Journey To Sunshine

By Gigi McKenzie

Who is her true Soul mate? Set in the suburbs of Chicago, a beautiful girl named AJ was raised with love in a middle upper class family. Facing life's ups and downs, AJ gallantly moves through life desperate to find happiness and stability. AJ loved two men in her life and life with each man came with a vast amount of challenges. Life can be hard and love can be complicated but the ultimate goal is pure happiness. This gripping story tugs at your heart strings and takes you on an emotional journey to Sunshine.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Spines
• Release date: Dec 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9789655787313

Book preview

1

WHO YOU SHOULD KNOW

First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Mia Holmes, best friend of the bride. We have been best friends since kindergarten. That means we have been friends for over 30 plus years. (She would die if she knew I told you that.) We have been through just about everything together. I have remained the best of friends through the thick and the thicker of life’s never-ending challenges. People search for a lifetime for a friendship like ours and most times never find it.  When you love a friend great enough to call her your sister, you know you have found someone special. So let me tell you who my ‘sister’ is. 

My best friend and sister, a.k.a. the bride, is Alexandria Jasmine Taylor, but everyone who knows her calls her AJ. We grew up in University Park, Illinois, a small village about 30 minutes outside of the City of Chicago. She lived there with her parents, Dr. Alexander Jordan, MD, and Dr. Jasmine Taylor, DO, as well as her twin brothers, Aiden Jeremy and Alexander Jordan Taylor, Jr. Her father had a thing about names. He wanted his children to be named after him. Did you notice the A-J paradigm? 

Growing up, AJ and her brothers were like peas in a pod. There was only a two-year age difference, so they were very close. The twins enjoyed having a baby sister, especially Aiden. Their mom told them the story of how Aiden was mesmerized by AJ from the time she was brought home from the hospital. Whenever AJ would cry, Aiden would cover her with his Spiderman blanket and sing to her, ‘You are my sunshine.’ Every time he’d do that, AJ would stop crying. He thought he had special powers to silence his baby sister. After that, Aiden took on the responsibility of soothing her whenever she’d cry, and he’s been looking after her ever since. He truly loved his sister, his Sunshine, and wanted only the absolute best for her. Of course, Alex loved her as well, but AJ and Aiden shared a special bond that was much stronger.  

 AJ and the twins were raised in a Christian home. Dr. Taylor (their father) was a deacon at the Joyful Noise Baptist Church, where his father, AJ’s grandfather, was the Pastor. Dr. Taylor was affectionately called Dr. T by all of the kids at church and in the neighborhood. Dr. Taylor (their mother) sang in the church choir and served as President of the women's ministry. Everyone called her Dr. Mom because she was a mom to all of us.  She was quick to feed us, discipline us, and love on us as if we were her own. Dr. Mom lived up to her name. Church and education were important to the Taylors. They instilled in their children the importance of feeding the mind, body, and spirit. One would assume that with both their parents being doctors, AJ and the twins would be under a lot of pressure to overachieve, but the truth was the Taylors were surprisingly cool. Their approach to school and church was never overbearing.  AJ and her brothers loved being involved in church. It truly rooted them morally, and scholarship is something AJ and Aiden relished. Alex and academics, well, that’s another story. The Taylors provided a stress-free environment, and they were extremely supportive of their children. That made AJ and her brothers work twice as hard, not to disappoint them academically or otherwise. The doctors did a fine job raising three smart, unique, and attractive children.

Attractive doesn’t even begin to describe the twins. Aiden and Alex gave a new meaning to the word handsome. They were very fine. I’m talking about two hotties. They had caramel complexions, their eyes were deep and dark like chocolate marbles, and their teeth were white and perfectly straight. They were both tall and had totally ripped athletic bodies. They could easily be featured in Muscle Mag to show off their perfect physique. There was no question that the twins were very easy on the eyes, but their personalities were another story. At first glance, it was almost impossible to tell them apart. They were identical. But with their personalities, you would quickly see they were nothing alike.

Growing up, Alex was the practical joker. He was always up to something, playing and having fun. There was rarely a serious moment where he was concerned. He could spend hours telling jokes and imitating celebrities. Or he would jump out of closets to scare us half to death. He was extremely immature and didn’t take life seriously. The one thing he didn’t play around with though was basketball. Alex was a great athlete and aspired to go to the NBA.  In direct contrast, Aiden was a practical thinker. He was the one who thought about the consequences before he would act or react. He thought things through before he made decisions. Aiden was extremely analytical, almost to a fault. He was a great student and excelled academically. Aiden wasn’t loud and boisterous like Alex. He was very laid back and calm. Don’t get me wrong, Aiden knew how to have a good time, but he exercised responsibility.

Now, let me see, how can I describe AJ without totally embarrassing her? AJ is stunningly beautiful inside and out. She has a light complexion and green eyes. The old folks from the South would call her a red bone. Her dark hair hits about shoulder length, and she has a smile to die for. AJ looks to be bi-racial or of Latin descent. People have a hard time believing she’s African American. At times, she would get brash comments about her ethnicity, like What are you, black or Spanish? Or Are you mixed? Or Is your daddy white? But AJ never took offense. She’s always poised. AJ is tolerant of the nescience of others. She possesses the kindest heart I’ve ever known, a real sweetheart. She would take the shirt right off her back if she thought it would help someone. AJ is gifted with incredible intelligence and a brilliant mind, but she never boasts about it. Her personality would be best described as the perfect blend of her brothers. AJ can be bold and loud like Alex, not the quiet type at all. She’s very outgoing and unafraid to speak her mind. Crossing her would not be a good idea. Believe me; there is a firecracker under that sweet disposition. The trick is not to set her off. Like Aiden, AJ can be very analytical and a heavy thinker. No matter how she’s described, AJ possesses all positive attributes. She is outrageously funny, talented, and full of life. Surprisingly, she hasn’t changed in the entire time I’ve known her.

2

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

Iguess the best place to start is at the beginning. AJ’s journey to sunshine began a long time ago, in September 1981. That was the year we all attended Hickory Elementary School, and that was where AJ first met Colin Marshall. AJ and I were in second grade, and Alex, Aiden, and Colin were in fourth grade. Colin was a cute and courteous young man. He was pretty tall for a fourth grader, so his height made him stand out in a crowd. He had the same caramel complexion as the twins and was always well-groomed. Despite the fact that Colin was very soft-spoken and bashful, he was popular and well-liked by everyone. Even the teachers loved him because he was a straight A student and never got into mischief or trouble. Unlike the Taylor twins, who seemed to always be in trouble.

About a month into the school year, while walking to school, Aiden pulled me aside and told me that Colin had the biggest crush on AJ. I could not keep a secret to save my life, so I had to tell her the news. 

Hey, AJ, guess who likes you? 

 I don’t know who? 

 Colin Marshall, I said with a big Kool-Aid grin on my face. Colin told Aiden, and Aiden told me that Colin said that you were the most ‘beautifulest’ girl he ever saw.

Really? Okay, we'll ask him to say something to me at recess. AJ said, curious to see what he would be like.

I was excited that AJ agreed to talk with Colin at recess. I enjoyed being the go-between, passing messages back and forth because that put me directly in the middle of the action. I had to ensure I was in the loop of all of the good gossip, plus it didn't hurt to have something interesting to talk about while walking to and from school. Needless to say, I passed along the message to Aiden, and I told him to make sure that Colin got the message.

Sure enough, at recess, Colin Marshall walked right up to AJ, tapped her on the shoulder, and said, Wow, you’re beautiful.

AJ turned around with her magnetic smile and replied, Thank you. Do you like tether ball? 

Wow, you’re beautiful, Colin repeated himself, giving AJ a nervous grimace as if he were being forced to smile. AJ thought to herself, Can he say anything other than ‘Wow, you are beautiful’? What do you like to do? AJ said, attempting to get a different response.

Wow, you’re beautiful, Colin said yet again.

Before AJ could say anything else to Colin, Alex, the practical joker, had to be silly and interrupt their interlude with a little sarcasm.

Soooo…..Are you two ‘love birds’ gonna get married? Alex said and proceeded to mess up AJ’s hair, then took off running.

Shut up, Alex! Leave me alone! AJ exclaimed, full of embarrassment. Why do you have to play so much?

AJ took off running after Alex, trying to catch him so she could get him back.  

Colin stood in the middle of the playground, watching as AJ ran back and forth, trying to catch her brother. He couldn’t take his eyes off AJ. She was so beautiful to him, and he wanted nothing more than to simply be around her. He looked like a love-sick puppy. There he was 9, going on ten years old, and already in love.  His eyes followed her every move. He chuckled to himself as he watched AJ running after Alex and was amused by the display of camaraderie. 

You see, Colin had only one sibling, a sister named Millie. She was 12 years older than Colin, and even though they grew up in the same house, they really didn’t grow up together. Millie loved Colin, but she had a lot of responsibilities, and she didn’t have much time available for her little brother. Millie was smart, beautiful, and extremely ambitious. She was a senior at the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine; she wanted to be a doctor specializing in medical cures.  Every time we’d see Millie, she had her head in a book, trying to stay on top of her studies. She had a full class load, an internship, and, to top it off, a part-time job. Millie cared about her little brother, and Colin cared about her as well, but there were just not enough hours in the day for her to spend time with him. So, as Colin watched AJ and Alex at play, he envied their relationship. He wished he and Millie could be like that.  

After their first meeting on the playground, Colin was determined to spend as much time with AJ as he could. They hung out together every day at recess until the end of the school year. AJ taught him how to play tetherball, and Colin taught her how to play dodgeball. After a few weeks, they found themselves disinterested in playing games at recess all together. They would walk around the playground and have long talks. Some days, they would pick flowers, and other days, they’d search for bugs.  They were sharing their interests and looked forward to being together. It was really sweet. Colin was totally smitten. By the time summer came, they