Marry me? (BWWM ROMANCE)

What were you thinking?

Two months Later

Brendan sat in the Gladys’s living room, trying to play nice with the evil crone. “So Brendan, what brings you here to my humble home?” Gladys smiled while bringing in a cup of tea for him. With a closer look Gladys didn’t appear as wicked as, Brendan knew she was. Her tall thin body was wrapped in long turquoise turtle knew dress, and while her hair was fully gray it wasn’t thin, in fact she had a full head of silver locks that framed her surprisingly youthful face. With big brown eyes and copper colored skin, she appeared open and warm, but it wouldn’t take long for her true nature to come out. “Well, I wanted to talk about sharing custody. I know that you are suffering from a loss, and may be lashing out because of that, so I am asking you to be reasonable and try to work with us.” Brendan gave it one last shot. “How dare you?!?, How dare you pretend to know what I feel?!?” It was clear that this wasn’t working. “Ma’am, please I don’t want this to get ugly for the children’s sake?” Brendan was growing tired of being the voice of reason. “Haha. The best thing for those kids is to be away from you. I know all about your bouts with rehab, I know all to well how easy it is for your kind to slip back. The fact that that woman would let you near those children just proves she isn’t ready to be a mother.” Gladys remained poised as she cut me down. “So, what your saying is that I’m the problem?” Brendan asked “Only part of it, that woman is just as unstable. Did you know about her pill dependency?” Gladys’s words caused Brendan’s heart to pause. “Yes, she has been taking Zoloft and Xanax since she was twelve” Gladys looked mighty pleased with herself. “Wow, this is a lot to take in. Can I use your bathroom?” Brendan was shook, not at what he learned, but by who he learned it from. How much did they know about Opal and him?

Opal was Heaven. Instead of using her day off to worry over the impending trial, she decided to spend her day enjoying the twins. The twins got there pictures taking, went on a shopping spree, and took a long nap. For once Opal wasn’t calm, at least she was until she got a call from Brendan. “Tell me something good” Opal answered the phone. “It’s done” was all he replied with “Are you okay with this?” Opal asked knowing Brendan wasn’t all too comfortable with what had to be done. “Yeah, I’m on my way home right now” He replied before issuing a goodbye and hanging up. Opal made her way back to the living room where the twins were watching their cartoons. She smiled at her good fortune, if her plan worked out she would have her family back together.

Ring. Ring Opal saw Georges number pop up on her screen. “Hello” Opal answered “Hey, O its George just wanted to let you know that our hearing date is scheduled for next Thursday.” George said, and after weeks of hobnobbing with Judges, Social workers, and Family Counselors, Opal was happy to hear that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. “Great, and I have something to tell you. Brendan just called from Gladys’s to let me know that it’s all taken care of.” Opal replied, feeling a slight pang of regret for what she had just done. “Great, keep me posted” George and Opal said their goodbyes and hung up.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Julia asked, while she prepared the restaurant for the lunch rush. Today was Brendan’s day off, but today his heart was heavy with guilt and confusion, and he wasn’t sure if he was ready to face Opal yet. “I just needed to get out of the house” He lied, Julia shot him a look that went right through him. “Okay, to be honest I’m just feeling a bit conflicted” He admitted, ready to confess his troubles. “About your marriage?” she asked hopeful, and while it may kill Brendan to hurt the girl he didn’t want to lead her on. “No, it’s not about that.” He shook his head. “Oh, well whatever it is I hope you know you can talk to me?” She replied feeling a bit deflated. “Yeah, thanks Jules” Brendan smiled at the girl, and considered her offer. He was tempted to take it, he imagined how simple it would be to fall back into the comfortable lifestyle he had with Julia. ‘Had it only been 8 months ago that she was my girl’ Brendan thought to himself, and while he could see the longing in her eyes he couldn’t reciprocate it. “Hey is Jalen here?” Brendan asked, crushing the poor girl’s spirits. “Yeah, he’s in the back office” Julia maintained her happy smile, while her heart broke internally. Brendan thanked her and proceeded to the back office, he was ready to get the weight off his chest.

It was half past 12 and Opal sat up in bed worried about Brendan, she called 3 times and left several texts but there was no reply. “Where the hell is he?” Opal, unlocked her phone for the umpteenth time. She had hoped Brendan would have at least sent a text, but there was no new messages. ‘Could he be….He wouldn’t’ Opal fought against her greatest fear. ‘What if he is using again?’ yet the treacherous thought prevailed. Even though Opal believed that Brendan was cleaned, it was always a possibility that he could fall off the wagon. “Oh no” Opal, was attacked by a wave of horrible thoughts. ‘What if he is using, and Gladys found out first? I would lose the kids, I could lose Brendan. What if he is using and I don’t find out till it’s too late. What if he is using now, and took too much and is a ditch somewhere.’ Opal was falling to pieces with each new possibility.

“Opal?” Brendan’s soft voice bought her out of it, he was standing in the door way slightly swaying. Drunk. Of course he is drunk. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?!?” Opal hopped out of bed, and stomped over to him “What?” He asked innocently “Don’t what me. What the hell made you think that now would be a good time to get drunk? What if Gladys saw you? We’re supposed to be the perfect image of a stable family, it’s going to be hard to defend that with you acting like some kind of fucking lush?!?” Opal was heated and if it weren’t for the love she had for the kids in the next room, she would have lost her mind. “Damn, Opal I have one drink and you lose your mind” Brendan threw his hands up and sighed. “One drink. You must really think I’m dumb. Man, you smell like a fucking bar, and you can’t keep the fuck still. I drank with you enough to know one drink wouldn’t put you on your ass. So I ask again have you LOST YOUR FUCKING MIND?!?” Opal was infuriated. Before Brendan’s nonchalant attitude was endearing, even cute, but not this time. “Whatever man, I don’t have to explain a damn thing to you” He breezed past Opal and proceeded to take off his shoes. “Yes, you do. If you think for one minute that I would let a drunk around my children you have another thing coming.” Opal walked around him till she could meet him eye to eye. “Look I needed to chill, that’s that. So stop acting like a psycho!!” Brendan snapped. While Opal flinched she didn’t falter.

“Psycho, I’m psycho because I am trying to do everything I can to make sure we keep the twins. Psycho, because I’m worried about the type of man that I might be brining into their lives!!” Opal knew she struck a nerve when Brendan’s left eye twitched. “What kind of a man is that? A junkie is that what you are trying to say, or maybe a damaged man.” Just like Opal, Brendan jumped too conclusions. “No a man, who disappears for hours on end and doesn’t tell anyone. A man who doesn’t care about anyone but himself.” Opal hated this part of arguments. Opal, hated the betrayal she felt rising in her body, because while she was ready to curse Brendan out, her eyes were starting to water. “Opal, you really bugging right now so fucking chill, you taking this shit to far” Brendan, who was now down to his boxers, sat on the edge of the bed and tried to gather his thoughts. You know what Brendan? Fuck you” Opal left the room and walked down to the guest bed. As she laid down to prayed tomorrow went better than today.