Chapter Text
“How are we celebrating the rest of your birthday?” Gregory asks Janine, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as they start to walk out of the restaurant together.
Janine thinks to herself and shakes her head. She’d rather be at home crying herself to sleep for the rest of the night.
She had felt both proud of herself for establishing boundaries, content with spending her birthday with people who love her, but mostly humiliated by her mother’s actions today.
Taking note of how quiet his girlfriend is, Gregory asks another question. “What are you thinking about, being 30?” He then grows concerned by the fact that Janine doesn’t laugh.
“No, my mom.” She simply shares, trying to condense everything into one statement.
Gregory kisses her temple. “What happened?” He asks as they approach his car. He opens the door for her and lets her climb into his car before he gets in the driver’s seat.
“That’s another story for another day. I think I want to go home and lie on the couch, maybe watch a movie or something.” She answers, looking out the window. Gregory grabs her hand and kisses the back of it, making her sigh. “I love you, and thank you again for dinner.” She mumbles, quietly.
He turns her head towards him and studies her eyes for a moment. “I love you, too.” He shares and kisses her softly.
The drive to Janine’s apartment had been a quiet one, with Janine replaying today’s events in her head like a broken record. “While I was with my mom, she asked me if I was pregnant.” Janine shares randomly as Gregory stops at a red light. The statement nearly stops him in his tracks.
“You had wine earlier…” He shares, facing her.
“Gregory, I’m not pregnant.” Janine chuckles, lightheadedly. “I mentioned to her that now that I’m thirty, I’m starting to think about things like marriage, buying a house, you know… things older adults do.”
Gregory nods his head at her answer as a shy smile plays on his face. “Do you want these things, Janine?” he asks. She nods her head and squeezes his hand as her heart races for his response.
“Good, I want those things too. Not that I haven’t thought about next steps, just wondering how to go about them… with you, of course.” He rambles.
“I think we’ve been moving at a healthy pace.” She shares, feeling confident in her choice of words.
“I think we are, too.” They rest in comfortable silence together, Gregory meditating on her words.
Janine looks out the window at the Christmas lights shining through people’s homes, wishing that she too lived in her own home.
With Gregory.
Her daydreaming doesn’t go far because before she knows it, she is back at home and Gregory helps her out of his car.
Unlocking the door to Janine’s quaint little home, they each get undressed for the night and into comfortable clothing for their night together.
The movement in the kitchen gets Janine out of her head, taking comfort in the fact that she isn’t alone. She finds her boyfriend putting down some cookie dough on a reusable parchment mat.
“There’s no point in me reminding you how unsafe it is to eat cookie dough, I know you’ll eat it anyway.” Gregory shares as Janine comes into the kitchen to join him.
“You know me, well.” She giggles before changing the topic. “Question though, do you think I’m annoying?”
Gregory’s mouth falls open, this time her eyes fill to the brim with tears as she waits impatiently for his response. “Do you think I’m annoying?” she asks him again, throwing his mind for a loop.
“Why would you ask that?” Gregory inquires, putting down the bowl of cookie dough and wrapping his arms around Janine.
“I’ve been so used to my mom critiquing me, calling me boring, thinking that I haven’t had much of a life since breaking up with Tariq, but today she said that I was annoying and that I needed to watch that, being with you… that was a new low. It has to be true, right?” She asks as her voice cracks, breaking Gregory’s heart.
“No. Janine, you’re anything but annoying. I’d say you’re ambitious, brilliant, creative, and so much more than your mother can see. I am so proud and glad to have you as my girlfriend, and I’m so in love with you...” The timer rings for the oven before Gregory finishes his statement. “I’ll be back.” He promises, letting her go.
Janine leaves her boyfriend in the kitchen and turns on the television to a Christmas movie.
He sits down next to her, pulling her into his arms. “Here’s some cookie dough for you. The cookies in the oven have finished baking, so they’re cooling down.”
Janine raises her eyebrows at him as she eats a piece of dough. “I can’t believe you’re enabling me.”
“It’s still your birthday, so why not?” Gregory jokes, giving her his usual lovesick grin.
Right on time, his father Martin texts him to check in, and to wish Janine a happy birthday.
“Are you playing a game?” Janine asks, looking up at him with doe eyes as he texts his father back and forth.
“No, just texting my dad. He says happy birthday.”
“Well tell him I said thank you! I’m gonna go grab a cookie.” She shares with him, getting up from the couch and racing to the kitchen. “Ow, hot!” She screams, burning herself and stealing her boyfriend’s attention.
“Are you okay?” Gregory asks, getting up from the couch.
“I’m good. Oh my gosh, Gregory, these cookies are delicious!”
“You’re funny, but please be careful.” He grabs a cookie and kisses her temple.
Somehow they end up sitting together on Janine’s floor in the living room, wrapped up in each other’s arms, enjoying cookies, and disregarding the movie playing in the background. “Janine?” She looks up at him, his hands run up and down her back. “I hope you don’t listen to the noise that your mom tried to create earlier.”
“It hurt.” She whispers, feeling her heart break.
“I know it hurt, but you don’t have to carry that. You don’t have to pretend to be okay, either. Your mom doesn’t get to determine who you are, nor what you dream about.” She nods her head in agreement and wipes her tears away, letting Gregory comfort her with his words.
“But annoying? Gregory, what if we get married, and…” she cuts herself off, choking back tears.
“We’ll be married, and go from there. Listen Janine, I want you, and everything she tried to make you feel ashamed of.” He whispers in her ear and presses soft kisses to her face as he comforts her.
“My mom seemed to think that Ayesha and I drove away the men who wanted to marry her. Can you believe that?”
“I really don’t think you and Ayesha were capable of doing anything like that.”
“I don’t know, maybe we did drive them away. Why else is she single?” She reasons, feeling the pit in her stomach growing deeper.
“Grown men don’t run easily, and you and your sister have been out of the house for years. Maybe it really is just her.” She sighs and finally settles into his warm embrace.
“I’m listening.” She promises, growing quiet for a moment. “Long story short, she didn’t come to dinner because I uninvited her.”
Gregory’s mouth drops open before he forms a smile. “What? I’m so proud of you. I think that the old you would’ve just tolerated her after she hurt you, and dealt with it all later.”
“Yeah.” She mumbles, playing with her hands. “I’m out here, growing.”
“And doing a great job at it.”
“Let’s go to bed.” She whispers, standing up and grabbing the empty plate of cookies to carry to the kitchen.
On his way to Janine’s room, Gregory texts his father back. “I know we’ve been talking about it, but I want to modify Mom’s ring to make it personal to Janine. I should have enough saved to do that.”
Martin Eddie texts back almost immediately. “Let’s talk more about it tomorrow, son.”
Gregory joins her in the bedroom and secures his durag while she throws her hair into a bonnet.
“Thank you for making my birthday great.”
“I’m glad that I was able to do that for you.” He responds before bringing her hand up to his lips to kiss the back of it. “I’m excited to see what this year will bring.”
She doesn’t realize how much weight his statement carries yet.
She will, sooner than she realizes.
They lie down in Janine’s bed and Gregory pulls her close to him. He presses a kiss to her forehead, “I love your mind and how creative your thoughts are. I love your hands and the way that they hold mine, and how gentle your touches are.” He shares, grabbing her hands.
Janine grabs his face, looking into his eyes. “I love you Janine, and I always will.” He shares with her, his hands caress her back and send chills up her spine. “I want what we have to last forever.”
With that, tears come to Janine’s eyes again and Gregory wipes them away. “I’ve heard that before.”
“With action?” Gregory challenges, stopping Janine in her tracks. “Honestly, I’m ready to change your last name to mine.”
Janine looks at him, furrowing her eyebrows as she struggles to find the words to say. “Me too.” She shares, giving him a smile before kissing him deeply.
“Good.” Gregory shares as she lays her head on his chest. His hands caress her back as she closes her eyes, ready to fall asleep.
She knows he’s being honest.
And Gregory knows that he is about to fulfill his promise to her, as soon as he can.