by Craft, Maggi
“Slayde, you know your dad is busy, and he wishes he were here with us,” Lexi said calmly, but I could tell she was shaken by his tone. She looked down at her hands and fidgeted with her rings.
“Yeah, whatever — if he wanted to be here, then he would be here.” He looked angry. Taylor just kept eating, acting as if nothing were going on at the table that wasn’t routine.
Lexi excused herself to go get more wine. I kicked Slayde under the table, and when he looked at me, I gave him a funny look. He shrugged and started talking to Taylor about what she had been doing all summer.
When Lexi returned, she seemed composed and began to talk about what we wanted to do while we were here. She and Taylor decided to go shopping early in the morning, and Slayde and I decided we were going to sleep in and meet them in town before lunch.
When we got into bed, I went against my better judgment and asked Slayde about what had happened at dinner. “Slayde, if it’s none of my business and you don’t want to talk about it, I understand, but what is really bothering you about your dad?”
He lay there for at least a minute before he answered. “My dad’s just never around. Mom always makes excuses for him. She acts like it doesn’t bother her, but I know it does. I hate to see her sad. She shouldn’t have to sit around waiting on him to want to spend time with her when it’s convenient for him. That’s not the way it should be. He should be doing everything he can to be with her. Neither Mom nor our family is his first priority, and it makes me sick. I don’t so much care if he spends one second with me, but Mom and Taylor do, and I hate him for that.”
He paused for a second, and I thought he was finished talking about it, and then he sighed. “When I was little, Mom finally had enough of Dad’s crap. She wasn’t just tired of him being gone but hurt that he didn’t even try and find ways to make time for us. I remember when he was home, I would lie in bed and listen to them yelling at each other. I thought we would be better off without him, and I was only eight. When she finally left him, I remember feeling relieved, not sad. I knew he was shocked when she left, and he started trying to fix things. But it was just too far gone at that point.
“They got divorced, and it wasn’t long before she remarried. The guy she married was another baseball player, named Jacks Moore. He was one of my dad’s teammates and a friend. Thinking about that now, I can’t imagine what in the hell she was thinking. I have to believe it was to get back at Dad, and it worked. He was crazy jealous. Dad and Jacks ended up getting in a huge fight, and the owner traded Jacks. So Mom and I had to move to Seattle. Mom was furious. She loved living in LA and didn’t want to move.
“For the next year or so, Dad came to visit a lot, and I stayed with him all the time. He came to as many of my ball games as he could, especially when Jacks wasn’t there. I guess he probably just checked Jacks’s schedule and made a point to be there when he wasn’t, so he could talk to Mom. I remember being on the field and seeing him sitting in the stands with her and wondering why he couldn’t do that before they got divorced.
“I was little, but I remember Jacks talking about wanting to have a baby and being really excited at the idea. I didn’t know any better, and I said something about it when I was with Dad. He freaked out. He started calling Mom all the time and showing up at the house when Jacks was gone. It wasn’t long before Mom left Jacks. Now, thinking back, I think Dad hated her being married to someone else, and the whole baby thing probably put him over the edge. Like that made it final or something. I don’t know.
“I felt really bad for Jacks. He was a super nice guy, and I thought he treated Mom well. I remember him crying and begging her not to leave, but I guess she still loved Dad. We didn’t move back in with Dad at first, but it wasn’t long before they got remarried and Mom got pregnant with Taylor. Dad bought a jet to make things easier, and they were for a while, but eventually he was back to being too busy for us again. And thirteen years later, here we are.”
I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t believe he had shared all of that with me. It made me feel special that he would share that. I guess his life isn’t as perfect as I thought. He rolled over and wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. I could tell his cheeks were damp. I held him close to me and went to sleep.
When I opened my eyes the next morning, Slayde was staring at me, smiling. “How long have you been staring at me? That’s creepy.” I pulled the covers over my head.
“Only a couple of hours,” he said. “You are so beautiful when you sleep.”
I shot him a crazy look, and he laughed. “I’m only teasing you. I just woke up. So, are you ready to get up? I’m starving. I’m sure Mom left food downstairs.”
We went downstairs, and there was a note on the counter.
— S&A, Breakfast is in the fridge. Have fun, be good, and I will see you at the restaurant at 12:00. Love, Mom
We went to the refrigerator and found a whole bowl of cut-up fruit, some yogurt, and freshly squeezed orange juice. I popped a couple of bagels in the toaster and sat down with Slayde to eat.
I’m not a morning person, so I let Slayde do all the talking during breakfast. He seemed to be back to his happy, normal self, and I was glad of that. After we finished, I cleared the dishes and took them back into the kitchen, but of course he wouldn’t let me wash them, because “someone else will do that.” I swear, I had never had anyone clean up after me, and it just felt weird, but who was I to argue?
I picked out my favorite sundress and went to the bathroom to get ready. When I came out, Slayde was already dressed, sitting out on the patio, getting a little sun.
“You ready?” I asked.
He stood up and gave me a hug. “Waiting on you.”
As we were leaving, we met the same lady from the day before coming into the house with groceries. She asked Slayde something, in Italian, of course, and he answered her. I was shocked. I was learning a lot about Slayde Price.
We were a few minutes late meeting Lexi and Taylor at the restaurant. “Sorry we’re late,” I said.
“Slayde’s always late,” Taylor said. Again he messed her hair up. “Slayde! Stop!”
“Both of you stop!” Lexi said. Then she stopped the waiter and ordered a glass of wine.
After we finished our lunch, Lexi asked, “What are y’all’s plans for the rest of the day?”
Slayde smiled. “Just wander around. See what we can get into.”
“Well, Taylor and I are going shopping. Don’t get into anything too serious.” She smiled at us, and then she and Taylor left us there.
Slayde looked at me. “You ready?”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” He grabbed my hand and gave me a smile that seemed to say, “I’ve got a secret.”
We walked to what looked like the outskirts of the little town and came upon a path that looked like it had been traveled a good bit. We kept walking until we were in the middle of nowhere.
I was thinking, Where the hell is he taking me? Does he know where we are? Is this a
man thing? Are we lost, but he won’t ask for directions? I was about to start expressing my concerns when we came to a cliff that overlooked the ocean. “Wow. That’s beautiful,” I whispered.
“I know. Amazing, huh?”
We both stood there, taking in the view. “How’d you know this was here?” I asked.
“My family comes here all the time. Brady and I used to play with these local kids, and they showed us. Tourists don’t usually come here.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me with him. “Come on.”
A little path down the side of the hill almost seemed like little stairs. You could tell the path had seen a lot of use, but when we got to the beach at the bottom, no one was there.
“We have the whole beach to ourselves?” I asked.
“Yep. You wanna swim?”
The water was beautiful, so inviting. I really wanted to go in. “We’ll get our clothes wet.”
“Not if you take them off
.”
“What?”
He laughed at me. “I won’t look, I swear.” He turned around and started taking off his clothes.
“Are you serious?”
“Well, yeah!” And he was. He stripped down and went in.
“Turn around!” I shouted. He was already chest deep in the water, so I couldn’t see anything, but I hadn’t looked anyway, out of respect. Even though now I was wondering why I hadn’t.
“OK. Tell me when I can turn back around.” He kept his back turned and went all the way under, getting his whole body wet.
When I was close enough to say OK, he turned around and shook his head, slinging water in my face. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were so close.”
I wiped my face with my hand. “Is that how you normally dry your hair?”
He said, “Pretty much,” giving me that smile I loved.
I had taken a few strands of my hair and tied the rest of my hair into a knot on top of my head. He pointed at my hair. “How do you do that? I see you do that all the time.”
“I don’t have a hair tie. So I improvise. It won’t stay like that for long, but it’s good for a little while.”
He grabbed my arms and pulled me closer. I wasn’t sure if that was the greatest idea, since we were naked. “What are you doing?” I asked, a little uncomfortable with the situation.
“You were floating away,” he said with a childish grin.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Really? Because I’m standing still, and there’s barely any waves.”
He didn’t bother coming up with anything else; he just pulled me closer and kissed me. After a minute he pushed away, saying, “OK. Enough of that.”
No! But I knew he was right. We swam a little longer, and then we took turns going and putting on our clothes.
My hair was still damp when we got back to the villa, and I knew that even my greatest attempts to keep my makeup from smearing had failed. So I was a little embarrassed when we walked in and Lexi was standing there in the kitchen. “Hungry?”
“Starving,” he said.
She looked at me and then back at him. “Did you make her take her clothes off, Slayde Price?”
“Yep.” He laughed and went upstairs to shower. I ducked my head and followed him. I hoped she was only teasing him, but it embarrassed me.
Slayde let me shower first, and I had my hair almost blown dry by the time he got out.
“I had fun today,” he said.
“Yeah, me too. Thanks for taking me there.”
As I dried my hair, I was sitting cross-legged on the floor. He sat on the floor facing me with his legs straight out. He leaned back on his arms. He was still shirtless, which was always a distraction. I tried to look at his face, which was equally as beautiful, but kept catching myself looking at his broad shoulders and perfect abs. Gawd, he’s beautiful. I smiled and looked away. I had to. I was afraid if I didn’t, I might throw myself on him right there.
Once I turned the dryer off, he sat up and grabbed a long strand of my hair. “I’m glad I don’t have long hair, but I sure love yours.”
“Slayde, Arden, come eat,” Lexi yelled from the bottom of the stairs. He stood up and pulled me to my feet.
When we sat down to eat, Lexi asked what we’d done all day, and Slayde told her.
She looked at me. “I’m sorry if my son has been anything but a gentleman.”
Taylor laughed. “Slayde, a gentleman?”
I felt the need to defend him, because he was. “Actually, he was. Have you ever been out there?” I asked Lexi.
“Yes, it’s beautiful. I could live here. I really could, but Zac says no,” Lexi said of her husband. “I don’t know why.”
“Because I want to go to my school,” Taylor said.
“Oh, Taylor, you could go to school here — wouldn’t that be neat?” Lexi asked.
“No. My Italian sucks.”
“Taylor, that’s so unbecoming.”
“So, Slayde can swim naked with his girlfriend, but I can’t say sucks?”
I almost spit my food out. I had to cover my mouth.
Lexi didn’t look the least bit fazed by what Taylor had said. “Yes. And you can go skinny dipping in ten years too, but I still don’t want you saying sucks.”
“Whatever. Slayde says — ” and Lexi interrupted her by holding her hand up.
“OK, Taylor. What’s your deal?” Lexi asked.
“Nothing. Just the typical ‘Slayde’s the favorite.’”
“Well, if you’d like to see if Arden would go skinny dipping with you, I’m fine with that. That’s pretty fair. And Slayde’s a boy, so bad words aren’t as terrible coming from his mouth as they are from yours.”
“Like Dad’s favorite word?” She was clearly just trying to piss her mother off at this point.
Lexi now looked annoyed for the first time. “OK, now you’re excused.”
“This sucks.” Taylor stomped away to her room.
Lexi covered her face. “She’s giving me gray hair and wrinkles. I swear she is. She’s gonna be the death of me. She’s Zac Price all over. Maybe I should move to Italy for a while and let them live together and see how interesting that would be.”
Slayde laughed. “Mom, she’s a teenager.”
“Not yet. So it’s only gonna get worse. If I’d had her first, she’d be an only child.”
“She’s not that bad,” Slayde said. I thought it was sweet that he defended his little sister.
“Hello, you haven’t lived with us in years. She was, like, nine when you left,” Lexi said, again dramatic.
Slayde smiled. “Well, I’m sure Dad is a big help.”
Lexi rolled her eyes. “Exactly. He thinks she does no wrong.”
He smiled. “Like you do me?”
“Yes, but you weren’t like that. You were a sweet kid. She’s her father’s daughter. That’s all there is to it. I’m being punished for something, obviously.”
I had to wonder what was up with Slayde’s dad. I had been around him before. He was really nice. At least I had thought he was. All I really remembered was thinking he was very good-looking and that Slayde and Taylor looked just like him.
Lexi was quiet for the rest of the meal and went to bed early.
The next morning, we were outside tanning on the patio when Lexi joined us. She was back to her normal perky self. “Can I sit here?” she asked.
“Nope,” Slayde said with a smirk.
She looked offended. “Well, fine. I’ll go sit by myself. I carried you inside my body for almost ten months. I breast-fed you for a year. I let you sleep with me until you were twelve — but it’s fine if you don’t want me around.”
I wasn’t sure if that was all true, but she was obviously trying to aggravate him in return. Slayde could be ridiculously dramatic when trying to prove a point. Now I knew where he got it from.
“Mom, I’m kidding. Quit being so ridiculous.”
I giggled.
Slayde looked at me. “What?”
“Nothing,” I said and smiled as he gently pinched my side.
“Where’s Tay?” he asked.
“Asleep.”
“That’s what I figured.” He looked at me. “Drink?”
Lexi spoke up. “Margarita, please.”
“It’s ten in the morning.”
“And?”
“I think I want one too,” I added.
“They’re already made. The blender’s in the freezer,” Lexi said.
He just smiled, rolled his eyes, and went inside to get our drinks.
“Hey, it’s a vacation, right?” Lexi smiled at me. I really did like her. “I’m glad you came. It really surprised me when Slayde suggested it. He doesn’t ever bring a girl anywhere. Sometimes he worries me.” I didn’t understand what she meant, and apparently she could tell, because she held up her hand. “Oh, nothing like that. I don’t think he’s gay or anything. I just worried he wasn’t interested in a real relationship. He has never really ta
lked about a girl until you showed up. Now I can’t call him without getting a ten-minute rundown on what y’all have been doing.”
I couldn’t believe Slayde’s mom was saying all this. I was a little embarrassed, so I just smiled at her. I could feel my cheeks get flushed. I finally managed to say, “He’s a lot of fun.”
“I thought he was about to come home. I was throwing hints that I missed him, and telling Zac that it was time for Slayde to come back so that he didn’t get pissed when it happened.”
“He doesn’t want him home?” I asked.
“Yes. He didn’t want him in Paris in the first place, but Slayde wanted to do anything but what Zac wanted.”
“To play baseball?”
“Yes, and it made Zac nuts.”
“Why?”
“Because Zac thinks he’s throwing away his talent. Which I understand — he’s really good — but what Zac doesn’t get is that he may be really good at it, but if it isn’t what Slayde wants to do with his life, then Zac just needs to shut up and let him do what makes him happy. It’s Slayde’s life.”
I was starting to understand a little more clearly what Slayde had said about why he came to Paris. Maybe he was just trying to prove a point to his dad, that he was going to do what he wanted with his life.
“What’s he going to do when he does leave Paris?” I asked, because we hadn’t really discussed that.
“I don’t think he knows, but he’ll figure it out. Maybe he should go to college. That’s what I’d like for him to do, but I’ll let him figure it out.”
I heard Slayde coming back with our drinks. “Mom, that crap was frozen solid. It would have burned the blender up.”
“Well, is it on fire?” she asked, taking her drink from him.
“No, but I had to run the bottom under water until it unfroze a little.”
She smiled at him. “Good job, Slayde.” She patted him on the leg like a child, and he laughed.
“Thank you,” I said as he handed mine to me. He sat back down and opened a beer.
“I thought it was too early to drink,” Lexi said.
“Well, I figured that if I left you out here alone together for that long, I’d probably need a drink.” He looked at me. “Whatever she said, it’s not true.”