29. Gisele
Racing to the grocery store, crying the whole way, I tried to wipe the messages I read from my memory, but it was hopeless. They were obviously for a booty call, one that sounded like she did it many times. The question was how recent? While my mind refused to believe Jamison would do that to me, that he loved me with a fierceness it bordered on obsession, I could not discount that maybe I was not enough for him.
Suddenly I felt the weight of the family curse, a weight I had thought I’d shed the day Jamison came into my life.
Who was this, Sherry? Was she a colleague at the Gracefield station? Another police officer? Or was she an executive type like a lawyer or perhaps she was one of those artistic women who were confident in their sexuality?
Whoever she was she knew all about Jamison’s prowess in the bedroom, her messages let that be known. I was not stupid to think that Jamison had not been with other women before me, it was a logical assumption but having it confirmed was an entirely different feeling, and so … graphically.
Wiping my nose on my sleeve, I came up to the shop and pushed my way inside.
“It’s over!” I wailed as soon as I entered the shop, expecting to find my mother alone at this early time of the morning but instead I was faced with a shop full of people as well as Claudia, Elle and my father.
“What’s going on?” I asked so stunned to see so many people so early my dramatic entrance getting more attention than I bargained for.
With everyone staring at me with various degrees of interest it was Claudia who answered me.
“Post hostage sale, half price off all frozen desserts and every sale gets a free today’s newspaper,” she answered me easily, “what is over?” she asked looking at me like I had just grown two heads.
“Oh, that is a clever idea, did you remember we have that shipment of frozen yogurt we received by mistake?” I asked impressed with the genius idea. Frozen yogurt was nice but when you have ten boxes of it each one with thirty small containers that was a disaster.
Nodding her head, Claudia continued to stare at me, “I know it was my idea. Now what is over?”
Remembering the reason for my distraught state, I resumed crying.
“Oh, just my life,” I cried again, “Jamison is cheating on me.”
“He is what?” my mother shouted.
“Oh, for the love of God Gisele.” That was Elle.
“Here we go.” Claudia.
“And I’m out.” Came from my father as he headed quickly for the back door.
“He is! He has a trollop in the city texting him for booty calls,” I insisted hotly through my tears, “I saw them with my own eyes!”
“A trollop? Who?” Mr Hanson asked me, dropping his basket onto the counter turning around to watch my breakdown.
“Sherry,” I spat, her name sounded like the kind of name a trollop would go by.
“And what makes her a trollop Gissy?” mum asked, looking decidedly less pissed off than she did when I burst through the door declaring my life over.
“Her messages were asking for a booty call, what kind of woman sends a man messages like that when he is obviously taken?”
“Does she know he is taken?” Elle asked me calmly, directing a knowing look my way.
“Did Jamison get a chance to explain, or did you go fly off the handle again running out before he could?” Claudia added which only caused more tears to flow.
“You never believe me!” I stormed, stomping my foot on the old wood floor, hoping that my red face was from crying and not from embarrassment. I did tend to go off half-cocked at times, going from zero to a hundred before getting all the facts, but that was not the point here. Jamison had done me wrong, and my family needed to get on the right side.
Mine.
“Oh, I believe you chickee,” Elle allowed generously, “what I don’t believe is that Jami would cheat on you. The man is head over heels in love with you.”
“No, he would not and yes he is,” a deep angry voice came from behind me, the voice of the man I loved more than anything. I had been so lost in my tantrum I didn’t hear the bell go off over the door. Spinning around the first person I saw was my man, standing tall and handsome with his fists clenched and resting on his hips, his face a mixture of anger and love. For me.
Next, I saw Miracle standing behind him, a plate of half-eaten pancakes with strawberries in her hands, and Optimus’s leash around her wrist.
“It’s too early for school,” I observed taking in the perfect sight that was Jamison Jury. His dark hair was a little longer these days, since he didn’t have to go into the city anymore, his neat appearance was taking on a more casual small town look.
I loved it. His hair was thick and luxurious to run my fingers through during our love making or just when we were relaxing on the couch watching tv. I think he liked it too, because he stopped cutting it so severally, he was even enjoying scruffier facial hair. Something else I loved and not just between my fingers.
“Miracle has decided that Optimus is now her service dog, and the principal can’t say shit about that.” Jamison said to me, his eyes boring into my soul. God, I loved his eyes, the blue was so vibrant, so spectacular, so dreamy I could honestly look into them for days without getting tired of them.
I had no idea what to say about my precious child’s latest idea, she did have a point that the school could not disallow a service dog, the only problem could be that Optimus was not an official one or trained.
Not that Miracle would let that stop her, but still I made a mental note to look into what was required for her to keep the pug with her at school.
“Gisele, I have not now or will ever cheat on you baby,” Jamison implored bringing my mind back where it was needed.
“Who is Sherry?” I asked ignoring what he said because I was not ready to listen to reason just yet.
“You mean the trollop?” he asked me a smirk creeping at the corners of his mouth.
“Yes, that one,” I growled back at him. His attempt at humour was not appreciated until I got all the details of who the woman was to him.
Liam cheated on me after our first date, before I even lost my virginity, then I was made to spend months watching him parade girl after girl in my face while I was pregnant with his kid. It was not a pleasant position for anyone to find themselves in, but I managed to be that person.
Putting his hands up in surrendering gesture, Jamison looked around at Miracle to make sure she was inside the shop.
God, I love the way he is always thinking about my little girl’s wellbeing. If anyone was born to be a father, it’s my man.
“Beautiful this is where I need you to concentrate,” Jamison scolded me, but his smile was knowing.
“Explain,” I demanded, keeping my eyes focused on his face and not on the butterflies in my stomach every time he called me beautiful.
“She isn’t an old girlfriend we simply had a mutual agreement to see to each other’s —”
“Stop!” I shouted out my eyes darting to my daughter who was now finished with her pancakes feeding what she didn’t want to the pug. “Miracle, I don’t think maple syrup is good for dogs,” I said, not knowing for sure but to me sugar was bad for any teeth, human or canine.
“But he loves his pancakes in the morning Mumma,” Miracle whined, her sweet voice saying mumma made my heart miss a beat every single time.
I hope that never changes.
“I’m sure he does chickee, but if you want him to be a service dog you have to make sure he is always in good shape,” I lectured like a good mother does.
“I’m going to do some research about service dogs,” Claudia said suddenly, “It’s a brilliant idea for her. Are service dogs with their tongues hanging out acceptable do you think?” Claudia mused out loud.
“Let me help,” mum enthused, smiling at Miracle with an indulgent smile, “the office computer is already booted up. Elle can you look after the customers for a bit until I return?”
“Sure, I got nothing better to do than watch this warped Blessings version of Days of Our Lives,” she replied dryly, then started taking out the items from Mr Hanson’s basket to ring them up on the antique register.
Why can’t my parents come into the twenty-first century? Not that I should complain, at least I talked them into putting in an EFTPOS machine last year.
“This is what you get when you live in sin young miss,” Mrs Rowethorne sniffed dumping her basket of frozen yogurt on the ground. “I’ll come back for those later, when Jock is on duty,” she sniffed again, pushing the large hat on her head back into place as she walked past me to the front door.
“Pull that stick out of your butt, you old battleaxe” Miracle signed to me, making me and Elle burst out laughing.
Mrs Rowethorne who didn’t understand sign huffed, sniffed then huffed again before yanking the door open storming out with as much dignity as she could muster.
“Find your own man,” I called out to her happy to have the last word, “leave the married men in town alone.”
“Gisele!” Jamison growled but unfortunately for my man, my focus was all over the place.
“Can you believe that woman?” I asked Elle, bending down to grab the abandoned basket full of frozen yumminess with the intention of putting it back but before I could the basket was pulled from my grasp, then I found myself tossed over a broad shoulder like a rag doll, knocking the breath out of me rendering me speechless.
“Elle keep Miracle here with you until I get back,” Jamison ordered, spinning us around so fast my vision got wobbly.
“Copy that HC, good luck,” my sister called out jovially, my daughter snickering at me as Jamison walked us past her.
“Don’t go anywhere chickee,” I ordered my child looking at her from my upside down position.
“Yes Mumma,” she singsonged back at me, her brown eyes gleaming with glee.
“Jamison, is this really necessary?” I yelled at him over the howling wind as he hurried up the footpath to our … my house. I was not ready to admit I jumped to conclusions about the trollop and Jamison. His answer was to slap my bottom hard enough to leave a sting on my cheek and a jolt to my core.
Damn him.
This wasn’t the first time he used this tactic on me, and I prayed it wouldn’t be the last.