Grumpalicious by Mia Faye
Chapter 35
GENEVIEVE
I was confused, surprised, completely pissed off, so many emotions raged through me when I saw Clifford Ross rushing toward our table. I couldn’t have him upset Cayden’s family, so since I was the one who let him out of his cage, I would be the person to face the problem head-on.
“Can we help you?” I asked as I stood up to the man.
“You have ruined my life!” He stopped and it looked like he was going to punch me for a moment.
“No, you did that a long time ago when you walked away from the woman who was pregnant with your son. That has nothing to do with me. You are that little boy’s grandfather.” I nodded to Alex with my head, the boy looked like he might cry. “And you are Cayden’s father. You also, unfortunately, are my unborn baby’s grandfather so as I see it you have two choices, you either step up your game and be a father and grandfather or you go away and just wait for all the chaos to die down and live with the choices you have made. You may be able to bully the rest of the world, but you will never bully me.” I stood my ground afraid of nothing, though in truth I should have been terrified.
“I don’t have to be responsible for what that whore made!” he accused, pointing his finger at Sarah.
Cayden stood up and approached Clifford. “You came all the way to Mexico to ruin my wedding but wouldn’t lift a finger to be a father from a few blocks away? We have security, and I will have you thrown off of this property. I don’t know how you found us or what you thought you’d accomplish coming here, but you’re leaving. This is a private resort and you have not been invited. I will give you exactly one minute to turn around and leave. If you want to iron things out we have the rest of our lives, but I’ll not have you ruin my wedding.” Cayden pulled out his phone and started to text. “I will say, being caught here with your pants down so to speak will be a much worse publicity move than a harmless little hashtag drama.” Cayden was about to press send when Clifford stopped him.
“Why are you doing this to me?” he asked me, seeming the slightest bit more helpless than he had been.
“I did it because Cayden is the father of our child and of Alex and he is doing his best to step up to that role. You’re the reason he ran from his children in the first place. You made him feel like he wasn’t worth your time, that his mother was useless and in turn, he was less than worthy. You created this family and then you walked away from them. Despite your abandonment, they’ve gone on to become successful. Crystal is a therapist working with trauma survivors and you already know Cash Coltrane. They each made their way in this world without you and I’m sure my child will do the same but look at what you’re missing. You’ve already missed so many great things your son has done like helping homeless youth get off the streets and getting gangsters out of gangs and onto records and stages. You have a grandson who is just finding his way in the world and an unborn grandchild that may never know you. One day you’ll die hated and alone and for what? Because you were too proud to be a father? You’ve shown your true colors today, Mr. Ross and truthfully they’re too ugly for the likes of us. Go home before you get thrown out and we have another publicity nightmare on our hands. Just go back to New York. I know now that you will never be the father I hoped might reconcile with Cayden so just go away. The truth is, if you don’t want your family, there is no one on the earth more useless than you.” I stood there and waited for him to retreat.
He stared at me an5d I stared back at him, not with hatred but pity and it was that standoff that broke him.
“My father left me,” he started, “and beat my mother so I figured it was good that he left. When Crystal was pregnant, I... I felt like I might end up like him. I was a horrible man and I’m not proud of who I was in those days. You came into my office, Ms. Green, and you reminded me of who I once was, and it was as if he had been resurrected from the grave. And now I’m him.” He seemed so sad.
“You don’t have to be him; you can be a better man. Your son is here, your grandson is watching, you have the chance to be someone different. We just started eating, come sit with us. We have plenty. I came to your office to=offer you a second chance to have a family and now they’re here, you can walk away and miss out or you can stay. This is your choice but what you do today will affect the rest of your life.” I could see the loneliness and rage in his eyes, I knew that we were all he had.
Sarah stood up and spoke. “Join us...please. We’d like to get to know you. Sit down and give us a chance and we’ll do the same for you.”
I was so happy to have Sarah’s support as John held her hand, giving her strength. Alex didn’t look as scared anymore, rather he seemed amused. Without another word, Clifford Ross sat at the empty seat at the table while his bodyguards stood back and watched over him. The food was amazing and while the conversation was very awkward to start, it was Peyton and her lively, I don’t give a fuck attitude, that broke the ice.
“So, what exactly do you do?” she asked Clifford. “I mean I know you’re the richest man in America, but like what do you do? Do you have a bangin’ product or do you just manage stuff like outer space? Did you sell your soul to the Devil?” She laughed, not having a care in the world.
Cliff’s answer was enigmatic. He had something to do with investments and hedge funds and brainy economics that were beyond my comprehension, but she got the table talking as did the wine that Sarah, Alex, and I didn’t drink. We had Shirly Temples and of course, they were fun. By the end of the night, Clifford found it in his heart to make confessions.
“I will be an old man one day. I know the road will be long, but I’m willing to take the journey if you all are,” he finally confessed.
“Well then, there’s nothing else to do but to have you join us for our wedding tomorrow,” I said enthusiastically, though the look on Cayden’s face was priceless.
And Clifford Ross did join us for the wedding. It was a simple, but beautiful affair. It absolutely was not the world’s most horrible wedding, rather it was lovely and small, just as I would have wanted it.
Eight months later I was in the labor and in the delivery room screaming my lungs out as I worked to birth baby Coltrane. In the time after our wedding, Cayden and I grew closer as we let down the walls that we had erected to keep ourselves safe. When we realized that we were each other’s safe space we were finally okay. He was and would always be my very best friend. Peyton was my sister, and Cayden, my world. So, with Peyton on one side and my beautiful husband on the other, I pushed like a crazy person to squeeze out our child, and it was hard!
“You’re doing great, honey!” he tried to encourage me, but I was a roaring beast.
“I’m never letting your penis anywhere near me ever again,” I screamed.
“I know you don’t mean that, but right now I’ll agree to anything you want.” He stayed calm while I raged.
I was warrior tough, but that little kid just did not want to make an appearance. We decided not to know the sex before giving birth, so I was very excited to meet the person who had been wiggling inside of me all those months.
“Ughhh,” I groaned.
“You got this, you are almost there,” Peyton added, and I turned to her and grit my teeth.
“Don’t ever do this,” I growled. “Save yourself now.”
“You say that now, but you know you want six kids. You’ll be right here again in a few more years and maybe I’ll be right next to you,” she said with a smile.
“Six?” Cayden looked sick for a second. “Let’s just get through this one, first.”
“It’s time to push,” the doctor informed us.
And so I pushed and heaved and worked hard to get that squirmy little bowling ball out of my body...and finally, I did it and there was a flood of relief.
“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Coltrane, you have given birth to a very healthy little... girl!”
“A girl?” Cayden murmured looking white as a sheet.
“Are you feeling okay?” Peyton asked.
“She’s a girl?” He truly looked like he might get sick.
I was a little angry, “What’s wrong with her being a girl?”
“I can barely be a good father to a boy, how am I ever going to raise a girl? She’s going to hate me.” He looked like he was going to cry.
“No, my dear. If she’s anything like me, she’s going to adore you.”
And she did. In fact, she preferred to be with him instead of me most of the time and that was because he was absolutely crazy. He doted on her like an obsessed fan. I had to dial him back a few times because he did have a career he couldn’t let slide. Kevin had been promoted to partner and did a lot of the work while Cayden was home doting on his daughter and hanging out with his son.
I continued to write songs and record, even after Ava was born. Cayden on the other hand… Well, Cayden, my dear beloved husband, was a mess. In fact, it was on Ava’s six-month birthday that I finally called in an intervention of sorts. He was running around nuts like always, he had Ava in his arms looking for a little pink dress that must have been in the wash. He hadn’t brushed his hair in days. We still made love every night, so he had taken a shower after rocking my world the night before, so he smelled good, but he didn’t look good at all. He hadn’t slept a full night in six months and had taken being a father to the next level for sure. When Ava was sleeping or with me, he’d be out with Alex on the basketball court he had built in our yard. In fact, Alex was over every other week as his little brother Aiden had just been born. While he loved having baby siblings, sometimes he needed some one-on-one time, so when Cayden wasn’t fussing over the baby he was hanging out with his son. On this day though, he had just very unsuccessfully changed Ava’s diaper and was covered in baby poop. It was Sarah’s week with Alex, and we were supposed to be getting to the airport to board a plane to DC for the Legende Ball, the very place we had met two years before.
“Okay,” I said, taking the baby from him. “You need another shower and a nap. The plane leaves in four hours. I’ve got this.” I lifted Ava up as I popped out a boob for her to nurse. I handed him a baby wipe for the smear of poop he had across his arms. “Shower...and take a nap.”
He gave me the sweetest look of surrender. “Okay.”
I watched his sleeping face as he napped and realized that he was the perfect lover, partner, and father. I looked forward to spending the rest of my days on earth with him and was so grateful to have not only a wonderful friend by my side but a beautiful baby with his gorgeous face and my eyes. I couldn’t have been happier...or more grateful for my family.
