by J A Stone
“It is rather toasty out here today.” Tripp wiped his hand across his face. “Millie is Stella’s nanny?”
“Yeah.” Corey walked up the sidewalk. “Come on in before you pass out.”
As Corey walked through the front door, Stella came running up and threw herself at her mother’s legs, almost knocking her over. “Hey, darling,” Corey picked her up and swung her around in a circle in their little afternoon ritual.
Millie came out from the kitchen just then. “You’re home early today. Oh, and your company is already here.”
“Yes, Millie, this is Tripp MacKinnon. Tripp is a childhood friend of mine. And, Tripp, this is Millie Simpkins, my saving grace.”
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Simpkins,” Tripp said, holding out his hand politely and flashing her one of his most charming smiles.
Corey swore that Millie started blushing.
“Just call me Millie, please,” she said in her soft southern drawl. “Ms. Corey, everything is ready in the kitchen. Do you mind if I go on even if it is thirty minutes early?”
Corey realized that Millie already had her large carrying purse in her hand and was ready to walk out the door. “Of course not, Millie,” Corey said. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
Once the door closed after Millie, Tripp turned to Stella. “Do you remember me?” he asked, holding out his arms to her.
Stella put her head down against her mother’s shoulder and then immediately peeked back at him. “She’s just playing hard to get.” Corey laughed.
“Come here, you rascal,” Tripp said, continuing to hold out his arms. Stella looked him up and down for a moment or two more before she finally leaned over into his outstretched arms. Tripp pulled her in close and twirled around in a circle, much like Corey had done when she’d first come through the door.
“Not fair,” Corey said. “She’ll never leave your arms as long as you’re doing that.” The funny feeling in her stomach seemed to be spreading into her throat as she watched Stella laughing so freely in her father’s arms.
“Well, then, why don’t you go get changed out of that fancy suit, since we don’t need you here.”
“Okay,” Corey said slowly. “I’ll be right back.”
Corey went into her bedroom and grabbed a pair of jeans and a white top. She then decided to brush her teeth and put a bit more powder on her face. Why not? she thought defiantly. But she stopped short at putting on some lipstick, which might imply too much effort on her part. Why is Tripp here? Her day had been so crazy that she hadn’t had time to worry about his visit until her ride home today. What does his unexpected arrival mean? Corey had a really bad feeling as she walked into the great room. She was surprised to see Stella riding Tripp’s back in a circle around the sofa. “Stella, do you want some animal crackers?”
Immediately, Stella started trying to dismount. Tripp reached around and caught her before she fell, and then sat her carefully on the floor. Stella jumped up and ran happily toward Corey.
“No fair. How can I compete with cookies?” he asked.
“Come on into the kitchen. I have a couple of beers if you’d like one.”
Tripp followed Corey and Stella into the kitchen. “Smells wonderful in here.”
Corey got a sippy cup down from the cabinet, poured some juice, and put Stella in her booster seat at the table with her juice and cookies. Stella happily sucked on one of the cookies before taking a big gulp of juice. “Millie is a fabulous cook. She cooks dinner during the day and leaves it for us to eat at night. I hope you like pot roast—it’s one of her specialties.”
“I love pot roast.” Tripp stared at Stella sitting in her booster chair. “How can she look so much bigger in just a few weeks?” Tripp asked.
“Sometimes I think she gets bigger during the day while I’m at work. Is Bud Light okay?”
Tripp nodded. Corey turned toward him, holding a Bud Light and a Coke in her hands. “You not drinking?” Tripp asked.
“Not usually during the week, and never until after I get Stella bathed and to bed. Let’s sit here until she finishes her snack.” Corey sat down on the bench across from Stella, and she took a long sip of her Coke. She decided to go ahead and ask the question that had been bothering her since eleven the night before. “So, why are you here?”
Tripp looked more uncomfortable than Corey had ever seen him. After several sips of beer, he said, “Lucy lost the baby.”
Corey was stunned. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected him to say, but that hadn’t been it. “I’m sorry. What happened?”
“We went in for her first doctor’s visit last week, and the doctor couldn’t find a heartbeat.”
“How did Lucy take it?”
“She was upset that day, but actually she’s taken the news better than me since then. I think she feels that she’s young and has plenty of time to get pregnant.”
“She is and she does.”
“Yeah, but now she’s decided that this is some sort of sign that she’s not ready to have children. She says she wants to wait a few years, maybe even until she’s thirty.”
Corey remembered their conversation on the beach and immediately felt guilty. “That’s not that long, just three or four years.” Stella had finished her snack and was ready to get down from the table. Corey got up and wet a paper towel to wipe her mouth. Once she was clean, Corey stood her up on the floor.
“Whir, whir,” Stella demanded of Tripp, holding up her arms.
“See what you started?” Corey asked. “Come on, let’s go into her room. Maybe we can distract her with some special toys that I keep hidden away for emergencies.”
“Let’s show your room to . . .” Corey stumbled over the right word to use. She’d started to say Tripp but then thought he might take offense at being addressed so informally. Finally, she said, “Come on, let’s go play in your room.” Corey started down the hall, with Stella and Tripp following behind her.
“Is this your room?” Tripp asked Stella as Corey reached behind a box on a shelf in the closet. She pulled out a toddler-style piano, and Stella clapped her hands together in excitement.
“I try to keep this put up because it makes so much noise, but she does love it,” Corey said.
“I see what you mean,” Tripp said, as Stella immediately sat down in front of it and started pressing every key at once.
“She’ll be okay in here for a little while. Let’s go back to the great room, where we can hear each other speak.”
They walked back into the other room, and she sat down across from Tripp. Corey couldn’t think of what she should say, so she just sat there fidgeting with the fringe on one of the sofa pillows.
Tripp cleared his throat. “I know I should have given you more warning that I was coming. But I’ve been missing Stella, and this thing with Lucy losing the baby has sent me for a loop. When I saw the advertisement for this banking conference, I just decided on an impulse that I had to come.”
“It’s okay this time.” Corey continued flipping the pillow’s fringe. “However, I’d appreciate a bit more warning next time.”
“I’ll give you at least two weeks’ notice, I promise.” Tripp smiled warmly at her, and Corey felt her heart skip a beat in response.
Suddenly there was a shrill cry from the bedroom, and both Corey and Tripp immediately jumped up and ran back to Stella’s room. Stella was sitting on the floor where they’d left her, but tears were coursing down her face. She held her hand out toward them. “Boo-boo.”
Corey took her hand and saw that the corner of one of her fingers was red. “She must have pinched her finger somehow.”
“It doesn’t look too serious.”
“I guess I shouldn’t have left her alone in here. I’ve hardly ever done that.”
“Relax, Corey, she’s fine. You can’t be with her every minute.”
Corey realized he was right and that she was overreacting. “You want Mommy to kiss your boo-boo?” Corey asked Stella, taking her hand.
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br /> “No, him.” Stella said, sniffling and holding her hand out to Tripp.
Tripp leaned over and kissed it. “Come on, princess, let’s whir some more.” Soon Tripp had her laughing again while Corey took the piano and put it back in its hiding place. She couldn’t help thinking how much easier everything would be with two parents.
“Stella usually eats dinner about now. I skipped lunch, so I’m starving. Could you possibly eat this early?” Corey asked.
“I can always eat,” Tripp said, giving her another one of his adorable smiles that made her heart flutter.
When the three of them sat around the table, Corey couldn’t help but think that this was what a real family looked like at dinner. When it was just Corey and Stella, she always felt like they were pretending to be a family. Corey suddenly imagined Tripp helping to give Stella her bath and putting her to bed, and the pictures that flashed through her mind were so appealing that she had to force herself to remember that she wasn’t his wife and this wasn’t his home. He had a wife and a home in Dothan. This fairy-tale picture of domesticity she was conjuring up in her mind was dangerous in many ways.
To avoid any more imaginings, Corey told Tripp to watch some television while she bathed Stella. When she finally brought Stella out clean and dressed to tell Tripp good night, she was surprised to see that he was just finishing up the dishes, and the kitchen was immaculate.
“Thanks for cleaning up,” Corey said. “Stella, say good night.” Instead, Stella squirmed in Corey’s arms to get down. She ran over to Tripp and hugged his legs. He picked her up and kissed her head while holding her close.
“Could I carry her back to bed?”
“She’ll probably settle down faster if you don’t. I’ll be back in five minutes or so. The remote for the television is on the table by the sofa.”
Coming back from Stella’s room, Corey was surprised to see that Tripp hadn’t turned on the television but was looking through Stella’s baby book that had been sitting on the coffee table. He looked up at her with a look in his eyes that she couldn’t read. Was it anger?
“Will you tell me about all of these pictures?” he asked.
Corey sat down next to him on the sofa. As he flipped through the pictures, she narrated. “That was the day she discovered her feet. That was her six-month birthday. That’s Millie’s daughter, Deborah, holding her.” And on and on they went, until they finished the entire book. When he finally closed the book, Corey realized how close they were sitting, and she moved back a little.
“I wish I could have been there for every one of those things,” Tripp said slowly. Corey didn’t know what to say, so she didn’t say anything. For some reason, she was suddenly finding it hard to breathe. “Since Lucy lost the baby, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about you and Stella,” he continued.
“Don’t go there, Tripp,” Corey warned, and she started to get up from the sofa. Tripp reached out and grabbed her hand. His touch sent a shock wave through Corey that made her freeze. When he leaned in toward her, she knew she needed to get away from him, but for some reason her body didn’t move. Looking straight into his eyes, she knew he was going to kiss her, but she didn’t even try to pull away. Their mouths met, and she couldn’t help but respond to his kiss. She felt his hands on the back of her head pulling her in closer, and she still didn’t try to stop him. Yet somehow when his hands started down her back, she found the strength to wrench herself away, and she stood in front of him, gasping for breath.
“Stop, Tripp. We’ve been down this path before, remember?”
“It just feels so right.”
“But it’s not right. And you have a wife now.”
Tripp ran his hands through his hair in an agitated manner. “I know, I know. But I’m beginning to wonder if I didn’t marry Lucy just so I could have a family. Corey, I think about you and Stella all the time.” He looked up at her in a pained way. “I want you so badly right now, and you want me, too, or you’re a pretty good actress.”
“Tripp, it would be so easy for me to just go with what I’m feeling right now. But I allowed myself to go with my emotions once before with you, and it changed my life forever. I won’t do it again. So don’t come to Atlanta thinking anything else. You can see Stella. You are her father, but keep your hands to yourself.”
Tripp’s face changed from conflicted to stormy. “You were sitting there all cuddly next to me, sending out all kinds of signals, and you know you were.”
“I think you’d better leave,” Corey said, walking toward the door.
Tripp closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he stood up, the anger seemed to have left him. “I’m sorry, Corey. You’re right. I just feel so confused all the time. I’m constantly comparing Lucy to you and wondering if maybe I didn’t rush into marriage too fast with her.”
“I’m sorry, too, Tripp,” Corey said in a conciliatory voice. “But the facts are that you do have a wife, and she doesn’t deserve for her husband to be lying to her and doing things like this. You need to go home and figure out what it is that you do want. I like Lucy—she seems like a nice person. Don’t you think she deserves better from you than this?”
“Is there a chance for you, me, and Stella to be a family?” Tripp asked, standing at the door.
“Tripp, why didn’t you ask if there was a chance for you and me? I don’t want you fooling yourself into thinking that you care for me just because I happen to have your daughter.”
“I don’t. You have to admit that when we’re together, there are sparks.”
“Yes,” Corey said unemotionally and calmly, “you’re right. There’s always been something between us. I just don’t know what it is. I compare it to what I had with Luke, and it doesn’t seem like love. Luke and I had a relationship based on trust as well as passion. I’ve never been able to trust you, Tripp. You’ve let me down more times than you can possibly know. And I’ve reached the point in my life where I won’t settle for anything less than what I had with Luke. Not even for Stella’s sake. Go home to your wife, Tripp. Grow up. And if one day you find yourself single, then maybe, just maybe, you and I might start to think about building a relationship. But please know that I’m not promising you anything.”
“What about Stella? Can I see her tomorrow before I head back?”
“Yeah, you can come over for as long as you want while I’m at work. Just be gone before five thirty.” Tripp squared his shoulders and waved wordlessly as he walked out the door.
CHAPTER 26
Corey called Kathryn to talk over what had happened, but she didn’t answer. She left Kathryn a message and went to take a shower. When she got out of the shower and saw that she had a message, Corey quickly retrieved it, hopeful that she might get some sleep if she was able to review everything with her friend.
“Ms. Bennett, this is Peachtree Wilden. Please call Laney Hill immediately at extension 501.”
With a racing heart, Corey quickly punched in the number to Peachtree Wilden. “This is Corey Bennett,” she said when connected to the appropriate person.
“Ms. Bennett, we think Nancy had a stroke tonight. She didn’t come down for dinner, which isn’t that unusual, but when we realized that she hadn’t called for her meal to be delivered to her room, we decided we better check on her. They found her unresponsive on the floor. She’s being transported to Northside Hospital by ambulance.”
“I’ll be there as quickly as I can,” Corey said, immediately thinking about who she could get to keep Stella while she went to the hospital. Kathryn still hadn’t returned her call. Romeo and Gary had taken a few days off and gone to New York. She could call Ralph and Judy—they could probably fill in for a few hours—but she wasn’t sure how long she might be, and they both had to work the next morning. She could take Stella with her but was afraid of what she might face at the hospital. Corey had a sudden thought. What about Tripp? Without stopping to think much, she found his number in her cell phone and hit the “Call” button.
“Something has happened to Luke’s mother, and she’s on her way to the hospital. Do you think you could come over and stay with Stella so that I can go to her?”
“I’ll be there as quickly as I can, probably in about fifteen minutes.”
“Thanks so much, Tripp. This means a lot to me.”
Corey changed back into her jeans and sweater and applied a quick touch of makeup to her face. She was just finishing up when she heard a faint knock on the door. When she opened it, she could tell from the concerned look on Tripp’s face that their earlier argument was forgotten. Corey was so thankful to see him standing there that she wanted to throw her arms around him and give him a big hug. But she restrained herself and just launched into what he needed to know. “Stella probably won’t wake up, but if she does, just give her some water. Here’s her sippy cup, and maybe rock her a bit before putting her back to bed. I don’t know how long I’ll be, but I’ll call you as soon as I get some idea. If you get sleepy, the guest-room bed is made up with clean sheets, so feel free to go to bed.”
Tripp said, “We’ll be fine—go see about your mother-in-law.”
As she drove to the hospital, Corey couldn’t help but think about what a blessing it was that Tripp happened to be in town and available to stay with Stella. Corey had never considered what she would do in an emergency situation like this. She really needed to establish more of a support system.
When Corey walked into the hospital, the antiseptic smell of industrial cleaning agents—so familiar from her frequent visits to the hospital when Luke was there—made her suddenly feel queasy. She went to the information desk, where a gray-haired woman in a starched pink jumper was reading a book. “May I help you?” the woman asked.
“Have you admitted Nancy Bennett?” Corey asked.
The woman punched keys on a computer for a few moments and then looked back up at her. “She’s still in the emergency room with Dr. Aziz. Do you know how to get there?”