Imagined Love (39 page)

“We belong together, babe. That’s what matters,” he smiled. “This ring is the one that will make me happy. It’s the one I want, okay?”

Jade finally conceded and paid the six hundred fifty dollars for his eighteen carat white gold band, guilty over the fact that he’d paid almost nine thousand dollars for hers. Then she and Pierce went to select their wedding attire.

“Wow,” Pierce smiled when Jade got off the hotel elevator and walked towards him. He swore he wasn’t going to cry when he saw Jade in her wedding dress, but she looked so radiant in the long, strapless, white satin gown that he couldn’t stop himself from shedding a few tears. The love of his life was about to become his wife.

When Jade spotted Pierce her eyes welled with tears. He looked so suave standing there in his black suit, white shirt, and yellow silk tie. And with his goatee grown back and skin still silky smooth, Pierce looked like he’d walked off the pages of GQ Magazine!

“You look so good, babe,” Jade smiled then hugged him tightly. “Oh, honey, thank you. This is beautiful,” she said of the bouquet of yellow and white roses he’d ordered for his bride-to-be.

“You’re beautiful,” Pierce smiled sweetly. “Okay, come on . . . spin around and let me get a good look at you.” Jade put on her “fierce face” and sashayed a bit for him. “Oh yeah, that’s nice,” he moaned, loving the way her dress accentuated every one of her curves.

After a few more minutes of admiring each other, Pierce and Jade walked hand in hand across the street to the chapel. Both of them cried through their vows as they promised to love each other forever. Jade was shocked during the ring exchange when he slid two other pieces on her finger to make a complete set. More tears streamed down her face and she couldn’t wait to kiss Pierce. Then, at a little after two in the afternoon on February 5, 1996, she got her chance once the two of them were pronounced husband and wife.

“We’re married, babe,” she cried.

“We’re married,” he smiled then kissed her again.

The photographer Jade hired snapped pictures of the newlyweds as they ran out of the chapel hand in hand. They kept running right back to their hotel room to consummate the marriage. After hours of the most intense pleasure either of them had ever experienced, they showered and redressed in their wedding attire. Jade had made arrangements with some of the vendors and fellow planners she and Landon had worked with over the years to help make her wedding night special.

“Let me just say that I am impressed, Mrs. Jamison. I didn’t realize you had this type of pull, girl,” Pierce said with pride as they sat across the table from one another. “I like being treated like a celebrity because my wife got clout in Vegas!”

“Well, what can I say? I got it like that,” Jade laughed.

They spent the evening talking and laughing and enjoying being husband and wife. For the rest of their stay in Vegas the newlyweds made love and ordered room service to replenish their strength to make love some more. It became like an addiction and Pierce and Jade couldn’t get enough of each other. Finally, on Thursday morning they boarded a plane and headed home to start their new lives together. Jade gave thirty days notice at her apartment but she never slept there again. Her home was with Pierce and Dane and there was nowhere else in the world she wanted to be.

Mrs. Jamison arrived to work Friday morning excited to talk to Landon about her wedding and honeymoon. She was so happy and she knew he’d be happy for her too. Jade had no way of knowing the drama she was about to walk in on or that her heart was about to be broken.

“I hate you, you son of a bitch!” Gabrielle screamed, slapping at Landon. “How could you do this to me? I thought you loved me!”

“I do love you, baby. I just made a mistake. Please, Gabrielle . . .”

It was then, as they made their way down the steps, that Landon and Gabrielle spotted Jade. She was standing with her mouth gaped open wondering what had caused such a violent argument between them. There was broken glass all over the living room floor where, she was assuming, Gabrielle had demolished all of the frames containing their wedding pictures.

“Well, I guess things just wouldn’t be right if your little girlfriend wasn’t here, huh, Landon?” Gabrielle sneered. “You know, Jade, I thought we were cool. Why wouldn’t you tell me? How could you let me walk around making a fool out of myself? As another woman I think you owed me the respect to tell me. I shouldn’t have had to hear the truth from Cassandra!”

“Tell you what?” Jade frowned, as she looked from Gabrielle to Landon. She assumed Landon and Cassandra had an affair and Gabrielle thought she knew about it the whole time.

“Oh, come off of it, Jade! I know Landon tells you every damn thing! You knew this mothafucka had a vasectomy and y’all let me . . .”

The shock and devastation on Jade’s face let Gabrielle know she didn’t have a clue about it and the woman she had began attacking quickly became a shoulder to cry on. As Jade held her trembling sister-in-law she looked to her brother for an explanation. She thought her heart had stopped beating for a moment after Landon admitted having a vasectomy. Jade couldn’t understand how a man she’d adored for years could sit by and watch his wife go through everything Gabrielle had endured to get pregnant when he knew the entire time it could never happen!

“How could you do this, Landon?” Jade cried still consoling Gabrielle. “How could you watch your wife agonize and think it was her fault she couldn’t

give you a child? How could . . . oh my god! You actually injected Gabrielle with that FSH stuff to help her get pregnant when you knew . . . oh my god!” Jade screamed as she glared at Landon.

“I was scared and I didn’t wanna lose you, Gabrielle,” he said, as she continued to sob in Jade’s arms. “I didn’t think you would give me a chance if I told you at first. I loved you so much, baby, and I was terrified you wouldn’t marry me if you knew and . . .”

“So this was all about what you wanted, huh?” Jade responded, as if any of it had to do with her. “I thought you were a better man than this, Landon. For years I held you in this high regard because I thought you had integrity. But you ain’t no different than every other lying, selfish, manipulative dog and I hate you! I hate that I ever went to bat for you when people tried to discredit you or question your character. I almost lost the love of my life defending you, and for what?”

Landon had never seen such hatred and disgust in Jade’s eyes and he could barely stand to look at her. Gabrielle eventually stopped sobbing and grabbed her suitcase to leave. All Landon could do was stand there and cry as the two women he loved most in the world walked out on him. Suddenly he began thinking about Katrina and wondered if she had been feeling what he was feeling when she decided to end her life. Tears continued to stream down Landon’s face as he considered whether his life was worth living without Jade and Gabrielle in it.

When Jade came into Quik Stop upset over what had taken place at Landon’s, Pierce just let her vent and kept his opinions to himself. The next day, however, he decided to tell her how he felt.

“Babe, I know you might not wanna hear this but I think you’re being unfair to Landon. Ever since I’ve known you you’ve been ready to go to bat for this dude even against me. So you can’t turn your back on him at a time when he needs you most. I know y’all are really close but this doesn’t have anything to do with you. He’s entitled to have a part of his life that’s separate from you. I don’t know why he chose to keep that from Gabrielle, but it’s between them, Jade. How would you feel if he found out about the abortion and said he hated you and ran out? You obviously have things in your life you didn’t feel was Landon’s business and he has things that isn’t yours,” Pierce said, as he ran his fingers through her hair.

“I know I don’t understand everything you’re feeling, but I really think you should just be his friend right now. Love him enough to put aside your own emotions and be there for him because I guarantee he needs you more than ever. So go be with your big brother, okay? I’ll be at the store if you need me.”

“You’re incredible, you know that? Somebody should marry you,” Jade smiled then gave him a big hug. She appreciated that Pierce was willing to put his own feelings aside about Landon in order to help her do the right thing. “Thank you, babe. I love you.”

Jade left to get Chinese takeout from Landon’s favorite restaurant then made her way to his house. “Landon? Landon, where are you?” she called.

“I’m in the living room,” he said, surprised to hear her voice. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to check on you . . . your ole stupid self,” she smirked. “And why are you still sitting around in his ugly robe? Get your big butt up,” Jade fussed.

She grabbed plates and forks from the kitchen as well as a few sodas. Then Jade plopped down on the loveseat across from Landon and started talking like it was just an ordinary day. She told him about her fight with Pierce and that he’d called her an asshole. Jade knew he would find it funny and he almost choked on his food from laughing so hard. Landon almost choked again when she told him about Reese showing up at her apartment. He couldn’t believe it.

Landon got a little teary-eyed when Jade told him about the proposal. Pierce had planned to do it at his birthday party in front of everyone, but she thought it was perfect just the way it was. And so was the wedding. Landon laughed hysterically after Jade told him how insane she was acting when she got that first orgasm! She confessed feeling like a nymphomaniac because she couldn’t keep her hands off Pierce. Everything about him turned Jade on and all she could think about was sex!

They laughed and talked for a while but the conversation eventually made its way to Gabrielle and whether Landon had talked to her or not.

“I screwed up, baby girl. And now I’ve lost everything that matters to me. I know it sounds idiotic but I honestly never meant to hurt her. I just wanted to be happy, so like you said, I only thought about myself.”

“Please forget what I said. You know how stupid I get when I’m emotional. And I also hope you know I could never hate you. I was just shocked and hurt and I went flying off at the mouth instead of taking my crazy ass home so you and Gabrielle could deal with it. I’m so sorry for making the situation worse. I had no right to interfere and I hope you’ll forgive me. I’m really sorry, Landon.”

“You don’t have to apologize, baby girl. I have no one to blame but myself. What I did was deplorable and I deserve everything I’m getting. Gabrielle wants to start divorce proceedings immediately and you . . .”

“I’m here, Landon. I’m right here with you,” Jade said then got up to sit next to him on the couch. “I had no business judging you when I’ve got skeletons in my own closet.” She told him about the abortion and watched as shock registered all over his face.

“Wow, Jade, I never would have guessed that. I appreciate you telling me but you didn’t have to. You’re entitled to your privacy,” Landon said, as he squeezed her hand. “As far as the vasectomy goes, you may not have needed to

know but Gabrielle surely did. But the longer I waited to tell her, the harder it got. Now the very thing I didn’t want to happen is about to. I’ve lost my wife.”

“Gabrielle just needs some time. She’s angry and hurt right now but maybe she’ll come around. And you know I’ll help in any way I can. I love you, Landon,” she said then held him close as he sobbed.

Being a new wife and mom, doing two weddings, helping Landon get his wife back, and planning Pierce’s 28th birthday party had Jade exhausted. At least that’s what she thought had her exhausted. A few weeks later Jade learned that all of her and Pierce’s trips to the moon on their wedding night left behind a little gift.

“So we’re really having a baby? Wow! Let me see,” Pierce smiled brightly then lifted her t-shirt to plant kisses on her belly. Tears were in his eyes when he looked up at Jade. Even though he already had Dane, it would be the first time Pierce got to experience a pregnancy. He couldn’t wait to see Jade’s belly grow and get to be there for her every step of the way. “Hi, baby. It’s Daddy and I can’t wait to meet you in, when will we meet?”

“November . . . and remind me to throw those low dose birth control pills in the garbage, okay?” Jade said. “Clearly they don’t work.”

Their family and friends were thrilled and couldn’t wait to welcome a new baby to the Jamison clan. Unfortunately, Jade’s excitement didn’t last long because her “morning sickness” lasted all day long and often sent her to the emergency room in need of I.V. fluids. She was miserable and spent most of her days in bed rather than being at the office with Landon or spending time with Pierce and Dane. One of her secrets was revealed during that time as well. Jade was too sick to go for her waxing and Pierce was shocked to see how incredibly hairy she was!

“I guess I should’ve told you that you married a wolverine,” Jade cried.

Pierce tried hard not to laugh because he knew she was upset. Instead he carried her to the bathroom to shave her body so she wouldn’t feel bad. Jade cried even more and said she was incredibly embarrassed.

“Girl, please, I’m your man . . . the same one who put suppositories in your butt to help you stop throwing up. So there’s no need to be embarrassed with me. I love you and I’ll do anything in this world for you.”

Jade didn’t know how much more of being sick she could take. She had become depressed and Landon came over one afternoon to spend time with and hopefully cheer her up. If nothing else, he had some juicy gossip to share. As it turned out, Jade wasn’t the only one who was pregnant. Gabrielle was too! She had dropped that bombshell on Landon during one of their counseling sessions. She confessed to going out for happy hour with a group of co-workers the same night as Pierce’s birthday party. Supposedly Gabrielle and Dr. Murray Jacobs talked,

danced, and drank way too much. One thing led to another and they ended up in the backseat of his car. She admitted it was a terrible mistake and apologized to Landon hoping they could put the whole thing behind them and rekindle their marriage. She flew into a rage when he refused to even consider it, especially after what he’d done!

“Baby girl, what planet is this heifer from to think I would ever go for something like that! I don’t want kids of my own so why would I raise somebody else’s? Plus, she must think I’m stupid. How in the hell is she eight weeks pregnant like you when Pierce’s party was only five weeks ago? Gabrielle swore up and down it was just the one time and she and the doctor never had a relationship. But what she doesn’t know is that one of our former client’s sister works at Kaiser on her floor and was more than happy to tell me about all the lunch dates and happy hours between Gabrielle and the good doctor.