It had been a year since Jayde and Rafael got divorced. He had cheated on her and that was the straw that broke the camels back. She had been deeply in love and her heart had broken into a million pieces. She didn't understand what happened and a part of her wanted to ask him: why? In the back of her mind, she blamed herself.
Now she and Rafael were at a restaurant talking about everything. He had been surprised that she had reached out to her but he agreed to meet her. "Jayde, I know I broke your heart and I will never forgive myself for doing that. You have every reason to hate me".
She sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I loved you so much. I didn't know that anything was wrong. I just want to know why?"
He sighed and thought. "There isn't a real good reason. Rita and I were drinking in my office and she kissed me. I knew it was wrong and I should have pushed her away, but I didn't. I was selfish. I wasn't thinking of you or the kids. You did nothing wrong". He wiped her tears. "I will always love you and I understand why you filed for divorce. You deserve someone better than me".
"Rafi, I love you and I will always love you. We had six years together and two kids. I never want to forget anything. You're always going to be in my life and I don't want us to be angry anymore. I want to go back to how we were when we were friends, when we would run into each other and actually have a conversation. I hate when we don't talk to each other in the squad room".
He nodded. "That's what I want, too. I want us to be friends again, if you'll let me. I miss our bickering and when we could talk about broadway or what's going on with our lives".
She nodded and smiled a little. She wiped her tears away again. "Ok".
Hey, I read about your divorce. I know things didn't work out for us. I just wanted to tell you that I will always care about you. If it's too soon, I understand. I just had to get this out. I'm sorry for breaking up with you and everything that happened. I wish everyday I could take it back. I didn't know what I had until you walked away. I love you and I always will. I hope you will read this and call me. – Anthony
Anthony, I got your message. I didn't know how to reply when I first read it. I miss you and I realized that after you texted me. I would like to try again. I didn't understand why we broke up but I realized that it doesn't matter anymore. I only have one condition: I don't want to introduce you to my kids yet because I don't want to confuse them. – Jayde
I totally understand. I'm happy that you decided to give me another chance. I hope to hear from you soon. – Anthony
Jayde shut off her phone and looked at her kids. They were playing peacefully and Lucia was babbling to herself. She walked over to her mommy and tried to climb on the couch. Jayde saw her and picked her up and set on the couch next to her. "Mama!" She tried to stand up but she fell down on her bottom. Jayde set her down on the floor so she wouldn't hurt herself then she got down on the floor. "Mommy", Kiera showed her what she was playing with.
After putting the kids to bed, she texted Anthony about meeting up. She knew Rafael had the kids every weekend so they planned on meeting up after she dropped them off. They met up at a coffee shop. Once he saw her, he went over and gave her a hug. "How you doing?"
"I'm doing ok. How about you?"
He shrugged. "I'm doing better now that you're here". She laughed. "How about the kids? How old are they now?"
"Oh, good lord. Steven is 6, Kiera is 4, RJ is 3 and Lucia is a year".
He laughed. "Wow. You've got your hands full! And you're working?"
"Yeah. 9-5 Monday thru Friday but I always leave my phone on for the kids I work with. An emergency could happen anytime. One time I had to leave because one of my kids was in labor".
"How old was she?"
"She was, 12. The baby was breech and they wanted to do a c-section but she was scared. I talked to her and she delivered a healthy baby girl".
His jaw dropped. "I can't even imagine being that age and having a baby. Is she doing ok now?"
"Yeah. She and her baby are living at a home for single teenage mothers".
At the end of the date, he pulled her close and kissed her under the street lights. He brushed her hair back and she wrapped her arms around his waist. He looked down at her and smiled. "Would you like to come over to my place?"
She smiled. "I'd like that". He put his arm around her shoulder as they walked. It wasn't that far to his place and when they got inside, he took her hand and he twirled her around making her laugh. He smiled then kissed her again. She walked around his living room and she saw pictures of when he was in Rent. There were pictures of him and his friends and family. He walked behind her as she looked around.
"Sorry, I'm nosey".
He laughed. "It's fine. That's why I have them out". She saw his awards for his performances on broadway. He laughed a little embarrassed. "Nice collection. Rent, If/Then. Cool. I haven't seen If/Then yet but I have it on my Spotify".
He smiled. "It's kind of a complicated premise. Michael Greif directed it".
She nodded. "Oh yeah. I know who he is".
He put on some music from his playlist and came back to Jayde. "I love this song", she told him.
"Jason Mraz. He's a good artist. I didn't think you knew this song".
"Music is music. I'm anywhere from broadway, country, hip hop, rock, whatever. Basically anything from the 50's to now".
"How about your favorite broadway shows?"
"Besides Rent?" He laughed to himself. "The ones I've seen are Lion King, Cats, Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins, Wicked and Phantom of the Opera".
He nodded. "You've seen Phantom? I heard it's good".
"It was awesome! It wasn't Emmy Rossum or Gerald Butler but it was still good".
At the end of their date, he walked her home and then kissed her in front of her building. He promised to text her to setup another date. When she got up to her apartment, she was excited. It was the most exciting date she had been on and she felt like she was floating on air.
Just had the most awesome and amazing afternoon. It was much needed and I hope to do it again. I went on a date with a friend who I had met a few years ago. I'm going to keep the details of our date to myself. All I'm going to say is that I'm very happy.
Anthony read her blog entry and smiled. He wanted to see her again. She was everything he remembered: beautiful, easily excited and he had fallen for her smile. He thought about how he had kissed her. Everything during that day was perfect and neither of them had wanted it to end.
