A Second Chance

Chapter 19 *Jamie *

Sunday morning, all the kids and Becca and Matt came over. I made a big breakfast and we all enjoyed a lazy day by the pool. Jordan’s kids fit right in with all of ours. It was a heartwarming sight to see.

I couldn’t sit down on anything which tickled Becca to no end. Luckily I don’t think anyone else noticed, besides Jordan of course who looked awfully smug about it. If I’m being honest, his smugness turned me on but I was reasonable enough to know I could do nothing with my horniness for a few days at least. My lady parts needed to heal.

Once my kids were out of school a couple of weeks later, we all spent a lot of time together. We went to the water park and the beach. We saw 4th of July fireworks together. Work was booming which unfortunately meant the kids were left on their own a lot but they got along really well so it wasn’t too terrible for them.

Everyone helped plan our company hosted block party for Labor Day weekend. It’s something I had started 10 years earlier to get to know my neighbors but it had grown along with my business and for the tenth year, I wanted it to be really huge. I felt bad because Jordan’s kids were going to miss it. They were obviously bummed but they didn’t stop helping. It was just unfortunate that Florida schools go back a few weeks before NY schools.

With my encouragement, Jordan was able to get his kids and Bernadette to reconcile. Divorce is hard enough. Then their dad moved away. I could tell the weight of fighting with their mother was really getting them down. After they made up, all 3 of them were visibly more at ease.

It was honestly, a perfect summer.

When my twins’ birthday rolled around, I was a bit nervous. Jordan and I had been together for 4+ months by that point and we were disgustingly in love. Our kids were like siblings and we were all pretty happy. The problem was that I maintained a good relationship with my husband’s family and they were all coming to the birthday party. Tony’s parents had passed years earlier but his sisters, cousin and their families always celebrated with us. I wasn’t sure how they’d react to Jordan. I decided the best thing to do was to get together with them and let them know in advance to prevent them being blindsided.

I invited Elizabeth, Karen and Sophia over for pool and drinks the week before the party. I told them I wanted to discuss something with them and they all agreed to come. Jordan and all the kids were across the street at Becca’s when they came over.

I made cocktails and had some fancy appetizers by the pool and we relaxed and enjoyed the sun. It was nice, honestly. Relaxing.

“You look good.” Sophia said about an hour into the visit. “You look happy.”

“Thank you.” I smiled at her.

“Are you dating anyone?” She asked. She had always been pretty blunt and I liked that normally. This was a touchy subject, though. She must have seen my eyes dart to Tony’s sisters nervously because she continued. “It’s ok, Jamie. You are allowed to move on. Tony would not want you sad and alone forever.”

I laughed and replied, “Did you ever meet Tony? He definitely didn’t want me to move on.”

“He always did everything he could to make you happy. He was jealous and if he had lived to 100, he would have expected you to be right there with him. But he isn’t here. I don’t think that he would suddenly not want you to be happy. He’d want you to be taken care of.”

The words came from Tony’s older sister Elizabeth. It shocked me. She and Tony butted heads a lot and she and I had some differences over the years because of that. She was fiercely defensive of her family. I figured she’d hate me the most if I ever considered moving on. The funny thing was, I had never intended to date again. If Jordan hadn’t come back to me, I probably never would have been with another man the rest of my life.

“Well,” I sighed. “Since you all brought it up, that’s why I wanted to talk to you before the birthday party. I’ve actually been seeing someone for a few months. He and his kids will be at the party.”

There was silence for probably 20 seconds.

“How long exactly?” Karen asked with no emotion in her voice.

“4 plus months.” I replied.

Sophia, completely unphased pressed for details. “How’d you meet?”

“That’s a long complicated story.” I began. “I actually dated Jordan 16 years ago when I was working in Florida. We had a crazy intense romance and then he just broke up with me out of nowhere. I met Tony a few months later.”

“Wow, so did you look him up?” Sophia pushed.

“No. Do you guys remember that trip I took with Becca and Michelle last year?”

“To Key West?” Elizabeth answered.

“Yes.” I replied. “We were sitting in a restaurant at the resort having a few drinks and Jordan recognized me and came over to say ‘hi.’”

“That’s a crazy coincidence.” Karen said.

“I know.” I said. “He asked me to take a walk with him so he could explain why he broke up with me all those years ago. We talked for hours and the chemistry was definitely still there. I just wasn’t at all ready. Plus, he still lived in Florida and I lived here. I just took the closure and moved on.

“Six months later I came into work to interview a new prospective agent and it was him. He got licensed and moved to NY to pursue me. I told him I still wasn’t ready and I wasn’t sure I could trust him. He said he would wait. So I trained him and we were friends. Completely platonic.

“Then in early March, when Aaron attacked me, Jordan saved me and took care of me and I decided I didn’t want to wait anymore. We’ve been dating ever since.”

“Wait,” Karen said. “What do you mean Aaron attacked you? Who’s Aaron and what happened?”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” I apologized. “I forgot only a few people knew. Aaron is my ex boyfriend from High School. When he heard Tony died, he showed up here to convince me to be with him. When I insisted I wasn’t interested in any way, he forced himself on me to ‘convince’ me.”

“Jamie,” Sophia started, “Did he…?”

I nodded, staring down at my glass.

“What happened?” Karen asked.

“Jordan showed up. He literally threw Aaron out of the house. He texted Becca to call 911. She and Matt came running over. She called 911 and Matt stopped Jordan from killing Aaron. Jordan carried me into the house. I filed reports and did a r**e kit. He brought me home and put me to bed.”

“Wow.” Elizabeth said. “Jamie, I can’t believe that happened.”

“I can’t believe we didn’t know.” Karen agreed.

They enveloped me into a group hug. Sophia got up to refill all our drinks.

“So,” she said as she handed them back to us. “Tell us about Jordan. What’s he like?”

“Are you sure you want to hear about him?” I asked, looking at Elizabeth and Karen. “I know this must not make you happy.”

“Look, it’s hard to hear that you’re moving on, but you have the right to. You’re young and Tony would want you to be happy. You’ve suffered enough.” Karen said to me with tears in her eyes.

“Thank you.” I replied to her. “Jordan is…..he’s 3 years younger than me, 6’6”, loves to cook and work out. He’s tattooed and has really dark hair with a little salt in it. He has 2 children, Bella (14) and River (12). They are here for the summer as well as some weeks during the school year.”

“Wooowww,” Sophia said. “Younger, taller, kids the same age as yours- sounds perfect!”

I laughed. “He’s pretty close, honestly. I never really intended to date again. The only reason I am is because it’s him and he pursued me hard. I never would have sought anyone else out. So, anyway, I wanted you all to know to prevent you from being blindsided next week.”

“We appreciate that. It’s going to be weird to see you with someone else, but we’re glad to see you happy again. You deserve it.” Elizabeth said, sincerely.

The rest of the afternoon was relaxed and fun. I felt incredible relief. Hopefully everyone else will take it that well.