve with Deja. At night before going to bed, for about five days straight, she played it over and over. It was her comfort.

She decided to write out the lyrics and mail it to Mort along with a burned copy of the song. If he wouldn't take her calls, at least not most of them, she could express her feelings for him through music.

Mort had walked to his mailbox and to his surprise there was a package inside. There was no return address so he was a bit leery of opening it. He laid it on the coffee table and went to the kitchen to get something to drink.

He was frustrated that he hadn't been any closer to finding a solution for his problem then had been when Deja left. He wanted to talk to her every day, but knew that wasn't possible. He would only want her to come back and that was not an option for him. She had to stay as far away from him as possible.

The phone would ring and he would know it was her, but would be too afraid to answer it because he'd have to tell her he hadn't figured out how to get rid of Shooter. He didn't want to disappoint her. He had to take at least a couple of her calls, to keep her from worrying.

He sat back down in the living room, the package taunting him. He decided to go ahead and open it. It was lightweight. He expertly removed the tape and wrapping. Inside it he found a blank CD and two pieces of paper. He opened the paper on top first. It read:

Dear Mort,

I know we're in a strange place right now. I just want you to know that you're still my everything. I hope we can get through this trying time in both of our lives with as much ease as possible. The enclosed song is a comforter to me. It lulls me to sleep at night because I know you can't be here to hold me. Some of it expresses my emotions to you, while I like to think other parts are your feelings for me. Put the CD in and read the lyrics, written down for you on the other sheet of paper. I love you.

Dangerously In Love,

Deja

He placed the CD into the player and soft music filled the room. He returned to the couch and opened the second letter. He read the lyrics as the singer took command of the room:

I love you, I love you, I love you

Baby I love you

You are my life

My happiest moments

Weren't complete if you weren't by my side

You're my relation

In connection to the sun

You next to me there's no darkness I can't overcome

You are my raindrops

I am the seed

You and God, who is my sunlight

I bloom and grow so beautifully

Baby I'm so proud, proud to be your girl

You make the confusion go all away

From this cold and mixed up world

I am in love with you

You set me free

I can't do this thing called life without you here with me

Cause I'm dangerously in love with you

I'll never leave

Just keep loving

The way I love you lovin' me

And I know you love me

Love me for who I am

Cause years before I became who I am

Baby you were my man

I know it ain't easy, easy lovin' me

But I appreciate your love and dedication

From you to me

And later on in my destiny

I see myself havin' your child

See myself bein' your wife

And see my whole future in your eyes

The thought of all my love for you

Sometimes I just wanna cry

I realize all my blessings

Am grateful to have you by my side

I am in love with you

You set me free

I can't do this thing called life without you here with me

Cause I'm dangerously in love with you

I'll never leave

Just keep loving

The way I love you lovin' me

Every time I see your face, my heart smiles

Every time it feels so good it hurts sometimes

Created in this world to love, to hold, to feel, to breathe

To live you

Dangerously in love

I am in love with you

You set me free

I can't do this thing called life without you here with me

Cause I'm dangerously in love with you

I'll never leave

Just keep loving

The way I love you lovin' me

The lyrics had taken Mort aback. He knew Deja felt strongly for him, but he had no clue as to the depths of her love. She considered herself to be 'dangerously' in love with him. He couldn't think of a more perfect way to word it. He felt the same way for her. He put the song on repeat and listened to it until finally falling asleep.

It was 8:30 pm when Deja received a call on her cell phone. It was one of the few that she received. She as glad to see Mort's number pop up.

"Hi," she said.

"Thank you," Mort said.

"For what?" she asked, confused.

"I got the CD and lyrics earlier today."

A smile formed on her lips. "You like it?"

"Well, I've never been a huge fan of R&B, only having a few favorites, but this is definitely on the top of the list. It's such a...powerful song. I mean the lyrics, to be 'dangerously in love' with someone...that's just a...powerful message.

"I felt the same way, the first time I heard it. It's like...a song has never captured my feelings in this way before. I had to share it with you."

"I'm glad you did. I guess if both of us make a vow to listen to it each night before going to sleep it'll almost be like we're...together."

"In an odd way, that makes a lot of sense," she agreed.

"It's been playing all day," he laughed.

Deja joined him in the laughter, "Me too," she admitted. "Thank you for calling."

"No problem. Well, I better start working back on this novel. It's been kind of neglected lately."

"I understand. I love you," she said.

"I'm dangerously in love with you," Mort retorted.

A smile appeared on her face. She told him goodnight and hung up. That night Deja had nothing but sweet dreams of Mort. She made up in her mind that she would stick it out at Lilly's for another day or so and then she was going back home...home to Mort.