Page 42 of Sweet Love From Saturn

“What the fuck?” I said lowly.

“Mccoy? Is that you, son?” Pauline asked as she approached me.

Pauline was my ex-girlfriend’s mother. Seeing her in Pleasant Springs had me so confused I couldn’t find the words to speak. I never told Carmen where I was moving, so this had to be a coincidence that her mother was standing before me. When Ifinally processed this was indeed Pauline, a thought crossed my mind and my mood went sour. As if God was playing a cruel joke on me, Carmen walked her ass into the café. A bright smile was on her face until she saw me. One thing I couldn’t do was lie and say Carmen wasn’t beautiful because she was. Her hazel eyes always pulled me in deeper and her soft facial features made her look like a model.

When I first met Carmen, her jet-black hair was down her back. About a year into our relationship, she cut it and had been sporting a neck-length bob since. Our last interaction had ended terribly, and if I never saw Carmen again it would’ve been too soon. I was so focused on bracing myself to feel all the anger and hurt I endured from this woman that I didn’t realize I felt just fine. Our eyes were fixed on each other, and still, no emotion took over me. It was as if I’d never spent years with this woman glued to my hip.

“How are you doing, Miss Pauline? What you doing out here? I don’t remember you ever talking about coming to Pleasant Springs.”

“This is my first time out here. Carmen told me she wanted to bring me out here for the End of Summer Festival. We haven’t been out here long, but I’m loving it so far. All these years of living only a couple hours away and I can’t believe this is my first time visiting,” she admitted with excitement.

“Oh yeah? And how did you hear about the festival, Carmen?” I questioned.

At first, I thought it was an odd coincidence that they were in Pleasant Springs. Now, I saw this was done purposely. Carmen came down here with the intention of running into me. I’d been posting about the event for the past couple of weeks. So if Carmen said anything outside of that, I’d know this was all set up.

“Well, hello to you too, Mccoy. I found out about the event from social media. From a page that came across my newsfeed,” she explained.

“Oh, okay. It was good seeing you, Miss Pauline. Enjoy the festival and have a safe drive back.”

The minute I turned to walk away, both mine and Justin’s numbers were called and that couldn’t have happened at a better time. After retrieving our drinks and food, I headed toward the exit. I glanced over my shoulder when I felt a presence behind me.

“Mccoy, wait! Is this where you live now?” Carmen asked once we were outside.

“Where I live has nothing to do with you.”

“Mccoy, please! I’m sorry. I got nervous when you told me to set a date. I panicked, but I’m good now. I’ve been trying to get in contact with you to tell you that I want this…I want us.”

“Carmen, what the hell is wrong with you? I put a ring on your finger and told you to set a date after we were engaged for over a year. It was never in my plan to stay engaged for years at a time and I kept telling you that. We agreed that we’d travel and enjoy our marriage for a few years before having kids. We had all these plans just for you to tell me you weren’t ready for any of it. You made it seem like I was forcing all of that on you.

“Now, here you are, telling me you want us to work. You and me both know the only reason you’re saying that is because you or your homegirls been stalkin’ me on social media. You see every time I post my woman and you can’t stand the fact that I moved on. It eats you up that I wasn’t stuck on you like you thought I’d be.”

From the tears rolling down her cheeks, I knew I was right about everything. I had no doubt that she wanted to be with me. When I moved to Pleasant Springs and she was showing up to my parents’ home, I knew it back then. Carmen knew I was agood man, but she wanted to string me along and that was never going to work for me. I wasn’t about to be in a relationship for ten years as someone’s boyfriend. As badly as I wanted to be with Carmen, we didn’t want the same things and that was okay. Life happened like that sometimes, but I saw no point in continuing to be with her. I knew from when we were together that one of her friends made fake pages to be nosy and that was exactly how she’d been keeping up with me.

“You moved on so damn easily!”

“Easily? It’s been over a damn year. Listen, I’m gon’ tell you this and go on about my day. What me and you had is over, Carmen. I don’t wanna be with you and I don’t wanna be friends. I wish you the best in life, but please, do me a favor and close this chapter like I did. I’m good with the woman I have, but even if she wasn’t in the picture, I’d never come back to you. If you’re here to enjoy the festival with your mom, then have fun and do that. But if you’re here to see me, do yourself a favor and leave.”

Carmen’s crocodile tears didn’t sway me one way or another. My feelings for her were buried and I was happy with Saturn. I wasn’t letting up on her anytime soon, and at this point, Saturn was stuck with me for life. When I turned, my heart dropped at the sight of Saturn and Justin standing there. I was so stuck on trying to get Carmen out my face that I hadn’t been paying attention to my surroundings. When a look of uncertainty and confusion came across Saturn’s face, I knew I needed to fix that. I’d never disrespect Saturn, let alone entertain my ex-fiancé while we were together.

After handing Justin his food, I reached out for Saturn with my free hand. Pulling her in, I kissed her forehead and lips before holding up the bag containing her cinnamon roll. I didn’t have shit to hide when it came to Carmen. As far as I was concerned, nothing had to be dragged out about the situation. I’d tell Saturn everything that happened once we made it back tothe shop. Justin was in shock as he stared at Carmen. I knew he had questions, but it wasn’t hard to put two and two together. He knew firsthand that I didn’t have anything lingering where my ex was concerned.

“Come on, baby. We still have a few things to do before the event starts.”

I could tell she wanted to counter my statement. Instead, she nodded and held my hand as we crossed the street. I heard Carmen calling my name, but there was nothing else to say. It had taken a while for me to get over her, but I was done. What Saturn and I shared was beyond anything I’d ever experienced. Our relationship wasn’t perfect, but Saturn fought for me the same way I fought for her. She showed me every day that she was choosing me.

She was choosing us.

Carmen hadn’t given me that type of reassurance in God knows how long. She never fought for me. It was always me trying to make us better. That was a war I was never going to win. Even now, while she stood on the sidewalk crying loudly, I knew Carmen would never fight for us. She loved the idea of us, but had no desire to put in the leg work.

“Yo, bruh, I’m gonna take another call real quick. I’ll be right in my car, so just call me when you need me to come back inside,” Justin stated as we walked back to Saturn’s shop.

Once we made it to the entrance, Saturn’s parents were still working on the balloon arch they’d been adamant on her having. I wasn’t even fully planted in the chair when I felt the heat from her gaze on me.

“Baby, chill out and eat your cinnamon roll. I ran into her at the café. I was just as confused to see her. Long story short, she saw I’d been posting about the event and came here trying to rekindle. No, I don’t want her, and no, I’m not still in love with her. I don’t know how much you heard, but I promise Ididn’t leave room for her to even think I wanted to rekindle,” I explained.

I knew Saturn well enough to know what questions she’d ask. Since I knew that, I answered them before she could even ask.

“Is she gonna be a problem today?”

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