34. Gisele
Standing at my front window, curtains pulled back, the wooden plantation shutters open looking for any sign of Jamison. His half hour was up ten minutes ago but still he wasn’t home.
“Gisele, will you get back from the window please,” my mother ordered from her position on my couch. “Your father and boyfriend are going to end up on the evening news one of these days with all their male testosterone behaviour let’s not give the neighbours anymore reason to gossip about our business.”
“How is Gisele standing in front of the window gossip fodder?” Elle asked like I knew she would. Anything to get our mother’s hackles raised, Elle was all for it.
“Yeah,” Claudia chimed in from the other side of the couch. “We have never been on the evening news mother, ever.”
Smiling at the banter, I looked down at my daughter who was sitting on the floor with her Pug feeding him a bowl of cereal and milk. Shaking my head at her I couldn’t help leaving my post to join her. Dropping to the fluffy rug crossing my legs, I pulled my daughter off the floor and settled her in the gap of my legs.
“Don’t you think Optimus has had enough breakfast cereal chickee?” I asked her, smooching all over her head, making her shoulders shake in laughter.
“No,” I answered for her, tickling her.
“They’re back!” Claudia called out when headlights flashed across the window.
“About time,” mum growled, tapping her nails on the coffee cup she was holding, but despite her growl I could see she was relieved hearing dad’s motor roll into my driveway.
I don’t know who was more nervous waiting for our men to come back, me or Georgina. Claudia the only one not concerned of the chance of her husband spending a night in the lock-up.
“Brace yourself ladies,” Elle hollered from the front door, “incoming pissed off looking males.” Sticking her head around the door frame, Elle looked a slightly taken aback.
“What?” I asked fearing the reason behind Elle’s surprised expression.
“Dad has a split lip; Josh has the beginnings of a black eye and Jami’s shirt is torn but I see no damage otherwise.” Elle reported as if she were a commentor for a football match.
“What!” Mum, Claudia and I all screamed at once.
Hurrying over to me, Elle grabbed Miracle and hauled her off me so I could get up from the carpet. Getting to my feet just in time to see dad leading the way into my loungeroom with what was indeed a split lip. Behind him was Josh sporting a red and puffy right eye. Bringing up the rear was my man, his black shirt ripped down the middle and a large scratch on his hairless muscled chest.
For a second, I was taken back to the movie where Patrick Swayze was a bouncer in a dive bar. Jamison could easily be a bouncer I decided taking a good look at my ruffed-up man.
“Oh my god it’s like a scene from Roadhouse,” Claudia gushed looking at her husband almost drooling, echoing my thoughts exactly.
Mum went to push herself off the couch, but dad quickly got to her to give her a hand.
“Hello wife,” he said giving her a kiss to her turned cheek.
“Husband,” she nodded at him, her hands running over his body checking for any more damage other than his lip.
“I’m in one piece, my love,” he promised flopping down onto the couch pulling mum down on his lap.
“Jock Anthony Blessing, don’t you think you are a little too old to be fist fighting?” she said not meaning it as a question she needed to be answered.
“Never too old to lay out the youngsters Georgie Grace,” he replied, laughing and wincing at the same time touching a finger to his lip.
As interesting as my parents were to watch when they used one another’s middle names my attention was wholly and solely on Jamison. I couldn’t tell if he was happy with the outcome of his ‘chat’ with Liam or not. His detective face hard to read sometimes.
At least he is in one piece and not in cuffs, I thought to myself, taking a tentative step towards him.
“Have fun?” I asked placing my hands on his chest where his shirt was torn.
“It was … cathartic and the results were exactly what I wanted,” Jamison said cryptically irking my temper immediately.
“Jamison!” Smacking him with an open palm, I waited for him to answer me properly.
Sighing, Jamison took my hand and led me over to the only free chair, the old recliner I kept that once belonged to my grandpa. Jamison had taken a liking to it since staying at my house the last few weeks.
Sitting down with a heavy groan, I took my place sitting straight down on his lap.
“Talk.” I demanded getting frustrated at his stalling.
“There isn’t a great deal to tell gorgeous. He smirked at me, I swung a punch, and it was on. Jock took tweedle-dee, Josh took tweedle-dumb, and douchebag was all mine.” Jamison said simply, as if it all was that simple.
“Right simple,” I drawled giving him a get on with it hand motion.
Staring me down, I gave Jamison my best resting bitch face. “I can do this all night,” I told him wiggling my butt getting myself settled. My family knew how stubborn I was and so did Jamison but if he didn’t start talking and soon, he was going to find out some more things about me he wasn’t aware of.
Two brown eyes stared down two blue eyes until finally Jamison growled and pinched my bottom.
“Liam isn’t dead so don’t worry about that. He is a lot banged up however, and thanks to your dad for getting Liam’s dad on the phone and telling him about leaving Miracle alone to go out drinking. After a conversation that included potential child endangerment charges, and some very bad and public publicity they thought it be a good idea that their son join them back in the city for a while.”
“A while? How long is a while exactly?” I asked holding my breath and crossing my fingers and toes.
Please say forever. Please say forever.
“Indefinitely Gisele Heidi,” my father answered for Jamison who was just staring into my eyes like his life depended on him not losing eye contact with me.
Breaking our connection, my head swung to my father, who was doing his best to smile through the pain of a split lip.
“Jury and I convinced them that their son wasn’t the kind of dad that Miracle needs. We got him to promise to sign away his parental rights but agreed to them having photos of her twice a year for their family photo album.” Dad said with a good amount of disgust for Miracle’s other grandparents.
My head was swimming with everything I was just told, but I needed more details more clarification. Did my father tell me that Liam agreed to sign away his parental rights?
Turning back to Jamison I held his face between my hands, “Honey, please tell me what this all means.” I pleaded my nerves hanging by a thread.
“It means gorgeous,” he began leaning in to peck my lips, allowing the kiss to linger just a moment no doubt out of respect for my dad. “Liam admitted he is a shitty father and that he isn’t really interested in life in a small town anymore. He loves Miracle but doesn’t have a bond or connection with her.” Immediately hearing that I started to protest. How dare he say that about my little girl.
“Why that no good piece of donkey shit!” I exclaimed jumping up only to be pulled straight back down again.
“Calm down Gisele,” Jamison soothed, “Liam is a … what you just called him and a lot more, but he did say he loves his daughter he just doesn’t know how to or what that entails.”
“Still not good enough,” I huffed but inside I was dancing like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Looking down at my daughter who had reclaimed her place on the rug with Optimus, I took my hands from Jamison’s face and held them out to my child.
“Come here precious chickee,” I called softly, grinning at the way she untangled herself from the dog without interrupting the sleeping mutt.
Coming to me Miracle didn’t hesitate to make room for herself on Jamison and me, and like me she wriggled and snuggled until she was comfortable.
“Comfy lamb?” Jamison asked dryly an adoring smile directed at my daughter.
Nodding her head, Miracle grinned back at him, her face radiant considering all she just heard about her father and the lack of affection from her grandparents. Admittedly they barely visited her, but Miracle was a smart girl and a sensitive one, at some level she had to be feeling Liam’s rejection.
“You heard what Grumpy said chickee. Is that okay with you?” I asked my daughter carefully watching her face for any sign of distress.
Signing away, I watched her hands nodding my head at what she was saying.
“It’s not because you don’t talk, chickee. Your father just doesn’t know how to handle being a dad,” I told immediately dispelling that she had any blame for Liam’s decision.
“You have so many people who not only love you Miracle but are so ecstatically happy you were gifted to us,” I told my girl, “The day you were born I knew I was given something extra special.” Watching her hands, I gasped at what she asked me.
“Umm, I don’t know Chickee, that is up to Jamison,” I said looking at Jamison then back to my daughter.
“What did she ask?” Jamison asked immediately, his signing skills not fast enough to keep up with Miracle.
Instead of letting me answer, Elle chose that moment to get involved.
“Miracle wants to know if you are staying in Blessings for good and if you are will you be living with her and Gisele.” All eyes turned to Jamison, some with avid interest and some narrowed and waiting for him to give the wrong answer. I already knew what that would be, I felt deep in my soul that Jamison was put in my path when he was for a reason.
Not in any way uncomfortable with the silence in the room or the eyes watching him intently, Jamison shifted Miracle, so she was looking at him, but his eyes were trained on me.
“If it is okay with you lamb, I would like it very much to move in here permanently, with you and your mum and be a family.” His request was directed to my daughter, but he wasn’t asking her. He was asking me. He was asking me to trust him, believe him that he wanted a life with me and Miracle in Blessings.
“What about your work?” my mother butted in; her tone guarded but she had a smile on her face happy for me.
“Well,” Jamison began, glancing at my parents, “It is going to be a few weeks of commuting daily back and forth from Blessings and Gracefield, but I have put in a request the commissioner of police that Blessings needs a full-time police presence.” Jamison announced shocking everyone in the room.
“You think that is a possibility?” I rushed to ask feeling giddy at the prospect of Jamison moving here and being the town’s policeman.
Nodding Jamison smiled at me, “I’ve been working on it for a week now and my boss back in Gracefield has some pull with the head honchos, so far it looks pretty good.”
“And marriage?” dad demanded inserting himself into the conversation, his question bringing a flush to my face.
“Dad, really!” I admonished him in a high-pitched squeal.
“It’s a fair question chickee,” Claudia said agreeing with our father, “He can’t expect to drink the milk if he doesn’t want to buy the cow.”
“Oh, dear lord in heaven,” I muttered totally humiliated. My family seriously needed counselling.
“I agree Gisele Heidi,” mum said nodding at Elle and Claudia. “You keep having sexual relations without protection, you’ll end up pregnant out of wedlock again.” She said matter of factly like it was a normal thing to say in front of Jamison and Miracle.
“Please Lord take me now,” I cried, holding my face in my hands. Jamison wasn’t doing much better than I was, his face flushed crimson his eyes wide and shocked.
Positioning Miracle again this time she was on one knee and I on the other, Miracle blocking my parents from my vision.
“Gisele, I’m telling you now. You are only allowed to give me boys, I swear to God I don’t think I could take any more Blessing estragon.” The second the last word left his lips a silence fell in the room except for one tiny sound. It hadn’t come from me reacting to Jamison’s roundabout way of telling me we were going to have kids. It didn’t come from my parents or sisters. A tiny snickering sound that left me breathless because it came from my daughter.
“Miracle,” I choked, tears of utter joy filling my eyes. “Did … was that … oh my word did you just giggle?” I asked stupidly, we all heard it, but still I had to ask.
Nodding her head, Miracle jumped off Jamison’s lap and stood in front of me. My whole family was stunned speechless, every single person in the room had tears trickling down their faces.
Eight years. Eight years of silence and Miracle chose the most perfect moment to make her first sound. With my heart beating out of my chest I slipped off Jamison’s lap to my knees. My height and Miracle’s exactly the same in this position.
“Sweetheart, you giggled. You really giggled,” I cried happily pulling her into my arms. Her little arms came around me, her face planted in my throat.
“Yes,” she whispered into my ear. One word. One spoken word.
Joy overcame me, my whole body shaking with overwhelming relief.
My daughter spoke to me. Actually, said a word to me.
Feeling Jamison’s arms come around us, then more arms joined in. It was difficult but we managed a huge family hug with Miracle in the middle.
One whispered word with a healing power for my entire family.
I’d finally found love with the man of my dreams.
And my daughter spoke.
My life was complete. The Blessing curse that plagued me my whole life was broken.