‘So is this your official bachelor’s eve?’ Jackson asks Jameson, having settled into his place at the table. They are all gathered, the brothers, fathers and their stepfather, for dinner in London where they arrived two days ago for the wedding. His youngest brother seems a lot more relaxed. Whatever time he spent in London with Sawyer was good for him.
‘I guess it is, considering the proximity to the wedding.’ Jameson agrees.
‘And what a motley crew you’ve assembled.’ Hugo teases, ‘all our fathers and stepfather-’
‘And don’t forget your mother.’ Summer walks into the private dining room of the restaurant where the dinner is taking place.
As one, all the men rise upon her entrance.
‘Mum! I didn’t think you’d make it.’
‘I wouldn’t miss it for the world.’ Summer says giving Stelios a kiss before settling into her seat beside Jameson, two down from her current husband.
The men take their seats after her.
Hudson looks around the table and bursts out laughing. ‘Isn’t it obvious.’
‘My youngest son is getting married, I have and always will be there for him as I have always been there for all my children. So no, it’s not awkward to be with my husband and my baby fathers.’
‘This is also his official Bach eve.’ Jacob declares.
‘Are you taking him to a strip club afterwards?’ Summer asks.
The dinner service commences with the head waiter leading the ceremony.
‘Nah, I don’t want that.’ Jameson says. ‘I did it for Brandy, and it was not all it was cracked up to be.’
At the mention of Brandy, his late fiancée, there is an audible but quiet gasp around the table.
‘I’m okay guys. I am, I really am.’ Jameson assures his family.
‘Good God! Can I just raise a glass to Sawyer.’ Hudson raises his champagne glass in toast to the absent bride to be.
‘Here, here.’ Stelios says as glasses go up around the table.
James Sinclair, Jameson’s father, pulls his son in close and gives him a kiss on the head, he’d waited and prayed a long time for him to come out from beneath he dark cloud Brandy’s death saw him dive under. He has a close relationship with his son, and a good friendship with Summer, is ever present for him and by extension, his brothers, forever grateful to them for being such good siblings to his boy.
‘I’m proud of you son.’ Summer reaches for her son affectionately.
‘Thanks mom. Thanks dad.’
‘She’s good for you.’ Stelios says, other men would feel out of place in this setting, but the boys and Summer have made him a part of their lives, insistently so, and he does not take his position for granted.
‘She is.’ Jameson agrees. Good for him no matter how temporary this is.
Summer knows what her son is thinking but life and love have a way of entangling each other so that they work out in the end. He is trying hard not to give into the emotions she can so clearly see, for fear it may be a betrayal to Brandy, well that was the reason, and then this mad idea of theirs that has constrained their union, but she knows how life works, and love bulldozes its way into that. She should know because she was once where Jameson is with Stelios and it was her sons that helped her get to a place where she was able to fully and openly admit her feelings for him.
…
‘A ha!’
‘What time do you call this young lady?!’
The brothers were at their mother’s 5th avenue apartment. They showed up for their scheduled breakfast date with her but when they arrived, no one but the staff was there. According to the family secretary, she had not been home in two days.
‘What the hell are you doing here?’
‘We came for breakfast only to be told you haven’t been here in two days!’ Jameson looks his mother over, hand on hip.
‘Is that a hickey mom!?’
‘Ew.’
Summer rolled her eyes. ‘Shut up.’
She climbed up the steps two at a time, in a hurry to get away from their looks of disbelief and mock horror. Behind closed doors, Summer looked at herself in the mirror, yup that was a hickey. She was going to kill Stelios. She stopped, giggled to herself, giggled, like a five-year-old and then proceeded to have an indulgent bath before retuning back downstairs to join her sons for the breakfast they had pencilled in, according to her diary.
Cook and the staff laid the dining table and the sideboard with all their favourite foods, mimosas, champagne, tea and coffee.
‘Ow.’ Hugo holds the back of his head which Jacob tapped viciously. ‘What was that for?’
‘Not saying grace, you idiot.’ Jameson said before reaching for his mother’s hand, so Hudson can say the prayer.
‘Dear Lord, whatever it is Mom is up to, I hope he makes her happy. Also thank you for this food. Amen.’
‘Amen.’
Summer shakes her head with silent laughter as food is passed around the table.
‘So, are we going to draw this out of you or…’ Jameson starts.
‘There is nothing to draw out. I’m seeing Stelios and I spent the night with him.’
‘Two nights.’
‘Atoosa should never have told you any of that.’
‘We bribed her.’ Jacob said, ‘and you know she can never say not to us.’
‘So it’s serious between you two?’ Hugo asked.
They’d never seen their mother like this, out of sorts like a schoolgirl with a crush, sneaking out and coming back days later, blissful and happy. Not with any of their fathers, or the men she dated in between, had she been this way. She and Stelios have been hot for a minute, so it looks promising.
‘Serious enough for him to ask me to marry him.’
‘Woah!’ there was a clang around the table as cutleries hit plates and all eyes on mama.
‘He proposed?’ Jackson asked just to be sure they understood her right.
‘He did.’
‘And?’ Hugo implored.
‘And nothing.’ Summer answered.
‘You don’t want to marry him?’ Jameson asked cautiously.
‘That’s the thing, I do.’ Summer said with a reminiscent smile. This time Stelios stayed longer in New York, to be with her, he was going to live here for six months then go back to Greece for six months where she’d visit. Stelios was willing to give her the space and time she needed, but she no longer wanted space and or time, she wanted to be with him. Things at work were really starting to stink and truth be told, the longer she stayed, the worse her friendship with Damien will be, he is one of her best friends but his wife, Vanessa, is not too happy about their friendship and who can blame her. She and Damien were once upon a time a thing for about 45 seconds before they called it quits and returned to being friends. It was one of those blips on the brain, but Vanessa had it set in her head that Summer has designs on Damien and she couldn’t be farther from the truth. It was time for her to make decisions for her peace of mind and that would also save a friendship in the long run.
‘Did you give him an answer?’ Jackson noticed her third left finger was sans engagement ring.
Summer reached into her pocket and placed the little red cartier box on the table.
‘Mom.’ Hudson reached for his mother’s hand, ‘do you love him?’
‘I do. Very much so.’
‘But what?’ Jacob asked.
‘There’s no but. Not this time. I’m in love with him. I want to spend the rest of my life with him.’
‘And that scares you?’ Jamson asked.
‘Like hell. What if I’m-’
‘No.’ Jackson stops his mother’s line of attack on herself.
‘Don’t say it mum. You are good enough. Plenty good and he knows it too.’
‘It would mean moving to Greece.’
‘There are planes that also fly there.’
‘I mean he has practically moved here to be with me and everything so it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference.’
‘You’d quit GRACE?’ Hugo gave verbiage to her other worry.
‘I think it’s time. Thirty years and besides things with Vanessa have not much improved. Sloane will be the one to steer the ship and she’d be wonderful at it. She’ll need your support.’ Summer motions to Jacob.
‘She’ll have it. Always.’
‘Well, I guess you have your answer then.’ Jameson said.
Summer laughs a little, ‘I guess I do. How do you guys feel about it?’
‘We love Stelios.’ Jacobs answered the question.
‘We’ve seen the way he treats you and how his children treat you. We see the way he dotes on you, loves you would move heaven and earth for you.’ Jacob says.
‘He’s a good guy mom, a really good man.’
‘He really is.’
‘So put that ring on and let’s talk wedding plans.’ Hudson raised a glass of champagne in toast to their magnificent mother, the best woman in the world in his very biased opinion.
Looking at her youngest son now, Summer sees the hallmarks of all those feelings all over him, all over his union no matter how temporary they both think this is. She says a silent prayer for the long haul.
…
‘Are you all set?’ Shaz asks her friend, tonight they are at Sawyer’s for dinner, but the girls stepped it up by making it her bachelorette dinner as well, just the five of them together in her home. It is one of the ways they have taken to doing anything about the wedding without the people who do not need to know, finding out, like Marcel who is still in the dark though he thinks he has her over a barrel.
‘I am.’ Sawyer answers, ‘all set and ready as I’ll ever be.’
‘How was lunch with his mother?’
‘It was good, she is such a good mother. Jameson told her about the arrangement, and she wanted to make sure I was okay with it because I think she suspects that you know… when this ends-’
‘She suspects you’re in love with him?’ Drea in for the win and the pressure in the room drop significantly.
‘Sawyer, it’s just us. Your girls. We have been your girls from the minute we met in Kindergarten. We know. We see it and we feel it.’
‘Of course I’m in love with him which is madness in itself considering we don’t know each other that well except of course I know he’s great in bed and I’m no slouch either. He’s thoughtful, he’s kind, but I also know there is something he’s holding back and yes, I have shown him all my cards, he knows the deal with Marcel, but I don’t know how much I should expect from him since this is temporary. Love or not.’
‘You do know the feeling is mutual right?’ Alana says, tucking her foot beneath her in a child’s pose whilst eating her food from the takeout box, ‘and yes everything you said, but we’ve seen the way he looks at you and how he talks about you when you’re not there and- ’
‘You talked to him?’ Sawyer surveys her friends who look as guilty as sin.
‘Of course we did.’ Baxter answers her question, ‘why wouldn’t we? It’s what we do.’
‘What did he say?’
‘He’s into you.’
The four friends turned up at Jameson apartment in New York, unannounced, but he was not entirely surprised to see them there.
‘Good morning, please come in.’
The four guilty friends file in, giggling like naughty schoolgirls. If Sawyer ever finds out about this, she may kill them.
‘Would you like some breakfast? Brunch?’ Jameson was the total charmer.
‘We would like some Breakfast thank you. Brunch is weird.’ Shaz says and Alana rolls her eyes.
‘Focus ladies we are here for Sawyer.’
All four women turn to look at Jameson, standing there in his Levi’s jeans and white tee-shirt, tall, rich brown skin, amber eyes, close fade, dreamy persona… he was the perfect beau for their friend and they can see how women would throw themselves at him because he really is quite dashing.
‘’Is there some place we can talk?’ Drea asked.
‘Sure let’s go to my study. Breakfast should hopefully be done by the time we are done.’ Jameson leads them to his study on the mezzanine floor of his home, overlooking the back garden. He knew what the friends were here for, and he couldn’t respect them more for it, it would be a poor showing on them if they didn’t do this. So he will indulge them for as much as they want to be indulged.
‘Let’s talk.’
‘You have picture of her!’ Shaz held the Tiffany silver framed picture of a sleeping Sawyer which was on his desk. ‘You took a picture of her?’
‘Yes I did. I happen to love that picture.’ Jameson admits. He has another picture of her on his mantle; the first time he laid eyes on her at the Moulin Rouge. The picture sits alongside others from his childhood and of his family. There used to be one of Brandy, but he put it away recently.
‘And her? Do you happen to love her too?’ Baxter asked.
‘You do know that-’
‘Yes, we know about the arrangement, she’s our girl, so we know everything. But you have a picture of her and we are here to make sure that you do not break-’
‘Fucking hell Drea!’
‘Shit! Ignore the last part.’ Drea scrambles to undo her faux pas.
‘No can do. You can’t take that back.’ Jameson said, glad for the slip.
‘I never said anything. You did not hear anything!’ Drea stomps her feet.
Alana rolls her eyes, ‘poor little lamb she never could keep a secret to save her life. Now that the cat’s out of the bag we want to know what your angle is when this is all over.’
‘You better not hurt her.’ Baxter ever so protective, ‘in addition to being one of my best friends, she’s also my sister-in-law.’
‘What if she hurts me? Anybody stop to consider that?’
‘He had a point.’ Shaz said contemplatively, ‘but why aren’t your people stomping for you?’
‘Because only my family knows, my closest friends will find out a day before.’
‘Wow. Talk about a secret.’ Drea said, ‘so what’s the plan Jameson Summers, now that you are hopelessly in love with our bestie?’
Ain’t that the billion-dollar question.