The Weekend Pt. 06

Butterflies churned in her stomach as she stood by her car in the parking lot. In front of her, a familiar apartment building loomed over her.

"It's just dinner with some friends. Nothing to be worried over." she said unconvincingly to herself. It was a lie, and she knew it. Right now, she was a Navy Seal behind enemy lines. She knew that one mistake, one slip up, could cost her dearly.

How was this different than being at the hospital? By now, she'd been talking to Jennifer regularly. Why was she nervous now?

At the hospital, she had home court advantage. The dynamics were in her favor. She was in control. Here, she had no purpose. Malcolm didn't need her to care for him, so she was essentially left with her personality to try and overcome years of discontent between her and Jennifer.

With a deep sigh, she put one foot in front of the other and headed for her destination.

***

"Nurse Gee Gee!" was the excited, squealing welcome that awaited her as she shed her coat. Malcolm rushed over to her, slamming his pint-sized body into her. Upon contact, little arms wrapped around her waist.

"Hey there!" she said, bending low to return the hug. "How is my favorite patient?"

"Good! I feel better!" he said, giving a smile with missing gaps that once held teeth. "You wanna see my room?"

She looked up to Jennifer, who was hovering in the vicinity. She gave Regina a nod, and even had a small smile attached to it. Regina returned her attention to her small fan and said, "I would love that! Do you have any cool toys?"

"Do I?" he said, grabbing her hand and pulling into the back of the apartment.

Malcolm's room was small, but kids don't pay attention to superfluous things like floor space. To him, it had the essentials. A Spiderman bed sheet and a chest full of toys was enough to make him feel like Bill Gates.

Adults could learn a thing or two from children.

After "ohhhing" and "ahhhing" over his Voltron Lions and his Legos collection, Regina made her way back out to the kitchen. She found Jennifer standing in front of the sink, stirring cheese through a pot of hot macaroni.

"Hey." Regina said, almost shy.

Jennifer's face was neutral. It didn't show any emotion approaching like or hate. She just simply returned the greeting with, "Hey."

Regina looked around, noticing the absence of Lee. Before the moment threatened to become awkward, she filled the soon-to-be silence with, "Where's Lee?'

"He stepped out to get more butter. He'll be back."

"Oh. Okay."

The two women were finding it hard to find words. While their buffer was running last minute errands, they were left to their own devices.

Jennifer stopped stirring and placed the pot on the counter. Addressing the elephant in the room, she looked curiously at Regina and said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What changed in you? Why were you so determined to take care of Malcolm?" Regina was about to speak, but Jennifer raised her hand to stop her and added, "And please don't give me that bullshit about your mother having Cancer or how bad you felt about shitting on me. While I believe those two things are true, it doesn't exactly explain things. I mean, you genuinely appear to care about my son. You were more than a nurse to him, and no offense, it goes past some need to set things right. So, my question is, why?"

Regina shrugged her shoulders and asked, "Does it matter?"

"Absolutely!" Jennifer said with challenging eyes. "If this is some attempt to get back with Lee and win his heart again, then I would appreciate you doing that without involving my son. I don't want him to be a pawn in some love game between the two of you."

Regina had no choice but to see her point. With a nod, she said, "I get why you need to ask that." She allowed silence to fall between them as her forehead furrowed in concentration. She racked her brain, searching for an honest answer.

Finally, she looked up at Jennifer and admitted, "You know what? I don't know. I mean, I'm not using him to get to Lee. I honestly care about him; a lot. When I see him, I honestly want the best for him. I imagine what kind of person he's going to grow up to be. I know that sounds corny, but it's true. But for the life of me, I can't figure out why."

Just then, Malcolm appeared in the kitchen. Completely oblivious that he was being talked about, he pushed past Regina and hugged his mother's leg.

"Mommy, when's the food gonna be ready? I'm hungry."

"Soon. You want a cookie to hold you over until then?"

Malcolm's toothy smile was the affirmative answer. Jennifer rolled her eyes, stood on top of her tip-toes, and pulled a big jar from on top of the refrigerator. She opened it, brought it down to his level, and allowed him to select his dessert treat.

"Thanks!" he said excitedly before disappearing once again to his room.

It was then that the answer came to Regina. Why did she love this kid that she once hated? It was easy. This kid was a part of Lee. It showed in his face, his smile, and his mannerisms. She loved this kid because she loved Lee. She would never be able to have kids; but despite that there was this awesome boy sprung from the same loins of the man who held her heart. He shouldn't be here; but he was, and she loved him for it.

Jennifer saw it in her face. Regina didn't even have to answer the question. After seeing how she looked at Malcolm when he left the room, the reason why mattered less. She knew that this woman wouldn't hurt her son. She would be there for him if she was allowed to be.

And that was enough.

The front door opened, interrupting the two women. Lee emerged in the kitchen, triumphantly holding up a grocery bag. You would have thought that he hunted down a wild boar and brought his skinned and cleaned carcass, ready to be cooked.

"It's crazy out there! I had to fight an old lady for this!"

Both women chuckled at his exaggerated fatigue. With humor in her eyes, Regina asked, "Well, did you win?"

"I kicked her ass!" he said, winking at her.

Jennifer, on the other hand, slapped him hard on the shoulder. "Language! Malcolm is in the other room. He's too smart for his own good, and he picks up things like that. He's already asking what does bitch mean."

"Yeah, but he got that from you. He heard it when you were talking about..."

Lee's voice trailed off as his eyes reminded him of who was right here in the room. Jennifer looked away with a slight tinge of guilt in her eyes.

"Yeah, well, I shouldn't have said that." she said, throwing Regina an apologetic look.

That, more than anything else, spoke to the dynamic of change between them. The past was the past. Axes were buried, and water was under the bridge. The two women standing here, right now, had no more beef between them.

"Thank you." Regina said with unfallen tears in her eyes.

Lee looked between the two of them, trying to figure out what happened while he was out at the store. Never, in a million years, did he think that the four of them would be here. The pain of the past seemed so long ago; like it was a part of another life.

He didn't deserve this. He'd made so many bad choices, all of them leading up to this point in time. He was a cheater, a bastard, and a person who assaults defenseless men. But here he was with a son that he adored, and two of the most influential women in his life getting along.

What more could he want?

***

The dinner table was set. In the middle of the four hungry patrons was an array of hot food. The steam rising from the individual dishes blended together, creating delicious scents that were pleasing to the nose.

Before they cut into it, Jennifer stopped everyone. When she was younger, her family had a tradition of everyone saying what they were thankful for. Despite being cut off from that family, she wanted to honor that tradition by passing it along to her son.

Everyone was allowed a short statement. No due to hunger, no extended monologues were going to be tolerated. Both women looked to Lee to start it off.

"Pleasant surprises." He said, looking across the table at Jennifer and Regina.

Malcolm was next. Raising his arms in the air, he excitedly proclaimed, "No sickness!"

"Second chances." Regina said looking up at Jennifer. Her eyes then met Lee's, but she had to look away bashfully.

Jennifer capped it all off. With tears in her eyes, she said, "My new family."

The rest of night was filled with stories, laughter, jokes, and smiles. A good time was had by all. After they were done, Regina had to go. She'd also promised Trudy that she'd show up for their "Sisterly Thanksgiving Tradition" of drinking wine and gossiping until Regina was too inebriated to drive home. It was imperative that they keep it up.

Once she was gone, Jennifer and Lee washed the dishes together. He would wash an item thoroughly, then hand it to her to dry. She, in turn, would put said dish away.

They really were a good team when they were on the same side.

They did this menial task wordlessly, each of them lost in their thoughts. Finally, Jennifer broke the silence by unexpectedly asking, "So, when are you going to ask out your ex?"

Lee's head snapped to her as a confused look came across his face. "What?" he asked when he saw that she wasn't kidding.

Jennifer gave him an "oh, c'mon" look.

"What?" Lee repeated, this time shrugging his shoulders to further feign ignorant innocence.

Jennifer exhaled in exasperation. "The two of you have been sending each other googly eyes for months now. Every time you are together it's like watching a rerun of "Saved by the Bell". So, Zack, I'm telling you that if you don't ask Kelly to the prom, then you're an idiot."

Lee shook his head and continued to wash dishes. "It's not like that with us." He said without turning in her direction.

"Right..."

"She's moved on." he further insisted. "There's no way we could."

"Okay."

"For real."

"Okay!"

The sound of running water once again replaced words. As if the two hadn't stopped talking, Jennifer picked things back up by saying, "Because if you did want to ask her out, I think she'd say yes."

Lee stopped washing and turned to look at Jennifer. "She said that?"

"We never say that, you big doofus. We shouldn't have to. If you can't see the way that she looks at you, then you're an idiot."

"Whatever."

He went back to washing dishes. The two of them dropped the subject and didn't pick it back up. A couple of hours later, after he tucked his son to bed for the night, he headed down the elevator of her building. As he began his decent, he held his phone in his hands. His mind teetered in indecision over what to do with the contact that was on his screen. Finally, he allowed his thumb to press it and trigger the unstoppable chain of events. Once it started ringing, there was no going back.

"Hello?" a familiar voice said after the second ring.

"Hey Gina. It's me, Lee."

She giggled and said, "I know who you are, Lee."

"Right." He said, ready to kick himself. Gathering his courage, he said, "So, I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to do something? With me."

There was a pause before Regina said, "Something like what?" she asked. Then, with hope hanging on her words, she said, "Like...a date?"

"Yeah."

The silence on the other end was enough to choke the life from his lungs. His question hovered in the air. Finally, an excited voice said, "Yes, Lee. I would love to go out with you."

He wanted to sigh with relief. He didn't even realize that he was holding his breath until then. His insides were churning, but his voice inexplicably stayed cool as he said, "Cool. I'll call you when I get home. We'll decide where to go."

With an unseen smile on her face, she said, "I'll be waiting."

Lee hung up the phone and dropped it in the seat next to him. A smile spread across his lips as he pulled the visor down. His reflection in the mirror looked proudly back at him.

He nodded at it, then pushed the visor back up and started his engine.

___________________THE END_______________________

CAMEO CHARACTERS

Naomi: "To Have and to Cuckold"

Brian: "Love at First Sight Theory"

Wilma: "Love at First Sight Theory"