Trey had put the coffee on, so we plunked the baby down in front of the tree and let her have at her Christmas gifts while we sipped our morning coffee. Gina patiently showed her how to rip the paper off of the packages. Preston seemed to be more interested in playing with the wrapping paper and bows than the actual toy inside.
Santa had bought her baby dolls, wind-up toys, puzzles and more Atlanta Falcons garb than she could possibly wear in a season. Tristan had bought her a beautiful ‘Baby’s First Christmas’ commemorative ornament for the tree along with a gorgeous handmade quilt for her bed. It was done in the colors of her new room. Gina must have told him.
Jean’s gift was a hat and matching mittens that she'd knitted herself. Trey’s parents had sent a beautiful winter coat, along with a faux fur muff. Nigel and Tess had sent her a collection of Sesame Street storybooks.
“Well, it's official,” Gina announced as she started picking up all of the tossed wrapping paper strewn about the living room floor. “She made out like a bandit this year.”
“I suspect just one of many,” Tristan replied with a smile. “Come on, Giner,” he said mocking Ian’s accent, “Let’s you and I make breakfast.”
She smiled up at him as he held his hand out to help her up. We'd decided the adults would exchange gifts after Preston went down for her afternoon nap. Gina and Tristan fixed breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen. Trey and I started getting our Christmas ham ready for the oven.
Christmas dinner was so much easier to prepare than Thanksgiving dinner, I decided. We spent a pleasant afternoon with family watching Christmas specials on television. Once Preston went down for her nap, the four of us opened our Christmas gifts.
Trey loved his new clothes and all of the Falcons paraphernalia I'd bought for him. He had bought me a beautiful gold watch, a pair of diamond stud earrings and several sweaters that I loved. Gina had bought me some sexy lingerie which Trey, in fact, appreciated. I'd bought her an iPad that I knew she wanted but wouldn't buy for herself.
Tristan had bought me a beautiful Burberry coat; he'd bought Gina one exactly like it. She was quick to point out his faux pas.
“Tristan, you realize one of us is going to have to take their coat back and exchange it don’t you?”
He looked over at her with a puzzled expression. “Why? You both said you loved them.”
“Because, babe, we can’t both wear the exact same coats. We're best friends, not lesbian lovers, for Chrissake.”
Trey had looked over at him, shaking his head.
“Oh, yeah right, Trey. Like you knew that,” Tristan said.
“Uh, yeah Tristan.”
They both started wrestling around like a couple of kids.
“Tristan, open your gift from Trey and me,” I said, trying to get them to settle down before they woke the baby.
Tristan opened the envelope taking out the tickets we'd bought for a 5-day all-inclusive Caribbean cruise for two. “Wow, thanks you guys,” he said grinning. “Now, if you just would've given me someone to take.”
Gina immediately swatted at him playfully. They were making out in a matter of seconds. I saw Trey roll his eyes in feigned disgust. I think that Gina was finally growing on him.
It had been his idea to buy them the cruise tickets. When I pointed out to him that he finally seemed to be softening towards her, he responded the gift was as much for us as for them. With them gone for five days, we would be spared their nightly ‘fuckfest.’
We ate our Christmas dinner. Trey’s parents called and were looking forward to us being there for New Year’s Eve. Tristan had apparently told them that he was bringing Gina. Susan was thrilled that he'd dumped Libby. She said that Nigel and Tess were coming in for a few days as well. They would be getting to Bristol the day before we arrived. She said they had some exciting news.
Trey had taken the phone from me before we hung up, wanting to talk to his mom one last time. He went into the kitchen away from the rest of us. I started clearing the table. As I carried the dirty plates to the kitchen, he was telling her good-bye.
“What was that about?” I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.
Trey gave me his crooked grin and looked a bit sheepish. “I asked Mom to put Nigel and Tess in the room next to ours and put Tristan and Gina in the other wing.”
“Trey,” I said, trying to stifle a grin, “You are too much.”
It was back to work as usual the day after Christmas for everyone but me. I'd gotten up with Trey to start the packing for our move in two weeks. Everything was pretty much finished and our move date was set for January 7th.
My father had called me on the 27th to tell me the grand jury had met and would re-convene once the forensic testing had been concluded on my mother’s autopsy. He said he was using his connections to expedite the testing as much as he could.
The results of Maggie’s autopsy had been released, but it apparently showed an “inconclusive” toxicology report. That was disappointing.
Her cause of death had simply been listed as “natural causes” with a notation as to being related to an untreated bacterial infection that had caused her to go ‘septic.’
Matthew was being held without bond on his current charges. He'd apparently hired a fairly competent attorney from Jackson. Trey and I had identified the clothing that was collected at Matthew’s home.
We figured Maggie had probably been sleeping there with Preston for however long they'd stayed there. They'd found some strands of Preston’s baby hair on the inside of the white turtleneck and it was DNA matched.
The phone records Daniel had provided Trey showed that Maggie had been in touch with Matthew while living in Indiana with Daniel, and that she'd also been in touch with Charlie in Bristol.
That most likely had been during her efforts to arrange for my untimely “accident.” The records also showed that she'd accepted a couple of collect calls from an inmate at the state prison where Charlie had been incarcerated. The prison authorities were to question Charlie.
There were two phone calls made to another party in Atlanta. The number tied back to a track phone which essentially was a dead end. My guess was that it was the person who had worked as a doorman at our apartment building that had been supplied by the questionable temp agency. He somehow was connected to Maggie or Matthew. At this point, we were no longer certain whose plan it was. I still suspected it was Maggie’s plan that somehow went awry and Matthew got involved for his own personal gain.
My father inquired as to how Preston liked the gift he'd sent. It was a beautiful antique porcelain doll that resembled her. “I’m sure she'll love it, Dad. For now, it's placed carefully away until she understands she can’t drag it around like the rest of her toys.”
“I suppose it's a bit old for her. That just shows you how clueless I am with children, I guess.”
“I don’t know about that,” I replied, “You do pretty well with me and I’m your child.”
“Thanks, daughter,” he said softly.
He asked me what was new with us. I told him that we would be in Bristol for the New Year holiday, and then moving to our new home. I asked him when he thought he might be able to pay us a visit since we would have ample room.
“My court schedule is fairly full for the next few weeks and then I'm also interviewing for the staff position at my estate.”
“What staff position?”
“Didn’t I tell you? Ms. Deeny left my employ right before Christmas.”
“Really?”
“Yes, she handed me a typed up letter of resignation on December 21st stating it was effective immediately and left.”
“Don’t you find that odd, Dad?”
“To be honest everything about her was odd. I never took to her very well. It was Olivia who was so fond of her.”
“Anyway, Dad, please find time to visit us soon, okay?" He promised he'd check his schedule and get back with me.
I told Trey about Ms. Deeny's departure. “Don't you find it
strange that she left so suddenly after I showed up in the picture?”
“Oh, I don’t know; I think she's just a weird bird. Maybe she thought she'd get into your father’s good graces by trying to get in his pants."
“Ewww, Trey. That's gross.”
“What’s gross?”
“To think that my dad would ever, you know, do her? She’s practically old enough to be his mother!"
Chapter 49
The next morning, I was surprised to see that Gina was still at the apartment. Tristan and she usually left before 10:00 a.m. to go to the club to take care of business. She was coming out of the kitchen with a glass of ginger ale, looking tired and pale.
“What’s wrong with you? You look like shit.”
“Thank you, Tylar. I appreciate your assessment.”
“I’m sorry,” I chuckled. “Hangover?”
“I wish,” she said, heading toward her room.
I followed her into the bedroom as she crawled up onto the bed and unceremoniously flopped back onto her pillow.
“I’ve been puking all morning.”
Holy shit! I don't want what she has right before New Year’s.
Gina noticed I'd backed away from her to keep my distance. “No worries. I’m not contagious,” she said.
“How do you know?”
“Cause this little thing told me,” she said, reaching over to the nightstand and picking up an EPT stick. I came closer, looking at it and seeing the dark blue + sign in the results window. I quickly looked up at her in shock.
“Oh God, Gina. Please tell me you’re happy about this.”
“I might be,” she answered.
“What exactly do you mean by ‘might be’?”
“I mean, I definitely will be, provided the baby's Tristan’s.”
“What?"
“Don’t go all east coast on me, there's a perfectly reasonable explanation.”
“I’d like to hear it,” I hissed. I was angry with her.
“Okay,” she said sitting up on the bed. She pulled her legs up wrapping her arms around them. “First of all, if you're truly my BFF, then lose the accusatory attitude! Have I ever done that with you? Well, except for the brief thirty seconds you had me believing that you'd cheated on Trey, but that was it.”
“I’m sorry, Gina,” I conceded, “Tell me what happened.”
“Remember that day Tristan and I were supposed to meet at my accountant’s office and he was late because of all that Libby shit?"
“Yes.”
“That was the same day I was late getting over here to stay with Preston while you went with Trey to Baton Rouge.”
I nodded.
“You questioned me about being late and I kind of blew it off with some excuse about having to pack before I got here. It was the truth, except for one thing. When I got back to my condo, Ian was there. He still had his key and he was inside. He looked like hell. Just like Tristan did at our meeting.”
She took a sip of her ginger ale before continuing. “He told me he needed to pick up his mail because he hadn’t put his address change in, since he was getting the condo in the divorce. He followed me into the kitchen where I had his mail. The next thing I knew, he was right behind me and when I turned around, he was there. We were so close I could smell his aftershave.”
Gina started tearing up, which was so unusual for her. She was definitely in hormone hell. I handed her a tissue from the nightstand.
“Go ahead, Gina. It’s alright. Tell me.”
“I looked up into his eyes and they were warm and loving. They were like the Ian I knew before he'd cheated. He looked at me and said, ‘Damn.’ He dropped his mail, picked me up into his arms, carried me to the bedroom, and made love to me. I knew it was the last time. I wanted closure on it," she sniffled.
"I know it sounds sick, since he was the cheater, but legally he was still my husband. I’m sorry, but I liked the idea that he was cheating on the skank with his wife, for Chrissake. After it was over, he told me it hadn’t changed anything; he still wanted to be with Shelly. I said ‘no worries.’ I thanked him for the fuck. That was that.”
I took a few moments to digest what she'd just told me. “Gina,” I said leaning forward, choosing my words carefully, “did you not use a condom?”
“Well, fucking pardon me that I wasn’t prepared! After all, Ian and I had been trying to get pregnant, so I wasn't exactly stocked up on them. Besides, I figured he was shooting blanks, and he very well might be.”
“I know that Gina, but come on. He was fucking someone you named ‘the skank.’ Certainly, you must've been worried about sexually transmitted diseases, if nothing else.”
“Don’t go there with me, Tylar. Were you worried about STDs when Trey fucked you in the horse barn with no protection?”
“That's different,” I hissed.
“How's that different? At that point, you were certain he'd fucked Charlotte!”
I looked away from her. Of course, she was right. “Okay, Gina, let’s get past all of that. So, you and Ian used no birth control. Then you had sex with Tristan. How many days after that were you sexual with Tristan?”
“I don’t know; maybe four or five days later.”
“Didn’t you tell me that you two used condoms?”
“Of course we did. I am responsible!”
“Well, there you go. The baby has to be Ian’s then.”
“Well, that’s where there could be an issue.”
I breathed a heavy sigh. She just needed to spill it. These questions were starting to bear a resemblance to pulling teeth.
“Please, Gina, just give it to me straight.”
“I've told you before how limber I am, right?” she asked.
I nodded.
“Well, picture that and then add to it the fact that Tristan's practically a fucking contortionist. We did it every which way we could: over, under, sideways and down.”
“I get the picture, Gina,” I replied, waving my hand for her to get to the freaking point.
“I’m just saying that there was a time or two that the condom—well, let’s just say he had to dig it out of me afterwards.”
“You mean it came off?” I asked horrified.
“Yes, Ty,” she replied, rolling her eyes, “it came off.”
“How many times is a ‘time or two’?” I asked.
“I dunno. Maybe five?”
“Oh for God sakes!”
“Don’t yell at me,” she sobbed emotionally. “I can take everyone else being pissed at me, except for you.”
Gina was in full-fledged bawling by this time. I leaned over and hugged her tightly. “I’m here for you; tell me how I can help.”
“For now, this has to be our BFF secret. I need to get through this whole holiday thing with Tristan’s family, please? You can't say anything to Trey, promise?”
“Of course, I promise! We’ll figure something out.”
I tucked her into bed with her ginger ale and told her to holler if she needed anything. I had Preston to attend to, who by this time, was fussing for her breakfast. A little while later, I went in to check on Gina. She was sleeping peacefully. I felt for her and her dilemma. I hoped like hell that baby was Tristan’s.
My phone chimed and I saw it was Trey.
“Hey you,” I said, answering the phone.
“Right back at you, baby,” he said. “How's your day going?”
“Well, Gina's home with the stomach flu, so I’ve been checking on her. Preston's playing here in front of me in the living room, so all is good.”
“Well, make sure to keep Preston away from Gina. I don’t want her catching what Gina has.”
“Trust me, Trey, neither do I.”
“I just wanted to let you know that I made our plane reservations for tomorrow. Tristan and Gina are driving up after they close the club tomorrow night.”
“Okay, sweetie,” I replied, “will you be late?”
“No, I should be home by six. What’s f
or dinner?”
“Ham croquettes,” I answered, smiling.
“Tylar, can we please get a smaller ham next year?”
“I love you, Trey.”
“I love you, Tylar.”
Chapter 50
Our arrival at Trey’s parent’s home was met with hugs and kisses; they were ecstatic to see Preston again. Both Clive and Susan commented on how big she was getting.
“I’m sure it won’t be long before Preston's gifted with a little baby brother or sister,” Susan commented, giving me a wink. I looked over at Trey’s amused expression. I'd just gotten off my period the day before. I couldn’t very well blurt out that she might be blessed with a first cousin much sooner. I hated keeping that from Trey, but a BFF promise given allowed no exceptions. I asked where Nigel and Tess were.
“Oh, they drove over to see Tristan’s winery now that it's in full production,” Susan answered. “Tristan hasn’t been spending much time there, but it does pretty much run itself with the staff he’s hired. I expect the nightclub's been keeping him busy in Atlanta.”
“That and Gina,” Trey piped up.
Susan gave a little smile. “I remember Gina. She’s Becky’s niece, correct?”
“Yes,” I replied, “she's recently divorced and it seems she and Tristan are perfect for each other.”
“Well, I'm so happy,” she beamed. “Thank God that awful Libby's out of the picture. What was Tristan thinking?”
“He was thinking with his dumb-stick, Mom," Trey replied, smiling.
“Such a way with words, Trey Michael," his mother admonished.
Just then, Preston crawled over to Susan and lifted her arms up to be picked up. Susan scooped her up into her lap. Preston nuzzled against her chanting, “num-num.”
Susan looked over at us, puzzled. “She wants something called ‘num-num’?"
“That means she wants a sliced up banana, Mom,” Trey said with a wink. “It’s about her lunch time anyway.”
“Well, of course, sweetheart. Nana will get you a sliced banana.”
She took Preston to the kitchen for the banana. I hoped that it would appease her.
Shadows and Dreams (Dream Series Book 2) Page 34
