by ANDREA SMITH
“Everyone knows my password, including you."
“Do you mean to tell me you've NEVER changed it from 1-2-3-4?”
“I have too much to remember already. I use that same password for everything provided it doesn’t require an alpha-numeric combination. Then, I use A-B-1-2-3-4. Everyone in the office is aware of it. I guess I’m the joke of the firm with passwords, but I don’t have time for that shit.”
It almost amused me that as intelligent and orderly as Trey was he couldn’t manage multiple passwords. That was neither here nor there. The bitch had intentionally downloaded that ring tone for his phone. She knew he was here with me. How? Were they still sharing personal info with each other?
“I just wanted to make sure that you were comfortable. I have to get down to the stables to help Danny with the thoroughbreds.”
I made a hasty retreat from his room. Once I got out to the stables, I busied myself with the normal daily chores of caring for the horses to wear myself out. It was how I coped these days. It was how I was able to fall into my bed exhausted every night so I could sleep.
Danny came out of the tack room as I was brushing Saratoga Sam. We'd gotten to be pretty good friends the past week or so. I'd shared with him some of the details relative to my situation with Trey.
“Hey, didn’t hear you come in,” he remarked. “How are things going with your hubby being here?”
I shrugged and continued brushing.
“It’s no big deal,” I answered. “I’m thrilled Preston's here now. It’s not like anything has changed between Trey and me. He's sleeping in the guest quarters.”
“Wanna bet he tries to sneak into your quarters tonight?” he teased.
I looked up at him. He was thoroughly enjoying my discomfort at the thought. I wondered if Trey had planned on something like that. Maybe I'd simply lock my door.
“You’re going to lock your bedroom door aren’t you?” he asked getting his shit-eating grin on.
“Maybe,” I said smiling. “Hey, guess what? I was talking to Trey earlier and his phone goes off with one of those musical downloads. It was Carrie Underwood’s song ‘Before he Cheats’ of all things.”
“No shit?”
“Guess who the call was from?”
“Amber of course, right? How the hell did he explain that?”
“Said he didn’t have a clue how it was downloaded. He does misplace his phone a lot,” I remarked now brushing the underbelly of the horse.
“Yeah, right,” Danny snorted. “You know he’s doing her, don’t you?”
“He says he isn’t, but he doesn’t need my permission if he wants to,” I shrugged. I was bored with the direction the conversation was taking.
“Can we talk about something else Danny?”
“Sure. Want to go dancing tonight?”
I removed the bridle from the horse and lightly slapped his bottom to get him to go into his stall. I hung his bridle on the hook outside the stall as I closed the gate. I turned to face Danny.
He was watching me and waiting for an answer. He was handsome in a different way than Trey. He had a rakish charm and magnetism. Trey was more refined and charismatic.
“Danny,” I said as if I was about to scold him, “I told you I'm not dating; period.”
“Hey,” he grinned, playfully grabbing me from behind and lifting me up in the air as if I was a sack of potatoes, “who said anything about a date? I like my women with more meat on them anyway. I just thought you might like to get out once in a while.”
“Put me down,” I laughed squirming around in his arms. “Put me down and I may consider it.”
He gently set me down so that I was facing him. We were standing close, too close. I backed up a bit turning to open the gate on the next stall. I had to groom ‘Runaround Sue.’
“So, where's this place where they have music and dancing?”
“Not too far from here. It’s a place called ‘Jackass Flats’. It’s a converted barn that has music on the weekends. They book some decent bands. They serve drinks and food. Hey, ask Trey to come with us if you want. I promise I have no ulterior motives.”
I looked at his face and it was brimming with sincerity. Yeah, he could pull sincerity off pretty well. He reminded me of that character on the old ‘Leave it to Beaver’ shows I'd watched as a kid on TV Land channel. Eddie Haskell - that was the guy. I smirked out loud.
“What?” he asked innocently.
“Nothing, Eddie,” I smirked. He looked puzzled.
“What time are we leaving?” I asked.
He immediately grinned taking my question as confirmation that I was going. Hell, I'd already decided to go when he'd first asked me. He was right. I needed to get out every now and then and enjoy myself.
“How about I swing by the big house about 8:30 to pick you and hubby up? It’s casual dress.”
“The time works fine but I’ll meet you out here. I’m not inviting Trey. Trust me Danny that wouldn't be a good move on my part.”
He nodded then took off down the gangway toward the door to the arena.
“See you then ‘Little Bit,” he called out. That was quickly becoming his pet name for me.
“Don’t call me that!” I hollered after him. I heard his chuckle just before the door closed behind him.
I took a leisurely bubble bath when I got back to the house a little after five. Dinner was at seven. Edie had put Preston down for a nap. I heard her babbling in her crib as I was dressing after my bath.
I went into the adjoining nursery and watched as she was sitting up in her crib babbling to her stuffed animals in a language only she understood. Her voice was soft and melodic like Trey’s I thought to myself. She spotted me as I got close to the crib. She scrambled up to stand at the rail. She was wearing just a diaper and tee shirt. Her chubby little legs were so cute as she bounced up and down, excitedly at the site of me; holding her arms up for me to lift her up.
“Hey baby girl,” I cooed to her, lifting her out of her crib. She gurgled and smiled at me, her thumb finding her mouth as she sucked on it. I got a clean diaper and the baby wipe dispenser taking her into my room to change her.
Once she had her clean diaper on she rolled onto her stomach and crawled to the edge of the bed. She wanted down. I lifted her off the bed and she went scurrying back to the nursery to get some of her toys.
I went back to the bathroom and blew my hair dry. I applied some eye make-up. I was wearing a new pair of skinny jeans with a new pair of boots I'd bought last week. I wore a black V-neck sweater. I looked at my reflection. The dark brown hair had to go. I was going to have it re-colored I decided. I certainly didn’t want to pay tribute to that conniving bitch. What had I been thinking?
I dressed Preston in corduroy bibs and a long sleeved cotton tee shirt. Purple was definitely my girl’s color. I brushed her baby hair out of the braid and it fell into soft waves. I put a couple of little baby barrettes in her hair.
“There sweetie. You look so pretty today.”
Dinner was cordial. Most everyone’s attention was focused on the baby. I felt grateful for that. I had a feeling of guilt about going out this evening to have some fun. I had to remind myself that Trey was here to spend time with Preston and not with me. We were separated for right now. My change in appearance from earlier had not gone unnoticed by Trey. I saw him studying me over the rim of his wine glass.
“Do you have plans this evening Tylar?” he asked point blank, cocking an eyebrow. My father looked over at me from where he'd been cutting up some cooked carrots for Preston.
“Nothing major planned,” I replied, “just going out for a bit with a friend.”
That's not a lie.
Trey continued to gaze at me at me quizzically. I so knew he wanted to know more. He had too much pride to dig any deeper. My father apparently did not.
“What friend?” Dad asked, not taking his eyes off of Preston.
She was smashing the soft cooked carrots into her mouth faster t
han my father could continue slicing them.
“Dad,” I moaned giving him the evil eye, “it’s a friend, okay?”
Now they were both watching me making me totally uncomfortable. It was if I was a teenager being grilled by both of them; one silently - the other one not so much.
“I certainly didn’t mean to pry, Tylar, though your behavior's rather surreptitious this evening.” my father said. “It is Preston’s first day here. I thought you'd want to spend it with her.”
I saw Trey give a silent smirk as he waited for me to reply.
“Dad I fully intend to bathe her and get her ready for bed. She’ll be asleep when I leave. Besides that, this is really Trey’s weekend with her. I'll be with her all week long now, caring for her as a good and fit mother should.”
“I didn’t mean to imply that you weren’t a good or fit mother,” he responded with an edge of sternness creeping into his voice. “I was merely expressing my opinion I suppose.”
“Your opinion's always welcome Dad. I'll ensure Preston's tucked in before I leave. Maybe you and Trey can watch Sport Center or something since you both seem to be fans of the same channel.”
I got up from the table, tossing my cloth napkin onto my half-full plate. I was a bit ticked off that my father had taken me to task in his own subtle way about my going out for the evening. He'd practically accused me of acting sneaky. The fact that he'd done it in front of Trey had plainly pissed me off.
I went over and lifted Preston from the high chair to take her up for her bath. I turned with her in my arms as I was departing the dining room. They were both watching me as I knew they would be.
“By the way Dad, do I have a curfew?”
I left the room hearing my father mumble something inaudibly followed by Trey’s chuckle.
Preston enjoyed her bath with the bath toys I kept in a basket in my bathroom for her. She played while I brushed my teeth and touched up my hair and make-up.
I proceeded to bathe her and wash her hair – something that she was not particularly fond of. I toweled her dry and put baby lotion on her skin. She loved that part of her daily ritual. I got her diapered and in her pajamas.
We sat in the rocker in her room and I read her three storybooks. She seemed to enjoy being read to immensely. I would point out the pictures to her and identify them: doggie, kitty cat, and monkey. I was trying to get her to say the words. I guess it was all about repetition. I decided I would continue to re-read these same three books to her and see if she'd start trying to mimic the words.
I was rocking her now. I looked over at the clock. It was 8:30 p.m. She was dozing off. I placed her in her crib and placed her blanket on her. She rolled to her side and put her thumb in her mouth and drifted to sleep. I turned her baby monitor on which had listening units in the family room, my dad’s room, and Edie’s room. I went and put the mobile one we had in Trey’s room.
I threw my jacket on and went out the back door of the mansion towards the stables. Danny was waiting for me when I got there.
“You’re late,” he commented opening the door of his truck for me to climb in.
“Geez, sorry. I had to get my baby tucked in for the night.”
Just as promised, Jackass Flats was just a couple of miles from my dad’s estate. The parking lot was pretty much full when we got there. We could hear the band playing from the parking lot.
Danny and I sat at one of the two long bars inside.
“What’ll you have Tylar?” he asked me.
“Hmm, I want a Grateful Dead,” I replied, wondering if the bartenders here were as astute as making them as the ones employed at Tristan’s and Gina’s club.
The bartender didn’t bat an eye when Danny ordered my drink. Danny ordered a bourbon and water for himself. I looked around. The place had appeal. I liked the old barn siding that the owners had left in place. It gave it a rustic look. The dance floor was huge and the acoustics were pretty good.
We were sipping our first round when a couple of girls came up to Danny. They were both probably in their late twenties. They were made up to look like ‘club girls’ as Gina had often referred to those ladies that frequented the clubs on a regular basis ‘trolling for meat’ as she so eloquently had put it.
“Danny,” the taller blond girl whined, immediately running her fingers through his hair and leaning into him, “why haven’t you called me in a couple of weeks, babe?”
“Sorry Leanne,” he said, “I’ve been really busy.”
“Oh, I guess I can see that,” she retorted giving me the once over still clinging to him.
“No,” he explained, “busy at work. This is my friend Tylar. She works with me at the stables.”
I was so glad that he hadn’t gone into detail about me being the daughter of the owner.
“Haven’t seen you around before,” she commented continuing to look me up and down. “Are you from around here?”
“No,” I replied, “I’m from Atlanta most recently.”
“Uh huh,” she replied unimpressed.
“It’s nice to meet you Leanne,” I said offering her my hand.
“Yeah you too, Tylar,” she replied shaking my hand. “This is my friend, Georgia.”
I turned my attention to Georgia who was really cuter than Leanne. She seemed a bit more refined even though she was made up every bit as much as Leanne.
“Hi Georgia,” I said smiling, shaking her hand.
“Hi Tylar,” she replied, “I hope you like it here in Baton Rouge. I’m originally from Augusta, Georgia. I know it takes some getting used to.”
“Thanks,” I replied, smiling. “I actually spent most of my life living around Louisville, Kentucky.”
“Really?” she asked her eyes widening. “That’s where my sister lives. She’s married and her husband was transferred there with GE. I visit there occasionally. It’s a great city.”
“Well, listen to you two,” Leanne commented, “it’s like you’re BFF’s already. Danny, let’s dance and let these two catch up?”
Leanne grabbed Danny’s arm and they were off to the dance floor. Georgia sat down on the bar stool that Danny had just vacated. She acted embarrassed by her friend Leanne’s behavior.
“Do you want a drink, Georgia? I’m buying,” I offered. I could see that she was forever in the shadow of her friend Leanne. I couldn’t figure out why.
“Ok thanks, I’d like an ‘Adios Mother Fucker.”
“Really?” I asked amused.
“Yeah,” she laughed, “it’s actually cheaper for me. All I need is two of those and I’m good to go.”
Georgia was fun to talk to. It appeared that Leanne was going to dominate Danny for the evening.
We were each on our second drink when a third drink was placed in front of us. The bartender indicated it was from the two guys at the end of the bar. Both of us looked down and saw the two of them smiling and waving at us. They were both darling. Georgia looked over at me.
“Should we invite them to come and sit with us?”
“Oh Georgia,” I replied, “that's totally up to you but I have to tell you I'm not on the market.”
“You’re not,” she asked her brow furrowed in confusion. “But if you’re not with Danny, I mean ---”
“Look,” I said, “It's really complicated. I’m married with a baby girl. My husband and I are separated after I caught him making out with one of his colleagues.”
“No,” she said horrified, “really?”
“I’m afraid so. I’m staying with my dad down here. My baby girl is with me. I lost my other baby when I was seven months along. I’m just trying to heal.”
“I totally sympathize with your situation, Tylar,” she said sincerely. “We’ll just ignore these guys.”
“No, no,” I said, “look, invite them over. I can hold my own. Just because I have issues is no reason for an opportunity to slip by you.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yes really,” I replied.
Georgia smiled over at the two guys and waved them over. There weren’t any empty bar stools but they seemed satisfied standing behind us. They must have discussed who wanted who when they ordered the drinks for us because each of them took their place behind our bar stools.
I took another drink of my drink and that old quote from a classic rock song reverberated in my head. Something about when you can’t be with the one that you love then love the one you’re with. I was game.
The guys introduced themselves as Leonard and Vincent. It appeared that Vincent was mine. He was tall with a semi- muscular build. As it turned out, he was a junior at LSU and was a starter on their football team.