Come One, Come All to This Tragic Affair

I closed my phone with shaking hands. It took me a minute to fully process what had just happened.
And once it settled in, my hands clenched into fists and I stormed down the hallway to David’s room.
“What’s up?” He asked, opening the door when I practically broke it down.
“Did you just answer my phone?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“Yeah. Yeah I did.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “You know its wrong Jaden.”
That’s when I completely lost it. I summoned up every ounce of strength I had and slugged him as hard as I could in the face.
Then I walked away, leaving him clutching his face and threw my stuff back into my duffle bag.
If I started driving now I might be able to catch Frank before he left.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Mom said, standing in front of the door.
“Home, to try and salvage my relationship.” I slipped around her and practically ran back to my car.
It would figure I’d hit loads of traffic on the way back to New York, just when I fucking needed to hurry.
By the time I got back he was gone.
“Fucking hell.” I rested my head against the wall.
The next thing I did was call Charlie and tell her that I was having an emergency.
I had to drink some coffee so I could be awake during our conversation. It was like being a robot. I was just doing things so I could have something to do and not think about how screwed I was.
“What happened?” Charlie demanded when she showed up. The whole thing spilled out and I couldn’t help but start to cry.
“And now I think I’ve lost him for good and it’s all my family’s fucking fault.” I swiped at the tears angrily.
“It’s okay Jadey. We’ll fix this. I’ll get Gee to talk to him and we’ll harass Frank until he picks up his phone.” She was trying to sound soothing but it wasn’t really working for me.
And then we had to go to work and I had an artist coming in for a meeting today. She was dark haired with dark eyes and a sweet smile.
“Hi, I’m Lindsey Ballato.” She said, holding out her hand for me to shake.
“Jaden Peretta, nice to me you.” I shook her hand and took another sip of the double shot espresso Charlie had made me get. I looked over some of the pieces that she’d brought in.
“These are wonderful.” I said, looking at a piece called “Boys Will Be Boys.”
“Thank you.” She looked like she was about to bounce out of her seat from happiness.
“I’d love to put these in.” I couldn’t help but think about what had happened at the last gallery opening I’d done.
“Are you all right?” Lindsey asked.
“Yeah, just a little off right now.” I felt kinda sick to my stomach. “Excuse me.” I bolted for the bathroom just before all the coffee I’d drunk exited my mouth forcibly.
“I set up another appointment for Lindsey and sent her away.” Charlie said, rubbing my back. I was still on my knees in front of the toilet, clutching the sides of the bowl.
“I think I needa go home.” I could barely hold myself upright.
“I’ll call you a cab.” Quick as a flash Charlie had me bundled into a taxi and on my way home, where I proceeded to wallow in my bed for the rest of the day.
“Jaden.” The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
“Danny?” I whispered, seeing him leaning against my dresser. He looked like he did before he got sick: thick dark hair, warm brown eyes that slanted upwards at the corners, thin but muscled.
“I never wanted this for you Jadey.” He moved to sit at the foot of my bed.
“Are you mad at me?”
“Why would I be mad? I told you, I didn’t want you to stop living because I was gone.”
“Not even about Frank?” I said in a small voice.
“He makes you happy. And he can love you, while I can’t.” He tilted my chin up so I’d look at him. “I’m not angry Jadey. It’s possible to love two people in one lifetime.”
“I miss you so fucking much.” A tear slid out of my burning eyes.
“Don’t cry.” He hugged me tightly. “I’m not hurting anymore. I’m happy where I am.”
“What’s Heaven like?”
“I couldn’t begin to describe it.” He shook his head. “Jadey, I want you to be with Frank.”
“There’s just the one problem that he hates me now.”
“He couldn’t hate you. He loves you. And…” He took a deep breath. “Honey, you’re pregnant with his child.”
I gaped at him. “Excuse me?”
“You’re gonna have his baby. And this child should know its father.”
“You’re pretty fucking calm, telling your wife she’s knocked up with another guy’s kid.”
“Because I love my wife, but I need to let her go and let her live her life.” He kissed my forehead gently. “I love you Jaden. But Frank is your future. You, him and this child.”
“Wait, don’t go.” I reached out for him as he stood up. “Will I ever see you again?”
“I’ll always be watching over you.” He gave me a kiss on the lips so gentle I almost didn’t feel it.
And then I woke up.
I yanked on jeans and practically sprinted to the drug store down the corner, even though it was two o’clock in the morning.
Five minutes felt like five centuries, until the timer beeped.
Looks like my dreams are prophetic now. A little pink plus sign stared up at me from the test.
--
I dialed the number and prayed that they weren’t in the middle of sound check or something.
“Hello?” Mikey said.
“Mikey, it’s Jaden. I need you to come open the door so I can get in. I need to talk to Frank and he isn’t picking up when I call him.” I said quickly so he couldn’t hang up on me.
Two minutes later, Mikey was leading me through the maze of backstage to the lounge.
Frank looked happy.
Until he saw me.
“What the fuck Mikey?” Frank frowned, standing up. Everyone else cleared out so we could be alone. “Fuck this.” He started to push past me.
“No. You’re gonna sit down and you’re gonna listen to me.”
“Why? So you can fucking lie to me some more? You’ve got some real nerve coming here.”
“Sit down, shut the fuck up, and listen to me!” I bellowed. He rolled his eyes, but he sat down. Too bad I was all riled up and couldn’t go through my prepared speech. “You didn’t even give me the chance to fucking explain what happened when I called you four hundred times. My brother picked up my phone and pretended to be Danny to break us up.”
“Right. And my mom is the Queen of England.” I pulled out an envelope and opened it.
“Let’s see, obituary, picture of the gravestone, copy of death certificate.” I chucked each piece of paper at him as I named it. “You were too busy acting like a fucking eight year old to even listen to me and I’m goddamn pregnant with your fucking kid!”
And with that, I stormed out of the venue.