81

81
2 years later...


Jenna picked up a flower, brought it close to her nose and inhaled.

"Hmm." She smiled to herself before turning to Kai. "I like these ones."

He looked at the flower briefly before nodding with a grunt. He didn't care what flowers she picked, and she knew that as surely as she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

"Nice choice, babe," he said, faking an interest for her sake.

Jenna walked up and down the aisle, looking at everything on offer. There were flowers of every colour and shape, and in the next section, ready-made arrangements ranged from extravagant to simple and rustic looking.

The simple ones were more in Jenna's price range, and she preferred the understated beauty of them.

"This one for the tables?" she asked Kai.

He leaned over and gave her a kiss before whispering in her ear, "You know I couldn't give a crap about flowers, right?"

Jenna laughed at nodded. "Yeah, I know. But this is your wedding too."

"As long as I get my open bar, I'm happy," he said and grinned. "And you of course. I get to have you forever."

As they left the flower shop and made their way into the high street, both of them were scanning their surroundings, seeing how much their hometown had changed.

They didn't visit as often as they would like to. The place simply had too many bad memories for them.

"They changed the video shop to a cafe," Kai moaned. "I used to love that place."

"Yeah but nobody watches DVDs anymore," Jenna pointed out.

"But another cafe?" Kai whined, turning up his lip. "We have so many already."

"I could use a coffee thought," Jenna said.

"Are you allowed?" he asked, pointing at her belly.

Jenna pressed her fingers around her bump, stroking it gently as she nodded. "The midwife said I could have a couple of instants or one strong coffee a day."

"And no shellfish," Kai reminded her with a grin, knowing how much she hated the stuff. Even the thought of it made her feel ill.

"Eww," she said, punching him playfully on the arm.

"I'm going to get you back for all these attacks once my baby is out of you," he warned. "You know that, right?"

Jenna didn't doubt it for a second. She laughed as she made her way to the counter, staring at the cake selection as she went. It all looked so good that she was finding it hard to choose something. A pastry doughnut filled with creme, a carrot cake or a piece of triple chocolate cheesecake? Which to pick?

"Just get one of each," Kai said, sensing her hesitation. "You are eating for two now."

"The midwife told me that is actually a falsity," Jenna reported sadly. "I was devastated."

She was about to order her food when she noticed Kai staring at the couple sitting by the window.

"Oh, my days... is that Damien... with Charlene?" he gasped.

"Damien!?" Jenna asked way too loudly, alerting him to their presence.

Damien looked up from his drink and beamed a smile at them, beckoning for them to come over.

"Wow, Jenna and Kai. Loves young dream," he said with a friendly smile.

"It's nice to see you again, Damien," Jenna said. It was a lie. She had always been a little bit scared of the guy.

He hadn't changed his style at all--still wearing his hair long and the same black trench coat.

Charlene, on the other hand, looked like a completely different person.

"Hey, Char," Kai said. "I never heard you came back to town."

"I'm not Char," she muttered, not looking up from the cup of tea she held in both hands.

"If you say so," Kai said, frowning. "I always wanted to tell you--I'm sorry for how I treated you. You were a proper good mate and I treated you like trash for no reason. I'm sorry, mate."

It felt weird to Jenna to hear him apologise. It wasn't something he did all too often.

Charlene did not look up. Her eyes remained fixed on the liquid in her cup. Jenna felt a chill down her spine as the girl's hand started to shake. The little tea cup clattered inside the saucer as the shaking increased. Eventually, the tea spilt over her small, pale hands.

Damien placed a hand gently over hers.

"Home," she whispered, barely audibly. "Please can we go home now?"

Damien flashed an apologetic glance at Jenna and Kai. "She can't be outside for too long. It's a lot for her."

Jenna nodded. She didn't feel it was her place to ask any probing questions about Charlene's state of mind, despite being incredibly curious to know what had happened to the girl over the years.

"Congratulation," Damien said as got up to leave.

At first, Jenna was confused because she hadn't mentioned marrying Kai. Then Damien pointed at her bump and she laughed.

"Oh, right, thank you," she said.

Both Kai and Jenna watched the strangely matched couple leave.

"That was weird, right?" Kai said. "Did you notice the marks on her?"

"Huh? No," Jenna replied.

Kai was sucking at the inside of his mouth, deep in thought.

Then he shook his head.

"It isn't any of my business," he said at last.

Jenna nodded, but something about the situation felt wrong.

"It's none of our business," Kai said, turning to face her. He looked both worried and stern.

"I get it," she said.

"No. You don't get it. You don't know him the way I know him. We have everything we need. We have each other and we have our baby and I'm not letting anything get in the way of that. Not for anything."

"Not for a friend you hurt in the past?" Jenna asked. She couldn't shake the sinking feeling that Charlene needed help.

"Not for anyone," Kai confirmed. "Me, you, and the baby. That is my world. That is all I care about."

Jenna smiled and hugged him.

She shifted her weight into the chair, trying to get comfortable, and almost wet herself laughing when the waitress bought over an entire trayful of cakes.

"I didn't know which you wanted," Kai said.

"Then I guess I'll have to eat them all," she said.

"Not gonna share with me then, no?" Kai asked.

Jenna laughed, pushed her finger into the cream doughnut and wiped it on Kai's nose. "Here."

"I'll make you lick it off," he warned with a grin.

By the time they finished eating the cakes, their minds were filled with details about the wedding and worrying about the birth. Both of them had forgotten all about Charlene.