Be My Baby (6 page)

I wondered what might have happened had Trey
not spied me at the window this afternoon. Perhaps Amber would have
continued her seductive quest with my husband. Perhaps he would
have succumbed to her charms. He certainly hadn’t been getting his
needs met at home the past couple of months. He had reminded me of
that fairly often. We hadn’t made love since I had lost the baby.
He hadn’t even made overtures when my six weeks had been up two
weeks ago.

I finished my wine still lost in thought.
Gina had left the kitchen to take care of Reese who had awakened
from his nap. It brought pain to see a baby right now. I hadn’t
even objected when Susan had offered to take Preston for a couple
of weeks. Trey had looked at me curiously. He was surprised when I
didn’t hesitate in accepting her offer.

My Blackberry was done charging. I picked it
up hitting Trey’s name. He picked up immediately.

“Tylar,” he breathed, “Where are you?”

“I stopped by Gina’s. She told me you had
called here looking for me.”

"Baby, I've been going crazy trying to get
in touch with you. I need to explain Tylar; I need to let you know
what happened."

"Trey," I interrupted, "I was there,
remember? I know exactly what happened. There is no plausible
explanation for you to give me about what happened. It's been a
long time coming I think."

"What are you talking about Tylar? How can
you possibly say that to me?"

"Because it's the truth Trey. Because it is
my style to speak the truth."

"And what exactly is the truth?"

"Trey you hit it off with Amber. In some
ways, she is a female version of you. She is beautiful, smart,
talented, and has a passion for the law - the same as you do. We
have little in common, Trey; I hate to point this out but it's
obvious our connection has been a sexual one. That doesn't
necessarily make for a successful long-term relationship."

"How in the hell can you say that to
me?"

He was livid. I wasn't sure why. It all made
perfect sense to me. Our relationship was built on a house of
cards. I thought back to its inception: a near death experience for
me; a handsome rescuer who found me 'intriguing' at the moment. A
lot had transpired for both of us since then. Perhaps he no longer
found me a mystery to be solved. Perhaps I had been a pleasurable
diversion from his very orderly, professional, career-oriented
life.

"Amber is the type of woman you are supposed
to end up with Trey. Not someone like me. This has all been a
diversion from reality - for both of us. I've made arrangements to
spend some time with my father. I'm leaving tomorrow."

"No Tylar. You are not running from this. We
are going to work this out dammit!"

"I'm sorry, Trey. You're not getting your
way this time. I will be in touch once Preston returns from your
parents' house. We need to work something out with respect to her.
I need this time for me. I need to heal."

I pressed the 'end' button before he had a
chance to respond. This was non-negotiable. I fell asleep on the
sofa exhausted. I heard Tristan come in late; Gina was waiting for
him in the kitchen. I could tell that she was filling him in on
what had happened.

I heard him raise his voice; I think I heard
him refer to Trey as a spoiled, self-righteous son-of-a-bitch. Gina
instructed him to stay out of it. If I knew Tristan he would be
giving Trey his two cents' worth very shortly.

Tristan drove me to the airport the
following afternoon. Gina was busy with Reese so he suggested it.
Gina had gone back to our house and packed my suitcase along with
Preston’s clothes while Trey was at work. She had brought my phone
charger and I-Pad with her.

She had told me that Jean was beside herself
trying to figure out why I hadn’t been home all night. She
commented that she had heard Trey up most of the night pacing his
floor and on his phone.

Gina said that she didn’t feel it was her
place to put our personal stuff out there to Jean; she explained
that I needed to spend some time with my father.

“Well certainly,” Jean had responded. “The
poor thing has been through quite a bit. It has been a strain on
them both. I can see that."

My thoughts were interrupted when Tristan
finally broke the silence in the car.

"Tylar - Once again I find the need to
apologize to you for my brother's behavior."

I looked over at his handsome face; a
slightly older version of Trey's face yet there was something
different. Tristan's face held a look of compassion that I hadn't
seen before in Trey's face; at least not that I could recall.

"Tristan," I replied softly, "It is not your
place to apologize for Trey. Besides I am partially to blame for
this."

"How do you figure?"

"Well my pregnancy was pretty rough on
Trey," I explained. "I wasn't able to 'accommodate' him like
before."

I could feel myself blush profusely; I could
feel the penetrating look that Tristan was giving me. He pulled his
car over to the side of the road and shut off the ignition. I
reluctantly looked over at him. His emerald green eyes were
watching me trying to comprehend my response.

"Tylar for Chrissake - are
you justifying Trey's behavior in some way? Your pregnancy was
rough on
you
sweetheart. You were tired and ill; I was around too you
know? If that son-of-a bitch couldn't go without it for a few
months without striking up some flirtatious fantasy with a female
colleague to assuage his inflated ego then he should have come to
big brother for advice!"

Tristan was on a roll. It was plain to see
that he was furious with Trey.

"What advice would you have given him,
Tristan?"

"I would have told him to spend some time
with 'Rosy Palm' and her five ugly sisters in the privacy of his
shower!"

I started to giggle when he said that. Only
Tristan could phrase it like that. I could picture him telling Trey
that, too.

I looked back over at him and he was smiling
now.

"I appreciate your support on this Tristan,
but I don't want it interfering with your relationship with Trey,
okay?"

"Too late for that," he said, starting the
car back up and pulling out into traffic.

"Besides it's not as if Trey cheated
sexually on me; it was the emotional part - the kiss - that crushed
me. It sent a signal about our lack of intimacy. It has made me
question as to whether we are really suited for one another."

"Sweetie, for right now please try to not
'over-think' any of this okay? You need this time away from him to
reflect and heal. Don't come to hasty conclusions."

"Okay Tristan. You're right. Thanks for
being you."

CHAPTER 5

My father was waiting for me at the baggage
claim carousels when I arrived. I immediately flew into his
arms.

He held me close to him; talking soothingly
to me. It was the first time that I knew how it felt to me consoled
by a parent. I liked the feeling of safeness that it gave me.

We talked on the way back to his estate. I
was taken aback when he told me that he had called Trey.

"You didn't threaten to punch him out or
anything did you, Dad?"

Secretly I was hoping that is exactly what
he had done. That would be such a 'father' thing to do it
seemed.

"No Tylar, I simply told him that I felt it
was appropriate under the circumstances for you to spend some time
here to rest, relax and gain some perspective on the
situation."

(Hmmm - that sounded a bit to me like my
father was trying to diffuse 'the situation'. Did he think I had
over-reacted?)

"What did Trey say?"

"He concurred. He genuinely wants you to
feel better; he wanted me to convey to you that he will take care
of Preston until you're ready to come back. He wants you to focus
on feeling better physically and emotionally. He said you are to
pamper yourself."

(Pamper myself? What did Trey fucking think
this was, a weekend at the spa?)

"You know Dad, I think Trey is right. I
could use some pampering. It sounds just like what the doctor
ordered. Is Edie still at the house?"

"Yes, why?"

"Can I borrow her tomorrow to run some
errands with me in the city?"

"Certainly. Any of the staff is at your
disposal, daughter."

"Thanks, Dad." I smiled.

I liked Edie. She was only a year or so
older than I was and we had clicked from the first time we met. She
had hated Ms. Deeny as well so we had one thing in common right
from the get.

The next morning after my father had left
for court I phoned a limo service in Baton Rouge. I had told Edie
the night before that she was at my disposal the following day. She
had laughed saying it sounded like we were going to have some
fun.

"You're right about that girlfriend," I had
responded in 'Gina style.'

We climbed into the limo at 10:00 a.m. and
headed for a luxury day spa in Baton Rouge. Once there, I handed
Edie one of the spa menus.

"Pick anything you want Edie, my treat," I
said.

"Oh Tylar no," she replied shaking her head,
"I wouldn't feel right about it. I work for the judge."

"We aren't spending the judge's money Edie.
We're spending my husband's money which according to him is mine as
well. So have at it."

"Well alright then," she giggled.

We both went for the 60 minute hot stone
massage, followed by the body scrub. I then selected a facial mask
while Edie went with the massage moisture facial. We were then
waxed, manicured and pedicured. We finished up with getting eyelash
extensions. The total bill with tip: $1200.00.

(I was feeling better already!)

Our next stop was an upscale hair salon
called Jean-Claude's

Edie was all for getting her highlights
re-done. I was going for a totally new look altogether. I perused
through multiple magazines until I found the hair style I wanted. I
then asked to see hair swatches so the colorist could match my
color exactly to the one that I selected. No more blondish-brown
highlights for me. I heard brunettes were having fun these days -
with other women's men.

When we were finished, Edie's hair had
undergone a tune-up while mine had gone through a complete
overhaul.

"Oh my God," Edie shrieked. "You look so
different Tylar."

"That's the look I was going for Edie."

My hair was a dark chestnut brown that fell
above my shoulders now. It was blunt cut in the back and angled at
the sides. It looked exactly like Amber's hair.

We then went shopping at Dillard's. I bought
two new pairs of boots; five pairs of skinny jeans, four new
sweaters, a couple of cotton tee shirts, a new winter jacket and
assorted lingerie, jewelry and make-up. By this time, Edie was
feeling too self-conscious about my spending money on her. I
finally forced her to get a pair of jeans and a sweater.

The limo was waiting for us outside to take
us back to the estate. The driver had chilled champagne and cold
appetizers waiting for us. We enjoyed both on the ride back.

"Wow," Edie said, "I can't believe you spent
that much money today Tylar. I am really appreciative of your
generosity but don't you think your husband is going to be
pissed?"

I held up my champagne flute for a
toast.

"Here's to pissed off husbands," I said,
tapping my flute gently against hers.

It was a little after 7:00 p.m. when the
limo pulled up to the mansion. I gave one of my credit cards to the
driver to swipe for payment and then threw a generous tip on top of
it. He saw us to the door carrying our packages.

Edie took my packages once inside and said
she would deliver them to my room and have the washables laundered
before I wore them. I thanked her.

"No, thank
you,
Tylar. I've had the
best time today."

"Don't forget tomorrow night we're going
clubbing after your shift," I reminded her.

I heard my father approaching across the
hardwood floor towards the entry hall.

"Tylar, I've been worried. We've been
holding dinner for you."

"I’m sorry Dad, the time just slipped by so
quickly."

He was studying my new hairstyle. He had
that 'judge perusal' thing going on again. I twirled around so that
he could get the full view of my shiny new hairstyle.

"Do you like it?" I asked.

"Darling, the important thing is that you
like it," he replied. "Let's have dinner."

Over dinner Dad mentioned that Trey had
phoned him to see how I was doing.

"Since you weren't home and I had no clue
where you were I couldn't tell him much," he said.

(Holy shit! Was he going all 'father' on me
now?)

"Dad, I'm sorry," I replied, "I really
thought that we'd be back before you got home. Edie and I went into
Baton Rouge. I pampered myself just as Trey suggested I do, that's
all."

My father eyed me warily. It reminded me a
bit of Trey.

"That's good. You still may want to call and
check in with him so that he doesn't worry," he suggested.

"I will. Now tell me about your day."

After dinner I retreated to my suite. Edie
had hung up the coat and sweaters; she had taken everything else I
had bought to be laundered. She had put my make-up in the bathroom
and my jewelry was on the dresser.

I pulled my Blackberry out of my purse to
put on the charger. I noticed that I had several text messages.
There were two from Trey; one from Gina.