“You’re working with Blake? After all these years, that comes as a pretty big surprise.”
“I know—and Vivi’s gonna help, too, it sounds like. I can’t believe it myself.”
“Well those two are fused at the hip, so if you get one, you get both. What a huge change. I mean, y’all are all three gonna work together on something.”
“Yep. Wonders never cease. Kitty always said that.”
“I’ve always liked her. What was that like to live in her house?” Cal asked.
“Well, she sure loved Blake. That woman lived for her daughter. She tried to be nice to me, too, while I was there but...I was pretty angry back then, so I did a lot of things that got me negative attention. I know Kitty was trying, but I was always so jealous of everything Blake had with her.”
“That’s understandable. I know you had to be pretty mad at your own mom, especially when you had Kitty to compare her against.”
“I was. Still am. But I’m working on it. It’s just gonna take me a really long time.”
“What about Houston?”
“What about him? He knows where to find me if he wanted to talk. And after nearly twenty years with me begging him to even write me a note, I really have nothing left to say to him.”
“I don’t blame you. If he really wanted to make up, he could reach out.”
Dallas wanted desperately to change the subject. “Hey, wanna run by the craft store with me on our way to your house?” Dallas asked.
“Sounds good to me. Let’s take my car,” he said, helping her gather her things.
“Oh, and before I forget to mention it, thanks so much for stepping in today with that music. You were a lifesaver,” she said, smiling at him.
“I saw the mess you were in, and I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I know all the kids sit down and hush the minute they hear the song, and we needed them to sit down and hush.” He snaked his arm snuggly around her waist and pulled her into him, kissing her temple. “Now, let’s go get this stuff bought and get to my house.”
“Yeah,” Dallas said, giving him a coy smile, “so I can get the chance thank you properly.”
27
Cal pulled into a spot at the art supply store. It took him at least ten minutes to find one; since it was less than two weeks till Christmas, everybody and their brother seemed to be there.
“We need to hurry so I can get home in time to watch Courtney’s story,” Dallas said. “I just hope she shows the best of us, and not the mayhem that broke loose.”
“All right, let’s get in and get out,” Cal said.
The aisles were crowded with Christmas decorations, from garland to plastic statues, nearly falling from the piled-high stacks. Dallas and Cal could barely get down some of the aisles shuffling sideways.
“Hey, have you heard from Ms. Shelby lately?” Cal asked. The little plastic manger scenes reminded him of Dallas’s ongoing story.
Dallas was impressed that he had been watching her segments.
“Yes, actually. I got a message from her late today. I’m going back for a follow-up next week. She’s started working with the police. The whole thing has become quite a puzzle. They’ve had that poor Baby Jesus all over campus.”
“You never can tell with frat brothers,” Cal said.
“You speak from experience, do you?” Dallas chided.
“Well, you know. That was a while ago.”
“Yeah, a long while, according to your most recent fan, old quarterback,” she teased him.
They made their way through the aisles of candy canes, fake Christmas trees and window candles, all the way back to the items Blake had listed.
“Gosh, this stuff is all so big, it’s barely gonna fit in the buggy.”
“I’d say I’d get you another one, but I think they’re all out. We got the last one,” Cal said, trying to help her fit it all in.
Just then, two of the kids from the play spotted her and came racing over, both of them grabbing her around her waist in a hug. “Ms. Dallas, what are you doing here?”
“Hey, y’all,” Dallas said. She was still having so much trouble with remembering everyone’s names. “I’m buying stuff to fix the gingerbread house for the set. What’re y’all doin’ here?”
“Mommy and Daddy needed some more decorations for our school party,” the little girl informed her. “Daddy, this is our new director.”
Dallas turned around to greet the children’s dad, and she nearly passed out when she suddenly found herself standing eye to eye with her brother, Houston. She couldn’t speak. Her mouth dropped open. Her gut clenched as if she had been pushed from a skyscraper. The moment seemed to be going in slow-motion.
“Dallas?” Houston said, clearly stunned himself. He didn’t seem to know what to say either.
No words of any kind, on paper or otherwise, had passed back and forth between them for twenty years. Dallas wrote to him, but she never got any response at all. Now she felt stuck. She wanted to hit him, beat him senseless for never answering a single note. She also wanted to hug him and hold him as if she would never let go. Instead she just stood there. Silent.
“Hey, I’m Cal Hollingsworth.” Cal pushed in, breaking the awkward silence. He shook Houston’s hand.
“Oh, um, sorry, yes. This is Cal, the sound director for the play,” Dallas said, still in shock. She swallowed hard. “Cal, this is...Houston. My brother.”
She saw Cal’s eyes widen for a brief moment in surprise, but he pulled it together quickly and smiled stiffly at Houston.
“I’m sorry I haven’t learned your names yet,” Dallas said, bending down to the young children. All this time, she’d had a niece and nephew, and she’d never even known. It was even more ridiculous that she’d been spending time with them during rehearsals with absolutely no idea that they were actually related.
“I’m Anna Beth and this is my brother, Austin,” the little girl announced.
Just then a woman approached whom Dallas didn’t recognize. She was young, a redhead with blue eyes, medium height and willowy. Really pretty. She looked a bit younger than Houston, who had aged and grown a tad heavy.
This was definitely not Eleanor—the woman Houston had broken up the family for.
“Hey, I’m Amy. It’s so nice to meet you. So, you’re the new director?” she asked, having missed the part about her and Houston being siblings.
“Yes, nice to meet you, too,” Dallas managed. She looked at Houston, expecting him to jump in and make the proper introduction, but he just stood there silently, his face pale and his lips drawn into a tight, thin line.
After another moment of uncomfortable silence, Dallas decided it was time to cut and run. “Well, it was nice running into you,” she said. “So nice to meet you, Amy.” With that, she turned and bolted out of the store, completely forgetting about her cart full of supplies, and nearly knocking over a big plastic Santa.
Dallas ran straight to Cal’s car without looking back, pulling angrily at the locked door until she heard the beep of Cal hitting the auto-unlock for her. She jumped in, slamming the door. Cal was close behind her, climbing into the driver’s seat as Dallas burst into tears right there in the parking lot.
* * *
“It’s okay, baby, it’s okay.” Cal reached across the armrest and pulled her toward him.
“I hate that son of a bitch. I hate him. He just stood there like an asshole. What the hell is wrong with him? He’s not even human.”
“Why didn’t you say something? Call him out?” Cal asked.
“I couldn’t. All the words were stuck. I mean, my God, that was my niece and nephew standing there. I see them nearly every stinkin’ day, and I don’t even know them. Oh, Cal...” Dallas sobbed and bent her face over into her lap, all that anger and sadness flooding
out of her once again.
“Do you want to try again? I mean, I can go in and get him and bring him out here.”
“No. I can’t. Not right now. He can never see me like this and know how much he hurt me.”
“Well, I wanna tell him myself. He needs to know, Dallas. Is that the woman? The one you were telling me about?”
“No. He obviously got some sense somewhere along the line and married an actual lady. Why didn’t he even try to contact me then? I mean, he wasn’t with Eleanor anymore, which was the whole reason everything fell apart. He got a new girlfriend and even then he didn’t try to reach out to me. And now I find out I’ve been teaching my niece and nephew and didn’t even know it.” She continued to cry it all out as Cal leaned over to catch her broken heart.
“Let’s just get outta here for now, baby. We can come back later for the supplies.”
He started the car and turned on the heater, driving Dallas to her favorite spot for comfort food: Taco Casa. This was not the time for a romantic evening at his place, Cal decided. He wanted to get her somewhere she felt safe and comfortable, so after picking up something from the drive-through, Cal made his way back to Dallas’s little house by the campus.
She had calmed a little by the time Cal got her home. He took her inside with her sack of burritos and sweet tea. She looked as if she had just witnessed a death in the family. Her mascara was smeared down her cheeks and her face was pale. Her lipstick was wiped away. Her hair was disheveled. She kicked her shoes off and padded barefoot into the kitchen, Wilhelmina jumping up on the little corner table waiting to be greeted.
“Okay, let’s get some food in you. You’ll feel better in just a minute,” Cal assured her. In the Deep South, food solved all kinds of problems, at least for a moment.
Dallas sat down at the table, her head in her hands. “Why didn’t he even say anything? I don’t get it. I mean, Cal, am I really so awful? He wouldn’t even introduce me to his family as his sister. I must be an embarrassment to him.”
“Aw, baby, no. Of course not. It’s not you.”
But there was nothing more Cal could say. They sat quietly in her cozy kitchen and ate their Taco Casa food, petting a purring Wilhelmina. When they finished, Cal grabbed the bags and wrappers and cleaned up.
“I’m gonna jump in the shower real quick,” Dallas said. “Will you stay?”
“Of course, sweetheart. Just go relax.”
She smiled and pushed her messy hair from her face, walking back to her bedroom. Cal heard the water turn on. He sat down on the couch, trying to think of what to say when she came back out. He wanted to have a solution ready. He was a typical man. He wanted to fix things for her. Instead of just listening for the rest of the night, he decided he would come up with some suggestions to get this issue resolved. He was pretty distraught himself after seeing what this encounter did to her at the store. Plus, he knew she would still have to see her niece and nephew at rehearsal over the next little while. If she didn’t find a way to handle this, she’d be an emotional wreck by the night of the performance. He sat patiently on the couch petting Wilhelmina and thinking of what to say.
After a while, Dallas emerged from the bedroom in her white spalike robe. Her freshly scrubbed face looked sweet, but sad, so Cal stood and put his arms out to her. She shuffled over, wrapping her arms around him. He pulled her close, her clean wet hair hanging loosely down her back. The smell of her soap and shampoo intoxicated him. He melted into her, kissing her neck and her collarbone, his hands wandering across her body. Maybe he didn’t need to know what to say, he thought. Maybe if he could make her feel loved, that would be enough.
He slipped his hand under the tie of her robe, pulling the sash loose, the material falling open, exposing her perfect, naked body to him. The sight of her skin excited him instantly. She ran her hand over his hard bulge, and he wanted her right that second. His passion reaching a height he couldn’t control, he moved in to kiss her.
But Dallas stopped him, putting her hands on his chest. “Cal, thank you so much for helping me through this the last two days. It’s all been so intense.”
“I know, its okay.” He really didn’t wanna talk right that second. He just wanted to take her and make the most passionate love to her he had ever made to anyone. He had never been so turned on.
“Really, though. It was such a huge shock,” she continued.
“Why don’t you just call him?” Cal suggested, but when he saw Dallas’s eyes narrow, he got nervous.
“What?” Dallas said, stepping back.
Cal swallowed. “I think you need to call him. Or go see him. I know how upset you were, but he seemed like he wanted to say something to you.”
“He did not. He had a chance to say anything he wanted, and he just stood there like a stump.”
“Well, yeah, but...he did have his kids right there. So maybe he just didn’t want to get into it in front of them. I mean, I can understand that....”
She tied her robe back together. “You are really something, you know. First you say you support me, and then, when I think I can trust you, you take his side. I thought you were on my side, Cal.”
Cal was stunned at her reaction. He hadn’t meant to take Houston’s side at all. “Dallas, I am on your side, baby. I promise. I just think all this can end now that you’ve seen him and he’s not even with that woman. He’s got a family now. Maybe he wants to make up.”
“I thought you said last night that all this should be on my terms. What about that, Cal? Huh? My terms. But now you think that since everybody wants to forgive and forget, little Dallas should just come running. What about all those years when I was out there begging for my family to come back and nobody was listenin’ to me? What about that? They don’t deserve my forgiveness. They need to suffer just like they made me suffer.”
“Dallas, listen. As much as I understand how you feel—and you’re totally right to be upset—you have a chance to have a real family now. And children are involved. Children you see nearly every single day.”
“Well, my brother made a choice years ago to cut me out of their little lives by not even tellin’ me they were born. So that’s not my fault.”
“No, it’s not. But now it’s in your power to change things.”
Her face exploded with anger. “Maybe you need to leave, Cal. I think you’re just like everyone else. You think I need to go crawling back and beg the family that threw me away to take me back. Well, I disagree. I’ve been just fine on my own. And I can be again.”
“Dallas, I’m sorry. I’m trying to understand. It’s just that at some point someone needs to take the first step.”
“I think you need to go home now. I’ve made a terrible mistake. I thought I finally had someone on my side, but I guess I was wrong—again. Good night, Cal.” She stood with her arms crossed, waiting for him to go.
He looked at her, heartbroken. Her sadness was palpable, but he couldn’t bring himself to say another word. He was exhausted himself. He turned and headed to the front door. Dallas stood in her robe, pulling the sash a little tighter with a huff, tears brimming over. Cal looked back at her one last time as he opened the front door, seeing the pain he had caused her. He stepped outside into the sleeting rain and shut the door.
28
Dallas cried herself to sleep. Just when she’d thought her life couldn’t get any more stressful, she’d run into her brother. Now, the thought of losing Cal was sending her right off the cliff. Still, her mind drifted back to work. The parade was in a few days, but her emotions had just been through the wringer. How could she ride on that float and smile at the crowds of families with all this weighing on her? All she could think of was how Cal had betrayed her.
Of course, he hadn’t really. He’d just wanted to fix her problems and make them go away. But Dallas couldn’t understand that right
now. She was feeling too many things all at the same time: anger, guilt, resentment and sadness. She fell asleep in her robe, with wadded-up toilet paper to wipe her nose tucked in her hand. The sleet continued through the night, tapping against the windows as she fitfully dozed in and out of sleep.
* * *
When Dallas woke, her eyes were swollen from crying all night. She made a sleepy path to the bathroom and wet a washcloth. Then she lay back down, placing the cold fabric to her blistering eyelids. She needed to get the swelling down so no one would notice how upset she’d been. Now was not the time to have a crisis, so she’d just have to ignore the one that was happening anyway.
Eventually she made her way to the shower, then dressed for work, fed Wilhelmina and headed out to her car—which wasn’t there. She’d totally forgotten in all the confusion and stress of last night that she had left it at the Bama Theatre. She had also forgotten about Courtney’s story.
Standing on her porch, she fumbled through her purse for her cell to call Daniel for a ride. Her neighbor from across the street waved. The one with the Times Square lights all over his house.
“Hey,” Dallas shouted from across the street. “Is there any way you can turn those lights down? They shine right in my bedroom window and I can’t sleep.”
The man laughed. “Good! I was tryin’ to get yer attention. I was hopin’ you could put me on TV for all my lights.”
“Well, if I don’t get any sleep, I’m not even gonna be on TV. Just turn them off at a decent hour.”
“I always heard you were a bitch. Thanks for confirmin’ that.” He went back into his house, and, just before he slammed the door, he turned back to shout, “And Merry Christmas to you, too!”
This day was not starting out very well.
Daniel swung by, picked her up and dropped her off at her car outside the Bama. As she unlocked her door, she heard a text message jingle in her bag. If that’s Mother, I swear I’m gonna change my number, she thought. It was Cal.
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