Chapter 22

I am at work, being busy, running from one floor to the other, being productive. Lunch hour, I went to Shawn’s office and like always, he was busy jumping his eyes from one paper to the other. When he saw me he immediately stopped working and greeted me with a big smile.
“So what should we have for lunch?” I asked him.
“I don’t know.” he answered as he giggled “Maybe we can go to brownies girls.” He was clearly mocking me.
“Oh, you think that is funny?” I ran over to him and pinched him on his shoulder.
“Ouch” he cried out, he grabbed me by the arm and hugged me.
“Oh, someone is in a good mood today” I made a comment as I hugged him back.
“Why wouldn’t I be? I have the world’s best butterfly hunter with me.” he said with his worm and manly voice.
“Shut up” I giggled.
“Oh” Shawn said “You remember Ron King right?”
“Ya” I answered.
“He has invited us to his anniversary dinner party.”
“Both of us” I asked.
“Ya” he answered.
“Does he know we are together?” I asked Shawn again.
“Of course he does. He was the first person I called and told after we got together.” he answered.
“What, what happened to keeping this a secret?” another question came from me.
“Oh, I only told him.”
As we were in the middle of our conversation, we heard the office door close.
“What was that?” I asked so Shawn rushed to check and there was no one there.
We continued our discussion and he told me it was this Saturday.
On Friday, MC came over to my place and I told her about the dinner party Ron King invited me and Shawn. And as she always does, she started to plan for me and what I would wear to the party. She looked through my clothes and she didn’t find anything that satisfied her so we decided to go over to her place to pick a dress. She had a key and it was almost dark so we got in without making a noise as to not disturb her mom if she was sleeping. We tip toed to the living room and both our jaws dropped as a result of what we saw.
Both I and MC said one different word at the same time.
I said “Mr. Clown” and MC said “Dad”
MCs’ mom and dad were kissing. “What the hell are you doing?” MC screamed at the top of her lung.
“It’s not what it looks like.” MCs’ dad said.
Both of us just stood there looking at them real shocked so they told us to sit down. MC and I sat next to each other while her mom and dad sat next to each other across us.
“Let me explain” MCs’ mom started to talk but MC interrupted her “What happened to the guy you were dating, the Texas Oscar Marvel guy?” she asked but neither of then gave her an answer so I did.
“MC, I thing he is Oscar Marvel.”
So we knew that Oscar Marvel sounded unreal but we didn’t expect him to be MCs’ father.
“Sweetie” said her mom “I know this could be a bit hard to swallow but…”
“For how long” MC interrupted her with a question.
“It doesn’t matter how long, what matters is…” Her dad tried to calm her but she got louder and said “For how long”
“Nine month” her mom answered.
I can see that MC is getting mad, her face started to turn red; she has balled up her fist and one of her eye brows has gone high.
“Nine month, how could you keep this for nine month from your own daughter? I have been in this hell hole for my entire life because of you, because I thought that you would be lonely. I was afraid you would do something to yourself. I lived here for the sack of no one but you.”
I interrupted MC “I thought you said you liked living here.”
“Not now Princi, not now” she yelled at me and turned back to them “And of all people, why does it have to be him?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” her mom asked back.
“He cheated on you and left you for a younger woman. He then tried to get full custody but only took me for settlement and gave me back to you because he thought his space was more important than his own child. He tore us up. How could you give him another chance?” MC yelled.
“That is all in the past.” her dad said “I have really changed…”
“Change my ass.” she interrupted him again “Since when have you changed. let me tell you something, people never change.” she turned to her mom “He is going to break your heart all over again and when that happens, I will gladly tell you ‘I told you so’ with a big smile.”
MC stood up and walked away into her room. I can see the disappointment on their faces when she walked away. I went up to her room to check if she was fine but she was just going through her clothe picking a dress for me to wear.
“Hey MC, you ok.” I asked her as she was walking here and there throwing dresses on her bed.
“Do you like this dress?” She asked me holding a long white evening gown.
“MC” I called out to her.
“What” she screamed at me and she sat on her bed.
“I can’t believe it.” she said “How could this happen?”
“MC, is it such a bad thing. I mean your folks are getting back together. You don’t have to worry about some stranger now.” She cuts me off.
“No, you don’t get it. That man is incapable of loving anyone but himself.” she screamed again.
“Wait… that statement sound very familiar.” I said all confused.
MC looked at me in a straight face and said “It form ‘Empire’ but it doesn’t matter. I know for sure that he is going to break her heart and it will be my youth all over again.”
“Ya, but how sure are you, how sure are you that instead of being happy they will end in disaster? MC, you don’t know what will happen. Just because there is history doesn’t mean it will repeat itself.”
MC knew I was right; she was just too stubborn to admit it. She just turned away and started looking at the dresses she laid down on her bed. I didn’t want to pressure her so I let it go. She chose me a beautiful long red dress. The next night, my mom helped me get ready. I wore my hair up and borrowed MCs’ small hand bag. Shawn like always came on time to pick me up. We walked up to his car and when I tried to get in he said “Wait”
He came close to me and gave me a little box. I opened it and saw a bracelet that said ‘Queen’ in a beautiful writing in the middle. I looked up to him. He took the bracelet out and tied it around my left hand wrist.
I asked to him “Queen”. He smiled and said “It is to match the little crown on you necklace.”
“It is so beautiful. But FYI the crown on my necklace is not for a queen, it’s for a princess.”
“No” he said “I know. I just wanted to say that you have grown from a princess in to a beautiful queen.”
“Really” I asked while smiling from ear to ear.
He broke his smile “No, I didn’t know your necklace meant princess.”
Looking and touching the bracelet on my wrist I said “Well now you are making me feel bad. I didn’t get you anything. Unless…” I said and handed him the little box.
I started to untie his tie. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Your tie is messed up.” I answered.
“No, it is not.” he said.
I took the tie off and said “Now it is” I raised his collar up and then I started to tie it back up.
“Oh, I see what you’re doing.” said Shawn “Do you really thing tying my tie is as good as a bracelet that makes you a queen.”
I just smiled at him and focused on the tie. When I was done I took the collar down and I realized that he was staring at me. When I looked back at him, he grabbed and kissed me. I said “Shawn” and with a big smile he said “Ya” in a soft tone.
I touched his tie and said “Your tie really is messed up this time. Turns out, I have never tied one in my life.”
He touched his tie and cracked up. He tried to untie it but it was really tight.
“What did you do to it?” he asked as he laughed real hard. I couldn’t say anything because I was laughing real hard too. He finally untied it and said “There you go.” and he fixed his tie.
He opened the car for me and said “My lady”
I lifted my chin up and said “It’s ‘your grace’ for you.”
We went to Ron kings mansion and had a blast. We met all his children and grandkids and some close relatives of his that were invited as well. We ate, we talked and we laughed. It was simply a perfect night.
After we left the party, Shawn parked his car few blocks away from my house.
“Why did you stop here?” I asked him all confused.
He answered “Let’s go for a walk.” He went out of the car and held the door open for me. He gave me his coat and we held hands as we make our way to my place.
The next Monday, I woke up and did the same routine as always and got to work. When I walked in, I can feel people staring at me. I got confused but didn’t stop to ask anyone. As I make my way to my office I can hear some of the employees whispering my name and looking at me.
When I got to my office, Oliver and I locked eyes.
“Olly what the hell is going on? Why is everybody looking at me that way?” I asked him.
With wide eyes Oliver answered to me “Oh, you haven’t heard?”
“Heard what” I asked again.
“Ya, everybody knows about you and the boss.”