dchnineteen

The ride home was full of emotional quandaries for Carmen, her hands gripped the wheel of her Silverado, but her mind was miles away. She was so deep in her thoughts, she didn�t hear the radio as it hummed. Stopping in front of her modest apartment building she sat still in her car. Had that been for real, or had she simply been a passing conquest? She saw the yellow Jeep in front of her and a light smile crossed her face. Angela was there. Carmen really loved Brandon�s girlfriend, her mild easygoing personality made the little apartment warm and homey. When it was just her and Brandon, the apartment was a house, a place to eat and sleep, the place where they lived; When Angela was there it was a home. Leaning over to check her make-up in the rear-view mirror, and then to do a quick visual check of her clothing to make sure there were no outward signs of her illicit tryst, she opened the car door and climbed out, heading for the building. Anxious to hear Angela�s laughter and see Brandon smile� an occurrence that was all too rare as of late.

Walking into the apartment, Carmen was taken aback by the silence.

�Anybody home?� she called out. Where could they have gone? It was then that she realized that she had not seen Brandon�s LeBaron on the street side where they usually parked. �Damn.� Alone was the last thing that Carmen wanted to be right that second. Setting her purse on the table she saw the note.

Mom,

Gone out with Ang
Back late.

Love,
Brandon

Well, that explains that. Sitting down on the couch she dialed a number she knew by heart.

�Hey Marie� Care for coffee?�

Coffee was always the open invitation to talk. Neither of them ever came out and said I need company, or I need to talk � simply, would ya care for coffee? A password and a code.

Carmen put a pan of gooey chocolate mixture into the oven, set it, and started the coffee. It only took about 15 minutes from Marie�s house to her own, that, plus a few minutes to get ready, Carmen knew that the smell of fresh brownies would greet her friend warmly.

�You�re going to what?� Katherine asked in shocked surprise.

�I�m putting a hold on all accounts, and then transferring all titles and assets into Jourdynn�s name.�

Kate starred in disbelief at Joe who was lying on the hospital bed, but looking very much his old self again. It wasn�t that there was anything particularly wrong with putting everything in their grandson�s name, and if there were one that was trustworthy, it was him. But why?

�And I�m advising Mike to do the same. That money grubbing bitch is out for Mike�s money, she was 18 years ago, and she is now too.�

�Joe. That�s crazy. The boy is an adult now, she couldn�t do anything about it if she wanted to. And he IS our grandson. Mike should NEVER have kept that from us.�

�He did us a favor woman. I�m telling you, I�m going to do everything in my power to protect ourselves and Mike from that woman�s grip.�

�You�re going to what?� Marie asked in shocked surprise. Brownie crumbs flying everywhere from her sudden jerk at the statement.

�I�m going to get back together with Mike. He loves me Marie, I can tell.� Carmen took the coffee cup in her hands, but made no move to drink its contents. Instead she held in to her lips and felt the steam as it rose up, comforting her. She didn�t expect Marie to understand, but she hadn�t expected such surprise either. Surely Marie knew how much she still loved Michael.

�Carmen.� Marie reached across the tiny table and took her friends hand, squeezing gently. �That boy don�t love nobody, but himself.� Marie was stunned and furious, she truly loved Carmen. They had been best friends since grade school, through thick and thin, always there for each other. When one had a crisis, the other was always there to back the other, right or wrong, didn�t matter, only their friendship and vow of undying support. She remembered the night when she was only 10 and her father had come home drunk, trashing the house, slappin her mother to the floor, she remembered sneaking out the back door and running three doors down to the little tan house on the corner, she remembered her and Carmen huddled on the floor of the little bedroom that Carmen shared with her younger sister, whispering a solemn vow of friendship forever� pinky swearing even� you couldn�t get any more serious than that. When Carmen had left school three months before graduation�pregnant with Brandon and alone, her parents were furious and threatening, it had been Marie that had come to her side and stood by her. It had been Marie who had been Carmen�s labor coach, and support during the birth of her God-son Brandon. When Marie�s husband had died in an accident at the age of twenty-two, Carmen had been the one to rush to her friend�s side half way across the country with a toddling Brandon in tow to hold her hand and comfort her. When Marie had called Carmen on a stormy night four years ago, crying, saying she couldn�t take living in Georgia alone anymore, away from her family and friends, it had been Carmen who had jumped up, waited all night in an airport for the next available flight and rushed to her friends side, renting a moving truck, helping to load it, and driving all the way back to California to help her friend start a new life nearby. When Carmen had fits of depression for the loss of that �son-of-a-bitch� Brandon�s father, it was Marie who came running with coffee and cake at the ready, and a hug. Now she sat across from Carmen, her eyes wide and her mouth open. �How could you even consider the possibility after all that man put you through?�

�If you had been there this afternoon, Marie, you�d��

�If I had been there this afternoon�� Marie cut off her friend before she could finish the statement. �I�d have castrated the son-of-a��

�Marie! Please.�

Marie saw the tears well up in Carmen�s eyes. Well, you couldn�t control the heart could you?

Faith watched as the blue LeBaron pulled away from the curb with it�s occupants inside and slowly pulled out into traffic to follow, trailing the LeBaron in her little rented Pinto she followed at a safe distance. There was more than one way to skin a Jackson.

�You want to what?� Angela starred at Brandon from across the tiny table at the corner restaurant where they always went when they wanted to talk and needed privacy that the little apartment could not afford even with doors closed.

�I want us to get married. Tonight.�

�Brandon, that�s too quick.� Angela had always known that someday, she and Brandon would be together, get married, have a family. She knew how much he wanted a real family, a father and mother, kids, the little white picket fence� the whole nine yards. But she hadn�t expected it to be so soon, they had just finished high school for heaven�s sake. She knew his mom had planned for him to go to college, he needed to go, he was smart, quick, he�d be great at anything he wanted to do. She had worried that when he went away to school they would loose contact, become distant, lose their special relationship, but that was a risk that needed to be taken for his sake; what would his mother say if they got married. Angela had loved Carmen like a mother from the very first time she had met her when she was just a kid, 8 years-old, in the playground at the grade school where Carmen was a volunteer at lunch hour to help keep the kids safe and in control during the play time after lunch. She remembered the beautiful woman who had come to her aid when the other kids were teasing her, she had never fit in, she was a poor little Italian girl living in East LA� she never did quite fit the bill as a �project chick� and she never could find her niche with the rest of the kids, except for Brandon� he was an outcast for entirely different reasons but they had found comfort and solace in each other and Carmen had been mother too both of them. She was sure Carmen wouldn�t approve of her son throwing away his opportunities, of course he could still go to school, if Carmen weren�t so mad that she stopped support, but that didn�t seem likely; but when marriage entered the picture, so did hordes of new problems that always seemed to get in the way.

�Quick? We�ve known each other since grade school.�

�Yeah, but Brandon, we�ve never even really talked about marriage.� Angela looked into the deep brown eyes across from her, they always made her melt, she could never hold her own in an argument with him, looking into those eyes made her loose all conviction.

�Well, I�m talking about it now.�

�How about some time to think, Baby?� Angela squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, she needed to gain some time, she was sure if he just sat back and thought about it, he would see it was ridiculous to run off like that. �How about a big wedding? Every girl�s dream you know�� she smiled sweetly and batted her eyes in a coquettish way, hoping to make him laugh. He never laughed anymore, not like he used to. It used to come free and easy, ringing out and from the gut. Now he barely even giggled. Heck, a smile would be a nice touch.

�You�ll have to think fast if we�re gonna drive to Vegas and get married before midnight.�

�Well Brandon, what�s midnight?�

�It�s my Birthday.� This time he did smile, and the beauty of it took Angela�s breath away.

How sweet, she thought, but Jeez, you could give a girl some notice.

�Come on baby.� Brandon reached out and took her hand, looking deep into her eyes and smiling, aw damn, a killer combination. �Let�s just do it.�