Chapter Thirteen – AthenaMichelle #2
The one time I met him, I hadn’t been a fan, but Estelle swore that he wasn’t as unbearable as he seemed. I disagreed, but I’d seen no signs of abuse or mistreatment, so if she’d loved him, I’d hold my tongue.
“Y’all pick a wedding date yet?” Lake added.
Juno and Estelle shared a look. I cocked a brow. Juno had been spending the most time with Estelle since she got here. If there were any relationship woes, she’d be the one to know.
“That isn’t a good look,” I observed, to which Lake nodded in agreement.
“We’re having some…disagreements,” Estelle mumbled, averting her gaze. “There are still things we need to work out before we pick a date, but I don’t wanna get into that right now. I came here for you, Michelle, not to talk about my relationship drama.”
Her smile was strained. My eyes narrowed. “Is he putting his hands on you?”
“No!” she exclaimed, just as Juno said, “Already asked, sis. We’re good.”
“He’s not abusive, I promise. He’s just… demanding.”
Felix popped into my head, taking away some of my anger. By many accounts, he could be described in the same way, yet it didn’t take away the fact that he’d been good to me during our fling.
So good that I longed to reunite with him and pick off where things left off.
Juno already knew the tea, so she just rolled her eyes, while Lake and I stared at Estelle expectantly.
“We’re trying to settle on a location before we pick a date.
I wanna get married at the Memphis Botanic Garden, but he wants us to fly to Turkey and do a traditional Turkish wedding.
Three days and three nights of celebration, exchanging our rings before the wedding, Henna Night with his female relatives, prayer before ‘consummation’, and way too many guests. ”
“And by way too many, she means fucking hundreds,” Juno chimed in, making me nearly choke on my potpie as my eyes bulged.
I’d thought Warrior was crazy when he said he wanted sixty people at our wedding.
I’d imagined a guest list of twenty valued people.
Felix’s handsome face once again invaded my mind, and I wondered which he would prefer.
A giant wedding for him to show off to everyone he knows, or something lowkey and private. I hoped it was the latter.
Immediately, I scowled at the thought. I was getting too fucking ahead of myself. I’d never be his wife, so what he preferred didn’t matter.
“I want a smaller, intimate ceremony, and for us to honeymoon in Turkey,” Estelle continued.
“I’m not against incorporating Turkish customs into my wedding, because I’m marrying a Turkish man, but he isn’t willing to compromise on anything.
He even shot down my suggestion of two small ceremonies, one in the States with my friends and family, and one in Turkey with his extended family.
And I haven’t told Mama about all this bullshit, because she adores Aydin, and would be crushed to know he isn’t considering her. ”
I let Estelle babble without interruption. She needed to get things off her chest, and I needed to consider if her fiancé was worthy of her. If he wasn’t, he’d get an exclusive tour of The Panic Room and not have to worry about where he’d be getting married.
“I’m sorry,” she said when she finished. “I’m making a big deal out of nothing, but it’s so frustrating.”
With an annoyed huff, she shoved a big forkful of pie into her mouth, chewing angrily.
“Remind me what you see in him again?” Lake asked, echoing my thoughts.
In the grand scheme of things, there were worse problems that a woman could be having with her man. Yet, disregarding what his soon-to-be bride wanted was a glaring red flag. I’d have to make it a point to keep tabs on Estelle, to ensure shit didn’t escalate with Aydin.
“His bank account?” Juno questioned.
Lake snickered, and Estelle glowered.
“I’m not a fucking gold-digger, Jun,” she huffed. “I have my own bag, so I don’t need Aydin’s money.”
“I mean, you’re well-off, cuzzo, but Aydin’s family is loaded,” Lake said, Juno nodding in agreement, neither of my sisters caring about Estelle’s mounting annoyance.
“And I’m signing a prenup, so I’ll only have access to what we agree upon.”
I recoiled. “Aydin’s making you do that?”
“Oh my gosh, he isn’t making me do shit! It was my idea because I refuse to be labeled a gold-digger.”
“Letting your husband provide for you doesn’t make you a gold-digger,” Lake said as she went for seconds.
“It just makes you smart. He’ll expect you to cook, clean, raise whatever crotch goblins y’all have, and fuck him whenever.
The least he can do is take care of the bills and get you whatever you want. ”
Juno rapidly tapped her pointer finger against her thumb, a habit she picked up from some influencer she followed online. “Clock it, sis.”
“I only cook when I want to, we hire a cleaning service, and we’ve agreed to hire a night-nanny for any children we have, so we can get sleep.”
Lake snorted. “And you say his money isn’t a perk.”
“I said that it isn’t why I’m with him,” Estelle corrected. “I didn’t say that it wasn’t a plus.”
My sisters and I exchanged looks, then burst out laughing. Estelle’s giggles joined ours.
“Shut up,” she admonished, even as a grin stretched across her face. “I didn’t even say anything funny.”
“The food is good,” I said to inspire a subject change. “You made the right call adding extra seasonings.”
“Facts,” Juno agreed. “It’s just right.”
“We should have enough to have it tomorrow, too,” Estelle said, glancing between us for approval. “If that’s fine with y’all. I’ll be packing, so I don’t know if I’d have time to cook.”
“Leftovers are fine by me. Some days we have ramen for dinner, so the pie is an upgrade,” Lake replied.
Estelle nodded, standing from the table to collect the dirty dishes.
When Bob heard the scraping of the chairs, he perked up, knowing it meant he was about to get some table food.
He followed Estelle as she set the dishes by the sink, whining when she bypassed him to grab the pie and set it on the stove.
“That’s no way for you to treat a guest, you big baby,” I chided, shaking my head as my sisters gasped dramatically. “Hush, both of you. Bob is a crybaby.”
“He’s a little prince who knows his worth,” Juno shot back.
Officially, Bob the Biter was Juno’s dog, though he’d taken to all of us.
“Get us something to drink, girl,” I replied.
Lake was the one to get up. “I got you. She’d get us sparkling grape water or some shit.”
“It’s good!” Juno protested.
“If you have no taste buds, sure,” Lake said sarcastically, before looking at Estelle, who was dropping stray pieces of chicken on the floor for Bob to scoff down. “What do you want to drink?”
“Anything’s good with me.”
The ‘anything’ Lake selected was grapefruit beers, something we all enjoyed. Estelle stacked the dishes in the sink and returned to the table, Bob choosing to lie by her, since she was the woman who fed him some glorious chicken.
“I’ve been rambling about me and Aydin, when I should be asking how you are, Michelle,” Estelle said after several minutes of silence. “When are you making that doctor’s appointment to get your injuries checked out?”
“Never,” I replied, shrugging when she pursed her lips. “I’m basically healed.”
Felix did a fantastic job nursing me back to health, and thanks to my parents leading a risky life, I knew basic first aid, including how to remove stitches. What Felix couldn’t take care of, I would.
“Dr. Feel Good took care of you, huh?” Lake teased, snickering when I elbowed her.
When we’d returned to Kansas City, she’d asked about him, and I revealed everything, including my nickname for him. My sisters and I may be in different stages of life, but our bond meant no secrets were kept between us.
“Dr. Feel Good?” Estelle asked with furrowed brows. “Like, the Aretha Franklin song?”
“I was thinking the Motley Crüe song,” Juno said.
“His real name is Felix Good, and he’s the dude she was with when we found her,” Lake explained. “He’s a doctor, and pretty fucking hot. Good job, sis.”
She offered me her fist. Instead of fist-bumping her, I smacked her hand away.
“C’mon, don’t be like that,” she said around giggles.
“A hot guy nursing you back to health while you two were trapped together?” Juno echoed, summarizing Lake’s words. “Sounds like the plot of a romance novel.”
Estelle’s eyes lit up, an idea no doubt brewing in her head. “Tell me everything,” she demanded.
“Life isn’t a romance novel,” I grumbled.
I desperately wish that real life mimicked the great love stories that she put on paper.
Instead, the two chances of happiness I’d stumbled across—Warrior and Felix—had ended in tragedy.
The death of our child spelled the end for me and Warrior, and too many factors would likely mean that Felix and I would never cross paths again.
And if we did, it wouldn’t be as lovers.
The thought hurt but deluding myself into believing otherwise would only lead to more pain.
“So? You can still share the details,” Estelle pushed, my sisters humming in agreement.
Outnumbered, I obliged, spilling every detail that I remembered, from the night of Fendi’s betrayal and subsequent death, to when I was ‘rescued.’ By the end of it, Estelle was gaping at me.
“And you haven’t tried to reach out to him?” she asked, sounding appalled.
“I’ve been a little preoccupied, cuz.”
“Okay, and now you aren’t,” Lake said. “Before you get preoccupied again, reach out to him.”
“How? We didn’t even exchange numbers.”
Juno snorted, pointing the neck of her beer bottle at me. “Sis, you have his name, his occupation, and his location. Google is free.”
Estelle nodded in agreement. “All I’m hearing is excuses. If you want to keep it as a fling, say that. Otherwise, you need to at least try before you dismiss any chances of a relationship.”
“You were just saying how awful relationships are—”
“Would y’all stop putting words in my fucking mouth?
” she snapped. “Because I said no such thing. Every relationship has rocky patches. It’s unrealistic to expect otherwise.
But love, effort, and communication should be enough to overcome anything.
If you don’t even try, you can’t say a relationship wasn’t meant to be or didn’t work out. ”
This time when Juno did her finger-thumb tap, Lake joined in, much to my annoyance.
I knew Estelle was right, and I longed to see Felix again.
However, I was terrified that with our isolation no longer a factor, he wouldn’t see me as someone worthy of his attention.
The thought of him rejecting me hurt, and I knew he looked down on my lifestyle.
Most likely, the best I could hope for was keeping things physical, and I’d crash out if Felix, someone I’d started to care about, reduced me as a warm hole to fuck when no one else was available.
Lake flicked my forehead, making me scowl. “Stop overthinking. I won’t let you throw away your chance at happiness because you’re forgetting you’re a bad bitch that any man would be lucky to have. At least try to reach out to him, and if he rejects you, we’ll scoop him up and—”
“No,” I interrupted, trying to ignore the panic I felt at the thought of anything happening to Felix. “If he rejects me, that’ll be his decision, and you lot will have to respect it.”
Juno wrinkled her nose. “So mature.”
“That’s a good thing,” Estelle said, then gave me a reassuring smile. “You’re a strong woman, Michelle. Strong enough to handle rejection. But even the strongest people can be haunted by what-ifs, which it what’ll happen if you don’t try to find this man and see where you stand.”
“Fuck, fine,” I growled, my doubts not standing a chance against my family’s onslaught.
Besides, Estelle was right. I’d been through breakups and far, far worse, and came out the other side stronger than before.
But many what-ifs lingered in my mind, each a weight on my shoulders that I could never lift.
I'd be a fool to add another one to that list, just as I’d be a fool to let someone like Felix go without a fight.
And if he rejected me, at least I could say I tried, and forever cherish the time we had together at his cabin.