With Your Heart Wide Open

The Choice

"What do you mean by that?" Stephen yelled at her.

"I know it's hard for you to hear, but I think that you deserve to know," Esther replied calmly.

He sat next to Esther and turned her around to face her, "How could you choose him over me? He was going to get married to someone else. I know I made a mistake, but I want a second chance, Esther. You love me. I know you do,"

Esther shook her head, "I never loved you, Stephen. I loved the idea of you. You were an escape, a fantasy. To be honest, I felt hurt so hard that I had to convince myself that I loved you to cope. Also, you might have the best intentions, but I don't think you're ready to form a family yet. You've been trying to make up to me, but you haven't made any progress with Aaliyah. That's a deal-breaker for me,"

"I'm just a little nervous when it comes to Aaliyah. I am willing to become a good father. I love you, and I love her too,"

"Call it a gut feeling, Stephen, but I don't think you love any of us,"

"But, Esther..." he started to protest.

However, she was already at the door, "That's all I wanted to say. Goodbye, Stephen."

She left with mixed feelings. A small part of her felt sorry for Stephen, but she mostly felt giddy at the thought of seeing Jeremy again.

She was at his door in less than five minutes. He was in the backyard.

"Esther, what happened? Is everything okay?" He asked, concerned, not expecting to see her.

She felt like screaming that she wanted to be with him, but she refrained from doing so. She had another idea. What's the best occasion to get back at this prankster?

She lowered her eyes and said, "I'm sorry. I just came to say that I officially chose Stephen over you. I think that it would be better if we stop seeing each other. 

At first, Jeremy looked surprised and even a little hurt. But, after a moment, he narrowed his eyes at her and slightly grinned, "The last time you had this silly one-sided smirk was when you tried to make me believe that I failed my final exams,"

Esther groaned in frustration, "Man, I can never prank you!"

Jeremy looked at her, hopeful, "If that's a prank, does that mean..."

"Yes, loser. I want to spend the rest of my life with you,"

"You sure? Why me?"

"I never got the chance to explore the obvious feelings I had for you. I had to open my heart to do that,"

"Really?"

"Yes. You know me so well. You loved me with all my scars and my mood swings. I know I can count on you and joke with you. You were the safest place I knew when everything was confusing and dark. Jeremy, you are my home,"

She looked at him then exclaimed, "Are you crying, J-man?"

"Nope. It's my allergies. I'm allergic to cheesy situations," he said as he stepped forward to hold her tighter than he ever did.

Shortly after, he released her, "By the way, I think you should keep your own last name,"

"Why? You're a feminist now?"

"I just realized that if you did, you would be 'Esther Foster'"

                                                                                ...
"Mommy, Daddy is on T.V.," Aaliyah said a few days after Esther had made her choice.

"Wait, what?" Esther asked as she sat on the couch next to her daughter.

Indeed, Stephen's picture was on T.V.

"Turn the volume up," Esther ordered.

She almost regretted saying that.

According to the reporter, Stephen was arrested for a charge of molesting young girls from church. His mentorship program to assist youth was just a cover-up.

He would seduce the teenage girls and coaxed them to keep their relationship a secret.

He was always careful and used protection. Still, he managed to get a fifteen-year-old girl pregnant. Her name was Ruthie. Her mom was dead, and her dad was in a rehab program. She lived with an aunt who worked too much to pay attention to her and had the brilliant idea to enroll her in the mentorship program.

Vulnerable and insecure, young Ruthie was easy prey to Stephen.

When she got pregnant, she couldn't tell her aunt. She only confided in Sister Rosemary. Needless to say that the whole town knew in one day. Someone contacted the authorities, and Stephen was arrested after an investigation.

Esther stood baffled. Aaliyah turned around, "Mommy, is Daddy a criminal?"

Esther painfully nodded.

She did make the right choice, after all.