by Cee, DW
Regardless of what happened with Lily, Bee and I were done.
March 24, 2014 BEE: Ruth
“Are you excited?” Who started a phone conversation with those three words?
“Who is this?” I asked just to be a smartass.
“This is your one and only.”
“One and only what? Pain in the ass?”
He chuckled in that deep timbre I found so irresistible.
“Did I tell you my family is from Spain? That I grew up in Spain till I was thirteen?”
“Um, kind of...?”
“I’m looking forward to showing you my hometown and taking you to all my favorite hangouts. After I did my undergrad and law school here, I worked in Barcelona for years. I am thrilled Donovan chose to take us to my hometown.”
“When did you come back to the States?”
“Only two years ago. I’d eventually like to retire in Spain.”
“So at age thirty-three, you lived in Spain half your life and half your life here?”
“Exactly.” The more we spoke, the more his Spanish accent appeared. I noticed the accent surfaced whenever he was particularly excited about something or someone. “So, are you excited?”
“Do I have a choice?” I acted like a smartass again.
He did that deep chuckle. “Can I see you tonight?”
“You can come over if you promise to bring a mound of work and to be absolutely silent. I have much to do, especially if I am to travel with you.”
“I’m bringing over dinner from my favorite tapas restaurant and after I feed you, I won’t say another word.”
“All right…” I knew he wouldn’t be able to keep that promise. Whereas Nick was on the quiet side, Luke was a talker.
“See you soon.”
Though I didn’t want to admit anything to Luke, I was excited to see his hometown. I’d only seen images of Barcelona through the Olympics and other media outlets. I’d never considered visiting. It would be wonderful to visit with a native.
Trying to focus on the work that kept piling up, I picked up my sketchpad and drew a few designs. I shook my head and laughed when all I could come up with were kiddie designs. I drew infant wear, dresses for little girls, and outfits for baby boys that looked like little men’s-wear. I could imagine the soft fabric I’d use with each design and I could see Donovan and Laney’s kids wearing these creations. Though all of Donovan’s sisters had kids, his unborn children inspired me to veer away from my norm.
Someone frantically knocked on the door and made me stop the fantastic progress I was making.
“Bee!”
“Mom???” My mother waltzed into the loft as if she owned the place, and plopped herself on the couch. “What brings you to the States?”
“What kind of greeting is that for your mother?” Um…the same kind of greeting I’ve received the last few years from you.
“I’m just surprised to see you. I thought you were on some island teaching yoga with some guy.”
“Carl and I are history. I’ve left him. He was too young for me.” OK… This was not the time for me to entertain my mother. I didn’t know if there ever was a time for me to entertain her because she expected to be fully entertained all the time. “I’ve quit my job and am in-between life right now. I thought I’d visit my only daughter who hasn’t paid any attention to her mother.” OK…!
Ruth Hannah Taylor, or Gypsy, as the rest of the Taylors liked to call her, was the epitome of a free spirit. None of us knew which way the wind blew with her. When we expected her to go left, she went north; when we thought she might run south, she went off the grid. Unlike her given Christian name, she was neither loyal to family like Ruth, or an ideal mother like Hannah. She wanted only what she wanted and nothing else would do.
“Where will you be staying? I assume you’ll go back to the house?” I feared her answer.
“The house?” She made it sound like the Taylor family home, which had been around since great-grandfather was alive, was all new to her. “What house?”
“The one Dad left you?”
“I sold that old, turn of the century home years ago. I’m thinking I might buy a little loft like yours. Are there any openings in your building?” My mother was flighty, selfish, and insane. “I thought I might move back to LA and live with you.”
I hoped the words, “live with you,” were spoken in error. “Live near me?” I corrected her. “I don’t believe there are any more lofts for sale, but I’m sure you can find some near the beach. Didn’t you tell me two Christmases ago that you couldn’t come to LA because the smog wasn’t good for your health? You said you needed clean, ocean air.”
“You’re always so dramatic, Beatrice!” It was never a good sign when she called me by my birth name. “I need a place to stay for a few nights and I can’t exactly ask Scott and Jamie if I can crash at their place.”
Was my mother asking me if she could room with me? “Then which place do you think you will ‘crash at,’ and for how long?” Like I didn’t know the answer…!
“Beatrice, that is most unkind of you to turn out your mother when you haven’t seen her in two years.” Four, but who’s counting? “I just need to stay with you for a few days until I can find a place of my own.”
It shouldn’t have been a surprise when my mother expected to stay here. I was her only living relative. I supposed I wasn’t about to put out my mother, no matter the inconvenience to me.
Without another word, Ruth Hannah Taylor took her suitcase upstairs and started unpacking. I could hear the not-so-silent grumbles. My mother was getting on my nerves even before this roommate situation began. “You’ve always been so messy. Look at this unmade bed. This will be a challenge to live with my daughter again. Lord help me.”
She got that right. Lord help us all!
March 27, 2014 NICK: Genesis
“Why are you in such a rush?” My cousin scarfed down her lunch and pushed me to do the same. “Let me finish my food before I drop you off at your husband’s office.”
“Eat as quickly as you can. Donovan just texted to say I need to get Ruth out of his office before he goes nuts.”
“Who’s Ruth?”
My cousin contemplated not telling me, but she figured she had no choice. “Ruth Hannah Taylor, Bee’s mother, is in town. She’s staying with Bee, and driving her nuts, so I offered to take her house hunting. Auntie needs a break and she desperately needs to work, but her mom has been a distraction. I guess she walked to Donovan’s office and decided to wait for me there.”
“Wasn’t she living on some island with a guy half her age? Why is she here bothering Bee?” I was surprised at myself for being so pissed that Bee’s negligent mom showed up unexpectedly.
Laney caught on to my indignant question and answered, “Yeah…she was, but now, she’s no more. She’s moved back.”
“Why?” I spoke a little too loudly for a cafeteria setting.
“Why do you care?”
“Laney.” My tone was a beseeching one.
“Look. To you and to the outside world, Bee is not as young or as lively as that girl you’re seeing. But to me, and those who know Bee, we think she’s one in a million. Since you left her, Bee’s finally settled her heart and is pouring it into her new warehouse.” I couldn’t explain how relieved I was to hear it was the warehouse and not this new guy she was pouring herself into. “The last thing my aunt needs is for you to come around, stirring up the beehive when you have no intention of standing up to the queen.” None of us Reids could ever out-talk Laney. It was a wonder why she chose medicine over law. I didn’t think even the great Donovan Taylor, Esq. could out-talk his wife. “Donovan and I only want to see Bee happy. If you’re genuinely interested, talk to Bee. If you’re just curious, then don’t bother. She’ll only get hurt.”
Without much of a choice, I stood up to leave with Laney. I didn’t say much on our way to the car, but once inside, I felt the
need to defend myself. “I didn’t leave Bee. I flew thousands of miles to tell her that I missed her.”
“You also told her how you truly felt about her in front of the Benningtons. She’s over it now, Nick. You don’t have to feel guilty. Does she know about you and Lily?”
“Why would she care when she’s going to Europe with some guy?”
“You men are idiots!” Laney stopped talking to me.
I started the car and drove us to Donovan’s office to sign documents for the joint real estate purchase. My cousin literally didn’t say a word to me the rest of the ride, and as soon as I stepped in the office, I was animatedly greeted by a woman, who I assumed was Bee’s mother, but looked nothing like her.
“Nick!” This lady was as excited to see me as my baby niece. “How so very wonderful to finally meet you.”
I looked to Donovan and to Laney, who both shrugged their shoulders in bewilderment. “Who?” I mouthed, along with a “Why?”
“Ruth,” Donovan pried her away from me, “this is Laney’s cousin, Nick. He is Jake and Jane’s brother. Nick, this is Ruth Taylor, Bee’s mom.”
“Hello.” I spoke. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“I didn’t know you were related to Jake!” Ruth Taylor was making me uncomfortable the way she looked me up and down.
“Then how did you know his name, and why did you greet him like a long-lost son?”
“Because, my dear granddaughter-in-law…” Ruth hesitated, but not for very long. “There’s a picture of Nick and my daughter in her nightstand drawer. It looked like the picture was taken in London and Bee looked so happy.”
More than surprised, I was pleased Bee had developed that picture of us on the London Eye.
“But how did you know his name?”
“The frame had their names engraved on it. I figured Nick was someone important in Bee’s life…until I saw that handsome Spaniard at her door.” Ruth went off on a tangent. “Did you know that man comes over every night? He brings dinner, he works alongside my daughter, and he tells me he’s taking her to Barcelona.” She chattered on and on about her time in Barcelona, and I didn’t know what to make of this revelation.
Donovan helped. “Are you here to sign the papers?”
“Yeah.”
He motioned for me to follow him after he said his good-byes to his wife and Bee’s mom.
“Sorry about that. Grandma has always had a lot to say. She’s young at heart, but a bit of a child in the common sense department. Forget what you heard her say. I’m sure Bee would not have wanted you knowing about any framed picture.”
I’d never seen a framed picture of us on her nightstand, but I guess it had been a while since I’d seen her nightstand.
“Don’t worry about it, Donovan. What we had was in the past. We’ve both moved on.”
I silently begged Donovan not to bring up Bee anymore and he obliged. She and I were a thing of the past, and I had other people to focus my attention on.
After signing the documents and briefly dropping in on Grandfather, I drove to Charlie and Sarah’s to pick up Lily. She wasn’t expecting me, but I thought we’d spend some time together. We didn’t know much about one another and it was time we changed that.
I nervously knocked on the door. Sarah greeted me with a smile and a shy Audrey in her arms. “Hi Nick. This is a nice surprise. Is Lily expecting you?”
“No. I had an afternoon off, and she told me last night that she’d be done early so I thought I’d take my chances and come see her. Is Lily in?”
“She sure is. Come in.”
I walked in step with Sarah and spoke with Audrey. “Hi Audrey. You remember me?” She nodded yes, and before I got any further in our one-sided conversation, Lily came bouncing down the stairs.
“Nick!”
“Hey.” I felt partly shy and very self-conscious around her today.
“I wasn’t expecting you, but I’m glad you’re here.”
“Are you busy? I thought we could hang out if you were free.”
There was a grin the size of the US of A on Lily’s face, and it felt good to know I could do that to someone…anyone…
“Dinner’s not for a while, but you’re welcome to hang out here if you like.” Sarah suggested. “Audrey and I were in the middle of baking cookies. I’m sure Audrey would love to share. Right, Audrey?” The adorable little girl nodded yes.
“You are definitely going to have to teach your friend, Elizabeth Reid, how to share. She does not like sharing.” I patted Audrey’s back and followed Lily outside.
“If you’re busy, I can leave,” I said. “I know it’s a bit odd to show up midday. It’s not like I can take you to dinner or we can really go do anything at this hour.”
“Nick,” she reassured, “I’m thrilled you’re here.”
“I never asked you how your trip was when you went back home.”
“It was freezing cold, but I loved being home with my parents and my sisters.”
“Tell me about your family.”
“My dad works for the city as a health inspector, my mom is a stay-at-home caretaker, my sister above me, Christine, just graduated with her MBA, and my sister below me, is a senior in high school, mulling over her college acceptance letters. We four girls have a really good relationship, now, and Sarah is the only one married.”
“Sarah and Charlie were high-school sweethearts?”
“Yeah. They dated all throughout high school, then both came out here to attend undergrad. They are as madly in love with each other as Jake and Emily. It’s wonderful to watch such healthy relationships.”
“The night before you left for Jersey, when I wasn’t in the best mood…I need to explain something and apologize for that night.”
“Before you say anything, let me confess something first.”
“All right.”
“Before you and I started seeing each other, I had a longtime boyfriend. He and I dated since my freshman year in high school, just like Sarah and Charlie. When I got the job out here, we put our relationship on hold, but it wasn’t completely over till last week.”
“Um…” I didn’t know how to react to what she’d said.
“It’s not like I was seeing the both of you at the same time. Jeremy and I hadn’t seen each other since I’d moved and we kept in touch initially, but soon lost interest. When I went home last week, I officially ended our ‘relationship’ and…here I am….” Now, she was feeling awkward. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, unless you’re dying to explain everything to me, you don’t have to tell me what was bothering you last week. After finding closure with Jeremy, I feel like I can start new with you. If you are in the same ballpark as I am and have let go of the old, I don’t need an explanation of it.”
“Are you sure? I feel like I owe you one.”
“I am positive, but I am also happy to hear you out if that’s what you want. If you’ve found closure in your heart with your past, that’s all I need.”
“So…today, we start new?”
“To a new beginning!” she exclaimed.
I gave her a deep kiss and decided Lily was right. Today was our new beginning.
March 31, 2014 BEE: Proverbs
“I met Nick the other day in Donovan’s office.”
“OK…” I stayed as stoic as possible. I didn’t need my mother knowing any more about Nick than necessary.
“He’s a handsome young man.” Mom mentioned not very nonchalantly, over a cup of coffee.
“All the Reids are good-looking. So are the Taylors. You only need to look at Donovan to know the Taylors don’t lag in the looks department.”
“Only if…” Here we went again with the “only ifs.” This would be etched on Mom’s tombstone. “Only if you looked more like me, but took after your dad in the physique department.” I wouldn’t retaliate no matter the comments she made. “Your dad was so tall and statuesque. All his children are tall e
xcept you. You had to take after my side of the family and turn out short. Even with high heels, you’re barely over 5’3”.”
“Mom.” I let her know I was exasperated with this conversation. “I’m five-three without heels. BUT, before you drone on. Let me finish this one-sided conversation for you. Yes, I’m short and stocky like your side of the family. Yes, I’m not as good-looking as you are. Somehow, I fell short in the height and looks department. I am one of those children who can’t surpass their parents’ greatness. Yes, I know all this, I accept all this, and I’ve moved on. Now please, could we talk about something else?”