AN: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, but this chapter took time! It's long, so I hope you like it! Next chapter is when Maura comes in, so stick around! Reviews are welcome, and encouraged! Enjoy!
Chapter Seven
"Jane! You're here!" Angela shouted as she greeted her daughter at the door. "I thought you'd never make a Sunday family dinner."
"Yeah, Janie, how's rookie life treating you?" Frankie teased, walking into the front hall.
"How's the academy treating you?" Jane retorted, stepping around her mother.
"Good to see you again, Jane." Frankie smiled at her. They hadn't seen much of each other in years. Jane went into the police academy, and once she graduated, Frankie was entering. She had been working the streets, in true rookie-style, and hadn't been able to come to her family's weekly dinners.
"Hey, Pop." Jane said, grabbing two beers from the fridge and handing one to her father, who was sitting on the couch.
"Hey, Janie. Thanks."
"Jane!" her mother gasped. "Are you drinking?!"
"Ma, I'm twenty-two years old. If I want a beer, I'll drink a beer."
Angela gave her a stern look. "Not in my house you won't."
"Ang, lay off of her. She's old enough. It's not like she gave Frankie one." Pop came to her defense.
"Yeah, Ma, Jane and I aren't the ones you should worry about when you talk about drinking."
"Frankie!" Jane screamed at her brother, but she was thinking the same thing. Tommy had been incarcerated earlier that year for hitting a priest while driving under the influence, at only seventeen. "Ma, if you don't want me drinking here, then I'll go have a beer at my apartment." Jane had moved out two years ago when she graduated the academy.
"Look, let's just have a nice family dinner." Angela said quietly.
They ate in tense silence for several minutes.
"So, Frankie, you'll be graduating soon." Jane finally said.
"Yeah, I can't wait to be out of the police academy. I mean, I'm twenty, I really need to get started on an actual career."
"I know what you mean. I couldn't wait to graduate."
"I still don't understand why you both wanted to be police officers." Angela cut in.
"I've been helping out Vice. They've been talking about me joining them and going undercover." Jane continued, ignoring her mother's comment.
"Congrats, Janie!" her father said, smiling at his daughter.
"Well, that's not bad." Angela agreed.
Frankie snorted. "Ma, she has to go undercover as a pro."
Jane glared at her brother.
"A pro? A professional? For what?" Angela asked, confused.
"A prostitute, Ma." Jane mumbled.
"A WHAT?!" Angela shouted.
"Ma! It's undercover. It's not real." Jane protested.
"Fine. Fine. Maybe you'll meet a handsome guy in Vice."
Jane and Frankie shared a look, but Angela was oblivious.
"We really should have a talk Jane. You haven't been on a date since you were fourteen. You've never even talked to me about any guys you like." Angela pestered.
"There's never been anything to tell. Can we talk about this later?"
"After dinner. This is serious, Jane."
Dinner was finished and Frankie and Frank Sr. were relaxing on the couch, while Angela and Jane washed dishes in the kitchen.
"Jane, why won't you talk to me?"
"Ma, there's honestly nothing to talk about."
"You are twenty-two years old. You're not getting any younger. You're going to have to go on dates sometime. You could meet a nice man, get married, give me grandchildren." Angela lectured.
"Ma, just stop. Just because you don't know about dates I've been on, doesn't mean I haven't been on any."
"Well, why haven't you told me about anyone?"
"There's never been anything to tell. Nothing's been that serious." That was a lie. Just last year Jane had been dating Brennah, a sophomore at BCU, and they had been discussing moving in together. But Brennah broke it off because Jane refused to let her meet her family. Jane sighed. Another relationship ruined because I'm not out to my family.
"Well, were they handsome?" Angela asked, interrupting Jane's thoughts.
"Huh? Oh, um, yeah, really attractive."
"Jane, have you thought about your soulmate?" Angela glanced down at Jane's right arm.
"No, not really. I suppose it's only a matter of time before their whole name appears."
"What do you think his name is? Maurizo? Maurice?" Angela asked, getting excited that her daughter was actually having the conversation she'd been wanting to have for years.
"Does it really matter? I may never meet them. But I don't really care. I don't need to be with my 'soulmate.'" Jane replied, putting air quotes around the word "soulmate."
"But, Janie, that's the person you're meant to be with." Angela insisted.
"Well, you and Pop aren't each other's soulmates and you guys are great together."
Angela sighed, dreading having to respond. "Jane do you remember a that conversation we had when you were four?"
Jane shook her head.
"Well, you wanted to know what a soulmate was and why you had a letter on your wrist. And then you found out that your father and I didn't have each other's names. And I told you that you'd understand when you were older. Well, the truth is, your father and I did settle. We met young, and yes we were in love, at the time. But now our relationship is a bit strained because we aren't truly meant to be."
"Why did you marry him? Start a family with him?"
"Your Nonna, may she rest in peace, never believed in true love and soulmates. She was a practical woman. She knew I cared for Frank and told me to either marry him and start a family, or move on. I couldn't just move on. I wasn't ready yet. So we married. And it was great at first, but he was always working. He still is. Right after you were born, he left the hospital to go to work. He almost missed Frankie's because he didn't want to leave in the middle of a job. The only reason he didn't miss Tommy's was because I forced him to stay. He was, IS, a workaholic. That's why I worry about you. How will you meet you're soulmate if you're always working?"
"Ma, look. I'm young. I'll meet my soulmate if or when it happens. Stop worrying about me."
"I just want you to meet a nice man."
Jane sighed, tubbing her temples. It was times like these that she wished she could come out to her mother. Eventually all the letters will appear and she'll find out anyway. God, she's going to hate it. Probably hate me for it.
"Ma, I have to tell you something." Jane said nervously. What the hell am I doing? What the hell am I thinking? Shit. Now she's going to expect me to tell her something. Shit.
"Jane? Is everything okay?" Angela asked, looking at her daughter's face.
Jane swallowed hard, trying to calm her nerves. "Um, how important is it to you?"
"What?" Angela furrowed her brow.
"How important is it to you that I find my soulmate?"
"Oh, Janie. I just want you to be happy. But, if you think you don't need your soulmate to be truly happy, I won't push you to find them. But, you will have to get married someday. I just want to know that you'll be taken care of."
"Ma, I can take care of myself. And I don't need a man to be happy."
"Jane, if there wasn't someone out there for you I wouldn't push you." Angela grabbed her right arm. "But I know there is. Whoever this Maur-something is will make you truly happy and that's all I want for you."
"But you want me to meet a man and have kids. That's what you really want."
"Well, yes. But I want you to be happy more. And if that won't make you happy, how can I force you to?"
"I don't know, Ma. I've never really seen myself as the marriage and kids type. But if I were to meet my soulmate maybe I'd feel differently. Maybe then I'd want marriage and kids. But right now, I really don't know. And I really don't think I want to be pregnant, ever. Maybe I'd adopt or something. Pregnancy just doesn't seem like my thing."
"Jane, it's your life. Do what you want with it. Now, is that all, or is there something else you wanted to say?"
"Um, no, I think that's it."
"Okay, now, I met the nicest boy at the supermarket today. His name is Kevin and he really seems like-"
"Ma! Didn't we just talk about this?" Jane interrupted.
"Well, yes, but you could still go on a date."
"For Christ's sake, Ma!"
"Don't use the lord's name that way, Jane!"
"You know what, Ma?! If you're gonna set me up, you might as well find a nice woman for me because I'm gay!" Jane shouted and stormed out the door of the house, slamming it, before her mother could respond.
The door flew open and Angela pulled Jane into the house. She dragged her into the living room. "Frank! Frankie! Help me!"
"Ma! Let go of me!" Jane screamed, trying to free herself from her mother's grasp.
"Jane, just calm down." Frankie said, taking her hand and pulling her to sit on the couch.
"Angela! What the hell is going on?!" Frank Sr. shouted.
"She's…she's…" Angela stuttered.
"What Ma's trying to say is I'm gay! A raging homosexual! A huge fucking lesbian! Can I go now?!" Jane screamed, not even caring anymore.
Frankie tried not to laugh at how crazy his sister's outburst was. "Everyone just calm down!" he spoke loudly, but calmly.
Everyone in the room was silent and stared at him.
"You don't seem surprised." Angela said to him.
"That's because I knew."
"And you didn't tell me?!"
"It wasn't my thing to tell."
"How long have you known?!"
"Since my eighteenth birthday." Jane answered for him. "But I knew before that. You remember that date when I was fourteen? That night was the night I figured it out."
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Angela asked, clearly hurt.
"Because I knew you wouldn't approve. I knew you'd hate me for it."
"Jane, I could never hate you. But, this will take a little time getting used to. Are you sure this is what you want? Did something I do make you choose this?"
"Ma, I didn't choose this. I was born this way I know it sounds cliche, but it's true. I can't change who I am. And I've never been happy lying to you."
"Well, I can't say I one hundred percent approve, but I support you no matter what. I love you, Jane."
"That's it?" Frank Sr. finally spoke. "You're gonna put up with our daughter being a fucking dyke?!"
"Pop!" Frankie shouted.
"Frankie, shut the hell up! You knew that your sister was an abomination, and you just accepted that?! Have you all turned your back on God?! How can you even associate with this sinner?!"
"Pop! I'm the same girl! I'm still your daughter! Your little Janie! Please, don't say that!" Jane was begging now, trying not to cry.
"Get the fuck out of my house! You're not welcome here!"
Jane walked slowly to the front door and turned around to see the scene in the living room. Her Pop looking at her with such disgust, Frankie looking like he wanted to pound Pop's face, and her Ma staring at her with tears rolling down her face.
"He'll come around." Angela mouthed to Jane.
Jane shook her head and slowly opened the door, stepped out, and slowly shut it behind her. She barely managed to get into her car before her sobs broke free. Her whole body shook as the tears poured down her face.
"Fuck." was all she could say before she felt a tingling on her arm. "A."
"Maura." she said, smiling through her tears as the name rolled off her tongue. "Maura. I like that."