by Skye Turner
She gasps. “Oh my. I’m so sorry. I—I didn’t know.”
Paw pats her hands. “Walk with me, pretty girl.” Tifanie takes his hand and they walk ahead with him telling her stories about John. I hear Paw say, “It’s alright. God knows what he’s doing. We don’t always understand the why when it happens, but eventually it makes sense to us. John was a good boy. A good man. He’s left quite a legacy.”
His words send a pang to my heart.
Before I can dwell on them, Verna takes my arm. “Walk an old lady up? Nothing like having a good looking man on your arm to make everyone jealous.” She winks at me.
I chuckle lightly. “Yes, Ma’am. Of course. How are you, Ms. Verna? How was traffic on the Basin?”
She tells me about their trip and how excited they are to see the baby, Liam, and Clove. Tifanie has held the elevator for us and we all pile on. As the two elderly people talk back and forth and bicker, I look at Tifanie across their heads. She’s looking at me and she looks sad. I rapidly look away and I think I hear her sigh.
I’m sorry, but it has to be done. I’m no good for her. She’s better off with someone in her own class. Someone more… like her.
I can’t think about all of the “what could have beens.”
It’s just after 4PM when Liam pops his head into the hall and says, “He’s here! John Zachariah Christianson is here! Seven pounds, seven ounces, and seventeen inches long! He’s gorgeous! He looks just like his momma, but he has blue eyes!”
We all cheer and cat-call our congratulations as he mutters that he needs to get back in, but he’ll be back out with photos shortly. He also says that in a few minutes they’ll let people in to see Clove and the baby after they clean him up and get her situated.
We’re all so elated. Blue and Lexi say they are running to the Gift Shop and tear off toward the elevators with Bradi and Erik hot on their heels. All the other guys high-five and Dade passes out cigars he bought just for the occasion.
Looking around, I see Tifanie off by herself, leaning against a wall. I watch her while she stares at the floor and come to a decision. I cross the hall. As I approach, her head rises and she looks at me. It’s been a long day and some of her hair has escaped her ponytail, so wisps are here and there. She looks gorgeous. I tamp that back and stand next to her, propping my foot against the wall.
She turns her head. “So, a healthy baby boy. That’s great. I’m happy for them.”
I smile. “Yeah, they’ll be amazing parents. I’m proud of them both.”
She nods and taps her fingers on her pants legs before she straightens. “I’m going to head out. I know this is private and I don’t really fit in here.”
I know I should stop her, but I can’t. I think it’s best that she goes.
She pauses like she expects me to stop her, and then she smiles sadly. “I’m also going to give you some space. I know that my name is a big deal… to you.” I stare at her. “It’s not to me. I don’t use it. I don’t. I’m not a Bellaforte, Cruz. I’m Tifanie Jeffries. I’m the same girl I’ve been. I still want what I want. And that’s you.” My mouth pops open. She holds her hand out to silence me. “No, you don’t talk right now. I’m leaving. I’m going to go home and drink some wine. Or Fireball, I could probably use the whiskey. But I’m not staying away. You and me… that’s something real. We have something and my name doesn’t change that. You know me.” She reaches out and touches my face. I let her. “You know me. Whatever is going on,” she taps my forehead, “in here. I’m going to give you a night to stew on it. But tomorrow, tomorrow I’m coming back… guns blazing. I’m not walking away. You’re not pushing me away.” She leans up and gently brushes her mouth against mine before stepping back. “I’m going to fight for you, Cruz Edwards.” I can’t speak. I just stare at her. She smiles at me. “Be ready.”
She turns on her heel and walks away, leaving me in a stupor in the hallway of the hospital, surrounded by my friends, my family… the only other people who have ever fought for me…
Jessie brings me back to reality. He speaks from behind me. “Damn, man! That girl is dangerous!”
Turning, I look at him and he sees the look of utter bewilderment on my face. He laughs out loud and I see Jude and Dade high five. Jessie grins. “You’re going down in flames, dude!”
Shaking my head, I flip them off and walk away. I hear them laughing behind me. I need to make a phone call. I promised Clove I’d call my momma. I need the distraction of talking to her and telling her about the baby anyway. I can’t even let myself think about what Tifanie just said to me.
Dade calls after me, “Where you going, man? You’re not leaving, are you?”
I wave at him. “No, I’m going to call my momma. Clove wants me to tell her about the baby and ask her to come visit.”
He nods and says, “Ok, make sure you come back. They’re going to want to see you.”
I reply, “I wouldn’t just leave, Dade. Just going to go out front to call Momma. I’ll be back.”
I call my momma and, as I expected, she’s extremely excited to hear that Clove had the baby. She tells me that she’s grabbing all the gifts she bought and she’ll be on her way. Now why am I not surprised she bought a lot of gifts?!
I hang up after telling her to call me when she gets here so I can help her lug up all her stuff and she says she will. I need to head back inside, but I want a minute to breathe, so I find a bench and sit down. There’s a really nice lake with a fountain and ducks out front, so I just watch it and allow my mind to clear.
I guess I was spaced out for a few minutes, because I never even heard anyone approach me, but a body plops down next to me on the bench. Looking over, I see Jude. He stretches his long legs out and leans back as he looks at the water. “Hey, man. Everything cool?”
I stare at a family of ducks in the water. It’s a momma duck and five little ducklings. They are furiously splashing in the water. It looks like she’s teaching them to dive. I watch them for a bit before I answer Jude. “Yes and no.”
He looks at me. I stare ahead, just watching the ducks, but I see him incline his head as he watches me. “You know you can talk to me. You also know I won’t push, but I’m going to give you some unsolicited advice.” I look at him before looking back at the water. “I don’t know what’s going on with your birth father…”
I interrupt him. “Sperm donor. Not my father. Not in any aspect…”
I see him nod from the corner of my eye. “Ok, your sperm donor. I don’t know what’s going on. I know he’s out of prison. I know he’s contacted you.” I look at him and swallow. “I know what he did to Corrin. That’s all I know. I don’t get in your business, man. But, I am here if you need me. You know that.
“I also know that something is up with you and Tifanie.” I grip my jeans. “I don’t know what’s happening there either, but, I saw you today. You were looking at her. She was looking at you. Neither of you were looking when the other was. Then, you headed down here to get Paw and you both came back tense. You made it a point not to look at her. I heard what she said…” He looks at me again. “Cruz, she’s a Bellaforte…”
I nod. “She is.”
He shrugs. “So what?!”
I look at him incredulously. “So what?! So, she’s a member of a political family. A major one. She’s filthy rich. I’m a bastard and the son of a rapist. She’s white blue-blood and I’m mixed! Her sister looked at me like I was the mud on the bottom of her five-thousand-dollar heels!” I shake my head. “We don’t mesh. We don’t belong. I’m bad for her.”
He sits up quickly. His face is red and I can see the veins in his head popping out. “Do you hear yourself? So fucking what? Yes, Tifanie is white. You’re mixed, but, I don’t see Tifanie dwelling on that! No, I see you dwelling on that. We, the band, we’re your friends. We’re your family. We care about you! And none of us give a shit about where you come from. So, some ignorant people give you shit about your skin color? So what? Fuck them! They don’t
matter, Cruz! The only people who matter are the ones who care and we do. Tifanie does!
“Yes, it sucks what happened to your mother. It fucking sucks and the fact that any man would do that to a woman makes me sick, but that… that has nothing to do with you! Yes, it’s why you exist, but that act, that evil… that is not you. That’s him!
“I don’t want to see you push away the one person who is strong enough to put up with you and help you tackle your demons because you’re scared she’s too good for you. That is her choice, Cruz!”
I’m staring at him in awe. That was a pretty impassioned speech.
He sighs and stands up. “Come back inside. Liam sent me to find you. Clove wants to see you.” I stand too. “I’m sorry I came at you so hard.” He bumps me with his shoulder. “I just care, man. We all do. I don’t want you to go through what I went through. I lost Lexi for seven years, Cruz. Because I was stupid. Because we both were. I don’t want that for you. You have a chance at something pretty fucking amazing here… Tifanie is good for you. She’s what you need. She’s what you deserve. Don’t miss out on that because of something that has no relevence.”
I don’t answer him. I just clap him on the shoulder and we walk back into the hospital side by side.
The thoughts racing through my head now are ten times worse than they were when I first headed outside. Instead of things getting clearer about Tifanie, they just seem to be getting more and more confusing!
Chapter Ten
Tifanie
“Yo, Tif. Where are you, girl?” Ty calls out to me as we sit in the trailer during a lull in calls for the day.
Looking over at him sprawled out on the couch, I roll my eyes. “Sorry, what?”
He chuckles and sits up. He stretches and his back pops. “Where are you? You’ve been staring into space for the past half hour.”
I pull my legs up and tuck them under me in the recliner as I focus on him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t sleep that much last night. Some stuff happened with Cruz the other night and then things got weird yesterday. He backed off some, but I told him I wasn’t going to let him run.” I shrug. “I don’t know where we stand… again.”
Ty rubs his sage eyes and leans up on his knees as he observes me. “What do you mean? Tell me what happened and I’ll try to decode for you.”
I laugh. I know he’s trying to help, but I can’t get into it without sharing very personal stuff about Cruz and I just don’t know if I want to divulge info that is not mine to share. Even with Ty. I kind of feel like that would be crossing a line.
Reaching over and snagging a few pretzels from his bowl, I crunch one as I think about what I can actually tell him. “Ok, well you know he’s got some stuff going on. Well, I know about it now and it’s a big deal. I’m not going to tell you what, because that’s not my place, but it’s a big deal.”
Ty roughly asks, “Is he married?”
I chuckle. “What? Married?! Um, no. He’s not married. He’s actually single. It’s nothing like that.”
He frowns and cradles the back of his head as he leans back and looks at me. “Well, ok good. Fill me in on what you can then.”
“Well, long story short is he thinks I’m too good for him. He knows my name…”
That gets Ty’s undivided attention. “Your name? You told him?”
I shake my head emphatically. “Nope. I did not. I would have. I was going to, eventually, but not now. People flip when they find out and I don’t use it. You know that. I don’t even mess with that money. I support myself!”
He nods in agreement. “I know you do. You bust your ass for everything you have. Your accomplishments are all your own Tif. Anyone who knows you, knows that!
“But, if you didn’t tell him, then how did he find out?!”
I roll my eyes. “AnnaBeth!”
Ty coughs. “Your sister, hoity-toity, AnnaBeth?”
I chuckle at his description, but it fits. AnnaBeth is indeed hoity-toity. She’s picture perfect. A mindless sheep who cares more about breeding and social standing than anything. If you don’t have large sums of money in the bank and the name to back it, you are nothing to her… and the rest of my family. I’m nothing like her… like any of them.
“Yeah, my sister. I was at the hospital with Cruz yesterday. Clove, you know the pregnant girl with the kidney stones call we went on a few months back?! She’s married to Cruz’s bandmate and her brother is dating Melonie.” He looks confused. “Dr. Bird.”
He nods in recognition. “Oh, sexy Dr. Melonie Bird and the call that changed your life and got you hooked on Drummer Boy?!”
I throw a pillow at Ty and he catches it and puts it behind his head. He winks at me. “You’re not fast enough.”
“Shut up! And yes, that call. Anyway, she went into labor and I happened to be at Java and Sweeties.”
He mutters, “Nice coincidence.”
I ignore him and continue. “Melonie was there when I arrived. Dade dropped her off and was going to pick her back up after running an errand. Lexi and Erik were also there… working. None of them had vehicles. I brought them to the hospital.”
“All those rich people were there and none of them had a ride?!” He can’t believe it.
“Yes, I don’t know why. I didn’t ask. But, I brought them to the hospital and then hung out for a bit. I went down to grab some of the family with Cruz and, well, we were hot and heavy in the elevator.”
Ty whistles and grins wolfishly.
“Shut it. What are you, like twelve?! We were into it and missed the doors opening. AnnaBeth was there and disgusted with the PDA. Then she saw it was me… and well, that was fun.”
Ty busts out laughing. “Wait?! You were all over Drummer Boy in the elevator and your snobby ass sister caught you? Red-handed? That is fucking priceless. Damn, I wish I’d seen her face!”
I can’t help it. I chuckle. Her face was indeed priceless. Wish someone would have been there to snap a photo. “She looked like a fish out of water!” But, then I remember the look she gave Cruz. It makes my blood boil. “She was looking down on him before she ever saw me. She was judging him.”
Ty sits up. “Some people are old-fashioned, Tif. You know that. Not everyone is up to date with the twenty-first century.”
I nod. “I know. But the fact that she’s my sister and we came from the same place just pisses me off. I don’t think like that. I’ve never thought like that. My parents don’t either. Not really. They are snobby as hell, but they aren’t racist. They don’t give a shit if someone is white or black. They only care about the name and what their bank account says.”
Ty clucks his tongue. “Are you sure that’s the way she was looking at him, Tif? AnnaBeth is snooty as shit. That’s a fact, but I’ve never known her to look down at people for, well, race.”
I look at him and raise my brow. “Oh, you spend a lot of time with her?”
He visibly shudders. “Dear God, no. The thought of being around your Ice Queen sister for even five minutes makes my blood freeze and my dick shrivel. No offense.”
I laugh. Sadly, I get it. “None taken. She’s not a very warm person for sure. I get it. I don’t care to be around her, at all. My parents either…”
That reminds me. Shit, my grandma’s birthday is tomorrow. I love my grandma. Of all of my family, I’m very much like her. My parents are embarrassed by her because she is stubborn and headstrong and she doesn’t give a rat’s ass about money or social standing. She never has. She speaks her mind and is as blunt as the day is long. I love that woman.
My parents tolerate her because they have to. She’s the bank. Well, the money is mostly hers. They can’t bite the hand that feeds them.
Ugh, I need to go tomorrow. I just don’t want to see my parents… or sister. Or whatever man they will throw at me because they think he’s suitable and it’s past time for me to stop this ridiculousness and marry into more money and produce perfect babies. I shudder.
“Hey, Ty?”
I ca
n see he knows something is up. He cautiously says, “Yeah?” I give him my flirtatious smile and his back straightens. “What do you want? I don’t like when you direct that smile at me. I usually don’t like what follows!”
I laugh. He’s right. We’ve worked together so long, he can read me like a book. “Well, it’s my grandma’s birthday tomorrow. Do you have plans?”
He throws a pretzel at me and glares. “Seriously? It’s my day off and now you want me to spend it around your rude ass prissy family?!”
I mock glare. “Hey, you like my grandma!”
He chuckles. “I do like her. Mrs. Clarabelle Bellaforte is a gem! I love that woman. She’s so spunky and always calling people out. She’s awesome. It’s the rest of them I can’t stomach.”
Batting my eyes at him, I smirk. “Please, Ty. You’d be doing me a huge favor. I can’t go alone. They’ll circle me and pounce. If you’re there, I can have an excuse to ignore whomever they push me at. I’m certain he’ll be perfectly pressed and cringe worthy! The ‘perfect candidate’ for a Bellaforte bride.”
I can see he’s going to agree. He frowns, but his eyes are twinkling. “Yes, we can’t have that. Can I say something crass to AnnaBeth? And can I drink?”
I laugh. “Absolutely on both counts. I’ll need a drink of my own!”
We are laughing at the likely scenarios for tomorrow when a call comes in. Time to get to work.
It’s late. We’ve been here since 6AM and it’s now a quarter after four. Only a little more than an hour left this go round and I’m exhausted. There are always more calls on the weekend, but with the weather changing and it not mimicking the temperature of Hell outside the past few days, people have been out and about a lot more and the calls are abundant.
I’m lying on the couch in the trailer and praying no more calls come in today. It’s been quiet for the past hour though, so I’m scared to say anything and jinx it.
With the quiet, my mind is in overdrive and I can’t stop thinking about Cruz. I know he thinks he’s not good enough for me, but I also know he’s wrong. I can’t imagine what he’s dealt with his whole life with his mom being raped and his dad being the wealthy white man who committed the crime. One thing I’ve learned in this line of work though is that evil is evil and it doesn’t discriminate based on race, social standing, or anything else.
