Trailer Park Princess (17 page)

The sun creeps through the curtains, and I sit up. Looking around, I find Rome sitting in the chair with a sleeping baby on his chest. He is barely patting her back and sighing to her. It is a wonderful site. I look up at the TV and see it’s on a sports network.  My heart stops when I see the purple and yellow uniforms on the screen. Rome looks at me with a smile, but it’s wiped away when he sees my face.

“Princess, I am so sorry; I didn’t know. I just turned the TV on to check the scores earlier, but forgot all about it when she woke up.” He stands up and lays her in my arms. “I’ll go get you a soda. Be right back.”

He steps out of the room. I know it’s to give me a minute because now Toby is being interviewed. I shouldn’t even watch it.
But we torture ourselves!
He is stating in the interview about how great he feels to be leading the team to the championship. He even says, “This is the happiest I have ever been in my life. I have everything I ever wanted or needed.” Then, it happens. He pulls a girl up to him; she wraps her long legs around his waist; and then she deep throats his tongue right there for the world to see. The screen zooms back, and he lets her slide down his body. The screen flashes something about the future Mrs. West, and I take a good look at her. She’s got to be six feet tall, leggy, fake-boobed, and blonde, with huge oceanic blue eyes covered in makeup. She’s stunning. She is sporting a denim skirt and a way-too-small jersey that even says ‘Future Mrs. West’. Her butt cheeks are hanging out of the bottom of her skirt, and the V in the front of the jersey shows off all the boobs she possibly can. She says, “Best day of our lives,” and Toby nods his head in agreement.

I don’t notice when Rome returns. He just slides in behind me on the bed and hugs me tight. The tears are pouring down my face as I look down at the bea
utiful baby in my arms. “It’s OK, baby girl; we got you.” And I hear Rome in a soft tone, “Yes, we do. And I got you, too, Princess. It’s all gonna be OK.” I smile over my shoulder at him and hug him close.

“I know.”

Right then, something in me changes. The land shifts, my heart feels whole, and the darkness I’ve had sinks away. Thanks to this child and this man, I know I am going to be OK. I have everything I need to complete me right here.

Rome goes to the restroom, and the doctor comes and goes. When Rome gets out, I tell him, “Soon as I fill out her birth certificate, we can leave. I already have the discharge papers, so we are good to go.” I am glad my stay is short.  I want to be home with my boys…all of them. My family.

A lady comes in with a short form. “Fill this out, and sign here. Then, drop it by the desk on the way out.” She pops her gum and leaves. I look down.

Biological Mom:
My name is already filled in.

Biological Dad:
A blank line. I write in ‘Tobias West.’ It’s the right thing to do.

With a deep breath, I move on to see the other information is already filled in for me: date of birth, weight, etc. The last thing I have to do is give her name. I print it perfectly across the form, and smile at Rome as he helps me stand before grabbing the carrier to leave. He hugs me close, and we walk out the door. At the counter, I hand the form to a nurse, and she smiles at the name.

Given Birth Name: TOBI SAIGE WEST

“Beautiful name for a beautiful baby. Good luck, you two.” She smiles, and we walk off, heading home to our family.

“OK
, so I had this idea,” I say to Rome as I sit and watch him feed Saige across the couch from me, “and I ran it by the Riazes, and they loved it.” I know my eyes are big with excitement.

“O
K, well, spit it out, Princess,” he urges me.

“Did you know you can make change for a dollar 293 different ways?”

He looks up at me and smiles as he removes the bottle from Saige’s mouth and lays her over his shoulder to burp her. “Stop stalling, Rory. What did you do?” I hear the little burp she lets out and we both smile. He is amazing with her.

“You know we are always slow on Thursday nights. Well, I mentioned…like in laughing…I mentioned an open mic night…and well…they took me serious and are going to do it.” I watch him nervously.

“That’s a great idea! Why do you seem so nervous?”

I scrunch my eyes almost shut and blurt out, “Because I signed you up to play the first gig of the night.”

When I open my eyes, he’s smiling at me. “OK, sounds fun!” I fall back over the couch arm.

“Oh My Taco, you aren’t mad?”

He shakes his head. “How could I be? I love to play; you know that. It’s fine. I will do anything to make sure it’s a hit. I will even leave word with Red so he can tell a few of the calmer people who enjoy my music to come by. Maybe they will pick up some new local artists as well.”

Well, that went better than I expected. But it usually does with Rome. He would do just about anything for me.

This is the fourth week of open mic night, and everything is going great. Thursday has now become one of our busiest nights. I decide to start working them because the tips are too great to give up. Rome and our four pod sit in their usual booth. I take my break when he plays, so I can do two things: enjoy his playing and help Thax with the three younger ones. I never want Thax to feel like he is meant to parent them at any point. I know what that feels like. He doesn’t seem to mind helping, though. He is very dutiful to them all, and the sitter usually says he helps her the whole time, no matter how many times she tells him to go have fun. I can’t help but think we are doing a pretty good job with them.

I am excited to hear the good news tonight. Apparently, Mando’s parents want to talk to me about something exciting. I am hoping for another raise.

Rome’s the last to play tonight, and after he’s done, the kids enjoy a slice of pie while he helps break everything down. I finish my clean up, and as I am taking off my apron, Mrs. Riaz touches my arm.

“Don’t leave until we lock up. It
won’t be but a few minutes, mija.”

I notice one of the last two guys leaving is Zac, Toby’s friend. He is staring a hole through me as he passes a tiny clear bag to the other guy. I look behind me to see what he’s staring at, and I see Saige. He doesn’t say anything, but the look on his face tells me all I need to know. He grew up with Toby, and I know he is trying to figure it out. It isn’t hard; she looks just like him. I whip around and start gathering our things. I want to avoid Zac. I actually feel like I may be hiding her at this point, but I never want Saige to feel the hate from the horrible people I did. I feel him before he speaks. I turn as Rome places his hand on my shoulder.

“You OK?” I nod my head and help Saige down from the booster chair, pulling the sugar packets from her hands before she makes a mess.

“Just tired; let’s go home.” I give him a smile that’s fake, and he knows it.

Bending his head, he leaves a sweet gentle kiss on my forehead. “Let’s go. Everyone’s outside waiting on you.” In my distress over seeing Zac, I completely forgot about the good news. I walk out the door, hearing the ding I still adore. I look around and notice the parking lot is now empty. The kids are running wild, and Mr. and Mrs. Riaz are standing between their car and a black SUV, both smiling broadly.

“Come on, guys; let’s get you buckled in,” I hear Rome say behind me. I turn to him.

“I’ll be right there. I need to see what they wanted to tell me.” I walk over towards them, and I notice Mrs. Riaz’s smile is getting bigger. “Sorry, y’all, we have to get the kids home. It’s late, and the boys have school tomorrow. What was it you needed to tell me?” I look between the two as I wait. It is Mr. Riaz who finally steps forward.

“Well, Rory, you’ve been with us a very long time now, and you have been wonderful with Amandolette. She calls you her sister, and it’s true; you are. We love you as more than just an employee, and you know that.” He looks back at his wife, and she gives me a nod to let me know she agrees. “We love your daughter like a grandchild and all three boys just the same. We have always loved Rome; he is a good man. You both work so hard to give those kids a good life. When anyone else would have sent them into foster care so they could live their lives, you two try so hard and are so selfless in taking care of them.” He looks back at his wife again, and they both smile these huge toothy smiles that are infectious. “We wanted to do something to show you how proud we are of the two of you.” He holds out his hand and drops something into mine. Looking at it, I am confused. It’s two keys attached to  keyless clickers.

“What’s this?” I ask, looking up through my lids as I try to figure out what’s going on.

“This, honey, is for your new truck.” Mrs. Riaz smiles and moves to the side moving her arm up and down like Vanna White.

“Oh my gosh!” I say jumping and squealing. “Rome, they got us a truck!” I hug them both because this just made life so much easier for us.

“Wow, that’s really nice,” he says as he walks around it. I push the unlock button on the key fob, and he opens a door.

“It’s not new, but it checked out to be in perfect working order,” Mr. Riaz tells Rome as they walk around the truck and lift the hood. “It’s a v8, but gas won’t be an issue with Rory getting on the company credit card.” He looks over at me and smiles.

“Excuse me? Why would I be on the card?”

Mr. Riaz closes the hood and walks back towards me. “Well, Rory, you needed a truck big enough to haul your whole family safely. Also, once a week now, you will be in charge of the new Nursing and Shelter Program. We have decided it’s time to give back, so we will be sending plate lunches over to the nursing home and the children’s shelter once a week. This truck will help haul them all over. So naturally, we will be putting gas in this bad boy for you.” He pats the side of the truck. It really is beautiful: black on black, all leather, and shiny wheels.

“I love it! Thank you so much!” I hug them both extra tight, tears filling my eyes.

“And we love you, Rory. Always will. Now, get those kids on home; they need sleep.”

I smile back at them and yell, “Who wants to ride with me in the new truck?”

Everyone but Rome and Saige, who’s already strapped into a five-star harness seat, flies across the lot and piles in. I jump into the driver’s seat and hit the button for the automatic window to roll it down. I wave at the Riazes, and we pull out with the radio blaring.  Life is really looking up. I bet Mando already knows. Heck, she likely gave them the idea, but I am bursting at the seams to call her and get crazy girly about my new-to-me truck. I pull up at home, and my phone beeps. I swear the girl can read my mind.

Mando
-
Hope you love the wheels. I picked it out! I hear you killed it with the Open Mic idea!!! You deserve so much more than just the wheels. Call me tomorrow, turkey butt. Love you, slut!

We all make our way in the house and get ready for whatever else is coming our way. Everything is so perfect. I just know something bad has to be coming. Life has never been so good to me.

I hop in my truck, still loving it, and head to the old busted-up billboard. I need to think. The way Rome and I get along and act is just so weird. We are almost like a couple in every way…except for having sex. I love him for being so good to us, but it’s extremely confusing. I find myself having to hold back. When I see Rome rocking Saige and singing to her, I feel an urge so deep in my soul it hurts to hold still. I just want to wrap my arms around him, squeeze him, and keep him close. I want to kiss his lips and run my tongue along his jaw line. I shake my head to clear the thoughts as I step out and head towards the steps to climb up. I have loved this spot since the first time Toby brought me here, but I come less and less as time goes by. Tonight, I just needed some time to myself. A small break before I head home to the kids. I need to clear my mind before I do something stupid. You know, like pour my heart out to Rome and lose him forever. I don’t think he could ever love me differently than he always has. I rub my hands over my face a few times and lay back on the old boards with my feet dangling over the side. It’s probably not the safest place, but to me, it’s the most secure. I stare up at the dark sky. Only a few stars are visible right now, the clouds thick and threatening snow. How awesome would it be to have snow tomorrow on Christmas morning? Saige would love it up here. She stares at the lights on the tree like I stare at the stars. I make a promise to myself right then not to let my feelings for Rome destroy us. I want Saige to have the life I never had. And Rome loves her. I will never ruin our friendship and cause him to leave her. I have to deal with this.

I know I need to get home. I promised Mando we would do our gifts tonight with her. I’ve missed her so much. Summers aren’t long enough, and she’s only coming home now on long breaks due to the distance. Texting and talking only does so much until you just want to hug your best friend. I worry about her all the time. She’s called me a few times so wasted she couldn’t drive, and there was nothing I could do for her. It’s such a scary feeling, but she has to live and learn, I guess. She was sheltered, unlike me.

I need to go; I know this. But I just … my mind wanders, and I let it. I can feel myself getting worked up, just thinking about the way Rome looks on a Saturday morning when he is staying home with the kids. I hate going to work those days. The image is crystal clear, like he is right in front of me… him sitting at the table with Saige’s high chair pulled up next to him, wearing nothing but a pair of baggy sweats that hang loosely on his narrow hips. His feet are bare, and he never wears a shirt at home. The boys have all picked up this habit and run around naked from the waist up as well. I can feel the warmth curl in my stomach as I let my mind move up over his abs, the dark, narrow line of hair that runs right down his stomach, dipping into the waistband of his sweats.
Oh, to use that as the map to my lost treasure.
I understand the meaning of happy trail now. Everything about him is opposite of Toby and his little bird body. I always thought of Toby as a man, but I was wrong. He was never anything more than a boy. My love-lusted mind played a horrible trick on me. Rome is a man. Everything about him screams man. Especially his body, all strong and defined. He is a wonderful find: hard working, devoted, honest, loving and caring with a heart of gold. However, the man would rip you a new asshole if you ever hurt anything he felt the need to protect. He’s not big on fighting and always tries to walk away, but if backed into a corner, he’s no chump.