"The guys are gone so feel free to start talking," Journee says taking a seat on the other side of Mom.
"Good grief, I didn't even see or hear you come down," I say to Journee.
"You weren't supposed to," she replies sticking out her tongue at me.
"Okay, Nani out with it! How was your vacation," Mom says once more.
"Mom, it was wonderful really…well besides the fact that we ran into Jay on our first night there," I say to them.
"What," Mom and Journee respond at the same time.
"Yep, we decided to go to a club to celebrate our first night there and he found me as I was leaving the bathroom. The worst part is that I had a complete meltdown over a cocktail as Kai rubbed my back and listened to me crying over another man. I mean it was bad, he half carried me out of the club," I say looking at their shocked expressions.
"I'm sure he was pretty upset," Journee says.
"He was but he masked it well. He was so patient and much more kind than I would have been if the roles were reversed. I felt so terrible and I had a hangover to put the cherry on top of that train wreck of an evening," I say shaking my head at the memory.
"Poor Mekhi, having to deal with all of that. He's a special guy indeed. I'm sure you guys had a lot to talk about once you sobered up," Mom says.
"Not really, he just wanted to know if I was sure in making the choice of continuing my relationship with him instead of going back to Jay. I felt terrible making him feel that way but I believe that little meltdown has helped me to completely realize my feelings for Mekhi and be rid of whatever lingering ones I had for Jay. By lingering feelings, I mean hate. I no longer hate him, I hope he goes off to have a long and happy life that doesn't include me," I say.
"That's a good thing that came out of that whole ordeal," Mom says.
"Definitely," Journee says agreeing with her.
"The thing that's bothering me is that how did Jay know I was going to be at that specific beach? Was it just a coincidence because I didn't run into him anymore after that day," I question getting it out of my mind.
"That doesn't sound like a coincidence to me. Someone may have let it slip where you were headed for spring break and he followed you there. Him being at the same club as you guys may be a coincidence, but being at the same beach just doesn't seem right to me," Journee says analyzing the situation.
"She's right, either way you look at it, it does seem suspicious," Mom says agreeing.
"Oh well, I guess I'll never figure it out because at this point I don't want to know and it only fast tracked my plans of completely severing ties with him. I am in a much better space than I was before; now the only thing I'm worried about is dinner with Mekhi's parents tomorrow," I say rolling my eyes but seriously nervous.
"It'll be fine, they're people just like you and I. Whether they like you or not is their business and has nothing to do with you. There will be people in this world that just will not like you and that's okay because there are people you will meet or may have met already that you just don't like. What matters most is respect and the way people treat you and the way you treat other people. I've had clients whose significant others or partners that did not like me and tried to make my job harder than it is, but it did not stop me from showing them respect and professionalism. You can't make or demand someone to like you but you can demand the respect you deserve and if they still refuse then they aren't worth you being involved with them in the first place," Mom says with the wisdom that only someone with her age and experience can give.
"You are right, Mom. I will try my best to not let it affect my mood," I say nodding my head with confidence.
We spend the rest of our time having girl talk until the guys return with dinner. Dinner with my family is relaxing and filled laughter as well as highlights of our separate vacations. Even after our bellies have been filled we linger around the table, I suppose enjoying the company of one another since we've all spent a week a part. As time goes on, each of us slowly but surely make our way from the kitchen to our bedrooms with Mom being the first to leave and Dad being the last.