Key To My Heart: Stay (14 page)

“
That’s my sister, always
worrying about everyone else before herself. Let Jay make the
decision himself as to whether or not he can forgive you. You
haven’t forgiven yourself have you?”

“
I certainly wasn’t worrying
about anyone but myself when I had an affair, I even dragged my
daughter into it. All of that plus the fact that I know how much I
hurt Jay, well, it makes it even harder to forgive
myself.”

“
Granted, maybe you didn’t
make the right choices when it came to thinking of yourself, but
you do have to think of yourself every once in a while Nikki. You
have always been way too hard on yourself.”

“
Even if that’s true, it’s
just an excuse. And there is no excuse for what I’ve
done.”

“
Maybe not, but you’re not
doing anyone any good by continuing to torture yourself. You can’t
take back what you’ve done. But I know that if you could, you
would. Jay knows that too. It’s easier to forgive someone when you
know that they’re truly remorseful for what they’ve done. Go home
Nikki. Your daughter needs you.”

“
She deserves better than a
mother who would put her in danger.”

“
Stop it Nikki. The last
thing you would ever do is to purposefully put your daughter in
harm’s way. You’re a good person sis. And I know that you’re a good
mother. Maybe you haven’t been the best wife lately, but you have
the rest of your life to make it up to him. I’m pretty sure Jay
meant every words of your marriage vows too.”

“
But what if I make another
mistake?”

“
Everyone makes mistakes.
Take the lessons they gave you and move on. Please sis. I can’t
stand the thought that you’re going through all of this
alone.”

“
Why should I expect Jay to
support me? That’s nowhere near fair to him.”

“
Damn Nikki, you’d think
that you still thought that life was fair. If you still want to be
with Jay, just tell him. And then let him make his own decisions
about how he feels about you. And accept them dammit.”

Nikki laughed. “You make it sound so
easy.”

“
It is easy. Call your
husband and tell him how you feel. Listen to what he wants, and if
he wants you to go home, then go. Take everything else one step at
a time, but remember to breathe every once in a while, and remember
that you’re not perfect and that no one really expects you to
be.”

“
Sometimes I
wonder.”

“
Yeah, sometimes I wonder if
Mom doesn’t expect us to be perfect too, but someday she will
realize that not one of us ever were or ever will be
perfect.”

“
I certainly hope so. But I
guess she’s always seemed so close to perfect herself that she
always expected us to be perfect too.”

Acasia snorted. “Our mother is far from
perfect. She’s one of the strongest people I know, but she’s not
ever going to give up on playing Mom even when we don’t need or
want her to. I’ll always need her, but it feels a lot different
once you’re grown than it does when you’re a kid.”

“
Yeah it does. I can’t stand
the thought that I failed my daughter.”

“
You didn’t fail her.
Someday she’ll understand that you’re only human and that you make
mistakes like everyone else.”

“
I just wish that I hadn’t
made such a big mistake.”

“
I know sis. I
know.”

Acasia yawned.

“
I should let you get your
pregnant butt to bed.”

Acasia laughed. “That does sound like a
good idea. Being pregnant is exhausting.”

“
Yes it is. I love you
Acasia. I’ll talk to you later.”

“
I love you too Nikki. You’d
better call me again soon.”

“
I will. I guess I have to
face calling Mom and explaining to her too.”

“
Yep, gonna have to face the
music little sis. Just get it over with.”

“
I’ll call her in the
morning.”

“
Call Jay too.”

“
I will. Goodnight
Acasia.”

“
Night Nikki.”

She felt a lot better after talking to
her sister, and she hoped that things worked out between Nikki and
Jay, even with whatever that meant for them at this point. She
yawned again and it hit her how tired she really was. The shower
shut off and Garett soon joined her in the bedroom. She explained
the basics of what was going on, and then since they had both
yawned quite frequently during their conversation, they decided
that it was time to get some sleep.

Garett

Garett called his brother first thing
in the morning. Gavin hadn’t yet returned and it wasn’t going to be
fun explaining to their father why his brother wasn’t going to show
up for work that day, but he knew that he was going to have to do
it. He knew that Jay and Nikki were going to have to give their
parents an explanation now too, and he hoped that their explanation
was enough to prevent the intervention he had seen coming for a
while now. He wasn’t sure that it would, but at least they had an
idea of what was going on now, and he knew that both he and Acasia
would do anything they could to help their siblings.

His father wasn’t happy about Gavin not
coming in to work, and Garett knew that he was going to have to do
the work of two men that day, but he didn’t mind. He was proud of
his brother for going to Nikki’s aid, and he saw it as another sign
of Gavin’s turning over a new leaf.

They had dinner at his parents’ house
that night, and naturally Jay and Nikki were the main topic of
conversation. His mother had been on the phone with Heather Brown
on and off for most of the day, and they were planning a trip to
see Jay and Nikki the next weekend. His father had tried to talk
them out of it, especially since Demi was very close to her due
date now, but there was no talking the two stubborn women out of
their decision; to them the trip might as well have been set in
stone.

Acasia decided that she wanted to go
with them, and she was far away enough from her own due date for
travel not to be a problem, so their mothers readily agreed. His
father told him that if he wanted to go along that he would have to
make sure that Gavin was guaranteed to be at work that day, and
since Gavin owed him one for covering for him that day, he was sure
that his brother would agree.

He found himself looking forward to the
trip. He hadn’t seen Jay in a while, and he was definitely ready to
see his beautiful niece in person. He also figured that it would be
a good idea for him and Acasia to go along to try and protect Jay
and Nikki from the wrath of their mothers as much as they
could.

Acasia

Acasia was looking forward to the trip
too. It would be good to see her sister, especially after she had
gone through so much by herself. She wanted to be there for Nikki,
wanted her sister to know that she could talk to her. She also
wanted very much to see her niece in person. She wished Demi was
able to go with them, but her sister was too close to her due date
to travel very far, and even three hours was too much. She just
hoped that Demi didn’t go into labor while they were gone,
something that Jed Black had cautioned them all on before the trip
had been cemented at dinner.

It was a busy week, and the weekend was
there before they knew it. They were leaving early in the morning,
and Garett’s truck was packed by the time she got out of bed with
beverages, snacks and various things to make the trip more
comfortable for her. He was so thoughtful that she thought she
loved him more every day.

They had breakfast, and by the time
they had finished the dishes, their mothers had arrived. The two
women had insisted on taking separate cars for a reason unknown to
Acasia, and she had a feeling they were going to look rather
comical driving caravan style to visit Nikki and Jay, but all in
all she thought that it was going to be a good trip.

They arrived at Nikki and Jay’s around
11 a.m. She was thrilled when Nikki answered the door with an
adorable Sammi in tow. Her sister looked tired, but she was home
and she was smiling, so Acasia took it as a good sign.

Alisa made a beeline for Jay, and
Garett shook his head at her behind his mother’s back. Her mother
seemed more concerned with getting to know Sammi for the moment,
but she was sure that it wouldn’t be long before she pulled Nikki
aside for a private chat as well.

They had a buffet style lunch at a nice
restaurant. The conversation was a little strained at first, but
Heather and Alisa seemed to have calmed down some, no longer
convinced that the union of their daughter and son was in imminent
danger. Gavin had told them that Nikki had moved back home, but of
course it hadn’t been enough to convince the mothers not to make
the trip.

Heather and Alisa were trying to
convince Nikki and Jay to let them take Sammi back to Clinton for a
few days, but neither of them seemed too keen on the idea. Acasia
wondered if she would be able to talk her sister into letting her
and Garett take the baby since they certainly needed practice
caring for an infant, and she mentioned the idea to her
fiancé.

Garett liked the idea, though he was
concerned that she might wear herself out caring for their niece.
She was a little worried too, but she figured that they could use
all the help they could get where parenting was concerned, and they
agreed to talk to their siblings after dinner, away from their
watchful mothers if at all possible.

Heather and Alisa wanted to make a stop
at a baby store, and it felt to Acasia as if they wandered around
the store for hours. She could feel her ankles starting to swell,
and Garett led her to a bench outside the store in the outer part
of the mall, and insisted that she get off of her feet for a while.
She was eternally grateful and quite content to sit in silence with
him on the bench, her head on his shoulder. She was half asleep
when her mother abruptly departed the store, arms filled with
shopping bags.

“
Your sister had the
baby.”

“
Demi had the
baby?”

“
Yes dear. It’s time to go
home.”

“
But. . .”

“
Nikki and Jay are coming
along to see the baby and for a short visit.”

“
Okay. Who’s at the hospital
with Demi?”

She could see that her mother was
trying hard not to make a face of disgust. “Gavin.”

Garett was hiding a smile. “Okay.
Where’s Nikki? There’s something that I need to ask
her.”

“
She’s still in the store.
I’m going to go load up the car. I can’t believe we missed the baby
being born.”

“
I’m sure she did just fine
Mom.”

“
Of course she did. That’s
not what I’m concerned about.”

Her mother turned and headed towards
the exit without another word.

Garett chuckled. “I guess your mom
still isn’t too thrilled about Demi and Gavin huh?”

Acasia shrugged. “Demi is a grown
woman. Mom likes Gavin. She doesn’t like the idea of Gavin and Demi
together.”

“
Yeah. Why don’t you go out
to the truck babe? I’ll go find Jay and Nikki and bring it up to
them about us watching Sammi.”

“
Thank you.”

He handed her the truck keys and gave
her a brief kiss, then turned and headed back to the
store.

Her mother was standing next to her
car, tapping her foot when she neared the truck. Acasia hid a
smile.

“
Are they almost through in
the store? I’d like to get back.”

“
I think so Mom. And it’s
not like a few minutes are going to matter if she already had the
baby. How is she?”

“
Your sister and the baby
are both doing well. I will be at the birth of your child Acasia.
This is the second time I’ve missed the birth of my
grandchild.”

“
I know that you wanted to
be there Mom, but. . .”

“
Yes Acasia?”

“
Never mind Mom.”

Heather sighed. “I know that your
sister is in love with Gavin. She fancied herself to love him long
before she knew what love really was.”

“
Daddy would have been happy
to see them together.”

“
I suppose he would
have.”

The rest of their party had come out of
the mall exit, so they got into their separate cars, and after a
brief stop at Nikki and Jay’s they were on the road. Their siblings
had agreed to let them watch Sammi, so they strapped the car seat
into the truck, and they set out to head back home.

The trip went without a hitch until
about halfway through when Acasia received a panicked call from her
mother. Nikki and Jay’s van had broken out of the caravan at some
point, and neither of them were answering their cell phones. Though
she was sure that her mother was overreacting, and that her sister
and brother-in-law had probably just stopped to use the restroom,
they all turned around and back tracked. And ended up coming upon
Nikki and Jay emerging from the backseat of their van at a rest
stop a few miles back on the road.