One Year

I remember when I first moved to Tulsa. I needed a job, so I stopped at the DX while I was out one day. There I stood talking with Soda about a potential job when two girls walked up, and one of those girls was Angelica Winston.
I was never one to fall hard, but there was something about Jelly that captivated me. I barely knew her, but she was all I thought about. I remember the first time we ever touched. It was when we first met, I introduced myself, took her hand, and kissed the top of it.
We became official after that party I had at my house, and ever since then I've been the happiest man on earth.
Friday, I was at the DX in the middle of fixing a car when my phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey babe, I have some fantastic new to tell you.." Jelly said.
"Whats up?" I asked curious.
"Well... i'm just going to get to the point... I'm not pregnant." Jelly's words rang in my ear.
"Oh thank god!" I said bashing my forehead into the side of the car.
"What did your dad say?" I asked.
"Umm, well I didn't exactly tell him...." she answered.
"That was probably wise." I sighed.
A heavy relief lifted off my chest. I was ready to put that behind us so we could just focus on Sunday night.

Sunday was our one year anniversary. I've known for a while what I wanted to do on this day, but I didn't know exactly how, so with a little advice from a few various gang members, this is what I came up with:

I didn't see Jelly that morning. For the first night in.... forever, we each slept in our own beds. I had told Jels the night before what time to be ready. Though I couldn't wait to see her, I wished I had more time to get things ready myself. I woke up, showered, ate breakfast, then made some phone calls to confirm everything for tonight. If Kit went through with what I had asked of her, Jelly should have woken up to an envelope. Inside was a note and a $200 Visa card to spend on getting ready for tonight. I had even bought a new suit myself for the occasion. I picked up the suit from the dry cleaners, and made a few other stops before heading back home.
When it was time to pick Jelly up, I grabbed a small box off my dresser along with a single red rose.
Jelly emerged from the apartment front door as gorgeous as ever.
"I see my money was well spent." I said smiling.
"Kit helped....a little." she replied.
I heard a "Your welcome!" come from inside the apartment.
"Happy Anniversary." I handed her the rose.
"Ya know Dim, I've always wondered what's up with you and these single red roses....umm, babe? Do you know this is fake?" She wore a confused look on her face.
"Well I always told myself I'd only give a girl a single rose if I really loved her, that in a way I wanted it to represent that. But you see, the problem is roses eventually die, and that didn't fit well with my theory, so I figure as long as you have one that's always bloomed, it works." I explained.
"You mean you've given me a single red rose for ever anniversary to lead up to this?" She asked.
I nodded.
"I love you!" She smiled.
"I love you too, but we better get going, or our ride might leave us." I pointed over to the horse drawn carriage sitting in the parking lot.
"Oh my god... did I mention I love you?" Jelly said.
I laughed and helped her in the carriage.

We pulled up the the downtown music hall. We entered into a dark hallway,
"Dimitri what are we doing?" Jelly asked.
"You'll see." A smile playing on my lips.
We got a little further down the hall when we heard music playing and someone singing.
"Wait a minute, I know that voice....... NO WAY!" Jelly's pace picked up as we entered the empty music theater to see Duran Duran on stage playing.
Jelly's face was consumed like a little fan girl, I almost had to carry her to the dinner table set up in the middle of the theater.
"I'll be right back." I said setting my napkin on my finished dinner plate.
A few minutes later the band stopped playing while I entered on stage with my guitar in hand. I began playing softly as the band kicked in behind me. I began to sing with John Taylor backing me up. Jelly's cheeks turned red while I sang our song "Can't Take My Eyes off of You".
Jelly walked up to the front by the middle of the song, and when it was over I hopped off the stage and entwined her fingers in mine,
"Jels, I was never one to believe in love at first sight, but since the moment you first stepped into my life, you became my life, my everything revolves around you. I used to think about where I would be in ten years, who I'd be with, never did I think that I could meet a woman as unbelievable as you. I fall harder for you with each passing day, and it didn't take long for me to realize that I want you to be mine in every way possible."
I Reached into my jacket pocket as I keeled down on one knee,
"I love you, and I can't survive life without you... Angelica Marie Winston, will you do me the undeserving honor of marrying me?" I opened the box revealing a ring.
She started laughing through her tears, then nodded and whispered, "Yes...of course."
I expected her to say yes, but that didn't take away from the moment she actually did. I place the ring on her finger and kissed her.

A New Idea

Yesterday I accomplished a task I have been dreading since I moved here, I cleaned out the attic. I figured most of the stuff was useless since I never unpacked it, but I didn't want to throw anything important away, so I sorted through the boxes one by one. After a few hours of sifting through junk and dust, I finally came down to the last box, which I expected nothing more from.
The first thing I pulled out was a framed certificate, It was my college diploma. I went to a two year community college back in California. Yeah I could have afforded a fancy University, but I didn't want to spend all that money and time on something I wasn't sure to pursue. I got a two-year degree in business,basically I just went because my mother and grandmother wanted me to.
I tossed the frame into the trash pile and rummaged through the rest of the box. Everything else was junk, except for the last thing I pulled out.
I forgot I had these.
They were old family recipes that had been passed down through generations. I found them and brought them with me to Tulsa. I remember Grans making these recipes when I was little, and how damn good they tasted. I glanced over at my diploma sitting on top of the trash pile, then back a the recipes.
Could I really do it? Would people actually pay to eat this stuff?
I thought back to a day when I was a little kid. Grans was baby sitting while mom was at work. It was around lunch time and I wanted to play restaurant with Grans. I took her order and made my little kid version of steak and potatoes and served it to her...
"You know Dimmy, I think you could own your own restaurant someday..." Grans's voice replayed in my head.

My own restaurant....
I decided to give her a call, and the moment I got the words out of my mouth she was yelling all kinds of positive things into the phone, she even said she'd help pay for it.
I hung up and realized what I just did, I thought about it some more.
Nobody would come, this is stupid I can't own a restaurant, I'm a pretty decent cook but hell I ain't no Bobby Souffle.
I decided to put it to the test. That night I had Jelly, TwoBit, and Kitty over for dinner. I cooked up a few of the recipes and had them try them. Their expectations were above and beyond what I expected.
"Dim...this is like...an orgasm in my mouth." Kit commented.
"What can I say? I tend to have that affect on women." I smiled.
Kit threw a butter knife at me, but I dodged it.

Later that night, after Kitty and TwoBit left, Jelly was sitting on the couch playing on my laptop while I was cleaning up dinner.
"Hey Jels?" I called from the kitchen.
"Sup?"
"I wanted to talk to you about something." I walked up behind the couch.
Jelly leaned her head back and looked up at me, "Is this more baby stuff?" She asked with a 'I really don't want to' kinda face.
"No no." I told her what I found when cleaning out the attic.
"I was thinking..of maybe... opening up a restaurant..." I said slowly, afraid she'd think it was a stupid idea.
She sat up and turned her whole body around, "Really?" She asked.
"Yeah. I mean if it's a success it'll bring in a lot of money, and I was hoping I'd have a bigger income before, ya know, getting married or anything. Do you think people would pay to eat it?"
"Dimitri, I'd pay twenty bucks a plate to eat that shit." She spat out the words.
I laughed. "So you think I should do it?"
"Hell yeah." she said.
"Alright then, I'll start looking at places tomorrow." I smiled and kissed her.

"Cap'n Jack....the rum is gone."

I couldn't believe what I had just heard, the news caught me by surprise. When he walked around that corner at the airport, reality finally stepped in. Watch out Tulsa, Skank-Flank has come to town (aka Chase's Dad).
Being the one with the alcoholic drunk father who pops in and out every few years just to point out how much of a man I'm not, and to raid the local bars for good booze and easy women, really the only man role model in my life was Jack Morgan. Chase's parents took me in like their own son. His mom would always feed me when my mother forgot and Jack would always cheer me up after I was given undeserved abuse from my mom. I'd have to say I much rather call Jack and Katherine mom and dad then my own parents. They weren't perfect either, but then again there is no rule book for parenting, but when a little bruised up and hungry boy appeared in their doorstep late at night, they always made sure he was well and fed.

The first thing we did after getting them back to the house, was plan a party. Mrs. Morgan was always a cocktail kind of woman. She liked things classy and clean cut, but Jack...oh he was a different story entirely, the man could down six bottles of whiskey and still be conscious enough to hit on the most attractive woman in the room. Cap'n Jack was what he liked to call himself, combining Captain Morgan and the personality of Jack Sparrow, I'd have to say the name fits him pretty damn well.
The party kicked off as soon as the gang made it over. The music was loud and Skank-Flank hit in every girl in the gang, even Jelly, but when that happened I made sure Cap'n Jack here knew that Jel's would be one thing I wasn't going to let him play around with. That sort of went to pot when I got wasted and was too busy giving Kit lap dances to pay attention.

Before we even had a chance to get over the hangover, Jack had another party in play for the following night, but no one complained, greasers love a good free time.
It was halfway through the second party, and Jack wasn't half as drunk as the was five minutes into the first party. He just sort of swayed by for a while.
I felt a tug on my sleeve and turned around to see good 'ole Skank-Flank holding up my guitar. I took it from him, wondering what the hell I just got myself into.
Jack doesn't leave his guitar anywhere, so of course he had it with him. We shut off the music and hooked up the amps as the room went dark. Now Jack likes to make an entrance, he has to be the life of the party and make it known. He hooked up a fog machine upstairs near the rail that overlooks the living room. What the hell? The man even brought a spotlight. There he stood at the top of the stairs emerging from the fog wearing only his underwear and a cowboy hat. I stood in the dark on the solid wood coffee table dressed identically and strumming notes on my guitar while Jack sang the familiar tune. It started out slow then kicked up big as he slid down the bannister.
Immediately after our "big" number, I downed as many drinks as possible before I drowned myself from the inside out. Apparently Jelly had way too much alcohol herself, because I found out the next day from very close sources that we had apparently got it on in front of everyone on the coffee table. Knowing that Jelly nor I would every consciously expose ourselves in such a way in public, I simply blamed Cap'n Jack and his need to party, also now having the knowledge I didn't have two weeks ago, I wonder why was Jelly even drinking in the first place?

Luckily the next morning I woke up in the right bed with the right woman. Can't really say the same for Skank-Flank, but that's another story.

I'll Be There For You..

Saturday was our eleven month anniversary. Eleven months... that's almost a year! Last month our monthiversary sort of fell in with Jelly's birthday and this month it sort of fell in with mine, so I didn't want to do a lot, I decided we would just sit at home all day in our pj's and chill... order food, watch movies, play games...that sort of thing. Then Kitty and Jels wanted to make me a cake, so while they attempted to bake, I sat on the couch and prayed they wouldn't catch anything on fire.
That night I laid in bed as my mind drifted off. I recalled our oh so funny April fools day. The hilarious pranks, and the not so hilarious ones. I had just walked out of the shower that night wearing a towel when Kit came up to me and kneed me in the crotch. I bent over in pain,
"What the fuck Kit?"I yelled.
Kit bent over to be eye level with me.
"I told you.... I'd kill you." She said all too seriously.
I had no idea what she was talking about, and after a while it escaped my mind entirely.

I had yesterday off from work, and so I decided to clean the apartment. Jelly and Kit left early for something, and TwoBit was God knows where, so I awoke to an empty house. I started in the kitchen and moved my way into the back rooms scrubbing, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, etc.
Lastly I did the bathrooms. I started with the hall bathroom, then Kit's, and then Jel's. While in the process of sweeping I accidentally knocked over the trash can. I put it aside while I grabbed the bag, it's contents spilling on the floor. I picked up the pieces and replaced them in the bag. When I grabbed the last wad of paper, something dropped out of it. I grabbed the broken plastic and glanced at it carefully. Turning it in my fingers, I almost immediately knew what it was. I scrambled through the trash bag and found the other half. I placed the pieces together and read the clearly exposed pink words "POSITIVE". It had to be Jelly's... it was in HER trash can. I suddenly found it hard to breathe as memories came flashing back to me... April fools, Jelly joking that she was pregnant, Kit kneeing me in the groin.... it all fit perfectly.
I sat amongst the spilled trash on the bathroom floor with my head nearly between my knees. My fingers pulled tightly at my hair. I looked up at the test again when I heard the front door open. I didn't move, but it didn't take long for someone to find me.
How long had she known about this? Why didn't she tell me? What would James think?
Jelly leaned against the doorway.
"I though you were on the pill?" I questioned.
"It was messing me up so I had to stop for a while." Her voice almost a whisper.
"When did you know Jels?" My voice soft.
It took her a minute to answer. "That morning....on April fools..." Her breath grew heavy.
"Are you 100% sure?" I asked.
"Those tests are the ones they use at the hospital. They were just sitting out and I took a few last time I was there with my dad.... just to use for pranks and stuff...I didn't think..." her voice trailed off.
"Does your dad know?" My head ended up between my knees again.
"No. Just Kitty." Jelly answered.
There was another moment of silence, this one longer than the last.
"I'm sorry Dimitri...I should have told you. You shouldn't have had to find out this way..." She said.
I tossed the test back in the trash sack and left it on the floor. I walked up to Jelly, placing my hand on the door frame above her head. I watched a tear roll down her cheek.
"Jels.." I whispered. "You should have told me..."
She looked at the floor, "I know.." she sobbed.
I gently wiped the tear from under her eye then placed my finger under her chin, forcing her eyes to meet mine.
I kept my voice soft, "You know I love you, and you know that you can tell me anything, anytime." I said meaning every word so intently, "I'm right here Jels, and I'm not going anywhere..."
More tears flowed down her cheeks, "....I know." She said.
I pulled her to my chest and held her.
I thought I was smarter than this. I always told myself I'd wait till I was married to have a family. To be ready for it when the time came...
A million thoughts clouded my head.
Kitty's going to kill me... James is going to kill me...Dallas is going to kill me... might as well put my own damn picture on the WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE sign -.-
...but if it had to be with anyone, I wouldn't want it to be anyone else...

I cleared my head, took a deep breath and pulled away.
I cupped Jelly's face in my hands, "I love you." I said looking her in the eye as deep as I possibly could. I gently kissed her then headed off to bed so I could fall asleep before my thoughts invaded again.