Baby Love Lite

by ANDREA SMITH

  I phoned Susan later and told her we would be there. She said that Nigel and Tess were coming; and that Landon and Caroline would be there as well.

  Holy shit - this might be a deal breaker with Trey.

  I got off the phone deciding it was best to let him know now before we made our plane reservations. He was reclining on the living room couch with his iPad perched upright checking his emails. Preston was entertaining herself nearby in her playpen.

  “I just talked to your mom and told her we planned on being there next Friday. She’s really happy,” I said.

  “Great baby, come sit down next to me,” he smiled, patting the couch beside him.

  “Well, there's one other thing,” I started.

  He cocked an eyebrow, waiting for me to finish.

  “Nigel and Tess are coming; so are Landon and Caroline,” I finished.

  “Are you shitting me?” he said sitting upright, dropping his iPad. “What's Mom thinking?”

  “It'll probably be alright, honey,” I soothed him.

  “Are you really okay with still going?” he asked.

  “Hey, I am if you are. I’m sure we'll be entertained,” I laughed.

  He gave me his signature smile, pulling me over onto his lap. He tilted my chin upward and his lips found mine, kissing them softly and sensually. I laced my arms around his neck and returned his kiss, pressing myself closer to him; fisting my hands in his thick hair. His hands gently rubbed my back and we continued kissing and loving one another. Our kiss was interrupted by a screeching succession of “Boo’s!”

  Trey pulled away, startled by the loud ghost sounds coming from the corner. “What the hell?” he asked.

  I started giggling watching Preston as she continued to press the spot on the stuffed ghost making it go “Boo!”

  “Oh, that’s a toy that Gina brought over today for the baby,” I replied.

  “That figures,” Trey replied, rolling his eyes. He went over to the playpen and tried to get Preston interested in something else. She was having none of it. She held on to her plush ghost and took it to bed with her that night. Trey and I could hear the sound of ‘Boo’ every so often coming from the nursery. We could hear her giggles, too. We wouldn’t be getting that toy away from her anytime soon.

  CHAPTER 16

  Karla was scribbling her notes as usual during my session with her. So far, I'd done all the talking; relaying all that had happened from the time Maggie had taken Preston to the present. I took a drink of water when I paused giving her time to catch up.

  “Tylar, I need to ask you how you and Trey interacted during the period when Preston was gone.”

  “Well, I mean we were both emotionally drained, but we were there for each other. He was angry when I took off for Indiana on my own, but other than that we were strong for each other.”

  “Good,” she replied. “Since the baby has been home, how are things between you and Trey?”

  Why was she asking so many questions about Trey and me?

  “They’ve been fine. We're very happy.”

  “What about your return to work?”

  “That isn’t going to happen.”

  “Why not?” she pressed.

  “Because there's no one to watch the baby; and Trey realizes that it wasn't a good idea. I mean come on, look what that caused.”

  “So, you believe that you going back to work directly caused Preston to be abducted?”

  “I’m saying that it certainly gave my wacko mother, aunt - whatever the hell she is to me, the opportunity to snatch my baby, yes.”

  “Who is watching Preston right now?”

  “My best friend, Gina.”

  “Have you considered searching for a babysitter in the future in case you choose to do something outside of the home?”

  “Karla, I’m not sure why you're posing these questions to me. I know that Maggie is locked up and that she can’t get access to the baby or me any longer. We're safe.”

  “Tell me how safe feels, Tylar.”

  “For me, it feels as though I don’t have to worry about when or where Maggie might pop up in my life; or what further pain she's planned for me.”

  “Why do you think Maggie wanted to hurt you?”

  “Because she hated me. Isn’t that obvious?”

  “What would've caused her to hate you?”

  I was getting impatient with her questions. Where the hell was any of this going? “I don’t know. Maybe because I wasn’t really her child; maybe she resented having had to raise me; maybe I cramped her style. There are numerous possibilities, I suppose. Perhaps she'd been jealous of my mother. She certainly seemed to be jealous of me as I got older.”

  “Do you still worry that you might be like her now that it’s likely she's not your birth mother?”

  “I stopped worrying that I'd be a whore like her after I had sex for the first time. It was with Trey and I loved him. I knew that I could never want any other man other than Trey. I knew that love was the important component in intimacy - not physical sex. Trey and I were intimate long before we had sex.”

  “And what about other characteristics Maggie had that you felt you might have inherited?”

  “I worried that I could be abusive like she was. The dreams were a reflection of that.”

  “What do you feel guilty about, Tylar?”

  “What makes you think that I feel guilty about anything?”

  I could feel myself getting defensive. She was scratching the surface for something. It felt like she was picking at an emotional scab.

  “What did you feel when you saw Preston’s bruised bottom?”

  “I felt angry; I felt ashamed,” I snapped.

  “Who were you angry with, Tylar - who?”

  “Trey,” I hissed, tears spilling out, running down my cheeks. “He made me go to work. He made me leave my baby when it wasn't safe to do so. My dreams were a warning; I shared most of them with him, but he didn’t want to hear about them anymore. They pissed him off!”

  I was sobbing now; she'd managed to wrench my guts out with her questions.

  “Tell me about the shame you felt.”

  “I felt shame that any blood relative of mine could have left bruises on an innocent baby girl’s bottom,” I cried, wiping my tears with the back of my hand.

  Karla handed me a tissue from the box that sat on top of her desk. I took it from her wiping my cheeks. “Now, tell me what you feel guilty about.”

  My throat was closing up. I couldn’t breathe in her office. Why was she badgering me like this? I'd never hurt my baby. I could never be the person that Maggie had been. She was still waiting for me to answer her question.

  “Because,” I finally sobbed loudly, “Maybe if I'd been a better person; stronger and braver back then, Maggie would've never had the opportunity to touch my baby!”

  “Back when, Tylar?”

  “Back when she used to beat me!” I screamed. “I should've told someone! My teachers knew and they wanted to help. They asked me over and over again how I got my bruises. I lied to cover up the truth. I lied to all of them just to protect that fucking monster!”

  Karla was on her feet and by my side in an instant. She hunkered down next to my chair, taking my hands into hers. I was forced to look at her; I saw the compassion. She'd suspected there was more to my story all along. She wanted to help.

  “Tylar,” she spoke softly to me, “you were a child. You loved that person that you thought was ‘Mom’. You loved her unconditionally; the same way that Preston now loves you."

  I sniffled, shaking my head in agreement.

  "You didn’t deserve to be mistreated. You can’t blame yourself for not turning Maggie in to the authorities all those years ago for what happened to Preston recently. You were a frightened child believing in some way that you needed to protect your mother even though she didn’t protect you.”

  I nodded again, wiping my eyes with the tissue. Karla handed me a fresh one as she settled back at her desk. I
blew my nose and tried to get my composure once again.

  “I know it was painful for you to come to grips with this today, Tylar. You’ve repressed this stuff for a long time, but you have to believe me when I tell you that it’s healthy that you came to terms with this, finally. Let’s meet again in two weeks. Between now and then I want you to make an effort to enjoy being around the baby and enjoy having time away from her as well. Can you try that?”

  I agreed gathering my coat and purse anxious to get the hell out of there. I was on the phone with Trey’s mother when he got home that evening. Preston was napping. Trey grabbed a beer from the fridge. He leaned down and gave me a kiss heading to his office. Tristan’s party was going to have a Halloween theme since it was so close to the real thing. Susan said that everyone was to dress as a television or movie character. Trey and I'd have to figure out what kind of costumes we would wear. I liked the idea. I headed down to Trey’s office. He was on his Cell phone with some work business. He smiled as I came in, so I curled up in his lap.

  I started nuzzling his neck and then lightly brushed kisses on him. I could tell by the conversation I'd totally distracted him. I lowered my hand to his lap, fondling his manhood from outside of his trousers. I felt it grow and harden beneath my touch. Trey was trying to wrap up his phone conversation now. I'd started tracing my tongue around his ear, breathing warmly into it. He was squirming at this point.

  Just then I heard the ghost’s “Boo!” from Preston’s room. My baby was up. I launched myself out of Trey’s lap just as he wrapped up his call. I headed to her room. She was sitting up in her crib, clutching her plush ghost to her. She smiled when she saw me, dropping it and holding her arms up for me to pick her up.

  Trey was beside me in a moment. “I see that my daughter has perfect timing,” he grumbled slapping my behind affectionately.

  “Rain check, baby?” I asked coquettishly, holding Preston close to me.

  “Absolutely,” he replied, kissing the top of her head.

  I changed her diaper then took her into our room to nurse for a while. We needed our girl time. I got comfortable on my side and lifted my shirt as Preston nestled against me and nursed.

  Trey came in about thirty minutes later just as Preston was finishing up. “Any left for me?” he asked seductively, stretching out across the bed.

  “I’m afraid I’m on empty, sweetie,” I said, fastening up my nursing bra and lowering my shirt. “Would you play with the baby while I make dinner? It’s just going to be sandwiches tonight since I was out this afternoon.”

  “Sure, baby,” he said, taking Preston into his arms as he got off of the bed. “That’s right - you had a session with Dr. Hunter today. How did that go?”

  Holy shit - I'm not ready to get into the details with him yet.

  “Oh, it was fine,” I lied, heading toward the kitchen.

  When we sat down to eat I told Trey about the Halloween theme for Tristan’s party. “What do you think we should go as?” I asked.

  “Hmmm, let me think. How about I’ll go as a football player and you can be the slutty cheerleader,” he smirked. I gave him a dirty look and continued thinking.

  “Oh, I’ve got it, I’ve got it,” he said excitedly, “we can go as two blue balls.”

  “Blue balls?” I questioned puzzled. “I’m not getting it?”

  “Yeah, neither am I,” he snickered, grabbing his crotch.

  “Trey, I’m serious and it's supposed to be either television or movie characters. It’s a theme. I want to do something kind of unique, you know? I’ll call Gina tomorrow and see if she has any ideas."

  Trey rolled his eyes at the mention of Gina’s name. He still hadn’t forgiven her for the “Boo!” ghost she'd bought for Preston.

  Later after I'd gotten Preston down for the night, I showered and climbed into bed thoroughly exhausted. The session with Karla had taken a lot out of me. I heard Trey in the shower as I drifted off to sleep. I awoke later to find his arms wrapped around me possessively. I turned to face him, kissing his face and his lips. He awoke smiling, returning my kisses. We made love over and over again for the rest of the night.

  Right before dawn, just as I'd drifted back to sleep I heard Preston fussing. “I’ve got this, babe,” Trey said, rising up and out of our bed. “You stay put. Go back to sleep.”

  He warmed a bottle up for her and fed her in the nursery allowing me to sink into a deep and well-rested sleep.

  CHAPTER 17

  Tristan had picked us up at the airport Friday afternoon. He'd immediately taken Preston from me and carried her through the terminal while Trey got our luggage. He talked to her and made faces; she was giggling in delight at her Uncle Tristan. He needed to be a dad I thought to myself. I truly hoped he got the opportunity with whomever he ended up settling down with.

  “So,” I said smiling at him, “the big 4-0, huh? How does that feel, Tristan?” He laughed good-naturedly then leaned closely as if he wanted to share a secret with me.

  “Do you want to know the truth?” he asked in a very serious tone.

  I nodded waiting for him to share some secret of aging.

  “I actually feel almost the same way today as I did yesterday,” he confided.

  “Oh….you,” I said, smacking his arm.

  “When do I get to meet Libby?”

  “Very soon. She’s back at the house helping Mom bake her traditional pumpkin pies for Halloween. She decorates them with faces,” he laughed.

  “So,” I continued, “what are you and Libby wearing for the big Halloween/Birthday gala?”

  “That's a secret, Tylar. But, I can guarantee you that our costumes will be unusual,” he promised.

  Trey, Preston and I were going as Fred, Wilma and Pebbles Flintstone. Gina had come up with the idea very quickly when I explained what the theme was to be.

  “Girlfriend,” she had giggled, “it'll be freakin’ perfect!”

  She'd seen the costumes at a shop near the Sanctuary and dragged me down there to look. They actually were pretty amazing when I saw them on the mannequins.

  Gina had pitched the idea to Trey bringing Preston and I out to model the costumes that we'd borrowed on approval from the shop. Preston dressed as Pebbles was adorable. I'd pulled her hair up into the little sprouted ponytail and the costume came with a fake clip that looked like a bone just like Pebbles had on the cartoon. My costume included the wig that had a reddish colored tight bun on top just like Wilma’s.

  Both of us wore the ragged hemmed animal print shifts just like the cartoon characters. My only concern was that Trey (Fred) wouldn't agree to wear his animal skin shift as well. Trey would also get to carry his ‘caveman’ faux wooden club. He'd turned out to be a good sport about it. I got his costume rented the following day. Trey’s only concern had been that my animal skin shift was too short and that it showed off more of me than what he wanted anyone to see.

  “Jesus Christ,” he'd moaned later in our bedroom as I was changing out of my costume. “I'm going to have to beat the shit out of a bunch of horny cavemen I can see.”

  “Oh, Trey,” I'd laughed, “there’s only one horny caveman that I'm interested in.”

  “Just make sure it stays that way, baby,” he said in his smooth and silky voice, planting his hands on my ass and pulling me towards him. We'd been setting the record with our sexapades these days. I simply couldn’t get enough of my husband and he couldn’t get enough of me.

  When we got to his parents’ house we were met at the door by Susan who promptly took Preston from Tristan and headed off down the hall with her. “Nice to see you too, Mom,” Trey called after her helping me off with my coat.

  Thatcher was there in a moment helping with our luggage and putting coats away. Tristan had disappeared upstairs so Trey and I made our way back to the family room to greet Clive and catch up on everything.

  “Tylar,” Susan whispered after we'd been there for several minutes, handing Preston off to Trey. “Come in the kitchen with
me for a moment.”

  I followed her into the kitchen puzzled by the secrecy.

  “Listen,” she said, her voice still lowered as if she felt someone might overhear her. “This gal of Tristan's, Libby, I’m not real sure about her.”

  “What do you mean, Susan?”

  “I mean she's very hard to read. He seems totally intrigued with her but I’m not so sure. My motherly instincts are raising hell. Have you and Trey met her yet?”

  “No, we haven’t,” I replied.

  “Well, I certainly won’t say any more then because I don’t want to pass any bias that I might have on to either of you. I’ll let you be your own judges.”

  Just then Tristan came into the kitchen holding hands with someone I presumed was Libby.

  “There she is,” he said in his warm voice, “Libs this is my favorite sister-in-law, Tylar. Tylar please meet Libby Michaels. She lives in Atlanta, too.”

  I held my hand out to Libby and she grasped mine with her own. She looked to be in her early thirties; she was tall and slender with long blond hair. Everything about her was perfectly manicured and in place.

  “Tylar,” she said, “Tristan's constantly talking about you, Trey and your adorable baby girl. You brought her with you, didn’t you?”

  “Of course they did,” Susan spoke up. “Come and meet my son, Trey and my grandbaby, Preston.”

  We all went back to the family room. I noticed how Tristan settled Libby into a chair and then sat on the arm of it, keeping her hand in his. He seemed totally infatuated with her.

  When she was introduced to Trey I couldn’t help noticing how her eyes lit up when she smiled and took his hand. It was possible that Susan’s bias had caused me to be more attentive to her actions as a result, but it seemed as if Libby’s hand lingered in Trey’s a bit longer than necessary; even now it was if she continued to watch him as he held Preston in his lap.

  “So, Libby,” I started, “what do you do in Atlanta?”

  “I’m the Director of Marketing at Sexabella Products,” she stated very matter-of-factly. I glanced over at Trey meeting his amused glance. He knew I was going to ask the question.