Texas Blues

by Ashley Quinn

  Tiffany stared sullenly at the pool water as it lapped against the perimeter gently. “I don’t have anything I need to talk about.”

  London looked at her for a long moment and sighed. Maybe I’m blowing things out of proportion she thought. Am I that out of touch with the younger generation? Maybe Tiffany really does need that medication. “At least tell me about your date yesterday,” she tried for a change of subject. “This Wayne sounds like a pretty good person.”

  Tiffany grinned and slid down the chaise. “Oh my God, I think I blew it,” she squealed as she pulled a pillow over her face.

  “No way,” London replied incredulously. This is good she reminded herself. Girl talk. Isn’t that what this is? Didn’t Holly tell me to keep trying with her? “Tell me everything.”

  “Okay, okay,” Tiffany said excitedly. She grimaced as she hoisted herself back against the chaise but shook it off. “Only if you promise to tell me everything about your date with Natalie. She really cares about you, London.”

  London flushed. “You know, it’s the weirdest feeling,” she started. She glanced back at the water and momentarily fell silent as she watched a light breeze splash gently against a vent. The complete and total relaxation, the fact that I’m dishing with my estranged half-sister like a couple of high schoolers or these strange feelings I’m developing for Natalie? She wondered silently. I guess they’re all unfamiliar to me. Unfamiliar...but nice. “I went all this time without feeling anything, because feeling hurt so much,” she continued. “And now I can feel everything. One week into my four weeks in Texas and it’s like she’s cut me wide open. I feel so...so alive and happy. Weird, right?”

  Tiffany shook her head but grinned. “Not weird, London. It’s how regular people feel.” She paused. “And P.S., you’re falling for her.”

  London raked a hand through her hair and laughed but didn’t deny it. “Wait, you promised you’d tell me about your date first,” she exclaimed. “And you’d better do it now, before Dad gets home this evening.”

  No wonder Natalie is so big on family London thought as she listened to Tiffany recount their afternoon at the Perot Museum. She didn’t offer any hints as to why she thought she blew the date, but London didn’t press her. This is nice she decided. For the longest time, I thought my mother was my only real family. But here I am by the pool, a million miles from anything I’ve known, listening to Tiffany talk about her date with an old high school flame. If I didn’t know better, I’d say this almost feels like family too.

  CHAPTER 13

  That evening, London listened apprehensively as her father’s key twisted in the lock of the front door. Moments later, he shuffled into the foyer as he was weighed down by two wheeled suitcases behind him. London stood expectantly, but she wasn’t sure what to do.

  Running over and giving him a hug feels a little forced she thought. Not to mention awkward. I can count the number of times we’ve hugged on one hand. But just standing here seems cold.

  Vincent Foster paused in the foyer and leaned his suitcases against the wall. He froze for a brief moment as he spotted London and then straightened and grinned broadly. He shifted for a moment from foot to foot and then held out his arms.

  “There’s a sight I never thought I’d see,” he announced proudly.

  As London gave him a quick hug in greeting, her thoughts were flying nearly a mile a minute. He looks...different she realized in shock. There’s something different about him. Her father had always seemed so tall and statuesque when she was a little girl, with an untouchable air that fascinated her as a youngster and then frustrated her as she grew older.

  His thick, dark hair, which he had always worn shaggy and long, had thinned considerably. He was skinnier than London remembered and he somehow seemed just a touch more frail too. Prominent wrinkles across his forehead and around the corners of his eyes deepened when he smiled. Small grayish spots were beginning to form across the backs of his hands and salt-and-pepper patches colored the hair around his temples.

  London took a deep breath as realization hit her. He’s getting older she thought. She wasn’t sure why the notion had never occurred to her before; after all, it was a natural part of life. He was briefly at Mom’s services she recalled. But I was so upset and there was so much going on that I don’t know if I even spoke to him for more than a minute, let alone took a good look.

  “Good to see you too, Dad,” she replied gently. “I’m glad I’m here.”

  “Me too, London,” he agreed and then paused. “I’m just...I’m sorry it took us this long to get here.”

  London opened her mouth to speak but Vincent smiled kindly and patted her forearm. “Anyway,” he cleared his throat and London immediately remembered that he was as bad with feelings as she was. “How are you liking Texas so far?”

  “It’s different,” London hedged. “But I’ve been, um, exploring. Meeting people.”

  Vince glanced at her. “That’s good,” he responded. “I know you thought I was probably being overzealous by buying the plane ticket as soon as you asked about visiting, but I could hear in your voice how unhappy you were. Have you been settling in?”

  London nodded, again at a loss for what to say. Where to begin? She thought ruefully.

  “Hi, Dad,” Tiffany’s voice piped up as her light footsteps padded down the stairs. “How was your trip?”

  Vince grinned and hugged Tiffany close. London watched their affectionate, familiar embrace, but didn’t feel any of the resentment or bitterness that she had carried through the years. Holly’s words rang in her mind. This whole thing is probably just as strange to Tiffany London admitted to herself. How can I resent her for having a father when it’s all she’s ever known? Maybe part of growing up is letting old wounds go and letting things be.

  “Great,” Vince replied. “But even better now that both of my daughters are here. Would you believe that Dubai is even hotter than Texas?”

  Tiffany laughed. “Everyone knows that, Dad,” she replied with a roll of her eyes. “Cambodia was hot too. Looks like the only one who enjoys the cold is London.”

  It was London’s turn to roll her eyes as they made their way into the kitchen. “Well, I had to live up to my name somehow,” she replied dryly. “Besides, Chicago has the best pizza in the world so it’s an easy trade-off.”

  “Speaking of food, I hope neither of you made plans for tomorrow,” Vince spoke as he opened the wide stainless steel refrigerator and pulled out a can of soda. “I thought we’d catch the Rangers game in the afternoon. London, Foster Oil & Gas shares a box at Globe Life Park with an energy subsidiary in the area. Surely being raised in Chicago you must love baseball.”

  London shrugged sheepishly. “I never got into the whole Chicago Cubs versus White Sox rivalry,” she replied honestly. We really don’t know anything about each other, do we? She thought as the familiar strains of apprehension chewed at her stomach. “I do have a soft spot for the Chicago Bears though,” she offered.

  Vince blinked. “The Chicago Bears? Oh London, we really have to talk football. We’ll see if we can at least turn you into a Rangers fan yet.” He smiled and took a seat at the kitchen table to next to her.

  Tiffany crossed her arms suspiciously. “Dad, you’re not going to be working at the game tomorrow, are you?”

  Vince sighed. “The President, the Director of Operations and the Controller for Discover Explorations are in from Mississippi, so they’ll be there...”

  “I knew it!” Tiffany groaned. “I knew this would be a networking thing.”

  London watched the exchange in confusion. “What’s Discover Explorations?”

  “There’s a lot to teach you about Foster Oil & Gas,” Vince started with a nod. He took a sip of soda. “We’re a small oil company. We’ve stayed purposely small and manageable through the years, which has given us more flexibility and less risk during the slower industry cycles. We run a pretty tight operation, if I do say so myself.”

  Tiffany roll
ed her eyes and headed back for the stairs. “Hey, Dad,” she called with a laugh. “Your ego is showing. I’ve heard this five million times before, sorry London. I’m exhausted. Good night, y’all.”

  London met her father’s eyes. They’re sort of shaped like mine she observed silently. “So Discover is part of Foster Oil & Gas?”

  Vince nodded. “Foster Holdings, LLC is technically where I’m Chairman. We do business primarily as Foster Oil & Gas and we have a few small sub-organizations that run under the umbrella of Foster Holdings. Discover Explorations is our off-shore drilling company, but they’re really more of a unit. They work on mobile drilling units in the ocean and those generally progress into full production rigs when we’ve got oil. It’s a much more complicated part of the business and I have a small, top-notch team that runs it. The executives are in from Mississippi, where they’ve been doing some drilling along the Gulf Coast for us.”

  London tried to follow along. “And your brother and his kids run most of the day-to-day operations?”

  “That’s true,” Vince replied. “My older brother, your uncle David, is the President of Foster Oil & Gas. I was President for about fifteen years and then moved into the Chairman role. Over the last few years, I’ve been purposely entrusting David with more responsibility. He, in turn, has been giving his three children more responsibility. They’ve all come directly to Foster Oil & Gas out of college. Your oldest cousin, Kyle, is our V.P. of Operations. Then my niece Penelope heads up Human Resources. Finally, your youngest cousin, Ryan, is in the Communications department. Eventually we’d like to see him become our Chief Marketing Officer.”

  The unfamiliar names swam in London’s head but one thing stuck out. “You must be planning to retire.”

  Vince smiled and London recognized a mixture of sadness and excitement in his eyes. “I am,” he confirmed with a sigh. “It’s bittersweet. I realize I gave up any semblance of a normal life when I agreed to take Foster’s reigns from my grandfather. I sacrificed interests of my own and time with family. I don’t want to say that my passion for the family business has wavered, but it’s the right time for me. I’m looking forward to a new chapter.”

  London watched his face for a moment. It’s true she thought. He’s so much older now and he’s barely lived his life outside of Foster Oil & Gas. “Life is short, Dad,” she finally replied. “You should do what feels right.”

  Vince nodded and finished his soda. “I know you’re a workaholic just like me,” he responded. “Those long hours nonstop at the advertising agency, I understand. It’s just the way our worlds work, I suppose.”

  As London said her good nights and excused herself to the guest room, she turned her father’s words over in her mind. Is that really the lifestyle I want? She pondered as she changed into her pajamas. I don’t want to wake up one day at Dad’s age, and realize how much I missed out on because I was too busy dedicating myself to W.H. Young.

  Natalie’s face inexplicably flashed through London’s memory. Besides, I would never want to spend more time away from her than I absolutely had to. The thought fired through her brain before she had a chance to stop it.

  “What does Natalie have to do with anything?” She muttered to herself as she gently closed the closet door. Tiffany’s teasing laughter from earlier in the afternoon echoed in her head. And P.S., you’re falling for her.

  At once, realization sunk in and London nearly lost her breath. She sat on the edge of the bed as things suddenly became clear. “Oh my God, I really am falling for her,” she said out loud. Her voice bounced off the walls of the dark, empty room.

  It was easy to dedicate myself to my career when I was so sure that love wasn’t for me London thought. A million feelings raced through her at once and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh, cry or some combination of both. And then here comes Natalie, entering my life when I least expected it she recalled. Well played, Universe. I feel like the rug has been pulled right from under me. One thing I know for sure is that I don’t want to let her go.

  London flopped back onto the bed and stared in wide-eyed silence at the ceiling. Her mind flashed back to the sleek Chicago skyscraper that housed W.H. Young and the promotion that had been dangled in front of her. “I’m supposed to leave in two weeks, but all I want to do is get in the car, speed to Mission Bakery and kiss Natalie until I don’t know where I am anymore,” she murmured. “What am I going to do?”

  ---

  Natalie sat on the porch of the modest home she shared with her aunts and traced her index finger around the rim of her juice glass pensively. She rocked gently in the white porch swing as she watched the early morning light rise over the horizon. The cloudless sky was washed in pastels as the temperature rose with the sun. She gazed at the open field across the quiet residential street and took a sip of her orange juice. A cloud of brown dust picked up in the light breeze and a small tumbleweed bounced along the road.

  She shifted as she heard the front door creak open behind her. Celia never understood why I didn’t move closer to a big city when I got older she thought. Sometimes I wonder too. Surely I wouldn’t have had to work so hard to make the bakery a success if I’d moved to Dallas, Houston or one of the big cities. But then Mission Bakery, as we know it, wouldn’t exist and I wouldn’t trade our bakery for anything. She sighed. I doubt London would want to live in a small town like this. It’s already so different from what she knows.

  “You look deep in thought,” Jane’s kind voice spoke. She eased herself onto the porch swing with a sigh. “I’ve been out here for a minute now and I don’t think you’ve blinked once. Is everything all right?”

  Natalie glanced at her aunt and smiled. Celia and Jane are a true study in opposites, aren’t they? She thought proudly. Celia, with her dark hair, Hispanic roots, sturdy build and simple out look. Then there’s Jane, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed aging flower child who grew up outside of Boston. They’re the most perfect couple I know. Because of them, I always believed different was good, not bad, but London and I aren’t just different. We’re polar opposites.

  “I’m fine, thank you,” Natalie replied quietly.

  “We’re all ready for Saturday in Haskell,” Jane ventured. “Celia has all of her grill supplies ready and I bought an extra case of bottled water. I don’t think there’s anything left in that refrigerator from the last time we were out there. Is Isabella looking forward to her birthday party?”

  Natalie nodded. “Yes, Paula stopped by the bakery yesterday to thank us again for having the barbecue,” she replied. “She said Isabella has been a little down lately, with Rudy being gone so long for work. It’s the least we can do for them, you know? Paula has been a good friend for so long and I relate to Isabella. Sometimes she reminds me of me when I was a kid. I always hated when Dad would leave for weeks at a time on a rig.”

  Jane smiled. “You have a kind heart,” she responded. “It’ll be fun to have everyone together this weekend. I can’t remember the last time we were all in Haskell together. We’ve been so busy with the bakery. It’s really taken it’s own life over the last few years.”

  Could I leave Mission Bakery? Natalie wondered. I’ve poured my heart, sweat and tears into it for years and it’s been my first love for just as long. Could Celia and Jane handle it without me? The questions seemed to compound on top of one another.

  Natalie took a deep breath. “How did you know that Celia was the one?”

  Jane smiled knowingly. “To be honest, I fell in love with Celia from the moment I met her. She was unlike anyone else I’d ever known before.”

  Natalie stilled, her glass halfway to her lips. That’s exactly what London said about me.

  “You Silvas,” Jane went on with a grin. “You women have something about you. A way, I suppose. Celia and I couldn’t be more different. She loves to barbecue all kinds of meat, won't miss a Cowboys game if her life depended on it and likes her life simple. I, on the other hand, have been all over the world, I’ve beaten add
iction, I’m a vegetarian and I don’t know the Cowboys from the Lakers.” She took a deep breath. “But nothing compares to how I feel about her. It hasn’t faded over our many years together. I look at her sometimes when she’s grilling or washing her truck, you know, when she doesn’t realize I’m watching. And I just know. We were meant to be.”

  Natalie nodded and took another slow sip of orange juice. The sun was higher than before and its rays reflected through the early morning sky. “I think I’m falling for London.”

  Jane patted her hand comfortingly. “Celia seemed to like her,” she replied. “And you know your aunt Celia is a tough critic of anyone who spends time with you.”

  Natalie swallowed. “But she’s just visiting,” she blurted out. “She’s not staying. Nobody comes from a big, grand city like Chicago and stays here. What if I’m just a fun distraction or someone to pass the time with? I’m scared that I’ll be completely head over heels for her and then she’ll leave.”

  “The heart is always a little quicker than the brain, isn’t it?” Jane mused. She glanced at Natalie. “It takes the brain a while to catch up sometimes. By the time it registers what’s happening, the heart has already made its decision.”

  “Nobody wants to fall in love just to be left,” Natalie replied bitterly. “It happened once before and I learned my lesson the hard way. But there’s something different about London. She was so broken when she got here. All I want to do is kiss her, hold her and promise that everything will be okay. But if she’s just going to go back, like nothing...”

  “Natalie, sweetheart,” Jane interjected. “I know you're frustrated. I can see that you care deeply for her. Do you know that Celia told me London couldn’t keep her eyes off you the entire time the three of you were on the food truck?”