Jennifer

I spent my mornings making phone calls after phone calls, plotting my revenge on my ex. It was exhausting, and I felt I was hitting dead-end after dead-end. My parents told me to just give them the word, and they would pay for my older son’s plane ticket to come back to Seattle.There was only  a few more pieces of the puzzle to fit, then the plan would be in motion.

Christin put all her energy into work. She had met a new friend, and was starting to hang out with her more frequently. It never took away time from the three of us.We were closer than ever, yet became a little more independent on our own.

Alphonso was a bit distant, but this was not unusual for him. He was always very moody. It was either a good day or bad day with him. No in between. We would either be at the bar having drinks, or he would be locked up in his room working on his sketches.

I met a guy at work. Tall, Islander, bulky. All the girls were after him, yet he took an interest in me. I did not believe it. Why me? Surely this had to be a joke.

T and I started hanging out in a group setting. After work, a group of us would go to Denny’s to unwind. We laughed, talked, and for the most part got to know each other pretty well.

One day he asked me if I wanted to “hook up.” I had no idea what that meant. There was about a six-year age difference, I just figured “hooking up” was some new catch phrase or something that pertained to dating.

We started dating exclusively. He was everything I ever wanted. Everything I was looking for. He was protective, he was giving, he was helping me with my revenge on my ex. His “help” came in the form of “Tell me where he lives and I will have my guys go handle him.” We did everything together. We worked the same shift, had our lunch and breaks together. It was fun. It was adventurous, it was dangerous. He introduced me to a world that I was not familiar with. The Islander culture, music, food. It was all so new to me. I felt so secure and confident with him.

T introduced me to his family, who for the most part loved me. There were a few concerns from my friends, but I knew Alphonso and Christin would love him. They had to love him. I needed them to love them. He was now a reflection of me. If my two very best friends in the entire world did not love him, I did not know what I was going to do.

All Christin and Alphonso wanted for me was to be happy. That is all we wanted for each other. That was our bond. We had seen the demons, we wanted to see each other come out on the other side.

T made me happy. He gave me something that I did not know I was lacking, he made me feel like I could accomplish anything. He was so very protective. If anyone looked at me the wrong way, he went after them. He had it all, looks, charm, and guns. In my eyes, he was my saviour. He made everything okay, he fixed it all. I was quickly falling for him, and falling hard. It was a nice change.

Christin had met Scotty around the same time I met T. We were both equally caught up in our guys. It was that new feeling, the butterflies you get when you know you are going to see them. The waiting for the phone call, checking to make sure the phone is working. Making sure you put extra effort into your outfits (Thank you Alphonso!) Christin and I were on the same path. We took different crossroads, but ended up in the same place.

In more ways than one.