Maybe Baby Lite (9 page)

“
I can hardly wait to ride
again! I want to help them get the quarters ready for this
weekend’s races.”

“
Well I wouldn’t count on
doing that anytime soon, hon.”

“
What do you mean Denise?”
I turned to look at her
.

“
It’s just that when Trey
came by early this morning to speak with Ray, uhh, I did hear a few
things.”

“
Spill it, Denise! I mean
it.”

“
He instructed Ray that
under no circumstances were you to be working in the stables,
exercising the horses, or even pleasure riding until further
notice.”

“
What?” I exclaimed. “What
will I do, then?”

“
I think maybe you'll be
working over at the Belle,” she said, almost inaudibly.

“
Oh, God! Dressing up and
giving tours? No way, no fucking way!”

“
No, no,” she assured
me.

I felt some
relief.

“
I think you're scheduled
to work in the main building.”

Oh great. I'd be bored
stiff over there. There were just old ladies in that building
working the gift shop, restaurant, and special event planning. I
looked over at Denise.

“
It won’t be forever, hon.
He’s just worried about you after what you’ve been through and all.
I heard him tell Ray about your nightmares. I really do think it
shook Trey up. I’ve never seen him so concerned about anyone like
he is with you. Seems to me he’s quite protective of you,
sweetie.”

I gave her a sidelong
glance, with an unspoken
Puleeze
.

“
I don’t care if you
believe me or not, you’ll see in time.”

“
I had a concussion,
Denise. Of course I was having dreams, nightmares, whatever. But
there was nothing on those discharge papers saying anything about
me not riding or working around horses.”

“
He’s just being a bit
over-protective, sweetie, you know after that accident back there
in—” She stopped abruptly, realizing that she'd said too
much.

“
C’mon Denise, finish what
you started. I’ve already heard some rumors about him and a fiancée
that ditched him tell me what else you know.”

“
Listen Tylar, if you want
to know what happened ask Trey; I don't like to talk out of
turn."

That was the end of the
conversation.

My cottage was stuffy from
being closed up for so many days. I immediately opened the large
front window to circulate the air. Ray had put my pay envelope on
the breakfast bar, along with some mail that had arrived for me
over the course of the last week. I had to make it last since there
wouldn’t be a check coming Monday for this week.

I relaxed on the couch,
reminiscing about our house in Kentucky and what it had been like
growing up there. I'd always been given chores. By the time I
turned seven years old my chores included doing the dishes, taking
the trash out, cleaning my room, and folding my own laundry. By the
time I reached 13 years old, I was responsible for cleaning the
whole house on Saturdays, earning $20 a week.

I liked Saturdays because
Mom would allow me to have my new best friend Laurie over on Friday
night to spend the night with me. Laurie’s mom, Mona, and my mom
were good friends. Mona was about the only female friend that I
remembered Mom having. They lived five blocks from us. Laurie would
come home from school with me on Fridays. After Mom got off work,
she'd bring a pizza home for us and let us stay up until
midnight.

On Saturday, Mona would
come by and pick Laurie up at noon. That's when my chores began.
I'd put clean sheets on the beds then start cleaning the rest of
the house. Mom left right at 1 p.m. for her weekly appointment at
the spa. She'd get a facial, pedicure, manicure, and her hair
styled. She'd stop at the grocery to get stuff for
dinner.

Saturday was Mom’s date
night so that's when I would stay overnight at Laurie's. Mona would
come by with Laurie around 5:30 to pick me up, just as Mom was
starting dinner for her date, always a fancy candlelight meal.
Laurie said her mom was the same way on her Friday date nights. I
guess that’s why Laurie slept over at my house on her mom’s date
nights. It was more romantic without kids around. Laurie said that
she didn’t remember her dad either; he'd died before she was born.
She said that except for her mom, she had no other family. We had a
lot in common. My mom’s parents had died before I was born; my
dad’s parents didn’t want anything to do with me she told
me.

I was startled from my
sleepy memories by the sound of my cell phone ringing. I jumped up
to answer it. “Hello?”

“
I trust you got home and
settled okay.”

It was Trey’s “business”
voice and my stomach did a flip-flop. I wanted his smooth and silky
voice back.

“
Yes,” I answered softly.
“Everything went fine. I feel fine. I'm ready to go back to work
and dig in.”

I was curious as to
whether he was going to divulge my new assignment, or leave the
dirty work to Ray when he came by later.

“
Tylar, Ray was supposed
to stop by this evening after his shift to discuss the schedule we
worked out for you for the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately,
when I just now called him, he has been delayed by an early
delivery of a foal over at the Belle. He's staying there waiting
for the vet. Since he hasn’t had the opportunity to discuss the
specifics with you, I wanted to give you a call to let you know to
just take it easy tomorrow until Ray can get with you about next
week’s schedule.”

“
I see,” I replied. My
voice was sharp now. “Why don’t you go ahead and fill me in, Trey.
I already know I’m scheduled to work over at the Belle. Are you
punishing me for some reason?”

Tylar,” his voice was
quiet yet stern, “I don't appreciate your tone with me. Not that I
owe you an explanation but to answer your question, you're not
being punished. I simply must make appropriate decisions in the
best interest of the business and minimize any risk of re-injury to
you.”

"I’m sorry I was snippy
with you, Trey. You're right, I was out of line. Do you accept my
apology?”

“
I suppose,” he replied
guardedly.

I smiled into the phone.
“It’s just that I know that with the races starting this weekend
and all, the rest of the group can probably use all of the help
they can get prepping the horses. I can be of more assistance at
the stables than anywhere else. I can make sure that I don’t
over-do it, Trey.” My voice was soft and sweet. “Please,
Trey?”

“
I know what you're trying
to do, Tylar,” he said, firmly. “It isn’t working. You'll start
your assignment over at the Le Vie Belle on Monday. Ray will fill
you in on the details sometime before then. This is non-
negotiable, understood?"

I mentally flipped him
off.

“
I’m waiting,” he breathed
into the phone, his voice stern and expectant.

“
Yeah, yeah,” I replied
rolling my eyes and not bothering to hide my irritation. “What
about Derringer?”

“
What about
him?”

“
Can I at least take care
of him when I’m off the clock?”

“
No,” he answered, “I want
you to distance yourself from the horses until your follow-up
appointment with the doctor.”

“
Trey the discharge papers
don’t say anything about my not being allowed around horses.” There
was silence on the other end. I heard soft music in the
background.

Where is he?

“
Hello? Are you there?” I
asked.

“
Ah yes, I’m sorry. This
really isn't a good time to discuss the details of your schedule.
I’ve made myself clear from the company's standpoint, and I believe
that you're clear on what's to take place on Monday,
correct?”

Huh? Why's he talking like
that to me?

Just then, I heard a
female voice speaking to Trey. His attempt to cover the mouthpiece
was less than perfect. The voice sounded like Charlotte’s, though
it was a bit muffled so I couldn’t be sure. It sounded as if she
was saying something to him about dinner being served, did she say
“Don’t keep me waiting, baby”?

Holy shit! He wants her to
think I'm one of his fucking clients!

Trey shifted his voice
back to me, “Are you there?”

“
I am,” I replied coolly.
“Are you with your non-girlfriend?”

“
Never mind that,” he
replied brusquely. “As to the matter we were discussing, I want to
make sure that you're clear on what I expect and that you'll adhere
to your schedule on Monday.”

“
Right. Monday,” I
repeated. “Yep, I'm clear about Monday, Trey. No
worries.”

“
Okay, then,” he said.
“Please rest up until then?”

“
Sure thing Trey,” I said
succinctly.

Tomorrow was Friday and I
had no plans to “take it easy.” I needed to busy myself with the
horses. Since I wasn't officially assigned to the Belle until
Monday, I was still technically following the rules. I'd get a good
night's rest and be back in action tomorrow.

Unfortunately, a restful
sleep wasn't going to happen for me tonight. My earlier reflections
of my former best friend Laurie, her mother, Mona, and my mom would
come back to haunt me complete with details that I'd long since
forgotten. I'd not be forgetting those details anytime
soon.

The phone call with Trey
left me with a cluttered mind, so I spent the rest of the evening
scrubbing the kitchen, bathroom, and dusting every piece of
furniture in my cottage. I vacuumed the carpet, shook out all of
the area rugs, and Windexed every possible surface. I liked keeping
myself busy. I still had a stack of mail piled neatly on the
counter. It would have to wait. Finally, exhaustion had won out. I
was determined to sleep.

Tossing and turning in my
bed, my dream was familiar. It spawned from a memory of when I was
13 years old.

It's a particular
Saturday. Mona and Laurie have picked me up from my house to spend
the usual Saturday night with Laurie. I've just turned 13 the month
before. Laurie is older than me by about six months, but it might
as well be six years on this weekend.

We've been hanging out at
a video arcade about a block from her house the past few Saturday
evenings. Mona lets us walk down there and then she picks us up
promptly at 9 p.m. Laurie and I are both interested in boys, but
the problem is, we both like the same boy. His name is Kyle; he is
fifteen years old and to us, he seems practically all grown up. He
lives in the same neighborhood as Laurie, which I feel gives her an
unfair advantage over me. I'm okay with competition, but it has to
be fair.

Laurie goes into the
kitchen after we eat and gives her mom a hug, and then innocently
asks if Mona minds if we go to the Video Palace to meet another one
of her friends from school, Vanessa. She tells her mom that Vanessa
is having her birthday party at Video Palace, and that she wants
both of us to be there. The only problem is that Vanessa’s birthday
party won’t be over until about 11 p.m. Laurie's good, she even
digs into the pocket of her shorts and produces a birthday party
invitation that confirms a birthday party is being held this
evening, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. for Vanessa Goldman at the Video
Palace.

“
Well, Jesus Christ,” Mona
admonishes, “Why didn’t you let me know before now?”

“
I’m sorry, Mom.” Laurie
says, looking contrite. “I just wasn’t sure that Tylar would want
to go, but she does. We both do, please?”

“
Honey, we haven’t bought
Vanessa a gift or card or anything? I won’t have folks thinking
that we're white trash. You know how I feel about that.”

“
Mom, that’s not a
problem. Kids our age, they just want money, you know? Besides
that, I already bought her a birthday card. All we need to do is
slip some money into it.”

Laurie produces what
appears to be a brand new birthday card with envelope.

“
Well, I guess it’ll be
all right,” Mona acquiesces. “You two go get ready while I finish
up these dishes. I’ll run you over then.”

Laurie and I run up to her
room. I'm elated.

“
How easy was that?”
Laurie laughs.

“
Is there really a
Vanessa?” I ask.

“
Of course there is,”
Laurie replies. “You always use a real name with something like
this. And the good part is Vanessa is going to be at Video Palace
when we get there. She has used the same story with her parents.”
I'm amazed at Laurie’s skillful manipulation.

“
Is Kyle going to be
there, too?” I question nervously.

“
Of course he is, dummy,”
she answers. She sees the look of despair on my face.

“
Look Ty,” she says, “I
know that we both like him. We're best friends, too. There is no
way that we should let a boy come between us, right?”

I nod, not sure where this
is going.

“
Here is what I suggest,”
Laurie continues, in her most grown-up voice. “Let’s just see how
things shake out. I mean, other guys will be there too. Vanessa’s
boyfriend is bringing some of his friends. Maybe I'll meet someone
better than Kyle. Maybe you'll. Either way, no boy is worth ruining
a friendship over.”