Made to Love: Carmen and Cooper's Story (15 page)

Ten minutes later they come downstairs.
Beverly has that annoying smirk on her face and tousled looking
hair. Her black satin robe reveals something lace is underneath. I
despise this woman.

“
Mr. Jackson, thank you so much
for allowing me to spend Thanksgiving here.” He hugs me.

“
You’re welcome. I look forward to
more. Hope you feel better.” He walks back upstairs.

Cooper goes to load the car leaving me alone
with Beverly.

“
Carmen, I do hope you feel
better. Would you like some tea for the road? You can even keep the
cup to remember us Jacksons by.”

Not wanting to cause a scene, I walk outside
towards the car. Cooper holds the door so I can climb in. He speaks
with Beverly for a few minutes.

The ride back to my place was extremely
quiet.

“
I can carry my bags.”

“
Carmen I have them.”

When we reach my door Cooper says that we need
to talk. Once inside, he sets my bags down.

“
What’s going on with you?” he
asks.

“
I should have told you this
before but your mother is horrible to me. It started at your
birthday and again yesterday.”

“
What has she supposedly done? You
pushed for me to have a relationship with her and now she is being
mean to you. This doesn’t make any sense.

“Supposedly? You don’t believe
me?” I place my hands on my hips.

“
Carmen, lately you have been
acting crazy. I don’t think you know what you are
saying.”

“
Ever since you have been making
time for her our relationship has started to fall
apart.”

“
You are being insecure and
jealous.”

“
Fuck you, Cooper. There wouldn’t
be room for insecurity if you did what you were supposed
to.”

“
Carmen, you need to stop. I don’t
have time for this.”

Shouting I repeat, “You don’t have time for
this? Well neither do I!”

“
What the fuck does that mean?”
Cooper demands.

“
It means we are done.” I say
turning my back.

“
Oh Carmen, he pulls me to face
him. Don’t say that we’re just having a disagreement. You know how
much I love you.”

“
You love me?” I laugh while
pushing him away. “Yeah I can tell how much; since you have been
parading around town with that bitch.” He looks confused. “Go ahead
and think of your lie.”

“
Bitch? What are you talking about
now?”

“
Your mother was eager to show me
the picture of you and the blonde.”

“
Who? Michelle? She is my new
client; my mom referred her to me.”

“
Yeah right. That’s not why she
referred you.”

“
I would never lie to you, Carmen.
I have always been open with you. You refuse to tell me about
Celeste.”

He has crossed the line. My jaws are clinched
when I yell, “Don’t you dare bring her into this.”

“
Why can’t we can never talk about
her?” He exhales. “I would never cheat on you. You are the only
person who I have eyes for. Remember time stands still when it
comes to us. We can get through anything as long as we love each
other.” He reaches to touch my face. I back away before he can make
contact.

“
Then we have a problem.” He
frowns at me. “I don’t love you.” His body crumbles in front of me,
as his eyes show the pain that I have inflicted on him.

He doesn’t say anything, just walks
away.

What have I done? Why would I say
that? Lie to him? I want to scream “Cooper,” but it is too late. In
a fit of rage, I throw the plaque against the wall. It’s destroyed
just like my heart.

Chapter
Twenty-Four

The last month has been hard. Staying in the
bed is not an option. I have a business to run. Cooper has not made
any contact, but I am not surprised. I broke his heart. Marcia
purposely doesn’t mention him when we discuss our day at work.
Maybe I am letting my pride and fear get the best of me. No need to
focus on the past; time to heal and move on. That would be a lot
easier if I wasn’t looking at pictures of us from his birthday. We
looked so happy and he loved me. I am not going to shed anymore
tears. Maybe I should send these pictures to Cooper.

As I get ready to leave the office I put on my
wool pea coat and cashmere red cap. This December weather is a
beast, thank goodness it isn’t snowing. My cell vibrates. The
screen says “private caller.” Should I answer? It could be
important.

“
Hello?”

“
Carmen?”

I do not recognize the female’s voice. “Yes,
this is she.”

“
Carmen, this is Beverly.” I am
trying to decide if I should hang up on this bitch. She must sense
my thoughts.

“
Please don’t hang up.”

“
What do you want?” I ask
angrily.

“
Can we meet and talk?”

“
You want to talk? For what?
Cooper and I aren’t together anymore. That should please
you.”

“
That’s what I want to talk about.
Cooper is miserable. It is because he doesn’t have you.”

Sighing into the phone a tear rolls down my
cheek.

“
Can we meet tonight or tomorrow?”
she asks.

“
I am busy tonight. Meet me
tomorrow at Franks, three sharp. And Beverly if any smart shit
comes out of your mouth, I am leaving.”

“
Understood. Thank you, Carmen,
see you tomorrow.”

I hang up without saying goodbye.
Fuck, what have I gotten myself into? Tension and frustration are
driving me crazy. I need to relieve some stress, time to work out
with Jillian Michaels. She will make me forget my troubles by
causing a different kind of pain. After a rigorous workout that
consists of hard core strength training with cardio, I feel better.
Marcia texts letting me know she is bringing dinner home. I take a
bath. Marcia brought home one of my favorites, Chinese. I pour us
each a glass of Moscato. Before we devour our food, I tell her
about the call I received.

“
Guess who called me?”

Marcia looks up. “Do I even want to
know?”

“
Beverly.” Her mouth falls
open.

“
Yes girl, she wants us to
meet.”

“
Meet for what? She was a complete
bitch to you, twice.”

“
That’s what I asked. She said
Cooper is miserable without me.”

Marcia looks away and grabs her drink. “What?”
I ask.

“He is miserable. He looks like he
lost the love of his life, which he has. It’s depressing seeing him
like this. Cooper misses you.”

“
How do you know this?”

“
He told me. He asks about you
almost every day.”

“
What? Why are you just telling me
this?”

“
You made it clear that you didn’t
want to discuss Cooper. I feel what happened is horrible and I
already told you how I felt. I was only respecting your
wishes.”

“
If he misses me so much, why
hasn’t he called me?”

Marcia looks at me with complete
shock. “Are you really going to ask that question? You told the man
you didn’t love him. Why would he call? You fucked up and you have
to fix it, not him.”

I nod my head. “You are right. I did fuck up
and hurt him.”

“
Now what are you going to do
about Beverly?” Marcia asks.

“
I don’t know. Hear what she has
to say? She better not be bitchy.” We laugh. Beverly is the
definition of a bitch.

Marcia and I enjoy our meal. Since it is
Thursday we get ready to watch the latest episode of Scandal. We
love Kerry Washington.

Chapter
Twenty-Five

I didn’t go to the center today. Knowing that
I will be meeting with Beverly has me on edge.

At 2:45 I walk into Frank’s and she isn’t
there yet. The hostess seats me at a table with a window view. I
request a shot of tequila. Hopefully this will help with my nerves.
It doesn’t. The closer it gets to 3 the more anxious I become.
Beverly strolls in like she is the Queen of England. Even though I
loathe her, I can’t help but appreciate her style. She hangs her
coat on the back of her chair. When she sits down the tension is
thick.

“Hello, Carmen. Thank you for
meeting with me.”

“
You said you wanted to talk about
Cooper. Talk.”

She stares at me. “Cooper is unhappy and I
hate seeing him like this. He misses you,” she says.

“
Beverly, you don’t want us
together. So why are you really here?” It is obvious I hit a
nerve.

“
Okay, Carmen, Cooper is not very
happy with me. He knows about our conversation on his birthday and
the picture on Thanksgiving.” A tear falls from her eye.

I will not feel sorry for her, after what she
has done. “What do you want me to do? Your relationship with Cooper
is not my concern.”

“
We got off on the wrong foot and
for that I am sorry. I am the reason why you guys are not together
and I want to make things right.”

I laugh. “The wrong foot? No Beverly, you let
me know what you thought of me and it was not nice. You showed me a
picture of Cooper with a client, but you implied it was a romantic
interest.”

“
Yes, Carmen I did all those
things. It was wrong and I apologize.” I roll my eyes. “Seriously
Carmen, I was jealous of seeing how much my son loved you, but
hated me. It hurt and I took my pain out on you. It is my fault
that Cooper and I are not close. Please accept my apology. Give you
and Cooper another chance. Don’t keep punishing yourselves because
of my foolishness. Everyone can see that you two are made to love
one another.”

“
This is a lot to take
in.”

“
I know it is.” She puts on her
coat. “Please think about what I said.” Beverly walks out the
restaurant.

Chapter
Twenty-Six

The closer it gets to Christmas,
the more Beverly calls. At first it was once a week now it is up to
three times. It’s weird how nice she is after being such a raging
bitch.

I had to come clean to my parents about the
break up. They made sure I was doing okay, but the disappointment
was evident.

My father said “Maybe he wasn’t the right man
for you. Don’t worry you will find him.”

My mother on the other hand, has always had
the gift of seeing through my shit. “Carmen, you love that boy and
he loves you. You are throwing away your chance at love and
happiness, for what? Because you are scared? Life isn’t always easy
and we personally know this, but you cannot let past hurt stop you
from enjoying your life. Cooper is a great man, but I cannot tell
you what to do. I will always love and support you.” She kisses my
forehead. “Celeste would want you to be happily in
love.”

My mother is right. Celeste would be upset if
she knew how I treated Cooper. She was such a hopeless romantic.
She always said being in love is a magical feeling. Before going
back home, I decide to visit her grave, something I haven’t done in
two years. Pulling into Westland cemetery makes me miss her more. I
place white roses at her grave site. They were always her favorite.
I know I haven’t visited and I am sorry for that.

Celeste, I miss you so much and it
hurts that you aren’t here anymore. Since your death, I have become
a closed off person, afraid of going out and loving someone.
Recently, I met someone, his name is Cooper. You would like him.
Cooper is smart, charming, romantic, extremely gorgeous and most
importantly, he loved me. Loved, past tense, because I broke his
heart. Fear and anger got the best of me and I pushed him away. It
is time to get my man back. I hate living without him. Do you think
he will forgive me?
A gust of wind blows,
Celeste is letting me know she is here.
Thanks, Celeste. I will be back soon and hopefully with
Cooper.

I grab my phone and call Beverly.

“
Beverly, this is
Carmen.”

“
I know, please tell me you are
calling with good news.”