Bent Not Broken

April 1997

"Angel, girl, turn to Channel 2. Do you see what I see?" Deana screamed hysterically into the phone.

"What is it, Dean? You know the channels aren’t the same here," Angel responded groggily.

"I don’t know, but I think its WVN. Just turn and hurry!" Deana urged.

"Okay, Okay, I’m turning, but I don’t ...."

Angel allowed the phone to fall onto the hardwood floor. It landed with a huge thud and bounced awkwardly out of her grasp. Deana’s faint voice drifted inaudibly from somewhere under the bed. Angel adjusted the volume on her television and dropped to the floor like a rag doll, her mouth hanging open. She tried to convince herself that she was dreaming. Blinking several times to focus her eyes, she hoped to validate that she was not experiencing one of her crazy dreams. She finally realized that she was indeed watching her fiancée on television. An older but attractive male reporter was apparently attempting to interview him as he exited the stadium.

James was standing there, immaculately dressed in one of his many dark-colored, Armani suits, his white shirt and red tie adding to his allure. She allowed her eyes to take in the whole scene. It was obvious that a young, Latino female was waiting patiently in the wings. When the camera finally panned wide, she was able to get a clearer view.

"Sasha! Oh, my God! I can’t believe he’s on damn, national TV with this heifer," she yelled at the images on the screen. "He said she was just another one of his little groupies from HU. I knew it! My intuition never seems to fail. Grandma Vi always told me to listen to my ‘first mind’. Once again, he’s lied and tried to deceive me." Anger surged through her veins. "That’s it, Jamie! You dog! It’s over! I swear. Oh, it is definitely over this time. You’ll never get a chance to do this to me again. Never!" Angel roared as her voice resonated throughout her New York apartment. Her mind, body, and soul were bending and nearly broken.

Angel remained unwavering. It sounded wonderful, but she couldn’t forget all the bad times. There was too much tension remaining between them . . .

"James, that’s really sweet, but...I mean...everything that you’re saying right now is all I’ve ever wanted to hear. It’s just that I kept waiting and waiting, but you seemed to be so happy with Sasha. As much as I wanted to pretend that it didn’t matter, it did. It really did. The few times that I saw you guys together, I thought I was going to die inside. James, the truth is...um...you see...."

"Tell me, Angel. Please, don’t hold back your feelings. This is so important to me," James cajoled.

"Jamie, the truth is that you ripped out a part of my soul. When I finally realized and accepted the fact that you were not being faithful, my whole world fell apart. I was so hurt and humiliated. You hurt me dammit!"

"Baby, I know. I know I did. That’s why I’m here. I would give anything to make this up to you. My heart is breaking. I love you, and I want to make things right."

"But...what about Sasha? Aren’t things going well for you two?"

"What about her? This is about us, you and me. Besides, if things were all that between me and her, I wouldn’t be here, now would I?"

"I don’t know, James. All of this is coming out of left field. I don’t know what to think."

"You believe that I love you and that I’m sorry, right? If you do, then that’s all that matters."