SWNOVELS Chapter 10
Ignoring him, Jocelyn ate her pizza while scrolling through Twitter. She noticed a post from her cousin Quinta, hand in hand with her new husband Damian, captioned "Hand in hand with you, through this life and into old age."
Jocelyn liked the tweet.
Quinta's new marriage seemed promising, and even if it was hasty, it seemed to affirm her belief in love.
Suddenly, the slice of pizza she had bitten into disappeared. Looking up, she saw Melvin, eyeing her phone while chewing..
"Quinta's on her second round of 'I do's', huh? After seeing so many marriages tank, why's she lining up to jump into the grave?" Melvin went, "Marriage flops are public freaking spectacles; why volunteer for the walk of shame?"
Jocelyn put down her phone; her appetite's gone. "Marriage isn't the death of love; it's a major life destination. You don't have to buy into love, but don't throw shade on other people's marriages."
Melvin saw her getting riled up, snatched her plate, and wolfed down her leftover pizza. "Don't you think your cousin's just playing house? Her last marriage lasted two years? Ditched the guy for not bringing home enough bacon. How long you think this honeymoon phase is gonna last? She'd be better off dating around like before, just cut and run if it doesn't work out. At least then, your uncle wouldn't lose face."
"Have you said enough?" Jocelyn was furious. "Do you think everyone is as irresponsible as you? Yes, marriage doesn't guarantee a lifetime together, but it means at one point, they thought it could be!"
Jocelyn took a deep breath, "Forget it, why am I even talking to you about this? I'm beat, you do you."
She stormed off to her room and double locked the door.
Melvin just stared at the closed door, cool as a cucumber, cleaned up the plate, then knocked.
"Jocelyn, we're just hashing out our views on marriage. Why the temper?"
"Hey, as a teacher, can you be a bit more gracious?"
Leaning against the wall, Melvin said in a lazy drawl, "I'm heading out of town tomorrow and won't be back till next month. You sure you want me crash on the sofa on our last night?" Jocelyn was fuming inside.
Even though she knew his stance on love and marriage, hearing it straight from his mouth always stung.
He was reminding her, yet again, he was not the marrying kind.
Her pride was on fire, and she was not budging an inch.
After her shower, she heard the front door close.
She waited by her door, dead silence. Then she peeked out, and found he's gone.
Suddenly, the emptiness hit her hard.
Sleeping alone that night, insomnia kicked in her. It was past 2 AM when she finally dozed off.
No sooner had she closed her eyes than the alarm blared.
She got up, freshened up, opened her door, and there was Melvin, giving her the smoldering look.
She had no clue when he got back.
She tried to squeeze by, pretending he was invisible.
Melvin grabbed her hand, "Still steamed?"
"Yeah," she glared at him.
"Great, I've been holding onto my anger all night too." He picked her up and carried her back to the bedroom, laying her on the bed and pressing down on her. "Let's extinguish our fires together." Jocelyn struggled, "Get off!"
"Nope." He kissed her.
"I'll be late!" she protested, trying to push him away.
He interlocked their fingers, breathless, "I've seen your schedule, and you're free this morning."
Jocelyn was speechless.
"Chill," he whispered, kissing her earlobe, his voice deep and sultry, "My plane's at 8:30, so we've only got two hours."
She never knew how to say no to him, ending up joining his wild ride.
Melvin was like a wolf who's been starved for days, looking like he wanted to gobble her up bones and all.
An hour later, Melvin was all dressed up, looking at the flushed beauty on the bed, "What do you want? I'll get it for you."
She's calmed down, "I want something, but you can't give me."
"Jocelyn, let's not go there," he said, tying his tie, "I gotta go."
He paused at the door, came back, and planted a kiss on her forehead, "Be good at home. Don't overthink things, okay?" "Just go, or you'll miss your flight," she said, detached.
He glanced at his watch, "I'm out."
Daisy returned from her hometown.
They've brought back a bunch of local goodies, half for Melvin, and half for Jocelyn.
Jocelyn eyed the two 20-pound bags, "Why so much?"
"These farm eggs, just a hundred. Fifty for you, fifty for Mr. Martinez."
Daisy was all excited, packed them nicely, and told Calvin, "Take these to him at work tomorrow."
Jocelyn wanted to say Melvin's still away on his trip. But she dared not speak.
Calvin agreed without hesitation. "Okay."
"Jocelyn, on my visit, Quinta asked if you're dating. She said she's got someone in mind for you," Daisy teased her suddenly.
Jocelyn was swallowing hard, "Mom, no rush."
"How's there no rush? Margot was at the same age as you, but her child is already in preschool. That little munchkin's so darn sweet with your dad."
"Mom, there's plenty of folks over thirty not hitched, and I'm just twenty-six," Jocelyn complained, head throbbing.
Daisy shot her a look, "Why compare with others? Your dad and I are past fifty. Get married and have kids soon, so we can help out. Wait till we're too old, then who's gonna look after your child then?
If you're lucky to marry into a caring family, fine, but if not, you're in for it. You think playing daughter-in-law is a cakewalk? With your mother-in-law, you gotta pick and choose your words carefully." Jocelyn sat quietly, listening, biting her tongue.
Daisy caught her standing there, all silent and broody, and let out a sigh, "You know, your problem is you're shooting for the stars."
"Really though, whether a marriage rocks or sucks depends on who you're hitched to. Take Dad, for example. He's always got your back, which is why Grandma can't get her claws into you, no matter how hard she tries."
Daisy gave her a look, "And where do you get off thinking you know squat about the hard times I went through when I first married him?"
"But now you are happy, right?" Jocelyn approached with a smile, hugging her mother's arm playfully, "Mom, I also want to find a man who will love me like Dad loves you. So my standards are high. Good things come to those who wait. I believe I'll meet the right one."
"Alright, stop pestering her about getting married all the time. My daughter is young, gorgeous, and talented. She won't have any trouble landing a killer match," Calvin chimed in to wrap things up. Daisy gave Calvin a pointed look, "Oh, you're always the good cop."
Calvin just grinned from ear to ear.
Seeing the love in her parents' eyes, Jocelyn couldn't help but feel envious.