Forgive for Joy's Sake (Part 25)

After I ate, I laid down and exhaustion washed over me. A couple of hours later, a soft knock on my door woke me up. Figuring it was YaYa, I said, “One minute.” I climbed out of bed and opened the door to find YaYa standing at my door with Wes behind her.

“This young gentleman claims he is your boyfriend and needed to see you. Are you okay with him being here, or should I escort him out?” She winked at me and mouthed, “He’s cute.”

“You can let him in,” I said, trying not to smile at her little commentary. I neither denied nor confirmed the boyfriend part. She stepped aside to let him in the room.

“Just so you are aware, there is a great local restaurant about three miles north of here, but if you don’t want to go out, the kitchen is open and there is sandwich fixings, fruit, and the likes if your prefer to stay in.” She winked at me again and closed the door.

Wes and I stood looking at each other for a few seconds. “Rule number one in this relationship. No running when the other person makes a mistake,” Wes said, breaking through the silence.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Are there any other rules I should know about?”

“Rule number two, apologize immediately when you realize you’ve made a mistake. Joy, I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you last night. I really thought you were okay, or I would have never let you go home alone.”

“Maybe that’s a sign that we aren’t as close as we thought we were,” I said. I dropped my arms and walked over to the bed to take a seat before continuing. “I have rule number three.”

“Which is?” he said, walking over and taking a seat next to me.

“No using my mother to extract information from my dad.” I looked over at him pointedly.

“Well as long as rule one is followed then there will be no need to break rule three. And for the record we are as close as we think we are. Mistakes will be made no matter how close two people are. Now, can you or will you be able to forgive me for the mistake I made last night?”

I looked over at him and thought about my life moving forward with him in it and without him in it and said, “I forgive you.”

“Good, now one more rule,” he said.

“Jeez, Wes. How many rules are there?”

“One more for now. Rule number four, when one of us asks how the other one is doing, we have to tell each other the truth,” he said, giving me a pointed look.

“Ouch, my mistake. So, invoking rule number two, I apologize for not telling you how I truly felt last night.”

“See, the rules are working in our favor already.” He put his arms around my shoulder and gently pulled me into his side before planting a kiss on my forehead. “One last thing.”

“No more rules, Wes,” I said, snuggling into him.

“No more rules. I just want to be clear on what’s going on, on my end of this relationship. I love you Joy, and want to build a life with you. While I have every intention of helping my sister get back on her feet and helping her with Joi, that doesn’t mean I plan to neglect you in any way.” He looked down into my eyes and waited.

I smiled and patted him on the thigh before I stood and said, “That’s good to know. So, are you up for the restaurant or a sandwich from the kitchen?”

He stood and crossed his arms over his chest. “Joy?”

“Alright, alright. I love you, too, Wes.”

***

I know it seems a bit odd that I’m talking to you when Wes, my soon to be husband, is standing at the end of the aisle waiting for me to join him. It may seem even a bit crazy, but the truth of the matter is, this scene that he and I are in right now is so basic. It’s the basic story of boy meets girl. Girl falls for boy, but boy promises girl’s father he would wait until she was a woman and no longer a girl. Unfortunately, the girl grows up and married another man who then dumps her for the boy’s, now man’s, sister. Basic love story, right?

If case you are wondering, Lamar was charged and convicted of manslaughter. Another surprise came out during the trial. Jackson’s mother had lied to him about him and Jackson not having the same father. A teenager the first time she got pregnant, she was scared she would lose Jackson’s father when he learned of it. She had planned to have an abortion, but her mother figured out she was pregnant and insisted she carry the baby to term and put it up for adoption. She was sent away to stay with one of her aunts until she had Lamar and then she returned to her life and Jackson’s father as if nothing had happened. A few years later, they married and eventually had Jackson. Lamar and Joi inherited their eyes from their paternal grand and great grandfather.

That woman was a piece of… hold on my father is saying something. “Are you okay, Joy. You are ready for this, right?”

“I am, Dad. This time I picked the right one.” I smile at him as the wedding music began to play. Together, we walk down the aisle and when I pass Mel sitting on the groom’s side of the church my smile widens. Why? You may ask. Well, because this time I didn’t have to worry about her taking my man; after all, he was her brother. Joy for the win.

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