Love Never Fails Read online

  “Hi dad.”

  “Hi son. How’s Monica doing?”

  “She’s great. I mean she constantly throws up. I guess from the morning sickness. But other than that, she’s great.”

  “I still can’t believe you’re with her knowing she’s pregnant with another man’s baby. That’s what weak men do. Did I not teach you anything?”

  Jake inhales, trying to calm down. If he tells his dad what he really taught him, he would feel horrible. The truth hurts. His father was barely home. He worked a lot, and when he wasn’t working, he did his own thing. That’s the only reason why they give Jake monthly allowances. They felt guilty for not being good parents.

  “Dad I need to tell you something. I’ve already told mom, and now I need to tell you.”

  “Tell me what?” Aaron takes a swig of his whiskey.

  “I’m going to ask Monica to marry me.”

  Jake’s parents don’t know he’s invested his money. They think he’s blown his money off. And they aren’t going to help him take care of Monica and her baby.

  Aaron pours another glass of whiskey. “Are you sure you’re ready for that? How are you going to support her and the baby? Do you know how hard it is to find a good paying job without any experience? And you will never find a job that makes more than I make. With your grades.” He snorts. “You’re barely passing now, so there’s no way you’ll find a job that makes more than me. And why would you want to be married to a woman like that?”

  Jake grabs tightly on the corners of the kitchen cabinet. “A woman like what dad?”

  “You know those girls who leach on rich men, just so they don’t ever have to lift a finger.” Aaron looks at Erin’s direction.

  “Dad, she isn’t like that. She’s better than that.”

  “Yeah ok. Whatever you say son. Just wait and see.”

  “I already have a job with my name on it once I graduate from high school.”

  “Oh is that so? Where are you going to work son?” Aaron has always doubted his son.

  Jake responses with confidence. “I’m going to work at Jo-Wills.”

  Aaron laugh, “Oh really son? And how are you going to pull that off? You do know they have a strict hiring policy right?”

  “Yeah I know.”

  “So how did you get a job there?”

  “Her dad offered me a position.”

  “And how did he manage to do that? Does he know people who can give you a job without any experience?”

  “Yes.”

  “Son don’t count on it. He might tell you he can help you get a position. But that’s just talk. It will be hard for him to pull that through. Plus you don’t have good work ethics. You’ll be fired the first day. I’ve been in the building, and I’ve heard people get turned down with awesome resumes. No one there will hire you unless you know the job or you know the boss.”

  “Well dad I know the boss.”

  “Really? And how do you know him?”

  “Monica’s father is the boss.”

  “What? That’s a lie. The owner doesn’t live in Baytown. I heard he lives somewhere up north.”

  “No the owner lives in Baytown, and her father is the owner. He offered me a position after I graduate. He told me he’ll train me himself. Of course I have to start from the bottom, and then work my way up.”

  “That’s bullshit. Why start at the bottom? Why can’t he just give you a good position? Shit you’re dating his daughter.”

  “That’s not how he works. He believes in busting your butt to get to a good place in life.”

  “Well that sucks for you. With him giving you a low position means he doesn’t think very highly of you.”

  “Dad, I’ll take what I can get. If I have to bust my ass, so be it.”

  “Ok son. If that’s what you want. But what makes you think she’ll say yes if you ask her to marry you?”

  “I wanted to tell you and mom first. Then I’m going to ask her dad. Once he gives me his approval, then I’ll ask her. And I know she loves me so she will say yes.”

  “Son why would you need to ask her dad first? Just go ahead and ask her.”

  “Because that’s how I want to do it.”

  Jake’s father laughs in his face. “Ok whatever. What are you going to do if her father says no? What then?”

  “I’ll take my chances. I’ve proven to them how much I love her. I know he’ll say yes.”

  “That’s too much work. I think you skip through all that shenanigans and just ask her, and hope she says yes.”

  Jake knew there’s no use talking to his dad about his plans. His father always feels like people owe him. Like he’s entitled to everything because he has money. And if he continues to sit there talking some sense into his dad, he’ll just be going around in circles. His parents have always been negative people, and they never encouraged Jake to do something great with his life. But he did what he needed to do, and informed his parents, the hardest part is next. Convincing her dad to say yes. The thought of John saying no bother’s him. He convinced his parents that John will say yes, but was he lying to himself. What if John does say no, then what? He knows he has to show his love to Monica, but will that be enough for John? Will that be enough for Monica?

  Jake drives back home and sit in the driveway thinking of how he’s going to go about asking John. When he gets inside, John is in the kitchen cooking. Lauren has always cooked, so it was weird seeing John cooking.

  “Sir may I talk to you in the backyard?”

  “Yes son, give me one minute.”

  Jake heads outside, and sits on the chaise lounge by the pool, trying to memorize what he’s going to say. What if he forgets what to stay? What if he starts to stutter? He’ll look like a damn fool in front of John. Moments later, John walks up to Jake, and he can see Jake sweating.

  “Son are you alright?”

  “Yes sir. I have something to ask you?”

  “Oh ok. Then ask away.”

  “Sir I love Monica. I love her baby even though I haven’t met him or her yet. I love the baby because it’s part of Monica. I know you’ve heard bad things about me. But Monica changed me to be a better person. She changed me to be a better man. Because of her, I found the good inside me. And I am in debt to her and the baby. I owe them my love and protection. I want to be with her and the baby forever. So I am asking you for her hands in marriage?”

  John tries to hold back his tears, but who’s he kidding. Tears of happiness start to flow. He knows Jake will be the best man for his daughter. He is the perfect choice for her. What man out there will stay with a woman who is pregnant with another man’s child? What man out there will take care of a baby that isn’t his, and raise it like his own? It only happens one in a million. And this is the prime example, showing it does exist. It does happen. And how many men now a day ask the father for their daughter’s hand in marriage?

  “Son I really appreciate you coming to me first. That’s a gentleman thing to do. Do you know I asked Lauren’s father also? Son it will be my pleasure to have you be my daughter’s husband. You are a great man. And you two deserve each other. And the baby will be loved by two great parents. Welcome into the family son.”

  Jake holds his hand out for a hand shake, but John won’t have it. “Son a hand shake won’t seal this deal. A hug seals the deal.”

  Monica sees them in the backyard hugging, and questions what in the world they’re doing?

  “I was just talking to Jake about the position he will be working at when he finishes school.”

  Monica focuses on their face expressions. Why is her dad crying? Why are Jake’s eyes sparkling with moisture? And most of all, why are they in the backyard hugging?

  “Ah huh?” Monica isn’t really convinced with their story. She knows they’re up to something. She doesn’t know what exactly but she is determined to find out.

  16

  John rolls the windows down, and cool breezy winds blow in their faces. Jake is in the back sea
t holding Monica in his arms. John drives to the obstetrician’s office; he glances at Lauren, grabs her hands, and kisses it. She smiles at him, still in love after decades of marriage. They are the picture perfect image of how marriages should be. Yes they’ve had obstacles, but they’ve overcome those obstacles, making their love for each other stronger. Today is the day they will find out if the baby is a boy or a girl. It doesn’t matter to Jake and Monica. Just as long as the baby is healthy, happy, and safe. That’s what loving parents pray for.

  “Williams.” The nurse calls out to the patients in the waiting room. All of them stand up, and the nurse gets flabbergasted when she sees Monica’s parents and partner eager to find out what the baby will be.

  She checks Monica’s vital signs, weighs her, and measures her belly. She jots all the information into her chart, and tells them the doctor will be in momentarily. The anticipation is killing them. They are so excited to know, so they can finally come up with a name. There’s a knock on the door, the doctor enters and his nurse follows.

  “Hello Monica.”

  “Hi Dr. Phillips.”

  He greets her parents and Jake, amazed they all showed.

  “Let me see.” He looks in her chart. “Well looks like you’re not gaining any weight.”

  “I’ve been eating nonstop.”

  Doctor Phillips looks at everybody else, confirming if Monica’s actually been eating.

  “Did you bring a blank cd?”

  “Yup I did.” Monica hands it to the doctor joyfully.

  He slips the blank cd into the machine. Monica flinches with the cold jelly hits her belly.

  He paints the gel all over her belly with the probe. “Yeah. Ok. Good. Excellent. There it goes”

  Monica looks at Jake, Jake looks at John, John looks at Lauren, and then Lauren looks at Monica trying to decipher the words Dr. Phillips is saying.

  “Well everybody are you guys ready to find out what the baby is?”

  “YES!” They all simultaneously say.

  “What’s the name if it’s a boy?”

  “Eric.” Monica responds.

  “And if it’s a girl?”

  “Ella.” Jake says excitedly

  “Ok. Well guys I want you to say hi to your new baby girl Ella. Look she’s waving at you guys.”

  Lauren hugs Monica and Jake cries happy tears.

  “Did you want to hear the Ella’s heart beat?” The doctor making this moment more memorable for them.

  “Can we?” Jake questions.

  When they hear Ella’s heart, there’s softness about it. It’s angelic to hear. Monica now understands why woman do this more than once. It’s such a beautiful miracle.

  After finding out the baby’s sex, they decide to have a celebratory dinner. Monica craves for seafood, so they go to the fanciest restaurant in Houston. After the hostess leads them to their table, his parents enter the restaurant seconds later.

  “Hi dear.” There’s fakeness about Erin’s voice.

  “Hi mom, dad.” Jake wishes his parents weren’t here right now.

  “Are you going to introduce us dear?” His mom shows her counterfeit smile to Monica and her parents.

  Jake loves his parents, but he’s embarrassed of them. They are just so fake. They will smile in your face, just to turn around and stab you in the back once you’re not looking. Jake introduces everyone, and Erin hugs Monica with her nose in the air. Erin knows Monica’s family has more money than they do, but that doesn’t matter to her. She still feels like she is better than Monica and her family.

  “Can we sit with you guys?” Erin invites herself.

  “Sure you may.” Lauren kindly accepts her invitation, even though she already senses the kind of person Erin is. She didn’t want to be rude, especially to Jake’s parents. There’s a confused look in her face. She doesn’t understand. He is totally opposite from his parents. He isn’t stuck up, nor a narcissist and he’s just so very outgoing. The waitress grabs two more seats, and rearranges the chairs so everyone can fit. It takes her a minute to do, so Erin gets irate for her taking too long. Jake apologizes to the waiter for his unthankful mother.

  “Dear don’t apologize to her. It’s her job, and she needs to hurry up doing it.”

  Monica and Lauren eyes widen and they bite on their bottom lips, trying to hold back from snatching Erin’s head off. When Erin and Aaron finally sit, Erin just kept adding to the fire.

  “I didn’t know you guys come to restaurants like this. This is the most elite restaurant in Houston.”

  “Mom!”

  “Dear I mean no harm. I’m just impressed that they come to places like this.”

  “So John, how do you like the software I customized for you?” Aaron orders double shot of whiskey.

  “Oh it’s great.” John doesn’t want to talk about work especially since they are there to celebrate, but he kindly responds to be civilized.

  “You know that’s the best software in Houston. There are numerous oil companies that are begging me to customize a software for them. You should be proud I did that for your company. I didn’t have to, but I did it for you.”

  John inhales slowly, forcing a smile. Jake is horrified at how his parents are acting.

  “Mom and dad, we’re here to celebrate, so I’m sure they don’t want to talk about that right now.”

  “Oh ok. Are you guys celebrating about what we talked about the other day?”

  Jake stretches his eyes and neck out, hoping his mom will just shut her mouth because he doesn’t want to ruin the proposal. He isn’t going to ask today, because today they are celebrating finding out the sex of the baby. But his parents’ fat mouths are kill joys.

  “We found out the sex of the baby.”

  “Oh ok.” Erin isn’t interested in that. She thinks that’s not anything to be celebrating about, so she waves her hands in the air in disappointment.

  “What is Monica having?” Aaron trying to act like he cares, but he doesn’t.

  “We’re having a baby girl dad.” Jake emphasizes the word “We’re”.

  “Oh dear.” Erin shakes her head.

  Before Erin can continue with what she wants to say, Jake interrupts her. He knows her too well. She’s going to say something evil, and Monica doesn’t deserve to be treated that way.

  “Baby are you ok?” Jake squeezes Monica’s hand, silently apologizing for his narcissistic parents.

  “Yes babe. Thank you.” She leans into his lips.

  The whole dinner was a disaster. His parents kept talking about themselves. About how much money they have, places they’ve vacationed at, and well-established business owners they know. Jake can tell Monica and her parents were fixing to explode. After dinner, they skip dessert just to get away from his parents.

  “I am so sorry for how my parents acted today. Sometimes they act like little kids. Well all the time.”

  Everyone laughs. Poor Jake. He grew up with parents like that. How did he ever survive? Monica and her parents barely made it those two hours together. The thought of Jake going through that for eighteen years make Monica’s parents sick. They are strict, stern, but loving parents. They would have never treated Monica the way Jake’s parents treated him.

  Jake rubs Monica’s belly, making a silent oath to himself. He will never treat Ella the way his parents treated him. He wants to be just like John and Lauren. They are what parents should be.

  “Son your parents are very interesting.” John tries to find the right word to describe his parents without being mean.

  “Honey?” Lauren appalled that John just said that.

  “Oh it’s ok Lauren. He’s right. They’re interestingly deranged.”

  With the pregnancy wearing her out, Monica decides to take a nap. Jake sits on the couch watching television while Monica lays her head on his lap. Occasionally, Jake glances down at Monica, admiring her beauty. He wonders if Ella will look like her. He hopes she won’t look like Clint, because to Jake, Clint isn’t a beaut
. He doesn’t see what Monica ever saw in him. Jake thinks about what Clint might do when he finds out Monica never got rid of the baby. Once he finally sees his baby, will he change and be a part of the baby’s life? If he does change, will he stop Jake from being a part of Ella’s life. Even though he didn’t make Ella, Jake considers her his child. He loves her even more than he loves Monica. Will Clint cause heartaches and headaches for them? He needs to be out of the picture Jake thought. He can’t take the risk of Clint ruining this for him.

  17

  Monica looks in the mirror hoping Jake will love how she looks in the dress. Kelly helped her pick it out. Monica wanted an elegant dress that will cover her belly. Clint will also be at prom, and she doesn’t want him to notice her growing belly. The dress is black with silver accents. The top part of the dress is a tube top corset. The corset hugs her breast, and right underneath the unrivalled taffeta tulle ruffles, her belly is hidden. It’s short in the front, but the train in the back drapes to the ground. Monica has her hair in an up-do with tiny curls hovering over her face. She doesn’t like to wear too much make-up but decided tonight is the night to change it up a little. She got her make-up done, with smoky sultry eyes and pale pink lip gloss

  “Ok I’m ready.” Monica yells downstairs at Jake and her parents.

  Tonight is Jake’s prom. He nervously waits downstairs with her parents. Lauren grabs her camera ready. John places his hand on Jake’s shoulder, lightly squeezing, trying to ease his worries. As Monica makes her way down, everyone is at aw. She’s so ravishing. Jake has never seen any woman more beautiful. When she gets to the bottom of the stairs, she kisses her dad, hugs her mom, and pauses as Jake is lost for words. Blushing, she kisses him on his lips. He places the black and white corsage on her wrist.

  “You look so beautiful.” He whispers softly in her ears. “I love you.”

  “Thank you baby. I love you too. And you don’t look bad yourself.” She winks at him playfully.

  “Oh dear. You look so stunning.” Lauren starts to weep, unable to take all the pictures she has planned on taking.

  “Sweetheart, there just no words to describe how you look tonight. My little girl is growing up. I love you so much.” John’s eyes glisten.