by Carter Ashby
Travis nodded. He paced a little more. "I'm supposed to have dinner with Arden's family today."
"Then that's what you should do. Dustin and I can watch the baby. Play house a little. It'll be fun."
For you, Travis thought. He had serious doubts as to whether Dustin would enjoy it. "Thank you," he said. "I'll try not to stay long. Then maybe Arden'll come home and play house with me." He couldn't help grinning at the thought.
"Hey," Emma said abruptly. "I pulled in the driveway and noticed your car was gone. Where is it?"
Just when Travis thought he could despair no more, his stomach sank a little further. He ran to the front door and thrust it open. There in the driveway was the empty place his car used to be. "Fuck!" he shouted. And then a whole string of curses came out that even he didn't know he was capable of saying.
Dustin ran in, his shirt untucked, a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. "What's wrong?"
Travis turned to him. "That fucking whore took my car!" His voice cracked with emotion.
Dustin took the toothbrush out of his mouth. "The Cyclone?"
"Yes the Cyclone. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
Dustin winced and held his hands palms down in front of him. "Ease up on the language, Travis," he said, glancing nervously at Emma who sat wide-eyed and blushing.
Travis shoved his hands in his hair, squeezing two fistfuls of it. "I was going to sell it to pay for the hospital expenses. I had a guy coming to look at it on Wednesday. I'm going to track that bitch down, get my car and give her back her damn baby! What kind of a person does this? She's one of Satan's minions, I swear to God."
Dustin disappeared down the hall and came back, rinsed and tucked. "Do you at least know this Jerry Lee's last name?"
Travis shook his head. "No. Tell me how stupid I am again, Dustin!"
"Don't think I won't, Travis!"
Travis shook his head, tears blurring his vision again. "You're pushing your goddamn luck with me!"
"That's right," Dustin said, "when God didn't give you the brains to think your way out of it, punch something!"
"You son-of-a-bitch!"
"Go to hell!"
"Boys!" Emma shouted, standing with the baby pressed to her chest. "Can we just calm down?"
Travis was starting to see red. His body was tensed and poised to fight. He glared at Dustin like a bull about to charge the matador. He breathed shallowly through his teeth. Dustin didn't back down, but he didn't push further, either.
"Travis?" Emma said. It was the third time she'd said his name. He forced himself to slowly relax. His fists unclenched and his breathing evened out.
"What?" he asked. He slowly turned to look at her. She looked terrified and he immediately felt remorse. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Emma. I'm really upset about my car."
To his surprise, she laughed. "I'm sorry about your car, too, Travis. But there will be other cars."
He shook his head. "Not like that one. She was special."
"You'll learn to love again."
He shook his head. "It won't be the same."
Emma was pressing her lips together to keep from laughing. He finally felt the humor in it and smiled at her. "Thanks, sweetheart."
She nodded and sat back down. "Why don't you give Arden a call? See if she wants to come over for a while before church?"
Travis shook his head. He sat on the edge of his recliner. "I don't think she's going to like this. I think the more distance I can keep between her and my problems, the better."
Emma pulled out her cell phone. "You're being ridiculous." She found Arden's number and dialed it, holding her phone to her ear. "She'll love being around the baby. Hey, Arden," she said into the phone. "Travis needs a ride to church. Would you come over and pick him up? Yeah, I'm here. So come over and hang out until it's time. Okay. Love you too. Bye."
Travis felt a spark of jealousy that Emma got an "I love you" from Arden.
"She'll be over in a bit," Emma said.
When she showed up, she was carrying her purse and a small, square case. Since she didn't have her hair or makeup done, Travis assumed this was what she'd brought with her. She dropped both by the door and ran to Travis.
"Are you okay?" she asked. "What happened?" She touched his face tenderly.
Travis took her by the hand and led her to the couch so they could sit together. Dustin was in his room finishing getting ready for church. Emma was rocking in Travis's chair, the baby sound asleep in her arms. Travis explained the events of the morning, cringing the whole time. Arden grew stiffer and colder as he spoke and he was afraid she was going to break up with him right then.
"I'm so sorry, Travis," she said politely, putting her hand on his knee. "I know how much you loved that car."
Travis took her hand and held on tightly. "I promise," he said, "that I won't let this interfere with us. I promise, Arden."
She scoffed. "You promise? You have a baby to take care of now, Travis. That's going to affect things. I mean, I have to ask myself whether I'm capable of being a mother to another woman's child. And she's not even yours. I just think you should avoid making promises that are clearly impossible to keep."
Travis started to assure her that there was no need for her to worry about mothering the baby...that anything could happen in the upcoming weeks. But he was interrupted.
"Arden, you're being a bitch again," Emma said.
Travis stared at Emma in horror. He'd never heard her cuss before.
Arden seemed equally shocked.
"If you're going to make Travis shoulder this burden alone, then why are you wasting his time pretending to be his girlfriend," Emma said.
Arden lifted her chin and raised one brow, trying to stare Emma down. But Emma held up beautifully. "Are you finished preaching at me, Miss Perfect?" she asked.
Emma rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'll mind my own business." She didn't sound sorry at all.
"Good," Arden said. She turned to Travis. "Can I use your bathroom? I have to do my hair."
"Sure. Dustin's in this one. But there's one downstairs."
She stood and took two steps before looking back at him, a sly grin on her face. "Aren't you going to show me the way."
"Yes, ma'am," he said, jumping to his feet and taking her by the hand. Once downstairs she turned and threw her arms 'round his neck and started covering his face in kisses.
"I'm so sorry," she said between kisses. "Emma's right. I should be supportive. What can I do to make you feel better?" She slowed her kisses down and started on his neck and throat. The feel of her tongue on his skin made him hot all over.
"Nothing that you should be doing on the Lord's day."
"I don't care what day it is," she said. There was a couch against the wall and she shoved him back onto it. She was wearing a calf-length black skirt with sensible, black lace panties underneath. Which Travis knew because she slipped them off before hiking her skirt up and straddling him. "I didn't like how our date ended last night," she said breathily. She started pulling on his shirt, untucking it, and unfastening his belt.
Travis didn't think it was right doing this so close to church time, but he wasn't in a position to argue. He shoved her skirt up higher, relishing the smoothness of her thighs. Finally she got his pants undone. She took hold of him and slid down on him. He threw his head back against the couch and moaned. Her hair spilled down her face. Her eyes were closed as she concentrated on building her own pleasure. He watched her as she moved, as she bit her bottom lip and let her head drop back, baring her elegant throat.
He wrapped one arm around her back, supporting her so she could move however she needed to. His other arm he slipped under her skirt and wrapped around her hips, guiding her movements.
"God, Travis, I couldn't sleep last night I wanted you so badly," she gasped.
He was past the point of being able to speak coherently. He buried his face in her breasts and gritted his teeth, trying to hold back the overwhelming tide of his desi
re for just a few more minutes.
Suddenly she was pressing down on him harder, grinding against him and clawing desperately at his shoulders, breathing and gasping. He lost it, then, pushing himself up inside of her as hard as he could, blinded by that ultimate release. By the time he came down off the high, he realized that she must have come at the same time as him, because now she lay sedately trembling in his arms.
He leaned back on the couch and held her for awhile. When she leaned back, she smiled down at him. "Feel better?"
He pushed her hair back behind her ear. "I'm still pretty pissed about my car."
She rolled her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder. They held each other this way until it was time to get ready for church.
Arden pulled into her driveway after church. She and Travis had stayed chatting with friends so that her parents beat them home by a good half hour. Travis sat next to her in worn out jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt with the number 3 on the back. She kept forgetting to ask what the number meant. Travis had made her take him home to change. He apparently couldn't stand being in church clothes all day. As a result, she was stuck presenting her parents with a slovenly macho man instead of a clean-cut, responsible pillar of the community.
She kept the engine running after she put it in park. Travis proceeded to open the door but she reached out and grabbed his arm. "I don't want you to be nervous," she said.
He grinned at her, all charming and boyish so that she just wanted to drag him to the nearest bed and crawl all over him. "I'm not nervous," he said.
"You're not?"
He shrugged. "No. I'm sure your aunt and uncle are nice folks. And I've already met your parents."
"You met them briefly Friday night."
"Well, yeah, but I talked to your old man for a while."
"You mean when he yelled at you to leave? Because I don't think that counts."
"No," Travis said. "When I was about to leave he invited me to the den for cigars and we talked for a while."
Arden figured she shouldn't be surprised. Of course her father would want to protect her. She only hoped he hadn't made any ridiculous threats or ultimatums. "You could have told me about this."
Travis laughed. "What's to tell. Can we go in, now?"
She looked him up and down. "Why did you have to change?"
"I want to be comfortable. Don't act like you don't think I'm sexy right now."
She turned away and grinned. "Okay. Just...be on your best behavior and don't...don't..."
"Don't embarrass you? You're kind of starting to piss me off, Princess." He gave her a stern look and then got out of the car and strode toward the front door.
Arden exhaled heavily and then shut off the car and followed him in.
Her mother had two sisters who were both younger and married with kids. Aunt Jenny lived so far away that she and her husband came in the week before Christmas and stayed all week. They had two children ages 10 and 8, a girl and boy respectively. Todd and Jenny were actually only ten years older than Arden, which put them around Travis's age.
Everyone was gathered in the family room. The kids were playing Sorry on the coffee table. The adults rose as Arden came in and introduced Travis to everyone. When they took their seats on the large wrap-around couch, Travis leaned back, propped his ankle up on his knee and dropped his arm around Arden's shoulders. Just like they were at some movie theater or something, and not in her parent's living room where everyone was wearing church clothes and sipping coffee out of her mother's second best tea service.
"So what do you do, Travis?" Todd asked.
"He owns his own business," Arden jumped in, hoping Travis would let her do the talking.
"I'm a mechanic," he said, glancing a menacing look Arden's way.
She slumped back. Defeated.
"Wow," Aunt Jenny said. Her eyes were wide and her hands were folded tightly in her lap as though she were anticipating some great event. "A mechanic. So you spend your day working on cars and getting all greasy and sweaty and stuff?"
Travis grinned. "Yes, ma'am."
"Wow," she exclaimed again, breathily.
Todd rolled his eyes. "I'm sitting right here, honey," he said.
She blushed and suppressed a grin.
"Don't worry about it, Todd," Travis said. "Few women can resist my charms. It's a gift I have."
Everyone laughed as though he'd said the wittiest thing and he gave Arden a nudge and a smile. She glared at him, mentally willing him to shut up and fade into the background.
Laura stepped in and refilled Travis's coffee cup. Which was when Arden noticed that she was nearly as enamored of Travis as Jenny was. "Can I get you anything else to drink, Travis?" Laura asked, hovering a few steps away.
"No, thank you, Miss Laura. This is just the best coffee I've ever tasted."
Laura blushed and took a seat next to Jenny. "I've got wine for dinner, but I bought some sparkling cider, just for you, Travis," Laura said.
Travis beamed at her. "Well that's very thoughtful of you. Thank you."
"Travis is an alcoholic!" Arden blurted out. She wasn't sure why she said it. Everyone froze and looked at her.
Travis removed his arm from her shoulders and angled toward her. His expression was half amused and half confused. "What the hell is your problem?" he asked, laughing a little.
She looked at him wide-eyed and shrugged.
"How long have you been sober, Travis?" Todd asked.
"Four years, eleven months, and fifteen days," Travis said.
Todd nodded. "Good for you. I have a cousin over in Bixy. She's been fighting alcoholism. I think it's been about three weeks since she's had a drink. She's got three kids, you know. Very tough situation."
"Does she go to the meetings over there?" Travis sat back, relaxing again after Arden's outburst.
"Not yet," Todd said. "I've been telling her she needs to, but I don't have any contacts."
"Sheldon Leonard runs AA over there. I'd be happy to meet your cousin and go with her to her first meeting. You really can't fight this alone."
Todd nodded. "I may take you up on that."
Travis leaned forward and pulled his wallet out and dug out a card. "Here's Sheldon's business card. There's a lot of really nice folks over there. I think she'll be glad she went."
"Thank you, Travis. Do you still go to meetings?"
Travis nodded. "Once a month. I'm sponsoring two guys and they're both doing really well."
Arden hadn't known about that. She supposed she needed to get more involved in her new boyfriend's life. But then again, they'd only known each other less than a month.
Laura sighed and pressed her hands to her heart. "I think it's wonderful you helping others out after all you've overcome."
"Well, that's how the world gets better, isn't it?" Travis said.
Laura and Jenny sighed in unison and nodded.
Travis gave Arden's shoulder a squeeze. She looked at him, still stunned by the reactions of her family to this clearly uncouth man who was way out and beyond incompatible with the rest of them.
Soon, Laura announced lunch and they all moved to the dining room, except the two children who would get to eat in the family room in front of an episode of Spongebob Squarepants.
Dinner was roasted chicken and root vegetables. There were rolls and salad to go with. And cheesecake for dessert. Travis complimented Laura profusely and she blushed and tripped all over herself to thank him.
Her father, of all people, spoke of Travis to his brother-in-law as though he'd raised Travis himself. Did Todd know that Travis owned a '69 Cyclone Cale Yarborough Special? Did Todd know that Travis played running back his junior and senior years in high school? Did Todd know that Travis was god of the entire universe?
Arden couldn't even swallow her food. What was wrong with these people. "Travis's father murdered two people and got sent to prison for life!" she blurted out.
Again, everyone froze and stared at her.
Trav
is's brows shot up in surprise. He looked at her and shook his head. "Do you have Tourette's or something?"
"That must have been horrifying for you," Jenny said. Everyone nodded in agreement.
Travis shrugged. "It was a few years back. Plus he says he didn't murder them. Of course, they were stealing from him, so he probably did."
"You know," Todd said, stabbing a piece of chicken with his fork, "we all have those undesirable elements in our family. I've got a cousin who blew up his house using his basement as a meth lab. I mean, we've all tried helping the guy, but he just seems determined to self-destruct."
Travis nodded. "That's just the way it goes." He shoveled some food in his mouth and complimented Laura again, who, again, blushed ridiculously.
Arden sat up taller. "Travis's ex-wife moved in with him, had a baby, and then stole his car and abandoned the baby. Just this morning."
At this point Travis was beyond being surprised. He just stopped, his fork in midair, and sat it back down on his plate.
"Oh my God," Mark said. "She left the baby with you?"
Travis sat back. "Yeah. Dustin and Emma are watching her for the moment."
"Yeah," said Arden, "and he..."
Travis calmly reached around her and put his hand over her mouth. "Shhh, honey. That's enough about me."
"Are you going to keep the baby?" Jenny asked.
"You know," Travis said, "I really don't know what I'm going to do. I've got a couple of ideas where Tonya might be. If I can find her, maybe I can get her to take the baby back. If not, I guess I need to get a lawyer and find out what my legal rights are."
"You could give her to the state," Jenny said.
Travis shook his head. "I'd rather find someone who wants to adopt her myself and see if we can go through a Christian organization or something. I'll raise her myself before I give her to the state. My brother, Duane, was in the system for a couple of years. No kid deserves what he went through. It's not that baby's fault she was born to a woman who doesn't love her."
Once again, Laura and Jenny nodded, their heads tilted in sympathy. After that, Travis abruptly changed the direction of the conversation by asking Todd what he did for a living. Arden sat staring at her food and not eating. Just as soon as it was clear that dinner was over, she jumped up, gathered plates and escaped to the kitchen. She started scrubbing dishes. She scrubbed so hard her arms hurt. Then she realized she'd been scrubbing the same plate for five minutes and was about to scratch the floral pattern off the rim.