Desires of a Maiden by Shadaei Osbourne

Episode 2

Its 5:30 am THURSDAY morning and Jhayde wakes up to start her normal morning routine. She got herself and Jhayde ready for school and headed out.

“Hey buddy are you ok?”

“Yes Mom. When can uncle Travi, Uncle Vinny and Uncle Shaun come over again I had so much fun last night??!?.

She could see the joy in his eyes and it melted her heart.

“Well how about this. How about you go spend the night with Uncle Shaun and play with JayVaughn. He’s the same age as you and I know you would have a lot of fun??”

“Really Mom??!! Can I?

“Sure you can as long as Uncle Shaun says its ok, you can go tonight and stay the weekend cause Mommy has a big function to do this weekend.”

“Call him now Mommy!!!! Please, please, please…”

“Ok, ok. I’ll call him as soon as I drop you off to school.”

She drives in the early morning traffic and drops Chase off to school. She’s finally happy to have her car back from the shop

“Come here dragon, give Mommy a big kiss.”

He runs up to his Mom and plants a wet one on her cheek before heading into the crowd of kids lining up to go inside. As she watches him enter the building she takes out her phone to call Shaun. The phone rings a couple times before he answers.

“This is Shaun!”

“Hey Shaun, are you busy this weekend?”

“No I am free on weekends, you know family time. Why ? What’s up?

“Well Chase had a great time with you guys last night and he asked me this morning if you guys could come over again. So I suggested that I would ask if he could come over for the weekend ?”

“Sure you know I love Chase like my own and I have Jay this weekend so it would be fun. You know an All Guys Weekend!”

“Thanks Shaun you don’t know how much this means to us! So just pick him up from school when you get Jay and I’ll bring by his clothes and toys. Later when I leave work.”

“Sure honey and Jhayde?”

“Yes Shaun?”

“Have a great day today ok and remember I’m here if you need me.”

“Thanks Shaun you enjoy your day. Bye and thanks again!”

She hung up with a sigh of relief and drove to work. She was in a good mood only to have it spoilt by Jack whom she saw as she pulled up to her workplace.

“I thought I told you to stay the hell away from me and my son!!” She said as she angrily got out of the car.

He stood beside a car with a smug grin on his face, Rose in the passenger seat holding out an envelope for him to take. He took the envelope and strides toward Jhayde and hands her the envelope.

“What the hell is this?”

She opens the envelope and sees a court summons for a custody battle for Chase. She swayed a little but her assistant was heading in when he saw the gathering and rushed to her side.

“Jhayde are you ok? What did you do to her you asshole?”

He sees the papers in her hand as Jhayde stands dumbstruck. He took them from her and read the contents.

“Jhayde!” he gasps.

She is unresponsive to him as tears flow from her eyes and a flush of red enters her face. She turns away and head for her car.

“You aint gonna say nothing?” asked Jack.

She threw her bag on the seat and reaches for the baseball bat she stores under her seat. Gripping it with all her might she rushed at Jack unexpectedly, smashing the bat into his arm. He ran and she heads for the car with Rose in it. She smashes the windscreen glass flying everywhere.

“IF YOU f*****g THINK YOU ARE GOING TO TAKE MY SON FROM ME YOU ARE MAKING A VERY BAD MISTAKE!!! I WILL KILL YOU FIRST IF I HAVE TO IF YOU TAKE MY SON FROM ME!! YOU WILL NOT CORRUPT MY ANGEL WITH THIS DEVIL b***h YOU HAVE AS A WOMAN AND I MOST DEFINITELY WILL NOT HAVE YOU RIP HIM FROM ME TO EASE YOUR EGO!!”

She walked around and smash more windows of Roses’ car.

“I TOLD YOU NOT TO f**k WITH ME OR MY SON AND THIS IS A FIGHT YOU WILL NOT WIN!!!”

She pulled herself together and walked back to her car to hide her bat. She took the court papers from Adrian and walked over to Jack who flinches as she approaches with a cowering Rose behind him. She rips the papers in pieces and throws it in his face.

“Take your papers and your cow wenched bag and get the f**k OFF my property.”

Jack ushered Rose into the car and drove off, while Jhayde watches them. Tearing up the court papers she knew was just a front to not look weak in front of Jack. But as soon as she reaches in her office she breaks down. Seeing her condition, Adrian calls all her friends except for Shaun. They all rush over to her office and try to comfort her.

“I have tried to work with him. I have tried to be civil. I have tried to be patient and this is what I get?!”

“Jhayde, ima need you to stop all this crying and go get a lawyer to fight this. You tearing up the summons won’t go away and I will not sit by and watch Chase go through this ordeal. It is going to tear him apart having to choose between his mother and father. He might just choose his dad because he doesn’t see him often and I know that’s not what you want but Chase doesn’t know that that’s not the best thing for him. He is such an innocent kid and this is going to tear him apart. That asshole doesn’t know what he is going to do to that kid, all he is trying to do is to get back at you.” Said Travi.

“I have a good lawyer friend that I can call and put in a word. He owes me a favor.”

“Omg guys thank you so much and I’m so sorry to keep pulling you into my drama. I can’t keep burdening you guys with all this. And I truly appreciate all that you guys have done and are doing….”

“Jhayde please stop being so modest. When it comes on to Chase you know we love him like our own and we won’t let Jack take him away because then we won’t see him again!” Said Jhanae.

They all give her a hug as Amoy tries to get in contact with her lawyer friend. They all take turns trying to reassure her and to stop Jhanae from calling Jack and cussing him out. Despite their efforts, Jhanae continued her calling until she was successful.

“Hello, this is Jack.”

“Well if it isn’t the asshole of the year!”

“Who is this?”

“It’s your favourite gal, Jhanae!”

“What do you want Jhanae and please don’t tell me you’re calling on behalf of Jhayde?”

“Actually, I am. I’m just calling you top let you know what a piece of s**t you are for trying to ruin your son with this custody battle. He is attached to his Mom and this s**t, this stunt you are pulling to try and take him away from Jhayde is going to destroy him and I hope you are ready for the fight of your f*****g life!! You have never been there for Chase cause you were too busy chasing stray p***y but now you wanna just run in and ruin the poor kid. You are a f*****g d**k and I hope they castrate yo ass before you rot in hell!”

“Who the fuc….”

Before Jack could continue Jhanae hangs up the phone and releases a deep sigh before calming down.

“Now what are we going to do about this? We damn well know Jack has no case but still we gotta try and fight this out?!”

“I honestly have no idea right now. I’m so glad Chase wanted to stay with Shaun this weekend, I am nowhere in a frame of mind to have him around right now and I have a dress rehearsal tomorrow and a wedding on Sunday to prepare for. Thank God for Adrian. I’m just gonna have to wait and see what Amoy’s lawyer friend has to say,”

They all nod in agreement. They each gave her a hug before leaving her office.

Jhayde got up and went around her desk and started searching the internet for the best ways to beat Jack at this custody battle. She has seen a myriad of information and she starts jotting them down in her notebook. Just as she was writing the last of the information Adrian pops in o get her attention back on work.

“ Hey, J. I know you have a lot going on but we still need you to approve somethings for Tanya’s wedding on Sunday.”

“Sure right, I need to focus on this and also try to get my mind off this stupid thing. My Chase isn’t going anywhere!”

She followed Adrian to approve the seating arrangements as per Tanya, the floral arrangements.

“Oh And Jhayde, Tanya called about her appetizer she wants the Italian dish served as kebabs and the her main course is the Mexican meal.”

“Ok good please give Chef Larry that information right now and have him get all the things he needs to have everything up and ready for Sunday.”

Through all the hustle and bustle of the preparations for Sunday the time flies past and it’s now 5:30 pm and she hasn’t checked on Chase all day. She takes out her phone and calls Shaun.

“Hey you must be wondering why I haven’t called all day, How are you? How are the boys?”

“The boys are fine. Chase and JayVaughn are in the playroom playing pirates. I bought Chase a pirate outfit after we went for ice cream today.”

“Shaun I don’t know what I would do without you guys. Chase looks to you Travi and Vinny like a father figure, I’m glad you guys re there for him. By the way has he eaten anything yet?”

“ He and Jay had some cereal when they got home but I’m preparing some mac and cheese for them. They demanded me to make food for them with their pirate swords, ha ha ha you should’ve seen them!”

“Well I’m glad he is having fun. Can I talk to him?”

“Well I don’t know about that. I’m going to see if I can take him away from piloting the ship.”

“Chase Mom wants to speak to you!!”

“Mommy yay!!!!”

She let out a little chuckle at the sound of his voice.

“Hi Mommy!! Guess what Jay and I are pirates?!”

“You are?? Have you made anyone walk the plank?”

“I have made Uncle Shaun walk the plank a couple times and our imaginary enemy pirates. We even found a chest of gold chocolate doubloons!!”

“ That’s my pirate Chase! So I take it you are having fun at Uncle Shaun’s house?”

“I am Mom. I’m having soo much fun. Can I go now Jay needs my help?”

“Sure but first I just wanna say I love you!”

“I love you too Mommy!”

“He’s gone back into the playroom Jhayde!”

“It’s ok Shaun thanks for letting me talk to him I’ll leave you alone to get dinner ready for them.”

“Ok and just know Jack is not going to get away with this. So keep that beautiful head up and that smile shining bright. He aint got nothing over you to get this little boy!”

“Thanks Shaun, I’m going to head home to an empty house that I’m not used to and try and relax and see if my brain can process all that happened today!”

“Ok Jhayde. Have a good one!”

“Thanks Shaun.”

She hung up the phone and plopped down in her chair as she breathes a sigh of relief. She looks around observing her surroundings when she sees the paper with all the information she wrote down for the trial. She skimmed through the notes and smiled.

“That bastard has nothing on me to take my child away!!”

She got up confidently and went home.

As she got home, she ordered take out and binge watched a movie until she fell asleep. She woke up the next morning FRIDAY, her usual time for her work out session, which she did a little longer as she did not have Chase to get ready for school.

She got dressed and headed to her office a little early to fine tune some details for Tanya’s wedding on Sunday. She made a few calls, did all the changes she should make until it was time to go to the dress rehearsal with Tanya. She left some notes on Adrian’s desk for him to complete when he gets in.

She jumped in her car and drove to the wedding store where Tanya and her sister Sonya is waiting.

“Hey Jhayde, I’m so excited to get my dress, let’s go not a minute longer!”

Before Jhayde could utter a word, Tanya drags her and her sister into the boutique. They sat down in the bridal lounge as the server comes to offer them some champagne.

“Oohhhh!!” exclaimed Tanya “Thank you very much. Come on girls take one! I’m so excited!”

Jhayde and Sonya both take a glass of the champagne as Jhayde signals to the owner to get the dresses ready. The server returns with a fruit platter and pastries and places them on the table before the ladies. Shortly after the owner returns.

“Hello ladies, Jhayde.”

“Ladies this is my cousin and very good friend Merica. She’s the owner of this boutique and I know she will show us her best dresses. So first the bridesmaid dresses.

Merica brought out a trolley of dresses for the ladies to pick out all in different colours as Sonya try on the ones Tanya likes. They ruffled through dresses until she chose a mint floor-length chiffon choker dress and the knee length version for the maid of honour. They now went straight to Tanya’s dress.

“Ok so first we have a Langston ivory gown with floral lace and sheer long sleeve with an open back and a sleek silhouette finish and a subtle flare, topped with a simple sheer floral veil.”

A model comes out in the dress and stands out in front of the ladies.

“Next we have an Oleg Cassini ball gown with a beaded finish on folded pleats and a scalloped laced trim on the hemline. It also has fully lined back zipper and a diamond encrusted crown lined with sheer for the veil.”

As the model steps out Tanya almost choked on the sip of champagne

‘T are you ok?” asked Sonya

“Yes I am this gown is breath-taking!”

They give her some time to catch her breath before continuing the dress parade.

“Next we have this dress from the Zemora brand. It’s a very special dress and my favourite. Its two dresses in one with a lace design bateau neckline and detachable skirt that has a simple train”

As the model emerges from behind the curtains, Tanya starts to clap.

“This is it Jhayde. This is my dress oh my I absolutely looove it!!!!!”

Jhayde waves to Merica to send all the girls around and bring out the sample dress for Tanya to try on .

“Oh my I was so worried that I wouldn’t find my dress. I know this is last minute but I wanted to get in shape first then buy my wedding dress but I’m soo happy I found it.”

Her eyes light up as Merica brings out the dress for Tanya to try on. Like a little child, she giggles as she takes the dress and hustles into the dressing room. She emerges after 10 minutes and displays the dress for the girls.

“Oh my T. You look amazing!!!!!” Exclaimed Sonya

“Indeed you do and it sits on you just perfectly. It’s like this dress was made just for you!”

She goes in front of the mirror and admires herself in the dress. Smoothing out the edges and twirling like a princess. She smiled like a Cheshire cat, jumped, and giggled.

“ I can’t believe I’m actually getting married in two days! Im so happy right now I could pop. Oh Jhayde I do not know how I could do any of this without you. You are by far THE best Wedding planner in L.A. and I think I have also gained a friend”

“It’s no problem Tanya just doing what I love to do best!”

“Now we need to pick your shoes and a veil as well. So let’s get cracking.”

They walked over to the shoes section of the boutique where Tanya chose a simple 3” two-piece sandal and the diamond-encrusted crown she saw with the second dress. Merica took the items, placed them in a box, and send them to the cleaners to have them steam-pressed, polished and ready for Sunday. She wrote up an invoice for Tanya and was about to hand it to Jhayde when her phone rang.

“This is Jhayde!”

“Hi baby!!!” Her facial expression went blank upon hearing the voice. She walked away from the girls to continue the conversation.

“Who is this?”

“Who else could it be? It’s me Jack. Are you ready to give up this fight and come back to me?”

“Go to hell Jack! You are a waste of time and a waste of a man. So please just move on with your life and dignity.”

“Come on baby you know you still love me. Why are you behaving like this?!”

“Jack I swear to God if you don’t leave me alone I will…”

“You will what? Huh? Threaten to take my son away from me?”

“I will not threaten I will make it happen. Now leave me the hell alone!”

She hung up the phone and tried to regain her composure before going back to the girls. All through the excitement her mind was far away thinking about her son and how to proceed with this case when a voice brought her back to reality.

“Jhayde are you ok? You seem far?” Asked Merica

“Yeah I’m fine just had my mind wrapped up in some last minute details I need to finalize at the office.”

“Ok well I guess this is a wrap then. If you’ll excuse me ladies I must attend to my other customers.”

“Thanks Merica but one other thing. For the men their tuxedos will be grey and their dress shirts will be peach and the best man’s will be mint green all steam pressed. Now Tanya we have the cake tasting to do now so let’s go. Merica will take good care of your dress for you. Now this company doesn’t usually give last minute cake tastings but I have put together the vision of your cake that you wanted and they are willing to put it together. They just need you to determine the flavour. It’s last minute but luckily it’s Jhayde in charge.”

“Ok let’s go!!!” Said Tanya as she giggled.

They headed out to the bakery where the head baker and owner of the bakery was setting up for the cake tasting.

“Hello Liam!”

The head baker spun around as Jhayde, Tanya and Sonia came through the door.

“Ah mes chéries, comment allons-nous aujourd'hui ? »

« Nous sommes bons Liam prêts pour nous? «

Yes I am only for you my dear I do these things ah!”

“I know and I love you for it though. So what do you have for us?”

“I have many things but first where is the lovely lady of the moment?”

“OOH That would be me! That’s me I’m Tanya!”

“Bonjour jolie demoiselle. To be able to taste the cake you must first be the cake!! I need you to connect with the cake so that when you taste it, you become the cake and the flavour of your wedding cakes becomes you!!”

“Oh… K then let’s get going?!”

“Liam can be a little…. Artistic.”

He pulled Tanya into the kitchen while the others wait in the dining area. A little while later she emerges dressed in a cake decorated apron and hat.

“Yes parfait!! Now let’s get going!!”

Liam brought them to a well-set table and disappeared behind the screen. A waiter came out with some red wine and offered the ladies as they wait for Liam to return.

After 10 minutes he returns with an array of cakes of different colours to try. He sets them down on the main table.

“ Now this is a decadent pink champagne caked topped with raspberry mousse and vanilla buttercream.”

A plate was set down in front of the ladies. They each take a bite and Tanya’s eyes lit up

“MMmhmm!!!”

“Next we have a tangy lemon cake with sweet berry compote”

Another round of cake is set down before the ladies. They each take a bite, savouring the flavours.

“Next up is a rich and creamy coconut cake combined with tangy and tart lime filling or frosting.

”And finally we have a layered classic vanilla and ultimate Belgium chocolate sponges, drizzled with our hazelnut syrup and layered with silky smooth chocolate & hazelnut buttercream. And also depending on the cake you choose your guests will have a cupcakes in the same flavour. So Mademoiselle what’s your flavour of choice?”

Tanya takes a bite of all the cakes once more to savour all the flavours before making her decision.

“I want all four!”

“Excusez moi mademoiselle”

“You heard me all four. Chef Liam it’s like you are reading me. Each flavour will be a tier of cake and represents a phase in the relationship with me and David. Pink champagne represents the smooth time in our relationship. The Lemon represents the sour times we had. The coconut represents the nutty time we had fixing our bumps and the chocolate represents the finished product. Smooth and scarred but always staying strong”

As she looked up she saw Chef Liam wiping away a tear.

“Chef Liam are you ok?”

“That was the most beautiful way I have ever heard a cake being described. Mon Cherie you made my heart melt in the softest way.”

“Thank you Chef. Can you decorate the cake to combine all those descriptions with the wedding colours mint green and peach?”

“Yes, Yes I will definitely do it. I will give you a cake worthy of the Goddesses my dear!!”

Chef Liam wandered off into the kitchen dazed as if he was on cloud nine babbling to himself in French. Jhayde laughed to herself as she turned to the ladies.

“Ok ladies we have done all but the wedding rehearsal so I have booked a spa day for you to relax and get pampered before the wedding. Here are the directions. Head on over there and leave the rest of the planning to me.”

Tanya and Sonya beamed as they took the directions from Jhayde and head to the spa as Jhayde heads over to her office to finalize everything with Adrian.

She and Adrian sat down for hours trying to fine-tune the details for Tanya’s wedding and for the wedding rehearsal tomorrow. The clock struck 8:00pm and soon Jhayde decided it was time to go home.

“Ok Adrian, I guess this is it for tonight. I want to get an early start tomorrow before the wedding rehearsal. So meet me here at 9am sharp”

“OK Boss”

She wrapped up her documents and headed home, where she ordered Chinese food and binge watch The Originals until she fell asleep. She was then awoken by the sound of her alarm clock.