by Nella Tyler
After all, as different as my parents and I were, we had always been close, and therefore, they had always been able to gauge how I was truly feeling.
In fact, my father told me once that he knew I wasn’t going to end up taking over the company before I did. He told me that he knew I was different, special, and that I would make my mark on the world my own way. Therefore, when I started to pull away from the path he hoped for me, he expected it and was excited to see where I would take the path I forged for myself.
“Good morning, sweetie!” my mom exclaimed as I walked in at about eight-fifteen.
My father was sitting at the kitchen table eating his breakfast and switching between the newspaper and the iPad, ensuring that he didn’t miss something important from either news source.
My mother was finishing up her breakfast.
The smell of coffee filled the house and reminded me of growing up there, waking to the scent every morning.
“Good morning!” I exclaimed, hugging my parents and sitting down across from my father.
“What brings you here so early?” my mother asked. “Do you want breakfast?”
“Sure!” I exclaimed, noticing at almost the same moment my mother asked that I had forgotten to eat breakfast and was, indeed, hungry. “I have plans this afternoon, but I wanted to stop by and say hi. It’s been a few days.”
“You’re always welcome, dear,” my father offered, glancing up from his paper and grinning.
“So, Dad,” I teased, “I thought you were taking over the cooking.”
He stopped reading, smirked and raised his eyes from the paper once again.
“It’s my routine, and besides, your mother makes the best breakfast,” he replied, glancing over at my mother in an affectionate manner.
“Aww,” my mother replied, turning toward him slightly, “Such a nice way of saying it’s too early for him to be bothered.”
I laughed knowing that both what my mother and what my father were saying was true. My father needed to have his routine and my mother making breakfast for him while he scoured the business section of the paper for useful information was part of it.
Simply the fact that he was now using an iPad, at least as a secondary channel of information, was a big step for him.
“Anything good?” I inquired, nodding toward his news sources.
“Nothing noteworthy, unfortunately. Or fortunately, depending on how you look at it.”
I grinned, knowing that my father probably hadn’t read anything he didn’t already have some knowledge of, via the paper, or iPad, in the last decade. When he started the company, he made it a personal mission to build his company on the foundation of tried and true business practices while also keeping up with the latest trends. I was proud of him for that, especially since he had stuck with it. After all, a lot of people in his field had given up genuinely seeking out new information, thus subjecting them to getting irrevocably stuck in their old ways. However, my father was certainly a man of a better caliber in that respect and was always willing to try something new.
“So, how was your week?” I asked, trying to keep my mind off Dexter.
“Oh, you know…same old, same old. I’ve had this business for too long for anything to be all that new,” my father joked.
“Seriously?” my mother intercepted, glaring at her husband, “Tell her about the deal that you closed yesterday. That was impressive.”
“Leo helped,” my father explained.
“Not the way I heard you tell me last night,” my mother, ever the wonderful encourager, exclaimed with pride. “You told me that Leo was there more to play golf than close a deal. If it wasn’t for you, it would’ve been a really expensive day of leisure.”
My mother was never all that fond of my father’s business partner, especially since he was always trying to take credit for my father’s hard work. Thus, she took every opportunity she could to show his true colors and knock him down a few pegs, at least where she knew it wouldn’t affect my father’s working relationship with him.
“Well, yes,” my father finally admitted, “He seemed to be more interested in golf than closing the deal, which was odd for him. He’s usually the pushy one. Sometimes he tries to close too quickly, and it turns the clients away, but yesterday…” My father paused and shook his head, “Maybe there was something on his mind, but anyway, it doesn’t matter because I was able to close the deal before the back nine.” He laughed, “I’ve still got it!” he bragged as my mother set my breakfast down in front of me before going over to my father and kissing him.
“Of course you do, my love,” she replied, and I averted my eyes. They weren’t being overly intimate, but I could tell they had certainly adjusted to an empty nest quite well.
Still, the sight made me feel a little awkward, since growing up my parents were far more reserved. I was distracted, and before I could stop myself, I voiced, “Your company was full of good news yesterday, huh?”
“What do you mean?” my father asked as my mother returned to preparing her own meal.
“Well, with Dexter locking down the deal down with that big company…” I added and instantly knew I shouldn’t have said anything.
“That’s excellent!" he exclaimed, genuinely pleased, however with his excitement came a narrowing of his eyes as his confusion beckoned.
Instantly, I was mortified. I couldn’t believe I had said something like that.
After all, I had come over here to get my mind off Dexter!
I felt my cheeks redden but hoped to God it didn’t show.
“How did you find that out?” he asked, titling his head with an intrigued grin.
Oh shit! I thought as my mind raced. I was never good with thinking quickly on my feet, but I knew that I needed to figure something out. So, I took a dive into the obscurity of lying, hoping it sounded natural.
“I ran into him at the store yesterday,” I explained. “He was just getting back, and so we ended up talking about it…”
“Huh…that’s strange that I didn’t hear about it first. I wonder if Leo knows…”
I shrugged, now trying to act dumb, hoping to curb his suspicions.
I knew it wouldn’t absolve me of my slip of the tongue, but it would have to do for now.
“Oh well,” he finally admitted, “That’s wonderful! I was rooting for him to close this deal. His father was pretty hard on him about it, and I thought it would be a nice win for him. Something he definitely deserved after everything he’s done for his father…and the company.”
I nodded, refusing to say anything more on the subject for fear that I would end up saying too much again.
For the rest of the day, I was able to keep the conversation away from Dexter, but I still wasn’t overly convinced that my father didn’t have more questions.
Although, that could have simply been explained by my own paranoia, but then again, my parents knew me pretty well.
Therefore, I wondered what it was that they didn’t say that they already suspected, or outright knew.
Regardless, if my parents did suspect anything, they didn’t say and therefore, the rest of the day went wonderfully.
However, when I was getting ready to leave, trying not to come across as too urgent, my father stopped me.
“Hey, Mazie, why don’t you stay for dinner?”
For some reason, I had the distinct feeling this was some kind of test. What if he really didn’t believe me and was using this as an excuse to delve deeper and ask more pointed questions.
I felt my heart start to race and my paranoia skyrocket.
“I’d love to, but I can’t. I have plans with Laura, and I can’t be late.”
“Oh, you mentioned that. I’m sorry,” he replied without saying anything more.
His trust in me made me feel even more guilty. I felt like a teenager, sneaking out of the house to go to a party.
Granted, that was something I had done a few times with Laura, but now that I was older, I felt
even guiltier. Part of the guilt, I suppose had to do with the fact that I was an adult and thus, I should be comfortable doing whatever I wanted with whomever I wanted. However, family politics generally only become more daunting with age, I had found.
The other part was, I hated lying to my father, but I knew I didn’t have time, or enough invested experience in the relationship to warrant telling him about it.
Besides, this wasn’t how I wanted to tell him that his partner’s son and I were dating.
I knew it was going to be a delicate situation whenever I decided to tell him and unfortunately, once our relationship was out in the open, there was going to be a good amount of issues that needed to be resolved.
I wasn’t quite ready to have that conversation yet, and I certainly wasn’t going to have it while on my way out the door.
So, instead of pining over my guilt, I hastily said goodbye to my parents and left the house.
When I got in the car, I felt as though I hadn’t taken a breath in far too long. If I was holding my breath, I had no idea. I was far too distracted by everything that was going on around me to worry too much about breathing, apparently.
However, once I got out of the house without any further questioning, I was bombarded with another sense of guilt.
I knew immediately after the fear my father would connect the dots about what was going on with Dexter that I had screwed up. I was certain that regardless of whether anything came of the conversation with my father, I had still said something I shouldn’t have.
Now, I knew I had to tell Dexter that I had told my father about the deal. After all, it would look even worse if it got back to him that my father knew and I was the one who told him without at least having the courtesy to own up to it.
Still, I wondered why he hadn’t told anyone. I found it strange that my father didn’t know anything about the outcome of the deal. Considering his career seemed to be riding on this one pitch, it was odd that the partners of the business weren’t the first calls he made.
After all, I would’ve wanted to secure my job as soon as possible but then again, Dexter and I were extremely different in this aspect.
Although it didn’t answer my question and still left me confused, I also wouldn’t put it past him, where for me the concept of waiting in that situation would be crazy.
However, in a way, it was things like that that had attracted me to him in the first place. While he ultimately fell in line, he insisted on doing it his own way. Although ultimately, I was sure he wanted his father’s approval, he wasn’t about to beg for it, and he was always trying to earn it without acting like he was trying too hard.
Life seemed to have always been fun for Dexter. He enjoyed it, more than most, and even if things happened to him that he didn’t particularly agree with or enjoy, he dealt with it in his own way.
Therefore, the more I thought about the reason why he would possibly decide against telling his father about closing, the deal the more I decided that was an incredibly Dexter move.
Yet, that still didn’t give me the right to break the news, which was why I was so nervous as I got ready for my date.
I wanted to have fun, and I wanted to wow him like I had before. So, I slid into a tight sweater and form-fitting leggings, which showed off my curves and kept me warm without having to put on a jacket.
Afterward, I slipped on boots that had enough heel to make me look a few inches taller, as well as helping my posture.
Once I was dressed in what I felt was appropriate for our adventure in Burnsville, I fixed my hair, picked out earrings, and put on a little makeup, trying to make myself alluring without looking desperate.
I’m not desperate though, I thought to myself but couldn’t help the lingering question; but if you have to ask… reverberating in my mind.
Soon enough, however, a knock at the door tore me from my thoughts, and I tried to focus.
“You can’t lie,” I told myself, staring intently in the mirror. For the moment, I was content to ignore the door. “If you expect to have any kind of real relationship with this man, you are going to have to be honest with him.”
I grinned at my reflection and turned to open the door, confident that I would be able to make the right choice when the time came.
Unfortunately, all my earnestly good intentions went out the window the moment I opened the door and set my eyes upon him.
Dammit! He looks amazing! I thought, knowing with instant certainly that there was no way I could tell him the truth now and ruin such a perfect view.
While he was wearing a nice Polo shirt and slacks, there was a casual attitude about his attire that made him all the more alluring. He was clean-shaven, and the musty scent of his natural aura was divine, but there was a roughness about him that attracted me to his disposition even further. His quirky, smug expression was expected; after all, I didn’t think he could wear another face, but it was knowing and entranced. His eyes sparkled when he caught sight of me and his face lit up, giving me the impression that he felt similarly to the sensations I was presently feeling.
I can’t screw this up. Not yet, I told myself as I returned his grin and walked out of my house, announcing that I was ready for our date.
Pleased by not having to wait, Dexter took my arm and together we started back to where he had parked his car.
For the moment, I forgot about what I wanted to tell him, and thankfully, my conscious allowed it. After all, this was the start of a pleasant evening. Why sabotage the date before it even started?
Chapter 21
Dexter
“I can’t believe you’ve never been to Bernville,” I told Mazie as we drove, trying to keep the conversation fresh.
“Well, I’m sure there are a few places you’ve never been in this town. Just because you live close to somewhere doesn’t mean you have to go there. After all, I know people in Florida who’ve never been to Disney World.”
“Sure, but that’s kind of a personal thing. For instance, someone like my father wouldn’t be caught dead in Disney, but even he has gone to Bernville,” I teased.
“Did he enjoy it?” she retorted easily.
“I don’t think so,” I answered smoothly, “I don’t think my father has the capacity to genuinely enjoy anything.”
She giggled, and her eyes lit up. She looked gorgeous anyway, but now, she looked truly magnificent. The way her smile lit up her face was wondrous.
Mazie was a one of a kind, and there was something inside of me that couldn’t believe she was sitting right there next to me. It almost felt as though it was a dream.
“You know,” she admitted after a long pause, “I wouldn’t think that was true of anyone else but believe it or not, knowing your father, I could definitely see that.”
“He thinks having fun and living life is a weakness. Ever since my mother died, his disdain for humanity has only deepened…” I shook my head, realizing then that I hadn’t meant to say anything about it to her, but I also didn’t regret it.
“I’m sorry,” she offered, turning her eyes away slightly, as though trying to give me a sliver of privacy.
“Nah, don’t be. It’s only my father. I’ve gotten used to him being a dick,” I replied. “Besides, I know your father’s the one I need to impress anyway, and he likes me.”
“Yes, he does,” Mazie responded earnestly, though I couldn’t help but detect a slight hesitation in her voice at the mention of her father.
I let it go, though, thinking that whatever it meant was between her father and Mazie. I wasn’t about to push her into divulging anything; this was supposed to be a fun night!
However, I couldn’t think of anything to say, and I could tell there was an awkwardness brewing, so I grasped her hand and pulled it close to me.
She beamed and wove her fingers between mine.
“So, are you excited?” I asked.
“Of course,” she exclaimed, “After all, it seems funny that I’ve never been here, but you have.” Sh
e narrowed her eyes in a teasing manner and asked, “There isn’t a bunch of people in suits singing carols, or Scrooge going around advocating for working on Christmas, is there?”
I laughed.
“Again, you think so much of me, I’m flattered.”
“Well…”
“What? You’re the only one who could ever do anything fun?”
“Out of the two of us, who is more likely?”
“Me,” I answered in a teasing fashion, hoping to hear her giggle again.
She did, in addition to rolling her eyes.
“Yeah, sure. Your family is related to Santa Claus himself.”
“Damn straight. Why do you think I did such a good job?”
“You mean,” she paused dramatically as she peered at me and bat her eyelashes, “as you were working through the mandatory, court-appointed community service?”
My shoulders rose and fell with a certain indifference as I pulled into the parking lot at Bernville. “Doesn’t matter why I was there. All that matters is that I was a badass Santa.”
“Right…” she answered, rolling her eyes again.
I parked the car as Mazie attempted to get a peek at the heavily decorated street, filled with shops and Christmas cheer.
“Oh, no you don’t!” I jeered, loud enough to draw her peering eyes away from the sparkling lights.
“What?” she asked, feigning innocence.
“Stop looking! If you only see it partially, it will ruin the surprise!” I insisted, and she shut her eyes tightly in response. “That’s better.”
“How long do I have to stay like this?” she asked as I got out of the car.
“Until I say otherwise,” I answered, slamming the door and running over to open the passenger’s side for her.
When I opened the door, she was chuckling again. Her eyes were still closed, but she was instinctively searching for the root of every noise.
“Can I open my eyes now?”
“No,” I answered easily. “Keep ‘em closed.”
I reached over and unhooked her seatbelt, and she squirmed and giggled. I picked her up, out of the car, causing her to wrap her arms securely around my neck and hug me close as I twirled her around.