A Lasting Storm: Chapter 3

The future. It was filled with promise and hope for the three of them. Much to people's surprise, Jim was proving himself as a father. He spent as much time with his son as he could. The two were always together when Jim had any free time.

Jayla and Jim had struck a rocky patch. It was one that many didn't expect them to come back from. Jim, however, was strong enough to weather the storm. He would never give up on giving his son the family and the life that a child deserves. Jim refused to give up on Jayla.

When push came to shove, there was one thing that Jayla admitted she'd grown impatient about. To Jim, the problem presented itself as more of her insecurities. He was beginning to understand the insecurities she had, being with him.

His history with women didn't help. Jayla had been no saint, not by any means, but Jim was different. He was far closer to a devil than a saint. Wherever they went, Jayla was constantly reminded of Jim's devilish ways. She acted, at times, like she hadn't chosen him with all of his flaws and colorful past.

In truth, Jayla struggled with seeing a long-term future together. He was the devil she knew. The question that haunted her was whether or not she could ever trust him. He swore he loved her and would do anything to make her happy. She put that oath to the test.

Sonny was nearly a year and a half old when they'd separated for a while. She called it post-partum depression. When they finally talked about things, she blamed Jim for her behavior. She doubted how much he loved her, especially knowing her past the way he did. She threw it in his face, a reason for him to be there only for their child.

"If you love me as much as you say you do, why haven't you asked me to marry you?"

Jim sat there in shock. He rubbed the sides of his face, nervously trying to think of how to respond. Marriage was a huge deal and a commitment that he considered. Nothing about their situation, in his mind, had precluded the possibility of marriage. He wondered where it was coming from.

"You're only sticking it out with me until you are set up, then you're going to go back to your old ways, enjoy your life, and leave me and Sonny," she accused.

Jim told her that was the furthest from the truth. He wanted more than anything to marry Jayla, for the three of them to be an actual family. It wasn't time, he thought. He wanted to give her the wedding she deserved, a home with a yard, a life she would be proud of.

"I don't need a big wedding," she told him, "I just need to know...that I have you."

He remembered the words his grandfather spoke when he told him about the baby. Children are not a reason to get married anymore. You have to be sure it's the right thing for the parents, or you don't marry the girl at all. Jim never doubted it was the right thing to do, to marry the girl he loved, the mother of his son.

"I'd marry you tomorrow if that's what you want," he told her, looking into her eyes. "It wouldn't be the storybook I hoped to give to you, but I'd happily marry you."

That was what she wanted, no, what she needed to hear him say to her at that moment in time. As he put his hand on her cheek, rubbing away the streaks of mascara and tears, he quietly asked her, "Will you be my wife, Jayla?"

She agreed to marry him but didn't want to wait for a long engagement. They were already parents together, why not save the money on a big wedding and put it towards a house? It wasn't the worst idea, and he could always plan a renewal of their vows when they hit their fifth anniversary. In the car, they planned a small ceremony and a reception for family and friends. It was the happiest he'd seen her in a long time.

The news of their impending nuptials didn't take long to get around, and Jim's friends planned a bachelor party for him the week of the wedding. Jayla knew what they were planning for him, and she remained alright with the festivities. By all accounts, she was an excited young bride-to-be, and Jim was happier than anybody expected.

Jim was working full-time and going to school. They planned the wedding for after finals, knowing Jim would have more free time to enjoy a few days of being a newlywed. He'd talked to the guys about not getting him into trouble at his bachelor party, which was coming up that Friday, before the wedding.

It was early Thursday and Jim had been diligently working when his boss approached him. Steve was a decent supervisor and understood discretion. He walked past Jim and told him to come with him to the warehouse. Once inside, Steve pointed out what Jim had been oblivious to for over an hour.

"Who's the girl?" asked Steve.

Jim looked at his boss. He hadn't the foggiest of clues about what Steve was talking about. His face gave away his confusion before he could even ask, what girl?

"You've had someone checking you out for about an hour. She seems to want to talk to you about something. We watched from the security office, and every time she started to approach you a customer got in her way. However, she's still here," he explained.

"What girl?" asked Jim.

"Short, brown hair, cute as hell," answered Steve. "She's wearing a blue sweater and jeans."

"I haven't noticed," explained Jim. "I'll find her and see what the story is, and I'll let you know."

"Look, if this is some kind of girl drama, I'll get rid of her for you since you're in the dark about her being here," Steve offered. "Let me know if you need help."

"Thanks, boss."

Jim took a deep breath and left the warehouse. He headed back to the sales floor and slowly walked the length of the stoor, scanning every aisle in his section for the mystery woman. By the time he was getting into another section of the store, he turned around just in time to see her coming out of an aisle, looking right at him.

It's the ghost of Christmas past, thought Jim as he walked toward her. Part of him wanted to believe that she was shy about asking for help because they knew each other. Jim was smarter than that.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Carrie.

"I need to ask you a question," she nervously admitted, turning slightly red-faced and grinning like a schoolgirl.

"I don't suppose it's about cars," sighed Jim.

Carrie looked at him in a way that only she could. If there were two women on the planet that held sway over Jim, she was one of them and she held the distinction of having been the first one to do so. There was a time when Jim would have thrown his life away for her, and nearly did, until other parties intervened and moved heaven and earth to keep them apart. As she stood there, coyly leading to a question, he felt fear for the first time in more than four years.

"Go ahead, ask," he told her.

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?" he insisted. "Be specific."

"Are you really getting married on Saturday?"

"Yes, I'm getting married on Saturday."

"To the witch?" she questioned.

Jim stopped, looked at her, and took a deep breath. He was at work and didn't need a heated argument with an old love interest causing him any problems. In a perfect world, she'd have been there to congratulate him on the pending nuptials.

"I'm marrying Jayla, but I'm guessing you already knew that."

Carrie pouted when she heard it was true. She didn't want to believe that he would marry Jayla. She didn't want to see him marry someone she despised.

"We'll see about that," she told him, an evil look of purposeful intent on her face. "She's not good for you, and she's certainly not what you deserved."

With that, Carrie walked away from Jim, leaving him to wonder what the hell that was all about. As he stood there, unaware of his surroundings, Steve walked up behind him. He tapped him on the shoulder.

"What the hell was that?" a shocked Steve exclaimed. "That was some intensity I've never seen before."

Jim told his boss that if he didn't mind he'd like to get back to work. Jim wanted to have everything in order before he left tomorrow. There was a lot of work to get done, and since it was his responsibility he didn't want to leave it for the rest of the team.

"Sure, kid. If you need to talk, or advice, I'm here," said Steve, shaking his head as he let Jim return to his duties.

The rest of his week passed with an eerie feeling around things. Jim was on edge, and he couldn't manage to hide it well from anybody, including Jayla. It was busy at work and he had a lot to do before vacation. It was a believable and not entirely untrue excuse.

He didn't need to tell her about Carrie. What they had was over a long time ago, and Jayla knew how much it had meant to him and how hurt he was when things had to end. The last thing he wanted to do was share something that would send the two of them into a collision course with one another.

Friday night rolled around and Jim had to pick up a buddy for the bachelor party festivities. He'd been there about twenty minutes when he and Francois were buckling their seatbelts, laughing about a dirty joke that Francois shared. As Jim pulled slowly out of the driveway a car came barreling down the road at a high rate of speed only to slam on its brakes right behind them.

Jim, instinctively, grabbed for his gun as he got out of the car. With his hand on the grip, he turned and dropped his head as he saw the driver. He motioned for Francois to put his gun away.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded, as Carrie stepped out of her Camaro.

"We need to talk," she told him.

"No, we don't," he replied, "What happened between us wasn't my fault, but it happened. You'll always be someone very special to me, but I had to move on."

"You're not marrying her, not her," demanded Carrie. "It's a mistake."

"Dammit, don't do this to me," Jim said, turning around in circles, looking up at the heavens. "Why now, after all this time?"

"You know why?"

Jim knew why she was there. It landed on him like a planet being thrown at him. The weight of it was almost too much to bear. There'd been a time in his life that he never saw him and Jayla becoming more than just friends. They were the best of buddies, but that's all she seemed to want from him.

In that time, he'd met the kindest, sweetest, cutest, most easy to talk to person in the world. They spent time sitting and talking about life stuff. They watched the same movies, listened to the same music, and were both hopeless romantics. Everything was so simple, except for them being from two entirely different worlds.

The two knew there would be a time when things would come easier to them. They had planned on taking on the world together, on having everything they had never had. But, her mother, upon learning about Jim, interfered. She effectively broke them up, causing them to have to go their separate ways.

It took a year for Jim to get over Carrie. Despite the fact that he still was in love with the girl, he had to move on. Carrie had, so why hadn't he? When Jayla first announced her interest in Jim, it was the first time in a year that he hadn't felt miserable.

"If you ever cared about me, you'll move your car," he told her sternly. "I'm on the verge of having a family. I have a son now. Don't do this to me, please..."

"I promise you that if you give me a chance I'll help you get custody of Sonny, and you won't regret coming with me," she told him.

"I can't. I'm not that guy, not anymore," he sighed.

There was an awkwardness in the air until she turned and got back into her car. She looked soulfully at him as she drove away. Jim stood there, a world of emotional turmoil boiling inside of him.

Francois asked him, "You going to be alright?"

When Jim finally answered he told him to get in the car, the guys were waiting for them. The two got into Jim's car and sped away. Francois sat silently, unable to believe the scene that played out in front of him.

"So, who the hell was that?"

"The first person I ever loved," sighed Jim.

Jim woke up the next morning, with a slight hangover, not his only problem. The events of the past couple of days had their toll on Jim. He lay there in bed and for a few moments was uncertain of how the rest of his day was going to play out. He looked into his wallet, pulling out a picture of Sonny and Jayla.

Jim parked his car in the parking lot of the small church. Getting out, he looked in the mirror as he snugged his tie. Standing there, looking at his reflection, he secretly was pumping himself up.

"Marry me, not her," a voice from behind suggested.

Turning to see Carrie standing behind him, standing between his car and another, Jim's shoulders slumped. There was nothing about this that rivaled his imagination of what his wedding would be like.

"Dammit, Jim. I love you, and I know you love me," Carrie told him. "Don't do this. Don't make this mistake."

Carrie leaned into Jim, putting a hand on the side of his face. She looked up at him with the warmest brown eyes of any girl in the world. She tiptoed up to him, planting her lips against his. Jim couldn't resist her, not like he should have, and succumbed to her advances.

Putting his arm around her, Jim kissed her passionately. He turned her into his car, his hands finding their way onto her face, holding her as both hate for himself and the intense love he had for her boiled over.

"Come with me," she pled with him.

"And then what?" he asked.

"I promise you, I'll love you for the rest of our lives and into the next life," she said, holding his hand. "And I'll love Sonny as my own. We can get custody, you can have the family you promised your boy."

"I already have that," Jim reminded her as much as himself.

Carrie told him, "Jim, she's not the one you're meant to be with. There are things about her, things you don't know. I'm sorry it happened this way, but I'm offering you everything you have ever said that you wanted in life."

"I don't know," he admitted.

"I'm telling you, I'm not letting this wedding happen. If you go up those stairs, as soon as the minister asks if anyone can voice just cause why you shouldn't be married, I'm going to be the one to stop this disaster in its tracks."

"Would you really do that to me?"

"To you, no. For you, Yes!"

To be continued...