“Honey, I’m home!” JC called in his best Ricky Ricardo voice as he entered the house. “Rachel?” He asked as he walked into living room. His heart broke when he saw boxes with Rachel’s stuff on the living room table. “What’s going on?” He asked when she appeared in the room with some shirts.
Rachel looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “I can’t do this anymore.”
“What?” JC couldn’t breathe. The room was closing in around him. He couldn’t be hearing right.
Tears fell down onto her delicate cheeks. “I’m sorry JC, but I can’t do this…my mother…disgrace…disown…” Rachel couldn’t breathe”her tears were falling faster. She plopped down onto the couch, brought her knees to her chest and cried into her legs.
JC sat down next to her, and his heart broke more when she shrunk away from his touch. “Rach, baby, what’s going on?”
Her tear stripped face looked back at him. She was hiccupping and shaking. “I was joking myself when I said it didn’t matter. It does. It matters to my family, which means it matters to me.”
JC froze. He knew it. He knew it would come between them. “But”“
Rachel put her hand on his mouth. “No buts. You are who you are, and I can’t ask you to change just for me. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“But I want to”“
“No! I won’t be the reason you’re no longer you.”
“Rachel, look at me.” When she wouldn’t, JC took her face in between his hands. “I love you. You’re the one for me. Why don’t you get that? I’ll do anything to get your mother’s approval, even if that means”“
“Don’t you get it? She’ll never approve of you!” Rachel was sobbing. “Her mother made her dump her first love, who was also not Jewish. It’s a big fat cycle. I can’t be happy with you because my mom won’t let us because her mom wouldn’t let her.”
Rachel stood up and with shaky hands picked up her two boxes. “Please don’t leave like this.”
She turned around, fire in her eyes. “What the hell am I supposed to do JC? My fucking family said they’d disown me if I married you! What’s the point of being with you if I know it won’t go anywhere?” She put her boxes down and took his hands, the fire gone. “I love you, which is why I’m doing this. You deserve better than being involved with someone who lets their own family manipulate them.”
“Rach, you’re family’s opinion is important to you; there’s nothing wrong with that.”
She sniffled. “If only it were that simple. JC, I wouldn’t have a family if I married you.”
“We’d be a family. And we’d have my folks…”
“JC listen!” Her face contorted as a new round of tears fell. “I’m sure your family is great, but this is my family. I love you”I could spend the rest of my life with you”but when your mother says she’ll disown you”“
“When did she say that?”
Rachel looked down. “About 2 months ago. The day you left for the promotion tour. I went to talk to my Rabbi about interfaith marriage-“ So she was thinking about it! “”and she found out somehow…” More tears fell.
“Baby…” JC hugged Rachel, hoping to give her strength to stand up to her mother.
“She told me I was a disgrace to my people.”
“Shh…it’s ok. We’ll get through this.” JC whispered into her ear.
“No!” Rachel backed away from him. “We won’t! Because there is no ‘us’ anymore! Did you not hear a word I said? I can’t be with you!” Rachel picked up her boxes and walked out of his home, and his life.
“This isn’t right.” Justin said as he watched JC fiddle with a piano from across the room.
“Obviously.” Joey pointed out.
“I can’t believe she left him like that.” Lance added.
“And the whole time she told him it didn’t matter…” Chris trailed off.
“I know.” Justin sighed. He’d been the one JC called once reality sunk in. He’d heard everything”from the beginning. And JC had been sleeping at his house for the past three weeks. Justin heard him pacing in the middle of the night. It hurt him that there wasn’t anything he could do to help his older brother. He was loosing weight and had dark circles under his eyes. Not only that, the JC they had missed during his party phase was gone. Rachel brought out the best in JC, and with her gone, they were worried he’d slip back into his old ways. He had done worse; he was recluse and wouldn’t let anyone else in. He never talked about her but wouldn’t let her go. He was determined to figure this out, to get her back, but he had no idea how. Each call had been unanswered. Each message erased. Each letter sent back. JC was running out of ideas.
“Rachel called Kali last night.” Chris said softly.
“Really?”
“Yeah. She wanted to see how JC was doing, and she didn’t feel comfortable calling him. Kali ended up going over there for a little bit.”
“What happened?”
“They didn’t talk; Rachel just cried. And then they watched some dramatic movie where everyone dies.”
“How pleasant.” Lance thought aloud.
“Doesn’t sound like she’s doing any better.”
“Nope.”
“Guys!” JC called. “We should get back to the dance studio. Wade’s probably wondering where we are.”
JC had been a work-a-holic since the break-up. “We won’t have to worry about hell week.” Joey mumbled. “We’re working so hard, there won’t be a hell week!”
He was greeted with a few chuckles as they all joined JC and left the room.
“Evelyn, I’m worried about Rachel.” George said as Rachel left the table and headed for the bathroom. She couldn’t stand to be in her house since the break-up. Everything reminded her of him. Even when Kali came to check on her last night, she came to the parents’ house. She wouldn’t talk about him, not even with Michelle. It was her own fault she was miserable; she had pushed him away. She had allowed herself be manipulated, and she was paying for it.
“Why dear? She seems to be adjusting fine.”
“Adjusting fine? She doesn’t sleep, she barely eats, and she’s a zombie at work. Her friends are worried about her, and we should be too!”
“Give it some time.”
“No! She’s unhappy!”
“Maybe she’s unhappy for another reason.”
“What reason could you think of?” George was getting mad at his wife. He was beginning to think she had something to do with this.
“I don’t know. Did she and Michelle get into a fight? Is work going well?”
“I don’t know. The only thing I can think of is that she and JC broke up. Do you know why?” George asked.
“No idea.” Evelyn lied.
“All I know is that she’s depressed. She was never like this, even after Ted.”
“Maybe she’s getting depression.” Evelyn stated.
“You know that’s not it!” Rachel screamed. She had come back into the kitchen and was fuming. “He was the one and now he’s gone because I told him to leave!”
“Watch the volume Rachel.”
“No!” Rachel stomped her foot. “You know that’s not it because you’re the one who told me to break up with him! You told me you’d disown me! That I was a disgrace to our people”an embarrassment to the family! And now you’re acting innocent? No way! You should be happy! At least be big enough to take credit when it’s due.”
“What?” George boomed.
“I did what I had to do.” Evelyn stated shortly. “Where are you going?” She asked Rachel as her daughter made her way to the front door.
“I have to go pick up a collection.”
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