Snowflakes and second chances

Sia… “You’re so lucky, girl!” Danna sang over the phone as I rounded up my work materials in the office. We’d discussed for almost an hour, keeping me in the office longer than I should have. Today wasn’t just an exciting day for me, but for Danna too. And soon, it would be an exciting day for Jamal, my finance. We’ve been together for four years, and today, after receiving news of my pregnancy, I was ready to throw it at him in the grandest way ever. “I’ve got to return now love, keep me posted,” Danna said. We hung up the call, giving me the opportunity to get my stuff real quick and proceed to my car. There was already a cake, balloons and the letter of my pregnancy sealed in an envelope sitting in the car. I couldn’t contain my excitement as I got closer to our home. Jamal and I hadn’t married yet because of some factors coming from his parents. His mother especially. With this pregnancy, I sure was going to have my fairytale dream wedding—dancing in the halls of Chicago. I parked in the garage of our home and made my way upstairs. My heart raced with anticipation of his reaction to the news. Deep down, I hope his mother was home to hear it too. “Jamal?” I whispered, holding in my excitement as I pushed the door knob. The door was slightly open, giving me quick access into the living room. As I stepped into the room, my excitement gradually turned into a sinking feeling. The air was thick with a scent I didn’t recognize—floral, sweet and rosy. It wasn’t Jamal’s cologne. Neither was it his mothers’. We were the only three people who had access into the house. My eyes darted around, catching sight of an unfamiliar pair of heels carelessly lying beside a couch. “Jamal?” I called again, my voice laced with fear and a stinging pain in my heart. I made my way up the stairs, holding my fragile heart in my palms. Moans, the creaking of the bed, the repeated singing of Jamal’s name by the feminine voice sent a dreadful chill down my spine. I still held onto my hope that it wasn’t what I thought it to be, until I opened the door to our bedroom. There he was—Jamal, shirtless, with his hands tangled in the hair of a woman I didn’t get the chance to see, because they were in a position Jamal had never practiced with me. My heart fell from my palms, crashing on the hard floor. Time seemed to freeze. My hands trembled with the envelope which struggled to stay put. The tears in my eyes made my vision blur, my legs became weak, and I found myself retracing my steps to the door. “How…how could you?” I blurted, sobs interrupting my speech. Jamal and his s*x mate pulled away from each other. She wrapped herself up, shielding her face with the sheet while Jamal carried his naked self out of bed and approached me. “Sia, I thought you said you had a doctors’ appointment which would take all day? Why are you…urm…home?” He threw a question deserving of a slap on his face. My hand was descending when it got held from behind. “You dare lift a finger on my son?” His mother queried, pushing me away as she walked between Jamal and I. “Get dressed you moron!” She waved him off, now inching closer to me. “Have you forgotten that you’re an opportunist, Sia?” “Leaving off my son’s wealth, enjoying the privileges of being a Gordon and parading yourself as one round the town. Or do you think we haven’t heard you sleep around with those men in your office?” She added. My heart squeezed as I watched and listened to her defame me. I glanced at mummy’s boy, unable to read the expression on his face. Taking insults from anyone was something I was used to, not a cheating boyfriend. “Answer me!” His mother yelled, drawing me out of my world of thought. I didn’t even hear her question. I squeezed the letter into the pocket of my coat and took off our engagement ring. “I hope you’re happy with her,” I said to both of them, tossed the engagement ring to the floor and ran off. I went back into my car and drove off, weeping the pain out of my eyes. I tried calling Danna to tell her, but I would be interrupting her Christmas Eve with her boyfriend. Instead, I drove into the silent night without a specific direction, until I arrived at the bridge. I parked at a corner of the road and made my way to the rails. I shut my eyes, taking in the cold breeze which blew across my face. I was unable to stay quiet because of how fast my heart raced, forcing the tears out again. “How could he?” I stuttered. Several beeps forced me to take my phone out of my pocket. They were office jpegs of Jamal and his secret mistress. How did these find their way to my phone? And why now? They contained images of him on different attires having an affair with her. This has been going on all along, right under my nose. Yet he kept filling me with words of affirmation and endless s*x. My phone rang, a familiar number which I never expected to resurface after seven years. “Hi,” I breathed, clearing my throat to hide my pain. “You know who is speaking already, don’t you?” His thick voice rang over the phone. I sighed, cleaning my tears as if I was standing right before his large balled eyes and broad shoulders, waiting for his command. I thought that fear was long gone, but it still lurked somewhere in my heart. “Papi?” I asked, unsure since he was asking. “Tu padre está muerto, princesa—your father is dead, princess. It is your uncle, Alejandro.” “Que? What? Dead? How?. Uncle Alejandro, if my father sent you to play games with me just to have me back home, tell him I won’t fall for it until he sends her away,” I refused to believe him, but the silence which followed after was compelling. Once again, tears trickled down my eyes, layering my initial pain with another. I covered my mouth, sobbing into my palms. “Come home, Sia. Your father has left his position vacant…with a word that no one aside his daughter should occupy it,” he said and hung up the phone. My phone fell from my hand, then my knees followed, dropping to the ground as I buried my face in it. Why was life happening so fast? ******