More Than Coincidence
Chapter 1 Happily ever after?
Fairy tales end with a kiss and a promise of happily ever after, but what happens when the screen fades to black or the page ends? Does the couple really live to be happy ever after? What did that even mean? Jane pondered that as she sat at the kitchen table drinking her coffee, her barely touched breakfast plate in front of her along with a full plate awaiting Rafael.
She sighed before forcing a smile as she heard Rafael come down the stairs. Rafael now owned his own real estate business. It kept him pretty busy. Out of the house most of the day and into the nights at times.
Morning." He said briskly. His hair was wet from the shower and he was dressed for work.
"Breakfast?" Jane asked with a hopeful smile.
He frowned eyeing the breakfast plate. "I got to get to the office. "He said quickly before pecking her on the cheek and leaving. He mumbled "Love you," almost like an afterthought as he shut the door.
Jane sighed once again staring at her coffee. At least he said it this time. Most days he didn't.
Jane went back to her thoughts on fairytales. Was this her happily ever after? Was this the ending to their great love story she wrote so many years ago? She scooped up her plate and Rafael's and emptied the contents in the trash. "No. It wasn't supposed to be this way." She said to herself.
She turned back to look at the empty house. She was alone now. No one to hear her spoken thoughts. Mateo was 16 now, out of the house most of the time with friends and teenage life. Veronica was in school right now. She had just turned 8.
She continued cleaning up the kitchen. They have a wonderful 2 story home. 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, complete with a white picket fence surrounding the home.
Happily, ever after? She questioned again in her mind. They had 2 great kids and a wonderful home. She was a successful writer and his business was booming. Their marriage not so much.
When had it all changed? If Jane was being honest with herself, it was very shortly after they married.
She had found out she was pregnant with Veronica the day before the wedding day. They were both so happy. Their little miracle baby.
It was a couple months after the wedding, the honeymoon ended. Rafael started working longer hours. He began questioning her about everything she did when he was home, whether it was grocery shopping, care for the kids or decorating the home. Basically, anything she did. She felt so little.
He would always apologize after he realized he'd hurt her feelings, but he'd do it again a few days later.
Had it always been this way? Jane wondered. Was she so blinded by love that she didn't see how much he criticized her, how unwilling he was to give her space when she needed it?
"Maybe." She said to herself again. She had been so wrapped up in him. He was her everything and the moment she realized she wasn't his, the doubts kicked in, but at this point she was pregnant with Veronica and they were married. She was not going to get another divorce. She had to stick it out. "It would get better," she had told herself.
Here they were 10 years later. They barely spoke. Slept in separate bedrooms. "It did not get better." Jane again stated out loud.
She felt open to divorce more and more each day. She stayed for Veronica. She was still so young. She didn't want to put her through a divorce. Mateo understood and even encouraged her to leave Rafael. He loved his father, but could see his parents were no longer happy.
She did what she always did when she got into these moods. She called her mother.
"Hey ma." Jane said when Xo picked up on the first ring. Xo had grown to expect these calls from Jane.
"Hey sweetie. How are you doing?"
"I'm okay. Just wanted to hear your voice." Jane said softly.
"Want to come over and we can catch up on our telonovelas?" Xo asked knowing this would cheer up Jane.
"Yeah. That sounds great. We got a few hours before Veronica gets out of school." Jane said grabbing her purse and keys.
She was out the door quickly leaving her dark mood and thoughts of her broken marriage behind.
She mindlessly drove to her Mom and Dad's house. She flipped on the music to brighten her mood. She must have been driving quicker than she thought, because she soon seen blue and red lights behind her.
"Damn." She cursed slowing the car down. Just what she needed. She was sure to hear about it from Rafael later.
She pulled the car to the side of the road and waited. The cop knocked on her window and she quickly rolled it down. She knew who it was the minute she heard his voice.
"License and…. Jane?" Michael stated shocked to see her. He looked almost the same as her did before. Fit and muscular. The only sign of aging were the little creases on his face.
"Michael?!" Jane said surprised as well. There was a moment of silence as they both recovered from the surprise of seeing each other. It had been 10 years.
"You're back in Miami and working as a cop again?" Jane said quickly.
"Yeah, I moved back 6 months ago. Needed to get away from Montana." He said in a tone that suggested he didn't want to get into that any further.
"Well, it is great to see you. Uhh do you want my license and registration?" Jane said with a laugh.
Michael chuckled. "No, I'll let you off with a warning. It was good to see you Jane. "He began to walk back to his car.
"Hey Michael." Jane called sticking her head out of the window.
He turned back. "You want to grab lunch or something?" She took a chance.
He hesitated a moment before saying, "Sure. I'm off around noon if that works for you."
She nodded and they exchanged contact information before he headed back to his car.
She remembered back to one of the lines in her book. And that was really their last goodbye.
She had left him with a pregnant Charlie that day. She assumed they would never see each other again. Her curiosity peeked wondering what became of them and their child.
She drove the rest of the way to her Mom and Dad's with Michael on her mind and a smile on her face.