He sighed again. “Okay, I understand. We’re going to have to make some changes, I want you to be able to stay with me. I’ll figure something out.”
“I would love to be able to sleep with you tonight, next time I’ll plan for a sleepover.”
We got dressed and he arranged for the driver to take me home. I turned to kiss him goodnight at his front door and he gave me a curious look.
“What are you doing? I’m riding with you, I wouldn’t send you off alone, I am a gentleman you know. I will see you to your door and then say good night.”
We rode in silence to my apartment, our hands linked together, the ocean air crisp and clean. I had never felt happier in my life.
Chapter Nineteen – Jaden
The next few weeks passed quickly and Sebastian and I spent nearly every night together that he did not have Jaden at his house. Jaden liked to have sleepovers at grandma’s house, so he slept at Sebastian’s mom’s house at least three nights a week. We talked about the best way to introduce me to Jaden and we both agreed that going to the zoo would be fun and non-intimidating for him.
It was Tuesday and we made a date to go to the zoo that Saturday afternoon, just the three of us. To say I was terrified is an understatement. As the weekend drew closer, I confided in Bev about how nervous I was to meet Jaden. We were in my office Thursday afternoon working on a new marketing campaign, when my nerves got the best of me and I had to talk about it with someone.
“Bev, I need to borrow your ear for a second.”
She stopped what she was doing and looked at me.
“Sure, what’s on your mind?”
“Well, you know that things with me and Sebastian have been going really well lately, we’ve gotten through a lot of our stuff.”
"Yes, and I have to tell you Elena, I have seen such a difference in him so I am very happy that you two were able to work things out.”
“Well, we haven’t quite worked out everything, I still have not met Jaden.”
"That will come in time, dear. Children are very delicate and you want to make sure that you do it the right way. When the time is right, it will happen.”
“That’s just it, I am supposed to meet him this Saturday and I am a complete bundle of nerves.”
She raised her eyebrows and smiled. “Oh really? Well this is definitely a step in the right direction! You don’t have anything to worry about, Jaden is a very sweet little boy and I just know that he will like you, Elena.”
“Should I bring him a present or something?”
“No I think that you should just bring yourself, that way he will know that you are there to spend time with him. You can’t buy a child’s affection, the only way to win their affection is to spend quality time with them. Where are you meeting him?”
“We are going to the zoo.”
"Oh! That is perfect! I think that you will have a wonderful time, just try to be yourself and listen to him when he has something to say. I’m sure that you will have a wonderful time.”
“I hope so, Bev.”
“You will. Let me know how it goes when I see you on Monday.”
"I will, thanks for listening Bev. I guess we better dive back into this stuff so that I can present some new ideas at tomorrow's meeting.”
We worked until early evening and then I told Bev we could break for the night. I worked for a couple of hours and as I was packing up my things, my phone rang and it was my lawyer.
“Elena, I just wanted to let you know that Brian’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday at 10 o’clock. I’ll meet you at the courthouse at, say, 9:45?”
“Yes, I’ll see you then. Thanks Paul.”
After I hung up the phone I sat staring out of my window for a few minutes thinking how close I was to never having to deal with Brian again, and it was almost unreal. For so many years he had been a constant fear for me that was tucked way down deep inside that I refused to let out. But every so often that fear crept to the surface and the time had finally come when I would be able to say goodbye to that fear. For the first time in a very long time while thinking about Brian I smiled as I grabbed my things and went home.
Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and it was about 80°. I was a nervous wreck as I was getting ready and Sebastian called me early that morning to see how I was doing.
“Elena, you have nothing to worry about, just think of this as a trip to the zoo with a couple of friends.”
That made me laugh. “Friends? What if he hates me Sebastian?”
“He won’t. I know that he is going to love you as much as I do.”
“Do you think I am meeting him too soon?”
“Not at all, the timing is perfect. I told you that he knows about you and he has asked me a couple of times when he was going to meet my special friend. He even asked me if my special friend was imaginary because he hasn’t met you yet.”
I felt a little bit relieved when he said that and I had forgotten that Sebastian told Jaden about me. The fact that he had asked about me made me feel a lot better.
“Okay, I’m ready to do this. He ‘s either going to like me or he isn’t. Hopefully it’s the first one.”
“It will be the first one. The car will pick you up at 10:00 and take you to the children’s zoo and we’ll meet you there at 10:30.”
“Okay, I will see you then.”
I took my time getting ready and at 9:55 I went downstairs and the car was already waiting for me. We arrived at the zoo at about 10:25 and it took about five minutes for me to walk I walked over to the children’s zoo and I saw the most adorable picture. Sebastian was sitting on a bench looking drop dead gorgeous in a casual collarless shirt and khaki shorts. Sitting next to him holding his hand was Jaden with his dark blonde curls, who was the cutest little thing. Sebastian saw me, smiled and waved and leaned down to say something to Jaden.
Jaden sized me up as they stood and I walked toward them. I smiled at them, trying to look much calmer than I felt inside.
Sebastian kissed me on the cheek and turned to Jaden.
“Jaden, this is my special friend Elena who I was telling you about. Elena, this is my son Jaden.”
I bent down to his level, smiled and held out my hand to him. “It is very nice to meet you Jaden.”