The Compromise

James returned home Sunday morning nervous, but very pleased with himself for what he managed to accomplish in the last forty eight hours. He left Friday morning, much to Jess' dismay, for a "trip to L.A." In actuality, he drove to West Virginia, spent the day with Jess' mom finalizing the sale of a very important piece of jewelry. In March he spoke lightly of his intentions to propose to Jess with her mother and her mother suggested a family friend to design the ring. After countless trips to the jewelry shop and months of waiting for the end result, the jeweler contacted James Thursday night saying the finished product had arrived. James formulated a plan to drive down there, pick up the ring and spend time with Jess' family sans Jess herself. He knew that things between them have been shaky, but the move and relying on solely each other did that to them. He knew in his heart that Jess was the girl he would spend the rest of his life with.

So Friday he spent the day with Jess' mom. She went with James to pick up the ring and then she showed him around the small city. The evening ended with the two, along with Jess' father, meeting up with Jess' siblings and their families for dinner. During the meal he expressed his desire to ask Jess to marry him and wished for her parents' blessing. This was something he knew he already had, given that they made suggestions months ago on where to get the ring.

He had intended on returning home that night as a surprise, Jess believed he was in California after all; however, during dinner the men decided to go golfing the next day and invited James to go with them. James wasn't one to turn down the chance to golf, so he insisted he pay for the round at the best course in the city. As the next day approached he simply texted Jess to let her know he was okay, but didn't divulge any more information. He golfed the day away with the Wade men and happily indulged in a few beers and a steak dinner afterwards at the clubhouse on the course. He decided spending the night would be the better option because of his intoxication level, and rode off the hill with her father driving from the park as the sun was setting and families were arriving for fireworks.

He had spent the past two days with Jess' family, sleeping in his girlfriend's old room, taking in everything that had to do with her life before him. He wasn't a bit surprised when her mother showed him to Jess' old room and found the wallpaper covered in a variety of pink and yellow flowers, or the posters indicating the Shakespeare festival held every year in Stratford, Ontario. He felt comforted in seeing the bookcase filled with worn books, a dusty old television with piles of old VHS tapes of timeless movies, and a desk filled with old notebooks of stories she wrote as a kid. Like his old bedroom at his parents' house, Jess' room was a shrine of memories and proud moments in the young woman's life. A life James was happy to now be a part of.

As James climbed out of his car he noticed that Jess wasn't home. He wasn't the least bit concerned by this, Jess was an early riser he has come to find out. He anticipated she started her day around 7 with a cup of coffee and a glance at the headlines on her laptop. She probably decided to go to an early church service rather than the later one because she could have more time throughout the day to accomplish other tasks. He assumed she was at the grocery store at this point, stocking up on fruits and veggies that she will meticulously clean, cut, and divide up into baggies and on the to containers for herself through the week. She said when she started at Pitt that she didn't want to make poor eating choices, and save on money, so she started to pack a lunch to take with her during her long days in Oakland. Her not being there only gave him the opportunity to better prepare himself, and the house, for the big proposal.

He didn't notice the guy running towards him until he stopped by James' trunk. James was taking into account the items he needed to haul back into his house, when the man spoke.

"Dude, there's a problem," Paul Martin said out of breath.

James turned, startled, to look at his teammate and neighbor.

"What's up Pauly?" James asked as he reached for his duffel bag, making sure the ring box was securely in place deep in the confines of the bag.

"You remember that girl, Rhonda or something, that I hooked up with about three months ago that I haven't been able to shake?"

"Ha, yeah. She was crazy, what were you thinking?"

"Well, she showed up at your place and claimed to be in a relationship with you."

"Why would she do that?"

"I may have convinced her that I was the Real Deal and used your house the weekend you and Jess went up to Whitby to visit your family."

James slammed his trunk shut and turned towards Paul.

"How do you know she did this?"

"I spoke to Sid earlier this morning, at like 8."

"How does Sid know all this?"

"He was here helping Jess move out."

James' heart sank. No wonder she never responded to any of his texts yesterday. Or answered the phone when he called. He was reeling. No, he was more than that. He was pissed and wanted to punch Paul in the face. He paced away from his friend and back again. He ran his hands through his hair, tugging at the ends. The more he rang his hands through his hair, and paced the angrier he got.

"AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO MAYBE RESOLVE THIS PROBLEM BEFORE SHE LEFT?" James yelled. He didn't care if the other neighbors heard or complained. He was fuming and his plan for the day was spiraling away from him.

"I didn't know what was up until I got a vial text from that woman just before you got back. I don't know what to do man." Paul's face looked distraught. James knew that Paul was remorseful, but at the same time the man should have just owned up. James' name should have never been involved in any sexual escapades with random chicks.

"Where did Jess go? You saw her leave?" James needed to find her. He needed to make things right.

Paul nodded and said to Sidney's house. James grabbed his duffel bag off of the ground and without saying another word to Paul climbed into his car and sped off towards his girlfriend.

When James arrived at Sid's house, he sure enough found Jess' car parked in the driveway in front of the garage. He assumed that the way it was parked indicated that both she and Sidney were inside. The thought of Jess running to Sid for this sort of thing rather than calling him first irked James. He didn't even get the chance to defend himself, prove to her it wasn't him that the skank was after. Instead, she assumed the worst and ran off without a second thought. That was when James realized that their problems stemmed deeper than simply not adjusting well to living together. He approached the door wearily, rang the doorbell incessantly and impatiently waited for someone to answer.

Sidney swung the door open in minutes with a look of annoyance on his face. James felt that he had some nerve looking pissed off. No one, but teammates, even know where Sidney lived so who else would be ringing his doorbell?

"What the hell do you want?" Sid asked tersely. "I thought you were training somewhere."

"Let me talk to Jess." James ignored the cold stare and unwavering stance his friend presented him with. He was a desperate man. Desperate to make his girlfriend see that this was all a huge misunderstanding.

"I don't think so man. You've hurt her." Sidney wasn't going to budge and that angered James.

"I DIDN'T CHEAT ON HER!" James bellowed. He wanted Jess to hear him, maybe she would come running.

"Dude, she isn't going to talk to you like this. Not with you screaming like a maniac. She may never speak to you again."

"Please Sid, I love her. She needs to know I would never do that, that this is all a huge misunderstanding. I don't know this woman that came to my house yesterday. Ask Paul. He will tell you. This is all his fucking fault!" James was faltering, but Sid stood his ground.

"Listen, when she is ready to talk to you she will." And with that Sid closed the door, but not fast enough that James caught sight of her. She looked as awful as he felt and as the door closed he sunk to the floor of the porch and did what not many grown men do. He cried.

Notes