A/N: You all will definitely learn who is the father of Daniel soon. Also, Teekar mentioned Tiana suffering from 'Stockholm syndrome' in her review is correct! Most victims in Tiana's position suffer from it after ending an abusive relationship! Long term or short. Let's hope that Mama Odie can help her out. Enjoy!
The Thrill Of It All II
What If...
Later that day, Naveen and Tiana walked hand and hand to an office that wasn't his. And was surprised to see a woman in a gown and turban sitting quietly at the table.
"Mother Odie!" Naveen greeted.
"It's Mama Odie!" the older woman corrected.
"Right, well, Mama Odie this is my...Tiana," he introduced the two. "And Tiana this is Mama Odie."
Tiana stretched out her hand to the woman. "How do you do?"
"Oh so I don't get a "my"?" Mama Odie teased reached for to touch Tiana's hand and felt a strong pulse in her own body.
Tiana grew concern. "Ma'am? Are you alright?"
"Call me Mama Odie child!" said the woman, who stared at the younger woman. "You have a child."
"Yes, I do...," Tiana looked back at Naveen who shrugged his shoulders. "Did Naveen tell you?"
Mama Odie shook her head while holding Tiana's hand. "You are also nice looking...very beautiful heart and appearance. Who is lost in the sea of comfort with powerful men."
"Lost in the sea of—
"What are you a parrot?" Mama Odie laughed. "Naveen baby, may you excuse us?"
Naveen wasn't sure if he should after her last statement.
"I know ya care for this girl, but its my job to give her an idea of her life!"
Tiana obviously didn't know what to say but she was suddenly intrigued about this woman reading her. So she said to Naveen with reassurance, "I'll be alright Naveen. Can you go check on my son for me?"
Naveen knew she'd be in good hands with the older woman but still had this concerns.
Mama Odie sensed his discomfort. "Baby she'll be safe here. Dis blind lady ain't gonna take dis pretty girl away from ya!"
Naveen kissed Tiana. "You ladies take all the time you need." he left the room, closing the door.
"What a really nice boy," Mama Odie smiled. "He was so determine to get you back here..."
"And here I am!" Tiana smiled back.
"Even though you prefer to be elsewhere," Mama Odie said knowingly.
Tiana raised her brows. "I think you're mistaken."
"It's alright to feel the way you do honey. If anybody else was in ya position dey would have gone off to a place where there is no returnin'."
Tiana was once in that place which got her admitted to an institution. "Naveen told me that you are like a witch?" she began.
"A witch!" Mama Odie felt offended. "I'm no witch! More like a special godmotha!"
"So where do you want to begin?" Tiana asked.
"Why did you really marry Jacques Montreuil?" she asked.
Tiana blinked. "I had no choice but to marry him! My parents made the decision and I was a married a month later!"
"But you had some other plans?" Mama Odie took out some bell peppers and began cutting them with a makeshift knife.
"Yes, I wanted to have my own restaurant," Tiana said
"Mm-mm," Mama Odie shook her head. "No, before that."
Tiana grew confused. "
What do you mean? I always wanted my own restaurant."
"No baby. What I'm tryna say is you were almost a runaway bride!"
"Oh," Tiana remembered. "There was a time when I did almost ran away. It was the day of my wedding when I was fifteen. I had a plan too and got scared in the last minute," Tiana explained regretfully.
"It's good that you didn't baby," Mama Odie sighed, shaking her head.
Tiana suddenly grew concerned. "What is it?"
"You woulda ended up in a worse situation with Jacques if you didn't show up at your wedding," she said.
"How? What do you mean?"
"He woulda found ya secret hidin' place," she stretched out her hand. "Hand me that spoon by Ju Ju's head. Will ya?"
"A spoon..oh!" Tiana gasped when a snake's head popped up with a spoon in its mouth.
"Take it from his mouth!"
Tiana was disgusted. "I'm not touchin' that—
"Ju Ju!"
The snake woke up instantly and gave the older woman the spoon.
Tiana sudden smelled something cooking and gasped when she saw the woman stirred a boiling tub of soup that looked like gumbo.
"Where did that bath tub come from?" Tiana isn't remember seeing anything but overly expensive vintage furniture in the room.
"Ya see dat very pretty girl sitin on the corna of that room?" she asked, stirring the soup.
"In the soup?" Tiana raised a skeptical brow at the woman.
Mama Odie frowned. "Chile get up and look in da gumbo!"
Tiana quickly got up and walked over to look into the gumbo and saw herself at age fifteen sitting in a corner of a room in the sugar mill.
"It's me..." she said
"You were always so sure of ya future until..." the older woman then stopped.
"Until what?" Tiana asked, anxious.
A blind Mama Odie used her wooden spoon to point at the soup where it showed a furious 18 year old Jacques entering the old building...
...
An evil grin formed on his face as he spotted her in the far end corner of the room.
"Derek told me you'd be here in this dump," Jacques said, standing over her.
Tiana looked up at him with fear in her eyes. Regretting her decision of coming to the old sugarmill.
"Why did you run off?" he asked.
Tiana stood up. "I ran away because I don't want to get married right now."
"You embarrassed me in front of our families!" Jacques exclaimed.
"I have a choice and I...I don't want to marry!"she glared up at him
He stepped closer to her. "You have no choice," Jacques said, grabbing her arm. "You will marry me." he vowed. "And I will make certain of it!"
Tiana saw the darkness in his eyes and grew terrified.
Jacques pulled her in for a hug before inhaling her scent. He groaned. "Mm...I could be doing this to you right now at our home..." he kissed her cheek. "...in my bed."
Tiana shuddered before trying to pull away. "Please let go!"
"Not until I get what I want from you," he then pushed her onto the floor before joining her.
Tiana realized what he was trying to do but it was too late.
He pinned her to the floor. "I will make sure you marry me!"
"No please" she cried as he continued to assault her...
...
Tiana's eyes watered at the vision. "Why are you showing this to me?"
"It's what you need to see..." Mama Odie spun the soup, showing Tiana and her friend Georgia walking to school until she stopped by a tree...
...
"You've been throwing up everyday for the past month," Georgia said.
"I'm not throwin' up Georgia," Tiana said.
"Then I guess your wet hiccups got worse!" the girl said with sarcasm.
Tiana sighed and tried to ignore the sore feeling in her lower stomach and back.
Later at home Eudora asked her daughter, "Did you get ya period this month? It looks like the new box of sanitary napkins haven't been used yet."
When Tiana shook her head 'no', Eudora sighed. "You've been havin' sex haven't ya?"
"What? Of course not mama" Tiana lied and thought back at that evening in the sugarmill. When Jacques assaulted her weeks ago
"Well we're going to the doctor tomorrow morning!" She confirmed.
"But I've got school mama!" Tiana said, terrified.
"Your health is far more important than those books!" Eudora said.
()()()()
Three days later...
Tiana cried when the midwife confirmed her pregnancy.
"Now these things happens everyday for young girls your age," the midwife tried to reassure her.
"How could he do this to me?" she cried.
That caught the midwife's attention. "Are you speaking about the possible father, young lady?"
"He is the only one, Madame Cecile!" Tiana closed her eyes. "I didn't want to but he forced himself on me and—
"Who forced himself dear? You can tell me!" The midwife knew Tiana's character and was shocked to learn of her pregnancy. She was also aware of her mother wanting the young girl to marry the very wealthy and womanzing Jacques Montreuil and wondered if she took a part of trapping the young girl.
"Its alright Cecile. I can handle it from here." Eudora said.
"But I am her midwife and it is my job to make sure that she is safe. Now Tiana, tell me who forced himself on you?" She knew who the assaulter was but wanted to hear from Tiana's mouth.
"We don't need this!" Eudora took her daughter's hand. "Come on Tiana!"
"Fine! I will leave you two alone to speak this out," Madame Cecile said and left the room.
"Was it Jacques?" Eudora asked quickly.
"Yes," Tiana kept her head down, feeling ashamed.
"Ya gonna have to marry him now," Eudora said. "We won't tell ya daddy about the baby so we'll stop by the Montreuil Estate—
"Please mama," Tiana begged. "I don't want to see him."
Eudora rolled her eyes. "We'll call Jacques from the LaBouff's set up a quick wedding date."
And within a week's time Tiana married Jacques...
...
The image disappeared just as Tiana wiped her eyes.
"You gave birth to a baby girl name Rosaline Estelle Montreuil and with her coming two weeks later nobody suspected anythang. And it all turned out great for ya at the end" Mama Odie said with a smile, still mixing the visual gumbo
Tiana thought otherwise.
"Well that pretty king of yours came in ya life and took you and that beautiful baby girl out of the Crescent City."
"Naveen?" Tiana smiled.
Mama Odie nodded her head. "Mmhm."
"And how did we end up?" Tiana had to know.
"Very happy."
"Will we be happy here? In this...world?"
"If you choose to make that happen."
Tiana placed her hand over her tummy and asked, "Will I have another child someday?"
Mama Odie nodded. "Mmhm. And like ya first child you will know its daddy."
Tiana gasped, making the woman chuckle.
"Ya youngins know ya can bump and grind!" Mama Odie finished her chuckle and held a serious look. "You wanna see how ya life woulda been like if ya husband's parents were alive?"
As much as Tiana hated seeing the visuals of what could've happened to her she decided to let the woman show her. And how Pierre and Yolanda Montreuil's presence effected her husband's life.
"It couldn't be worse than what I saw..." Tiana said, looking into the soup...
...
"Tiana you make such a beautiful bride!" beamed Yolanda, Jacques's mother.
"Ain't that truth," agreed Eudora. "I say Yolanda we did an excellent job on the bride!"
"Yes, we have Eudora!" Yolanda smiled.
Tiana looked down at her modest but obvious cleavage and figure flattering wedding dress."But y'all don't think its too revealing?"
"Showing off those beautiful curves will drive me son wild. Even if he is a gentleman like his father!"
"Some of the time!" Tiana joked making the two mothers laugh.
In the next room over Pierre gave his son a pat on shoulder.
"Tiana will make you a very happy man, son,"
Jacques looked at his father through the mirror. "Yes, she will. She is my dream come true."
The father laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"All the times you've teased your mother and I have about being too soft eith each other. I see that love bug has finally bit you."
"Its bitten me the moment I saw her. She means more to me than any money in the world."
"Wealth is a blessing but love is life and without it you have nothing. I'm proud that you have both," Pierre said. "But know this and I mean every word of it."
"And what is that?" Jacques asked.
"See Tiana as not only your equal partner in bed, but equal partner in life. Only a weak man would want a slave for a wife. Respect her as she will with you."
Jacques nodded. "I will, father."
"I say this because my own father, your grandfather's view of women is old-fashioned and in many ways the Montreuil Estate has many demons." he thought of his late mother's miserable marriage to his father.
"I will never let grandfather's influence taint my marriage," Jacques promised.
Later at the reception...
"Are you enjoying yourself, darling?" Jacques asked Tiana as they shared their first dance as husband and wife.
"Yes, I am," Tiana shyly smiled up at him.
"How about we get out of here and begin our happily ever after!" he really wanted to spend some alone time with his new wife.
Tiana bit her bottom lip and nodded...
When she laid naked in her husband's arms for the first time, Tiana felt blessed and relieved. Her first time was a wonderful experience as she expected it to be.
"How do you feel?" Jacques asked, caressing her face.
"I feel wonderful," Tiana answered and closed her eyes.
"I didn't go too fast did I?" he took her hand and kissed it.
"You were prefect," she hugged him. "Just as I imagined it would be."
Jacques raised his brows, surprised. "Really? Just as you imagined?"
She blushed.
"You are perfect," Jacques said with another gentle kiss on her forehead. "And I look forward to spending the rest of our lives together." He pressed his lips onto hers.
Tiana happily exhaled into the kiss...
...
Tiana was shocked at what she saw. "This couldn't have happened. Jacques was selfish when we first...had sex. He's always been selfish. I-he..."
"I know its hard to see him that way. But his mama and daddy really influenced him in the right direction. He was a good man morally and financially. He was very patient and you were his world. You two had three beautiful boys and a girl. All the pregnancies were easy for you."
Tiana shook her head.
"But it wasn't enough for you."
She looked over at Mama Odie. "Naveen?"
The older woman nodded.
"You left your husband and children to be with him..."
"Why are you showing me this? How are you showing me this?"
"And like all the times you left. Good or bad, you still felt guilty for leaving," Mama Odie said.
"Guilty? For leaving Jacques? He's a horrible man! Everything about our marriage was hell for me."
"Even your son?"
"No, he was a blessing for me. The only good thing that came from our marriage."
"He looks a lot like him...it was the last time I saw him physically."
"Saw who...wait, you—
Mama Odie nodded. "He's one of my grandsons...don't ask me how many greats cuz I have no idea I'm ya sure heard of the name Thomas Gordon, a politician and husband of Juliette Montreuil who were my mama and daddy! Juliettewas the youngest child and only daughter of Luis and Gabreilla Montreuil! My grandpappy and grandmama!"
Tiana knew the young and beautiful Juliette who died a couple of years ago but did read about an ancestor with the same name. Then there was the story of Luis and Gabreilla told by her husband. "So would that make you two hundred years old?"
Mama Odie nodded her head. "You can say dat?"
"But how is that possible?" Tiana asked in disbelief
"We talkin' about you remember?" Mama Odie smiled. "Now I know you had ya doubts on who Danny's father really is. Just to give you some relief Pierre Montreuil was the splitting image of that child at that age."
Tiana closed her eyes. "I know."
"And his Yolanda's spirit lives through little Danny," Mama Odie touched Tiana's hand. "She also wanted you to know that you leavin' is the best thing for Jacques."
"So Jacques is really Daniel's father?" Tiana asked
Mama smiled. "You know who his daddy is."
"No, I don't! After what you said about Pierre and Yolanda—
"Ya ain't got the sense you was born with!" Mama Odie interrupted her. "You'll find out the truth soon enough."
"Why can't you tell me? You are a psychic reader, am I correct?" Tiana asked, getting annoyed but remaining respectful.
"Ya answer is right in front ya..." the woman then laughed. "Well, not in front of ya now! Ya get my point."
Tiana sighed. "Not really."
"Anyway, you can't help ya feelings baby. I know you miss Jacques even after all the hurt he caused ya and dat is normal. Talk to Naveen about it baby. It will hurt him but he will be there and understand. Since he's become king he's grown as a man and as much I tried to stop from him from going to New Orleans his determination and impatience pushed him and now ya here," she chucklde. "Tiana, you attract men with a lot of determination and impatience. Good or bad."
"They do share a lot of qualities," Tiana agreed.
"Mm-hm," Mama Odie smiled.
"But I love Naveen," she said.
"And you miss Jacques..." Mama Odie added. "And in both cases absence made ya heart grow fonda. When ya wit Jacques you thin of Naveen and when ya with Naveen you thin of Jacques."
Tiana sighed again because she knew it was true. "There's something wrong with me isn't it?"
"Not at all baby. A lot of people who suffered abuse almost always misses the person that hurt him. Ya been together fa so long that it seems strange being away. It will get better in time. Though the pain will still be there from time to time. You a strong girl and someday ya will see dis as well."
"I hope so," Tiana said. "But Naveen's never hurt me. When I think of him its love. With Jacques it's...it's—
"Guilt can take away ya soul if you let it," Mama Odie hinted. "Its brought ya back before and look what happened."
Tiana stood up, feeling overwhelmed. "Thank you for your...help, Mama Odie." She turned to leave the room.
"Its very easy to fall back on what you know honey, but it's even better to go on forward and to never look back!"
Tiana stopped for a second to soak in the words and suddenly rushed out of the room.
Mama Odie shook her head while petting Ju Ju. "And her biggest challenge will be one her life will depend on..."
()()()()