by Amber Nation
Being her best friend I knew almost everything there ever was to know about her second husband, the rat bastard that he was. But she never once spoke about her first husband Logan and it wasn’t for my lack of trying. The only reason I knew his first name was because I basically pried it out of her one night while she was severely drunk.
I was sure that whatever had gone down between the two of them had to have been bad, especially for Julia to be so tight lipped about it. She dogged and made fun of Paul, her second husband, every single chance she got.
For example, I told her about how Baylor and Petunia was getting along so well so far, because Petunia wasn’t the type of dog that went to just anyone.
“Paul loved his fucking dog more than me, I really think. But that’s great that Petunia went to him willingly, I know she took a while to even warm up to Blaine,” she joked as she leaned up against her violet tool chest at her station, filing her nails as we talked.
“So when is lover boy coming to get you?” Just as soon as she asked, the door opened and there was my man in all his sexy glory, his broad shoulders filling out a Jenkins Plumbing t-shirt paired over khaki cargo shorts. The man was absolute sin in anything he wore. Julia had only seen the picture that was placed on my end table so seeing her initial reaction to Baylor was priceless. Her mouth was hanging open and her fingernail file suspended in midair. Yeah, she liked what she saw, but careful, girlfriend, he’s mine.
She quickly recovered herself and straightened her posture just in time for Dean to come into the Salon right behind Baylor. Baylor’s face lit up once our eyes connected and he came straight over and bent down to give me a brief peck on my lips. “Your hair looks nice, babe,” he complimented me.
Julia had her scissors back in her hands, as if they were her own personal shield to fend others off. “I hardly cut anything off and he still noticed? Do you have a brother?” She teased, knowing damn good and well he did from my stories of the past.
Baylor held out his hand, like the gentleman he was, “You must be Julia, I’m Baylor. I want to say what a pleasure it is to finally meet you.”
“He’s handsome and polite? Sign me up!” Julia exclaimed as she grasped his outstretched hand. “Oh, and big strong hands.” She looked at me and said, “You know what they say about big strong hands,” and winked. Oh yeah, I knew all right.
“What’s that?” Baylor retorted while placing his hands into the pockets of his shorts, hiding the evidence.
I don’t think Jules intended for him to comment but she was quick with a comeback, “Oh you know, big hands equal massive gloves,” then released a giggle.
Dean was standing a ways back, looking quite uncomfortable. “Dean, come up here,” I said while waving my arm at him. “Dean, this is my best friend Julia. Jules, this is one of my best friends from high school, Dean.”
Julia didn’t look amused in the slightest and when I finally focused on what Dean’s gaze was fixed on I couldn’t say that I blamed her.
“Hey, chump!” Julia yelled, and pointed two fingers at her eyes, “my eyes are up here.” Finally Dean snapped out of his transfixed stare on her breasts, which by the way were fake. She would randomly yell that out to strangers because it was the one thing she had been able to get out of Paul and she was proud of them puppies. So I found it rather odd that she was directing him away from her cleavage that looked to be spilling over the top of her low-cut shirt. She perched a hand on her hip and jutted it out, “Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to piss a lady off while she’s wielding a weapon?” She brought her other hand forward and pointed her scissors in his direction, showing him her weapon of choice.
Dean, not having spoken a single word since he arrived in the Salon, cleared his throat, crossed his arms in front of his chest and said, “You know, I do recall her mentioning something about that, but the only lady I see around is Eden and it takes a lot for me to piss her off. Plus her hands are free.”
Julia assumed her defensive position, “You ass clown,” she seethed, her chest heaving up and down. “Why I oughta,” she continued on, throwing her beloved scissors down on top of her work station and advancing towards Dean who was just standing there unmoving with a cocky smirk on his face.
I had to quickly dart from my chair to get in front of Julia, and Baylor moved swiftly to my side to help hold her back and keep her from pouncing on Dean, who continued to stand there unphased by the whole ordeal.
“Seriously,” Baylor said, “I feel like I’m trying to break up a fight between Norah and Polly. Calm down, you’re like a freaking spider monkey,” he continued on, struggling to keep her in his grasp.
Finally, she calmed down and began fixing her clothing which just made her chest protrude out even further on display. “I’m ok, I’m all right.” But I didn’t think she was all right, I thought my moving out of state away from her was going to be harder on her than I had thought.
Epilogue
Eden
The trip home lasted three days. Three long, exhausting days, each with about twelve hours of drive time split between the three of us. Baylor drove most of the time, but there were times when my overprotectiveness took over and I made him switch places with one of us so he could rest.
We were able to talk about anything and everything and there were things that each of us learned about one another.
For instance, Baylor could not sing to save himself. I vaguely remembered his inability to carry a tune but it had gotten much worse as he got older. Even so, it did nothing to hold him back from belting Taylor Swift at the top of his lungs. I believe my ears rang for several days afterwards.
Petunia wasn’t a fan of Baylor’s singing either, but she was even more wary of Dean. She was a spoiled dog who would choose to take up residence on your lap rather than rough-house, but Dean couldn’t seem to get that through his thick skull. He was bull-headed to a fault.
I also learned of Dean’s two ex-wives and how heartbroken they had left him. Although he would fight it tooth and nail on the topic, he wore his emotions on his sleeve and wanted nothing more than a woman to take care of. My first thought initially went to Julia, but the way she went up against him, she would eat him for lunch and spit him out at dinner, so that was out. He seemed to think that being a divorce lawyer made him automatically ineligible for having a happy ever after of his own. He definitely didn’t see the potential in himself like I did.
Even before we made it to our home, I made Dean, who was driving at the time, take a detour.
Seeing the thrilled expressions on my parents’ faces when they opened the door and saw me standing there and then telling them the news was enough to erase away the exhaustion of the thirty-eight hour drive. As I’ve said before, my dad was a man of very few words but his actions spoke volumes. His eyes behind his glasses were filling with unshed tears as he pulled me into him for a joyous embrace. Whispering in my ear, he said, “Welcome home, Eden. Now I’m not saying that it will, but if something happens between you and Baylor and you try and skip town, I will personally drag your ass back. Kicking and screaming if I have to, because this is your home, always has been and always will be.”
We left my parents after a few more tears were shed and a few more hugs were given, and soon we were walking into my new house through the garage. Suddenly my stomach started doing major somersaults as I was hit with an extreme case of anxiety. My nerves instantly dissipated as soon as Norah ran in from the living room with Baylor’s mom, Stella, in tow and came up throwing her arms around my neck, grasping on for dear life.
She hardly even knew me apart from brief talks in passing and stories from Stella, Baylor and Dean and yet there she was, instilling her trust and happiness in me. Things were going to be just fine around there.
I gave myself a few days for things to settle down after I moved in, then ventured out to Eugene to follow up on the part-time radio job that Baylor had mentioned to me. The schedule actually worked out perfectly, because I was able to drop N
orah and often times Polly at school before my shift and I was home in time to meet Norah as she was getting off of the bus.
She couldn’t be a more perfect young lady. She did have to be held on a short leash at times due to her sneaky and opinionated ways, but she didn’t have to be scolded to get her homework completed and usually only needed to be asked once to do her chores. Of course she was twelve, so it was a given that she would rebel at times, but for the most part she was pretty easy going. It also helped that she wasn’t the only female in the house anymore so I knew about most of the things she was going through at her age, if you know what I mean. Watching Baylor give a talk about girls and their periods was a conversation that I would like to erase from my memory. Poor girl was scarred even worse afterwards, so naturally I had to step in and smooth things over, informing her that while her monthly visitors were a pain, she’d get used to them in due time and it wasn’t the end of the world.
I honestly thought there would be an adjustment period for Norah, but she was nothing if not amazing and I officially loved her as if she were my own.
However, all that changed to an entirely different story if she and Polly were together too long. They were such complete opposites from each other that they often clashed and butted heads. It was a wonder they were such good friends, but then again it reminded me of Julia and myself.
Dean bought a house that went up for sale…directly next door to us, and the majority of the time he was at our house bugging us. I just had to remind myself that he was lonely. And besides, Norah absolutely loved hanging out with her Uncle Dean, and Baylor enjoyed the fact that it evened up the male-to-female ratio within the household. I often tried to drill in the fact that they were still outnumbered when we included Petunia, which I always did.
We had a standing dinner at my parents’ house every Sunday, and even Petunia got to tag along. My mother was absolutely tickled to suddenly have a twelve year old granddaughter. Norah could probably take or leave my mom but humored her anyway. After every Sunday dinner, we made sure to drive down by the old covered bridge, often times just to walk down along the banks on the edge of the stream.
Julia, where to begin with her…She missed me, and I her, but she led me on a guilt trip almost daily and constantly threatened to move to Oregon. As if I would actually turn down the thought of her moving closer to me, especially since I was the one who had planted the idea in her head in the first place, but on the other hand, Cottage Grove wasn’t quite ready for the whirlwind known as Julia Caldwell.
Standing at the stove, I stirred the giant pot of boiling spaghetti noodles through the billowing steam and heard the same sounds as I did just about every day: the garage door starting to open up and let my man in. My heartbeat quickly picked up from its leisurely pace with the increased anticipation of seeing Baylor after a long day at his job.
The jiggling of the doorknob had Petunia rushing towards the back door, skidding to a sudden halt so she could be the first to receive attention. When Baylor came in for the day I couldn’t help but just to lean a hip against the counter and watch him perform his evening ritual. In a soothing voice, he said to Petunia as he quickly bent down to scratch her head, “Have you been a good girl today?” As I continued to keep the pot of noodles in my peripheral side view, my sight still lingered on him. He moved to secure his keys on the hanging hook just inside the laundry room and made his way into the kitchen, not yet even noticing that I was staring him down. I’ve said before that this man looked delectable in just about anything, including nothing at all, but there was just something about him being in a dress shirt and tie that made my inner sex goddess want to immediately make herself known and attack him right then and there.
One night after moving all of my things into his house we were lying in bed, just having a normal conversation, retelling each other the events of our day. He said that Bentley was really becoming an asset to Jenkins Plumbing and was proving his initial assessment of how he would work out to be incorrect. Bentley had proven to be a hard worker who was meeting Baylor’s high standards, and you could see Baylor’s pride in his brother shining through all the doubt that he had initially felt.
I mentioned to him that he should pursue his dream of being an architect and to give his brother Bentley a chance to prove himself that he was worthy of handling the family business. It took a little more coaxing and explanation and he agreed to give it a shot but would still help out from time to time, because he didn’t want to completely cut ties and disappoint his mom. He was a family man through and through and one that hadn’t hesitated to step up to the plate once his father passed away, which was one of the things that I found most attractive about him. His mother could never be disappointed in anything he did, least of all pursuing his own dream.
So he did it, had a few interviews with a few of the Architecture firms in Eugene and within no time at all was hired on. Just being in the field that he was meant to be in, one that he excelled at and enjoyed tremendously, reflected in his demeanor. He never hated working within the family business but you could tell that he was being held back from the true talent that was instilled in him.
With him having to dress in a tie most days it took quite a bit to keep my libido under control. He placed his lunchbox next to the sink and I knew that he was clearly aware of me watching him but had chosen to play a little game of cat and mouse. He was directly to my right so I backed up from the stove until I was leaning against the island in the middle of our kitchen, which had seemed to be our favorite place on more than one occasion.
His eyes finally adjusted to mine and he stalked towards me, casually rolling up the sleeves to his crisp white dress shirt to above his forearms. He had gone for just the classic look: white shirt tucked into his fitted black pants and rounded off with a thin black tie, utterly sinful. He boxed me in against the freestanding island and darted out a tongue to wet his lips and then looked deeply into my eyes, “Hi honey, I’m home,” he acknowledged through a grin. My heartbeat was still steadily accelerating as it often did when we found ourselves in that position. I brought my hands forward to loosen up his tie around his neck and opened the top two buttons of his shirt, exposing a smattering of chest hair that I loved so much. With one hand still connected to his tie, I pulled him towards me and just before our lips connected, I whispered into his mouth, “I’ve missed you today,” and then closed the distance between us, capturing each other’s mouths in an extraordinary welcome home kiss.
We continued on with our intimate embrace until we heard the garage door slam and Norah running into the kitchen yelling, “Ew! Oh my gosh, go get a room!”
“I agree, I didn’t come here to see that mushy shit!” Dean added.
Baylor was the first to break away but immediately leaned his forehead against mine, “I honestly don’t recall you being invited, Dean, so your opinion is moot,” he retorted, but then pushed off of me and flashed him a smile to assure him he was just joking.
“I think it’s cute actually, kinda romantic,” Norah added with a dreamy look in her eyes.
“Then why did you gross out when you came running in?” I asked, heading back to the noodles and giving them a quick stir.
“Hey, I’m twelve, speaking before thinking is a part of my everyday life. It happens…” She turned to look at me, “When will dinner be ready, Mom?”
My entire body froze, including my face, halting my smile in place. I was sure I hadn’t heard her correctly, did she call me Mom? I darted my eyes over to Baylor, who had almost the same expression on his face as I’m sure I had, confirming my suspicions. The onslaught of tears was mere seconds from spilling free. I looked back at Norah, who was none the wiser, as if her calling me Mom was a normal daily occurrence.
“Uh,” I finally was able to find my voice to answer her question. I cleared my throat and continued, “Dinner is almost finished, about five more minutes, ten at the most.” The rest of the house was eerily quiet and I wished that someone would start ta
lking or the tears were really going to start flowing.
She shrugged a shoulder and a smile appeared on her face, “Cool, I love your cooking. Don’t get me wrong, Dad tries his best but it isn’t on the same level as yours.” She spoke as if she wasn’t just insulting her dad right in front of him. She began heading into the living room before pivoting on her foot facing towards me again, “Oh and Mom,” she paused, “thanks.”
I had to clear my throat once more before I could answer, “Anytime, Norah,” then she disappeared into the living room and sounds from the TV floated in from the other room. That one word, thanks, was all I needed. It reaffirmed that I was right where I was supposed to be in life. That thanks let me know that she was thankful in all aspects of her life, making her dad a whole person again, and bringing a motherly figure into her life that loved and cared for her without making it an obligation. I glanced back to Baylor who at that moment knew exactly how I was feeling.
Dean, Baylor, and I continued to stare at one another before we just burst out in laughter. The melodic sound filling our house was more than I could’ve ever hoped for in life. To think that these two men who were now constant fixtures in my life, just a few short months ago were nothing more than a distant memory. We would continue to make new memories while holding the ones of the past close to our hearts and never for a second letting them be forgotten.
Baylor came towards me once again, closing in the distance between us and placed a brief kiss on my lips. “I love you, Eden. The sooner I can make you Mrs. Jenkins the happier I’ll be. I know I’ve said this before, but it must be said again, you were always supposed to be more than just a memory and I’m so thankful we were given our chance.”
He said it absolutely perfectly, I didn’t think I could’ve said it better myself. But he wasn’t quite finished, “I’ve heard before that memories are referred to as treasures of the heart with the hopes that over time they won’t diminish. But with you, the memory never faded. You are my heart, my own personal Eden, my paradise on earth.”