Not All Rich Men Are...(Completed)

Chapter 10

James

We walk into the dining room this morning to Charlie chattering about the party last night. Mom and Dad are looking at him indulgently inserting the right question at the right time. Tammy is eating quietly, ignoring everyone.

When we fill our plates and sit down, Mom directs Charlie, "Sweetie, why don't you go with Martha," who magically appears at his side, "and she'll help you with your bath and get you dressed and we'll go to the park, okay?"

Charlie nods agreeably, "Okay grandma. See you all in a little while." He waves and follows Martha out of the room.

As soon as he is out of earshot, she turns on Tammy, "What is your problem?"

Tammy doesn't say anything, just buries her head further in her plate. "I'll tell you what your problem is. You're trying to blame everyone else for problems that you caused yourself. You knew when you slept with Chad that he had a girlfriend that was parent approved. You can't even blame Chad, because he took what you offered. It's about time you grew up and took responsibility for your actions. You owe Kaira an apology."

Her head flies up out of her plate to glare at mom, "Why ever would I owe Kaira an apology? When she caught us, she called me a slut!"

"And you were. You slept with her boyfriend. In a locker room no less. Then you planned to get pregnant by him, so you could trap him? What makes you think that would work?" Mom berates her.

Tammy starts to open her mouth to speak when Dad says, "Your brother had to bail you out because your mom was sick and they wouldn't let us have your son. Your brother had to put up his trust fund as collateral so he could adopt him, since you were running around town drinking and acting like the brat that you became. You better get your shit together or you won't ever see your son again. Now apologize to Kaira."

She tries to argue, but he slams his fist on the table, jostling all of the dishes, "NOW! I'm not playing Tammy. I'm over this bitchy attitude that you are carrying around. Get your shit together."

Kaira

"I don't want an apology." I announce.

They all turn to me. "Why not?" Ingrid asks.

"Because she wouldn't mean it. Unless she can figure out what she did, it will be meaningless." I shrug. I feel James' hand rubbing my back.

They both study me for a minute and then nod. "You will be going to a therapist for your problems," Ingrid states and Charles Sr. nods in agreement.

Tammy hangs her head and looks relieved that she doesn't have to apologize to me. I just hope that she gets the help that she needs.

"Since Charlie's going to the park with mom and Martha, how about you and I take in a museum?" His hand is still rubbing my back. I nod and finish my food. We stand up and after saying goodbye to his mom, dad and Charlie, we leave.

While we are walking around the museum taking in the exhibits, James stops and turns to me, "I want to apologize to you for my part in Tammy's actions in high school."

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"When she came to me and told me that she was sleeping with Chad, I should have stopped her but I didn't. I didn't encourage her, but I didn't try to stop her. I think in my subconscious, I thought that if you two broke up, that I would have a chance with you. I didn't think about how it would affect you."

"Oh James, I doubt you could have stopped her even if you tried. Tammy was after him from the first time he and I went on a date and she's a year younger than us. I know for a fact that she wasn't the only girl that he was sleeping with. He took everything that was offered to him. He did not discriminate, which is why I'm glad that I never had sex with him." I tell him.

"You never slept with him?" he asks incredulously.

"Never. At first he told me it was because I was special, then I was glad after I caught him a few times."

James is quiet for a minute and then responds, "He told everyone at school after you left that you were still together and having a lot of sex. I should have known better. I knew that you weren't together, but I kind of assumed the sex part. To be honest I'm glad. Of course it doesn't change the way I feel about you, but for some reason it's a relief."

I smile, "Probably because the 'leftover' statement he made at that networking event kind of got under your skin."

He nods, "That's probably it." He takes my hand and we continue to look at the exhibits.

James

We leave the museum and decide to walk around the area. It's a real artsy area, with sculptures and paintings all around. There are also a few art galleries around that we can walk through.

We approach a jewelry store and I pull her inside. We look at the rings and a beautiful diamond catches her eye. It's a two-carat round diamond with smaller diamonds surrounding it. Under the diamond is a leaf design in a platinum setting. I can see the band that I would get to match it for our wedding.

When she tries on the ring, it fits perfectly and I decide to buy it on the spot.

"You don't need to buy this for me." She objects.

"But I do. We both love the ring and I need to put it on your finger. I already told you that I want to marry you. But right now, I need an answer from you. We don't have to get married right away. We can have a long engagement if you like, I just want to put a ring on your finger." I ramble on.

She stops me, "I love you and I want to marry you also. I'll wear your ring." She reaches up and gives me a kiss, doing a small hop when she lands back on her feet. "I'm getting married!" We finish the transaction and I put the ring on her finger sealing the deal. We both admire the ring and accept the congratulations of everyone in the store. I want to dance around a little bit, but restrain myself.

We spend the rest of the afternoon talking about wedding plans, looking through all of the galleries and shops in the area and eating lunch. When my mom calls me and tells me that she and Charlie are on their way back home, we leave to meet them.

Our announcement at dinner is met with ecstatic congratulations from both of our parents and Charlie, with Tammy being the only one who doesn't say anything. We don't let her rain on our parade. We call Kai's parents and let them know about the engagement and they are both very happy for us also.

Kai insists on taking me to her Monday night dinner so she could announce our engagement to her friends. They all congratulate her and there are hugs all around. Then they tell me every embarrassing story about her that they can remember while we eat dinner. Kai takes it like a champ, this must be a tradition for their group.

When we all get up to leave, she points at the two single ladies left in the group, "I got through mine, but yours are still coming up and I have written down every embarrassing story I could remember about you and other things that have happened as soon as it happened. You're next."

Everyone laughs as we walk out the door.