FAMILY INTRODUCTIONS
1495 Words
JAYDEN
Grrng! Grrng!
I glance at my phone dismissively, already knowing it’s my dad calling. The contact name — which is his full name plus middle name and titles — flows in bold white letters across the screen and I cannot help the tick of my jaw. I huff as I fix the last button of my shirt, one of the oldest ones I still own. My dad wants to introduce his new wife to me and I sure as hell ain’t gonna be overtly dressing up for that.
Since he called with the news yesterday, I have been pissed. It is a major buzz kill after the night I had with that lovely girl. Freya.
“Freya,” I whisper her name just the same way I had several times that night.
When I woke up in the club’s room, my head had hurt so much from a misplaced hangover. I hadn’t drank that much still I threw up in the bathroom like an hangover fool. My mouth had tasted like s**t so I used the toothbrush that was in the toilet sink wash off the taste. After cleaning up, I wore my clothes, then took my phone and left the room.
The first thing I’d done when I got downstairs was ask after the sweet stranger I’d bedded. It was weird even for me seeing as she had jilted me that morning, left without so much as a thank you note. Even though she’d never been with anyone before, it was clear the night we’d shared meant nothing to her. Still I just wanted to know she’d left okay.
I asked the first staff of the club I saw, a cleaning lady who blushed the entire time I spoke with her. She claimed not to have seen Freya but I was sure she didn’t hear half of what I said.
I asked two more people before I finally saw the bartender who had served us both the night before. He didn’t seem to remember either of us even with the in-depth description.
“I serve many people a night here,” He’d said. “You’d have to be Beyoncé or some high level celebrity for me to remember your face.”
I had rolled my eyes at that. The hyperbole wasn’t necessary but I still thanked the foreigner anyway before exiting the club.
I decided, a little late however, that Freya was definitely not interested in maintaining contact and was about to call a ride when another came in. It had been my dad. Calling with the news of his big dinner with our new family.
“No, your new family dad.” I’d said in reply. “And since they’re your problem, I will not be showing up.”
I was not going to be a part of the Blackwood family ruin…or no! I thought suddenly realising that the dinner was the perfect opportunity to break up whatever my dad had going on.
“You know what dad?” I spoke, cutting his goodbye short. “On second thoughts, I’ll come. I could use the outing.”
My dad had laughed and thanked me like I had done him the biggest favour in the world. Instead of making me feel good, it irritated me so much that I cut the call on him.
I wasn’t going to the dinner to make friends or smile at his new side chick or whatever she was to him. No! I would go there to make sure it’s the last meeting we ever have as a ‘new family.’ By the time I exposed both my father and the sleaze of a woman he planned on marrying for the sham couple they are, there wouldn’t be a wedding anymore. And then, my father would have absolutely nothing to thank me for.
Then and there I decided to forget about the girl who hadn’t stuck around long enough to exchange contacts. I had to get on with my life just as she had done hers, and the first step in achieving that was ruin an upcoming wedding.
Calling my friend to pick me up and take me to the airport, I’d booked the nearest flight to Miami and now here I was.
Discarding my thoughts, I glance at my mirror, checking my tardy but formal attire. I don some mild perfume, put on my shoes, brush back my hair and set out for the restaurant.
My father likes to impress on every occasion, so it doesn’t come as a surprise to me when I see the text address of the restaurant he’s chosen for this family meeting. The restaurant is a quaint seaside one, and he’s a bonafide customer here.
I’ve also been here to have lunch together with him, so I know the restaurant like the back of my hand.
I get into my car around eight o’clock, driving as slowly as possible for a dinner that should have started an hour ago. My father has called at least a dozen times today and I haven’t answered any one. Although I offered him a text to assure to him I would show up.
At the restaurant I spot his car and park right beside it. If the night went as planned, we would leave the restaurant together. Both single again. I take a deep breath before turning off the engine and exiting onto the deck that canvassed the low-roofed building. The entire exterior of the building is glazed with reflective glass so all I see as I walk in are my hardest face and bulging arms. I flex them a little and with the sneakiest of smiles plastered on my face, I head for the fine dining area.
The place is so quiet when I walk in. All I hear is the distant hum of the rich snobs seated in their booths, chatting over food they paid a mint for. My father and I spot the same type of hair —long and blonde —so it’s what I notice first before my eyes rest on the two women in front of him. I pause.
“What the hell?” I whisper as I stagger the remaining steps to the table.
None of them have noticed me for my old man has them hooked in one of his stories about combat piloting during the Afghan wars. It’s not his story but he always tells it like he’d flown right beside my grandfather. I’m so irritated by how comfortable he has gotten with the women and I cannot hide the reaction. A muscle in my jaw ticks and I can feel the light slowly going out of my eyes. I remember when that attitude was reserved for myself and my mo…
“Jayden!” My father calls out to me finally noticing me approaching from behind.
He is way too loud and I can tell that it’s from all the excitement of the introduction.
“The man of the hour has finally arrived,” My father announces with a clap, again too loudly and a few heads turn toward his direction. He waves an apology then looks at me once again. “You sure took your time getting here.”
He means it as a joke but I cannot help but feel reprimanded.
The two women stand up to greet me and once again my attention is drawn to the second woman. The younger woman. The all too familiar woman. My mouth is open both in wonder and shock. I’m not looking at where I’m going till I hit a chair and my father all but scolds me. Again.
“Take it easy, Jayden.” He tries to laugh it off but I can tell that he’s a little concerned about my strange behavior.
My legs are refusing to me and it seems like I’m taking forever to get to the table, but time is certainly slowling down. The memories of a night I buried with reluctant slowly start returning and I’m shaken by its effect. The feel of her skin on mine, hot flesh against hotter flesh. The sound of my name on her lips…The tight hold of her maiden p***y… Oh god. It is way too soon to be nostalgic about one of the greatest nights I have ever had but right there in the flesh is the same woman I’d spent hours searching for. Hours didn’t seem like much in comparison to bigger moments but it had been a lot given that the person in question was an absolute stranger.
That absolute stranger is now standing some three feet away from my reach, staring at me with the same wide eyes and half-open mouthed look she’d had when I was knee deep in her…only two nights ago.
“I just found out my mother is remarrying…”
“Oh, I can understand that…I’m in the same predicament actually…”
What are the f*****g odds?
- Writer
