The Scale (Martha's Way) (36 page)

Lily smiled, appearing more like her old self. “I know what
you’re thinking. Now that you’re in love, you want everyone to fall in love.”

Feeling guilty, Minka tried to shrug her friend’s words
away. “Well, you guys have great chemistry.”

“No, we don’t,” Lily answered quickly. “We don’t like each
other, but yes, the sex is awesome. I will miss it, I guess, but it was nice while
it lasted.”

“That’s it, then.”

Lily nodded.
“Of course.”
She
giggled and brushed the bangs of her pixie cut from her eyes. “Did you think I
was going to continue seeing him?” Not giving Minka an opportunity to respond,
Lily continued, “The man spends most of his time in Italy racing cars all over
these exotic places and sleeps with all these exotic women. I’m just a Puerto
Rican girl from New Jersey with a great teaching job that I love. I don’t need
the complication. I already kicked one asshole out of my life.”

The words failed to convince Minka, but she chose not to say
anything or point out the fact her friend’s eyes were still staring in the
direction of the pool house. Instead, she gently removed the pillow from her
friend’s grasp and placed it back on the sofa.

“You don’t believe me, do you?” Lily continued.

Minka smiled. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Where’s that sexy boyfriend of yours?”

“Running.”

“Oh yes, he has a great body, by the way. Those tats would
make any woman drool.”

“Adam has a tattoo.” Minka pointed out.

Her friend sighed. “Yes, so does Adam. And he makes me
drool. Happy?”

Lily’s voice sounded exasperated, but Minka knew better.
“Yes, I am.”

“Seriously, my friend, there’s nothing between me and Adam.
I just chose to live free this weekend and do something out of character.”

Minka nodded. She understood where Lily was coming from
because she was an example of it, except she had fallen in love and had learned
to let go of something that was never hers. And in some bizarre way, she
managed to find herself along the way.

She also knew Lily long and well enough to know that hooking
up with a complete stranger wasn’t the norm for her. But with all she had gone
through, Minka was sure she needed the distraction and didn’t blame her friend.
Especially when her choice was someone Minka had grown very fond of.

“I wish I’d been home when you discovered…”

“You’re here with your sister and I’m fine. I’m over the
whole thing. Besides, it looks like you and Keely have made progress.”

“A little.”
Minka nodded.
 
“I’m working on being a better sister.”

Lily smiled and appeared to be pleased with the idea. “Your
sister loves you. Your whole family does. It’s about time you allowed yourself
to be loved by them.”

She agreed with her friend. She still had the coming week to
take a more active role in her sister’s wedding. Minka intended to use the
opportunity to make things better between the two of them.

“Time to jump off the bridge,” Lily shouted, her voice
filled with excitement.

They lined up side-by-side on Jaws Bridge with Keely by her
side and Jason on the other end engaged in a conversation with Adam and Lily.
They were next in line to jump, fulfilling Lily’s wish to follow the island
tradition.

“It’s a wonderful feeling, isn’t it?” Keely whispered with a
smile.

“What is?”

A wide grin spread over her sister’s face.
“Love.”

For so long, the wall she’d built had forced her to deny, to
run, but this time Minka smiled and nodded. Keely reached and took her hands in
hers.

“One never plans to fall in love, my beautiful sister.
Sometime you have to dive in and enjoy it.” She grinned with delight at Minka
before releasing her hand and plunging into the ocean.

She was next. Minka eyed her sister swimming in the water. A
sense of foreboding bubbled inside. Jason’s hand touched her shoulder, ready to
jump with her.

“My turn,” she said with a weak smile.

“We can do it together if you are…”

“I can do this,” she said. Worst-case scenario she’d fall
flat on her face. She had done worse. He didn’t argue, instead, he stepped aside
and released her.

The drop wasn’t extreme, barely a few feet into the ocean
and the airtime lasted a mere second or two. Yet, the free fall was the most
intense rush of adrenaline Minka had ever felt outside of being with Jason. The
water embraced her skin as soon her body connected to it. For a moment, Minka
closed her eyes and let the waves float her away.

She opened her eyes in time to see Jason diving into the
ocean. With fluid strokes he swam over to her, wrapped his arms around her and
kissed her breathless.

When Minka finally lifted her head to insert some air into
her lungs, she surveyed the group. This would be their last time together as
they were now.
Drunk with excitement without a care in the
world.
Blake and Keely were lost in a passionate kiss. Adam and Lily’s
bodies seemed to have merged into one as he cupped her friend’s face, kissing
her.

Soon, her sister would be married and settled into a
different life. Her relationship with Jason would continue, but who knew where
they’d end up? Lily was now single and starting a new life, with or without
Adam. That was up to her friend. Claire was due to return to the island for the
wedding, but would soon head back to California where she lived. Her new CD was
being released and then she had a year-round tour on the road.

It all felt bittersweet.

Minka wasn’t sad. They were all going to start a new phase
in their lives and for once, she was looking forward to her next chapter.

“I hate to break up this party, but I have a ferry to
catch,” Lily told everyone.

“I will drive you,” Adam volunteered.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“Get off the scale.”

Steve Maraboli

Jason spotted his father right away at the far corner of the
restaurant. In addition to finalizing his father’s divorce, most of his time
was spent on the final preparations for the wedding. To say he was tired was an
understatement. There was only one place he wanted to be right now, in bed with
Minka. But he needed to do this. It helped knowing she was still at the inn
with her family.

He slid onto the empty chair and quickly ordered a glass of
scotch. This discussion needed to take place. He needed some closure. He
reached into his messenger bag, pulled out the folder and slid it across the
table.

Jason leaned back against the chair, his eyes set on the man
who had shaped most of his life as he read the final divorce settlement with a
pleased expression.

“A lump sum agreement with no ties.”
His father summarized the outcome of his divorce. “How did you get her to agree
to this?”

Jason thought back to the unpleasant visit to Agnes’ house,
where he calmly reminded her she had deceived his father, just as he had done
to his mother. Screwing someone other than your spouse he found in their
pre-nuptial automatically made their agreement null and void, which worked out
for his father and gave Jason more bargaining power.

“I pointed out that she cheated on you, therefore the
pre-nuptial was null and void.”

His father sat back, impressed, and signaled the waiter to
take their order. “You’re sure you’re not coming back?”

The last few days Jason had contemplated his next move. He
had a great staff at the inn. With the exception of the personal touch he
brought and to oversee the financials, his presence was not needed much.

Minka was due to return to New Jersey after the wedding,
which would give him time to finish working on the house. He’d planned to go to
France as he’d done every summer to visit his mother’s family. Besides that he
had nothing pressing on his plate. A part of him missed the rush, but the last
five years had taught him to move at a slower pace. He didn’t miss the
countless nights going over legal documents to finalize a merger or an
acquisition. But he was his father’s successor; by blood alone he couldn’t
fully walk away.

“I love my life and where I am now.”

Charles nodded and Jason sensed his father finally
understood his decision. “Montgomery Corporation is in your blood, son. You
can’t tell me you don’t miss part of the scrambling and all that we stand for.”

His father had a point. There was more to Montgomery
Corporation. For instance, they gave back to the community; have worked closely
with Forrest to provide a clinic for the elderly. It wasn’t the work he
dreaded, but more so the memories that came along with being in the building.

“Did you ever really love her?” he asked the forbidden
question.

Charles set his scotch glass on the table and met his son’s
gaze. “Of course, till the day she died, son.”

Jason flinched at what he perceived to be a lie.
Nonetheless, he remained silent, allowing his father to continue. This
conversation was already a few years too late.

“Your mother and I were married very young, too young.” He
looked down at his drink, lost in his thoughts. A few seconds passed before he
spoke again. “Neither of us was quite ready for it, but there was a lot of
passion there. And we were in love.”

 
“When did you
start cheating on her?”

“That only happened with Agnes,” his father admitted. His
voice was filled with regret, something Jason never noticed before. “I
shouldn’t have. That was wrong.”

Jason remained silent.

“Your mother needed help and I failed to see that. Instead,
I looked for comfort somewhere else.”

“I watched her destroy herself and take away everything that
made her beautiful.”

“So did I, son. I felt helpless. She shut me down. At first,
I tried to pretend her sickness didn’t exist and she was being a typical model,
obsessed with her appearance, but it ran deeper than that. I failed her and
failed you.”

He took in the man’s features that were so similar to his.
For the first time, Jason sensed his father’s pain might run as deep as his,
for different reasons. He had watched his mother, as she battled with
self-acceptance, turn to alcohol and stop eating. He’d walked in on his father
with another woman. An image he could never get out of his head if he tried.
But now he dared to look at his father and try to comprehend his actions.

Jason would never forgive his father for seeking comfort
from someone else during his mother’s darkest hours. God, he couldn’t imagine
doing that to Minka. On the other hand, he understood denial or feeling
helpless. In some ways, wasn’t he going down that route with Minka now by
dismissing her feelings for Blake?

A topic that needed to be addressed, yet every night once he
was buried inside her and taking all she was willing to give, at least
physically, had been enough.

 
“I miss her,”
Jason finally said. “I would have liked to introduce her to Minka.”

“They are similar,” his father replied.

Jason recognized the gentle warning in his father’s voice.
“Minka doesn’t have a disease. She just had…” That damn scale was still in his
bathroom. With their full schedule, the last few days they had not talked much;
therefore, he had no gauge on her struggle.

 
“She has body
image issues,” he said, “but she’s not bulimic.”

His father nodded. “Have you told her you love her?”

With his father’s eyes on him, Jason took another swig of
the scotch, welcoming the burnt, yet smooth taste down his throat.

“What’s the point of loving someone if it leaves you afflicted?”
The words spoken by his father were more so of a statement then a question. “If
you think she’s worth it then
break
down that wall and
don’t waste another second. Don’t make the mistakes I’ve made.”

“I’m not you, Dad.”

Charles let out a warm, cackling laugh. “Not entirely, you
inherited the stubbornness from your mom.”

A smile slipped and settled on Jason’s lips. “I have to go.”

He rose to his feet and extended his hand to his father.
Charles pushed his chair back to come to his feet. Back straight and their
chins up, reflecting their stubbornness, the two men stood in silence staring
at each other until Charles clasped his son’s extended hand and pulled him into
a tight embrace. For a moment, neither man moved until Jason broke the
connection.

A bit overpowered by feelings he didn’t care to make sense
of at this time, Jason stepped back, adding a bit more distance between them.

“Can we start again, son?” Charles asked, breaking the
silence.

The question failed to deliver its usual umbrage. This time the
hostilities that ran as deep as the indignation Jason toted for so long seemed
futile.

“I’d like that.” His father’s features relaxed.
Surprisingly, he also felt
a lightness
in his limbs.
“Oh, by the way, how’s Nicole?” He didn’t particularly care for the woman, but
she was the soup-du-jour and if they were going to mend their relationship, it
was best to accept her, or at least be polite.

“I dumped her after we ate at your house. She was crushed,
but I think I need a little time alone.”

Unable to hide his relief, Jason let out a huge breath.

“I take it you’re happy over this news,” Charles said with a
smile.

“I was ready to try.”

His father shook his hand once more. “Go home and remember
,
it’s okay to take that large, deep, savoring breath and
give that one person your all.”

Jason nodded and started to walk away but paused and turned
back to face Charles. “Give me until summer, then I will return. But I don’t
want to head the legal department anymore.”