Baby Love Lite

by ANDREA SMITH

  She paused as a nurse came in to check her I.V.

  “When I was fifteen and your mama was just twelve, our parents were killed in an automobile accident in Meridian, Mississippi, about an hour from where we lived. Matthew was twenty-two years old so he became our legal guardian. He pretty much blew through the inheritance that our parents had left, within a couple of years. I was able to finish high school and started working as a secretary in an insurance office in the little town where we lived. Matthew worked nights at a cocktail lounge. We were struggling. Matthew started drinking heavily and got some ideas on how we could make more money. He set out to train me in the ways of pleasing men. I was a very willing student.”

  Is she saying what I think she's saying?

  “Oh, don’t look so shocked, Tylar. It wasn’t like we were totally brother and sister - only half. Matthew taught me the art of fucking and promised me that we would earn a whole lot more money with the proper clientele. He explained this type of clientele wasn’t in Mississippi. We moved to New Orleans. It was just like Matthew had promised. He found me wealthy gentlemen in prestigious positions who wanted dates. They would wine and dine me; we would go to a fancy hotel room and spend the night. There were weeks that I was bringing in more than $2000. I always practiced safe sex, too.”

  She paused to take a long drink of water. The look in her eyes told me that she was reflecting back to a time that didn’t appear to hold bad memories for her.

  “I was in love with Matthew; at least I thought I was. We would still sleep together and make love. He needed to make sure I was in top performance for my ‘natural calling’ as he put it. Your mama was seventeen by this time. She'd just graduated from high school. She was naïve, just like you. She hadn’t a clue about me and Matthew; or about me and all of the other men. She thought I worked nights. She always had her head buried in a book, it seemed.”

  Maggie laughed and started coughing again. A nurse came back into her room and administered some codeine to her for the cough. She said it may make her drowsy. I was determined to get the rest of the story before that happened.

  “Matthew was determined to get Marla into the business of pleasing men. He said he needed to start personally training her real soon. I didn’t want him to touch her. I'd like to say it was because I was protective of her, but the truth was, I was jealous. I was jealous at the thought of Matthew fucking her - or any other woman, for that matter. He was mine.”

  She gazed over at me as if she was really seeing me for the very first time ever. “You look just like Marla, you know? Well, except that she had green eyes,” she stated out of the blue staring at me.

  “I was able to stall Matthew on the training bit with Marla. I told him that I wanted better for her. I promised him that I'd service more clients if only he would spare her. I then went off of my birth control pill on purpose. I wanted him to get me pregnant. I figured if Matthew knew I was having his child he'd forget about wanting to fuck Marla and love me like the wife I practically was to him. He knew I always used condoms with my clients. That was our golden rule. So when I got pregnant he'd know the baby was mine and his. It would be our love child.”

  I laid my head against Trey’s shoulder listening to her. I felt pity for what she'd endured. I was sickened by the relationship she'd had with her half-brother. How could Maggie have possibly thought it was natural to have sex with a blood relative? Yet, she'd done that and more. She'd fallen in love with him and wanted to be his wife?

  “It didn’t take me long to get pregnant. Matthew and I generally fucked on a daily basis. I hid it from him for as long as I could because I didn’t want him to make me get an abortion. He finally noticed that I had a baby bump one night when he was going down on me. I had to tell him the truth. He was furious with me. He claimed that because we were related the baby would be born a Mongoloid idiot. The next day he went to a bayou gypsy and got some roots and herbs and made a nasty brew. He forced me to drink it. Within hours, I was in excruciating pain. I delivered a dead baby girl. She looked perfectly formed. There wouldn’t have been anything wrong with her,” she sobbed.

  Maggie was crying now and they were real tears. It was the first time that I'd ever seen her genuinely sad. I wanted to reach out to her but I couldn’t bring myself to move. Trey stroked my hair and kissed the top of my head.

  “Go on, Aunt Maggie, please. Tell me what happened after that.”

  “I hated Matthew after that. I realized what a sick bastard he was. I knew that I needed out of his sick and perverted life. He didn’t care about anything or anyone. It was just about the money. Naturally, I was laid up for a while after the miscarriage. Matthew was more driven than ever to get Marla involved as a whore in his money-making scheme. She was clueless where men were concerned. She was still a virgin at eighteen. Matthew instructed me to get her dressed and made up for an evening out. He'd been invited to a high-rent bachelor party. Some connections he'd told him that some circuit judge from Baton Rouge was marrying a very wealthy girl from New Orleans. The party was to be hosted at a very exclusive hotel in the French Quarter.”

  Maggie was starting to get groggy. I needed her to finish this story.

  “Please, Aunt Maggie - just get to the part about my mother.”

  “Matthew took Marla to this party telling her he wanted to introduce her to some young wealthy attorneys and professional men. Of course, other ‘prostitutes’ were there but the young judge took a shine to your mama. She didn’t realize he'd paid Matthew a great deal of money for her to spend the night with him in his hotel room. When Marla got home the next morning she was furious with me for setting her up like that. Claimed the man had taken her virginity and then apologized afterwards telling her he'd no idea and how sorry he was. He said that he'd been under an entirely different impression.”

  Maggie chuckled weakly at the memory.

  “Well, over the next couple of weeks Marla kept getting flowers from him delivered almost daily. He kept calling her on the phone wanting to talk to her. He finally showed up at our duplex. He told Matthew he needed to see Marla. Matthew let him in and called Marla down to talk to him. When Marla came back upstairs later she had the two blue velvet boxes that had those antique earrings and the necklace in them.”

  I knew the ones she was talking about very well.

  “He told her they'd belonged to his grandmother and that he wanted her to have them. He said he was sorry that he'd ruined her; that if he could get out of marrying his fiancé, he would. He said that Marla fascinated him and intrigued him. He told her if she ever needed anything she should contact him. He gave her his card and said he was to be married the following week but that he'd never forget her. She said he leaned down and gave her the sweetest kiss ever and held her to him tightly. She said he whispered ‘I love you, sweet Marley’ in her ear. I think she actually fell in love with him, right then and there.”

  I got tears in my eyes finally knowing that my mother wasn't cut from the same cloth as Maggie.

  “A few months later, Marla discovered that she was pregnant with you. I figured Matthew would make her get an abortion like he did me, but he saw an opportunity."

  "He paid a visit to the newly wed Mrs. Tylar with the news and some supporting photos that he'd arranged to be taken of your mama and the judge’s night together. Marla never knew about any of this. She was content just to be carrying his child even though he was married to someone else. She didn’t want to cause any problems for him. In the meantime, Matthew was getting the funds he needed from Mrs. Tylar. He told her that the funding needed to continue because DNA testing was all that was needed to confirm her husband’s infidelity. It was rumored that Preston Tylar was on a short list for appointment to a federal judgeship. Mrs. Tylar wasn't going to let a scandal get in the way of that.”

  Maggie’s voice was getting weaker and she was getting groggier.

  “When you were born your mama named you Tylar Jamie Renaud. She loved you like there was no tomorrow. She
breast fed you; she said she wanted you to be healthy and strong. She was never apart from you. When you were about six or seven months old she told Matthew that she was going to take you and move back up to Mississippi. I wanted to go with her to get the hell away from him. Matthew wasn’t going to allow that to happen. You were his golden goose. She and I were almost to Mississippi on the Greyhound bus with you when Matthew caught up with us.”

  Maggie visibly shuddered at that particular memory. “After Marla passed away, you became my responsibility. I resented that I'd been given no choice in the matter. I hated Matthew and the control he had over me and my life. You just wanted a mama. You tried to make me your mama but that just wasn’t in the cards, don’t you see?”

  “Aunt Maggie, did Matthew ever see me when we lived in Kentucky?”

  “Yes, a couple of times when you were very young.”

  The man from my first memory with the swing set!

  “How did my mother die?”

  “Poisoning; it was poisoning," Maggie whispered weakly before slipping into unconsciousness.

  CHAPTER 32

  Trey received a call Sunday evening from Sandy Meyers. She'd been keeping in touch with us daily letting us know Maggie’s condition. There'd been no change since Friday afternoon when we'd been there with her. She was still in a coma but holding her own. The doctor said part of the coma had been induced because of the heavy duty pain-killers she was being given.

  Right after Trey got off of the phone with Sandy, Tristan called him. He let Trey know that he would be in Atlanta the following day, staying for the week to get the transition of ownership taken care of with Gina. I'd kept my BFF promise to Gina and not mentioned anything to Trey about Tristan coming in or where he was staying. My ears perked up when I heard Trey ask him if he was staying here with us.

  “You aren’t serious, Tristan. What the fuck?”

  I couldn’t hear Tristan’s response but pretty much figured it out with Trey’s next line.

  “Yeah, right, platonic my ass! What’s your deal, bro?”

  There was silence while Trey listened to Tristan explain his deal. “I realize that, Tristan. I just hope that you're a bit more cautious before jumping into another relationship so quickly.”

  Another pause.

  “Whatever you say, Tristan. It’s one thing to be in business with Gina; just take my advice and don’t hop into bed with her.”

  WTF? That's my best friend you're talking about!

  “Okay, okay. I'll butt out. See you in a couple of days then. Don’t forget to come up for air.” Trey was chuckling now so it appeared as if the brothers were still on good terms.

  He came out to the kitchen where I'd just finished unloading the dishwasher. He looked all disheveled from the afternoon he'd spent on the couch drinking beer and watching football.

  “Did you know that Tristan will be in town tomorrow for the week?”

  “I overheard you talking to him about it just now.”

  “Guess where he’s staying?”

  “Well, from what I overheard it sounded like Gina’s?”

  “Oh, come on, Tylar. You already knew about this, didn’t you?” He was giving me an accusatory look.

  “So, what if I did? It’s not my place to tell you everything that concerns my best friend or your brother, is it?”

  “I certainly hope you aren’t playing matchmaker with those two,” he warned, furrowing his eyebrows at me.

  “Trey, this isn’t seventh grade. Tristan and Gina are both adults who can navigate their way into a business relationship or a love relationship or a sexual relationship without any outside assistance or interference.”

  “You're mighty sassy with me tonight aren’t you, girl?” he said with a smile closing in on me. He tugged on my ponytail gently, pulling me back against him. His arms circled around me as he lowered his face to kiss the top of my head softly, rocking me back and forth within his arms.

  “Is your period over yet, baby?” he asked.

  “Sorry, no,” I answered trying to wriggle out of his strong grip.

  “Can I interest you in a high protein drink then?” he asked, not loosening his hold on me whatsoever.

  “We’ll see,” I replied. “You may have a better chance of that if you get out of those sweats you’ve been in all weekend and shower, though.”

  He chuckled, burrowing his face down into my hair and kissing the back of my neck. He gave me goose bumps. Just then the sound of glass shattering on the wooden floor in the living room followed by Preston’s loud wailing interrupted our play.

  “Shit,” Trey said racing out of the kitchen and into the living room with me on his heels.

  Preston had evidently crawled over to the tall, glass vase that was placed on the hall table and tried to pull herself up, causing the vase to slide off and hit the floor shattering.

  Trey scooped her up immediately checking for cuts. Her little face was puckered up crying tears; she buried her face into Trey’s chest her thumb finding its way into her mouth. “I think it just scared her,” he said visibly relieved.

  “Trey, what the hell?” I fumed. “Why did you take her out of her playpen?”

  “Tylar she wanted out. I was on the couch so I put her on the rug with some toys while I watched the game. She was fine crawling around and playing right there with me. I guess when I took the phone call I got distracted. I didn’t think about it when I went into the kitchen to talk to you.”

  He was stroking her hair and kissing her head. “I think you need to baby proof the apartment now that she's a toddler.”

  “Right,” I said, rolling my eyes at him. “What exactly do you think baby-proofing involves, Trey? Sticking some shields on electrical sockets and taking everything breakable out of the rooms?”

  “Well, yeah,” he replied.

  “The shields on electrical sockets, yes,” I replied, “but you still need to be in the same room with the baby. You teach them not to touch certain things that could break or hurt them by telling them ‘no’ firmly and consistently. Do you think you can manage that, Trey?”

  “I don’t know, Tylar,” he replied in a faux snotty tone, “I seem to have a problem with saying ‘no’ to you firmly and consistently, it would appear.”

  “Hah, since when?” I scoffed giving him a kiss on the cheek.

  Preston looked up from Trey’s shoulder and smiled at me. “Ma-ma-ma-ma,” she whimpered, twisting away from Trey and reaching for me.

  “Did you hear that? She wants her mommy,” I crooned taking her from Trey. “Come on, sweet baby girl,” I said holding her close to me. “Let’s go see if your diaper needs changing after that scare you just had.” I took her to the nursery and sure enough she'd soiled her diaper.

  “Stinky girl,” I said making a face as I unfastened the tabs on her diaper and lifted her legs up to remove it.

  She was grinning at me with her thumb in her mouth and jabbering in baby language. I cleaned her up with baby wipes and put a clean diaper on her. I went ahead and dressed her for bed since she got her bath in the morning. “There - all done Preston. Do you want Mommy to read you a story?”

  She smiled at me again, saying, “num-num-num.” I wasn’t sure what that meant so I pulled a book from the shelf and sat her on my lap in the rocker opening it up to start reading. She squirmed about knocking the book out of my hands and repeated the ‘num-num’ jargon a few more times definitely starting to fuss now.

  Num-num? Nurse? Nipple?

  I unbuttoned my top and unclasped the front hook on my bra freeing my breasts. That was it. That was ‘num-num.’ She immediately leaned into me, latching onto my nipple and started nursing curled up against me.

  Trey came into the nursery a while later; I shared with him her latest word. I'd noticed that he'd showered, shaved and had a clean pair of pajama bottoms on. His hair was still damp from his shower.

  “I swept up all of the glass from the entry hall,” he said. “I'll keep a better eye on her in the f
uture.”

  “Good,” I replied, looking down at my precious girl nestled so contentedly against me. Part of me wished that she could stay this age forever. I recalled though, how I'd thought the same thing with almost every stage she'd went through thus far.

  I thought about the things that Maggie had told us the other day. In particular, I thought about how she told me that my mother had loved me and never liked being apart from me. It reminded me of the way that I felt about Preston. Perhaps I had more of my mother in me than simply my physical appearance. I decided that I was very proud of that possibility. I needed to find out more about the last thing that Maggie had said before falling into her unconscious sleep. I needed to understand what she meant about my mother being poisoned. Had it been an accident or had it been deliberate?

  Trey was watching me with the baby.

  “You know, Tylar, you're never sexier in my eyes than when I watch you nurse our baby. I can’t explain it but it's definitely a turn-on.”

  I smiled up at him knowing that he was sincere - horny or not. “Are you going to bed?” I asked.

  “I’ll be watching the late game in our room. Will you be long?”I looked down at Preston and her eyes were closed; her long lashes resting against her soft skin. She continued to suck gently, the pauses between them growing longer each time.

  “It’ll be just a few more minutes, Trey. She’s almost finished here.”

  “Okay baby,” he said, leaning over and kissing her head. His lips brushed across mine warmly and sensually.

  “I’ll be waiting for you. Come and get your ‘num-num’ baby.”

  CHAPTER 33

  Trey and I were roused out of our sleep a little after 5:00 a.m. on Monday morning by the landline extension in our room ringing. Trey was closest, so he grabbed the phone. I felt him sit up quickly after the person on the other end had identified themselves to him.

  “I see,” he said, switching the bedside lamp on. He wanted me awake. “She’ll be there in thirty minutes. Let Maggie know. Thanks, Sandy.”