The evening had turned into night by the time Selena pulled into her driveway. She parked the car and sat back against the seat with a huff, reminiscing about the conversation between her and her parents.
“Selena, Walter and I have been made aware that the news of our divorce is affecting your sound mind.” Margaret had cleared her throat. “We both want to apologize for tossing this at you as if it wouldn’t affect your life.” Margaret glanced over at Walter who sat, sternly watching his only daughter.
When Walter spoke, his voice was calm and profound.
“Selena, I personally want to apologize for the way things happened a few weeks ago.” Walter pushed out a deep breath. “I’m not saying this to point fingers; however, when your mother presented me with divorce papers, I was stunned and angry; angrier then I’ve ever been in my life.” Walter slipped a hand down his face then leaned forward to rest his elbows on his thighs while his fingers intertwined.
“For a long time, I ignored our situation, but it only made things worse. That didn’t stop me from acting out, and that’s when I started seeing Amelia.”
At the mention of the woman’s name, Selena noticed her mother’s slight shift on the sofa. Apparently, Walter noticed it, too, because his eyes cut to her before coming quickly back to Selena.
“For the record, I broke things off with Amelia. Your mother and I have decided to try counseling before signing the papers. We’ve already had a few sessions.”
This time Selena shifted in her seat, but her glare remained focused.
“We’re doing this not only for us, but for you as well. We want you to know that you can come to us about anything you want to know, any fears, anger, or grief that you may be experiencing. Neither of us is asking you to pick a side. Neither of us wants you to think there will be some tug of war when it comes to you.”
“Ever,” Margaret agreed.
Selena bit down on her teeth as a tear threatened to slip down her face.
“Why did you want a divorce?”
The question was directed at Margaret. Margaret shifted and stared her daughter head-on. “For the last decade, I’ve been going through the motions, playing a role I felt was expected of me because that’s the woman I was. I love your father, but along the way, I lost my identity. I was his wife and your mother and that wasn’t enough for me. Unfortunately, I didn’t talk to your father about my musings, and it only suppressed what I felt and made it grow larger than life. I couldn’t remember what it was I loved to do. I couldn’t see any opportunity outside of being Walter’s wife, and it scared me to death and made me feel like I was missing out on a good part of my existence.”
Margaret sighed, and Walter patted her leg for encouragement. The gesture was small, but was the first sign of love that Selena’s parents had expressed in front of her since the announcement of their separation.
“When I couldn’t take it any longer, I went to see a lawyer. Even years after that initial meeting, I waited and second guessed myself. But I need more, baby. My decision had nothing to do with either of you not being enough for me, so let me say that before it crosses your mind. It was about me redefining myself. It was something I didn’t think I could do if I stayed in this marriage.”
“And now? What’s different?” Selena asked.
“Now, I know I shouldn’t have gone down this road alone. If I had sought help upfront about what I was feeling, Walter and I could’ve gotten help long ago.”
Selena exhaled, and her eyes skipped from her father to her mother.
“Mom, I don’t ever want you to feel like you have to hold something so serious inside. I know I’m your daughter, and you don’t want to burden me, but you could never be a liability. I would actually be honored if you came to me with a problem. To help my mother fix anything would give me indescribable joy because you’re always trying to do it yourself.”
A wave of happiness and sadness slipped over Margaret, and her face dropped as tears ran down her flushed cheeks. Selena left her spot in the chair, and Walter turned toward his wife. They all gathered around each other on the sofa and cried together. It was a welcomed relief for Selena to quench her soul with her family. Afterwards, they had dinner over a lighter conversation; sirloin steak with blue cheese compound butter offered with green beans and roasted fingerling potatoes. It came freshly prepared by a highly recommended chef.
“Hey,” Selena began, “earlier you said it was brought to your attention that your divorce was having an effect on my sound mind. If not you, then who made you aware?”
Margaret and Walter glanced at each other.
“Jordan,” they said together.
Selena shook her head and glanced through her rearview mirror. To hear both her parents admit Jordan was the one who brought them together was astonishing. It was the last thing she expected to hear. But what was funnier was the way in which he did it. Selena laughed with a slight shake of her head.
Tricking them both was something Selena would’ve done. Jordan had reached right in and taken a page out of her handbook. Even while they were apart, Jordan took care of her in every possible way.
“Duty calls me blind, but our connection is like soil intertwined in a vine. Because you were designed with me in mind.”
He’d reached out to her heart through poems and spoken to her spirit with his elaborate scheme. What the hell was she thinking pushing him away?
“Girrrrl, you ain’t never been this dumb,” Selena admitted to herself.
She opened the car door, shut it behind her, and moseyed up her sidewalk. As she got closer to her door, Selena paused.
“I don’t remember ordering anything,” she said aloud. Selena turned to peer down the street both ways then back at the package on her front porch.
“Be careful, girl, you don’t want it to be anthrax waiting to take you out.”
The ridiculous thought became comical, and Selena chuckled as she stepped closer. The box was thin but tall, almost taller than her. Selena frowned and reached into her purse to pull out a switchblade she kept for safety. She laid the box on the porch and opened the edges, deciding that even though it was cold as all get out, she wouldn’t take the package inside without knowing what it was.
After taking the blade down the center, Selena popped the FedEx package open and removed the sheer paper that covered the gift. Its revelation made Selena sit back on her haunches and gasp.
“Tell me how you really feel,” she crooned.
It was the gown Jordan had purchased for her; the one she was supposed to wear when she accompanied him to his awards luncheon tomorrow. He was doing it again; reaching out to touch Selena without being anywhere near. It was her ultimate invitation and his silent language of love. Jordan wanted Selena, not Madison, and this time Selena was sure of it. A prodding smirk started at the corner of her lips then browsed into a wide smile.
“Okay, baby, I hear you.”
She gathered the dress and walked the box to the curb. After fumbling with her keys and getting inside, Selena wanted to call him, but there was so much she wanted to say that the words steered clear of her.
“Tomorrow,” she promised. Tonight, she would sleep on it, and tomorrow afternoon, when she arrived at his luncheon, everything she needed to say would spill in one breath.
That night, Selena showered and wrapped her hair, applying a moisturizing nightcap. After speaking to her Savior, Selena sat in the middle of the bed and thumbed the numbers on her phone. The need to talk to Jordan now was insurmountable, but after another long second, Selena decided being face-to-face would be the best way to go. She leaned to the side and put her phone on the charger then slipped under her duvet covers.
Her mind settled around Jordan before she finally drifted off into slumber.
“Oh, come on.”
Selena ran back down the hallway and grabbed her purse off the bed. In a flash, she turned and fled back to the front door and wrapped herself in the mink coat that had arrived at her doorstep that morning along with the purple and white Manolo Blahniks. Jordan was in a league of his own, romancing her to the point that when they finally reconnected, she would teeter over with euphoria. He could’ve simply sent the coat and shoes with the dress, but this was just another way for him to claim her, thoroughly. Once again, his moves were calculated, and every intricate detail laid out in his own blueprint. Selena didn’t mind, but what if she’d decided not to go?
He made sure that wasn’t an option.
That he did. She closed her door, locked it, then dropped her keys in her clutch and twirled on her heels. Selena didn’t take a step when her eyes fell on the limo parked just beyond her porch. At the back door, the chauffeur stood with a smile on his face. The five-inch Manolo Blahniks clapped as she strolled down the walkway and stood in front of the limousine.
“I didn’t order car service,” she said, already knowing who’d sent it for her.
“Mr. Rose, Madame,” the chauffeur said, opening the door to let her inside.
Selena compressed her lips but didn’t make a fuss. She was already fashionably late from fighting with Octavia about her hair.
“You always have your hair wrapped,” Octavia had argued. “Let’s flip it back off your face with tight curls instead. It’ll still lay down in the back. But the flip, honey, will be everything.”
Selena slipped into the limo and rechecked her appearance for the one-thousandth time. The hair flip was executed well, holding a bounce that made her feel like Farrah Fawcett. A dazzling set of diamond earrings hung from her lobes, and her pecan brown eyes complemented the light foundation she applied.
The limo moved down the street and precipitously Selena’s pulse quickened. It felt like forever since she’d seen Jordan, and now her nerves were kicking into overdrive. With everything he set out accomplished, Selena assumed Jordan would be just as happy to see her as she was him. But, there was still that lingering feeling in her gut. What if he was perturbed by the way she’d run out on him?
It would be only fair if he thought she wasn’t a woman who knew how to work things out or talk things through, much like her mother. Selena frowned. She loved Margaret Strauss more than anything in this world, but she didn’t aspire to be like her. In that moment, Selena decided she would do better. Her own demons had sent her running for the hills, and she didn’t even know she had them. She sighed and hoped, for her sake, Jordan would be understanding enough to give her another chance and not dub her the runaway girlfriend.
Traffic was ironically smooth, and twenty minutes later she arrived at the Marriott Hotel where a host of camera crews stood on the outer edges of the red carpet, waiting to get a shot at whoever was coming in or out. Selena took in a deep breath.
“This is it, girl. Go get your man.”
The door opened on a hail of snaps as paparazzi went into a frenzy.