I'm sorry that this one's so long. On Word, it's nine pages. I thought I would post it since you guys (as in people who read this) liked it when I had the longer parts. Anyways, here you go: the final part.
“Joy, I don’t-”
“Annabelle, you promised you would come.”
“I know, but-”
“Mom agreed to watch the kids for us, so you better get ready for dinner. We’re going to be there in half an hour.”
“But Joy-”
“No buts. You better be ready when we get there.”
“Gosh, you won’t even let me finish a sentence, but fine. Would you like to dress me, too, mom?”
“I would, but there isn’t enough time. See you soon.” She hung up before I could argue any longer.
She normally wasn’t so persistent, so she was up to something. I didn’t think about it for too long because I started to think about the dream I had the night before. Oddly enough, or maybe not, I had dreamt about Zubin. I had the guts to stand up to this Molly girl and Zubin took me back to his house… and that’s where I woke up.
“Annabelle?” Someone said while knocking on my bedroom door.
“Momma, Grammy’s here! She let herself in.” I heard Ashley exclaim. I opened the door. My mom had a key to the house, so she usually let herself in.
“She is. Hey, Ma,” I said while hugging her.
“Hey, sweetie. How was last night?”
“It was fun.”
“Did you meet someone?” She asked while eyeing me as I plugged in my curling iron.
“You talked to Joy, didn’t you?” I asked while I closed my bedroom door and walked over to my walk in closet to change. Knowing Joy, she would freak if I wasn’t ready when she got there. Even though it was funny afterwards, she was terrifying during the rampage.
“Of course she did. She told me you met a hot musician, although, that isn’t a promising career-”
“Ma, it’s fine. The band he’s in is doing well and is very successful. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Okay, I trust you on this. So what happened after you two met?”
“How much did Joy tell you?”
“Not enough. She just told me up until you went to bathroom and then she had to hang up the phone because of Ricky.”
“I came back from the bathroom and this girl was all over him, so I freaked out and ran.”
“You ran?”
“Yes. It seemed rational, but now I feel bad for doing it. How do I look?” I said. I had curled my hair and put on elf eyeliner in coffee and stila lip-gloss in star fruit. I wore a pale blue tank top, jean shorts and my favorite leather boots along with dangly earrings. I loved summer.
“You look lovely, sweetie. And just in time,” she said as the doorbell rang. I slid down the staircase railing and opened the front door. Ricky came in immediately and hugged my leg.
“Hey, Auntie Anna,” he yelled, his dimply grin showing as he looked up at me.
“Hey, Ricky,” I said as I lifted him up into a hug, “Ashley is in the living room with Grandma. Why don’t you go say hi to them?”
“Okay,” he said as I put him down. He ran to the next room to find them.
“Well, don’t you look nice,” Joy said while hugging me, “you ready?”
“Can I say bye to Ashley first?”
“Of course. Why do you even ask?” I waved the question off as I walked into the living room, over to Ashley, and kissed her on the top of her head.
“Bye, Ash. Love you.”
“Bye, Ma. Love you, too,” she said while hugging my neck. I grabbed my purse, said bye to Ricky and my mom before Joy dragged me out the door.
“So, where are you guys taking me?” I asked as we got into Billy’s H1 Hummer.
“Your favorite restaurant,” Billy answered.
“Cracker Barrel?” I asked excitedly.
“Okay, your second favorite.”
“Zingerman’s Deli?”
“Yeah. Is that okay?”
“It’s fine.” We arrived shortly after and it wasn’t very busy, so we got seated almost immediately.
“I’ll be back in a second,” I said while walking towards the bathroom.
When I finished and was walking back towards the booth, I noticed Joy and Billy were talking to somebody. Occupying my bench, was someone with straight black hair. Oh no! I thought.
“There she is!” Joy exclaimed. I turned towards the person they were talking to.
“You,” I said, the butterflies rampaging in my stomach.
“Annabelle.”
“Annabelle, do you know Zubin?” Joy asked, clearly proud with herself.
“We’ve met, but how do you know him?”
“Well, Billy and Zubin met through Joe’s film group in college and they ran into each other at the venue. I came up to Billy in the middle of their conversation when you said you wanted to leave, so I said we should eat here and catch up. So, can you please sit?” I sat down next to Zubin and looked up at Billy. He was resisting the urge to glare at Zubin. Billy had a protective side for me that was starting to come out and promise Zubin what he would do to him if he hurt me since he couldn’t finish his job with Joe.
“Umm, so we’re going to go,” Joy said abruptly grabbing Billy’s hand and pulling him out of the booth.
“But what about catching up?” Billy asked, disgruntled.
“You can do it later. You two have fun,” she said as they walked towards the door. There was a moment of awkward silence before I turned to him and caught those inviting brown eyes staring at me. It left me speechless and it made my stomach flutter even more. I looked away to calm my nerves. I cleared my throat and asked the first question that came to mind.
“So, you know Billy?” I saw him blink and look down.
“Umm, yeah. Through college in Joe’s film group. Billy was a good actor, but he can be a scary guy every once in a while. I can see why though.” My cheeks flushed and they felt like they were burning. “Annabelle, why did you leave?” My eyes shot up and looked into his gorgeous brown ones. They were filled with curiosity and hurt that I had left.
“I have no clue,” I said, “When I saw you with that brunette, it bitch-slapped me back to reality.”
“Which is?”
“Hot guys like you aren’t attracted to plain, dull girls like me.” His mouth went slightly agape. “What?”
“You’re underestimating yourself. I am attracted to you. After you left, crazy as we just met, I couldn’t help but think about you.”
“But what about the brunette?”
“Molly. We went on one date and she thought we were together. I broke up with her, but she refuses to leave me alone. She hated seeing me with you.”
“That actually makes sense. I’m so sorry I left.”
"It’s alright. You’re here now, that’s all that matters to me.”
“What’d you do after I left?”
“Well, I told her, very ungentlemanly, to find someone else to stalk. I started to look for you, ran into Billy, although I didn’t know he was your brother. Things went up from there and here we are.” I smiled. He went looking for me? Then our waitress came to take our drink orders. She was taller than me, with raven black hair, and very pretty.
“Hi, I’m Phoebe. What can I get you guys?” She asked, not even bothering to hide the fact that she was checking out Zubin. It made me angry, though I didn’t understand why.
“An iced tea, please,” I said a little harshly.
“Same,” Zubin said, not even looking at Phoebe.
“Coming right up,” she said as she wrote down the order, “hey, aren’t you Zubin of Tally Hall?”
“Yeah?” He answered, confusion coloring his tone.
“Oh my gosh, you were amazing last night.”
“Thanks.” Phoebe continued to stare at him until I cleared my throat.
“I’ll be back with your drinks.” I rolled my eyes as she walked away. Even though he wasn't technically mine, I couldn’t help but be protective of him.
“Annabelle, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said as looked down.
“You can tell me.”
“Well, did you see her checking you out?”
“Yes. Why?”
“You could have a girl like her.”
“I could, but that isn’t what I want.”
“Then what do you want?”
“Isn’t it a little obvious?” I looked down at my nails and incessantly started picking at my nail polish as a heat started making its way up my neck. Most guys just wanted big boobs, long legs, and an empty head. Why he didn’t, I didn’t know.
“Annabelle?” He said, trying to get my attention. When I didn’t look up, he grabbed my hands, put them around his neck, making me look into those gorgeous brown eyes of his.
“Please don’t hurt me. I’ve had my heart broken before many times.”
“I wouldn’t even dare,” he whispered. I got lost in his eyes. He then snuck a quick kiss on my cheek. My stomach fluttered and my heart pounded faster.
Suddenly, I heard a slam and looked from Zubin to Phoebe. She looked like she would cut me. She obviously saw the kiss. She was pissed enough that one of the drinks tipped over onto my lap. I shrieked from shock as the cold liquid hit me and I glared at her in response. She had a smug smile spread across her lips.
“What the hell was that?” Zubin yelled at her.
“What?” She asked, feigning innocence. “I didn’t mean to.” By that time, the manager came by and offered to comp a meal. I went to the bathroom while Zubin talked to the manager.
After cleaning myself as best I could, I exited the bathroom to find Zubin pacing.
“Do you still want to eat?” He asked once he saw me.
“No.” He took his jacket off and put it on my shoulders as we walked out the door. His jacket smelled good and was relaxing in a way. Zubin grabbed my hand as we walked to his car. I looked up to see him frowning. I tugged at his hand, causing him to turn around.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“You can tell me,” I said, repeating the line he had told me earlier.
“It’s kind of stupid, but I’m worried.”
“About what?”
“That you might not want to see me again.”
“Because of a drink spilling on me?”
“Yeah. This isn’t the first time it’s happened to a woman I’m dating.”
“Is that what we’re doing?”
“Yes. That’s what I want. But I want you to realize the mess that comes with me, especially since I perform at the Blind Pig a lot. You’ll probably be dealing with Molly a lot and she’s nuts.” I rolled my eyes and put my hands on either side of his face. He looked into my eyes.
“Is that supposed to make me run away? Sorry, but I’m way too interested and I will fight for what’s mine. And besides, I made the mistake of running already.”
“You’re a swine,” he said, quoting the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night movie.
“And being honest.” I kissed him on the cheek as he wrapped his arms around my waist, sending a shiver up my spine. A few errant strands of hair fell in front of his eyes, hiding them. I moved my hand from his cheek to swipe them away. He pulled me closer and pressed his forehead against mine. His skin seemed to run a few degrees warmer. It brought me comfort. I ran my hands through his hair, loving the feel of it.
“Come on, let’s get you home,” he said as he pulled away. We hopped into his black Range Rover and I directed him to my house as I programmed my info into his iPhone. He parked in front of my house, got out, and opened my door for me. He walked with me to the front door. He bent down and gave me a chaste kiss on the cheek.
“I’ll text you later,” he said.
“Alright,” I said with a nod before hugging him, opening the door and letting myself in. Everyone was in the living room watching TV, so I squeaked a hi to let them know I was there and ran up to my bedroom to change. My mom and Joy came in behind me a few seconds later.
“Annabelle, what happened?” Joy asked.
“A waitress spilled a drink on me,” I said while pulling on my favorite worn nightgown.
“What for?” My mom asked.
“She saw Zubin kiss me on the cheek.”
“So you had fun?” Joy asked with a grin.
“I did. Thanks so much.”
“No problem. Just remember this on your wedding day.”
“Joy, its way too early-”
“No, it isn’t. Remember what you told me after I went on my first date with Billy?”
“You guys were perfect for each other and you were going to get married someday?”
“Now look at me. It’s the same thing for you. You and Zubin are perfect for each other.”
“Whatever you say, oh sister of mine. Hey, ma, is Ashley asleep?”
“No, she wants you to read her the letters.”
“Are you going to stay for the whole story?”
“Why wouldn’t we?”
“Nah. Give me a few minutes.” I picked up Ashley and helped her get ready for bed. I read her the letters until she fell asleep. I kissed her forehead and wished her good night. I walked into my bedroom to plug in my iPhone into the charging dock when I saw I had a text.
Good night, my darling. –Zubin
Good night, sexy. Do you want your jacket back? –A
Keep it. I have others. Plus, I like the thought of you having something of mine. -Z. I chuckled. I liked the thought of it, too.
Sweet dreams-Z
You, too. –A. I put my iPhone back on the dock and walked into the living room.
“It’s been ten minutes. Spill,” Joy said.
******************************************************************
“Ma!” I let out a small groan and rolled over. Everyone had kept me up the night before, exploiting details from me about the date. “Ma, wake up,” Ashley exclaimed while jumping up and down on the bed.
“What do you want, Ash?”
“Ma, get up. There’s a present for you on the porch. I didn’t go out to get it because I’m not supposed to be out alone. Get up!” I rubbed my eyes before propping myself up on my elbows.
“A present?”
“Yeah, come look,” she said as we walked towards the front door. I opened the curtains and sure enough, there was a bouquet of red roses on the front porch. I opened the door and grabbed the flowers. There was a note on the stem. I plucked it off while closing the door with my foot.
“They’re pretty,” Ashley said while following me to the kitchen. I set down the flowers on the counter and read the note.
Good Morning, sweetheart.
Last night was great. I really want to go out again tonight. Text me if you’re free.
-Zubin
I smiled and placed the card next to the flowers.
“Who’s it from, Ma?”
“My date from last night.”
“I like him,” she said before smiling up at me.
“I like him, too, sweetie. Come on, you have to get dressed. We’re going to meet Auntie Joy.”
“Why’s that?”
“We’re going shopping.” Her face lit up.
“Really? Why?”
“Because I need clothes for my date tonight.”
“Don’t you already have clothes?”
“Yes. But you’ll understand when you’re older.” Joy wanted to buy me some new clothes because of the fact that I was now dating Zubin. I kept on telling her that my clothes shouldn’t impress him, I should. I had, for some reason.
“Get dressed and come to my room when you’re finished.”
“Okay, Ma,” she said as she pranced into her room and shut the door. I went into my room and texted Zubin.
Good morning. The flowers are beautiful. Ashley loves ‘em, too. –A. I placed it back on my end table before I went into my walk in closet to grab an outfit.
After grabbing my favorite ivory skirt and pale pink scoop neck shirt, I heard a ping. I sprinted to my phone to see what it read.
Well, I’m glad you two like them. Do you have anything going on tonight? –Z
Nope. What do you have in mind? –A. I put on my shirt before I heard another ping.
Your choice. I’ll be at your house at six. –Z
See you then. –A. Ashley came in as I put on my skirt and beige heels. She wore a pretty white dress and silver ballet flats.
“You look pretty,” I said while picking her up and straddling her on my waist.
“Thanks, mommy,” she said, a huge grin spreading across her face.
“Let’s go.” I walked into the kitchen, grabbed my keys, purse, and two bananas before hopping into my VW Jetta. We got to Billy and Joy’s house within ten minutes and let ourselves in.
“Joy?” I called out.
“In here,” I heard from upstairs as Ashley climbed up the stairs to Ricky’s bedroom. I followed her to where Joy’s voice came from. She was in the bathroom.
“Hey, I’ve got a date tonight with Zubin, do you think you could watch Ashley for me?”
“I wish I could, but I’m not feeling so hot.” I walked over to her and started rubbing her back. She looked green around the gills and extremely tired.
“How were you able to go to the club last night?”
“It doesn’t happen at night. Only in the morning. I thought it was just some weird bug, but now I don’t know,” she said while I pulled her hair back.
“Could you be pregnant?”
“I didn’t have this with Ricky.”
“Every pregnancy is different. Could it be a possibility?”
“Maybe.”
“Do you have a pregnancy test?”
“Yeah, I got one yesterday, but I haven’t used it yet. It’s in the cabinet. Are you sure about this?”
“Yes.” I grabbed the test and gave it to her.
“Fine, mom,” she said while taking it from me. I walked out of the room and waited for her. A few minutes later, she walked out.
“How long?” I asked.
“Fifteen minutes.”
“Let’s go play with the kids.”
“Okay.” We went into Ricky’s room where Ashley and Ricky were play fighting.
Exactly fifteen minutes later, Joy went back to the bathroom to check. Ten seconds later, I heard a squeal. I ran to the bathroom, where she stood, mouth agape.
“What does it say?”
“See for yourself.” I took it from her and looked.
“Oh my gosh, congratulations,” I said while hugging her, “you’re going to be a mom again.”
“Thanks. I can’t wait to tell Billy.”
“I’ll drop the kids off at mom’s house if you want to go out with him tonight.”
“That sounds great.”
“See you later, sis,” I said, hugging her again.
“See you.” I got the kids and took them to my parents’ house, calling my mom along the way. She agreed and I dropped them off. I told her Joy was pregnant. She was happy she was going to be a grandma again.
Back at my house, I got ready for my date with Zubin. I straightened my hair and put on my favorite black eyeliner. I put on my blue Beatles v-neck and jean shorts and kept my beige heels on. Since I was ready thirty minutes early, I grabbed my copy of Romeo & Juliet, went downstairs and sat next to the window. I got lost in Shakespeare’s words, even though I had read it a hundred times.
Suddenly, a knocking on the window interrupted me. I looked up to see Zubin. I smiled and closed the book, tossing it on the sofa. I walked to the door and my stomach started doing somersaults.
“Nice shirt,” Zubin said after I opened the door. He wrapped his arms around my waist as we walked back inside, then kissing my forehead. “The Beatles are awesome.”
“Yeah. They’re my favorite band.” He pulled away, but kept his hand on the small of my back.
“What are we doing?”
“I honestly have no clue. I never thought about it. But, to diminish the chance of a waitress spilling a drink on me, my neighbor has a boat we can use. He taught me how to use it.”
“But I like the idea of you getting super jealous. But, the drink thing I definitely want to avoid, so the boat sounds fine.”
“The boat’s out back,” I said while pulling him to the backyard. We walked to the end of the dock that I shared with my neighbor. Zubin stepped onto the boat first, holding his hand out to help me on. I went to the top of the yacht and found the keys. I put them in and turned on the boat. As I did, I felt Zubin’s arms wrap around my waist. He then rested his head in the crook of my neck.
“What did you do today?” I asked him.
“I visited my parents, then my brother in college, all the while, I never stopped thinking about you. What about you?”
“I meant to go shopping with Joy, but she’s had morning sickness. So I stayed with her for a bit before coming back to my house to get ready for our date and then I got lost in Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet.”
“You read Shakespeare?”
“Yes. R&J is my favorite. Do you read Shakespeare?”
“Hamlet is mine. But you were saying Joy head morning sickness?”
“I’m going to be an Auntie again.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” We stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes, watching the twinkling lights of downtown Ann Arbor.
“Can I ask you something?” I asked.
“Only if I can ask you something.”
“Deal.”
“You first,” he said as a few strands of hair fell in front of his eyes.
“Have you ever been in love?” I asked as I brushed the hair behind his ear.
“Not yet,” he answered, “have you?”
“Is that your question?”
“No, but I would love to hear your answer.” I rested my head on top of his, which still rested in the crook of my neck.
“Have I ever been in love? I’m not sure. I thought I loved him, but I’m starting to think it was infatuation. But I feel something different when I’m with you. My stomach does somersaults when I see you-” I cut myself off to lessen the risk of embarrassing myself. My cheeks flushed a bright red, which were hopefully disguised by the setting sun.
“And?”
“Nothing. What’s your question?”
“My stomach does it, too,” he mumbled.
“Does what?”
“The somersaults. Just thinking of you makes my stomach do cartwheels and I feel like my heart is going to leap out of my chest. It’s an amazing feeling.”
“It really is.”
“So, my question: why aren’t you already taken by some lucky bastard? You’re something special. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you’re not, otherwise I would’ve never had a chance.” I failed to hide my smile. I started directing the boat back to the dock.
“I haven’t had the time. But even if I did, I’m a single mom and guys don’t like that. I put Ashley first, and I always will.”
“Do you like being a mom?”
“Honestly? Yes, I love it. Ashley means everything to me.” By this time, we were back at the dock. Zubin helped me off the boat. Our hands stayed intertwined. He lifted my hands to his lips and kissed them. I let go of his hands, wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him full on the lips. It was utterly fantastic.
***************************************************************
We got along great. That night I told him of my favorite movies, books, and musicians. I also told him of Aimee.
He respected the fact that I was Catholic, despite him being undecided about religion.
I watched him perform a lot and I went to Laurel and Ross’ wedding with him at my side. We got along with each other’s friends and we eventually got rid of Molly.
When he met my parents and Ashley, he realized he was Ashley’s biological dad. It took me a while to accept it, but I loved him too much to be away from or mad at him.
Ashley was actually glad that he was her dad, though. Zubin, whenever he had the chance, would take her to the zoo or shopping, giving me a break and letting me go to work.
A year and a half later, he proposed. Of course, I said yes and we got married in the fall of the following year. We traveled to Amelia Island for our honey moon.
The year after that, I became pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl. The boy was named Royce Cyrus and the girl was named Alicen Joy.
