Where I Wanna Be (54 page)

“
Ohhhh…” Jake nodded. “…and what about Simone? Is that her name?”

“
That’s Eli’s girlfriend,” Kieran mentioned, “his first love.”

“
So Faith is dating Darren and Eli is dating Simone, but Faith and Eli are still married to each other and won’t divorce?” Alexis tried to put the pieces together.

“
Pretty much,” Nick nodded, “the only people who really know what’s going on are Faye and Eli, and I’m not even sure
they
know.”

“
So do they want to divorce?” Jake asked.

“
Hell if anyone knows,” Joey grunted. “They both claim they’re giving each other space, but it’s been what? Four months?”

“
How much space do you need?” Tony surmised. “Either you want to be together or you don’t.”

“
Well, to be fair, sometimes couples can be separated for years before they divorce,” Tiana added, “if they
ever
divorce.”

“
I don’t think E has the patience for that,” Kieran chimed in, “both situations are wearing him down.”

“
He did it to himself,” Nick shrugged, “he’s the one who created this mess.”

“
But it does seem like he’s trying to clean it up,” Tony gave a half-shrug.

“
So, pretty much whoever walks through that door today will be the one he might be with forever?” Alexis asked.

“
Yep.” The brothers answered in unison.

“
Crazy,” Jake shook his head, “it’s like a soap opera.”

“
Eli and the Restless,” Nick quipped.

“
The Days of Eli’s Women,” Joey added.

“
Uh-huh, like
Passions
!” Tony nodded to stares from everyone. “What?
Passions
was the shit!”

“
Hi, everybody!” Nathan greeted everyone when he entered the home.

The brothers stood up to greet their nephew while they cautiously eyed the front door. “Hey, little buddy,” Joey picked up his nephew, “who did you come here with?”

“
Those two fools outside,” Nathan giggled.

“
Those what?” Kieran smiled.

“
I told Eli I didn’t want him to teach our son to say that,” Faith walked in, carrying food. “But he was insistent that he had to say it.”

“
What?” Eli followed behind her. “It was funny!”

“
Well, it’s the truth,” Zerrin snacked on a piece of celery as she hugged her sister, “the two of you are being a little foolish.” She then whispered in Faith’s ear. “I want a dick report on Mr. Darren.”

“
You got it.” Faith smiled.

Eli went into the kitchen and set the pies on the counter. “Do you need help, ma?”

“
Actually, if you can start chopping up what’s left of the celery before Zerrin eats it all,” Nicola joked. She then put down her knife and approached her son. “So you brought your wife instead of your girlfriend? That was a wise choice.”

“
I’m not with Moni anymore,” Eli put on an apron.

“
Oh?” Nicola inquired. “What happened?”

Eli caught the smile forming on his mother’s lips and a sparkle in her eyes. “Now are you asking because you genuinely care or because you want to rub it in my face?”

“
More of the latter and maybe a little of the former,” Nicola admitted.

“
I’d rather not talk about it now,” Eli glanced up and saw his wife and son interacting with his family. “Not in front of Faye and Nate.”

“
Okay, okay,” Nicola backed down, “I was just wondering what was going on.”

“
Nothing at the moment,” Eli began chopping celery, “we’re still trying to figure that part out.”

“
But she’s here?” Nicola replied. “Obviously, she could’ve been at the game if she wanted.”

“
She could’ve. She could’ve been anywhere but here, quite honestly.” Eli commented. “But she chose to be here.”

Nicola motioned for Eli to lean down so he was at her level. “If that’s not a sign of a woman willing to give you a second chance, I don’t know what is.”

****

After dinner was served, the ladies gathered upstairs to talk about Nicola’s upcoming nuptials. She and Art had decided not to wait for a long-drawn out engagement and wanted to get married as soon as possible. It also meant planning a huge celebration within a few weeks and there wasn’t much time to mess around.

“
The first time I got married, we went straight to the courthouse,” Nicola sat on her bed, perusing her wedding portfolio. “Now I see why I did.”

“
You can always change your mind, Nicola,” Tiana chimed in. “Kieran and I got married at the courthouse and that was the best decision for both of us.”

“
That’s probably what Nick and I are going to do,” Zerrin commented, “not that I don’t like weddings, but I just want something simple.”

“
There is nothing wrong with extravagance,” Faith held up a picture of a lace wedding gown, “you can be classy without being trashy.”

“
That gown is probably worth more than what I make in three months,” Zerrin deadpanned.

Tiana’s nose scrunched up at seeing the gown. “All that for one day?”

“
Hey, Ms. Thang, you had a big wedding!” Faith commented to Tiana.

“
Yeah, and I had a big divorce three years later,” Tiana added.

“
Speaking of divorce…” Nicola closed her wedding portfolio. “…what’s going on between you and Eliodoro, Faye?”

That was a question Faith wanted to know as well. She thought the weekend with Darren would be everything she needed to get over Eli but it just made things worse. The sexual thrill was short-lived. The heartache about her marriage returned with full force. “Well, I wish I had an answer for you, Nicola.”

“
I think the answer is pretty simple. Either you want to be with my son, or you don’t.” Nicola replied, matter-of-factly.

“
It’s not that simple, Nicola,” Faith hesitated on what she wanted to reveal, “it’s just not that simple.”

“
Is it
your
boyfriend?” Nicola asked.

Faith looked at her mother-in-law, stunned. “H-h-how did you know?”

“
Sweetheart, I know everything,” Nicola smiled. “My grandson tells me all the gossip I need to know when his parents don’t.”

“
Remind me I need to teach Nate how to keep a secret,” Faith quipped.

“
Are you in love with this Darren fella?” Nicola asked.

“
No.” Faith was pretty sure about that. “I most certainly am not.”

“
But he’s still in the picture?” Nicola inquired. “He hasn’t gone away, has he?”

“
I made a mistake,” Faith admitted without revealing the details, “and because of that mistake, it made a situation worse.”

“
Eli made the same mistake,” Nicola pointed out, “but he seemed to have forgiven you for your transgressions while you’re still struggling with his.”

“
Darren wouldn’t have entered the picture if Eli wasn’t with Simone,” Faith defended herself.

“
Two wrongs don’t make a right, Faith.” Nicola smiled. “Now, I’m not excusing my son for his actions and he knows exactly how I feel about it. I didn’t raise him that way and none of my other sons think what he did was remotely acceptable. However, the two of you are playing games with each other. Eli had an affair and you went and had one in retaliation because, let’s face it, that’s what it was. The Disney World picture? I know what that was and so did you. You were telling Eli, ‘Look, someone else wants me if you don’t.’ If you didn’t think you were going to sleep with Mr. Quarterback, you wouldn’t have traveled to Brooklyn for a weekend and furthermore, let Eli know about it. You knew what was going to happen and you let it happen.”

“
You’re making me the bad guy, Nicola,” Faith replied, “and it’s not my fault.”

“
Both you and Eli are here,” Nicola held up her hands, flat and side by side. “Neither one of you is better or worse than the other in this situation. The reason I’m upset with this is what’s happening to Nate’s psyche. If he hasn’t already started asking questions about what is going on, he will soon. My only concern is my grandbaby. I truly do not care what the two of you do on your own time.”

“
Faye, let’s just cut to the chase—who do you want to be with?” Zerrin asked.

Faith lay back on the bed and let out a loud sigh. “I want to be with Eli.”

“
Then forgive him and move past this.” Tiana added.

“
Easier said than done,” Faith stared up at the ceiling, “I can’t just forgive him like that.” She snapped her fingers.

“
You’re making it sound like you have to forgive him
now
and no one is asking that of you,” Zerrin commented. “It’s obvious both of you still love each other and you want to be together. Didn’t you tell me the other day you and Eli had gotten along better now than you had in probably the past several years? Maybe in its own twisted way, the separation was what was needed to jump start your marriage.”

“
It’s going to be a long time before I can forgive him,” Faith shook head, “a lot of prayer and a lot of therapy.”

“
But do you want to make this work?” Tiana asked.

Faith wiped a falling tear from her face. “I want to,” she sniffled.

“
That’s the important part.” Nicola reached over and gathered Faith into a big hug and the other ladies joined in. “Do it for you and Eli; don’t do it for Nate.”

****

“
I’m glad you came over tonight,” Eli addressed Faith as they walked out of Nate’s bedroom after they finished tucking him into bed. “It means a lot to me to have the two of you there.”

“
It was fun and I really missed being around everyone,” Faith smiled, “and Nate loved hanging out with his uncles and cousins.”

“
Everyone loves you, Faye,” Eli shrugged, “I don’t know why you thought otherwise.”

“
Well, it’s nice to have that extra reinforcement,” Faith folded her arms.

“
Anyway, I’m done here. I already put away the food. We have a big day at the shop tomorrow and I have to be there super early,” Eli yawned, “so I need to get going. You have fun at the mall tomorrow. Don’t spend too much money.”