FOREVER....MY LOVE ( a Jaylor fanfic)

SUNDAY FUNDAY

2 Years later

"Come on Benji, you don't want to be late for your first day of school do you? Hurry up son. Momma will be late for work. Let's go."

"Coming Momma, I need to say good bye to Olivia and Meredith." He patted the cats' head and stage whispered Be good, I'll be home soon.

Benji is now 4 years old  and is the spitting image of James, from the mop blonde hair to ocean blue eyes, pouty pink lips and his mannerisms always remind me of my late husband. 

We got to school just as the bells were ringing. Benji could hardly control his excitement to be in class. He looks so cute with his Superman backpack and matching Superman sneakers, blue polo shirt and shorts.

I am now working in the pediatric unit of our hospital as nurse manager in charge of 30  nurses in my tour. My group includes my best friend Gigi and Martha both single and stunning women. We all get along well except when it comes to setting me up for blind dates. I have been on a few dates but they turned out to be disasters. The men just wanted one thing and I'm not ready for it. My time is spent taking care of Benji and my nursing duties.

"Come on Tay it's about time for you to start socializing and have fun. We found a perfect person for you. He's tall, dark and handsome and is a successful lawyer." Martha  said enthusiastically.

" No, I can't who will take care of Benji? I don't have a babysitter. He is not used to strangers".

"No problem I will babysit for him" Gigi replied with a big smile on her face.

"Why are you guys so persistent. I'm happy with my life, I don't want any complications specially in dealing with men."

"Tay you're only 29 years old, enjoy the rest of your life. Martha and I will even help you get ready.  Ok? I'll call Chris then you can talk and make plans."

I sighed out loud and agreed making them scream so loud other nurses looked at us with confused expressions on their faces.

Chris called and we made plans for Saturday  night. He seemed pleasant and nice to talk to. I told Benji that I am going out with a friend and Auntie Gigi will stay with him. He just nodded and continued to play.

Saturday came and as promised Martha helped me in choosing the dress, shoes and accessories. I am not fond of make up but I allowed her to apply some on my face and fixed my hair into loose curls framing my face.  At 7pm the bell rang and when I opened the door I saw a tall man with dark combed back hair, dark eyes and a big smile on his face. My friends gave me thumbs up when we left.

The dinner turned out to be enjoyable. Chris is a very good conversationalist and could talk about anything. He was attentive and made me feel relaxed  and we were  laughing our  heads off from the  jokes that he told. We talked about our jobs, hobbies , our priorities in life. I also told him about my son and he seemed interested in Benji. Our date ended with a friendly hug and said that he enjoyed spending time with me.

Gigi was so excited and wanted to know everything that happened in the date. I didn't have anything to hide and I told her that Chris is a nice guy and we had a good time. She was all smiles and happy that I enjoyed the date.

Sunday is fun day for the small Alwyn family. I took Benji to the park where he climbed the monkey bars, used  the slide , played ball with other kids and enjoyed the swing. He had fun kicking a soccer ball when it landed too far into the benches. He was looking for the ball when he saw it being picked up by a tall man. 

"Does this belong to you?" the man asked gently. When Benji looked up he gasped out loud "Daddy is that you? You're back. I miss you so much Dad "then hugged the man's leg as tight as he could. The man knelt down so they are at eye level. He smiled gently at the boy looking closely at his features. The face looks familiar with big blue eyes, mop of  blonde hair, pouty pink lips and oval shaped face. He was about to ask who is with him when he heard a voice that sounded familiar to him.

He saw a tall, slim, beautiful blonde haired woman coming towards them. Suddenly the boy  yelled "Momma, I'm here, Don't worry I'm safe. Daddy is with me". I was shocked when I saw Joe with Benji hugging his thigh. 

"Taylor is that you? I hardly recognized you. Is this Benji? He is big now and looks exactly like James. He even called me daddy."

"Yeah , that's Benji. Sorry about him calling you daddy. He really miss his Daddy, every time he sees a tall blonde man he looks closely thinking he could be his dad.' There was an uneasy silence after that.

"Benji this is your Uncle Joe, your Dad's  twin brother." My son looked sad when he heard Joe is not his Dad and just stared at Joe with his big blue eyes.

"Can I be your friend Uncle Joe. It's just Momma and me at home. It's sad sometimes cuz I want a Dad."

"Yes I'll be your friend , if your Momma will allow I can visit or have play dates with you. Would you like that?"

Benji was jumping up and down and beg me to let Joe be his friend. Who could resist that face. Of course I agreed.

"Momma, it's ice cream time, can we invite Uncle Joe for ice cream?" 
"If you have no important task to do would you have ice cream with us Joe?"
"This is more important than anything in the world. Let's go." Joe agreed heartily but actually he has a date in the park with a new acquaintance. He felt guilty , but James' family is more important to him.

Benji was holding my right hand and hanging on to Joe's left hand swinging our hands with glee. Joe and I looked at each other with a smile, I have never seen Benji so excited after James passed away. People who saw us had smiles on their faces too.

We enjoyed our ice cream with Benji talking non stop telling Joe about his new friends from school. He told him with that he likes painting and drawing. He promised Joe that he was going to show him his art works at home and the new school stuff that he has. He never ran out of things to say and was so happy. We went back to the park and played soccer. They both ganged up on me and pinned me to the ground. Joe was on top of me, panting and I was gasping for breath. We looked at each other and became aware of our bodies lying on top of each other. We both blushed and immediately got up with shy smiles on our faces. 

Then a woman rushed towards us yelling" So this is why you stood me up. You want to be with somebody with a child. Forget about our date I don't want see you anymore" then she walked away bristling with anger.

Joe and I looked at each other still shocked by what happened. He shook his head and we simultaneously rubbed the back of our necks. " Sorry about that Tay I didn't mean to lie on top of you. That woman was supposed to be my date but forget about it, this is more important to me now" and smiled at me.

Joe walked us home and he told me that he has accepted the cardiothoracic department director's position  at New York- Presbyterian Hospital where I also work and started last week. I informed him that I work in the same institution as pediatric nurse manager.

" So I'll see you there. I'm looking forward to work with you on some pediatric cases. I remember James telling me you're the best nurse he has ever worked with." 

"Thank you for the fun day with the Alwyn's. I'll see you in the hospital." Benji hugged Joe tightly and said" don't forget me Uncle Joe. I'll see you soon. Bye".

"See you soon Benji. Nice to see you again Taylor. I had fun", then gave her a gentle smile.