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“Of course. I won’t even attempt to sugarcoat it. Jon was boring, simple as that. I had to do something adventurous to make life bearable. But now that she’s dating this Mason dude, who’s all right by the way, things are looking up.”
“You like Mason?”
“He’s growing on me, slowly. He’s romantic and that’s a good sign. I believe that he loves Jon and I know for a fact that she loves him. Who am I to interfere with what could be the love affair of the century?”
“I’m delighted to hear you say that, Jude.” I walked over to her and placed my hand on her shoulder. For once, she didn’t yank it away from me. “Jude, I know that this is hard on you. You’re a person just like Jonquinette and Jetta.”
“I meant what I said before,” Jude stated, turning to look at me. “I never set out to hurt Jonquinette. I love her. But, I had to do what I had to do and as far as the sex, that was my escape.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“Marcella, I’ve made up my mind. Yes, I’ve definitely made it up. I’m going to let Jon live her life the way she wants to.” Jude actually seemed excited as she spoke the words. “She deserves it. She’s been through enough.” She paused and added, “I can’t speak for this Jetta person, though. I don’t even know her ass but I like her.”
We both laughed.
“I don’t think Jetta will be surfacing anytime soon, Jude. She spoke her mind and accomplished what she set out to do. At least, that’s the way I view it, but I could always be wrong.”
“No, Marcella, you’re right,” Jude said smugly. “I have confidence in you. But don’t get it twisted.” She poked me in the arm. “If someone starts fucking with my girl, I will be back to handle things.”
“I have no doubt that you will,” I stated honestly. “I’ll try to make sure that no one fucks with Jonquinette ever again.”
Jude hugged me, which truly shocked me, and whispered in my ear, “Good looking out.”
She headed down the hall to the bedroom. “I’m tired. I need to lie down for a while.”
“Are you okay?” I called after her.
She turned and winked at me. “I’m just fine. We all are.”
• • •
I decided to stay at Jonquinette’s apartment to see what happened. Mason knocked on the door and I introduced myself to him. We chatted quietly in the living room for a few minutes, but I refused to go into details since I was still sworn to protect the privacy of my patients. I listened to him comment on things that Jon had obviously revealed to him but I refused to expound upon them.
Mason seemed like a wonderful man and I could see why Jonquinette was so in love with him. Most people would not deal with such a difficult situation but Mason swore that he had no plans to go anywhere. In fact, he told me that he one day planned to marry Jonquinette. I encouraged him to put that on hold until she had time to heal. He agreed to wait.
I let him out and sat down on the sofa, staring at the ceiling and pondering the events of the past several days. I wished Dr. Driggs was still alive so I could seek his advice. I had a call in to another dear friend of mine in Florida. He was on vacation but his secretary assured me that I would be his first phone call upon his return. Either way, with or without another doctor to consult, I was determined to help Jonquinette.
An hour later, I heard the bedroom door creak open and I sat up, waiting to see who would emerge. As soon as she came around the corner, I knew it was Jonquinette. She looked refreshed and had this glow about her.
“How about we go out to dinner?” I suggested. “It would be a good thing for us to get out of this environment for a little while.”
Jonquinette smiled. “I’m starved. Where shall we go?”
“Um, how about Justin’s? I heard the food’s fantastic and I’ve never been.”
“Me either. Sounds good to me. Let me just get a coat.”
“Great. We’ll take my car.”
Jonquinette and I had a lovely dinner at Justin’s and talked about the future, her future.
epilogue
jonquinette
Ever since the onset of my integration, I must admit that it’s been difficult to accept that I am all alone now. It’s weird because I never really knew them. I just knew that sometimes I simply wasn’t there.
I was finally able to become strong enough to stand alone. A lot of it had to do with making sure that Flower didn’t suffer the same fate as me. All those years, Jude and Jetta existed to protect me. Now it is my time to protect Flower.
