When he opened Brent’s closet, Travis thought he’d died and gone to clothing heaven. The closet was neat and the clothing seemed to be organized in categories. There was a section for jeans, casual shirts, dress shirts, dress slacks, suits. Many of the items still had price tags on them. In the corner of the closet, there was even a double-breasted Armani tuxedo.
One wall of the closet had been designated for shoes. The wall had cubbies made especially for Brent’s shoes and even those were categorized by style and color. From the looks of the amount of clothing in the closet, it didn’t look as if Brent had taken any clothing, but there were a few shoe cubbies that were missing pairs of shoes.
For a few moments, Travis just stood in the center of the closet. He turned around and around in awe with his mouth slightly agape. He wished that he could one day have a closet like this one filled with nice clothing.
He took a deep breath. His clothing worries had just been eliminated. Behind the door of Brent’s closet, Travis found a full-length mirror. Acting as if he were America’s next top male model, he tried on outfit after outfit and checked himself out in the mirror.
After almost an hour of trying on clothing, he found what he thought was the perfect concert outfit. Once he slipped on a pair of Brent’s Cole Haan shoes, like Cinderella with the prince slipping the shoe on her foot, Brent’s shoe fit Travis like a glove. The outfit was complete.
Chapter 10
For the second time in his life, Travis felt as if he could grace the pages of GQ magazine. The first time was when he donned his tuxedo at his wedding and the second time was right then as he stood outside of the Durham Performing Arts Center.
He patiently waited for Jade outside of the DPAC. He felt confident because he knew he looked and smelled good. Like a child in a candy store, Travis had looked at the multiple bottles of cologne Brent had. He’d sniffed a few bottles and finally decided on the Old Spice.
And just before leaving the house to get into his taxi, he’d splashed on some Old Spice cologne. He had to chuckle when he did, as he thought about the Old Spice commercials with the actor with the deep voice, various backgrounds, and sound effects while he talked about the cologne.
With only a few minutes to spare before the concert was to begin, Jade strode up looking fabulous in a tight-fitting purple dress with a lavender shawl over her arms and a matching purse clutched under her arm. On her feet she wore stiletto heels and Travis wondered how in the world she’d walked all the way from the parking deck in the shoes. Her hair and nails looked as if she had just come from the salon.
When she saw him a smile spread across her face. When she finally met up with him she gave him a light peck on his cheek. “I am so sorry I am late. I meant to be here on time, but you know how hairdressers can be.”
Travis looked at the clock on his cell phone. “We’d better go ahead and get on in there,” he said.
As they walked Travis said, “How in the world did you walk all the way from the parking deck in those shoes?”
“Oh, I didn’t walk from the deck.”
“Yeah, but the parking on the street isn’t really that close either,” Travis said.
“Oh no, honey, I parked in the VIP section. A friend of mine works the shows here sometimes and told me he could get me in there.”
Travis wondered why she hadn’t told him about the friend and offered the hookup in the VIP section. Although he had to admit that even if she had, it wasn’t like he had a car of his own anyway. But it was still the principle of the thing. She still could have offered, whether he was a stranger or not. She had accepted his invitation to come to the concert with him.
The fact that she was late and didn’t have the common courtesy to offer him the information about the VIP parking perturbed him. This was along with the fact that he’d spend thirty dollars for a taxi to get to the concert and would be spending the same amount after the concert was over to get back home.
Once they got in and settled in their seats, the rest of the night during the concert went well. Jade knew the words to most of the songs, and stood for much of the concert as she sang songs right along with Sonnette. At one point the singer looked directly at Travis and Jade as she sang one of her famous songs about couples in love. And even though they were not a couple, and much less in love, it was nice to have Sonnette’s attention for a brief moment. And that attention made Jade enjoy the concert even more.
When the concert was over, Travis told Jade that they were going to be able to go backstage to meet Sonnette. Jade was thrilled, but the thrill turned into disappointment when she realized that they were not the only couple to go backstage to meet Sonnette. Travis and Jade had been herded to the back with ten other couples. As if they were in factory mode, they took a quick picture with Sonnette and also received a pre-signed photo of the songstress.
Realizing that it looked as if they were a real couple and were only going to get one signed photograph, Travis asked for another. That way he would ensure that they would both have the souvenir to take home.
Once they were back outside after the concert, Jade again gave him a peck on the cheek similar to the one she had greeted him with a few hours before. Then she yawned, saying she was tired and needed to go head home. Travis got the message loud and clear that she didn’t feel like hanging out to grab something to eat, or see what else they might be able to get into that night. Again, he was a bit perturbed, but it didn’t last very long since with another thirty-dollar fare to get back home, his pockets really couldn’t afford to do much else.
“Well, you’ve got my number, give me a call some time,” Jade said.
“Ah, yeah, I’ll do that,” Travis said.
“Wayne, I really did have a good time. We’ll have to see about meeting so maybe I can get to know you better,” Jade said.
“Ah, yeah,” Travis said. He gave her an awkward hug and said good-bye. He shook his head as he walked toward the parking deck, as if he was really parked there. He wondered if Jade had any home training, was an aloof person, or she was just trying to give him the cold shoulder? He figured maybe she was just an aloof person.
She hadn’t formally given him her phone number. What if he’d erased his call log on the phone? Had she just assumed he’d kept the number? At that point he was unsure if he’d pick up the phone to call her. But then he thought about the tight dress she had on and quickly reconsidered. The girl looked good, and maybe it was just an off night for her.
By the time Travis did arrive home he was way too exhausted to sleep in his own bedroom, and he really didn’t want to sleep on the couch or the recliner in the bonus room. So he opted for the only other viable option. He took a shower and crawled into Brent’s king-sized bed.
That Tuesday morning Travis awoke to the sound of his cell phone’s ring tone beat. As he opened his eyes and looked around the bedroom, he was confused as to where he was. Then he remembered that he’d fallen asleep in his friend Brent’s room instead of the guest room that he was supposed to be in. He didn’t want to get up out of the warm, soft bed. Travis didn’t know what kind of sheets Brent had bought, but he was going to have to find out the name brand because he had never slept on sheets so smooth and comfortable in his life.
Seeing it was Tory calling he answered the phone. He felt bad for not calling her back the other night.
“Hello,” Travis said.
“Hey, T.J. What’s up? I haven’t heard from you in a couple of days.”
“I know, something came up and I had to handle it. Sorry I didn’t call you back the other day.”
“Don’t worry about it. I know you have a lot on your mind. How is the job search going?”
“It’s going nowhere,” Travis said, not wanting to keep up false pretenses about his job search with Tory.
“I really hate to hear that. And I can tell it is really getting you down by the way you sound. Is there anything I can do?” Tory asked. She sounded so very sweet and genuine.
“Nah, n
ot unless you know someone hiring right now,” Travis said.
“I wish I did.”
Travis sat up in the bed and looked over at the clock on Brent’s nightstand. It was already 11:00; he couldn’t believe he’d slept so long.
“I was calling to invite you to go out with me and my friends this evening. We’re going bowling. And don’t worry about paying, it will be my treat,” Tory said.
Travis thought about it. And he guessed he must have paused too long as he thought about it, because Tory started talking again.
“Come on, I can hear the moping in your voice. Come on and meet me so you can take your mind off of things for a little while.”
Travis’s mind hadn’t really been that pressed about the job situation, but he guessed it must have sounded that way since he was still a bit groggy from just waking up. He thought it might actually be good for him to get out of the house.
“Sure, sounds good,” Travis said.
“We are meeting at the bowling center on Third Street at two o’clock,” Tory informed him.
Travis agreed that he would meet her at the bowling alley at 2:00. After taking a shower, he picked a pair of jeans and a T-shirt out of the pile of clothing on his bed. He did so without much thinking about how the outfit would look. The picking out of the clothing coupled with the ironing took only about five minutes versus his hour-long quest for the right outfit the night before.
He wasn’t too concerned about how Tory perceived him, unlike with Jade. Tory had seen him at his most comfortable that first day, and she had even seen him during one of his most embarrassing moments when he took his dive at the skating rink. It was easy with Tory. He didn’t have to put up any false pretenses. It was refreshing to just be himself.
That afternoon Travis hung out with Tory and her friends. And true to her word she paid for his games, bowling shoes, and even his snack. He had fun with Tory, who really liked to have a good time. She was easygoing and didn’t mind laughing at herself and others. Travis was grateful for her act of kindness.
He was so grateful for her act of kindness and was enjoying her company so much that he decided to ask her if she would like to go to the movies with him after bowling. Tory agreed and they headed over to the two-dollar movie theater that was just a couple of blocks from the bowling alley.
At the theater, Travis sprang for both of their movie tickets, a tub of refillable popcorn, and their drinks, even though Tory insisted he didn’t have to pay for her. In all he’d spent less than twenty dollars. And he inwardly shook his head thinking that he would have probably gotten off a lot cheaper the night before if he’d gone ahead and invited Tory to the concert instead of Jade. Plus Tory probably wouldn’t have minded picking him up and dropping him back off at home.
Tory picked a movie Travis had already seen a couple of times. But he didn’t mind seeing it again with her. He liked watching how she reacted to the funny scenes as well as the parts that were meant to be tearjerkers. She laughed and teared up at all the right spots.
With Tory, Travis felt alive and in control. In their conversations, she looked to him for advice about some of the smallest of things, like how to roll the bowling ball down the alley and what he thought about the differences in the various grades of gas to put in the car. He’d been able to easily help her with the answers to those questions and many others as they chatted while walking and waiting for the movie to begin.
Unlike Jade the night before, Travis could tell Tory was having a good time with him, not just having a good time with the activities they were partaking in. Once the movie was over, Travis didn’t want their time together to end. He didn’t look forward to going home to an empty house, so he asked her if she wanted to catch another movie. She agreed and this time they watched an action and suspense movie.
The second movie was one Travis hadn’t seen, and they were both enthralled in the plot of the movie together. Tory had a tendency to talk out loud while watching the movie, and while it hadn’t bothered him with the first movie, because he’d seen it before, it did bother him with the second movie.
He tried to give her a hint by not responding to her comments and not turning his head to make eye contact, but she just seemed oblivious to the fact that she was bothering him. One of his biggest pet peeves was for someone to talk through a movie. About halfway through, he resigned himself to the fact that Tory wasn’t going to be quiet. He’d have to come back another day alone and check it out.
At the movie’s end, Travis was tired. Tory, on the other hand, wanted to hang out longer and had suggested their going out to a nightclub. She was like the Energizer Bunny and wanted to keep going and going and going.
When they stepped outside of the theatre, Tory pulled a package out of her purse. It was a package of cigarettes. Then she pulled out a cigarette lighter and lit the cigarette. Travis’s stomach turned, not literally but figuratively. He had dated a smoker only once before in his life and kissing her wasn’t pleasant. He didn’t want to think about kissing Tory now, not that he had up until that moment. Travis realized he saw Tory as what she was, a young lady who was seven years his junior, not as a sexual object. But, nonetheless, she was definitely fun to be around. He would just have to take her in spells.
He knew that if he was going to continue to hang around Tory, then he was going to have to keep up some type of exercise routine. He was also going to have to make a list of things to buy. On the top of that list would be a bottle of multivitamins.
Chapter 11
Once Travis got back into the house after his date with Tory he checked his cell phone for messages. He’d put the phone on complete silence. He didn’t know why, but he hoped Jade had called.
There weren’t any missed calls or messages from Jade, but there were two missed calls from Beryl and one voice mail from her as well. He listened to the message, and as usual she was calling about money.
Talking with Beryl was draining. All she did was nag him about money, and she always wanted to tell him what he needed to be doing, and he was sick of it. It was as if her mission in life was to continuously remind him of what a failure he was as an ex-husband and as a father to his two boys. He just couldn’t do anything right in her eyes. Her nagging attitude was one of the main reasons he wanted to move away in the first place.
Guilt got the best of him. Travis checked his wallet and pulled out seventy-five dollars. He found an envelope in Brent’s office and addressed it to Beryl. Then he went out to the mailbox, and put the flag up on the box so the mailman would pick it up. Travis knew that seventy-five dollars wasn’t a lot of money, but at the time it was all he was going to be able to do.
He missed Cameron, who was five years old, and Jayden, who was three years old, and wanted to see them, but felt like the hassle of going through his ex-wife was too much. At some point he knew he would have to pick up the phone and call her, but it would have to be on a day when he had a full stomach and a restful night of sleep.
The popcorn he had eaten with Tory seemed to have dissipated in his stomach. His stomach growled, an indication he needed more food. So he pulled out a frozen dinner and heated it in the microwave. As he waited for the dinner to cook, he turned on the radio.
He heard an old church song that reminded him of his dearly departed mother. He also missed church. Off and on he watched church services on the television, but had not actually stepped into a church in months.
There was one pastor in particular that he liked to watch on Sunday mornings. The church, called New Hope, was actually located right there in Silvermont, and he’d contemplated attending a service one morning. As he listened to the song, he made it up in his mind that in the morning he would make a trip to New Hope Church and attend one of their services.
That Sunday morning Travis awoke bright and early. The birds outside chirped a melodious song as if willing him to come out and greet the day. And, like the night before, Travis again turned on the radio to listen to more gospel music. Listening to the m
usic reminded him of the days of his childhood when his mother played spirituals on a Sunday morning just before Sunday School and church.
Beryl too had played gospel songs on Sunday mornings while getting ready for church. In many ways he supposed Beryl’s aura was very similar to his mother’s aura. And he figured Beryl’s spirit was part of what drew him to her in the first place.
His mother played the music as she cooked breakfast for them, usually country ham, homemade biscuits, eggs, and grits running with butter. Travis nodded his head. He sure wished he had some of his mother’s cooking right then. Subconsciously he rubbed his stomach. There wasn’t any breakfast food in the refrigerator.
After taking his shower, he returned to his friend’s closet to shop for more clothing to wear for church. He found a nice suit and tie along with a pair of matching shoes. Again he stood before the mirror and admired himself in the clothing. He now looked on the outside the way he felt on the inside.
He looked through one of the boxes of books he’d packed and found his Bible. With his hand he literally dusted if off and read the embossed gold inscription on the cover that said: TRAVIS W. HIGHGATE. It had been a present to him for his thirty-third birthday from Beryl.
Now that he was all dressed up and ready to go, he felt an inexplicable need to get to the church. He now hungered to hear the Word of God. Although his stomach grumbled, it wasn’t edible food he yearned for, it was spiritual food he needed. With his Bible clutched in one hand, Travis then grabbed his wallet and keys and headed out to catch the bus to New Hope Church.
Travis stepped into the sanctuary of New Hope Church and immediately got the surprise of his life. Among the people in the pulpit of the church who were singing and clapping with the choir as they sang songs of praise, there stood his friend Phillip Tomlinson. Travis couldn’t believe his eyes. Phillip was sitting front and center in the seat that was normally designated as the pastor’s chair.
The Marrying Kind Page 8