In bloom, p.23
In Bloom, page 23
Winnie touched her glass to Monica’s. “To good times with friends and family.”
Tyler went next. “To neighbors.”
“To all of the above.” Dotty clinked her glass with the other three.
* * *
Monica parked in front of the house just in time to see Sheba jump onto the porch swing. “You rascal,” she muttered as she got out of the car and made her way across the yard. “How are you getting out of Tyler’s house?”
Sheba meowed loudly, hopped down, and rubbed around Monica’s legs.
“Don’t give me that sad story,” Monica fussed at her. “I’ve got enough problems of my own. I’ve got to deal with my grandmother and Winnie, and with these unresolved feelings I have for Tyler.” She unlocked the door. Sheba beat her inside the house and curled up on the rocking chair. “There, I admitted it. I still have feelings for him. He still makes my pulse race when he sits next to me in a booth and takes my breath away when he looks at me with those sexy blue eyes.”
She laid the job application packet on the table. “I’ll look at you tomorrow. Gloria said I’ve got until Friday at five to get it back to her.”
A rap on the door told her that Tyler was home. He still did the same rat-a-tat-tat that he’d done in high school. She would bet dollars to cow patties that he still had the same ringtone on his cell phone, too. But then, she had never deleted his phone number or changed “I Love the Way You Love Me” by John Michael Montgomery as the ringtone for his number on her phone, either.
“Come on in,” she called out, “but don’t let the cat out.”
“I was careful this morning when I left,” Tyler groaned. “I guess I’d best go through the house and figure out how she’s escaping. Are you ready to start painting again?”
“Soon as I change clothes.”
“Then I’ll be back in ten minutes. Come on, Sheba, or maybe I should call you Houdini or Ghost. Seems like you can walk through walls.” He picked up the cat and started for the door. He stopped in the middle of the living room, turned around, and said, “And just to keep things transparent, I had never met those women that I was with at the restaurant until today. They were in the class I took, and they invited me to go to lunch with them, probably because one of them wants to know if a position for a PA comes up at Pecan Valley.”
Monica couldn’t have wiped the smile off her face if she’d sucked on a lemon. “Thank you for that, but what you do is your business, Tyler.”
“Just wanted you to know.” He closed the door behind him.
Monica had been so angry that night she’d caught Tyler and Raylene together that she had never thought about how it must have affected him. This evening, for the first time, she put herself in his shoes. Surely, he knew he’d done something totally stupid and couldn’t undo it. His heart must have been hurting as badly as hers when she refused to see him or talk to him that whole summer.
“No!” She stomped her foot. “I’ll recognize that he was in pain, but not as much as I was.”
She finished getting dressed in her paint outfit and was carefully putting the drop cloth down in the bathroom when Tyler knocked once on the door and then came on into the house. “I’m working in the bathroom,” she called out. “This shouldn’t take long, and then we’ll move on to the kitchen.”
“You might be surprised about the timing.” His voice got louder as he came down the hallway.
Her breath caught in her chest when she looked up and realized he was standing in the doorway. The same hunger she had been feeling in her heart was evident in his eyes.
“Taping off a small area like this . . .” he started.
“Not if we work together.” She was surprised that she could utter a word. Even wearing paint-stained denim shorts and a ragged tank top, he was so sexy that it took her breath away.
Monica pointed to rolls of blue painter’s tape on the vanity. “If you’ll do the ceiling, I’ll take care of the baseboards.”
She started to bend down to tuck the drop cloth into the corner, and her bare feet slipped on the slick plastic. One second, she was grasping for anything to brace her fall and hoping she wouldn’t hit her head on the edge of the tub, and the next, two strong arms were around her and lifting her up.
Her heart thumped hard against Tyler’s chest, but then she could feel his heart through both of their shirts, and it was keeping time with hers. She tried to tell him thank you, but the words froze in her throat when she looked up into his eyes. She knew and felt that starving look, and barely had time to moisten her lips, before his mouth closed over hers. Her arms found their way around his neck as she pressed her body more tightly against his. Her head was reeling and her hormones whining for more, and they were both panting when the kiss ended.
“Neighbors?” she gasped.
“Kissin’ neighbors.” He grinned.
“Do we need to talk about this?” She realized that his arms were still around her shoulders, and her fingers were tangled in his thick, dark hair.
“No, we just need to dream about it tonight,” he answered as he released her and took a step back.
“I can almost promise that.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Monica spent the entire day on Thursday going through her apartment in Denison, making a list of what she planned to keep and what she planned to donate to a local women’s shelter. Then she called a moving company. They had an opening the very next morning, so that meant she had to pack fast, but first, she called her grandmother.
“Nana, I won’t be by today. The moving people can get to me tomorrow, and if I don’t take that time slot, it’ll be weeks before they have another free time,” she said.
“What are you talking to me for then?” Dotty said. “Get off this phone and get busy. You stayin’ in the apartment tonight or coming back home?”
Monica smiled at that last word—home. “I think I’ll stay here, but don’t worry, I’ll be ready for the alumni party tomorrow night.”
“You better be. I’ve hired a limo to take us,” Dotty said.
“Nana! I’ve got a car. You don’t have to pay for a limo,” Monica scolded.
“I don’t have to do anything but die and pay taxes, and now that you own the house and the land it sits on, I don’t even have many taxes to pay. I’ve made a deal with God not to take me until I rock my first great-grandbaby to sleep a few times, so I ain’t dyin’ for a long time.” She sighed.
Monica’s smile got bigger. “You can’t guilt me into getting married and having babies.”
“Oh, well”—another sigh—“it was worth a try, and darlin’ girl, I will spend my money however I want to. Now, go pack. I’m ending this call.”
Monica started to say something else, then realized that Dotty had indeed broken the connection. She picked up her purse, locked her apartment door, and started to her car. She had just slid in behind the wheel when her phone rang. She closed the door, fished the phone out of her purse, and answered on the fourth ring.
“I was going to tell you that I love you and goodbye,” she answered.
“Well, that’s good news, but I’d just as soon you didn’t tell me goodbye,” Tyler drawled.
Heat gathered on the back of Monica’s neck and rushed around to flush her cheeks, turning them scarlet. “I thought you were Nana. She hung up on me.”
“Somedays, I just can’t win.” He chuckled. “I was calling to tell you that I have to work a double shift, so I won’t be home until midnight. We were planning to do some work on my house tonight.”
Monica explained that she was in Denison at her apartment. “This works out pretty well. I was feeling guilty, because I couldn’t help you out with all this fast packing and moving I have to do.”
“No guilt trips,” he said. “We’ll get my part done next week, or maybe over the weekend. Are you still planning to go to the alumni?”
“Nana hired a limo. She would never forgive me if I backed out.” Monica sighed. “I’m not looking forward to going. Have you ever been to one of these things?”
“No, I haven’t,” he said, “and I wouldn’t be attending this one if Granny hadn’t insisted, and if you weren’t going. Leona is calling on my office phone. See you tomorrow. Have fun packing. If I didn’t have to work, I’d offer to help you.”
“Thanks.” Monica ended the call, crossed her arms over her steering wheel, and laid her head on them. She inhaled deeply and let her breath out slowly several times, then straightened up and started the engine. It was going to be a long day, but she always got her best thinking done when she was working, and she had a lot of that to do—starting with that kiss the night before.
* * *
Everything had been moved into her house by five o’clock the next day, but the place looked like a hoarder’s nest with boxes stacked in every corner. Monica grabbed a quick shower, put some curls in her hair, slapped on a little makeup, and was zipping her dress when the limo rolled up in front of her house. She picked up her evening clutch and opened the door to find Tyler with his hand raised, as if he was about to knock.
“Well, don’t you clean up nice,” she said.
His shirt matched his blue eyes, and his black suit showed off his broad shoulders. “Thank you, ma’am. Granny told me you were wearing blue tonight. I know it’s not a prom, but I wanted us to match, and”—he eyed her from head to toe—“you are stunning.”
“Thank you,” she said.
He opened the screen door and handed her a corsage of white baby roses. “This is for you. Want me to help pin it on your dress?”
“That’s so sweet, Tyler.” It was on the tip of her tongue to say that nothing could make up for their senior prom, but the words Nana had said about a new heart came to mind. “And yes, please, but you’d better do it in the limo. We’ll never live it down if we cause Nana and Winnie to be late.”
“This is really a big deal for them,” he agreed, “but I don’t know if it’s because they’re going to the alumni or if it’s because they conned us into going with them.”
“Probably a little of both,” Monica whispered as she got into the limo.
“Well, don’t you two look just gorgeous,” Winnie said, grinning.
“We could say the same thing about y’all.” Tyler returned the smile. “Think the folks can handle all of us coming in at once? All these beautiful women surrounding me might blind them.”
Dotty giggled like a schoolgirl. “I hope it does, and that they all are struck plum speechless when we walk into the banquet room.”
“Now, pin that corsage on Monica’s shoulder,” Winnie bossed. “Another block or two, and we’ll be there.”
“How are we getting home?” Tyler asked.
“The limo will be waiting right here to take us back home when we are ready,” Dotty said. “I hired him for the whole evening. I want people to gossip about us arriving in style.”
“Nana!” Monica scolded, but secretly she hoped that Raylene saw the big, black stretch limo and was just a smidgen jealous. No, that wasn’t right, she hoped the girl was a whole lot jealous. She wouldn’t even mind seeing the hussy turn slightly green with envy.
About the time that Tyler finally got the corsage on right, the limo came to a stop in front of the cafeteria. The driver got out and opened the door to help the ladies out, then stood to the side when Tyler stepped out onto the parking lot.
“I’ll be right here when y’all get ready to go home,” he said.
“Thank you, Freddie,” Winnie said.
Dotty hooked her arm in Winnie’s, and the two of them strode through the cafeteria doors as if they were royalty. “Let’s see Gladys outdo us tonight,” Dotty whispered.
“Nana, that’s not nice,” Monica said.
“Gladys isn’t nice,” Dotty said. “She just puts on airs to make everyone think she’s a sweet old lady, but down under, she’s a real . . .”
“Whoa!” Monica held up a palm.
“I was going to say that she’s a witch. I bet there’s a special broom that she rides parked in her bedroom closet,” Dotty said.
Tyler tucked Monica’s arm into his and laid his hand over hers. At his touch, she forgot all about the elderly ladies and niceties and even the vision of Gladys riding a broom around Pecan Valley Retirement Center. She even forgot about Raylene Carter, right up until they were in the cafeteria, and she spotted the witch—that seemed like a good word, since Nana had used it—across the room in a circle of the girls who had been the most popular in high school.
“Ignore them,” Tyler whispered.
“Find your tables,” Dotty said. “They’re set up from left to right according to the year you graduated. Ours is way over here to the right, and these days, we only need one table. There aren’t many of us left, and most of them don’t come out to this party, so we get a couple of tables that cover several years.”
Dotty and Winnie veered off to the table marked 1950 through 1960. Tyler ushered Monica to their area and pulled out a chair for her. She sat down and took in the whole room. She’d eaten lunch in this very room for thirteen years. As juniors, she and Tyler had worked here one Friday when school ended until after midnight, getting the place decorated for the prom that they were responsible to put on for the seniors.
“Putting on the Ritz,” she said.
“We fought hard for that theme, didn’t we?” he said. “Some of the other kids on the committee wanted to do Mardi Gras.”
Raylene had been the top contender for the Mardi Gras theme. Monica had wondered at the time if Raylene was going to want a float for a picture backdrop, and if she planned on showing off her boobs to get a string of bright-colored beads.
“If everyone will take a seat, we’re going to ask the Reverend James McEntire to say grace for us before we are served our supper,” an older lady with gray hair said from behind the lectern that was set up at the end of the room.
Monica turned to Tyler. “I’m not surprised that James is a preacher. Are you?”
“I always figured he’d go into the ministry or else be a missionary, so it doesn’t shock me at all. Granny told me that he was preaching at a big church down in Houston, but that was a few years ago. He might be somewhere else by now,” Tyler told her, as all around them the noise of chairs being pulled out from tables mixed with the sounds of folks still catching up with each other.
James took his place behind the lectern, and in a big, booming voice, said, “Please pray with me.”
All heads bowed, and the buzz of dozens of conversations ceased. Monica tried to keep her thoughts on the blessing James was bestowing upon the gathering and the food, but Tyler was just too close for her to think of anything but him.
“Amen!” James said.
Tyler leaned over slightly and whispered, “Eat supper.”
“National Anthem and then ‘play ball,’ grace and then ‘eat supper.’ That’s pretty clever, Mr. Magee,” Monica said with a smile that quickly faded when she saw that Raylene had taken a seat right across the table from them.
“Hello, Monica,” Raylene said and then focused on Tyler. “Hi, Tyler. Y’all look great. Neither of you have changed much since high school.”
Monica was speechless for a few seconds. Raylene was still a tall blonde with blue eyes, but something about her was totally different. There was a softer look about her eyes, and she was wearing a fairly modest purple dress that evening. Her wide, gold wedding band revealed that she was married, so Monica scanned the room to see who was still standing. The Reverend James took the last few steps toward their table and bent down to kiss Raylene on the forehead.
“Thanks for saving me a seat, darlin’,” he said. “Hello, everyone. I’m glad to see such a good turnout from our class this year.”
Several people around their table began to talk, giving Monica a chance to nudge Tyler on the shoulder and ask, “Did you know that . . .”
He shook his head. “Guess Granny forgot to mention it.”
Raylene caught Monica’s eye and smiled. “I’m glad to see y’all back together.”
“Thank you,” Tyler and Monica said at the same time.
“I don’t see rings, so I guess you haven’t . . .” she started.
“No, we haven’t,” Monica quickly answered. “How long have you been married?”
“Three wonderful years.” James whipped out his wallet and flipped it open. “This is our eighteen-month-old daughter, Anna Ruth.”
Monica glanced down at the photo of a little blond-haired girl with big blue eyes. “She’s beautiful,” she said.
“We think so.” James looked at the picture for a couple of seconds before he put his wallet away. “I’m just glad she looks so much like her mother.”
“I don’t know where to start, but . . .” Raylene sighed and looked over at James.
He put his arm around her and kissed her on the cheek. “Just spit it out, darlin’. You’ll feel better when you do, and you know it.”
She laid her hand on the table, and James covered it with his own. That seemed to give her courage, because she inhaled deeply and said, “I’m so sorry for all the pain I caused both of you ten years ago. What I did was inexcusable, and I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I can’t undo what was done, but if I could, I would.”
“What made you . . .” Monica started to say.
James butted in. “This has been disturbing her peace for years. She’s started to call each of you on the phone several times, but we prayed about it, and she felt that she needed to talk to you face to face. That’s one of the reasons we decided to attend this affair tonight. We’re so happy that y’all are here.”
If you don’t forgive, then Jesus won’t forgive you. Nana had preached those words to her ever since she was a child.
“When I met and fell in love with James, I realized what kind of person I had been, and how much I needed to change. I’m a pastor’s wife now, and I’ve traded in my old, messed-up, ugly heart for a new Christian one,” Raylene said with a sweet smile. “I put myself on the same twelve-step program that AA uses, and I’m trying to make amends with everyone I’ve hurt. Y’all are the last ones on my list, and it feels good to apologize.”
