Two Steps Back by Britni Danielle Page B

evident in his refusal to use her name.
    “ Papa, Fiona and I haven’t been happy for years. We haven’t—“
    “So what!” his father spat. “Marriage is not always happy, but you don’t get divorced because of it. You had your fun, now go home to your wife.”
    “I’m in love with Jaylah, Papa. I want to be with her, she makes me happy.”
    “I understand this girl makes you feel things, but she’s not worth ruining your life.”
    Jaylah’s heart lurched. She wanted to defend herself, wanted to explain that she was, in fact, worth it. She wanted to tell Johnny’s father that she loved his son with a fierceness that was so foreign, so against her character that it could not be explained away as some sort of fanciful whim that would soon pass.
    “She didn’t ruin my life . I did. I stayed with Fiona even though I knew marrying her was a mistake. I was drowning, Papa. Jaylah saved me, she brought me back to life.”
    “You are confused,” Johnny’s father said, ignoring his son’s heartfelt words. “Come home, get your bearings straight, and patch things up with Fiona. She will take you back.”
    “Papa, my relationship with Fiona is finished. Done,” Johnny said, slicing through the air with his hands as he spoke. “Jaylah and I are having a baby and we’re going to get married.”
    Johnny’s father sucked his teeth at the news of his impending grandchild. “I see this girl did not waste any time trapping you,” he said, causing a new pang of anger to ricochet through Jaylah’s limbs. She leapt up from the bed and mouthed the words “ trapped you? ” to Johnny, pissed off that the decision she agonized over had been reduced to a cheap trick by a conniving woman. “Offer her some money, son, and I’m sure she will go away. Then you can get back to your life.”
    Johnny blew out a rush of air, then reached out for Jaylah’s hand. “Papa, she didn’t trap me, and she’s not going anywhere. We’re getting married. I hope you and mum can support me on this.”
    “Support you?” Johnny’s father laughed harshly. “I’m supposed to support my son’s stupidity? I wouldn’t dream of it. If you insist on ruining your life, I won’t be apart of it.”
    Johnny looked at his phone in disbelief. “What are you saying?”
    “Call me when you’ve come to your senses a nd are back home with your wife!” his father snapped before hanging up the phone, ruining their chance of a happy afternoon.
    Jaylah searched her heart for the words that would soothe Johnny’s wounds, but she doubted whatever she said could assuage the pain he felt from his father’s rebuke. It was one thing for Johnny’s father to blame her for ruining his son’s life, but it was quite another to disown his only son because he disagreed with Johnny’s choice.
    The stakes had just been raised, and Jaylah knew that being kicked out of the Poku clan would either force them to grow closer together or pull them apart. At the moment, though, it was impossible to predict which would occur.
    Jaylah walked up behind Johnny and put her hands around his waist. She rested her head on his back and inhaled his musky cologne. He leaned into her embrace, and for a moment, Jaylah felt like she was holding him up.
    “I’m proud of you,” she said after a few minutes. “And I love you.”
    Johnny turned to face her and kissed Jaylah on the lips. “Good. Because you and the baby are all I’ve got.”
    She probed his face for signs that he was joking, but found none . Johnny was right; she was it.
    “But i s that enough?”
    Johnny tried to smile, but the feeling never reached his eyes. Jaylah wanted to cheer him up, but words continued to fail her. She felt like all the king’s horses and all the king’s men, hoping to piece her lover back together. Jaylah wanted him to be the sanguine man she’d fallen hard for and had given herself to without even thinking twice, but she just couldn’t figure out what to say.
    Jaylah found his