Meridee always said Dallas had more to her than most people could see. Maybe the baby, being so new, could see through all that surface stuff, too, and just feel whether a person was good or bad. It made Dallas feel pretty good that on this one, baby Tallulah was on the same side as Meridee.
35
“Okay, Dallas, tell us what happened to the infamous gingerbread house,” Blake said as the women made their way to the lovely dining room. This room, too, was decorated for Christmas with real greenery dripping over the oversize fireplace mantel.
“Well, the children got excited about being on TV, and one of my little actors decided to try his hand at being Santa. The next thing we knew, down the chimney he fell—only it wasn’t a real chimney, so he kinda crashed through the roof,” Dallas explained. “Now it’s not worth a flip.”
Blake and Vivi both burst out laughing. Dallas joined in, but she was feeling preoccupied with thoughts of seeing Cal in just a few hours. He wouldn’t have had any warning that she was even going to be there—and he’d be sitting right next to her, she was sure. They’d have to pretend that they were just friends from the theater, not ex-almost-lovers. Dallas felt those familiar butterflies—the allergy was back.
“Well, I think we can put some of these pieces back together, and add these here and there,” Blake thought out loud as she picked up some of the supplies that Dallas had brought with her.
It snapped Dallas back to the present moment, and she forced herself to focus on the task at hand.
The ladies worked on the gingerbread roof, and chatted as they did. Dallas let her normal capacity to fill dead air take over, as broadcasters do, asking the girls anything that popped into her mind.
“So, Blake, I saw your house is for sale.”
“Yeah, it’s killing me, too.”
“Why? You haven’t lived there in a while. I remember when I was seeing Dan, you were almost never there.”
“True, but it was always my dream house. It’s just beautiful and I always loved it.”
“But just think of all the bad memories.” Leave it to Vivi to make it all real.
“I know, especially walking in on him with Jane in my own bedroom this summer. You were there, Dallas, filming from my window, as I remember.” Blake shot her a smirk.
“I’m so sorry. I don’t even wanna go there.”
“I know. You thought you were just doing your job. Anyway, I needed to know about all of Harry’s political relationships so...”
“Yeah, Harry’s relationships—that’s a whole ’nother story, I’ll say,” Vivi said, helping Blake stick a piece of candy back on to the roof line. They all laughed.
“So, what about you and Sonny?” Dallas asked.
“Well, now that Harry and I have filed for divorce, Sonny and I don’t have to go sneaking around anymore. We are so fine—better than fine. And this precious baby boy has made it all the more wonderful.” Blake touched her stomach, smiling.
“Tell Dallas how you told him,” Vivi insisted. She turned to Dallas and added, “Blake found out she was pregnant like a month after my wedding.”
“It was like October,” Blake began, “and Sonny and I had gone to Tannehill and were in a cabin for the weekend. My doctor called while I was there, and that’s when she told me I was pregnant. I have to say, I freaked a little. I wanted to tell him so bad but Harry was in the middle of the campaign and we still had a month to go before his election, so Sonny and I were trying to keep things under wraps. I mean, Harry wasn’t a prize of a husband, but of course I still cared about him—and I knew he’d be the best damn senator Alabama has ever seen—so I didn’t want to mess up his chances by making the divorce and all that public. I held on as long as I could.”
“You mean you didn’t tell Sonny right then?”
“Nope. I have no idea how I kept my mouth shut—don’t you dare say anything, Vivi Heart—or you either, Miss Dallas Dubois.” Blake smiled at them as she glanced up from her work.
Dallas felt included. It had finally sunken in—this was real, and no one was fighting or even acting threatening. She liked this. Girlfriends, she thought, hmph, who knew?
“Anyway, I managed to keep it to myself for almost an entire week before it started making me crazy. So I went to the store and bought a few things to help me share my news.” Blake looked up and winked.
“Well, tell us. I’m dying here.” Dallas was trying to jump in with both feet. She was a little clumsy, but she was feeling a tad more comfortable with the girls opening up to her a little.
“I’m gettin’ there. Okay, so I got to his place that night. Sonny slipped off his holster and laid it over the back of the chair. He put some hot chocolate on for us and we sat in front of the fire. He asked if I wanted some Baileys Irish Cream in my hot chocolate, and I said, ‘No, I think maybe some marshmallows.’ I knew he’d have to be gone a few minutes to find them. He got up and went to the kitchen, and while he was gone, I slipped the gun out of his holster and put a baby bottle in its place.”
“Oh, that is so good. I love that. What did he say when he found it?” Dallas asked.
“Oh, Sonny is so emotional anyway. So he comes back and doesn’t see it at first. I had to help him a little. I got up and stood next to the holster, and he just teared up immediately. I swear I have never loved anyone like I love that man.”
“When are y’all getting married?” Dallas asked.
“As soon as my divorce is final. Hopefully soon. Ever since Harry won the election, he just wants it all over with, too, so he can get on to Washington.”
Dallas took it all in. Happiness lived in this house. She remembered that feeling from her grandmother’s house as a child, and being at Vivi’s made her feel that way again. Blake and Vivi’s friendship was deep and full of love. She wanted that, too. She wanted to be surrounded with family. She thought of what Cal had said to her about forgiveness, but after everything that had already happened, she knew it was probably too late this year.
* * *
“Y’all, I am starvin’ to death. Let’s get the dinner show on the road,” Vivi said. The girls had worked the afternoon away, and the scent of ribs and baked beans were in the air from the Moonwinx out in the side yard. They had been smelling the delicious aroma all day long, and finally all the teasing their noses had taken was over.
“Hey, ladies, y’all come on in here for some good ole supper,” Bonita said, coming in through the front door with a platter of ribs.
“Oh, my Lord, have mercy,” Vivi said, running into the kitchen to hold the door open for her. “I gotta put the cobbler in the oven, I clean forgot about it.”
“We got stuffing and mashed potatoes, too,” Arthur said. “’Tis the season, y’all.”
“And we got us some cornbread, too,” Bonita added.
“Yeah, we’re gonna have us a feast,” Vivi said. Tallulah was just waking up from her nap, and Vivi went to her little crib and gently picked her up and swaddled her. Everybody was in the kitchen milling around. Vivi and Lewis’s dog, Harry the Humper, followed Arthur inside.
Lewis had brought the dog home the same day he and Harry had made amends last summer. The canine humped everything in sight, so Vivi had called him Harry the Humper. He often stayed right alongside Arthur, who constantly fed him rib bones from the restaurant.
“Go on now, Harry, you stay outside for now,” Vivi said, shooing the beautiful golden retriever out back. “I love saying that—get outta here, Harry. It gives me quite a bit of satisfaction.” Vivi laughed along with Blake and Dallas. She always had her best friend’s back.
With all the commotion, no one heard Lewis and Cal come in. They both suddenly appeared in the doorway from the kitchen to the dining room.
“What are y’all doin in here, havin’ a party?” Lewis came in and made a beeline to Vivi and Tal
lulah. He kissed Vivi as if he hadn’t seen her in a month of Sundays. Then leaned down to the baby.
“C’mere and see Daddy, my little princess,” he said, taking the baby girl into his arms. Lewis leaned into Tallulah and cooed and kissed the baby, the joy dancing all over his lit-up face.
But Dallas and Cal didn’t see any of it. They were locked on each other, both of them in shock. Neither of them knew what to say, but someone had to say something. Dallas swallowed hard, her mouth dry and sticky. She hadn’t been very nice to Cal the last time she’d seen him.
“Dallas...I, um...had no idea you’d be here,” he said.
“Neither did I until this afternoon. And I just found out you were coming. It was all kinda spontaneous,” she said, then took a deep breath and smiled a small smile. Almost like an apology.
She was trying so hard to fit into this group, but this was only making things more difficult. Cal put her on edge in a different way than he used to. Oh, she was still highly attracted to him, but now she felt pangs of guilt. But being typical Dallas, she tried not to show it.
“What can I do to help out here?” she said, turning her attention back to Blake and Vivi.
“Here you go, set the fixin’s out on the table,” Bonita said, handing her the coveted secret barbeque sauce that was Arthur’s family recipe. “You stay here long, I’m gonna definitely put you to work.” Bonita always had that “get things done” attitude.
“Do I hear somebody bossing folks around?” Sonny’s deep baritone rolled into the near-bursting kitchen.
“Oh, baby, so glad you’re here. I missed you today,” Blake said as he leaned down and hugged her, kissing her intensely, dropping his hand down her backside and squeezing her ass. Blake and Sonny oozed passion...and heat—even though she was pregnant. Dallas saw that. And everyone could feel it the minute he walked into the room.
“Hey, Bonita, sounds like they got you doin’ what you do best—runnin’ the show.” Sonny laughed and gave Bonita a hug.
Most of the food was on the table, and the cobbler was in the oven as everyone gathered the glasses for iced tea. Every single seat would be full, just the way Vivi liked it.
Lewis was still the only one at the table who knew Cal had been seeing Dallas. He hadn’t told a soul, since Blake and Vivi would have given her an earful about that for sure if they knew. But from the winks and nudges he was giving Cal, it was clear that Cal hadn’t mentioned they weren’t seeing each other anymore.
Dallas squirmed in her seat, thinking it was only a matter of time before Lewis burst with the news. Cal looked at her apologetically. If only he had known she was gonna be there, he could have warned Lewis to be quiet.
But it was too late.
“Hey, did y’all know these two here are our newest lovebirds?” Lewis announced, nodding toward Dallas and Cal.
Cal shook his head at Lewis, but it was already out there. Dallas felt nauseous. Her heart rose in her throat as Vivi gushed, “Oh, you little liar. I thought you said y’all were just friends. Now we know, missy.”
Oh, God, Dallas thought. They looked at each other, and without words, in one split second, they agreed they were in this together. Like it or not.
36
Dallas had no intention of allowing this to become the bridge for Cal to just walk right back into her life. No way, she told herself. Cal had made his choice, and she knew if she let him back in it would just make her weak. And she had no time for weakness right now, with the play and her job and her family all weighing on her shoulders. Nope, she’d just make sure she did only what was necessary tonight to avoid any drama, and then she’d get the hell outta there.
“So, you and Cal are finally dating. That is the biggest news of at least the last two months,” Blake said. “Why in the world didn’t you say something earlier?”
“Well, we...we haven’t really been seeing each other too long.” Dallas smiled and kept taking things from Bonita and passing them to the table.
“Well, I’m sure both of y’all are fully aware by now, Dallas has always had the biggest crush on you, Cal,” Blake continued. “Good Lord, she would nearly break out in hives when she saw you comin’ toward her in school.”
Dallas felt her face grow hot. She may break out in hives any second, she worried. She just smiled an uncomfortably strained grin and kept busy passing food.
Across the room, Cal seemed to be enjoying this.
“Yeah, I knew that. I still make her excited,” he teased.
What the hell was going on? Dallas set the last thing down on the table with a bang. She shot Cal a look. So Cal wanted to have a little fun at her expense? Not gonna happen. If it was going down like this, Dallas was all over that competition. Competition was her middle name.
“Oh, sweetheart, Lewis said the other day it was you who had the crush on me. Isn’t that right, Lewis?”
“Yeah, he sure did,” Lewis agreed, taking the bait. “He would get all excited every single time he saw you cheerin’ in that little cheerleader outfit from the sidelines.” Lewis grinned at Cal, who turned three shades of crimson. Dallas winked at him. She would always love being on top.
They all sat down to supper, Vivi holding the baby. Lewis had pulled the crib up into the doorway to the butler’s pantry so he and Vivi could take turns tending her. Arthur and Bonita took such pride in all the food. They sat next to each other, smiling and laughing and touching each other through the meal. And Blake and Sonny were so in love, everyone could feel it. Their relationship was so close and intense it was palpable. Dallas was seated, as she suspected, right next to Cal.
“How long y’all been seein’ each other?” Vivi asked.
“Oh, not too long, really.” Dallas was trying to keep the answers short.
“Well, y’all make a gorgeous twosome, I’ll say,” Bonita said.
“Don’t they just,” Vivi agreed. “And they sure will make such pretty babies, too.”
Dallas actually choked on a rib. She threw back a gulp of tea and tried to smile.
“Oh, Vivi, don’t embarrass them like that. They’re just gettin’ started,” Blake said, shaking her head at her best friend.
“Oh, no, I don’t mind.” Cal scooched over and slung his arm around Dallas, knowing it would only make her more uncomfortable. But he didn’t seem to care. “I think you’re right, Vivi. She will certainly make some pretty kids, that’s definitely a given.”
Ugh! What is he doing? Dallas felt his arm snug around her shoulder, and he had moved his chair so close she could feel his thigh rubbing against hers. She was growing hotter, in more ways than one, by the second. She wanted to slap him and passionately kiss him at the same time. That’s pretty much how she had always felt about him.
“Well, thanks for the compliment, but I don’t see babies in the near future for me.”
“Oh, now I disagree. You were pretty good with Tallulah today,” Vivi chimed in.
“You were, Dallas. I saw that myself,” Bonita said.
“Well, maybe with the right person.”
“Oh, I think you’ve got the right person. I can feel the heat all the way over here,” Vivi said.
* * *
Supper was finished, and the cobbler came out of the oven, a sweet and delicious confection. Cal walked out to the front porch with Lewis and Sonny. Arthur and Bonita took the plates and trays back down to the restaurant and never came back up to the main house.
When the kitchen was clean, Dallas sat back down to talk with Vivi.
“Vivi, I know you both have already helped so much with repairing the set for the play, but you’re such a good seamstress, and I was wondering if you had any scraps or material to make me a pair of angel wings?”
“Sure, I know I’ve got stuff all over this house. We can find something for sure. Whadya need it for?”
“I have the cutest little soloist from the children’s home, and she’s really something special. I want to do something to help her stand out during her big moment, and she would look precious in some angel wings.”
“Oh, honey, that’s such a sweet idea. Let’s run upstairs while Tallulah is asleep and dig through my old craft closets.”
The three women got up and made their way up the gorgeous curved staircase to a spare bedroom that hadn’t been used in ages. There was barely any furniture in the musty room. Vivi had kept it closed for years, she explained. The door creaked loudly as she pushed it open. The women walked inside, the full moon casting stark shadows across the hardwood floor. Vivi walked over to a small, rickety wooden table and turned on the dim light.
“This had been Daddy’s office when I was little. I spent a million hours in here playin’ dress up. I think we closed it off right after he died...” Vivi trailed off in the dust of a memory
Blake and Dallas walked around the room, their footsteps echoing in the near-empty space. Dallas looked out the window that overlooked the side of the house. She could see Arthur and Bonita sitting together in the light of the restaurant’s kitchen. They were laughing, Bonita throwing her head back at something Arthur said.
“Vivi, you okay?” Blake asked, moving up behind Vivi.
“Yeah, it’s just strange, you know. I haven’t even thought about this room in so long, never mind been in it.” She walked over to a scratched-up, rolltop desk still sitting in the corner of the room. It sat in front of a huge window overlooking the new pond Vivi had put in last summer.
“Daddy would have loved this view. Too bad he didn’t get to see what this place turned into. I think he would have been happy.”
“Oh, sweetie, he would have been so proud of you—and that precious baby, too.”
Vivi pushed up the rolltop, and memories from someplace long ago fell and scattered across the desktop, some dropping to the floor.
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