Page 28 of Free-Falling
Karessa nods. Her hair is up in a proper, neat ponytail. She looks flawless in her form fitting dress and heels. I realize that’s how my mother wants me to be like and honestly; I mean, why not? Karessa LeClaire, shit, Hale maybe is the epitome of a damn Founder’s Belle, she’s a few years older than me so I’m not sure if she is part of what I call a secret society known as the Founder’s Belles.
“I love your bakery!” Karessa yells over the low music when I go retrieve the rest of the treats in the back.
I come back with a tray full of assorted sugary treats. “Thank you! And I did not know Karessa LeClaire yells, or is it Hale? Did you change your last name?” I ask.
“Hell no, I didn’t and I yell.” she chuckles. “Who doesn’t?”
“True shit, girl, true shit. You want a coffee? I make a mean ass French press?”
Karessa nods as she picks up a cupcake. “The black and white classic design of your bakery is amazing. The way it makes it feel like a little nook in the wall type of bakery/cafe where the items seem exclusive. The design is very minimal and not clashing is beautiful. Everything is earthy here and peaceful. Who came up with the design of this place?” She asks.
“First, thank you for that description, can I use it to update the bakery’s website? And I came up with the design of it. I hired someone from the other side to put it together. She was my late nanny’s granddaughter. She needed the money, and she did her job well.”
“Wow, that’s great of you to do that.” She says.
“Thank you, cream or sugar in your coffee or do you want me to surprise you with one of Ainslee’s special kind ofFrancaispress?”
“Go big or go home, right?” she says, and I like this woman even more now.
“Got it.”
As I make my special kind of press, one of my favorite songsNi Tú Ni Yoby JLo plays and I get lost in my element.
“You speak Spanish?” Karessa asks.
“Si mami, I do.”
“Nice! If you don’t mind me asking, how is it going for you? With Jagger, I mean?”
I walk over to her with her coffee mug and my own. I sit down sighing, “not good, girl, not fucking good at all. I fucked up today and I think he’s mad at me, like mad enough to not be cordial anymore. I don’t know. How is it going for you? Is Oran being a dickhead?”
Karessa takes a sip of the coffee and her eyes light up. “This is some good shit.”
“Told ya!” I wink at her. “Now, come on girl spill, we’re arranged marriage sisters now.”
She chuckles, and then her mask drops. “I’m conflicted. Super fucking conflicted right now. I don’t trust this step or rather place we’re in. One thing the man goes from being like the devil straight from hell and then the other he knows what my comfort food is. It makes little sense. Then there’s the prenup, girl, it’s just a lot of shit that I don’t know what to do. I’m so confused.”
I whistle because I get where she’s coming from. “Have you tried to bully the bully?” I ask with a mischievous smile on my face.
Her brows furrow. “What do you mean?”
“I mean show up in front of that bastard and demand he listens to you. Take control, change the narrative and look that man in the eye. Demand whatever it is you want. Out asshole the asshole.”
She tilts her head. “Hmm, I haven’t thought about it like that. I’ll take that into consideration.” She says as she bites into a sugary donut. She’s got a sweet tooth, my kind of girl. “So, what’s going on with you? I doubt you’ve had anyone to speak with about this.”
I sigh, picking up a donut and biting half of it out of pure anger. “I fucked up… bad, I think. Jagger asked me if we had a way to divorce, would I go running back into my ex’s arms and I took too long to answer.”
Karessa whistles. “Shit. Did you tell him the answer anyway? Even if it was late?”
“No, I didn’t. I just, no one has ever asked me something and wanted my answer. It shocked me to see that he even cared to hear my answer. That’s not how a, Bishops is raised. I was born in a family that tells you what to do despite what you want. They don’t care and they expect you to follow.” I don’t mean to cry. I sniffle, wiping my tears with the back of my hand. “I’m sorry, crying is so stupid. I fucking hate it.”
Karessa laughs. “Right. Now, let me ask you something, my arranged sister, what do you want, Ainslee? If you could divorce Jagger and go back to Eli would you do it?”
I don’t hesitate this time. “No, I wouldn’t do it. I don’t know what it is, but seeing Jagger fucking leave like that made me crack. It made me feel hollow, like I disappointed the one person who makes me laugh and mad all in a second. Jagger is the first person to ever properly give me a hug.”
Shock registers on her face. “Eli has never hugged you?”
I shake my head. “When I first told him I didn’t like hugs, he took it for what it was and didn’t hug me but then again, I never really cried in front of him.”
