“Jay, we really need to talk.” He could feel the tension she was carrying in her voice. Chandler, Dakota and Lacey had already left when Desiree appeared when he woke up. “I need you to be very honest with me, because right now, I don’t know what to think. Maybe she is your daughter, maybe she isn’t. I don’t know. I just for some reason do not know what to think.”
“About what?” he asked, sitting up in bed. Desiree took up a seat next to him on the bed. He couldn’t remember hearing her come into the house and in the bedroom.
“Jay, she’s not family!” Desiree said, referring to Dakota.
“She’s my daughter, so yes, she is family. In fact, she’s the only family I truly have left! Whether you like it or not, that’s not my problem! Maybe you just have to learn how to deal with it!” He didn’t regret what he said.
“I’m not going to do this Jaymes, it’s your life, and you want to mess it up you go right ahead! But, I’m not going to be here when you fall!” She looked at him through fierce eyes.
“I’m not the one that constantly has a jealousy problem here, and either you are going to sit in that chair over there and talk this over, or you could just get the hell out of here. I don’t need to deal with your three-year-old mentality temper tantrums, I have enough going on.”
“You son of a bitch…” Before she finished, she stood and made her way to the door, turning sharply to look him dead in the eye. “Look at you, you pitiful, good for nothing…!” Her eyes flared as she came and stood over him. “You never deserved my sister to begin with! If you’d never met her, you and I would have been married! I love you dammit, and you don’t seem to fuckin care about that!” She stepped back as he fidgeted under her intense gaze.
“Desiree, I don’t know what your problem is. You come in here acting like I belong to you and only you. You start getting close to me wanting to be with me…”
“Why…why don’t you love me anymore Jaymes?” she spoke through broken sobs.
“Desi, you’re hurting, I’m hurting, and we’re putting too much stress on each other than we need. You are family, but I just want you to at least try and be a little more polite and respectful toward my daughter.”
When he mentioned his daughter, she slumped down onto the bed again, staring at him, her finger pointing like a deadly weapon, ready to strike.
“You…you…! Fine, have it your way!” She stormed out of the room, ranting as she was banging and slamming doors. Jaymes got out of bed and made his way down the hall. Every muscle in his body ached as pain numbed his senses. Going into the kitchen, Jaymes felt the sharpness of pain as he poured a stiff drink and downed it in seconds, pouring a second, a third, then fourth, drinking them in rapid fire succession. Desiree hauled most her belongings out to her car and tossed them into the SUV. “You can just be by yourself and destroy your life! As for you and I, it’s over!” she yelled, coming back into the house. He backed out of her way.
“How can it be over with if we were never in a relationship to begin with Desi?” he asked, pushing the issue. “That just doesn’t make any sense! Is it because you want something more than what I am wanting to give right now?”
“You are too stupid to understand. You know that? I don’t see how I could have fallen for you!” pausing, “In fact, I don’t even know why Ellyn fell for you! All you are is just one worthless piece of shit!” Without even thinking, without even analyzing, Jaymes slapped her across the face. His hand stinging as he stepped back, shocked at himself for what he just had done. He had never before hit a woman. Sure, Ellyn and he had some heated discussions before, but nothing to where they were in a full throng of a yelling match and getting toe to toe with each other. But, he just couldn’t take Desiree’s taunting anymore.
“Get the fuck out of this house.” Jaymes stood his ground. Bruised, drained, broken, he stared her down as she just stood there trying to figure out what just happened. The right side of her face stinging as a palm print fades slowly.
“Have it your way, it’s over like I said.” She turned on her heels and was out of the house. Her car speeding down the residential street, tires screeching as Jaymes stood there, a sense of satisfaction filling him for once.
Pouring another drink, the front door opened and then closed as Chandler entered the kitchen.
“Anybody home?” he asked as he leaned against the entry way.
“Chandler!” Jaymes turned, downing the highball he had poured.
“Jesus, Jay!” Chandler began. “Boy, you sure are falling off the wagon in style and going full board with it.” He paused, whistling as Jaymes moved from the kitchen into the dining room and slumped down onto the couch. “Well ole friend, here you are having gotten your ass kicked by a woman. She must be a fire cracker when you piss her off.”
“Black belt, Taek-won-do. Thought she had given that up years ago.” Jaymes reached a hand and touched the tender side of his face. “She is a real pistol, and God, those damn shoes.”
“Yeah, and she definitely puts action behind those words from that song, these boots are made for walking and that’s just what they’ll do…one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you. Hell, should’ve thrown a welcome mat on you.” Chandler slapped his knee busting in a roaring laughter.
“Chandler, can you go into the kitchen and in the cupboard next to the fridge, and bring me that bottle of brandy.” Chandler nodded as he got up and disappeared only to return with the full bottle of brandy.
“Jay, this isn’t going to help you any so I will tell you what I will do…” Chandler looked at his friend, holding the bottle of brandy behind him. “I will take this here bottle, and dispose of it proper like.”
“Chandler, please I need that to help smooth over the pain, both physical and emotional.”
“Jay, you don’t need this at all.” Chandler then set it on the coffee table as Jaymes stared at the bottle. “Trust me…you don’t need to be drinking your pain away.” Chandler took up a seat on the couch, joining Jaymes. Both men staring at the bottle of brandy. “Man, what did you do to end up like this.”
“She pissed me off, Chandler.” Jaymes started reaching for the bottle, but Chandler pulled it out of his reach. “She came in here, thinking we are suddenly together and going to build our lives. I meet my daughter and now she has a problem with it. She’s jealous of my daughter.” Jaymes looked at Chandler for a moment, pleading “May I please have that bottle?”
“Friends don’t let friends drink,” Chandler smiled. “So…Desiree’s always wanted you?” he asked, this time as a friend and not a detective. Sighing heavily, Jaymes didn’t want to get into this discussion, but after all Chandler was a friend, and has always been the one Jaymes confided in all these years.
“Chandler, when Ellyn and I met, she told me about her sister Desiree. Ellyn told me that they are half-sisters.”
“Wow…” He whistled again.
“Anyway, Ellyn told me that Desiree was off studying in Europe and would be coming home, and that she wanted me to meet her. I agreed. So we planned to meet Desiree, and Ellyn had this crazy notion to just set her sister up with a blind date. Something about Desiree having a problem keeping a good man around.”
“Well, that’s probably because she kicks a good man’s ass if he steps out of her line,” Chandler said with a smirk. Jaymes propped his feet up onto the coffee table.
“I guess I won’t be getting that bottle anytime soon, huh?” Jaymes sighed. “So…anyway…I talk to a friend of mine at work who is single and had finally decided to date again after five years. No responsibilities, no baggage or anything. I figure what the hell. He went for it.”
“You never were one to get straight to the point as I recollect, Jaymes,” he said, slugging him lightly in the sore arm.
“Whatever…so we met up and Desiree and Daniel hit it off. Ellyn ended up getting paged to go back to work, at the time she was working as a nurse and was usually on call. Kinda made life a little rough around the home front.” Jaymes rubbed his wrist.
“Buddy, you should consider writing a suspense novel, ’cause you have a definite way with words there. And you know how to tell a good story because I’m completely in suspense over here,” Chandler laughed, as Jaymes just looked at the detective.
“Yeah…whatever…so…the four of us went out to watch a play, hadn’t been to one for so long, and I was sitting between Ellyn and Desiree…” Jaymes trailed off looking into the distance. “Anyway, that night, Ellyn invited Desiree to stay the night and as we got home, Ellyn was called into work. Leaving Desiree and I home alone.” He paused, “I started drifting off to sleep when Desiree came in and well, I had not had it for so long because Ellyn and I were having some difficulty after we were married.” Jaymes paused again, reflecting back on that time. “Desiree and I…well, we made love while Ellyn was busy with work or out of town. Wasn’t the smartest thing I did, I think Ellyn found out about it, but I called it off between Desiree and I before it cost me my relationship with Ellyn.”
“Did you ever apologize?” Chandler asked, “Did you ever actually tell Ellyn what happened between you and Desiree?”
“Heck no!” Jaymes looked at Chandler for a moment. “Why would I do a stupid thing like that?” he asked back.
“Because you are a man, and sometimes you just have to be honest with yourself.” He got up and looked at his watch. “Listen, there was a time when we got all giddy and excited about the joyfully entertaining stories and mishaps we got ourselves into. However, you have a lot to deal with. Later bro.” He left, leaving Jaymes alone without his comfort of the bottle. Jaymes could swear he heard the sound of glass breaking against the cement. Jaymes waited until he heard Chandler pull out of the drive and then standing, he staggered into the kitchen and after a small search and rescue attempt, and he successfully found another bottle of brandy he had hidden. Taking the bottle, he made his way back to the couch, slumping into its comfort. He opened the bottle and took a long enduring pull from it. The alcohol suppressed the pain he felt as he laid his head back and stared up at the ceiling. The alcohol worked through his blood stream as he finished the bottle and passed out.
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