Broken (Endurance) (33 page)

"Who put us together?" Max asked, putting his arm around his wife and planting a kiss on her head.

"God," Mei answered.

"Only God can divide us. When we're eighty and Uriel is changing my diaper," Max said as Mei laughed. "You will be right there besides me. I'll never let you go. You’re a part of me and I can't go through life with half a body."

"You’re so silly." Mei laughed.

***

Thanksgiving Day arrived with great anticipation. Maxwell planned a lavish banquet of exotic dishes from Trinidad, China and Venezuela. Of course, in the middle of the large table, a plump succulent turkey displayed a perfect golden glaze with apple-cranberry stuffing. After Tamarius said grace, everyone eagerly awaited Maxwell’s carving of the turkey.

The guests included Cora and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Pennington, Nelson, and Cora's date, Austin Hearst. Nelson sat across from Cora and Austin, staring at her intensely. He was filled with jealousy and rage that Cora had come with a date.

Mei struggled not to laugh at Nelson. As far as she was concerned he’d brought the whole situation down on himself.

"Nelson, how is college?" Maxwell asked, trying to distract him from Cora and her date.

Nelson was nudged by Tamarius
who sat next to him. "Oh, ah...fine..., sir," Nelson finally answered.

Maxwell bowed his head, trying to hold in his laughter. He knew what was going on. Nelson, like so many other men, had made the mistake of letting go of a good woman. "Cora, how are you doing?"

"Good, sir. It's great. I'm learning a lot," Cora answered cheerfully as she ignored Nelson’s glare.

"Really?" Nelson answered.

"Austin, could you pass me the mash potatoes, please, dear." Cora asked, smiling at her date.

"Certainly," Austin passed her the mash potatoes.

Nelson just shook his head and began to eat his food since Cora was obviously not going to respond to his statement.

Max took a deep breath as he looked at his wife and tried to figure out what was going on. Mei was suddenly really interested in her food as she made sure to stuff her mouth. Max got the message and laughed quietly to himself.

Dinner was delicious.  Everyone sat around the table after the meal, laughing and joking while Mei and Cora excused themselves to take Uriel outside.  They brought him to a playground his grandfather had installed for him in a gated grassy area nex
t to the pool. Once in the play
ground, they locked the gate behind them.

"Are you sure about leaving your date back there with Nelson? He looks like he's gonna kill him." Mei laughed.

"Ah, Austin will be fine. He can hide behind my father." Cora sat down on a shaded bench.

Mei put Uriel down and let him make his way to the sandbox. "That’s the first thing he goes for every time."

"Mei, do you think I'm being too hard on him?" Cora asked.

"I think you’re angry."

"I know we're young and if he just wants to be friends then I should just accept that."

"Are you caving in?" Mei sat next to Cora while keeping her eye on her son.

"No, I think I’m just giving up. I love him but...."

"But what?" Nelson said, standing in front of the four foot gate, resting his arms over the fence as he stared at Cora.

Cora spun around in shock as she stared at Nelson. "What, are you spying on me now?"

"No," Nelson replied.

"What do you want, Nelson?" Cora asked.

Nelson came into the playground, making sure to lock the gate behind him as he took a seat next to Cora.

"I'm going to go watch my son." Mei walked away.

Cora slid to the opposite side of the bench, trying to be as far from Nelson as possible.

Nelson looked at her and smiled. She couldn't avoid him now. Cora had to talk to him. "Why didn't you come to see me off?" he asked.

"I was busy." Cora was short in her reply as she kept her eyes focused forward.

"Yeah. Did your dad tell you I stopped by before I left for good?"

Cora looked down as she fought back tears. Her father had never told her that. "It must have slipped his mind."

"I tried to call you on your cell later that night and it really hurt to hear you’d changed your number to an unlisted one." Nelson looked at Cora. H wanted to touch her, to hold her and tell her he was sorry for hurting her. "Cora, I messed up."

She closed her eyes and turned her head as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Nelson moved closer to her, gently turning her to face him.

"Nelson, please," Cora said, jerking her head away.

"I didn't want to be in the way of you finding someone else or of one day hearing that you’d met someone new and you didn't want to be with me anymore," Nelson confessed. "I never expected to feel the way I have these past few months and especially today, seeing you with your date."

Cora sat there quietly listening to his words. She was speechless. He had the same fears she had, but she was still angry at him for putting her through this. Part of her also wondered if she should just let him go and move on with her life. Cora turned to face Nelson and look into his soft brown eyes and handsome face. "What if you are right? What if we don't belong together?"

Nelson felt his heart drop and leap at the same time. He was happy Cora was looking at him and broken about what she was saying. "Cora, I was wrong. I made a mistake. I should have never let you go."

"But you did... you did and what did you expect? That I would be your friend while you ran around chasing girls? That I would be there to hold your hand when some slut hurt your pride? Maybe you were right. Maybe there is someone better out there for me; a man who will know without a doubt that I'm worth swimming through lava for." Cora stood and walked away.

Nelson stood and watched the woman he was helplessly in love with walk out of his life. "I will swim through lava for you," he mumbled.

Lagoon

Max and Mei enjoyed their holiday break with family and friends. They were relieved when Tamarius and Makayla flew them to the college and spent the night on the island before heading back to Trinidad the next day. The private plane was helpful in bringing over the supplies Max and Mei had bought back home. Mei was exhausted as she crawled directly over to their bed and went to sleep.

Max was happy that Uriel was already sleeping and all he needed to do was put him in his crib. He kissed his son before placing him in the crib then happily joined his wife in bed.

The next morning Mei awoke refreshed and ready to tackle organizing the hut with the supplies they brought back. Luckily for her, Max and Uriel still slept peacefully. It was Sunday and everyone was trying to get back on track for Monday after the holiday break.

Mei opened the fridge to see what she could make for breakfast. She was starving and needed something to eat quickly while she cooked breakfast. Pulling out a half-eaten box of her son's animal crackers, she popped a couple in her mouth as she continued to pull out items for breakfast.

After cooking breakfast she took a quick shower and slipped on her bathing suit to take Uriel to the beach to play.  To her surprise Max was still sleeping. She woke up Uriel and fed him breakfast, eating along with him. After dressing him for the beach she became concerned about Max and checked on him. He was really tired. Mei kissed his lips then left with her son. She made sure to leave him a note next to the covered plate of his breakfast.

The beach was beautiful and many students were out enjoying the sun and the peaceful crashing of waves. Uriel seemed to love the beach a lot as he ran around playing in the sand.

Mei made sure to keep her eyes on him, always running after him when he got too close to the water. She sat on a large beach towel listening to her mp3 player. From the corner of her eye she could see Samuel and Renee also enjoying the beach. Mei was glad they had found each other and would now stay out of her and Max's way. Mei jumped up from her towel again to chase after Uriel who was running towards the surf again.

While she was distracted Renee and Samuel made a quick scheme to plan a double date with Max and Mei.

When Mei returned to her towel, her son squealing in her arms, Renee and Samuel were standing there waiting to speak with her. Mei looked at them and rolled her eyes. She knew something was up and was curious about what they were up to. Mei looked at them as she waited for either one of them to speak.

"Hey, Mei," Renee began. "Samuel and I feel really bad for our actions in the past and we would like to make it up to you and Max by inviting you guys out on a date with us."

"I don't think so, however, I do accept your apology," Mei said, dusting the sand off of her son.

Samuel kept staring at Mei, lusting over her. "Mei, Max was my friend and I need to make it up to him."

"I think he would be happy if you just stayed as far away from me as possible," Mei said staring back at him.

"Well, why don't you talk to him and see what he says, just to be fair?" Renee said.

Mei couldn’t care less about having a date with them. "Look we don't have a babysitter here and..."

"Bring him. It's no big deal. We really don't have a hang out spot here," Renee replied.

"Dada," Uriel said.

Mei turned in the direction of her son’s flailing hands and saw Max approaching.  She glanced back at Renee in time to see her energy shift as she sucked in her stomach and pushed out her breasts.

Samuel was suddenly fidgety as he watched Max approach. Mei looked at her husband and could tell he was still tired. He came up to Mei and kissed her lips while gently passing his hand over his son's head.

"I was so tired," he whispered to Mei. "What's up with Bonnie and Clyde here?"

"Renee wants us to go on a double date," Mei answered, speaking clearly.

Max looked at Renee then at Samuel. "We will only have a babysitter for tonight... Maybe," he said looking back at his wife.

"I forgot about Kay," Mei responded.

"Well, we can pack a picnic and I know a spot on the other side of the island where there is a lagoon. We could go and relax and hang out. Not too many students know about it," Samuel said.

"It's really up to you, babe. It does sound nice," Max said to Mei.

"I guess, but we need to ask Kay first?"

"How about we meet you back at your place in about two hours to give you guys a chance to find a sitter?" Renee said.

"Okay," Mei replied.

"So we will see you in two hours." Samuel took Renee's hand and walked off. They smiled at each other, excited that their plan was working out. "I'm still surprised you’re agreeing to this."

"I don't believe in true love. I believe in lust at first sight. Mei's a hot girl and that’s all he's interested in. So if I can have a piece for myself, that’s all that matters to me." Renee said. Spending the holiday with Samuel had changed her point of view about men. She now saw Max as just a Kobe steak and she was hungry for a taste.

***

Max and Mei walked slowly back to the hut. "Max, they are up to something," Mei stated.

"I know, and I intend to see what."

"Well, it won't take a rocket scientist. It has to do with splitting us up."