General warning: This story mentions casual drug use and child neglect. It also involves a romantic relationship between two women (surprise, surprise).
Contact the lunatic at: starving.lunatic@gmail.com and lemme know what you think of the story. Thanks and enjoy.
Jannie arrived home and slammed the door upon entering the house. The noise echoed through out the place, alerting everyone that Hurricane Jannie was home. As she pulled her shoes off, Princess greeted her, totally oblivious to what just blew in. The baby walked with a very awkward and gaping stance, like she had just gotten off of a horse. Princess grinned and giggled as she approached her other aunt.
"Jannie, you see her walking?!" Jayce called with excitement in her voice.
Jannie curled her lip in anger and maybe a hint of disgust and jealousy. "Yeah, I see her," she replied, not bothering to hide her sneer. It could easily be heard in her voice.
Jayce sighed, knowing without seeing her lover that there was some kind of problem. "Baby, what's wrong? You were out pretty late," she pointed out, stepping out of the living room to face her girlfriend. She thought that maybe seeing Jannie's face might help her to understand how severe the problem was.
"I know I was," Jannie replied in a clipped tone.
"Are you okay? Is there anything I can help with?" Jayce offered politely. She could tell that she was in trouble, but she was not sure why. Her question really was, "Whatever I did, I am sorry and how should I begin making it up to you?" She just did not want to assume that she was the problem so quickly and gave the shorter woman the benefit of the doubt.
"You've done quite enough. I'm going to bed," Jannie informed her lover with a vexed expression twisting her lovely face. She marched off without another word, body so tense it seemed ready cave in on itself.
Jayce sighed again and went to pick up Princess. "You know, pretty baby, I don't think Auntie Jannie is going to get used to you being around. I don't know why. You're such a pretty baby!" She nuzzled the child, earning lighthearted giggles.
The relatives went to the living room where Princess continued taking little steps around the area. Cartoons played in the background, every now and then Princess stopped to watch the show. Jayce stayed out there until Princess fell asleep. After putting the baby to bed, Jayce went to talk with her girlfriend.
Jannie was in the bed by then too, reading one of her schoolbooks with pillows propping up her back. She ignored Jayce as the older woman sat down on the foot of their king-sized bed. Jayce was silent for a moment, fingering the soft cotton of their black comforter.
"Jannie, do you want dinner? I made your favorite," Jayce said, figuring it would be a good way to start a peace offering. One of the things that she had quickly learned about Jannie and how to get out of trouble was preparing good food. Jannie could not cook-could barely boil an egg-so, she was always pleased to have a well-prepared, home-cooked meal.
"I ate already," Jannie replied in a clipped tone, eyes never leaving her book.
Tan hands came up to rub Jayce's face, as if she was trying to wipe away her frustration. "Sweetheart, we have to talk about this. I know you're not happy about Princess being here, but I really think you would love her like I do if you tried. I mean, you don't feel any empathy at all toward her? You know what it's like to need a relative to take care of you..."
Jannie growled and looked offended that her girlfriend would even say that. The glare that she gave Jayce was enough to stop her heart for a brief moment. She wished that she had kept her mouth shut now.
"That's a totally different thing, Jayce, so don't even try to compare the two. Gus was the only goddamn thing between me and an orphanage. Princess has a father and grandmother, but you just have to save the fucking world without even needing to and without asking me. So, I don't want to hear your bullshit right now and don't try to make it seem like I'm the inconsiderate one. Now, I have to study, so you can go now," the graduate student ordered.
Jayce-used to being dismissed by all sorts of people-got up and left, head hanging low in defeat. She would rather quietly leave than have a big fight, especially if they were going to argue over the same things. She hated fighting point blank. She did not understand why it always seemed so hard to talk things out with people and for people to be respectful of each other's feelings.
She retreated to what had easily turned into her bedroom since she had been sleeping there since Princess arrived-the guestroom. Already dressed in her pajamas, she crawled into bed. The spread was already pulled back because the baby was sleeping on the bed. Checking on Princess, she saw the child was sprawled out on her back in the middle of the bed, head thrown to the side and arms up by her head. Jayce smiled at the sight.
"I don't know why Jannie isn't taking to you, Princess. You're adorable and loving. Hell, you'll hug just about anybody and smile at whoever smiles at you! I figured she'd understand too since she was raised by her sister for half her life. She lost her parents when she was twelve and her sister raised her. So, she should understand when you need a little help from relatives, but I guess she's not going to see that or agree with it or whatever. It might just mean more fighting about this too since it's something that she doesn't like. I don't want to fight, but I know we will.
"And I still didn't tell her I got fired. I'm guessing she doesn't know yet since she hasn't started screaming or anything yet, but that's going to be a whole other firestorm. I'm sorry you got all this drama around you right now, Princess. I mean, not just Jannie, but your grandmother is so serious about taking you. I can't find a half-competent lawyer to help me. We've to got to court in a little over a week, pretty baby. I'm scared your grandmother is going to win. What the hell then..." Frustrated tears gathered and silently slid down Jayce's eyes. She quickly wiped them away and forced the tears to cease. "Crying isn't going to solve anything."
She kept the tears from returning by reminding herself that she never cried, no matter what. She had not cried when her mother threw her out of the house at seventeen with nothing to her name except the clothes on her back for being a lesbian. She had not cried when her father offered to pay for an apartment for her, just to make sure she never tried to come back home. She had not cried when both of parents stopped acknowledging her existence. She had not cried when she first saw what the ugly things that drugs had done to her brother. She had not even cried when her father died. So, she was not going to start crying now, she told herself. She had to take action because action was what was needed, not tears.
"I'm not going to fail Princess and I'll make this all up to Jannie. I know I can make her happy, I just need to try harder. Everything'll be fine. As soon as I get a new job, I'll buy Jannie a bunch of gifts and get a really good lawyer and everything'll be fine," Jayce tried to assure herself. Not surprising, it took chanting that to herself for over an hour to put her into an uncomfortable sleep.
Jayce woke up feeling exhausted; it was something that she was getting used to. It felt like living was draining her and sleep was tiring her out. Checking on Princess, seeing the baby was still sleeping soundly, she dragged herself out of the bed and took a quick shower. This action barely lifted the lethargy weighing down her narrow shoulders. After the warm shower, she dressed in her usual, bland grey business suit, keeping up the illusion that she was leaving for work.
"Okay, Princess, time to get up," Jayce said, picking the child up. Princess made a noise as complaint, but she remained asleep.
Jayce dressed her niece warmly in jeans and a sweatshirt with her favorite cartoon character on it; it was dragon that loved counting. Keeping Princess in her arms, she grabbed Princess' baby bag and went downstairs. She was not surprised to find Jannie in the kitchen, sipping coffee and reading the paper.
Recent mornings had become tense and pressing for the couple. Jannie rarely said a word to Jayce now, barely looked at Jayce now-unless it was to glare at the older woman anyway. The animosity radiating from Jannie cut into Jayce, troubling her heart, twisting her stomach, and burning her soul. Jayce tried her best to ignore it, telling herself that everything would be all right as soon as she made things up to Jannie. I can fix this; I know I can. She would do everything in her power to keep Jannie, to continue having her love.
Heated hazel eyes followed Jayce around the kitchen as she made herself a simple egg sandwich. She made enough for Jannie to make a sandwich too because she knew that Jannie liked them as much as she did. When Jannie did not move from her spot, Jayce went so far as to making the sandwich for her lover and putting it in front of her upset girlfriend. The only reaction that she got was an incensed glower from Jannie.
"Uh...well, bye, sweetheart..." Jayce said, too nervous to do anything else. She wanted to lean down and kiss Jannie, as if that would somehow make everything better, but the aura of Jannie kept her at bay.
"Have fun at work," Jannie said in acidic tone, like she was trying to slay Jayce with that simple statement.
Jayce blinked hard from the shock of her lover speaking to her. "Um...I will... Thank you..."
A snarl curled onto Jannie's full lips that did not get by Jayce, but she was not in the mood for a fight. Jayce quickly left the house, trying to put Jannie's cold shoulder out of her head. She strapped Princess, who was still dead to the world, into her car seat and smiled softly at the sleeping baby.
"God, Princess, I don't understand how she can't just love you and want to protect you like I do," Jayce whispered, giving her niece a little kiss before shutting the back door.
The ride to Marco's was made in silence. Princess stirred when the car was parked, grinning as if she was just happy to be awake. Jayce unbuckled her from the seat and Princess cheered like she had been freed from the worst of bonds. The baby threw her hands around her aunt and giggled, hugging Jayce for no real reason. More happy cries came from the child as they entered Marco's.
"Princess!" Zoe shouted, smiling broadly as she rapidly approached the pair with open hands.
"Wait, Zoe! Watch this!" Jayce put the child down while Zoe stopped dead in her tracks.
Princess wobbled for a moment before gaining her balance. She glanced up at her aunt, who encouraged her to go to Zoe. Princess turned her dark eyes to Zoe, staring at the young woman with deep concentration. And then, like a cowboy wandering into a saloon, she took a wide-legged step toward the waitress. Zoe cooed in delight so loudly that every patron in the shop turned to see what was going on. Princess continued on, oblivious to the audience, but grinning widely because of how gleeful Zoe looked. The café patrons smiled and many of them had to resist the urge to clap while they watched the child stagger toward the waitress.
"Oh, god, c'mon Princess," Zoe urged the baby, holding her hands out of the smiling baby.
Princess took a few more steps before tipping over a little. She caught herself on her hands and picked herself back up; she did not even notice her aunt was behind her in an instant, ready to help her up. Princess' forehead wrinkled in concentration as she steadied herself again and began her shaky journey to Zoe. After a couple of steps, Zoe could not stand it anymore and scooped the child up, pressing her into a tight hug.
"You are such brilliant baby!" Zoe declared as if Princess was the first child to ever walk in the history of mankind.
"This kid is gonna have an ego the size of the planet if Zoe has anything to say about it," Sam commented, speaking more to himself than anyone in front him, but they heard anyway.
"It's sweet," one of the regulars replied.
"So sweet that you're going to buy Jayce her muffin today?" Sam inquired with hope in his eyes, leaning on the register a little bit.
"I'll go half on it."
"What the hell? Everyone around here thinks Jayce and Princess are so sweet, but I always end up splitting the cost of a muffin! Do you know how much I make? I can't keep going half on muffins around here!" Sam sighed dramatically, lowering his head in defeat and looking absolutely pathetic.
"You done being a drama queen? Because if you are, Kurt here is going to pay for the other half of the muffin," the regular said, motioning to the man behind her.
"Okay!" Sam perked up instantly. He grinned and rubbed his hands together.
Jayce went to her usual seat and set herself up, opening her laptop and putting her cell phone on the table. There were no contacts about jobs waiting for her at her email inbox, so she started sending out more resumes. Her plan was to look for legal help after that, but she did not make it that far.
"Oh, so this is what the fuck you do now?" Jannie demanded as she stormed into the café in a way that would have made any hurricane green with envy.
Jayce's eyes went wide as the plate her muffin was resting on. She was sure that there was some kind of dimensional distortion or a bend in the fabric of space and time because somehow the temperature in the bistro rose to the heights of Hell and also dropped to the level of the arctic. It was like all of the air was sucked out of the place as everyone turned to see the demon in high-heels that came in.
"Jannie..." Jayce gasped in disbelief. How did she know I was here? I never told her about this place! She doubted that Jannie followed her because she would have noticed the car, so she could not figure out how in the world her girlfriend knew where to find her.
"All this time, lying about going to work when you're actually coming here?! You spending your whole goddamn day here, content to be fucking unemployed?! What the fuck is that all about? How long have you been doing this? A week, two, more?!" Jannie demanded to know as she marched over to her cowering lover.
"Baby, it was just...temporary..." Jayce tried to explain, finding herself squirming underneath the younger woman's intense gaze.
Jannie scoffed and glared harshly at her girlfriend, knowing exactly the type of affect she was having on Jayce with her actions. She knew by striking swift and hard, Jayce would be thrown off balance and would not react properly. She figured this would be the best way to get the truth out of her lover and would also make sure that Jayce did not cross her again. She did not care that she was exploiting a weakness Jayce had shared with her in confidence. No, this was all about getting Jayce to finally tell her the truth, no matter what because she felt she was owed that much and more.
"Temporary? What was temporary? That you were going to lie your ass off to me?! That you were going to be unemployed? Or that you were going to stop acting like the world revolves around Princess?!" Jannie roared.
"Sweetheart..." Jayce stammered, not sure what to say. Her mind was frozen as fear gripped her insides. A little voice inside of her was trying to tell her this was not her mother screaming at her and she was not fifteen anymore, but the rest of her brain was not listening to that. It just heard to loud hollering matched with an almost hateful stare and reacted as it always did thanks to years of conditioning. Her brain just shut down and she sat there looking like a deer caught in headlights.
"Don't you 'sweetheart' me! You lost your fucking job and didn't even bother to tell me! You've been playing like you were going to work for who-knows-how-long only to run to this stupid, little goddamn café! And to top things off, Princess is the reason you got fired and you're too fucking stupid and goddamn stubborn to send her back to her father so you can get on with your fucking life!" Jannie put a threatening finger in her girlfriend's face and snarled at the frozen Jayce. "You need to get your goddamn priorities straight. You're gonna sit here and try to play mommy and everything's going to blow up in your goddamn face. You already lost your job, it's a guarantee you're going to lose Princess in this custody shit, and you're on the verge of losing me. You can't do anything right at the moment because you're blind to what matters. All you fucking see if Princess, a kid that doesn't even need a screw-up like you right now. Get your goddamn act together, Jayce, before you find yourself alone, completely and totally!" the livid college student declared, loud enough for everyone inside and just outside of the restaurant to hear.
Before Jayce could quite fathom what just happened Hurricane Jannie was gone. Jayce blinked twice before it sank in as to what did happen. Burying her head in her hands, Jayce tried her best to disappear or at least stop the headache that was building right between her eyes. Tense tears welled up in her eyes, but she willed them to stay right where they were. She hated that she knew everyone was looking at her too, judging her and her circumstances. She hated even more that Jannie might have a point.
"Damn it, Jannie..." Jayce muttered, shaking her head a little while making sure to continue covering her face with her hands. Her body trembled ever so slightly from tension and sorrow, knowing that things were probably just going to get worse for her.
"Jayce, it's okay..." Zoe said in a soothing voice, coming up behind the older woman to rub her shoulder.
"No, it's not all right. Damn it, she's right. She's totally right," Jayce murmured in disgust.
"She's not right. She basically called you a loser in front of a café full of people. That was totally uncalled for. I'm sure the reason you didn't tell her that you lost your job is because you knew that she would react like this," Zoe reasoned in a quiet, gentle tone. There was a right way to handle things and a wrong way to handle them. She was beyond certain that Jannie picked the wrong way, even if Jayce was wrong for not mentioning that she lost her job.
"It doesn't matter. I should've told her about it, but that's not all she's right about," Jayce sighed, throwing her hands up in defeat. "What the hell am I doing? I'm never going to get a job without my mom's help! I'm never going to find a real lawyer that'll help me on this case and even if I do, I wouldn't be able to afford him! I'm going to lose Princess! Q is gonna get her back and she's going to end up dead before she's in kindergarten!" she screamed to the ceiling. Hot tears stung her eyes, but they dared not fall, not in front of everyone, not when she needed to do something. Shaking her head, she managed to get rid of those tears, but her frustration remained.
"Hey, hey, hey! Now, no talk like that!" Zoe ordered, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder and shaking Jayce to get her under control.
"Why not? She's right!" the unemployed female hollered. Zoe held her tighter, even though her presence did not seem to be comforting Jayce at all.
"She's not right! And this is how I know!" Zoe moved so that Jayce was staring right at Princess, who was in the waitress' other arm. "This is exactly how I know she's not right!"
Jayce stared into the eyes of her smiling niece, eyes the same color as her own. Tan hands-just like Jayce's, but tiny-reached out for unemployed accountant and Zoe leaned over more, letting Princess touch Jayce's cheeks. Jayce could not help smiling, especially when the baby leaned down more to kiss her nose.
"Thank you for that, Zoe, but it hurts even more now, knowing I'm going to lose her," Jayce whispered, sounding near tears even though there were none in her eyes.
"You're not going to lose her and you know why I know that? I know that because you'd do anything for this girl, including defy the odds and kick your mother's ass for custody!" the waitress proclaimed.
Jayce was about to respond, but she paused to think about things. The promise that she made several times came to mind. She knew that she was Princess' only hope. If she let her mother win, Princess would be stuck with Quentin and she knew how that would end up. Staring in nearly black eyes, so similar to her own, but so innocent and joyful, Jayce sighed.
"You're right, Zoe. You are absolutely right. I can't just give up. Princess needs me to fight for her. I'm sure somewhere out there is a lawyer with a good track record that my mother hasn't gotten to somehow and I can manage to afford him or her," Jayce stated in a firm tone.
Zoe nodded while pulling Princess back. "Does your mother really have that much pull?" she asked curiously. She could not believe how all-powerful Jayce made her mother sound, but there had to be some reason for Jayce not being able to find a good lawyer to help her win custody of Princess.
"I guess so. I've been trying my best to find a lawyer, but it's not really working and I assume it's because of my mother. She stonewalls most things in my life," Jayce explained, shaking her head.
Jayce did not understand why her mother had such an intense hatred of her. Sometimes, she doubted it was even because she was a lesbian, but that was a convenient excuse for her mother. A woman who outted her to her high school and even suggested that she not be allowed into the locker room because she would most likely ogle some of the other girls. A woman who had tried to get her kicked out of college numerous times by suggesting that she cheated on papers, that she was involved in homosexual prostitution (Jayce had never even heard of such a thing at the time), and going so far as to imply that Jayce slept with her professors for her outstanding grades. Jayce did not even like to think about the rumors her mother spread about when she was trying to find work. And worse than that was her father's silence, his quiet approval of her mother's nasty behavior. Sometimes, she was certain they just never wanted her. She was some unhappy, undesired accident in their lives that they were unable to take back and these actions were how they let her know that.
Zoe was silent for a moment. Sometimes, she just could not believe how horrible Jayce's life seemed, especially when it was on a downward turn. The odd thing, she noticed that Jayce's life never hit a really nice patch. There were just times when things were not as terrible as other times. And really, she could not figure out why people did these things to Jayce. She had never met a sweeter person in her short life. Anyone who knew Jayce should feel privileged to have known such a charming, sweetheart of a person. So, she wondered why people just kept hurting her friend, all the time.
"Thanks for the talk, Zoe," Jayce said, forcing out a small smile.
The waitress grinned brightly, enough to get a smile out of the baby. "No problem, Jayce. You just keep doing what you're doing. You can deal with little-miss-cause-a-scene after you've gathered yourself, done what you need to do, and have a little breather," the younger woman insisted.
Jayce nodded because that made a lot of sense to her. So, instead of chasing after Jannie-as she was going to do-she turned her attention back to her computer. Zoe smiled, seeing that she got through to the out-of-work female and she went back to work herself, keeping Princess with her while Jayce focused on her computer. The only interruptions she got were people that offered to help if she was in trouble. She waved them off, believing that the only way things would ever get done would be if she did them herself, especially since no one was offering a job or a lawyer to help. No, those were in short supply around Marco's.
At the end of the day, she packed up like always, ready to head home. She strapped Princess into her car seat and then got into the driver's seat, but did not start the car. Dark eyes focused ahead while tan hands tightly clutched the steering wheel until her knuckles were white.
"I can't give up now. I have to keep fighting. This isn't just for me, but for Princess. I have to be strong for Princess. Mom hasn't broken me yet and I'm not going to let her start now, even if she has unknown help from damned Jannie," Jayce declared and she turned the key in the ignition, starting the car. She drove off holding her head up high.
Jayce took a deep breath as she pulled up to the condo. Glancing out of the window, she thought of how it was a quaint little community. She had hoped they did not mind the firestorm that was about to hit the complex when she went inside. She was not going to back down like in the café. There was too much at stake now, so she was going to fight until her last breath if necessary. She did not care what Jannie said or did; she was going to give just as much Hell as she got.
"No, Princess, I am not going to back down ever again," Jayce declared, getting out of the car to retrieve her charge. Princess was dead asleep; apparently, being put in the car was an instant knockout pill for the child. On the reverse side, as soon as she was pulled out of the car, she was up and smiling.
Jayce cooed to the awake child in her arms while grabbing her bags from the automobile. Once she was at the door, she put Princess down, getting a cheer from the baby. Jayce smiled down at the girl before opening the door to the condo. Princess walked in, calling out in her nonsense language, basically alerting Jannie that it was time for round two. Jayce steeled herself before following her adventurous ward into the hot zone.
Silence greeted Princess' joyous outbursts and for a moment Jayce considered that Jannie might not be home, despite the fact hat her car was parked outside. There was always the chance that her party-girl lover had gone out to blow off some steam. Sometimes, Jannie seemed to think it was a punishment for Jayce to come home to an empty house and not know where her lover was. Honestly, most of the time that was a good assumption, but right now, Jayce did not care where her girlfriend was.
The search for Jannie was on after Jayce pulled off her shoes, as well as Princess' shoes. The first stop was the living room, which was empty of all life. Jayce nodded, knowing just where her girlfriend was if she was home.
"Upstairs it is then. Sorry, Princess, but it's the playpen for you. But, I will set you up comfortably before going to deal with that mess," Jayce decided, speaking aloud in case Princess understood her meaning.
The baby only grinned. Jayce went to get the playpen from the guestroom and put it in the living room. She put Princess inside the pen and then turned on the television, using the DVR feature to play one of the child's favorite movies. After setting the baby up with her favorite toys and movie, Jayce marched off upstairs, going to the bedroom that she once shared with Jannie. Trying the handle and discovering the door was locked, she knocked loudly.
"Jannie, open the door. Let's talk," Jayce suggested.
"There's nothing to talk about," Jannie retorted sharply.
"There's plenty to talk about and I'm not going to do that through this fucking door!" Jayce proclaimed heatedly. She was done being treated like some whipped puppy.
"Then fuck off! There's nothing to talk about, you lying, inconsiderate bitch!"
"Is that so? You think you can just come into my comfort zone and embarrass the shit out of me and after that there's nothing to talk about! There's plenty! How about the fact that you're not supporting me while I'm trying to get Princess out of that fucking hellhole my brother calls a home? How about that?!" Jayce hollered, through the door despite the fact that she did not want to do that.
"Your mother is going to have her!"
"Motherfucker, you know what my mother is going to do!" Jayce replied, very conscious of her word-choice.
"What the hell did you just call me?" Jannie hollered, voice closer to the door now.
"I do believe the term I used was 'motherfucker.' Is motherfucker too light a term considering all of the twisted shit you've done so far? How about son of a bitch? Or just bastard? You fucking bastard!" Jayce ran off the names she was pretty sure were horrible to call her own girlfriend.
Suddenly, the door swung open and Jayce was looking into two blazing hazel eyes before noticing the finger in her face. "You watch your goddamn mouth unless you want to get thrown the hell out of here!" Jannie snarled, features twisting terribly because of her fury.
Obsidian eyes rolled. "Oh, your feelings are hurt now? Well, you're not the only fucking one with feelings around here. What about my feelings? This is my niece we're talking about and you're just ready to throw her to the wolves! And, to top matters off, you come out and you scream at me in public, airing all of our business out there like that and acting like it was nothing!" Jayce countered.
"You pushed me to that! You're sneaking around, hiding the fact that you lost your goddamn job, and playing like you're still going to work!" Jannie huffed, face starting to turn red from all of the yelling.
"Okay, you've made that point. Now, can we go in the room and talk like civilized adults? I don't want Princess to hear us screaming at each other," Jayce said, suddenly calm. Really, all she wanted was to speak with her girlfriend face-to-face, which was why she called Jannie all of those names in the first place.
"Fuck Princess!" Jannie roared, eyes ablaze with uncontrollable, fierce ire. "I don't give a shit about her! I didn't want her to live here! You never asked if I did! I don't want kids right now, but you never asked about either! You just do shit and think I'm supposed to flow with it because you suggested it! Well, to hell with that!" Jannie hollered.
Jayce was silent for a moment. Her face was tense and she ground her teeth together for a moment, nodding, taking it all in. Her tan hand came up and rubbed Jayce's chin as she carefully deliberate on her next words.
"So, what you're saying is I should have left my one-year-old niece to die or become a ward of the state because you're a fucking selfish bitch with no fucking compassion, heart, or soul at all?" Jayce reasoned, sounding like this was the most logical deduction she had ever had in her life. Part of it was a revelation. She never realized just how selfish Jannie really was.
The scowl that cut across Jannie's face could have sliced a diamond in half. "Stop being so goddamn dramatic! You know your mother wouldn't let her only grandchild die! You just want to make it seem like you're the goddamn hero in all of this! Isn't that how you always want to look, Jayce? Like you would save the fucking world if you could! If you had the time you would just save every fucking body, right? But, we both what that's really about. It's just a pathetic attempt at trying to buy love without spending money!" she pointed out smugly.
"God forbid someone was genuinely nice and cared about people, right? Not everyone is as self-serving as you are, Jannie!" Jayce snapped.
"Don't try to pin your inconsiderate bullshit on me! You're the one that's wrong here, simple as that. You didn't tell me you lost your goddamn job and you didn't ask me about keeping Princess. You're a fuck-up, pure and simple!"
"I shouldn't have to ask you to help me! As my girlfriend, your fucking support should be there automatically! I need to help my niece and you should've just been there! Any decent fucking human being would be there to help a baby! Not to mention, you should fully understand considering you lost your parents and you needed your sister to step in to take you or you've been sent to an orphanage! Why the fuck can't you help Princess like your sister helped you? You know why you can't? Because you're a selfish fucking asshole who can't stand it when my attention isn't squarely on you," Jayce stated in a rather satisfied tone.
"You know what, you think you've read me so well, but you know what this is really about? I'm sick of watching you trying to raise someone who'll love you since you know no one in the world really ever will. Your goddamn prick of a father hated you. Your mother hates your fucking guts. She probably wishes you were never born and I'm sure your father felt the same way. And do you know why? Because you're a worthless bitch, who always fucks up. That's why you got fired and that's why Princess is going to hate you eventually too!"
Instinct winning over thought, Jayce was all action after those words. With a wild look in her eyes, she grabbed Jannie by the shoulders and shoved the smaller woman against the wall. Hazel eyes opened wide in pure shock as both bodies shook-one in terror and the other in fury. A couple of tense seconds ticked by before Jayce realized what she did.
"Jannie, I am so sorry..." Jayce muttered as she quickly released the shorter female. Her focus went down to her hands, not believing what she had just done.
Apparently, Jannie did not accept the apology, did not say anything at all. As soon as she was free, she slapped Jayce in the face as hard as she could. Jayce's face snapped to the side as the sting spread through her entire head, down into her heart and soul. The belief that she deserved the smack only made it burn more.
"Get the hell out of my house, Jayce, before I call the cops. I never want to see you again! It's over between us! Have fun being a fuck-up on your own, especially since your mother's going to get custody of Princess and she will grow up to hate you," Jannie declared.
Jayce did not argue; she did not even look Jannie in the eye. She marched down to the guestroom while Jannie retreated into the bedroom. Jannie could hear the sound of Jayce moving things around, even though Jayce was not being particularly forceful with anything. Less than ten minutes after the confrontation, the sound of the door opening and closing let Jannie know that Jayce was out of her life. Straining her ears, she could hear the sound of Jayce's car pulling away.
Tears slid down Jannie's cheeks as she sat on the bed, knowing that she was alone now. She felt safe to cry since no one was around. Hugging a pillow to her chest, she reached for the phone and automatically dialed the first number that came to mind. More tears came when Gus finally answered the phone.
"Gus, I need you!" Jannie cried into the receiver.
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6: Picking up the pieces
"Jayce and I just had a really big fight! She scared me a little," Jannie admitted, sniffing while wiping away a cascade of tears. She was on the phone with her big sister after having a huge fight with Jayce that ended with Jayce leaving the house. She was pretty sure that was the end of their relationship and that was fine with her. If she never saw Jayce again, it would be too soon!
"Scared you? What? How?" Gus asked with concern oozing through her voice. In the background, Jannie could hear things being shuffled around, letting her know that her sister was moving about wherever she was.
"For a second, I thought she was going to hit me!" Jannie bawled. "I really thought she was going to hit me!" She could not believe it, but in that split second, she honestly thought that Jayce was going to beat the living shit out of her. Just remembering the fierce look in those dark eyes made her heart race for a few seconds.
"Hit you?" Gus snarled. "Where the hell is she?! Is she there now?!" the big sister demanded to know with murder in her voice.
"No, she left..." the shorter woman answered, sniffling again and trying to dry her tears. Instead, more tears fell after she uttered those words. She could not believe that Jayce had actually left. The realization of it hit her right between the eyes, causing even more tears. Jayce was gone, probably for good. She let out a loud, guttural, wounded sob at that thought.
"Okay, make sure you lock the doors. I'll be there in fifteen minutes!" Gus promised. Forget the fact that she lived over twenty minutes away.
"Okay..." Jannie sniffled again. "See you soon..." She disconnected the call and before she could even put the phone down, she started wailing as if Jayce had truly hit her. She had never been so afraid of her now ex-girlfriend before, but there was something much more causing all of the pain and sorrow to pour out of her.
She honestly could not believe that Jayce had scared her so much. Sweet, kind Jayce had glared at her with hate in those beautiful, deep, almost onyx eyes. Jayce had put her hands on her in a malicious way; it just did not seem possible. Those hands had always been so gentle and adoring until today. Today, though, that had turned against her, slamming her hard against the wall. She never felt such fear before; it made her entire chest hurt just thinking about it.
"Oh, Jayce!" Jannie wept, wanting to believe it was only because she was so frightened, but underneath that she knew that there were a few other reasons why she was bawling her eyes out.
Unaware of how much time passed, Jannie eventually heard the loud, heavy pounding on her door. Once the sound reached her ears, she dashed downstairs, knowing it was going to be her sister. She threw herself into Gus' arms as soon as the door was open.
"Are you okay?! What happened?! Goddamn it, did she hurt you?!" Gus roared, holding her little sister tightly. She planned on making Jayce pay for touching her sister in a less than respectful manner!
"No, no, no! Well, not physically anyway," Jannie answered, pulling away a little just to wipe her eyes.
"She made you cry," Gus hissed, frowning deeply.
"She was mean-spirited and self-serving, like always. Damn it, why didn't I see that?! Jayce seems perfect, but it's all just an act! It's cry for help! 'Oh, please, love me like my family never did!' How the hell couldn't I see that!" Jannie hollered, pulling away completely now, so she could pace. She had to move to the living room to get enough space for it.
Gus followed her younger sibling and watched as the shorter female tried to pace, but the playpen was in the way. Jannie scowled at the playpen and kicked it with all of her might. Powerful legs sent rhe playpen slammed against the wall; the businesswoman followed the object with her eyes, but did not move. She was not surprised by the strength of her little sister's legs and she was also not surprised by the hot, smoldering anger rolling off of Jannie.
"Jannie, what the hell happened? She didn't hit you, did she?" Gus demanded to know, making a fist.
"No," Jannie replied again, sounding utterly pathetic. "She didn't hit me. She just grabbed me and it really scared me."
"The hell?! That's just as bad! She's damn near my size, so she could've hurt you!" Gus declared.
"She is not near your size..." Jannie argued weakly, not sure what else to say. Yes, Jayce was probably only a couple of inches shorter than Gus, but she was nowhere near the same weight class since Gus worked out faithfully and Jayce was on the skinny side. Jannie thought Jayce might actually weigh less than she did, but she could not remember at the moment.
"But, what the hell happened?! Do you have bruises where she grabbed you?!" Gus asked, clearly going out of her mind with the idea that her little sister was somehow assaulted and injured.
"No..." Jannie replied, glancing down at her arms. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt, so it was clear that she did not have any bruises around her arms. There were no signs whatsoever that she had even been touched. "It's just that we were arguing and she kept saying these horrible things to me. So, I said some things back and then she just flipped out and grabbed me, pushing me into the wall," she explained with pout and watery eyes.
"What brought all of this on?" Gus asked curiously, looking around. There were no signs of a rumble, which she felt was a good thing. Still, she did not feel good about Jayce putting her hands on Jannie at all.
"I confronted her about losing her job and lying about it. She had the nerve to get pissy about it! Can you believe it?! She was so in the goddamn wrong and she gets all-uppity about it! This is the shit she does! She did this shit with Princess too! I didn't want Princess staying here, but Jayce just thinks it's okay because she thinks it's a good idea and then she got all upset with me when I said I didn't want Princess here!" Jannie started to ramble as she continued to pace the living room. "She didn't even ask me when this is my house! I understand her brother's an ass, but her mother wants the kid and would probably take care of her. She's just too stubborn to let her go, even though she knows she's going to lose Princess anyway! Then, she does this bullshit with her job and tries to make it seem like it's my fault that this shit happened! None of this shit would have happened if she just let her mother have Princess in the first place, but she's too fucking stupid to see that! She's just a fuck-up!"
"Okay, wait, calm down," Gus said, putting her hands out as if that would slow her sister down. She was taking in the explanation, getting the gist of it, but not totally understanding what was going on.
"Jayce is a fuck-up is what I'm saying! A fucking asshole and I just ignored it! I'm glad I kicked her the hell out!" Jannie declared, throwing her hands up in victory.
"You kicked her out?" Gus asked to be sure.
"Of course I did! She was calling me all sorts of horrible things just because I told her the truth! She grabbed me and pushed me because I told her the goddamn truth! She's going to lose Princess and she needs to face that! She also needs to face that she's a fuck-up and she can't go around trying to buy love! Her mother is going to get Princess and Princess is going to grow up not being able to stand Jayce because of that, so she needs to face that shit too," Jannie proclaimed.
"Princess? That's the baby that she keeps with her?" Gus inquired curiously.
"Yes! Annoying little brat really. I mean, I don't mind her in small doses, but I didn't want to keep her and Jayce just assumed I did, didn't even bother asking me! Just brought her over here and thinks that Princess can live here because her brother keeps his home a pigsty and doesn't know much about taking care of a baby. But, she's acting like she's Princess' salvation when her mother offered to take her, but Jayce is too stupid and stubborn to give it. The idiot doesn't even have a job, so how the hell does she think she's going to care of a baby? That shit is expensive and she didn't even think of that! Fucking idiot!" Jannie snorted, continuing to pace. Her face was tense with aggravation from the situation and Jayce stupidity, in her opinion.
Gus scratched her eyebrow with her left hand. "Okay, Jannie, slow down, take a deep breath, and tell me this story from the beginning," she requested, suspecting that there was something more to what happened. It would not bother her much if only her little sister was not going on and on about this baby so much. The argument seemed to be more about the child than about the lies involving the job, which disturbed her a little. She hated to think that Jannie had some kind of animosity toward a tiny, harmless baby.
Jannie nodded and inhaled before starting the story from the beginning-the beginning being when she followed Jayce to the café that morning. She told the story as expected-Jayce sounded like an insensitive bitch. Gus had learned long ago to read between the lines with her baby sister, though. It was easy to do this time since Jannie was so upset that she rambled through much of the explanation, probably not even realizing most of what she was confessing.
Gus nodded at the end of the story. "Okay, so, let me see if I've got this just right. You confronted Jayce about losing her job in front of a room full of strangers and hit her hard and fast, knowing this would keep from off balance and give you the upper-hand in the impending argument?" she asked, silently noting that her little sister seemed to be proud of the fact that she exploited her now-former girlfriend's weakness considering the fact that she made it a point to explain why it was Jayce's weakness. That was damn near evil, in Gus' opinion. You don't do that to someone you claim to love. You don't use their weaknesses against them just to win a goddamn argument!
"Of course! I didn't want her to think that she hadn't done anything wrong! She needed to feel bad about what she did because she was wrong for lying and she needed to be scared of me to know I wasn't playing around with her. She needed to know the truth about everything too. She's so goddamn useless sometimes," Jannie declared.
Gus nodded again. She took a moment to rub her eyebrow with her left pinky. "Okay. So, after thoroughly ripping her to shreds in front of a busy restaurant and then retreating back to home base, you waited for the fight to come you. Now, I understand you jumping on her about the job. She was totally wrong there, but why did you keep telling her that's going to lose the baby?" she inquired curiously. There was something so very vicious about the way her sister attacked Jayce through the baby and she disliked that immensely. From what she could tell, even if Jannie had been right about things, the way she handled everything was so fucked up that she was easily wrong too.
"Because she is! She can't find a competent lawyer to help her and her mother's going to do anything possible to make sure Jayce can't keep that little girl! She's nuts to think that she can and that's why she went nuts on me and pushed me against the wall. If she just accepted that her mother's going to get Princess things wouldn't have come to that. We wouldn't even be arguing because she wouldn't have been so inconsiderate and she wouldn't have lost her job from being stupid enough to bring Princess with her to work," Jannie proclaimed, as if it all made perfect sense to her.
"Why does she take the baby with her everywhere anyway? Why'd she bring the baby to work? Why not leave her with you?" Gus inquired, finding herself intrigued by this odd soap-opera that was her sisters life. There was something just so peculiar about this whole situation that she was now in the middle of.
Jannie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I didn't want to watch Princess. I refused to watch Princess. I've got better things to do with my life and if I did watch her, Jayce would think I approve of what she's done, which I don't. Jayce didn't ask me if I wanted her around and I wasn't about to be a part of something I wasn't asked about. Jayce is paranoid, thinking that her mother is going to kidnap Princess the second she's out of Jayce's sight. She's nuts. Why would her mother kidnap Princess when she's just going to win in court anyway? Jayce is such an idiot."
"Well, whose baby is this?" the older sister asked. She wondered why Jayce was so attached to the baby, not that that really mattered to her.
"Her crack-head brother's."
"And how did Jayce get her?" Gus inquired, hoping her sister was still too deep into her anger to realize that Gus was going down another road entirely now than to listen to Jannie rant about how everything was Jayce's fault.
"Jayce goes over to her brother's house every couple of days to check on Princess because she's paranoid. Yes, her brother is a druggie, but Princess was always fine, so obviously he must know a little about taking care of her. But, Jayce claims when she went over there a couple of weeks ago that Princess was by herself, on the floor, and covered in crap-literally. She made it sound like Princess damn near died, but she looked fine to me on that first day. Sure, she had to take medication, but that baby takes medication damn near every day for something or another. Jayce is just trying to get over. But, whatever. She's such a fucking liar, she was probably lying about that too." Jannie rolled her eyes.
Gus nodded slowly, unable to hide the disturbed feelings running through her. Water built up in her hazel eyes while her mouth dropped into something between a pout and a scowl. Thankfully, Jannie was still pacing or she would have known her beloved big sister's attitude toward her right now.
"Um...Jannie, I need to go..." Gus muttered, shaking her head and backing out of the living room. Right now, she just needed to get away from her little sister, away from the feelings of disgust and disappointment.
The younger woman spun around. "Go?" she repeated with sorrow and disappointment oozing from her being.
"Yeah. Do you happen to know where Jayce went?"
"No, nor do I care!" Jannie declared, putting her chin in the air. "That idiot picks a baby over me! I can't believe her! A baby she's not even going to have by this time next month! She'll come crawling back to me then, but I'll have a new girlfriend and I won't care about Jayce at all!"
"She doesn't have any friends or family to stay with?" Gus asked. God, she hoped that Jayce had someone to be there for her right now since it was clear the one person that should have been was utterly and hopelessly against her.
"Nope! She doesn't have anyone. I was all she had and then she threw that away. Idiot!" Jannie declared. Gus nodded and this caught the little sister's attention. "Gus, what are you thinking?" she asked curiously, not understanding the look on her big sister's face entirely.
"I need to go," Gus repeated, turning around to leave.
"Gus, you don't have to go out and look for her. Jayce didn't hit me or anything, so you don't have to go beat her up. I'm not hurt and she's going to be the one sorry that she left," Jannie proclaimed, honestly believing that and hoping it would get her sibling to stay with her.
"I still...I need to go..." Gus mumbled, making her way to the door. Jannie rushed over to grab her big sister by the arm.
"But, why, Gus?" Jannie begged to know.
"It's just...lock the door when I leave...I'll have a locksmith come by later," Gus replied distantly.
"You don't need to. Jayce left her keys and she's not the type of person that would come back to start trouble."
"You didn't think she was the type of person to slam you into a wall either!" Gus pointed out with a growl.
Jannie was silenced with that for a moment. "But...she was upset..."
"She might still be upset," Gus said. She thought it spoke a lot of Jayce's character for Jannie to be so angry with her, but to still defend her, even though Jannie did not realize she was doing it. This made Gus even more determined to find Jayce. She turned to her little sister. "Look, just do me this one favor, Jannie. Lock the doors when I'm gone, okay?"
Jannie nodded to show that she understood. As soon as Gus was gone, Jannie locked both locks on the door. She turned to look around the condo, surprised by the deafening silence.
"It's actually nice to hear nothing for once," Jannie declared with a nod. A smile worked its way onto her face.
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Gus huffed as she got into her CUV, ready to drive off, but realized that she did not have a plan of any kind for what she had on her mind. She did not know where Jayce might have gone, what kind of car Jayce drove, or anything like that. She did not know anything about Jayce, except for the fact that she helped ruin Jayce's life by getting her fired and now she might have helped in Jayce losing a baby that she obviously loved.
"Shit, way to thoroughly fuck things up, Gus," the businesswoman grumbled aloud.
Gus figured that most of what was going on was her fault and she had it all reasoned out why. She was the one that got Jayce fired, first and foremost. She was already sorry for that, but then she had to go make matters worse by telling her sister about Jayce being fired. She thought of it as just looking out for her baby sister, but hearing how Jannie handled it let her know that she should have just left things alone. Jayce did not seem like the type that deserved to be embarrassed in a place that was obviously her sanctuary and Jannie was so proud of using Jayce's weakness against her. A weakness that Gus was sure Jayce told Jannie in confidence, just trying to get support from her girlfriend. Instead of support, Jannie used it to cause Jayce crippling emotion pain and was proud of it.
Worse than the thing with Jayce's job, for Gus anyway, was the notion that she might have helped Jayce lose Princess. It was obvious that Jannie did not care about Princess, but the girl seemed to mean the world to Jayce since she did not let the baby go, even though keeping her was clearly getting her in trouble with her girlfriend. Even though she did not know all of the details, Gus remembered for the brief times that she saw them how attentive Jayce had with the baby, how loving she had been with the child, and she did not want to be the reason that Jayce lost Princess. She hated to think how hurt Jayce would be if she did lose Princess. Gus knew the fear there, which made her sympathize with Jayce. Gus could not even figure out how or why her little sister seemed to think it was poetic justice that Jayce could possibly lose a child that she clearly loved.
"Okay, I have to fix this shit somehow. First step would be to find Jayce, so how do I do that?" Gus asked herself aloud.
Without thinking, her hand went to her cell phone and it occurred to her that she could call around. Surely someone else knew Jayce Newton! After all, she was a very competent accountant and Jannie had recommended her services to others. Not to mention, she was Jannie's girlfriend-or former girlfriend-so, some of the acquaintances that Gus and Jannie shared might have met her or might know something about her.
As she made her phone calls, Gus pulled off. She drove around as information came in through her phone and she continued to call people. She found out that Jannie was exaggerating a little about Jayce not having friends. Yes, Jayce knew people, but she was not close enough to anyone-as far as Gus' contacts knew-for someone to offer her a place to stay, especially when she had a baby with her.
While getting information on Jayce, Gus also found out little things about her sister that she did not like. Apparently, through out their relationship, Jannie made Jayce pay for everything whenever they went out, which seemed to be very often. And when they went out, it was always expensive and extravagant. Jannie was never a cheap date, but Jayce did not seem to mind.
Some people said that it seemed that Jannie would purposely start fights with Jayce because she knew that Jayce would buy her an expensive gift to make up. Sometimes, she would even make it seem like the first gift was not good enough to get another one, which worked very well. More than a few people made it clear that Jannie took advantage of Jayce's love and good nature. A few people dared to express that they thought Jannie was using Jayce, but Gus refused to believe her sister was that low. She could believe the spoiled brat behavior, though.
"Damn, now I'm going to have to talk that girl. Figured she would mature a little bit at the age of twenty-three," Gus grumbled, referring to her sister.
Other than dirt on Jannie and Jayce's relationship, Gus learned what type of car Jayce drove, but nothing more than that. No one really knew where Jayce would go now that she was homeless. Everyone agreed that there was no way that she would go to her mother or her brother, for different reasons. Her mother hated her guts for reasons no one really understood. Her brother was a different matter, though. Apparently, Jayce's brother Quentin was worthless and she would not suffer his presence unless she was trying to see Princess. Well, she had Princess, so Gus figured that Jayce would avoid her brother at all costs, especially since she was trying to gain custody of his daughter.
Gus learned a little more about the custody battle too; it was surprising how much gossip moved around the town, especially on someone that everyone claimed kept a low profile. But, it would seem that Jayce was trying to gain custody of her niece and was fighting her mother on the issue; Gus knew this thanks to her sister's earlier rant. She found out, though, that Jayce's mother hated her and that hatred ran deep. There were plenty theories as to why that was too. Most people assumed it was because Jayce was a lesbian, but they also figured that it had to be more than that because of how horrible they knew Marion Newton treated her only daughter. Some people thought it went well beyond Jayce's sexuality because they knew that Marion Newton treated Jayce like something she found on the bottom of her shoe long before Jayce ever came out. Besides, the loathing was so intense and they knew that because they heard the horror stories of how Marion tried her best to ruin Jayce's life. The speculation was that if Marion gained custody of Princess then Jayce would never see her niece again.
Most people also seemed to think that Jayce was the best thing in the baby's life, especially since they were all sure that Quentin did not give one damn about his daughter. They were all sorry to hear about her losing her job since they figured that would blow any chance she had at getting custody of the baby. This, of course, just added to Gus' guilt.
"Damn it, if I've helped fuck up this baby's life too..." Gus shook her head.
A bright spot in her day was when a friend called her back to say that she thought she might have seen Jayce's car while she was driving home from work. The car was parked in the lot of some dive motel. Gus needed two sets of directions and a load of landmarks to find the place. An instant frown appeared on her face as she pulled into the parking lot; she looked just as gloomy as the nighttime, cloud-covered sky.
"This isn't any place for a baby," Gus grumbled as she exited her car.
She hoped that Jayce was staying in the room that her car was parked in front of, even though she doubted it would be hard to find Jayce in such a seedy place. A couple of bucks would probably buy her a key to Jayce's room without any explanation; she would make a bet on that. A soft knock to the door yielded no answer, but she could hear the television on, so Gus tried again only louder.
"Who is it?" Jayce called through the door, which lacked a peep-hole, so she could not see who was on the other side of the door.
Gus paused for a moment. Surely Jayce would not open the door if she knew who was at the door. The businesswoman had to think fast.
"It's management," Gus lied. She hoped it would work.
"What do you want? There's nothing wrong," Jayce replied, also lying. Everything was wrong, especially with the room, but it was all she could afford at the moment.
Gus cursed under her breath. "There've been complaints," she continued on.
"About what?" Jayce demanded.
"The baby." Gus figured this should insult Jayce just enough to get to open the door. She was right.
Jayce ripped the door open, shaking the wall that it was connected to. As soon as those near-black eyes set on Gus, the glare was almost lethal. Jayce tried to shut the door just as harshly as she opened it, but Gus put her foot in the way and did not seem to care if she lost it because she stuck it in the doorway. A whimper escaped the businesswoman's mouth as her foot was crushed.
"Get the hell out of my face," Jayce ordered with a growl, still trying to close the door.
"Not until you listen to me and talk to me," Gus replied in a strong tone, pushing back on the door because she needed her foot.
"I've got nothing to say to you. I'm not your accountant anymore, so we have nothing to discuss," Jayce stated.
"Look, I'm Jannie's older sister-" Gus did not get further than that as the shorter woman cut her off.
"I'm not with Jannie anymore."
"I know. That's part of why I wanted to talk."
"Look, I'm sorry I shoved her. I was out of line. If you want to chew me out because of that, just go ahead," Jayce sighed, eyes drifting to the floor. Her shoulders slumped as if she was carrying an elephant on her back and she let go of the door, no longer having the strength to try shutting it.
"I don't want to do that," Gus' voice dropped to a gentle hum.
Shiny obsidian eyes looked up again, wide from shock. Gus' held her gaze, not wavering at all. Honesty and tenderness came through in a simple look. Jayce stepped out of the way and Gus entered the room.
The businesswoman had to use a lot of self-control to keep from sneering at the accommodations. She had seen cubicles that were larger and she had seen dumpsters with better décor. The walls had a nasty brown paint covering them and that paint was peeling and chipped in large quantities around the room. There was one lamp in the room and did not seem to have even a sixty-watt bulb in it. The television was a throwback to the 1980s and did not seem to work if all of noisy snow on the screen meant anything.
"Nice digs," Gus muttered sarcastically.
"It's all I can afford right now," Jayce replied in a tired tone, moving toward the bed to check on Princess.
Jayce found that in the time it took her to answer the door, her niece went from jumping on the bed to passed out on the bed. Moving quickly, she picked the small child up and went into her baby bag. She pulled out a towel first, laid that on the bed, and then laid Princess on top of it. Then she pulled out a tiny pillow and small down blanket. The pillow went under the baby's head and the blanket fit perfectly over her little body.
"So, you wanted to talk?" Jayce said, turning her attention to Gus and found the businesswoman staring at her and Princess.
Gus did not seem to hear the question directed toward her either. She was too focused on the gentle care that Jayce was showing the baby. Jayce cleared her throat loud enough for hazel eyes to snap to attention.
"You wanted to talk?" the unemployed accountant repeated.
Gus nodded. "Talk, right. I did want to talk. I'm sorry for this whole mess."
"So you've said before, but none of it is your fault," Jayce replied.
"No, it is my fault. First, I got you fired. I don't care what you say, but it was my direct actions that caused you to lose your job and I know that's one of the things Jannie got on you for. Making matters worse for you, I was the one that told Jannie you were fired. I looked at it as looking out for my sister, but really I was meddling!" Gus admitted, pointing to herself.
"Hell, yeah, you were!" Jayce hissed, frowning cutting across her face. The only thing keeping her from screaming was that Princess was right there and trying to sleep.
"I know I was, which is why I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten into your business. I was just trying to look out for my little sister," Gus explained.
"Yet you're not here to chew me out for shoving her," Jayce scoffed, turning her head sharply.
"I'm not. Listening to Jannie go on about things today, I get the feeling that she earned it. What I wanted to know was what happened. What's your side of the story?" Gus asked calmly.
"Why do you care?" Jayce huffed.
"I'm a little troubled by the fact that my sister can bring a woman who she had always described in glowing terms to the point where that woman grabs her and shoves her into a wall. I also want to know where I went wrong and my sister thinks it's all right to throw a woman and a baby out of her home, knowing that they don't have anywhere to go," Gus answered, still keeping her cool.
"Jannie didn't do anything, but tell me what was on her mind. We just happened to have opposing viewpoints," Jayce said in a tense tone. Her body matched her voice and the hard look in her eyes screamed defiance. She did not want to talk about this right now.
"I understand that, but I was curious as to what they were. Speaking with my sister, it disturbed me a little. I'm not looking to take her side, Miss Newton," Gus informed the younger woman.
"It's Jayce. And it's fine for you to take her side."
"But, I don't really want to right now. I'm upset that Jannie was so insecure that she felt threatened by a baby. I could hear the resentment in her voice when she spoke of Princess. I'm upset that she bragged about catching you with tricks that you told her in confidence made you imbalanced. These things bother me because you shouldn't do that to someone you love or who loves you. So, right now, I'm just a little more inclined to be on your side. Now, if you could just tell me what Jannie said to you that made you grab her and shove her," Gus said. She stressed those two words because she thought they might make it through Jayce's armor since it was clear to her it bothered Jayce to have acted in such a manner.
Jayce flinched at the sound of the words, like she had been hit by them. Turning away, as if trying to escape what she did, her eyes happened to fall on Princess. The baby looked so cute when asleep, she thought, and this had the strangest effect on her. Tears gathered in her eyes and she burst out, sobbing as if the world was going to come to an end. Gus' movement was just as sudden and incredibly swift, stepping over to the smaller female and embracing her in an instant.
"I'm going to lose Princess! I don't have any money or friends! My mother has everything! I didn't even have support from Jannie! She just told me to give it up and let my mom have Princess, but Mom would just give Princess back to my brother and he doesn't care! She was so sick and thin when I got to her! I was so scared Mom would take her if I let her out of my sight and just give her back to my asshole brother! I'm so scared!" Jayce wailed. Her voice was muffled because she buried her face in Gus' chest.
Gus only held the shorter woman as her body shook violently with harsh wailing. Soon, Gus could feel her shirt being soaked with tears, but she still held onto Jayce, not daring to let go. Jayce wrapped her arms around Gus, pressed herself to the businesswoman, and cried harder. Stronger fingers kneaded tense shoulder blades until the smaller body started sniffling, obviously calming down.
"Sorry...I didn't mean to go all to pieces..." Jayce muttered, making no move to pull away from the warm embrace.
"It's fine. Sounds like you needed it," Gus replied in a near whisper, keeping a tight hold on the woman in her arms.
"I haven't cried in almost ten years. Didn't even cry when my dad died," Jayce admitted in a mumble.
"Then you obviously were overdue. Jayce, I want you to think about this for a second, you need a helping hand. Please, let me be the one to help," Gus offered, squeezing the smaller woman's shoulder slightly.
"I don't..."
"You do," Gus gently insisted, pulling the ebony-haired woman impossibly closer to her.
"I don't want to lose Princess. She's so small and she can't count on her idiot father. God, he left her in the apartment one time and I came in to see the dog peeing on her! Who could leave a baby like that? Who?!"
The sobs started again and Jayce's grip on Gus tightened. Gus held onto the weeping woman, starting to rock her slowly to help soothe her strained nerves. The taller woman felt her stomach drop into her feet and her eyes drifted to the sleeping child. She could only wonder how someone could be so careless with such a darling little person.
Gus leaned down to speak into Jayce's ear. "It'll be okay," she vowed in a breath.
"No, it won't," Jayce whimpered. "Jannie's right. My mom's going to win. She knows everyone and I don't even have the money to hire a lawyer anymore. And even if I did, I don't have a home or the means to provide for Princess. I'm so fucked!"
"No, no, no," Gus whispered, rubbing Jayce's back again. "It'll be fine. You have to believe it'll be fine and make it fine, if not for you, then you have to do it for Princess."
Jayce sniffled loudly and nodded. Her hair brushed against Gus' chin, giving the taller woman a hint of how soft it was. A subtle hint of strawberry invaded Gus' nose and this caused her body to relax. This unconscious action actually calmed Jayce down.
"She's such a great kid..." Jayce whispered, pride sneaking into her voice. "I promised to take care of her."
"And you will. Just let me help, please," Gus begged.
"Are you serious?" Jayce inquired, daring to look up to find out if Miss Augusta Tucker was being sincere. The expression in the hazel eyes was something that Jayce was unused to seeing and did not know what to make of it.
"What?" Gus asked. "Do I have something on my face or something?" The question was posed because of the confused look on the distressed woman's face.
"No, it's just your eyes remind of Jannie's, but there's something more to it than that."
"Maturity," Gus remarked with a lopsided smile.
"I think there's more to it than that. I know that Jannie's not a bad person and she does have a lot of growing up to do, but there is something more to you that is just way beyond her."
Gus smiled a little more. "I think I'll take that as a compliment, even though I wish I raised Jannie to be better than me. Little January has a lot of growing to do and I hope she makes it."
This got a tiny smile out of Jayce. "She'd hate to hear you call her January."
"I'm the big sister. I get to do things that she'd hate. She gets over it. Just like she's going to get over the fact that I came over here to talk to you and help you out, even though she thinks that she did the right thing by kicking you and the baby out. Now, let's get you out of here," Gus said.
"And where am I going to go?" Jayce inquired with an arched eyebrow.
"You and the little Princess there are going to stay with me until I can talk some sense into Jannie. You're letting me help, remember?" Gus pointed out with a charming smile.
Jayce paused for a moment, knowing that she never agreed to that plan. Her eyes wandered to Princess and stayed on the tiny form for a moment. Then her eyes shifted to her own position, stuck in an embrace with Gus, feeling more reassured than she had in days and feeling relief from having gotten some of her grief out.
"I am letting you help," Jayce replied.
Gus let loose another lopsided smile. "Good. Let's get out of here then."
Jayce did not argue; she was happy to leave the cramped, hot, odious room. Carefully, she gathered up her niece while Gus grabbed the baby bag. They quickly left the room and set out to bring some order to Jayce's universe.
---------------
7: Running hot and cold
A chilling breeze whipped through the night air, daring Gus to get out of her car, so that it could slice through her. But, it was not the cutting wind that kept Gus stuck to the driver's seat. Her thoughts kept her pinned there and her eyes locked on her sister's condo...the condo that she actually bought for her sister. She was mentally preparing herself for war, knowing that the fighting would be intense. Making it worse, the war was not on her turf and she did not have a good battlefield either.
"Jannie's in control here and she's damned stubborn," Gus grumbled with a deep frown on her face. Stubborn was a nice way of putting things and she was too aware of that. This is going to be worse than an uphill fight on home territory, but I have to try, no matter how stubborn Jannie is.
She knew good and well that Jannie was in control and not open to listening to her too thanks to calling before coming over. She thought that they could do business over the phone, but soon found out that what she wanted would require a face-to-face meeting after Jannie simply hung up on her a few minutes into the conversation. The rumbling in her gut told her that things were not going to be much better, but she had to try.
"Come on, Gus. You're the big sister, you're the one that raised her, and you're the person that can conduct a million dollar deal without breaking a sweat. This shouldn't be such a problem. You've handled Jannie for years without much of a problem, so why should this be any different? It is no different. This won't be a problem," she stated in a strong voice.
Now, if she was so convinced that it would not be a problem, she wondered why she was not leaving her car. Inhaling deeply and releasing a long breath, Gus squared her shoulders before finally opening her door. She marched to the front door with confidence in her step and knocked hard on the front door. There was no answer.
"Jannie, open this goddamn door. You know I'll make a scene out here for your neighbors to see," Gus huffed, speaking aloud enough to get the aforementioned neighbors attention. No, she definitely was not below embarrassing her sister in front of large groups of people.
A loud scoff could clearly be heard through the door. "Yeah, right." Deep down, she knew that calling her big sister's bluff was not the smartest move, but she decided to give it a try.
"January Marie Tucker!"
"Goddamn it!" Jannie yanked the door open. "Don't blow me up on my own front porch!" She loathed her full name and appeared to be completely enraged and scandalized that her sister would dare to use it in public.
"If you don't let me in, the whole neighborhood is going to know what age you were when you got your period and the delightful story afterward," Gus hissed, eyes daring her sister to challenge her.
Jannie zipped out of the way and Gus was in the house in a flash, slamming the door shut with a fury that made the walls shake. Jannie backed away, putting plenty of space between her and her older-and much larger-sister. Hazel eyes glared at each other as they faced off.
"Jannie, let's be serious about this," Gus stated, getting right to business. Her sister already knew why she was there to talk, so she did not need to explain what "this" was.
"I am being serious. Why should I accept Jayce back into my home? It's my home. We aren't together anymore and I don't want to look at her or her niece," Jannie replied, rolling her eyes and folding her arms across her chest. Her face settled into a disgusted scowl, repulsed by the very idea that she would let Jayce back into her home after what the ebony-haired accountant did.
"She needs some place to stay, especially to take care of her niece, and you have some place that she's stayed for the past six months," Gus argued. She could remember the day that Jannie called her, so happy and proud that Jayce agreed to move in with her. Barely six months later, that same pride came out when Jannie refused to take her ex-lover in, if only to help out a woman that Jannie herself swore was the nicest woman she ever dated. Spoiled brat doesn't even begin cover this bullshit!
"So? It's my house, not hers!" Jannie stomped her foot and made her hands into tight fists.
Gus literally bit her tongue to prevent herself from declaring that it was her house! She had paid for the condo, getting it for a ridiculously low price from a friend and then she had given it to her baby sister for Jannie to have a place to stay while she attended school. Unfortunately, she knew that if she got into that argument, they would be there all night and her little sister would just throw a tantrum in order to win the match, which would not work. Then it would be one big mess that she was not in the mood to deal with. Right now, she needed to focus on the matter at hand because Jayce and Princess needed a home.
"She lived here for six months, Jannie," Gus pointed out in a calm tone. Her face was tense because she honestly wanted to scream and maybe yank Jannie around a little to knock some sense into her. But, again, that would lead to a mess that she was in no mood to deal with.
"And she doesn't live here now," the younger sister riposted in a smug manner, having the nerve to fold her hands over her chest again, as if her logic was superior to her older sister's reasoning.
"And you honestly don't care that this woman you've said was the nicest woman in the world has no place to go?" Gus inquired, face twisting from confusion and disbelief. How the hell can Jannie be so heartless and cruel?! Damn she knows how to hold a grudge!
Jannie glanced away, but squared her shoulders. "No, I don't care. She scared me yesterday," she whimpered bit, trying to sell the act. Her big sister was not buying it, though.
Gus rolled her eyes. "She scared you so much that you didn't want me to go find her and kick her ass," she pointed out.
Jannie snarled and frowned at her older sister. "Okay, look, I just don't want her here! I don't care where she goes or what she does and I don't see why you do give a damn!" she proclaimed, throwing her hands up in bewilderment.
"Because she's got a small child with her, Jannie. I know you think she's going to lose the baby soon, but for the moment, she has a baby with her. It bothers me to know a baby is homeless, partially because of me," Gus admitted in a controlled manner, making sure to maintain eye contact with her little sister. She was trying her best to pierce this thick armor the smaller sibling had around her, but it did not seem to be working.
Jannie put her nose in the air. "Not my problem. Why should I have to worry about her when she didn't worry about me when she jumped into this mess? She didn't worry about me when she was lying about losing her job. She didn't worry about me when I told her to leave!"
Gus scratched her eyebrow and took a deep breath. "Uh...you threw her out..." she pointed out, sounding slightly perplexed.
"I know, but she didn't even put up a fight! How could she say she loves me and then she doesn't even put up a fight to stay?! She just left! She didn't even make a goddamned attempt to stay with me, like she didn't care that I told her to leave!" Jannie huffed, arms going back across her chest.
"So...let me get this straight, you're pissed at her for doing what you wanted without making it hard on you?" Gus asked to be sure. Women will never make sense to me apparently, even if I'm related to the woman in question.
"Yes!" Jannie replied as if her reasoning made total sense.
Gus scratched her eyebrow again and considered that she might scratch it bald before this conversation was done. Her baby sister needed to do some serious growing up, she realized. This was beyond being a spoiled brat; Jannie was an attention whore, wanting to seriously be the center of the universe. She wanted everything to be about her. Obviously, she thought that she was a diva and everyone else was there for her amusement and entertainment.
"Jannie, do you listen to yourself when you talk or think out things before you say them?" Gus asked curiously, even though she felt like she knew the answer to that. Goddamn it if this isn't my fault too!
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jannie huffed, eyes narrowing and body tensing. She leaned forward a little, as if she was going to do something.
"Because I'm hearing a lot of whining about yourself and no concern whatsoever over the woman you loved a week ago or the baby that she has to care for," Gus pointed out, putting her hand to her chin in concentration. She noticed that her little sister almost made her attitude an art form.
"Why should I give a shit?" Jannie demanded, eyes seething with fury that her own sister would try to make it seem like she was the wrong one here. Jayce was wrong for picking the baby over me! Jayce was wrong for bringing Princess to stay with them forever in the first place! Jayce is the one that never asked me about it and then she didn't even stay to fight for us!
A long finger went back to the slender eyebrow before Gus just wiped her whole face with both of her hands. She even took a moment to slowly count to ten in her head, wanting to remain as even-tempered as she could. She did not remember it ever being so difficult dealing with Jannie, but then again, the last time she had to deal with Jannie and a girlfriend, it was when Jannie met her former wife Amanda. She never really had to jump into a situation with Jannie and her own girlfriend, though. She definitely was not enjoying the current state of affairs, so she was going to try to make this the first and last time that she had to deal with Jannie and her own girlfriend.
The elder sister started speaking very coolly, making sure to keep that tone, even though she really just wanted to grit her teeth and snarl. "Jannie, sweetie, there's a little thing called compassion and another called support. I know Jayce offered you these things because you've ranted about it on end to me, but you're supposed to give her those things in return. That's what a relationship is about," the taller woman stated, pointing to the ground to emphasis her words.
"Oh, yes, and you're obviously knowledgeable on relationships," Jannie snapped, rolling her eyes.
Gus nodded, using the movement to hide a flinch rather well. "I have a feeling you'll be the same way if you keep this attitude up, dear sister," she replied in a clipped tone.
A wince and a deep frown came before any words. "I don't care about Jayce and you can't make me take her back in here. I don't care about Princess either. She's not my kid, thus not my problem. I'm happy here by myself with all of the quiet! I'm going to go out tomorrow and get drunk with my friends for the first time in months!" she declared, tilting her heard upward and eyeing her sister with defiance in her gaze.
Gus was quiet for a moment, just taking everything in. She let the words, emotions, and body language travel around her mind a few times. After a couple of seconds, she nodded, more to herself than in agreement with her younger sister's words. Odd, emotional hazel eyes then looked completely at Jannie. The expression buried within those light brown depths were a mixture of so many different emotions ranging from sorrow to disgust to pity and so many others.
"Sounds about right. Enjoy yourself, Jannie. I hope you grow up sometime soon, though, because what you like to do might be fine for your twenties, but you're not going to be twenty-three forever," Gus said in a defeated tone as she turned to leave.
Jannie moved forward, ready to chase after her big sister. She had never seen Gus look at her in such a way and she did not like it. But, before she even took a full step, she recalled her anger and stopped herself. Jannie decided to count this as her victory. Smug hazel eyes watched Gus leave the house and tried not to think anything about what just happened.
"I am grown up and Jayce was the one that was wrong. I'm not helping her out if she couldn't even ask my opinion on things. To hell with her! She's going to come back eventually, but I'll have another, hotter girlfriend by then and I still won't give a shit what Jayce has to say," Jannie informed the empty house in a heated tone.
---------------
Gus sat behind the wheel of her car and just stared off into the night for a long moment, not believing the selfish creature that she left in the house was her sister. Going through her memory, she tried to think of what she did to raise Jannie into someone so self-absorbed and narcissistic. And, she hated how easy it was to figure out after she thought about it. She had always acted like the world revolved around Jannie, even before they lost their parents. It got even worse after they lost their parents. Jannie was her world for so many years. The sun rose and set with her little sister as far as she was concerned, and obviously Jannie thought so too.
She used to give Jannie anything she wanted. Cost was no object and all Jannie needed to do was ask. And that was before she started her company and was making enough money to do such things! If Jannie wanted it, Gus always would figure out someway or make some sacrifice to do it because she wanted her little sister to be happy, especially after the tragic loss of their parents.
Hell, she used to break up with women-women that she really liked-if Jannie did not get along with them or Jannie did not like them for whatever reason. Nothing was too big or too small for her sister to merely imply she wanted. And now, apparently, Jannie expected the world to treat her the same way.
"I can't do anything about that now. She's got to learn that the world doesn't revolve her. That'll be an interesting little wake up call, I suppose," Gus muttered.
She did not so much regret how she raised her sister. She was glad to be able to provide for Jannie and Jannie never did anything too outrageous. Rather normal teenage years with little rebellion or trouble and very good grades as well as victories in track competitions made it easy to reward Jannie with anything that she desired. The grades and victories carried on to her undergraduate studies in college; hell, she graduated with honors from undergrad. So, those things continued to make it easy to give her things, even big things like the condo and her car. Gus never saw the selfish side effect until now, though.
"And I don't like it one bit. How the hell can she be okay with putting a baby out on the street?" Gus asked, speaking to the air.
When the howling wind or the evening chill gave no answer to her from the night, Gus decided it was time to go. She drove off, heading home and trying to put her sister out of her mind. Making an effort not to think about Jannie, Gus went over business issues that she would have to deal with tomorrow and some adjustments that she was going to have to make to her life...at least for a little while. Those matters actually made her feel better after dealing with her sister.
As soon as she came through the door, her ears were assaulted by an unfamiliar noise. High-pitched cries ricocheted off the walls and clung to her ears. Her face twisted a little from confusion, but interest caused her to walk toward the sounds. She ended up in the kitchen where Jayce was bouncing Princess in her arms while scouring through the baby bag with her free hand. For a moment, the sight hypnotized Gus, but she managed to shake herself out of it.
"Hey, do you need any help?" Gus offered in a soft tone, hoping to lessen any shock that Jayce might feel to find that she was not alone.
Ebony hair swayed as Jayce turned her head sharply and near-black eyes locked onto Gus. There was a pleading look under the minute shock, which answered Gus' question. The taller woman walked over, peered down at the crying baby, and then at the baby bag.
"So, what's wrong?" Gus asked.
"Nothing much. She's just hungry and I'm trying to find her snack. Hopefully it'll hold her over until I can make dinner," Jayce answered.
"Okay. I'll find the snack and you can focus on comforting her," Gus offered with a small smile.
"I'm sorry about all of the crying-" the unemployed woman tried to apologize, but Gus held up a hand and shook her head, stopping the words before Jayce could finish speaking them.
"Don't apologize. She's a baby. I know there's going to be a little crying every now and then," Gus stated as she opened the bag and started going through it. Jayce withdrew her hand to let Gus work.
"Usually she's very happy and cheerful. She gives hugs out with no problem and even shares messy kisses with people," Jayce said, bouncing the bawling child in her arms even more. Princess continued on weeping; no amount of bouncing was going to fill her empty stomach.
Gus nodded. "I hope I get to see more of that. I could use a little affection after the month I've been having. I'm sure you could too," she replied as she fished out a baggy full of dry cereal. She held it up for inspection. "Is this what she wants?"
"Yes, thank you." Jayce took the baggy, fingers brushing against Gus' for the lightest of contact. They glanced at each other-almost as if checking that the most innocent of touches was okay-and neither said anything. Jayce turned her attention to the baby. "Hey, there, pretty baby, look at what Miss Gus got for you?" she cooed, shaking the baggy in front of Princess' face.
Princess sniffled as she noticed the bag as her aunt opened it for her. Princess turned around and quickly took the little plastic container with both hands. Shoving her hand in and yanking out a fistful of cereal, the child cheered as if her aunt just saved the world. Jayce and Gus both laughed a little.
"I see what you mean about happy. That sounded like this was about way more than cereal," Gus remarked.
"She's not used to eating this late. With the craziness of today, her schedule has been thrown off. I didn't get a chance to feed her at Jannie's house and there was no way to cook at the motel," Jayce explained.
Gus nodded and her face took on a somber quality. "Again, sorry about all of this," she humbly apologized.
"Don't be sorry. You didn't know all of this was going to happen and you're helping me in such a huge way just by getting me out of that motel. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come along because that motel was the only place I could afford."
"Well, if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have had to stay there in the first place. I tried talking to Jannie, but she isn't letting you move back in," Gus explained and quickly continued when she saw Jayce's expression drop. "But, I would be honored if you stayed with me," she declared, placing her hand on her heart.
Jayce's eyes opened wide and her mouth practically hit the floor. "You want me to stay with you?" she asked to make sure she heard right. She was halfway certain that she was hearing things.
"Didn't we agree that you would let me help you? You need some place to stay and I have a house that you can stay in, for as long as you need to. This way, you don't have to worry about house-hunting or anything. You can focus on keeping this little cutie pie," Gus commented, gently caressing Princess' head. The child cooed and that made it seem like she agreed.
"Are you...are you sure about this?" Jayce asked in a shaky tone. What if she acts just like Jannie? What if she doesn't like Princess and gets annoyed like Jannie did? Despite those thoughts, she could tell that something was vastly different between Gus and Jannie. There was just something in the eyes...and the personality.
"I'm positive. Jayce, this is the right thing to do. It gives you time to get on your feet and do right by this little bit. I'm going to call my lawyer tomorrow and have him find you a great lawyer too. One not scared of your mother and her connections and willing to kick her butt to get Princess for you," Gus promised.
Jayce sniffled and nodded. "Thank you so much..." she whispered, not sure what else to say. She felt overwhelmed, but kept it in check to avoid crying in front of Gus again. She did not want to freak the businesswoman out or give off the impression that she was prone to random emotional fits.
"No need to thank me," the brown-haired woman stated, a small smile gracing her chocolate features. She was hoping to set Jayce at ease with the expression.
The unemployed accountant shook her head. "No, there is every need to thank you. You don't know how much this means to me! God, I've got nothing, but I need to save Princess and you're offering me the chance to do it. You don't know how much this means to me and how much it'll mean to Princess later on!"
"Why don't you tell me about it?" Gus requested.
"How about over dinner? I can cook fairly well," Jayce offered. I know it won't compare to what she's giving me, but cooking for her is the least I can do!
Gus grinned. "Sounds great since I can't cook for shit."
"I guess that's where Jannie got her skills from," the shorter of the two teased.
"Inherited them from both parents. My dad almost burned the house down boiling water once and my mother couldn't make toast without burning the first four slices," Gus quipped with a smile.
This very short story got a small smile out of the guest. "Well, I promise nothing like that. I was looking around at the few things you have around the kitchen and I think I can whip us up a decent dinner. Princess should be good on some mash potatoes and some food I have in her bag," Jayce explained.
"Sounds excellent. How about I take Princess into the living room and we watch TV and get out of your hair for now?" Gus offered.
For a moment, Jayce hesitated. She had not let Princess out of her sight since she rescued the child from that garbage dump her brother-who was still MIA-called a home. Hell, the only person to hold Princess aside for herself was Zoe, and even she did so within ten feet of Jayce most of the time. But, her mind quickly pointed out that Gus was not going far with Princess and it was very unlikely that a woman that did not even know her mother would steal the baby and run off to deliver the child to Marion Newton.
"She likes cartoons and music videos," Jayce said, sliding Princess off of her shoulder and placing her in Gus' arms.
"Oh, she's at the age where babies like to dance?" Gus asked, another bright smile lighting up her face.
"Well, she doesn't really dance. She stands up and rocks mostly. She also does this thing with her right hand, which is weird since I'm pretty sure she's a lefty," Jayce answered while making note that her hostess seemed to like Princess despite her attitude toward the child in their first meeting. She silently prayed that attitude stayed wherever it was because she truly needed a place to stay and she doubted that she could stay some place that Princess was not wanted.
"Okay." Gus nodded and then turned her attention to Princess. "Let's see if we can find you some cartoons or videos while your mother makes dinner!"
Jayce opened her mouth to object to the title Gus bestowed on her, but the businesswoman and baby were out of the room before words flowed from her shocked lips. The shorter woman started on dinner, which did not take too long to prepare. After putting the meatloaf that she made in the oven, she went to peek into the living room, ready to take Princess from Gus if the hazel-eyed female seemed even slightly annoyed. She was surprised by what she found.
Gus, through a lot of channel surfing, managed to come across a channel that showed nothing but shows for babies and toddlers. She was down on her knees and holding Princess' hands, doing the twist as the characters on the show sang a song about apples. The wide, gleeful grin that Princess was sporting was not a shock, but the excited smile reaching Gus' eyes was stunning. Jayce did not expect Jannie's sister to take to Princess at all, but for her to do it so quickly and easily was nothing short of miraculous to the unemployed woman.
"Hey," Gus said with a smile as she noticed Jayce. "Princess was just teaching me a brand new dance!"
"I can see that. You guys look like you're having good time. Dinner should be done a few minutes. I used that ground beef you had to make meatloaf. I hope that's all right," Jayce explained, walking deeper into the room.
"It's fine. I usually buy it to try to make hamburgers. I figure since I went out and bought a Foreman grill, then I should figure out how to use it. I haven't figured it out yet, though," Gus replied with a sheepish smile, scratching her eyebrow a little with her pinkie finger. "The meat would've gone to waste after my experiments," she admitted, no shame in her tone.
Jayce could not help laughing, throwing her head back a little. Gus smiled again, enchanted by the pleasant sound coming from her guest. It seemed like a genuine laugh, which warmed Gus' heart because it led her to believe that she was doing the right thing. Jayce needed help and she needed some relief from the stress that she was obviously under; Gus was happy to help. She hoped that Jayce would laugh more often now that things were looking up for her.
"Maybe I can show you how to do that at some point. Part of the huge 'thank you' I owe you," Jayce offered.
"You don't have to think of like that, but damn, I would love to learn how to make something simple like hamburgers. I can boil a mean hotdog!" Gus quipped, grinning up a storm.
The ebony-haired woman chuckled again, which kept the smile on her host's face a little longer. A beat of silence passed between the adults and then Gus turned her attention back to the baby, who was still doing the twist. Jayce watched the two play together until dinner was done. Jayce set the table, making their plates, before calling Gus to eat. The tall woman came into the dining room with Princess in her arms. She handed Princess over to Jayce before sitting down. Jayce followed suit.
"I hope you don't mind meatloaf," the unemployed guest stated.
"Jayce, I just told you I can't cook for beans. If you threw a raw cow on my plate, I would be grateful because I would be way better than I can do," Gus stated sincerely. She looked down at her plate to see meatloaf, potatoes, and string beans. Her eyes went wide for a moment. "I didn't even know I had vegetables in my house," she mumbled in a shock.
"They were buried deep in the back of the cabinet, next to some cream corn," Jayce reported. They were canned string beans, but that was better than nothing.
Gus made a face. "I might have been sleepwalking when I brought this stuff then. I don't even like cream corn. Wouldn't begin to know what to do with it either," she remarked.
Jayce chuckled a bit, enjoying Gus' humor and conversation. They were all silent for a little while, starting in on their meals. Jayce fed Princess some potatoes and the baby managed some of the string beans, but she did make a bit of a mess with them because she kept pulling out of her mouth and them slurping them back in. Gus tried not to laugh at the antics, thinking that just might encourage the baby.
"So, how about you tell me the story here with your mother and this little cutie?" Gus requested halfway through her dinner. "If it's not too difficult anyway."
Jayce shook her head. "I don't mind. You should know what you're getting yourself into anyway. This way, you can figure out if you still want to help or if you want to throw me out as soon as I'm done."
A half-smile tugged on Gus' lips. "I'm not throwing you out. You and Princess can leave whenever you're ready."
Jayce smiled a little too and proceeded to tell Gus everything. How she found Princess in Quentin's apartment for the last time, how Princess came to be in the first place, and why her mother hated her enough to take Princess from her only to give her back to Quentin... "If she can ever find him anyway," the unemployed accountant muttered.
Gus shook her head. "I can't imagine going through that. My parents didn't mind me being a lesbian. Hell, they knew before I knew according to my father. I don't know how, but they knew and they were fine with it. They always encouraged me to talk about any girls in my life, making sure I knew it was something that was okay and I had nothing to be ashamed of. My mother would even help me plan dates sometimes if I couldn't figure out what to do. They encouraged me to bring girls home for them to meet. I can't imagine being thrown out, still in high school, and disowned for the most part. How did your dad take it?" the businesswoman asked curiously.
"A little better, but not by much. He didn't really want anything to do with me either, but he was at least civil the few times we met up after I was thrown out. He gave me some money to get a place to live, but nothing more than that. I'm sure the money was to make sure that I don't try to come back to the house, which worked well. I had to work my way through college, but I did have some scholarships, so it wasn't that hard. I didn't have loans to pay back or anything. But, I was alone for a long time. My mother hates me to this very day. My dad wouldn't talk to me once I was out of the house. Q was still the golden child, but he was already sliding. He had been sliding for a while. The only time he talked to me was when he wanted money and I was so lonely I'd give him whatever the hell he wanted as long as he stayed with me for a little while. I was just so happy to have my big brother back. Fucking asshole never knew how much I admired him, same with my stupid dad. I excelled in math because I wanted to be like them, but by college I realized they were both jerks. That's why I didn't go into stocks or banking, but still, I just wanted..." Jayce sniffled, choking up thanks to the trip down memory lane. Water gathered in her eyes, causing her to wipe away any tears that attempted to fall. "I'm sorry. I don't usually get this worked up..."
Gus leaned across the table and lightly touched Jayce's forearm. For a moment, the former accountant tensed, but Gus did not move. Quickly, Jayce relaxed, realizing how warm and comforting the hand was on her limb. She gave Gus a small smile to let her know that it was all right to continue touching her.
"It's fine. You've earned it. I won't give you another reason to cry, though. You need Princess just as much as she needs you and I won't let your mother take her away, especially if she's going to give her back to a man that obviously doesn't want her," the businesswoman promised, squeezing Jayce's arm gently as if that would make her words the complete and utter truth.
"My mother doesn't want to believe that. She thinks butter wouldn't melt in Q's mouth, despite the fact that he's robbed her before-more than once actually-and left Princess countless places in the year he's had her," Jayce informed her hostess, shaking her head in dismay.
"Love sometimes blinds us. She can't see that her son needs help, just like I couldn't see that Jannie is a spoiled brat," Gus commented.
"Jannie's not that bad. You raised her well," Jayce argued with sincerity in her eyes and voice.
"Thank you for saying so, but I could've done better obviously. Anyway, how about we figure out where you're going to sleep?" Gus proposed.
"I'm fine with the floor. I'll let Princess sleep on my chest. I wish I had taken her playpen, but it was too big to carry in a hurry." Jayce sighed.
The brown-haired woman caressed Jayce's arm for a moment, hoping to keep her calm. "Don't worry about it, Jayce. You don't have to apologize to me anymore or worry about anything. Just focus on raising Princess and getting custody of her. She needs all of your attention. Now, for the moment, I'd rather you take my bed since you have the baby."
The smaller woman gasped in shock. "I couldn't!"
"You will. You're the lady with a baby. Jayce, before we go any further, I need you to understand, I'm not Jannie and I'm the one that offered to help. Instead of arguing or handling me with kid gloves or worrying about if I'm going to flip out, just let me help and take what I offer. Please," Gus begged, hazel eyes glistening.
Jayce was touched by the earnestness that she could see shining in those beautiful eyes and the comforting presence that Gus offered. These emotions were so rarely directed toward her, but so freely given by Gus. They stirred up something inside of her, but she was too exhausted to pay it much mind.
"...Okay, but you have to let me pay you back for all of this at some point," Jayce replied sternly. She was unaccustomed to all of this attention, so she was not too sure how to react to it.
Gus smiled. "Fine. Sometime in the distant future, though." She was glad when Jayce did not argue and they both went back to eating in a comfortable silence.
---------------
8: Balm for the soul
"You made breakfast..." Gus muttered as she stumbled into the kitchen, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Her dark brown hair was going off in every direction since she failed to wear her scarf last night to bed. Hoping to make a good impression, she had worn proper pajamas, even though it had taken her a while to find them; the pajamas were plain cream flannels and quite comfortable, but they had been buried in one of her unpacked boxes. She sort of regretted never wearing them until now, but her usual pajamas consisted of a long, torn tank-top and her underwear.
"I figured you'd like breakfast before going to work, but I wasn't sure what time you left..." Jayce explained, glancing away, looking shy. "Um...thanks for the pajamas again," she added, just to make sure it was out there...for the fourth time since Gus gave her the clothing last night. She did not want to come across as ungrateful for anything that the brown-haired woman was doing for her.
"No problem on the pajamas," Gus replied, taking in how her pajamas fell on her guest. The clothes almost fit, which was something new to Gus because she was usually by taller by several inches than woman around her, not to mention heavier thanks to her muscles.
Gus found that she liked the fact that the clothing nearly fit Jayce. The sight teased her imagination, causing all sorts of wonders to pass through her mind. She quickly shook that away, thinking that it was just the loneliness inside of her acting up.
The businesswoman then turned her attention to breakfast. "Oh, pancakes! I haven't had homemade pancakes," she declared with almost childish glee in her voice with a smile to match. It was rather charming in her guest's opinion.
Nonetheless, Jayce thought that was an odd thing to say. "You mean you haven't had them in a while or never?" she asked. She had made pancakes, scrambled eggs, and toast. There really was not much else to make, so she made a mental note to go shopping in order to make her host some real meals while she was there.
"Never. Usually, for breakfast I might have a bagel or a muffin or just a cup of coffee. I've never had pancakes at home before, except for the frozen ones in a box," Gus explained, making a face at the end. She was not very fond of those frozen pancakes, but she ate them with the hope that one day they would taste like the ones at IHOP.
The unemployed woman blinked in surprise a couple of times. "Oh, you are missing out. You've never heard someone cook for you?" she inquired in disbelief.
"None of my girlfriends were really good at cooking. I've had a few that could make dinner, but nothing really elaborate. None of them ever really wanted to make breakfast and they didn't seem to know how either. Hell, in fact, most of them wouldn't even be up when I had to get up for work," Gus replied.
Jayce tilted her head a little, looking a little perplexed as well as curious. She could not understand how a girlfriend would just let Gus leave the house for work without a proper breakfast. She always made sure her girlfriends were well fed, be it breakfast, lunch, or dinner. If she was there, then she would cook.
"How about you go to the table and sit down. If you want, you can tell me more about this weird habit over a nice homemade breakfast," Jayce commented warmly.
Gus nodded and smiled, walking off to the dining room with a strange pep in her step that she attributed to a good night's sleep. Princess had been sitting on the kitchen floor and playing with a plush toy, but she abandoned her toy to follow behind her new friend. The baby walked half of the way before falling and crawling the rest of the way. Gus noticed the grinning child as soon as she sat down, so she picked Princess up. The baby giggled, which Gus took as a greeting.
"Good morning to you too, smiley," Gus remarked, tapping the corner of Princess' mouth with her left index finger. Princess giggled again, as if approving of the nickname. "So, we're going to have pancakes thanks to your mother," she reported with an enchanting smile of her own.
Jayce tensed up a little and Gus knew it was from being referred to as the child's mother. The businesswoman did not say anything about it at that moment, instead focusing on the baby. Jayce hurried in with the food, placing the plates down in a rush too, in order to take Princess away from Gus.
"I wasn't sure how many pancakes you wanted. Here, I can handle her, so she's not bothering you," Jayce said, very close to sounding panicked. A sorrowful, but frightened look colored her onyx eyes.
"She's not bothering me," Gus replied in a gentle tone, hoping to soothe her guest's obviously raw nerves. "Look, Jayce, I'm not my sister. I'm quite content to hold Princess and play with her. I like children and she's really cool. Also, you shouldn't look so embarrassed when I call you her mother. This is what you're going to be when you win custody of her, so get used to it, Mom," she remarked with a brilliant grin.
"You sound so...sure," Jayce muttered as she took a seat across from the taller woman. She could not even meet Gus' eyes because she was not so certain that she would win custody. She was also a little embarrassed about wanting to take Princess from Gus when the taller woman was admittedly happy to hold the baby.
Gus smiled again. Jayce could not help wondering how many different smiles her host possessed. This one was such a soft, sweet expression. It seemed like it was made just to ease Jayce's worry...and much to her surprise, it worked. No one had ever looked at her with such assurance and kindness before, not even Jannie.
"I am. You love this kid and she's a great kid. I've already called and gotten you a great lawyer. I'll leave you the number before I go to work," the businesswoman stated.
For a moment, the shorter woman was speechless. Even when she recovered the ability to speak, she did not know what to say. In the end, she said the simplest thing that she could think of. "Thank you so much."
"Jayce, you're going to have to stop thanking me every time we speak and you're going to have to stop tiptoeing around me. I'm not that bad, honest," Gus commented with another dazzling smile, reaching over to touch Jayce's arm. It was the expression, the twinkle in her eyes that made Jayce believe it, but the warm sensation caused by the gentle touch drove the belief home.
"So, where do you go to work anyway? I know you have the spa and then you have your software company," Jayce said, looking to make conversation and she was genuinely curious. She wanted to find out more about this strange woman, who she could not quite figure out yet. The one thing that she was certain of so far was that Gus was kinder than she thought.
"The software company is my baby really. I go there almost everyday to make sure things are running smoothly, brainstorm with my crew, and just work on different projects that I started. I love going in there. My crew is great and just being there relaxes me a lot of the time. Even if there's a crisis going on, I don't mind being there. I guess I should've taken more time down at the spa, though. That's where all that money was missing from," Gus replied, shaking her head a little. She moved her hand from Jayce's arm to scratch her eyebrow a bit; the other hand was too busy holding onto Princess to do anything else.
"Oh." Jayce nodded in understanding. "Did you ever...I mean, you said you caught..."
The taller woman nodded. "I did catch the person who was stealing. Oddly enough, she was stealing from me to be with my gold-digging ex-wife."
Jayce could not hide the surprise on her face from that one. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide. "Oh, wow."
"Yeah, talk about dyke drama. Amanda was worth more than her fair share of it, actually. She's the reason I moved here. Lying, cheating..." Gus growled as thoughts of her former spouse went through her mind and how that bitch made such a fool out of her.
Without a thought, Jayce reached across the table and took hold of her host's hand. A light squeeze brought a smile to Gus and a squeeze back. There was that warmth again, Jayce noticed. It was different from any other sensation and she wondered if Gus could feel it too. She did not see any sign that Gus might have felt something beyond grateful for having some comfort in her life. They stayed like that for what seemed like ever, looking at each other and the world felt right for the first time in a long time for both of them. The moment was broken when Princess broke into a fit of giggles.
"This by far the happiest kid I've met," Gus commented, pulling her hand back from Jayce to get a better grip on the child. She pulled Princess back just as the baby seemed like she was ready to jump off of Gus' lap and take a belly flop onto the floor.
"She's always been like that. You want me to take her so you can eat?" Jayce asked, more being helpful now than trying to keep Princess from getting on her host's nerves.
Gus emphatically shook her head. "No, no, no. I want to hold her. Do you think you could tell me the whole story behind her?" she inquired curiously. She glanced down at her food and over at the baby, who was now watching the food. She was about to give Princess a bit, but she realized that it might not be good for the child. "Oh, is it all right if I share my breakfast with her?" she asked, just to be sure.
"Yes, she'll take a little bit, but she's got her own breakfast right here." Jayce pushed a bowl of hot cereal to Gus, so that the businesswoman could feed the baby. She was lucky that she traveled with little packets of oatmeal for Princess or the child would have been trying to stomach pancakes for breakfast because Gus did not have anything around suitable for the baby to eat. "What do you mean story behind her?"
"Well, how she came to be and everything. I mean, I know you said that your brother and his girlfriend just suddenly had her shortly after you met the girlfriend, but I know there's more to it than that. How'd you end up pretty much responsible for her?"
Jayce nodded. She had not really gone into any detail when explaining matters to Gus last night. She supposed that she owed it to the brown-haired woman. Besides, she had no problem explaining things as best she could.
"Well, I usually check in on my brother, just to keep up with him. I have this fear one day I'm going to find out he OD'ed or something and I would hate to think that I missed out on sometime with him. Oh, I suppose I should tell you that he's an addict, which is one I'm scared to find that he'll have OD'ed one day. He's getting really bad...well, he was from what I recall. It's been a while since I've seen him and I hope my worst fear hasn't come true for him.
"So, anyway, one day a little over a year ago while checking up on him, I find out that he has a girlfriend. I don't remember her so well. I only met her a couple of times. I think her name was Allison. She was as much of a junkie as he is. She actually looked like a junkie from what I could tell. My brother's not too much better, mind you. He can put on a business suit all he wants, but you look at him and you can tell that there's something wrong with the guy. I guess it doesn't help that he's missing two of his front teeth.
"Anyway, not too long after I meet Allison do I find out she's pregnant. Now, that was something you never would've known looking at her. Princess was born two months premature and addicted to just about everything under the sun while being the most sickly little thing you ever could see. The doctors didn't even think she'd live through the night, but she's a scrapper. Her mom died before Princess got released from the hospital-drug overdose. She was named Princess because her parents wanted something easy to remember and apparently the hospital staff refused to put 'baby' or 'little girl' on the birth certificate under 'name.' Honestly, they named her after one of their dogs to help them remember her name, not that her mother needed to remember since she didn't even get to know this precious gift that she should have had the pleasure of carrying.
"My brother was nice enough to call me when she was born, but now I think he just called me because he knew I'd be around to keep an eye on her. Once I showed up at the hospital, he disappeared for a while. I watched over her while she was in the hospital and after she was released. I had her for almost a month at the time..."
Jayce paused and snorted for a moment. She had forgotten when Princess was released from the hospital, she was the one that took care of the baby. And now that she thought about, she recalled that Jannie had not been very supportive that time either. In fact, Jannie had practically tossed Princess at Quentin when they met him at his apartment to take her. Thinking about that saddened Jayce a bit because she realized two things-one, it was clear that Jannie was never really a big fan of her niece and two, her brother was so far gone back then that she did not even want him to meet her at her apartment or Jannie's condo because she did not trust him with the addresses.
Gus noticed the sorrow clouding Jayce's eyes, so she reached over the table again. That time, she took Jayce's hand and held it firmly in her own. Jayce offered her a small smile as thanks before continuing her story.
"I really think underneath it all, Quentin would really like me to have her, but he knows that if he gave her to me, Mom would flip. He's Mom's favorite, always has been and always will be. In fact, she considers him her only child at this point. I doubt he wants to mess up anything with her, especially since she still thinks he's the golden child despite his addiction and criminal behavior that it causes. Sometimes, she even still gives him money, as if she doesn't know what he's going to do with it. She just accepts whatever excuse or lie he tells her when he needs the money.
"Added to that, I think he's not too sure that I'd accept her if he did just try to give Princess to me. He might think that I'm the type that likes taking her, but I also like having some place to take her back when I want to get back to my life. Little does he know, but she is my life now. He probably doesn't want me to look down on him for not being able to take care of her too. I mean, no matter how fucked up he is, a lot of the time he is still aware that he's the big brother and he's supposed to be setting an example."
"If only he knew..." Gus muttered, glancing down at Princess. "If only he knew what a treasure he was letting go of..." Her voice was a strange mix of sorrow, pity, and awe. It tugged at Jayce's heart because she could see that Gus might love Princess more than Quentin and Gus only just made the child's acquaintance.
Sadness clouded Jayce's dark eyes again for a moment. "Yeah, but he's so into his drugs. I mean, he does any and everything, smokes, shoots, snorts, and whatever the hell else you can do with a drug. Some drugs are to get him through work, which I'm surprised he's still capable of doing. Others are to relax him, others to make him forget, others to get him around, and whatever else you can think of. He's just on about everything. It's a shame to see, especially since they're all illegal drugs. Well, not that it would be any better if they were legal, but there's the added element that he could do to jail one day. It was really hard to deal with when Princess was in the hospital because of her addiction thanks to her parents. Some days, I didn't think she would make it either, but she always pulled through. She still has some health issues, but I'm keeping on top of it. Her doctor is the one that started this whole custody thing."
A surprise look showed in Gus' light brown eyes. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah, too many visits with her having too many problems that didn't come along with her usual illnesses. Q doesn't take care of her at all and god-forbid I miss a day or two with seeing her. She wouldn't be changed or fed and shit like that. Just a fucking mess." Jayce shook her head and sighed, putting her hands over her face for a moment to keep herself calm.
"Hey," Gus cooed soothingly, speaking to Jayce. "It'll be okay from now on. The lawyer I got you is fantastic. I promise you that."
"Thank you so much."
Breakfast was quiet after that. Gus assumed that just talking about her brother and Princess had taken a lot out of her guest, but that was not the reason why the unemployed woman could not speak anymore. Jayce was silently overwhelmed by all that Gus was doing for her. If not for the resemblance, she would not be able to figure out how Gus and Jannie were related at all. They were complete opposites from what she could tell, which she was thankful for. She was getting the support and help that she thoroughly needed and Jannie refused to provide. Jayce mentally admitted that Gus was amazing; possibly the most amazing person that Jayce had ever met in her life.
For a moment, the ebony-haired woman strayed, thinking about Gus saying that her wife had cheated on her. For a few seconds, Jayce could not understand why someone would cheat on someone like Gus, but then she thought about how people often took advantage of others. She was willing to bet that Gus' ex did not know how lucky she was to have Gus. Idiot.
Gus kept Princess with her through out the meal and shared some of her breakfast with the baby before switching Princess to the cereal that she was supposed to be eating. For a moment, she played around with the baby while she was trying to eat. A semi-stern look from the child's guardian ceased the playing and Gus gave Jayce an adorably sheepish look, clearly asking for forgiveness. Jayce smiled, which caused her host to do the same. Gus stayed at the table until she absolutely had to leave for work, handing Princess over to Jayce.
"I think she likes you, pretty baby," Jayce whispered before placing a kiss to a chubby cheek. Princess let out a loud cheer.
"Okay, I'll see you two ladies later," Gus said, rushing back into the dining room now completely dressed for work. Putting down a card on the table, her eyes met curious onyx eyes. "This is for the lawyer. I was going to ask him to call you, but I wasn't sure if you'd be comfortable answering my phone. All you have to do is bring him up to speed. I promise you everything will be fine. This guy is hella good."
Jayce chuckled a bit. "Did you just hella?" she asked with an amused smile.
Gus dropped her head and palmed her face, an embarrassed flush staining her cheeks. "I say it sometimes."
"It's cute." And you're downright adorable right now! Jayce shook that away, knowing that now was not the time to even consider such a thing. She needed to worry about getting in touch with lawyer and keeping her niece.
Gus mumbled a goodbye and tried to get out of the house now that she had thoroughly embarrassed herself. Jayce halted her before she could escape, though. As soon as Gus turned around, she felt little arms go around her neck. A smile conquered her face and her insides went warm. She would not have been surprised if she turned into a puddle thanks to Princess' embrace.
"Thank you," Gus said to the baby.
"If you tilt your head, she'll also kiss your cheek," Jayce informed her hostess.
Gus could not resist and had to see for herself, tilting her cheek. Princess went in and planted a warm, wet kiss to Gus' cheek. A faint blush colored Gus' cheeks, getting a giggle from Jayce.
"You're very cute this morning," Jayce commented. A key difference between the sisters she now noticed was that Gus did cute things. Cute was not something she associated with Jannie. Jannie would also be offended if Jayce called her "cute." With Jannie, she knew she had to use words like "hot," "sexy," and "beautiful" or not compliment her looks at all.
Gus was not sure what to say to that, so bid her guests farewell again and left the house in even more of a rush now. Jayce chuckled a bit, thinking that staying with Gus might not be such a bad thing. The adorable factor alone was worth it so far. The help and support put it way over the top.
Jayce went to the living room now that her host was gone. Putting Princess down on the floor and turning the television on for the baby, Jayce turned her attention to contacting the attorney that Gus set her up with. When the conversation was done, she actually felt better, lighter, like the weight of the world was lifted off of her shoulders. The only person more reassuring than the attorney was Gus.
"Hey, pretty baby, I think that things are actually going to be okay," Jayce commented with a big smile, taking a seat down by the dancing child. "I think we should treat Gus to a big dinner because of all of the help she's given up and all of the kindness she's shown us. What do you think?"
"'Us!" Princess cheered, throwing her hands up and grinning at her aunt, showing off her four teeth.
"Yes, pretty baby, Gus," Jayce replied, tickling her niece a little. She definitely wanted to do something nice and special for Gus, not just that day, but everyday that she was there.
---------------
Gus was a little taken aback when she walked through her front door after work. Sounds of life greeted her and surprised her. But, the sounds wrapped themselves up inside of her and warmed every piece of her, comforting her while still surprising her. A smile tugged at her lips as she took in the noise as she tried to figure out where the sounds were coming from. A guess in mind, she slipped her shoes off and went to find out if she was right.
Hazel eyes glanced into the living room, just to make sure no one was in there. The television was off and the room was still, so she figured that it was empty. She continued on her path, coming to the arched doorway of the kitchen. The smile returned when she saw what was happening in her usually barren kitchen.
Jayce was moving around, holding Princess in one hand and trying to fix dinner with another. A soft hum from the unemployed accountant kept Princess settled while her aunt worked. Gus could not help staring, watching Jayce's movements as if mesmerized by the innocent motions. A happiness as well as a longing filled her and for a moment she felt both fathomless joy and infinitely sorrowful. Once she realized what she was doing, she shook off all of those emotions. She thought that it might be a good idea to make her presence known to avoid frightening Jayce.
"You didn't have to make dinner," Gus commented. At the sound of her voice, Jayce spun around as if she was doing a dance move.
A wide smile took over Jayce's face when she laid eyes on Gus. The businesswoman had to exhale as she took in that wonderfully light expression. Part of her immediately recognized that she would like to see those types of smiles more often, from Jayce, especially if they were directed at her. That definitely made coming home worth it.
"Oh, hey, Gus. I know I didn't have to, but I really wanted to. You helped me so much, especially with that lawyer. God, Mister Davis really made me feel like I've got this in the bag," Jayce stated, still smiling widely.
"That's Andrew for you. He's not blowing smoke up your ass either. He's never lost a case and I've seen him pull of miracles," Gus explained with a smile of her own. She could almost feel the elation radiating from her guest and she liked it. It felt wonderful to share in someone's joy for the first time in a very long time.
"He seemed really confident that I'd win this case, especially since I have witnesses that know I'm basically Princess' primary caregiver. He doesn't think my mother has much, even if she does have a bunch of connections."
Gus nodded. "That's good. It gives you one less thing to worry about."
"It does. Since I didn't have to worry about that, I worried about filling your kitchen and making dinner. I hope chicken cutlets is fine for you."
The businesswoman nodded enthusiastically. "Much better than the frozen pizza I planned to eat!" she proclaimed with a grin, even though it was clear that she seriously considered eating frozen pizza before she knew that she had a home cooked meal waiting.
Jayce chuckled a little. "Okay, well, go ahead and do what you do after work. I'll call you when dinner's done."
Gus did not argue, scurrying off to get out of her work clothes and totally unable to keep the smile off of her face. Jayce turned her attention back to her cooking-and entertaining Princess. When Gus returned, she found Jayce and Princess lounging on the couch, singing along with some song on television. The businesswoman eased down onto the sofa and as soon as she was seated, Princess turned to her. The baby reached out for Gus, laughing and grinning.
"Is it all right?" Gus asked, putting her hands out for the child. Princess jumped at her and she luckily caught the eager baby.
Jayce laughed. "I guess it is fine. As long as you don't mind."
"I honestly don't. Jayce, do you think I would have a company that makes children's education software if I didn't like children?" Gus inquired curiously.
"You make a point. I just don't want her to bother you," Jayce explained, a slightly sheepish expression coloring her cheeks. She could see that Gus really did not have a problem with the baby, but she just wanted to be sure. She figured that it was better to err on the side of caution with Gus, mostly because she was Jannie's sister. No telling when the other shoe might drop with her.
"I don't mind. She's a great kid. I would actually pay money to come home to that smiling face every day," Gus remarked, tapping Princess' chubby cheek.
Princess giggled again and then tried to tap on Gus' cheek in return. Gus laughed now and then pretended to bite Princess' hand. The child squealed, grinning widely, and she tried to escape by pulling her hand back. Gus pressed the child close, continuing to pretend biting her. Princess was nothing more than a lump of mad giggles after ten seconds.
Jayce smiled at the sight, not bothering to break things up. After a few minutes, she eased away to check on dinner. Making the plates, she called Gus to the table after she had everything set up. The taller woman trotted into the dining room, holding the baby close. Gus noted a bowl of mashed potatoes by her plate, which was loaded with steaming food, and she realized that Jayce was going to allow her to feed the baby. This brought a smile to the taller woman's face.
Gus almost whistled as she stared down at the meal prepared for her. There were juicy chicken cutlets with yellow rice and mixed vegetables. A baked potato was off to the side, dripping with butter. There were dinner rolls in a bowl on the table and even a salad.
"This looks great," Gus declared. "Should I leave you a tip at the end?"
"I tried, but the tip is very unnecessary. I wasn't too sure what you liked, so I went with a little bit of everything," the ebony-haired woman explained. She wished that she had known Gus' favorite foods because she would have made those as part of her thanks.
"I'm not picky at all. I like just about everything and I'm sure I'm going to love this," the taller woman proclaimed confidently as she dug in. Loud, pleased moans escaped her mouth before she even finished chewing. "It fantastic! You're a great cook!"
"Thanks. So, how was work?" Jayce asked curiously as she sat down to eat.
Gus blinked hard from shock and was speechless for a few seconds. Her silence earned her a strange look from her shorter guest. She cleared her throat and thought that it was best to explain why she was so quiet.
"Wow, I hadn't realized until you just said it that it's been a long time since I've heard that question, especially at home. Amanda probably stopped asking me that about a year into our relationship," the businesswoman answered.
"That's sad. Jannie used to ask me every night," Jayce replied. It was one of the nice things about Jannie. She seemed genuinely interested in how Jayce's day was, much like Jayce was with her. She supposed that she would miss that sort of underrated piece of affection.
A soft smile came to Gus' lips, even though some sadness came to her eyes. "Good to know she can be considerate."
"Jannie wasn't all bad, I promise you that. You did a good job with her. Yes, she hurt me recently, but before that I did enjoy being with her. She knows how to have a good time and everything. Most of the time, she made me feel cared about. Yes, we argued a lot and she could hold a grudge, but there was affection there. I wish that she got along with Princess. Princess really does adore her, but then again, Princess adores just about everybody," Jayce commented with a smile.
"She seems great. I don't know how Jannie couldn't fall for her charms. I mean, she's got me and I've only known her for a day. By the end of the week, I'll probably be wrapped around her little finger and I'm sure she'll know it. Jannie's probably known her for her whole life and didn't seem fazed by the fact that she kicked you two out. I just don't see how she couldn't fall for such a cutie, especially one with beautiful eyes like this, kinda like two black diamonds staring at you, and a smile that could melt an iceberg!" Gus declared with a proud grin.
"I bet you want kids," Jayce pointed out.
"Hell, yeah, I do! That's one of the reasons I'm happy I ended things with Amanda. I'm pissed it came down to what it did and it took me so long, but I am happy for the most part to not be with her anymore. Not only did she not want kids, but she would've been a horrible mother if we did have them. She was way too self-absorbed and can't be trusted to take care of anything. Hell, she killed all of our plants when I was off on a business conference once. I was only gone a week! I didn't even dare get a dog or something with her," Gus remarked, even though she was quite serious. She had been scared to get fish because she was certain that they would be dead if she had to go somewhere for a weekend.
"Sounds like you two wanted different things out of life, so I guess it was good that you broke up," the unemployed woman stated. Silently, she considered her words, thinking that they probably applied to her too. She and Jannie had to want different things in life if Jannie could not accept Princess. Considering that took away some of the sting that came with being thrown out of Jannie's life, not that there was that much sting. Jayce did not even focus on the small pain because she had so much other stuff to worry about.
Gus nodded. "I finally agree. At first, I was hurt. She said such hurtful things to me after I found out she was cheating and we broke up. For a while, I took those things to heart, thinking that they might be true since someone I loved said them to me. But, just holding Princess let's me know it was the right thing for us to split up, no matter how much it hurt at first. I do want kids and I wouldn't have been able to have that with Amanda. I want a stable, domestic life, which I know she wasn't interested in. She was the jet-set type. She always needed the latest fashions, to eat at the best restaurants, and go on month-long cruises and crap like that. I'm a little more low-key than that. I don't mind staying in every now and then or just going out to a movie. Hell, I don't even mind being at a restaurant where there are kids running around."
"So, it sounds like she did you a favor."
Another nod and the subject of Amanda was dropped. Gus was going to say something along the same lines for Jayce since it was clear that Jannie was not ready to take on any responsibility while Jayce seemed to be all for it, but she felt like Jayce was taking her breakup fairly well. She did not want to do anything that might make Jayce upset about the breakup. Besides, she had done enough melding when it came to Jayce and Jannie. She figured that it was best to stay out of it at this point.
They had a quiet dinner with Gus taking time out to feed Princess. She went so far as to share her dinner too, cutting the chicken up enough for Princess to have some. She discovered with a huge grin that Princess loved broccoli and tried to eat pieces in one bite.
"Does she like all vegetables this much or just broccoli?" Gus asked curiously.
"She's not very picky about food, people, or even TV shows. I often get the feeling that Princess is just happy to be alive," Jayce answered with a smile.
"Not a bad way to live life. I like this kid," Gus remarked, smiling in return. She hugged Princess a little, which prompted the child to hug her in return.
Jayce chuckled a bit and watched for a while as Gus fed Princess another stem of broccoli. After dinner, Gus volunteered for the dishes since Jayce had taken the time to make dinner. They had a mild argument over it because Jayce was going to do it and wanted to do it since Gus had opened her home up to her, but Gus would not allow it. She just would feel like a very poor hostess if she allowed Jayce to act like the maid.
Jayce went to bathe Princess while she had the time. Gus went to observe after she was finished with her chore. At first, she lingered in the doorway...until Princess noticed her anyway. A cheer came from the baby that surprised Jayce, causing her to get splashed and Gus had to laugh.
"Oh, you wouldn't think it was so funny if you were the one getting a shower before you planned on having one," Jayce snorted, speaking to Gus now that she knew the taller woman was there.
"Well, considering the fact that I already had one and I'm dressed for the night, I would mind as much as you, if not more," Gus replied, still chuckling.
The bath did not take much longer because Princess would not sit still after seeing Gus. Gus was not helping either, making silly faces at the child. Whenever Jayce turned around, Gus would go back to normal. Princess laughed at that change every time it happened and wiggled around more than before. Jayce cleaned her very quickly to avoid anymore splashing.
After the bath, the trio went back to the living room. Princess did not stay up too much longer after that. When Jayce noticed her charge was fading, she pulled out a small book and read a few pages to the child. Princess was out before the middle of the story.
"You two can take my bed again tonight," Gus said in a manner that made it clear it was final, but it was the gentle undertone to it that kept Jayce from arguing.
As both women drifted off to sleep that night, they thought that everything would work out fine. They were certain that not only could they live together, but that they could enjoy each other's company. That thought comforted both women.
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Next time: things get more domestic.