Page 18 of Pulse of True Soulmates
Less than fifteen minutes later, Ariel sashayed into the lounge. She stood near the door as she looked around. I already had a booth ready for us. She smiled when she saw me after I got up to greet her. Life had been good for her. That was clear from the way she carried herself. “Hi, Ariel.”
“Hi, Aeon. You look beautiful,” she complimented genuinely. “I’m happy that we’re able to sit down and talk. I know it’s been a long time.”
I told her that it had before I escorted her to the booth that we would sit in. We both got comfortable. The waitress came over and took our drink orders. When my mother asked me what was good, I let her know everything. “This is my boyfriend’s business. He’s a tattoo artist.”
“Oh, that’s nice. Ink Vibing, now that makes sense. How long have you and your boyfriend been together?” she asked with twinkles in her eyes.
I gave her a cheeky smile. “We’ve been together for a while now. He’s the love of my life.”
“I understand that. My husband, Marcus, and our daughter, Sophia, are the loves of my life. They’re my everything.” You could see her love for them in her eyes.
My heart stopped beating for a split second. She has a daughter that’s the love of her life. I guess it’s to hell with me. “Oh, you have a daughter. How old is she?”
“Sophia is almost seven years old.” She tinkered with her phone. When she found what she was looking for, she extended the phone across the table for me to see the screen. “Here they go.”
I took the phone to examine the family picture. They looked so happy, genuinely happy. My emotions were all over the place. There was this twinge of rejection, jealousy, unworthiness. Now I was ready for whatever this was to be over. “You have a very lovely family.”
The waitress came to drop our drinks off and take our food orders. Once she left, I got right to it. “So, Ariel, why did you want to meet with me after all this time?”
Her head bucked back a little at my crassness. “Oh, well, I just wanted to check on you. How is everything going with your condition? I saw your service dog with you at your father’s party.”
I didn’t answer immediately. I sat in the questions for a few seconds.
“My service dog’s name is Midnite. As far as my condition is concerned, it’s called POTS.
I’m not sure if you knew what it was called since you’ve been disconnected with my life for, well, forever.
” I paused for a second. “I appreciate you checking on me, but I’m still confused as to why.
Phones worked well before my existence was thought of.
“You could have used one of those to check on me throughout the years if you really cared. It honestly feels like one of those situations where because we’re in the same city, you didn’t want to risk running into me randomly without me knowing that you were here.
” I leaned my forearms on the table. “Is that what this is, Ariel?”
I could tell that she was taken aback by my attitude. She looked offended. “No, Aeon, that is not what this is. My husband suggested that I reach out to you to try to establish some kind of relationship with you. I didn’t think that was a bad idea.” Her voice was soft.
“Oh, so this wasn’t your idea to reach out to me. I’m actually surprised that he knows about me,” I quipped. She was pissing me the hell off at this point. It didn’t feel like any open doors would come from this bullshit dinner.
Ariel shifted in her seat. “Yes, he knows about you. I had to tell him about you when your father called to ask for the ten thousand dollars for Midnite’s training. That was a substantial amount of money to pull from my household.”
I chuckled. “I’m not really sure if you’re trying to or even realize that you’re using all the wrong words in this conversation. You basically just told me that the only reason you told your husband was because you gave me money so my dog could be trained. I appreciate that, by the way.”
Her hand waved in front of her frustration-painted face. “This is not going how I thought or want it to go.”
“What, did you think that I would be overjoyed because you wanted to spend time with me? Excited that you found the time to pencil me into your life?” I felt the first tear leave my eye.
“Ariel, I’m not that six-, seven-, or eight-year-old girl that cried for you.
It would have been different if you brought me to my father but were still in my life.
Maybe if you called to check on me, send me a birthday card or call every year, not every damn five years. Who the fuck does that shit?”
I felt like I would hyperventilate. Seconds later, Midnite jumped up onto the booth seat next to me with my medication in his mouth.
Right behind him was Deck. “Aeon, baby, are you alright?” He turned to Ariel.
“Aye, I think you need to leave because you’re agitating her, and I don’t like that shit.
You can try this bullshit I give a fuck reunion another day if she’s up to it. ”
My baby was pissed as he took the medicine from Midnite to open it and give me a pill.
Ariel sat there and watched as Deck and Midnite took care of me.
There was this look of something. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it was something.
“Um, yeah, Aeon, I didn’t mean to make you upset.
I would love it if at some point you could meet your sister.
I would really like her to meet you at some point. ”
I looked at this woman like she was crazy.
The insensitivity of her attitude was outrageous to me.
I knew Sophia was innocent in all of this, and I felt horrible for the jealousy I felt in my heart toward a child.
Why wasn’t I good enough to have a mother?
I had already taken my pill and felt myself calming down.
“I’ll see if I can pencil the love of your life into my schedule.
I’d love to ask her how it feels to be loved by a mother. ”
“Aeon, I love you. I have always loved you,” Ariel proclaimed. “It was my love that made me know that I couldn’t take care of you. I was young and still wanted to live a free life. Your father was more stable back then than I was.”
I felt myself getting upset again. “Nope, we’re not doing this shit,” Deck said as he stood to his full height.
“Ariel, I’m gonna need you to leave. All that bullshit you’re poppin’ is just that.
Picking up the phone to call your damn daughter would not have impeded on your damn free life.
Now you want to flounce in here like you were here all along, asking the daughter you abandoned to meet the daughter you kept. Fuck outta here.”
Ariel chuckled, then said, “Fine. Aeon, you know how to get in touch with me if you want to. Hopefully, I hear from you, but if I don’t, I understand.” She slid out of the booth and put her purse strap on her shoulder. One final look, then she was gone.
“Come on, baby,” Deck said. Right as I stood, the waitress walked up with our food. He told her to bring my plate upstairs with cutlery and trash the other plate of food. “Come on, Midnite.”
When we got upstairs, Julian had a concerned expression. “Aeon, you good?”
I just nodded before I told Midnite he could lay on his pillow.
Deck walked me into his office, then closed the door.
He leaned back on his desk before he pulled my body to lean against his.
He said nothing; he just looked at me. The silence made me uncomfortable.
I didn’t like being uncomfortable. Why isn’t he saying anything?
I had no idea where the tears came from.
They left my eyes without my consent. In a whisper, I asked, “How could she not want me but have another child? She said her husband told her to reach out to me. Not she wanted to, but her husband told her to. Oh, and the only reason he knows about me is because of the money she gave for Midnite.”
Deck wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. The hug was so damn tight, and I needed it as I cried into his chest. “I’m so sorry, baby.
Time may have passed, but that woman is still selfish.
” He pulled my face out of his chest, then cupped my cheeks.
“You are not obligated to let that woman into your life.
You have so many people around you that love you, including my mama.
“We got you. I know it’s not the same as having your own mother, but we got you.” He kissed my lips gently.
When we pulled back, I wore a smile. “You’re right. It’s not the same; it’s better.”