Full Circle

This is my last post on this book.

Ayanna talked to Nicole.  She wanted their relationship to come into full circle.  Of course, Nicole will decide.  She always makes the decisions for the three of them.  But this time, Nicole was hesitant.  I think this was what led her to quickly come into a decision.

She went to Darrell's hotel  to tell him about the plan.  But Darrell used this moment to use his power.  And I really hated him for doing so.  Of course, Nicole was furious; this one even made her strengthen her decision.  And I know that it was just what is was supposed to be.

In the morning, Ayanna came.  And all three of them started to run.  This time, they're doing the same routine that Ayanna and Darrell took a few days back - where Ayanna and Darrell made a bet and Ayanna lost by a hairline.  And her lost was my lost, too, because I wanted her to win.  The pot was anything, anything you want.  Ayanna wanted Erick to leave Oakland.  And leave Nicole alone.  Not even an e-mail.  What Darrell wants?  The same thing, of course.

And this was when it happened.

And this is exactly the reason why I smelled disaster.

While they were waiting for help, they both knew that they had to do something.  She was lying unconscious on the road and they went over to her.  CPR.  As the author said, he was her heart and she was her lungs.  Then, after a few seconds, he was her lungs and she was her heart.  This was beautifully said.

At the hospital later, some nurse asked them who administered CPR, and they said they did.  Nurse said, that saved her life.

She was in a coma for twelve days.  And when she finally gained consciousness miraculously, they helped each other with her rehabilitation until she was back home and back on her feet.  At this point,  Darrell has to claim his prize.  And he said to her, "Just be nice to her forever."

Then, it was time for Darrell to decide.  He fell in love with two women in entirely different ways.  To help him move on, he told himself that he will remove one of the seven bracelets (she gave him seven - one for every year) every six months until the last one.  This bracelet is exactly the same as what Ayanna and Nicole have.

This time, Nicole doesn't make the decisions.  It was him who decided for the three of them.  And he knows that whatever he decides will be good for all of them; all means not only for the three of them but for all of their families.

I wanted to talk about who gets who in the end.  But I know it would be a spoiler - if this isn't yet.  This is also the reason why I just used to pronoun her at some points on this post.  Probably the only thing I can say that I hope is not a give away is the fact that I am quite surprised by the way things ended.  And I really admire Erick Jerome on how he put the twists in order to come to the end.

Just one more thought.  I think the explicit scenes were just an exhibition of the author's articulateness and creativity.  But for me, it was really unnecessary.

I gave this book four stars.

Wast it intentional?

The tape clicked.

And Ayanna was startled.

I don't know if Darrell did that intentionally or he just forgot that he pushed the record button.

But either way, Darrell sensed power with the tape.  But I smell disaster.  Whatever the tape holds should just be between Darrell and Ayanna.  And I say not one more soul.

There isn't a part of me that says that Nicole should hear the tape.  Because even if Darrell senses he could win over Ayanna because of this tape, I say that nobody wins when this gets out between them.  I just hope I could talk to Darrell to stop him from getting this to Nicole.  I just hope that I can help Ayanna stop him.

Darrell got ready to leave.  Ayanna asked if he is going to see Nicole, but he didn't answer.

My heart beats fast.

How can you put this book down on this part?

Darrell meets his friend

It's always good to talk to friends, especially during those times when you couldn't decide on a very important matter.

It's not that her opinion would count on your decision.  They're being there help us a lot to clear things out, to sometimes look at it from the outside or simply just to hear ourselves talk about what bothers us.

And it's even better to have friends who could give us insights without being judgmental.  They can hear us out and still love us.  They can hear us and still give us the unbiased opinion we could hear.  Well, it's true that they can be biased sometimes, but then again, they still help us see things from a different angle.

Darrell had to clear his mind.  It's a good thing that his friend was also in a town where he is doing some book signing.  He talked about the issue and his friend listened.  He just listened.

What's bothering Darrell?

Nicole wants him them to try and bring their relationship to the next level.  But Darrell thinks he is not ready yet.  Or rather, Darrell thinks there is no point of even bringing their relationship to that level.

I really couldn't believe that it even came from Nicole.  It would have been kind of trivial if it came from Darrell.  This brings me to wonder what kind of woman Nicole is.  What is her level of satisfaction?  What is it that she's still looking for, when she seems to have everything she wants?

A man who loves her.  A woman who loves her.  A career that is rewarding.

What makes her think about bringing their relationship to that other level?

Between Lovers by Erick Jerome Dickey

This book was lent to me by a friend and I didn't even know what it was all about when she handed it over to me.  At that time, I was just looking for any book with large fonts, big enough for me to read, because I was having trouble with my vision.  After a while, I got to have a new specs and started this right after that thing about cameras.

Here's the preview:

"No.  Love it.  I miss this.  We used to be like this all the time.  Damn near every night."