When the Fairytale Ends by Dwan Abrams Page A

blinked. When she glanced into the rearview mirror, she saw Jonathan’s cheeks puffed out like a blowfish, and then he blew out the air and started working his jaw. Just when she thought she’d explode if he didn’t say what was on his mind, he finally opened his mouth and spoke.
    â€œYou think you know me, but you don’t know me,” Jonathan said to the back of her head.
    She put one hand on the steering wheel and used the other to put the car in drive. She waited until she had enough space between cars before easing her way back into traffic.
    â€œIf that was the case,” he continued, “I wouldn’t have been with her this long.”
    Shania cut her eyes at her sister and then looked straight ahead. Cheyenne didn’t utter a word. The tips of her ears were red, and she continued to stare forward as she gnawed her nails down to their nail bed.
    â€œI know that you can’t stand the ground I walk on,” Jonathan continued, “and I’m sure it would make your day if I would just disappear out your sister’s life forever.”
    Before she could stop herself, her head nodded on its own volition.
    â€œBut you know what?” he added. “Whether you like me or not, you should have enough respect for your sister to respect her decision. You think you got me all figured out, but you don’t. You think you know me, but you don’t know the half. What I do know is that I love your sister, and as long as God allows me to be on this earth, I’m going to do everything I can to keep her happy. And if that’s not enough for you, then, hey, it is what it is. But as long as that’s enough for Cheyenne, then that’s all that matters.”
    â€œOkay.” Shania smirked. “Let’s drop it.”
    â€œYes, let’s,” Cheyenne added in a soft voice, still nibbling on her nails and staring out the passenger window.
    No one spoke for the rest of the ride, which suited Shania just fine. She appreciated the quiet, and used the silence to force herself to calm down.
    Once at the house, Greg joined them outside and he seemed a little less disturbed than he had been at church. Jonathan nearly tripped out of the car when his eyes landed on Greg’s bike.
    â€œMan, is that a BMW motorcycle?” he exclaimed with his hands on his hips as he gave the bike a good looking over. “I ain’t even know BMW made motorcycles.”
    Cheyenne looked at her sister with her mouth hanging open. “You actually let him get a bike?”
    Shania rolled her eyes. “I didn’t let him do anything, but that’s a whole other can of worms that I don’t feel like opening right now.” She opened the door and hopped down from the Rover. “Come on, Cheyenne. We’ll leave the boys out here, and you can help me put something on the stove.”
    Greg was more than a little ready to show off his new motorcycle and explain all the gadgets to Jonathan. He and Jonathan spent a few moments in the garage doing some male bonding while Shania and Cheyenne went into the kitchen.
    Shania looked into the sink and removed the bowl of thawed shrimp and the bag of thawed lobster. Cheyenne went straight to the bar stools and straddled one. She looked up at the small flat-screen television hanging on the wall above the bread box and said, “Where’s the remote?”
    Shania gave her sister an exasperated stare. “I thought I said come help me put something on the stove.”
    Cheyenne rolled her eyes and searched the countertops, then began pulling out cabinet drawers. She searched through their contents for the remote. “Shania, you know I can’t cook. Found it!” She grinned as she held up the remote, then settled atop the stool again.
    As Cheyenne flipped through the channels on the small plasma-screen TV hanging on the kitchen wall, Shania heated a skillet on the front eye and said, “You’re married now.