Bring The Rain

Chapter 19

(I know Alauna is actually younger than AJ but this picture just looks perfect for Tara's family)

Ara's POV

  I woke up later than usual Sunday morning with a sore head. Tara did a great job on my jumbo box braids but they were tight as hell and left me wishing I wasn't so tender headed. I popped two Tylenol to help with the pain then I took my time picking out my outfit and doing a light makeup look. I had to admit that even with the painful scalp this morning felt better, I felt better. I talked with Tara all day long and I was finally beginning to love myself again. She helped me work through so many emotions that I was holding onto. It's funny that I've been trying my best to encourage myself and believe that I was better off now without Javier but I always reverted back to the mindset of a broken woman. After Tara's marathon chat and counseling session with me I suddenly felt brand new. There's still so much I need to get over to really be myself again but this was only the beginning and I finally felt like my life was getting better. I now refused to continue living as though I owed Javier an apology. I didn't deserve any of his abuse and now I see that every good thing I thought I had in that relationship was never reality. It's time that I fight for my own happiness and my new look would be the beginning of that transformation.
    After rummaging through all my new clothes I finally decided on a white flowing sundress that came down to my ankles and white sandals to match. Tara insisted on going all out on our shopping trip, she made me try on an endless amount of dresses, shorts, and low cut tops that I would never wear before. "If I had a shape like yours I'd flaunt it every chance I got"! She told me that every time I insisted that a dress was too short or something was too tight. I didn't feel comfortable with my body at first but slowly I started to love trying on the new outfits. I bought plenty of spanks and shapewear to hide any imperfections and that made me enjoy the way the clothes fit my body.
    I wasn't the only one trying something new yesterday. While we got mani pedis I convinced Tara to get a full body wax with me. I'd tried them a few times before and I enjoyed the outcome. Tara however was fully against it. Eventually I convinced her to try it as a surprise for Anthony and she agreed with that. Hearing her exaggerated screaming during her Brazilian wax had me laughing until I cried but in the end she confessed that it wasn't as painful as she first believed and I think her husband will love the surprise. Usually getting waxed was something I would do for Javier because he was too much of a child to deal with any hair on a woman's body but now I was doing any and everything that I wanted and I did it for my own benefit.
   I rubbed lotion all over my body after I showered enjoying how silky smooth my bare skin felt. I put on tinted moisturizer, some mascara and added nude lipstick and gloss to complete my look. For the first time in awhile I actually loved the way I looked. I didn't have to worry about showing too much skin or wearing something too tight. I was able to wear whatever I pleased and the only opinion that mattered was my own.
   I strutted my way to the glass doors leading to the kitchen of the main home. Once inside I was met by a mess of flour all over the place and both Mike and Zahir covered in pancake ingredients. "What happened here"? I asked while laughing Zahir giggled as he cracked open an egg making even more of a mess. Mike's eyes lingered on me until we made eye contact and he smiled hopefully enjoying the new look. He cleared his throat and turned to the mess laid out before him "You spoiled us so much that my usual pancake recipe just wouldn't do. So, Zahir and I tried to make it better but that just led to the disaster that you see before you".
   He looked completely lost and probably never meant for the situation to get so out of hand but I was here to help. I grabbed the dish cloth and ran cold water on it before handing it to Mike, "You're on clean up duty for now". "Yes ma'am!" he replied with a laugh. As he cleaned up the mess of flour and egg yoke I got a clean mixing bowl and allowed Zahir to pour the ingredients after I measured them myself. I cracked the eggs into a smaller bowl and allowed him to dump them into our mixture to ensure that there would be no egg shells in our pancakes. Once all of the ingredients were combined I handed Mike the whisk and let him do the tough job of combining the wet and dry ingredients into a perfect pancake batter. Of course Zahir wanted a turn at mixing but we taught him how to carefully stir so that he wouldn't splash the mixture everywhere creating another mess. In twenty minutes we had a large stack of fluffy buttery pancakes. "I'm Impressed! You made perfect pancakes in a few minutes while we've been up for two hours and only made a disaster". I had to laugh at Mike's over exaggeration, "It wasn't a complete disaster. You just needed a little help".
    He continued to thank me for helping and insisted that he clean the dishes since I did the cooking. While Mike cleaned I changed Zahir out of his stained clothes and replaced them with a matching blue and white short set that had the Paw Patrol characters displayed on the front. His father wore a plain blue T-shirt and jeans so I thought the outfit would match with both of ours so that we looked coordinated.
   We met Mike in the garage and after getting Zahir strapped in we were on our way. It took a while to find parking and once we did we had to walk several blocks before we got to the entrance of the farmers market. The hassle of walking was well worth it, the farmers market was the biggest in the city of Richmond and it had vendors of all kinds. The market itself would be open every weekend from June until September and there was never a slow day, even when raining. With this being the opening weekend it was even more crowded than usual but it included special events and activities to attract more attention. People were everywhere and the smell of good food caught my attention the moment we got out of the car. The streets were lined with food trucks alongside vendors with fresh fruits and vegetables. "Anything in particular you want to see"? "Everything"! Mike laughed and took my hand in his as we made our way through the crowd.
   We looked and stopped by multiple vendors while also searching for Tara's booth. A small business like hers was always placed in the back of the market but they didn't suffer from lack of attention. Tara was known for her homemade pies and pound cakes. 'Tara's Treats' was created as a side hustle but Tara had done well with her small catering business. During the holidays she would often be sold out before Thanksgiving and during the spring and summer months she made up for the lack of business by selling at markets and festivals.
   Mike tapped my shoulder taking my attention away from the flower vender that caught my eye. He pointed in the direction of a small booth with a black and gold banner that read 'Tara's Treats'. The three of us made our way over pushing past the few people gathered around choosing from the prepackaged sweets on display. Tara really worked hard on her presentation, each item was labeled with sparkling gold lettering inside of a small black box and each box was topped off with a gold bow to match.
  "Ara"! She shouted as we got closer. We embraced each other in a hug while Mike spoke to who I assumed was Tara's husband and an older woman. She introduced me to him and the woman who she stated was her mother in law, and finally her son Anthony Jr. who they referred to as AJ. Little Alauna lay asleep in her stroller. I shook Anthony's hand after she introduced us, "It's so good to meet you, I thought you and the kids were going to be out of town". Anthony pulled Tara closer to him smiling down on her "I couldn't miss my baby's opening day at the market so I packed up the kids and my mom and we all came back to help out". Tara giggled as she snuggled closer to her husband, "isn't he the sweetest"? They were clearly 'that' couple. The kind of couple whose love was constantly on display and anyone could see that they were meant for each other. They were definitely relationship goals.
     Mike had been carrying Zahir all day but once he saw AJ he was determined to get down and see his friend. "I missed you!" the little boy said to Zahir and they wrapped each other in a tight bear hug, the scene was too precious. "I told you those two were best friends". Tara was right, the two boys were inseparable once they got together and AJ begged his parents to stay with us while they continued to work the booth. They agreed, as long as he promised to behave himself. The boys jumped in excitement and practically ran through the crowd.
   Mike and I allowed them to enjoy the various activities set up for children. They got balloon animals, cotton candy, and participated in multiple craft stations set up for little ones their age. AJ was only a year older than Zahir but he fully understood that Zahir was unable to speak and I watched as he displayed patience that even some adult would struggle with. He asked Zahir yes or no questions and made sure that every activity they did was something that the two of them could enjoy together.
    "Can we go there"? AJ asked excitedly. We saw multiple children with colorful animals drawn on the cheeks and we had finally spotted the vendor. "Do you want your face painted"? Zahir shook his little head yes and the two raced toward their next adventure. This line was long and came far past the tented area that allowed shade. I wasn't so sure the children would be willing to stand in the hot sun while they waited. "Wouldn't you boys like to try something else? We can come back once there's less people". "Nooooooo" they shook their heads and remained adamant that they were not moving until they got their faces painted. The sun was in full view and It was at least eighty degrees by now, there was no way I was standing in the heat for too long. Mike offered to stay with the boys while I went off to buy us drinks.
   I walked for a while in search of a food vendor and I finally found a booth selling slushies. I probably should have gotten water for the kids but it was a special day and I wanted us to have fun. It took longer than I thought but the wait was worth it when I finally got my raspberry slushie. I should have thought about how difficult it would be to balance four cups with only two hands but I managed to hold them all in my arms as I paid and tried to find my way back to the boys. Now that it was later in the day the crowd of people looked as if it had tripled and it was taking me some time to find my way through the market. I was almost there when I felt an arm snake it's way around my waist and velvety soft lips kiss my neck; "Babygirl, I missed you". I could recognize just the touch but the voice verified my fears.
    I snatched away from the person and turned around facing him. There he stood with flowers in hand. I couldn't speak, what was I supposed to do now, I couldn't even run away from him with so many people around us. He smirked while his eyes scanned me up and down. "Javier, what do you want from me"? His eyes narrowed in on mine but in an instant his demeanor softened. He tried to hand me the sunflowers he held in his hands but I instantly backed away from him. He looked as if he would cry when I refused to take them, "I just want you back baby girl". He used to call me that when we first started dating and I adored it, but hearing it now sounded disgusting.   
   "How did you even find me"? He shrugged his shoulders and looked uninterested, "not like it was hard. After Desmond told me he saw you close by I knew I could find you here. I remember you talked about your parents bringing you every year and how much you loved it as a kid".
  I was angry at him for thinking he could share my happy memories. "You remember last year when I asked you to bring me here? You told me that you had better things to do, but I wasn't allowed to come by myself. You remember the year before that? You argued with me and when I told you I was leaving no matter what you slapped me so hard my lip bled". He shuffled his feet and looked down; "Look Ara that was a long time ago and I'm so sorry for everything that I put you through, you never deserved that. Losing you has shown me I need to be better and I will be a better man for you. You can't just walk out on us now, we've been through too much. I can't express how much I love you but I'll do anything to prove that I've changed and I'll do whatever it takes to have you back". He sounded so genuine, I've never heard Javier apologize or take responsibility for anything. I wanted to believe him.
   The moment I thought that maybe Javier was changing for the better, Tara's voice popped into my head "men like him don't change". She said this to me multiple times during our girls day and she was right. No matter how much he tried to convince me that he was different I knew that deep down Javier was no good. He tried to reach for my hand and again I jumped back but with so many people around the space between us felt too small and I wanted to get as far away from him as soon as possible. "Ara we can get past thi-"
   "No! We're not getting past the abuse you put me through for two whole years"! The anger I bottled up during our relations was now coming to the surface and I started to raise my voice, getting the attention of a few people walking by. Javier looked around uneasy and narrowed his eyes. "Ara we're not doing this here. Just come with me and we can talk in my car". I shook my head and refused to go anywhere with him "I'm done talking". I could see the real Javier straining to hold back, anger was written all over his face and if we were alone I knew I would have to pay for speaking to him like that.
    "Ara. Come. With. Me." Each word he spoke held his obvious frustration and mounting anger, he was trying his best to intimidate me and I was finally done allowing him to manipulate me. "Or what? Do you really think you're man enough to hit me in front of all these people"? His eyes widened in shock, I'd never dared speak to him like this and I definitely knew not to disobey him. "Ara, have you lost your mind"? His fist clenched tightly around the stems of the flowers crushing them. "Javier you can't scare me anymore. We both know you're too afraid to hit me right now. There's a cop on every corner and plenty of witnesses. You're so pathetic, you never could handle me. You hit me and put me down because you knew you were never man enough for me. There is nothing left between us".
   There was no more hiding his anger, his face turned bright red as he threw the flowers to the ground. "This is all because you fucking somebody else right"? He tried his best to keep his voice low and it came out almost as a growl. I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly "why do you care? You've been too busy fucking God knows what to even pay attention to me". He began to pace from side to side while trying to keep his cool. I knew I was only making his temper worst and I didn't care, this was only proving that he never planned to change. "Don't bring that shit up right now! That has nothing to do with you running out on me and you made it so much worse by leaving me for another man. How dare you"! I rolled my eyes at his dramatics. "You mean how dare I treat you the same way you've treated me our entire relationship? Javier, things were never good between us and I'm sorry it took me so long to see that. We're done".
   I tried to walk away from him but he reached out and grabbed me by my arm. His grip was so firm that it hurt. Fear rose inside of me but I pushed it down and stood firm refusing to let him drag me away from the crowd; it would never end well if he got me alone. He pulled me so close that our bodies were pressed against each other. Then I felt his other hand sliding down my stomach until he reached what he wanted. He roughly stroked and grabbed me while whispering; "Be honest baby girl, that other guy can't make you feel the way I do. Only daddy can make you feel this good". I was both disgusted and terrified. I needed to get the hell away from him now. "If you don't let me go I'll scream. That protective order will send you to jail right now for just being near me". I tried to run away from him and pull my arm out of his clenched fist and but he held on tightly and stepped closer until again we were only inches apart. I felt his hot breath on my face as he spoke. "You think anybody really wants you? Your own parents don't even speak to you! You're nothing without me you ungrateful bitch! You're the reason we could never be happy together! I cheated because you were never good enough for me! I could be with someone so much prettier and smarter, hell, your fat ass couldn't even fuck me good enough! There is no way I'm giving you up to anybody, do you understand me"?
   He yanked my arm trying to pull me through the crowd. If he got his way he would probably kill me once we were alone. I dropped the cups that I had been holding causing them to hit the ground and splatter all around our feet. Using my free hand I dug my newly manicured long nails into his wrist causing him to hiss in pain letting me go. This was the second time I'd ever physically fought back. The first instance ended with me losing my unborn child. Since that time Javier knew that he had broken something in my spirit and I had never tried to fight back against his abuse; until now.
    "There's an officer right over there"; I motioned for him to look to his left. Less than ten feet away was a uniformed officer who seemed to be too busy chatting with some woman to notice us but his presence was all I needed. "You can't get me out of here without taking me right past him and I promised you I will not make it easy for you. Leave me alone"! This time I shouted loud enough for everyone around to hear including the officer whose attention was now aimed towards me. Javier knew he had no other options. He glared at me and walked away leaving me standing in the crowd.
    I was shaken but alive and I needed to get as far away from Javier as I could. His words stayed in my head as I tried to find my way back to Mike and the kids. Javier always knew exactly what to say to hurt me. When I showed him my grades he didn't care, when I tried to look good for him he accused me of being a slut, and when we had sex he would just get on top and finish in minutes. How dare he say that everything was my fault. He was the abuser, the cheater, the reason why our relationship was so bad. The tears streamed down my face and I tried my best to wipe them away while roaming through the maze of vendors. I realized that in my fog of tears I must have walked further than I needed to and now I was lost in a sea of people trying to find my way back.