Blessed & Broken

Chapter 12

A few days later, Gemma and I met at a cute little diner that was settled on the outskirts of town for lunch. Sometimes, it’s the places that are located out of the way from all of the hustle and bustle, that have some of the best food.

I decided to order the opened faced hot roast beef sandwich. The aroma was simply mouth-watering and had me salivating. The homemade thick cut, yeasty bread was covered in a high pile of tender, all day cooked roast beef. A mound of glazed onions and carrots, snuggled against the savory sandwich, while the mashed potatoes nestled in its own little nook of the plate. Rich brown gravy, flowed like a tiny river over the beef, between the carrots and onions, to where it took its final resting place in a lake right in the middle of my fluffy buttery potatoes. 

Gemma on the other hand stuck with her go out, go to meal. Chicken fingers and fries. For such an adventurous girl, she sure had a boring taste palate.

“How’s Eric doing?”, I asked. She took a sip from her pop. “He’s doing really good.” I scooped a mix of the hot beef and carrots on my fork and ate it with delight. “How’s Ian?”, she asked. I looked at her and smiled. “He’s really good.” She smiled back at me with her eye brows raised.

“How’s your mom and George? Are they having a good time in Oklahoma?” I took a drink of my Coke to cleanse my mouth. “Yeah. I just talked to my mom this morning. She said it’s really sunny and warm there today. Bragger.” Gemma dipped her chicken into some ranch while listening.

After taking a few bites of her chicken, Gemma exclaimed, “OH!” I jumped a little. “Before I forget, thank you so much for everything last week. For inviting us with you and Ian to the zoo.” I dunked some potatoes that I had stuck on the end of my fork into the gravy. “Oh, you’re welcome. It was so much fun.” Gemma wiped her mouth with her napkin and said, “No really, thank you. I mean, not only did you invite us, you drove and paid for us too. I know that wasn’t cheap.”

I looked up from my plate and said, “I didn’t pay. George did.” Gemma stopped and blinked her eyes at me in surprise. “He told me we could use his vehicle to drive there and when I got into his car, he left me a note with a hundred-dollar bill in it, telling us to have a good time.” Her hands fell into her lap. “That man is so stinking sweet”, she gushed. “He is just...” She was having a difficult time trying to express what she was trying to say. 

“He really is a great man”, I intervened. Gemma nodded her head in agreeance. “Your mom really got lucky finding him after your dad passed away.” I took another drink. “We all did.” I thought for a moment. “I feel kind of bad now for the way that I treated him in the beginning.”

I set my glass on the table. Gemma dipped another piece of her chicken into some thick golden honey. “You mean when you thought he was just some rich asshole trying to take advantage of your mom?”, Gemma smirked at me. “That would be it”, I chuckled. “It wasn’t fair for me to judge him like that. I really didn’t know him”, I said. “I mean, yeah, he has money, but you would never know it. He doesn’t flaunt it. He is just a genuinely kind man.” 

“Don’t forget generous”, Gemma chimed in as she proceeded to sink another strip of chicken into some mayo and then BBQ sauce. “How many freaking sauces does one person need for their chicken?” She laughed and said, “I like exotic food.” I dipped my head and gave her a look. “Gemma, it’s chicken fingers. There is nothing exotic about chicken that has been slapped in some flour and fried.” She made a face at me and said, “Well, then I am a connoisseur of sauces!” I put my glass up to my lips and mumbled, “Connoisseur my ass.” She responded by giving me the finger.

We continued to sit and enjoy our food when all of a sudden, Gemma yelled, “Oh!” She made me jump again making my body jerk. “Will you stop doing that. Lay off the caffeine lady.” She gave me an apologetic look. “Sorry. I just wanted to ask you something.”

I looked up at her with my eyebrows raised as I masticated a mouth full of delicious food. “What did you and Eric talk about Christmas night?” I thought to myself, “Oh shit.” I just needed to play dumb. “When?”, I asked. “When you guys went to take the garbage out”, she said. 

I shrugged my shoulders and responded, “Nothing.” She titled her head slightly. “Nothing? People don’t talk about nothing for fifteen minutes.” I shrugged my shoulders again. “Plus, Eric seemed strange when you guys came back in the house. It was like he was nervous and relieved all at the same time.” I didn’t look up at her but once again, shrugged my shoulders. She sat back in the booth and crossed her arms. “It was about me, wasn’t it?”

I didn’t realize that I had been packing my mouth with food to avoid looking at her when I answered, “No”, and it came out all muffled. I chewed my food and looked back down at my plate. “Kalia”, Gemma called. I didn’t answer. “Kalia Stone”, she called sterner. “What?”, I answered. “You’re lying to me.” I made a face while my head was still down. “No!” She still had her arms crossed and I could feel her eyes staring me down. “Kalia Elizabeth Stone, I know you’re lying to me.” 

I took a deep sigh and said, “Fine. Yes, we talked about you.” I took a drink to wash down the food. “What about me?”, she inquired. “We talked about how your mama’s ugly and she dresses you funny.” She threw her hands up exacerbated and rolled her eyes. I laughed and asked, “Did Eric say that we talked?”  Because if he did, I was going to beat him.

“No”, she answered. “However, that night when he drove me home, he told me that he loved me. He said that someone helped him to get the courage to do it. He also said that I should never think bad about myself and how wonderful of a person I am.” I wrinkled my face and flipped my hand up. “So, what does that have to do with me?”, I asked acting clueless. “Because it has you written all over it.”

I looked out the window, knowing that she was waiting for me to answer. “So?”, she asked. I looked back at her and blinked my eyes hard. “Yes, yes we talked about you.” Gemma gave her hands one good clap and said, “I knew it!”  I tilted my chin down and blinked a few more times at her. “So, what did he say?”, she asked. I stared at her a little longer before I answered. “It was a private conversation.”

She playfully pierced her eyes at me and said, “If the conversation was about me, then it’s not private from me.” I let out another sigh, this one in defeat.  “He just talked about how he was in love with you while he walked a groove into the concrete of the garage floor.” Gemma looked at me and said, “Huh?” I answered her back, “He was pacing.” Her face lit up a bit. “Really?” 

I started to giggle. “Yeah, he was so nervous, I thought he was going to throw up.” Gemma sat there with a smile on her face. I knew it made her feel good knowing that someone felt that way about her. “So, what did you say?”, she asked. I took another drink and said, “I told him that you felt the same way about him.” 

Her mouth dropped open. “Why did you do that?”, she asked in a high voice. I leaned forward and looked right at her. “Well, you do, don’t you?” She crossed her arms again. “Well, he doesn’t need to know that.” I rolled my eyes and distorted my mouth. “Oh, Ok. Let’s just not talk to each other about how much we love each other like a big ole pink tutu wearing elephant in the room.” I sat back and pondered. “Besides, I was just helping love along is all.”

I heard Gemma take an audible sigh. Then something dawned on me. “Wait! He doesn’t' need to know that?”, I asked in disbelief. My forehead was creased in the middle. “Do you mean to tell me that he told you that he has feelings for you and you didn’t say anything back?” I could hear my voice becoming higher in pitch. She looked off to the side. “Gemma Lee”, I called to her. “Look at me!”, I demanded. Her eyes slowly moved my way. “No, I didn’t say anything”, she said softly. 

I threw my hands up to the side of my head. “But you love him!” She didn’t say a word. My head was racing. “Listen, I know that love may be a scary thought for you. I know that your last relationship was a complete and utter s**t show and that you feel as if your parents could have given a rat’s ass about you.” I sat back against the back of the booth. “But girl, you cannot let your past rule your future. You need to seize the day, every opportunity that comes your way. Especially the ones that scare you the most!” I was very animated in my annoyance with Gemma. “But damn it, you need to grab that s**t by the balls, literally, and say, “that’s mine!” 

I got a chuckle out of her. “Man! Don’t waste your opportunities, especially to love. If the moment is there for you to tell someone that you love them, you take it! You take them and love the s**t out of them, because if love don’t feel loved, it walks away.” My voice softened. “Don’t give him the chance to walk away because you are scared. He’s good for you. You both are good for each other. You deserve this, Gem.”

When lunch was over, there wasn’t much conversation left between Gemma and I. Neither of us were mad at each other and I know she was just processing everything that we talked about.

As I walked into the house, Ian was right there to greet me. I threw my arms around his neck as he slid his hands around my waist. I pressed my lips to his as he squeezed me tight. “How was lunch?”, he asked. I rested my head to his chest and let out a deep breathe. “Exhausting.” He let out a small laugh and said, “I saw that.” He kissed my forehead and said, “You did good, my love.” I lifted my head to meet his gaze. It was the first time he had called me anything other than my name. “I love you”, I whispered. It felt so good to be in his arms. I loved to be anywhere he was.

A few days later, Ian and I were snuggled up on the couch when he said, “You have a visitor.” I lifted my head off of his chest and gave him a confused look. Just then, I heard the front door open. Ian gave a huge blinding smile. I smiled back at him thinking to myself, “smart ass.” He got up and said, “I’ll be upstairs, give you guys some privacy.”

I walked to the front door and saw Gemma standing there smiling. “Hi”, I grinned at her. “I tried to call you, but I think your phone is dead”, she said. I got a surprised look on my face. “Let me go check.” We both made our way to the kitchen where my phone was located. “Yep, it’s dead.” I went to plug it in to charge it. “Sorry about that.”

She sat on a stool and I grabbed us a drink. “What’s up?”, I asked while handing her a can of pop. Her face went serious a moment. “I just wanted to apologize for the way I was at lunch the other day.” I made a face at her. “Girl, please. We’re cool.” I played it off like I had never given it another thought. “No, you were right”, she said. “I am scared of love.”

I gave her my full undivided attention. “Besides you and your family, I have never had anyone love me. When Eric said he did, I guess I didn’t know how to handle it.” I nodded my head because it made sense.

“After our talk, I guess it hit me that I didn’t want to lose that. I didn’t want to lose him.” I gave her a soft smile as she continued. “So, that night, I went to his house.” She stopped talking and got quiet as she played with her fingers. I bent my head and looked at her through my lashes. “And?” I prompted her to go on.

“And... I told him that I loved him too.” A smile spread wide across my face as I let out a little squeal. I threw my arms around my best friend. “I’m so proud you!”

I looked at her and she wiped happy tears from her eyes. “I mean it, Gem”, I said. "I am really proud of you. I know that wasn’t easy.” She took a deep breath. “No, it wasn’t, but it felt good to conquer the feeling.” I handed her a tissue and asked, “What did Eric say?’ She let out a laugh. “Well, he cried, which made me cry. Then he looked at me and told me he loved me. This time, I told him that I loved him back.”

I felt elated inside to know that my best friend was finally accepting good things into her life. “I am so happy for you, Gem.” I gave her another hug. As I pulled away, she said, “We are moving in together.” 

I could feel the look of shock spread across my face. I processed the information that she just told me. “Ok, ok.” I said nodding my head. “That’s a big step, but I support you.” She grabbed me tight. “Thank you, Kali. I love you more than you’ll ever know.” I snuggled her close and said, “I love you, too.”

We both took a drink from our beverages and Gemma looked around. “Where’s Ian?” I glanced behind me. “I think he’s upstairs taking a shower.” She looked at me and said, “You guys are getting pretty serious, aren’t you?”  I looked down and smiled. “Yeah.” She touched my arm and softly said, “I’m really happy for you, Kal. He’s a good one.”

I looked up at her and said, “He makes me so happy.” A kind grin appeared on her face. “I know. I can feel it when I’m around you.” She adjusted herself on the stool. “He’s a hell of a lot better than that dipshit you went out with in high school.”  I laughed. “Oh God, don’t remind me. What the hell was I thinking, right?” She gave me a stern motherly look. “You weren’t.”

“I wonder what that over-egotistical nut job is doing now?”, she pondered out loud. I chuckled and said, “I heard that he was working at his dad’s investment banking firm. You know, learning the ropes to take over the multi-million-dollar snob empire one day.” Gemma put the tip of her finger to the end of her nose and lifted it.

She got up from the stool and said, “I have to get going. Eric wants to show me a house he found.” I looked at her, pulling back. “You guys are buying a house together?” She smiled at me. “Damn speedy. Ok, Ok.” I assured her that I was supportive. “Love you”, she said as she hugged me goodbye. “I love you, too. Tell Eric I said Hi.”

Ian came walking down the stairs. “Hey, Ian”, Gemma called out. “Are you leaving?”, he asked. “Yeah, I have to run to Eric’s.” Ian walked over to Gemma and gave her a big hug. “Be safe”, he said to her before turning and walking away. Gemma looked at me and mouthed, “He’s huge!” I laughed and told her to “Be careful”, as she got into her car.

As I walked back into the living room, Ian had the biggest s**t eating grin on his face. “What?”, I asked. “I make you happy”, he said. I began to chuckle. “Eavesdropper.” I snuggled up against him as he held onto me tight.