by ANDREA SMITH
“Well, sweetie, up to this point, it's just hearsay. Even if it's established that either or both of them died from poisoning, it in no way incriminates him without witnesses, or motives; they need much more circumstantial and forensic evidence, I’m afraid.”
I heard Preston crying in her room. Trey started to get up but I told him I'd get her. I needed the distraction from my dark thoughts.
I went in and she was standing up holding onto the rail on her crib. Her room was dark. The nightlight we'd plugged in must've had the bulb burn out. It got dark so early now.
“Hey, precious girl,” I said to her, “Are you ready for some pureed turkey and sweet potatoes?” She smiled showing off her latest teeth. She was getting her two eye teeth before her top middle ones. She had a bit of a baby vampire look going. She reached for me as I neared her crib.
I cleaned her up, diapered her and then dressed her in a yellow turtleneck and a little brown corduroy jumper that had a colorful turkey emblem on the front. I put some white tights on her and a pair of brown oxford shoes. I brushed her hair up into two little pigtails.
“My baby looks adorable,” I said to her smiling. She rewarded me with a dimpled grin. I carried her out to the dining room and settled her into her high chair. Gina and Tristan were fussing all over her and entertained her while I got her food warmed up. Trey got her bib and tied it on her.
“Can I feed her, Ty?” Gina asked. “I’m finished with dessert, so why don’t you eat yours while I feed her?”
“Be my guest.”
I ate my apple pie watching Gina feed her with Tristan right there with her. The baby loved the attention she was getting from Aunt Gina and Uncle Tristan.
Trey had finished loading the dishwasher at capacity and started it. We still had at least another half load of dirty dishes to load once the first one was finished. He came back into the dining room, rolling his eyes for the third time this evening having seen Tristan with his hand on Gina’s shoulder as she fed Preston. They stayed till around 10:00 p.m. playing with Preston until she started get fussy.
“This baby girl is ready for bed,” Trey said scooping her up and heading towards the nursery.
“So,” Gina said quietly once Trey had exited the room. “Did you mention anything to Trey about me crashing here starting next weekend?”
“I did and he’s fine with it,” I replied smiling.
“No shit? That’s great.”
“Well, listen, we better shove off now. The Hot Nazi has made it pretty clear he wants some alone time with you.”
Tristan chuckled as he helped Gina on with her coat. I got the distinct impression that it was Gina who wanted some alone time with Tristan.
“What time does your flight leave in the morning, Tristan?”
“Around 9:00 a.m.,” he said. “Gina has the papers for you to sign and your check at the office.”
“That’s fine,” I said. “We're going to do our Black Friday shopping tomorrow so I can get it then. When are you planning to come back to start the modifications to the club?”
“I have to get the staff started at the winery, so it'll be in about two weeks.”
“You’re welcome to stay here when you get back,” I offered.
Gina shot me a dirty look.
What the hell is that about?
“Thanks, Tylar,” he said, giving me a brotherly hug.
“Thanksgiving was great,” Gina said hugging me as well.
“I'll see you tomorrow morning around nine or so after I drop Tristan at the airport. Be ready to shop, girlfriend.”
“Always, Gina,” I said, closing the door behind them.
I went in showered, got in my jammies and crawled into bed. I was exhausted. Holidays seemed to do that to me. Trey came in a few minutes later holding Preston who was in her pj’s as well. “Someone is asking for ‘num-num,” he said. I held my arms out taking her from him and nestling her down beside me.
“I’m going to grab a shower, babe. I’m beat.”
“Okay, sweetie,” I replied, lowering my nightgown and positioning Preston on her side next to me. She clamped down hard on my nipple her teeth making it painful. “Ouch,” I said, “That hurt.”
Trey looked over at me as he was taking his boots off.
“She’s starting to bite me with those sharp baby teeth,” I laughed.
“Baby,” he said, "why don’t you consider weaning her entirely off the breast? It would make things easier if we wanted to go away for a few days here and there.”
“I will when she turns a year old, Trey. I want to continue until then at least a couple of times a day.”
When Trey came to bed after his shower, he found both Preston and I asleep. He removed her from my arms to take her to her own bed. When he returned he climbed into bed naked, except for his boxers. He immediately curled up next to me drawing me close to his warm body. I had put my diaphragm in after my shower.
Trey was placing soft kisses on my face, neck and shoulders. I pulled him down on top of me kissing his lips and allowing his tongue to explore my mouth.
“Is your diaphragm in, baby?”
“It is,” I replied, massaging his manhood that was quickly hardening between us. “I’ve waited for this all day, Mr. Sinclair,” I said.
The truth was that ever since Gina had told me how hot it was with Tristan and I saw her giddiness and Tristan’s attentiveness to her, I'd wanted some of that for myself. Was it possible that Trey and I'd fallen into a ‘married rut’? We made love and fucked all of the time. I yearned for that ‘just new’ feeling though; the feeling that I'd had with him after we first met; and then again after we'd made love for the first time; the feeling that there were still mysteries about each other to be solved.
“Really?” he asked as if surprised.
“Of course, sweetheart,” I said, kissing him and then pushing him back off me. “Kneel in front of me, Trey,” I instructed.
He got a puzzled look on his face but did as I requested. I crouched down in front of him taking his member into my mouth. I sucked, licked swirled and completely sucked him to almost climax. Trey was moaning and breathing heavily. I turned around getting on my hands and knees and tilted my ass up into his face.
“Fuck me doggie-style, baby,” I said huskily.
Trey scooted towards me, placing one of his hands on my ass as he guided himself into me from behind. My sex was totally wet for him. He placed his left arm under my stomach to raise my ass up so that he could penetrate me deeply. He rocked in and out of me in slow and deep rhythm; both of his hands were now on each cheek guiding himself in and out of me.
“Mmmm baby,” he said, “This feels so good.”
His momentum picked up, his breathing ragged. I was starting to quicken in this position that allowed a more unobstructed access to my sweet spot. I tilted my ass up higher arching my back.
“Oh, God, keep going,” I moaned as Trey slammed into me again and again.
I heard him moan and then he pulled my ass tight against his pelvis as his manhood throbbed and pulsated getting ready to spew his warm climax into me. My orgasm exploded just then as I cried out and rolled my ass in a circular motion draining him of all of his love.
We collapsed down on the bed, thoroughly spent and exhausted from our lovemaking. We were both panting. Trey reached for my hand raising it to his lips and kissing it.
“What got into you, Mrs. Sinclair?” Trey asked. “That was absolutely wicked.”
“I don’t know,” I answered. “I just want to make sure that you and I don’t get into a rut, sexually.”
Trey rose up, perching his head on his hand. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“I just miss the butterflies, I guess.”
“The butterflies? I don’t understand.”
I turned on my side facing him. I ran my fingers through his just-fucked hair, loving his looks.
“You know how it is when you first fall in love? Everything is new and exciting; there’s myst
ery and passion and . . . butterflies flutter in your stomach.”
“I see,” he said, twisting a lock of my hair between his fingers. “So, are you thinking that maybe Gina is feeling those butterflies now and you’re not?”
“What are you talking about, Trey,” I asked sitting up in bed.
“I know how you think. It’s obvious that Tristan and Gina are doing the mattress mamba and she's probably filled you in on all of the lurid details making you think somehow our play is lacking. I can tell you it’s not - at least from my perspective. Aren't you pleased?’
“Of course I am! I just wanna make sure we still love each other more than ever and I still give you butterflies.”
“I love you, Tylar. You make me happy in bed and happy in love. I don’t know what else to say.”
“Just hold me; hold me all night long while I sleep; and don’t get any of your animalistic ideas,” I whispered, a single tear rolling down my cheek.
CHAPTER 37
Gina and I were out with the masses doing our Black Friday shopping. It was going to be so much fun having a baby to buy for this Christmas. Gina and I both went overboard on Preston. Gina managed to find a plush stuffed Santa that bellowed “Ho! Ho! Ho!” when his fat belly was pressed.
“Look, Ty,” she said “It’s kind of like that ghost I bought her that screeched ‘Boo!’
“Yes, she loved that too.”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen her plush ghost for several weeks. I had a sneaking suspicion Trey was behind the disappearance.
I bought Trey some new sweaters, another Atlanta Falcons jersey and a black wool dress coat. I noticed Gina was looking at some Izod sweaters in the men’s section at Dillard’s.
“What are you looking for?” I asked her coyly.
“I was just thinking how great this color would look with Tristan’s eyes,” she replied pulling an emerald green sweater from the rack.
“So, you and Tristan are exchanging gifts?”
“Why not? We’ve been exchanging bodily fluids on a regular basis,” she laughed.
“So, what happened with you two last night?” I asked.
“We pulled an all-night fuckfest.”
“By the way,” I said, “What was with the dirty look you gave me yesterday when I invited Tristan to stay with us when he’s back in town in a couple of weeks?”
“Because I’m staying there and you just have the two bedrooms. I don’t want Trey knowing about Tristan and me as far as the physical relationship we have.”
“Oh, I see. That’s all it is then - a physical relationship.”
“Yes, I’ve explained that to you, already.”
“Well, for your information, Gina, Trey has already figured that part out.”
“What? How?”
“Hello? It’s a bit obvious with him calling you ‘babe’ and always touching you, for gosh sakes.”
Gina smiled as she decided to go with the green sweater for Tristan. She could pretend all she wanted to that it was just a sexual relationship but I knew how she rolled. She was falling in love with him.
“Hey,” she said, “So what’s up for Christmas anyway? Are you going up to Bristol?”
“I’m not sure yet. I'd kind of like to see if Trey would mind spending it in Baton Rouge with my dad. He wants to see me and his granddaughter.”
“You know, Ty, I think it's so fantastic that you found your dad. Does it seem weird to have a dad after all of these years?”
“Well, you know, I always knew that I had one, of course, but all I had to go on was Maggie’s version of him which was another one of her fabrications. I guess I like that fact that he's a good man. I mean, I filled you in on the specifics of their one and only night together.”
“Yeah, that was kind of a hoot. It almost sounded like your mom kinda crushed on him even though she was pissed he took her cherry thinking she was a pro. I bet he was good in bed and she liked it.”
“Gina! I can’t think of him that way. He’s my father, after all.”
“Just saying,” she replied laughing. “Hey, what does he look like?”
“Well he's built slender; not as tall as Trey. He has brown hair that's graying at the temples; his eyes are the same color as mine, but they're very intense. I mean, I just saw him briefly. I remember thinking he was nice-looking, for an old guy.”
“How old is he?”
“He’s fifty.”
“That’s not really all that old. It’s like ten years older than Tristan.”
“Hey, so if Trey and I go there at Christmas then you and Tristan will have the apartment all to yourselves,” I said, giving her a wink.
“I figure Tristan will be in Bristol with his family.”
“What if he invites you there with him?”
“I doubt very much if that will happen. One of us needs to be here to take care of the club, remember?”
Gina dropped me at the apartment when we finished shopping. She said she wanted to take a nap before she went into work. My iPhone chimed when I was in the elevator on my way up to our floor. It was Daniel.
“Hey,” he said when I answered the call, “I just wanted to let you know that Maggie got here this morning. She's buried next to our baby and I’ve ordered her a headstone. She was 43 years old; soon to be 44 according to her records.”
Hmm - she'd lied about her age just a tad - imagine that.
“Have you gotten the results of her autopsy yet?”
“No, Daniel they said it could take up to six weeks. I'll let you know what it reveals though.”
“I appreciate that, Tylar. They opened her casket for me when it arrived at the mortuary. She looked good. They did a nice job on her. I had them buy a suit for her to wear. I kissed her before the shut the casket. Her skin was so cold.”
His voice was cracking and I felt compassion for him to some degree.
“Maggie loved you in the only way she knew how. She'd want you to be happy again. I hope you continue to straighten your life out; I hope you meet someone that you can love in a healthy way.”
“Thanks, Tylar,” he said. “Take care.”
When I went into the apartment, neither Trey nor Preston were anywhere around. I carried my packages into our room and saw that Trey was stretched out on the bed watching television; Preston was curled up asleep beside him. I put my bags in my closet and went over to him quietly.
“Hey you,” I whispered leaning over to give him a kiss. “Has she been good for you?”
“She just fell asleep a few minutes ago.”
Trey had contacted her pediatrician earlier in the week to let him know about Maggie and the potential poisoning and the fact that she'd breastfed Preston during those days she'd her. The pediatrician instructed Trey to follow back up with him once the post mortem report was released as to Maggie’s cause of death. In the interim he said that we shouldn’t worry. The fact that Preston had vomited after breastfeeding from her was indicative that the milk didn’t agree with her system. He said that since she's been healthy since her return it was highly unlikely she ingested anything harmful.
"Do you want some lunch?” I asked him as he followed me to the kitchen.
I had the refrigerator door opened; eating slices of turkey standing there.
“Sure, I could use a sandwich.”
We ate lunch together and I decided it was a good time to discuss our plans for Christmas.
“Trey, have you given any thought to what we're doing for Christmas?”
“You don’t want to go to Bristol this year?”
“It’s not that, but my dad would really like to see us. He hasn’t met his grand-daughter yet.”
“He lives clear down in Baton Rouge. Has he invited us for Christmas?”
“Well, not yet but I think he probably will.”
“Then let’s wait and see what happens, okay. My God, we’ve got Gina moving in here next weekend so one way or another we're going somewhere for Christmas.”
“Do you w
ant to drive out to the house when Preston wakes up?” Trey asked.
“Sounds good, honey,” I replied. “I'm going to have to start packing once the holidays are over. I'm getting so excited.”
Once Preston woke up, I dressed her warmly and we headed out. The house was nearly finished. All of the light fixtures had been installed; the upstairs flooring was completed. The window treatments were due to be installed the second week of December. The appliances we ordered for the kitchen were due in the week after Christmas.
We still had to furnish a guest room and then Jean’s quarters. She'd have a bedroom, her own bathroom and a small sitting room.
Preston’s room was bigger than the room she had at the apartment. There was an alcove in her room that had built-in shelving for her books and toys. We'd done it in yellow, peach and lavender. There was another smaller bedroom upstairs that would be Trey’s office. Our master suite was done in neutral tones. The magnificent bathroom however was done in black marble with gold threading throughout. One wall was completely mirrored making the room seem more expansive than it already was.
Preston was jabbering away and pointing at the mirror when we went into the master bath. The house had a large staircase so I made a mental note to look into baby gates for the top and bottom.
Trey and I stopped and picked up Chinese on the way home. We were turkeyed out for the time being.
Trey joined me in my bubble bath much later. We relaxed under the covers later after making love. He'd been so gentle and sweet with me. I looked over at him sleeping with his hand flung over his brow. He was so beautiful and sexy. I felt butterflies.
CHAPTER 38
It was the Monday after Thanksgiving. Trey was back to work. Jean was at the apartment cleaning and keeping an eye on Preston while I was rearranging my closet. I was going through my clothing and shoes; separating stuff that I no longer wore into a pile, so that I could drop it off at Goodwill. I was going to do the same in Trey’s closet and in Preston’s.
I tossed a load of clothing and shoes out of the closet onto the bedroom floor deciding I'd fold them out there where there was more room. As I turned back to grab the second pile, I accidently knocked the bigger of the two blue velvet jewelry boxes off of the top of the built-in dresser. It fell to the floor, spilling the pearl necklace out onto the floor. As I leaned over to pick up the jewelry box that had landed upside down, I turned it over and realized that it had a false bottom.