“With all due respect sir, I just paid your daughter a compliment. You should try it sometime. It’s a good habit to get into. I think she’s gorgeous without losing an ounce. But, even if I didn’t, I would never say anything like you just did; because it was uncalled for and downright rude,” Tyler challenges, the disgust clear in his voice.
I have little time to relish the praise Tyler has just heaped on me because my father draws himself up to his full height and gets in Tyler’s face as he replies, “Just what do you know about being a parent?”
“Actually, I don’t know anything about being a parent other than I would work really hard not to be the type of parent you’re being right now. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you need to act like a civilized human being to everyone including your own children. Personally, I feel like you owe her an apology for those snide remarks. But, that’s just me,” Ty replies confidently.
“Thank you, Cowboy,” I murmur under my breath. “I wish I was brave enough to do that more often.”
“You’re welcome, Gidget. That’s what I’m here for, right?” he whispers. I squeeze his hand in return.
“Where did you find this guy?” My dad asks snidely.
“Interestingly enough, I found him in another place where the guy was a bully. It didn’t end very well for that guy either,” I respond with a small smile as I remember how Tyler calmly, but assertively dealt with Kevin Buckhold for Kiera.
“The way I remember it, you were holding your own pretty well on that occasion too, Gidget. You were doing a bang up job of helping Jeff’s mom hold it together until the local police arrived,” Ty compliments me.
“What could Heather possibly do? She’s a disaster in a crisis,” my dad asserts.
“Sir, were you there?” Tyler asks evenly.
“Of course not,” my dad spits.
“Then maybe you shouldn’t comment on things you know nothin’ about,” Ty suggests. “Because, as a law enforcement officer I respond to a lot of emergencies and I can tell you that your daughter performed like a rock star. She kept a domestic violence victim calm and helped stop the situation from escalating further. She impressed me so much that day I wanted to keep her in my life.”
“Daddy, where’s mom?” I ask, eager to change the subject and stop the confrontation between dad and Tyler.
My dad answers, “She went to go find some decent food in this godforsaken place.”
I sigh and roll my eyes, “Really Dad? I could’ve made something. I’ve only been cooking in this kitchen since I was about three years old and I’ve got a degree from one of the top culinary programs in the nation.”
My dad crosses his arms over his chest as he shakes his head in disgust. “Don’t remind me. You could’ve gone to one of the top Ivy League schools and gotten a perfectly good solid business education like everyone else in our neighborhood, but you had to ‘go find yourself’ like some hippie. I hope you’re happy. I can’t even show you off to my friends because I have to explain to them that you sell food out of a truck like some huge tailgating party. When are you going to grow up?” he asks, his voice full of accusations.
I look up at Tyler, my eyes full of silent pleas. I have no idea if he understands. In fact, I’m not even sure what I’m asking. I just know I don’t want to have this conversation right now. I haven’t even had a chance to say goodbye to my grandma and we just got off a plane ride with more turbulence than the newest attraction at Disney World. If I can’t relax with my cooking, I just want to take a nice long bubble bath and collapse in the bed while reading a nice suspenseful Karen Rose book.
To my relief, it looks like Tyler has received my silent telepathic messages because he doesn’t rise to my dad’s bait. He merely shrugs and says, “Gidget, babe, you look tired. Why don’t you take a shower while I unpack?”
“You’re not sleeping with my daughter!” asserts my dad pointing his finger at Ty. I shake my head and roll my eyes as I blush, “Geez, tell me something I don’t know dad. Did I introduce him as my boyfriend? No, I did not. I introduced him as my friend. He’s not even my boyfriend. If you continue with remarks like that, he won’t ever be my boyfriend,” I state baldly.
Tyler brushes an errant curl out of my face as he says, “Gidget, I’ve faced down terrorists and insurgents, overprotective dads don’t scare me much.”
I grin at the expression on my dad’s face as he processes Tyler’s words. “In that case, by all means let’s go. I think I hear a bubble bath calling my name from here,” I quip.
The silence around the conference table at the lawyers’ office is deafening. My brother is looking at me with absolute disdain on his face. My little sister looks like someone slapped her. I can’t even venture to guess what my expression looks like. I know what I feel like and I wonder if it’s reflected on my face. I feel hollow. No amount of money will ever fix that.
“Did you know this was coming?” asks Carlton. “Is that why you brought your muscle with you? There’s no way I’m buying that he’s here because he wants to date you. The last guy you brought around was a total loser; he totally cleaned you out and tried to gain access to all of dad’s business holdings, remember? Maybe you brought this guy just to intimidate us. I looked him up online. There’s a picture of him floating around with his military buddies. He’s holding an AK 15 to the back of a woman’s head. So, are you sure about what kind of guy you’re letting in your life this time?”
It takes all of the discipline I’ve got not to let my eyes fly to Tyler for an explanation. Clearly, he has one. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be allowed to continue to serve in the military. So, I’ll have to put my curiosity on hold. I don’t want to give Carlton the satisfaction of knowing he might have unnerved me.
“I know exactly what kind of guy I’m letting into my life. He’s a decorated combat veteran who still serves in the military to save the lives of others. He’s received commendations from the Sheriff’s Department for his bravery and if I say so myself, he’s a pretty decent sous chef. To top it all off, animals and kids seem to universally love him.”
To my surprise, Tyler flushes under all this praise. I’m amazed at his reaction. It would seem to me he would be used to all of the hoopla by now. “Thank you Gidget,” he murmurs under his breath.
“So, how long have you known that Grandma was going to give you this huge piece of her estate?” Carlton probes venomously.
“I swear, I didn’t know anything about it. I just figured it would all go to mom since her sister died from MS. The only thing I knew about was that she planned to give some to the charity that fights Lou Gehrig’s disease. But even then, it was just a philosophical discussion. I didn’t know anything about what she put in any paperwork,” I clarify.
“Well, it’s abundantly clear that you were her favorite. None of the rest of us got $200,000 to do with what we please,” Carlton replies sarcastically.
Tyler looks up from the paperwork he is studying. “Actually, that’s technically not true. First, there are some conditions on the gift to Heather and secondly, those four Arabian horses your grandma left for Madison are worth way more than $200,000. Their pedigree is spectacular. The stud fees she can generate could be enormous,” Ty explains.
Carlton flushes bright red as he practically screeches, “Oh well, that’s just great! She took care of everyone else and forgot about me. Wonderful. Being the oldest child sucks. I should have been cute and adorable like you two.”
Tyler interrupts him as he says, “Carlton, man. Pull yourself together. I think you got more than you think you did. You got ownership of all leasing and mineral rights on your land. That means when the government or the gas stations want to pull anything from your land, they have to ask you and you can charge them a fee. It doesn’t seem like much, but by the time you multiply it by the number of gallons of oil that could be removed, it adds up very quickly,” he explains.
“Oh, it makes much more sense that grandma would give me the business
related ventures. The girls don’t really need that kind of stuff,” Carlton reasons.
“Geez, not you too,” Tyler comments shaking his head. “What do they do, put it in the Kool-Aid out here? I bet you that your sisters are every bit as competent as you are. But, this isn’t the time or place for that conversation.”
Madison looks up at Tyler, clearly startled to be included in the conversation. “Umm, I guess I should thank you for that. But, you should also know you’re probably never going to change his mind. I’ve been trying for years to no avail. It’s like talking to a brick wall. Thanks for trying though. I appreciate it. Things must be interesting between you and Heather because she’s as opinionated as you are,” she states with a small, knowing smile.
I wait to see what Tyler says. This could be enlightening.
Tyler grins at Madison as he replies, “It’s the thunder and lightning that makes a summer storm interesting. Otherwise, it just gets you wet.”
Madison winks at Tyler as she says, “You make a valid point.”
Tyler and I are having coffee at a 24-hour truck stop. It’s a habit I developed when I started hanging out with Kiera and her dad. Denny taught me that there isn’t any problem in the world so serious that it can’t be solved over a piece of cream pie and a few cups of coffee. Also, it gives me an opportunity to talk to Ty in a place where there is a zero chance any of my family would dare set foot.
“My God, Tyler, I don’t even know how to process this. I’ve always wanted to open a place of my own. But I didn’t want my grandma to have to die for it to happen. Now it feels wrong to use the money to open the shop,” I fret.
Tyler reaches across the table to hold my hands, “Gidget, your grandma knew about your dreams. Otherwise she would have just given you something general from her estate like she did your brother and sister. But, she didn’t. She specifically gave you cash and earmarked it as capital for you to invest in your business. She was even more specific when she said it had to be a food related business. I have a hunch that she was trying to make sure your dad couldn’t manipulate the way you spend your money and try to get you back into his business world. But, that’s just my theory.”
I flash him a droll grin, “Given the strained relationship between Grandma and my dad, I wouldn’t doubt her motivation at all. She was not a big fan of my dad. She thought he was pompous and selfish and she made no bones about sharing her opinion as widely as possible. I’ll never forget the time that she wrote it in a blog and emailed my dad the link to it. She claimed she accidentally sent the link to everyone who worked for my dad’s company. You’d be amazed how many people bought her story because she was a senior citizen learning how to use email. Most of those people would’ve been surprised to know she set up her own YouTube channel. She was crafty that way.” I smile at the memory. But, my heart clutches at the realization that there will be no more funny blog entries from my grandmother.
“I don’t even know what direction I want to go in,” I lament. “This is so far-fetched that the possibilities are endless. I could open up a small little restaurant specializing in retro cooking or I could do something like a bakery, or maybe I’ll do catering. I could do something entirely different like make candy for a gift shop where I sell my soaps and shampoos.”
A big smile slowly crosses Tyler’s face as he says, “Gee, it’s too bad you’re so talented.”
It takes me a moment to register that he’s kidding.
“Very funny Ty,” I scold. “These are huge decisions. I don’t know how I’m going to make them by myself and my family is no help at all.”
Hearing the distress in my voice, Ty straightens up in his chair and pulls a tablet of sticky notes out of his pocket and hands me a pen.
“Whenever I have a really hard decision to make, I make a list of pros and cons. I pretend what would happen if I make the decision and what would happen if I don’t. Maybe you should make a decision tree for yourself and we can see where it goes,” he says pushing the block of sticky notes in my direction.
“What if I make a mistake? What if I don’t make the right decision? What if my dad is right and I’m too stupid to do any of this?” I ask, as a cold sweat breaks out along my spine.
“What if your dad is a total dipwad who likes to hear himself talk? Gidget, you are incredibly talented. I just saw you make half my monthly pay in a single afternoon just by making sandwiches and you did it working out of a place that’s the size of a postage stamp. Imagine what you could do if you had a real place. I don’t think it’s a matter of whether you can succeed it’s just choosing which of your many skills you’re going to use to make it happen. You need to choose what makes you the happiest.”
“I don’t know Tyler. None of this makes me happy. My grandma was supposed to do this with me —”
“Supposed to do what, babe?” Ty interrupts. “Describe the dream to me. When you guys talked about it, how did you envision it?”
“My grandma said there were not enough old-fashioned bakeries in the world anymore. You know, the kind with glass cases with dozens of varieties of pastries, cookies and cupcakes behind big panes of glass. A place where a bride could order a custom wedding cake and know it would be done correctly and be confident her guests can stand the flavor of her cake. My grandma wanted me to have an old-fashioned soda bar at the bakery as well to add a nostalgic touch,” I explain, remembering the long fantasy planning sessions we had when we were baking cakes in my grandma’s kitchen when I was younger.
“It sounds like you guys put a lot of thought into this,” Tyler comments.
“We did,” I agree. “But, after I made Thanksgiving dinner for her one year, she decided maybe I should open a family restaurant instead. She made elaborate plans for me to build all these log cabin themed restaurants. She wanted me to serve rustic comfort food with historical themes. She planned a bunch of themed menus. There was duck a l’orange, pheasants with walnut stuffing, and range fed prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes.”
Ty puts up his hands in a gesture of timeout. “Stop! My mouth is watering and I just ate. That sounds phenomenal too. I’m beginning to see your dilemma here. Is there an idea you feel more attached to than the other? What about location? Would you stay in the Willamette Valley or would you come to Texas or would you go back to the Boston area where you’re from?”
I sigh as I bury my head in my hands, “Tyler, I think I’m going to need way more than a few sticky notes to do this. I didn’t even think about location. How do I even start making a decision like that? I know where I don’t want to be. I don’t want to be in Boston where my parents can be looking over my shoulder and judging every move I make,” I comment wryly.
Tyler chuckles as he says, “See, this isn’t so hard. You’ve already made a decision. One down, about a hundred thousand to go.”
I roll my eyes, “Oh goody! I can’t wait,” I reply sarcastically.
“You know, you can get mentors for this kind of thing.”
“I’m definitely going to have to check into that because if I screw up again, my family is never going to let me live it down,” I reply.
“Personally, I think you worry a little too much about what they think of you. If my family had done to me what yours did to you, I would’ve written them off a long time ago.”
“You’re right, I probably should’ve. But, they’re not wrong about me. I was too naïve and trusting. I let Fletcher Heaves get away with everything. I should’ve known better and I didn’t. So, even though he was the one who committed the crime, it was ultimately my responsibility because I let him into my life,” I explain, remembering how horrible and betrayed I felt when I discovered the depth of his duplicity.
“Gidget, you can’t know what you don’t know yet. You know now and it’s not likely to ever happen to you again. You’re much more cautious now than you ever were before, right?” he asks gently.
I nod.
“Then you learned from the experience and that’s all anyone
can ask. The fact that they keep beating you up over it is akin to bullying and it’s not fair. You need to tell them to knock it off. They’re your family, they’re supposed to love you despite your mistakes. I don’t understand this hyper-criticalness and it’s starting to piss me off. Why aren’t they in your corner supporting you?” he asks.
“That’s a question I’ve asked myself far too many times to count. I don’t think there’s a real answer,” I respond. It’s been a long time since I’ve had an outsider’s view of my family dynamics. I had forgotten what an odd bunch we can appear to be. “I don’t know, maybe it’s the best he can do. My mom seems happy with him. My brother doesn’t seem to have any issues with my dad and my sister seems to make both my parents happy. So, maybe it's just me who doesn't fit in.”
“I don’t know, I might consider it a blessing if I were you,” Tyler quips.
I scrunch up my face and stick out my tongue as I say, “You just think you’re too cute don’t you, Tyler Colton?”
“Yes ma’am. Don’t you?” he replies as he tips his hat in a gallant manner.
I leisurely ogle him as he sits semi-sprawled in the booth with his foot propped up on the chair next to him. In honor of meeting my family, he’s upgraded his wardrobe to ‘formal urban cowboy’. Today, he’s wearing a black dress shirt with the sleeves folded up to his mid-forearms and some skin-tight black jeans with his black cowboy boots with silver embellishments. He is wearing a black belt with a silver eagle on it superimposed over the image of the twin towers. It’s a simple but imposing look when you stick it on a frame as large as his. He gives new meaning to the word sexy.
I wink at him as I tease, “Actually, I do. But, I’m afraid if I tell you too many times. Your ego might just get overinflated like a big ole’ party balloon and pop. I simply can’t run the risk of you injuring yourself like that.”
Joy and Tiers Page 13