The weeks went by in a blur after that awful meeting with her now in-laws. They had insisted on a public wedding which was held on Valentine's Day. Gram hadn't had a chance to explain the situation to George or Tristan as her role of being the mayor's daughter-in-law kept her busier than she had expected to be. Marcus had kept her busy with interviews and publicity photos making it difficult to for her to even finish with her studies, let alone visit her family and friends.
Saint Patrick's Day marked a grand celebration being held at the mayor's home. Gram took the opportunity to invite the Gabbards so you could talk with George and love on little Missy. Once she and Johnny arrived at his parent's house, he leaned close to her ear and whispered. "I invited Hilda."
She looked at the smirk on his face with a slight smirk of her own. "That's okay. I invited George and Tristan. I'll be nice as long as you are." She watched his face darken which brought a smile to her face. "Deal?"
"Fine," he growled.
They entered the home with smiles on their faces to keep up with the expected appearances. Their smiles became genuine when their met the people they wanted to see most. Johnny excused himself to greet Hilda while Gram made her way to George and Tristan.
Missy ran up to Gram and through her arms up for a hug. "Mommy!!" she cried. She buried herself in Gram's arms. "I missed you, Mommy. Where have you been?"
"I'm sorry, Missy Ann. I've missed you too."
"Come on, Missy." Tristan interrupted. "Let's give her a minute with Uncle George."
"But I wanna stay with Mommy." She whined. "Don't we'll be back. Let's go get her some punch, okay?"
Missy put her hands on Gram's face. "Don't leave me, okay. Stay here."
"I promise," Gram smiled. "I'll wait right here for you." She set her down and watch her and her father walk towards the refreshments table. "I really miss her. All of you, actually." She spoke softly as George neared her. "Especially you, George. I miss having my friend right beside me."
He pulled her into a tight embrace and whispered, "I'm sorry," when he felt her tears on his shoulder. "I've been a bad friend by avoiding you." He pulled away to look her in the eye. "Truth is, I was angry. And hurt. I mean I didn't know you like him that much. You never said anything."
"I owe you an apology." She admitted as she wiped away her tears. "I have to tell you something, but not here. There's too many ears."
"Okay. Call me, I guess?"
"Take a walk with me?" She led him outside to the small courtyard for some privacy. Once she made sure they were alone and out of ear shot she relayed to him the set-up she had made with Johnny.
"What? Are you crazy?!" He whisper-screamed. "Why would you do that??"
"I agree. It's crazy, but it's was the right thing to do, George."
"No! It can't be. He's a jerk!"
"Again, I agree, but..."
"But nothing. If the only reason you did this was to save everyone's reputation and give your child a father, you could've married me."
"George, please." As much as she knew this would hurt their friendship, she couldn't keep the truth from him. "You are my best friend. I didn't want to ruin that relationship."
"Marrying me would ruin our friendship?! You really think so little of me?"
"Not at all. I think the world of you. It's just that I had..." She tried to tell him the reason was her dream, but he cut her off.
"What about Tristan? You could've married him then. Missy already calls you, Mommy. He would have been a good dad to your baby."
Gram sighed. George was being stubborn and not listening. "Yes, he will be a great dad, but George... It just has to be this way. Trust me."
He ran his fingers through his hair as if he were looking for words. His blue eyes were hazy with tears threatening to fall. It was clear he didn't understand. "I want to, Gram. I really do. But I don't get it. I don't see why you... I mean Johnny is just... I wish you would've come to me first is all."
"I'm sorry."
"What about Tristan?"
"What about him?"
"Well..." he scratched the back of his neck. "Missy misses you. You kind of twisted off without word once you got married. Tristan had been trying to explain things to her, but she doesn't understand why she can't see you anymore. It's made his life a little harder now. You're the second mom to abandon her."
Guilt washed over her expression. "I never meant to..." she whispered. "Excuse me." She took off towards the house in search of little Missy. She found the girl crying in her daddy's arms which broke her heart. Tristan saw her coming and turned Missy's face to see her. Instantly the girl's tears stopped, and her arms flung out to reach for her. Gram snatched up in her arms. "I'm sorry, baby girl."
"You leave me!" Missy cried.
"No. I was just outside talking to Uncle. I didn't leave. I promise."
"But you did leave me. I don't see you anymore."
"I know, baby. But you will see me again while Daddy is working. I just had to take care of a few things, but I'm all done now so I can spend my time with you again. Okay, baby?"
Missy put her hands on Gram's face and rested her forehead on hers. "You promise?"
"Yeah. I promise." Gram kissed Missy's cheek. "Come. There's someone I want you to meet." She took her over to where Johnny was talking to Hilda. She cleared her throat to gain his attention. "I need a minute of your time." She gave him a slight glare as a warning not to misbehave in front of the child. Hilda forced a smile and nodded to give her permission before turning away to meet other people. "This is Melissa Gabbard. I used to watch her before we got married. I just wanted to introduce her and tell you that I will be resuming taking care of her while her father works. During his overnight shifts I will either be at his house since that is where she has a bedroom. If you don't want her at our apartment for the dayshifts, let me know now so I can arrange to be at mom's house for those."
"Do whatever you want Gram. I'll be spending my nights at Hilda's anyway." He glanced at the child in Gram's arms than back to her before leaving with a smirk.
'Such an ass.' Gram thought before smiling at Missy. "See? All fixed. I will be with you again like before."
"Yay!" The girl beamed. "Can we go home now?"
"Let's get you back to your dad." Once she put Missy back in Tristan's arms she said, "I can watch her again. If you want, that is. I've cleared it with Johnny, already."
Tristan looked at her with a blank stare. "I don't know, Gram. I work nights a lot."
"I know. I told him. I would watch her at your house, so you won't have to worry."
"I'll think about it."
"Please, Daddy Pops?" Missy begged.
"I said, I will think about it." He stated firmly. "We gotta go for now, Gram. I'll be in touch."
"Okay, Tristan. Goodnight, Missy. Goodbye George." She watched the three of them leave with a heavy heart. Her choice to marry Johnny had caused a wider rift in her friendships with them than she had expected and that caused a great deal of pain within her heart. 'I trusted you, Lord. Now what?' she murmured to herself.
She looked for Johnny all over the house without finding him. Their car was still in the parking area so she thought he must still be around until she overheard some of the ladies gossiping about seeing him leave with Hilda in her car. 'Well, that's just great!' she thought. 'He's got the keys to our car. And our apartment!' She gave up after an hour and called her dad to pick her up. She would just stay with her parents until husband would come looking for her.
*
Graduation Day came for Johnny and George. It was no small miracle that either of them made to graduation without beating each other up. George hadn't let go of his anger towards Johnny for he did to Gram and Johnny hadn't released his jealousy of George's friendship with her. The icy glares they gave each other during the diploma awards didn't go unnoticed by anyone. Neither did the death glares that Hilda was throwing Gram.
The post-graduation mixer held at the school immediately following the ceremony. While Gram had to pose with Johnny for his family's pictures, she wished she could just go hang with George and Tristan's family. Not that her in-laws were unpleasant people, on the contrary, they were quite enjoyable and friendly, but she was just getting tired of pretending to be happy with their son. He'd been spending every night with Hilda since the St. Patrick's Day party which was fine with her as she was spending her time at Tristan's with Missy but his attitude towards her had become more and more volatile. He'd been picking fights and accusing her of cheating on him with both Tristan and George. She knew he wanted her to be the one to end the relationship so he wouldn't be the bad guy, but she held her ground by tolerating everything he was dishing out.
While Gram was busy taking photos with Johnny and his family, George was standing near the wall glaring daggers at Johnny. He clenched his teeth and his fists with every smile and flash of the camera. "Careful there, brother. You'll work yourself up into a migraine."
"I'm fine, Tristan." He growled. "That guy just gets on my nerves."
"Clearly." Tristan chuckled. "Tell me why George. Is it just because he married your best friend or is it because you are in love her?"
"Don't talk nonsense, Tristan. You're the one in love with her, not me."
"And Missy hates her guts." He quipped sarcastically. "C'mon George, admit it. It's eating you alive to see her with him."
"Of course, it does!" he snapped. "He doesn't deserve her. And she certainly deserves better than him."
"But there's nothing you can do about it."
George snorted. "You know he's cheating on her?"
"Yes, I know. So does she, so?"
"So? So? You don't care that she's being treated like that? Don't you want to just beat the life out of that jerk?!"
Tristan breathed in deep and let it out in a huff. "Of course, I do. But what good would that do? You think she would appreciate it?" He patted his brother on the back to calm him down. "Look, George. I know you are in love with her, and I won't deny that I am too, but neither of us are married to her and therefore we have no say in how she chooses to live her life. She's asked us both to trust her. If we love her at all, then we should do as she has asked and trust her. Things will work out they should."
"You sure have a lot of faith, brother."
"Yes, well... what can I say? I've been the recipient of her wisdom, so I've learned to trust her. Don't you remember what she said would happen with Honey?"
"Yeah," he grumbled.
"Well, was she right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, there you go. She said she did the right thing by marrying Johnny, so I believe her."
"I still don't like it. In fact, I hate it."
"Me too, but it's her call. Now straighten up and smile because she's headed this way." He plastered a smile on his face as he slapped his brother's back. "Hey Gram. You look beautiful, tonight."
Gram blushed at the compliment. "Thanks Tristan. You look nice tonight, too." She turned her attention to George smiling nervously. "Congratulations, George. I'm proud of you."
George gave her a complicated look. "Look Gram..." He started. "I-I... Um. Give us a minute, will ya, Tristan?" Once Tristan left them alone, he continued, "I need to say this before I lose my nerve." He took her by the arm and led her further away from the crowd. "I have tried really hard to trust you with this Johnny thing but I'm really struggling with it."
"George, it's..."
George put his fingers on her lips. "Let me finish." She nodded. "The truth is... I love you. I'm IN love with you and have been since kindergarten. And seeing you with that jerk and watching him stomp all over you just makes me want to..."
"George, please." She interrupted. "I know, okay? I know how you feel. I always have but..."
"But you don't feel the same." He sighed leaning his forehead on hers.
"It's not that. It's just that God has plans for the both of us that don't involve us being together like that."
"So, you're stuck with Johnny and I'm to be left alone?"
She took a deep breath and pulled away to hold his face. "No, you will find the wife He designed for you, and you will know the love you are professing to me today. She will be good to you and her and I will be good friends. Trust me."
"And you?"
"Don't worry about me. It won't be much longer before he and Hilda twist off and I know God has a good man in the works for me. It'll all work out." She embraced him and rubbed his back to relieve his stress. "I do love you, George. Always and forever."
"I'm leaving next week," He croaked through the lump in his throat.
She pulled away in shock. "For what?"
"I enlisted."
"In the Army?! Why?"
"You know why. Don't worry. I'll be back."
"You'd better be." She insisted.
"Can you promise me something?"
"Depends on the request."
"If the opportunity presents itself, marry my brother."
"Tristan?"
"What other brother do I have?" He smiled. "He loves you just as much as I do and he would treat you and your child well. Not to mention Missy already calls you Mommy."
"I can't promise that. God may have other plans for him and I."
He drew her back into an embrace. "It was worth a shot." He kissed her temple before retreating from the hug. "I will always love you, Gram. Always and forever. I'd better go now. I can't promise to maintain civility around your awful husband."
"Goodnight, my friend." She waved as he walked away.
She was walking back towards Johnny and his family when Hilda came to stand in front of her. "Hold up, cuz. I wanna say something." She glared daggers up at Gram. Being a full foot shorter made her crane her neck to look at her. "You think you've won by marrying him, but you haven't."
Gram stared back at her with contempt. "Trust me, he's no prize."
"You know he's sleeping with me. Why don't you just leave him?"
"You want him? Take him. I won't stop you."
"If you were smart, you would just divorce him." She growled.
Gram figured Johnny would send her to do his dirty work. She knew he didn't want to be the bad guy but rather the victim. Like the typical narcissist, he didn't want to look bad in his family's eyes. Regardless of the deal he made with her in the beginning, he still wanted her to be the one to end things so he could be free without any negative consequences. He could put the whole blame on her. She steeled her nerves and gritted her teeth as she growled, "If he wants out f this marriage, then he knows what to do." She took a few steps passed her then turned around at a thought. "Don't you have family in New York? Surely, they would help the two of you out if you were to decide to disappear, wouldn't they?" She watched the wheels start turning in Hilda's head as she turned on her heels to return to her in-laws with a knowing smirk of gratification on her face. She would free soon.