2. Meet the Parents #3
Deja pulled back and smiled at her father, but there was no smile on his face as he glared… directly at Jax. “Pops-” she started before he side-stepped her. “Pops, wait-”
Jared punched Jax so hard in the face that Jared stumbled. But Jax didn’t budge as his face only shifted from impact. “Jared!” Debra blurted.
Jared winced as he held his injured hand. “Gaht-dammit!” he shouted.
“Sir, are you alright?” Jax asked, trying to help him.
“No!” Jared snapped. “That’s- That’s for breaking my little girl’s heart!”
“Pops,” Deja groaned as Caleb tried to bite back a snicker.
Jax sighed. “I understand. That was… deserved.”
“Damn right, it was!” Jared snapped. “Abandoning my daughter like that!”
“Jared, the boy was dying!” Debra scolded while holding Chloe.
Jared grunted as he looked from Jax to Caleb. “…Caleb?”
“Yes, sir. Pleasure to meet you,” Caleb said, shaking Jared’s uninjured hand. “You should probably put some ice on that. Jax has a jaw like cement."
“Yeah, no kidding…” Jared muttered, nursing his hand.
“Thank you for defending my honor, Pops, but I already told you that Jax and I were in a good place. Please don’t hit him again,” Deja said, taking her father’s hand.
“Though, in our culture, hitting each other is a customary form of reconciliation. Right, Jax?” Caleb smiled.
Jax’s jaw tensed. “Stabbing each other as well…”
“Stabbing?” Debra asked, startled.
“Mom, is dinner ready?” Deja interrupted. “I’m starving.”
“These are lovely.” Debra placed the bouquets that Caleb and Jax had given her in a vase. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Jax and Caleb said simultaneously before sucking their teeth. Deja tried not to chuckle.
Gathered around the dining room table crowded with food, Deja felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her. “I missed your cooking, Mom,” she said, eating her collard greens.
Debra smiled. “I hope you’ve been eating enough.”
Deja snorted. “I’m big enough with this baby weight.”
“There’s nothing wrong with your weight, Deja. You’re beautiful,” Jax said reflexively. Deja bit her lip as she looked down at her food. “Apologies for interrupting,” Jax said, clearing his throat. “Reassuring Deja is a reflex at this point.”
“Don’t apologize. My Jared was always telling me how beautiful I was when I was pregnant with Deja, even though I looked like a toad,” Debra said as Deja laughed.
“You did not look like a toad. You were radiant,” Jared smiled at his wife. “Bringing life into this world ain’t easy, but it’s beautiful. And every woman should be worshiped for sacrificing her body to such labor.” Jared looked at Caleb. “I heard you took good care of my Deja.”
Caught off guard, Caleb wiped his mouth and cleared his throat. “I did my best, sir.”
Jared smiled. “Heard you delivered the baby, too. You saved both their lives.”
Caleb’s eyes widened. “I um, I just wanted to be there for her.”
“Well, thank you for being there for my daughter,” Jared nodded respectfully.
Caleb’s cheeks flushed. “...of course, sir.”
Deja smiled warmly at the expression on Caleb’s face when she noticed Jax slowly exhale. He looked tense. “How long were you in recovery, Jax?” Debra asked.
Jax looked at her. “...a few months.”
“Months?!” Debra gasped. “That sounds like a coma!”
“It was,” Jax explained. “Thankfully, my god saw fit that I should live to see my fiancé again and meet my daughter.”
Debra looked at him, surprised. “You’re a man of faith, Jax?”
Jax smiled. “Yes, ma’am. I do believe in a higher being.”
Debra smiled proudly. “Well, I love that. A man who believes in God is a man with conviction. Deja did tell me the lengths you went to make things right between you two. Now that is a real man. Do you still intend to marry her?”
Jax looked at Deja tenderly. “If she’ll still have me…”
Deja felt warmth spread in her belly as he held her gaze. “Well, now, hold on,” Jared butted in. “I was under the impression Caleb wasn’t just a friend.”
Deja nearly spat her drink as Caleb’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment and Jax’s face flushed with rage. “I never- Pops, that’s not- Can we-” Deja stammered.
“Caleb, are you in love with my daughter?” Jared asked abruptly. Deja thought she was going to pass out. Caleb blinked, startled. “Don’t lie to me. Deja done did enough of that for a year,” Jared sucked his teeth.
“Jared!” Debra snapped.
“Wow, Pops, okay,” Deja scoffed.
“What? I didn’t get to see my only child for over a year cause the man who promised me he’d take care of her disappeared-” Jared started.
“Jared, he was in a coma!” Debra snapped.
“I don’t give a damn. My little girl was alone and isolated from her family with no one to protect her except for this here man who delivered my granddaughter,” Jared said, annoyed. “So, I wanna know if he’s-”
“Yes,” Caleb interrupted. He looked at Deja’s parents seriously. “Yes, I am deeply and unquestionably in love with your daughter.”
Deja thought Jax was going to leap across the table. But instead, he focused intently on his food. It was then that she noticed his hand had turned white from how tightly he was gripping his fork.
Debra exhaled with disbelief. “...well…”