Coulson's Lessons

by McIntyre, Anna J

  She wondered if Taylor had gone home. Perhaps he had left last night. Alex jumped in the shower and bathed quickly. By the looks of the extra damp towel, Taylor had recently taken a shower. Was he still here? Alex slipped on her robe and headed down the hallway.

  She found Taylor sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee. He glanced up; his normally perfectly coifed hair was in wild disarray. He looked a bit sheepish, almost embarrassed. Taylor embarrassed? Impossible.

  “You look like hell.” Alex grinned at Taylor. He never cracked a smile. Instead, he impatiently ran his hand over his tangle of hair. “And I’m the one that’s supposed to have the hangover.” Alex grabbed a cup of coffee and sat across the table from Taylor.

  “Shit, Alex, I’m sorry…”

  She silenced Taylor by placing a finger across his lips. He looked into her weary eyes. “No, Taylor, I’m sorry. I took advantage of you last night. It wasn’t fair of me.”

  “Excuse me?” Taylor sat up straighter in the kitchen chair. “What do you mean? You were the one that was drunk, I…”

  “I was not drunk,” Alex protested. Then she added lightly, “Well, maybe a little. But I knew exactly what I was doing. Well, maybe not exactly.”

  Taylor shook his head and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. “Alex, I should have known better. I can’t believe I wasn’t a better friend.”

  “Wait a second Taylor—you were a good friend. You gave me exactly what I wanted, exactly what I asked for.”

  “You just admitted you didn’t exactly know what you were doing. I certainly did.”

  “That’s not what I meant. I wanted to have sex with you. I knew it when we were still at the bar. What I meant was, you should have worn a condom,” she whispered the last part.

  “Oh, that. Actually, I usually do. Last night was sorta spontaneous.” Taylor smiled. It was his first smile this morning. “If it makes you feel any better, I donated blood last week and no problem.”

  They were silent for a few moments.

  “I needed last night, Taylor,” Alex finally said. “But I used you, and I feel guilty.”

  “You’re serious.”

  “I so desperately needed to feel life.” Alex leaned her head against her arm. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, Taylor.” She searched for the right words.

  Suddenly Taylor understood.

  “This was a one-night stand?” Taylor’s crooked grin was back in place.

  “If it makes you feel any better, you’re my first one-night stand,” Alex added brightly, sitting up in her chair, wearing a silly grin on her face.

  Taylor roared with laughter.

  “You’re something special,” he said sincerely, then added with a wicked grin, “in or out of bed.

  “Last night will be our secret,” Taylor promised.

  “Protecting my honor?” She sat with her head bent down and peeked up shyly as she asked.

  “Hell, no,” Taylor answered loudly. “I don’t want to catch hell from the crew!”

  Chapter 33

  “Why don’t you join the Coulson Chamber of Commerce?” Steve was nagging Alex again. He loved to nag. She watched him attach shiny glass Christmas balls to the artificial tree, which Taylor had assembled a half-hour earlier.

  “We are a member,” she argued half-heartedly. Alex was sitting on a barstool, her back resting against the edge of the bar top. She felt incredibly lazy. It was Monday, and although the restaurant was closed, Taylor, Rosa, and Steve had come to help Alex decorate for the holidays.

  “Alex, are you going to get off your ass and help?” Rosa was carrying another box of Christmas decorations in from the storage room.

  “I’m helping,” Alex said a little too sweetly. “I’m making sure Steve doesn’t screw up the tree.” Steve paused for a moment and rolled his eyes.

  “So, what’s this about the Chamber of Commerce?” Taylor asked. He stood on a ladder, hanging garland along the edge of the mirror behind the upper back bar.

  “Make yourself useful,” Rosa said to Alex as she shoved the box onto Alex’s lap. Turning to the tree to help Steve with the decorations, Rosa answered Taylor’s question.

  “Steve just wants to go to that big Christmas party Coulson Enterprises throws every year for Chamber members.”

  “Alex is right, Steve; the Lucky Lady’s already a member of the Chamber,” Taylor said as he stepped down off the ladder.

  “But she’s not an active member. If she was, then maybe we could go, too.”

  Alex dropped the box off her lap onto the floor. She watched as Rosa and Steve decorated the tree. Occasionally, Rosa would stop and move an ornament that Steve had already placed on the tree. When Rosa wasn’t looking, Steve would move it back. Taylor saw what Rosa and Steve were up to; he smiled and walked around the other side of the bar and sat next to Alex.

  “You are pretty useless today.” Taylor gave Alex his lopsided grin.

  “I know,” she agreed.

  Taylor and Alexandra had become close friends since the night she dragged him into her bed. They had only been intimate that one time, and it remained their secret. Sometimes they both enjoyed exchanging knowing glances behind Steve and Rosa’s back, each taking delight in the knowledge that their secret tryst would shock their co-workers and friends. Since that night, Alexandra began to heal. It was a turning point. The old Alex was back. She was beginning to adjust to her new life, in spite of brief moments of sadness and loneliness.

  “Where’s the kid?” Taylor asked Alex.

  “He was supposed to be here helping us. I don’t know what’s up with Adam these days. He’s useless.”

  “Like mother, like son,” Steve called out from behind the Christmas tree.

  “Be nice to me, Steven,” Alex warned, “or Santa’s gonna put coal in your stocking.”

  “You ever been to one of these bashes?” Taylor asked.

  “You mean the Coulson Christmas party? I went to one.” Alex recalled the Christmas party when Garret had kissed her so many years ago.

  “You never told me that,” Steve said.

  “Actually, I used to be the treasurer of the Chamber.”

  “No kidding! Alex, I never figured you for getting involved with that crowd,” Rosa said.

  “You’d be surprised who I’d get involved with,” Alex winked at Taylor. He tugged a lock of her hair then left the barstool to resume the decorating.

  “Ouch!” Alex jumped off the barstool and rubbed her head. She then opened the box Rosa had given her and began removing the decorations. She’d been lazy long enough.

  “Maybe you can get them to invite all of us when they come in here this Wednesday,” Steve suggested.

  “Isn’t it your birthday Wednesday?” Rosa asked Alex.

  “Thanks for remembering,” Alex remarked dryly, and then she asked Steve, “Who’s coming in Wednesday?”

  “Harrison Coulson made a reservation for Wednesday night,” Rosa answered for Steve.

  “The dad or the son?” Alex asked, as she sorted through the box.

  “I’m not sure,” Rosa thought for a moment. “Actually, it was his secretary who called. They’re bringing in twelve people.”

  “Maybe Russell Coulson will be here,” Steve teased Alex.

  “Not that again!” Alex shook her head in mock annoyance. They just wouldn’t give up.

  “He still comes in a lot, Alex,” Taylor called from the other end of the bar. “He always asks about you. Just last week he even asked me if you had started dating.” That announcement caused Alex to take pause and stare in Taylor’s direction.

  “He did? What did you say?” Alexandra was shocked.

  “I told him you weren’t dating. Sleeping around a little but not dating.” Taylor gave Alex a devilish grin. Alex picked up a plastic Christmas ornament and heaved it across the bar in his direction. It didn’t even come close. Taylor began to laugh wildly, while Rosa and Steve shook their heads at the silliness.

  “I thought y
ou were going to help decorate the restaurant after school?” Alex asked Adam when she returned to her house Monday evening.

  “I was busy,” Adam shrugged. He stood in the kitchen scrambling eggs.

  “Exciting dinner,” Alex teased. She dropped her purse on the counter and opened the refrigerator.

  “Maybe if you’d cook dinner.” Adam seemed to be in a bad mood.

  “It’s my day off.” Alexandra shrugged; she examined the contents of the refrigerator. It was empty.

  “You never cook,” Adam said angrily as he dumped his eggs onto a plate.

  “I own a restaurant. I don’t have to cook.” Alex closed the refrigerator and sat at the table. She wasn’t about to let Adam ruin her day.

  “You could at least buy some groceries,” he snapped.

  “You’re a big boy, Adam. You know the way to the grocery store.”

  “What do I use for money? Or do you want me to spend my own money on groceries?”

  “You could ask, Adam. I’d be happy to give you money for the grocery store. But I have a feeling you’d rather complain,” she said wearily. Well, it had been a nice day.

  “What’s your problem?” he spat.

  “Adam, let’s not do this. I’m sorry if there are no groceries, but you could really help out a little more around here. There are only two of us in this house now. It sure would be nice if we could have some pleasant conversation for a change.”

  Adam’s response was to toss the eggs in the sink and rinse his plate before slamming it into the dishwasher. “I’m going out,” he announced, then walked out the door.

  “Gee, this is fun,” Alex said in a weary voice as she sat alone in the kitchen.

  Alexandra would have been happy to skip her birthday. She decided she really didn’t need them anymore. But Kate wouldn’t hear of it. Summoned to Kate’s house on Tuesday morning, Alexandra found Tommy, Jimmy, and Kate waiting with a surprise breakfast.

  “It’s not my birthday,” Alexandra protested as Kate led her into the dining room where a birthday cake was sitting on the table.

  “So we’re one day early.” Kate pushed her into a chair at the head of the table.

  “Happy Birthday, Alex.” Jimmy planted a quick kiss on his sister-in-law’s cheek and then sat at the table. Tommy was already seated and was drinking a cup of coffee. Alexandra knew that both Jimmy’s and Tommy’s wives were at work, therefore wasn’t surprised at their absence.

  “This is the only day I could drag Jimmy and Tommy over here,” Kate explained as she handed Alex a cup of coffee.

  “That sounds nice, Kate,” Tommy chided his baby sister. “Don’t listen to her, Alex. Happy birthday.”

  “Well, I wanted to have a big surprise party for you, but Tommy wouldn’t let me,” Kate said with a pout.

  “Thank you, Tommy!” Alex smiled at her brother; she hated surprises. He returned her smile and raised his cup to her in mock salute. Alexandra was secretly grateful that she could spend the morning with just her sister, brother, and brother-in-law. Although she liked both of her sister-in-laws, she didn’t feel especially close to either one. Sometimes, she simply didn’t want to share Tommy or Jimmy with their wives. Jimmy had been her good friend long before she began dating Ryan and before Jimmy met his wife.

  The four sat around the kitchen table. Kate brought a platter of pastries and fresh fruit in from the kitchen. Using napkins as plates and fingers as utensils, they helped themselves to the food.

  “I need some help around the house and yard. You guys know anyone I could hire?” Alex directed her question to Tommy and Jimmy as she popped a piece of apple into her mouth.

  “What’s wrong with Adam?” Tommy asked.

  “Yeah, right,” Alex said.

  “Alex, he should be a big help,” Jimmy argued.

  “Jimmy, Adam is great with you. But around the house, he’s useless. It takes me ten times as long to get him to do something than to simply do it myself.”

  “You can’t let him get away with that,” Tommy argued.

  “You want me to talk to him?” Jimmy offered.

  “He’s a teenage boy. What do you expect?” Kate said. “Tommy and Jimmy were miserable at that age.”

  “Wait a minute,” Tommy protested. “I did a lot around the house when I was Adam’s age.”

  “Yeah, right!” Kate laughed.

  “What’s really bothering me about Adam is this girlfriend thing.”

  “He still with Kimmy?” Kate asked as she sipped her coffee.

  “Unfortunately,” Alex replied.

  Both Tommy and Jimmy exchanged knowing glances; was Alex jealous?

  “I know what you two are thinking.” Alex frowned at Jimmy and Tommy, knowing the meaning of their gesture. “I like Kimmy. I’m just a little concerned over how close they’re getting. I’m not ready to become a grandmother. And I think he’s been drinking.”

  “He’s a smart kid,” Jimmy argued.

  “Do you remember being seventeen?”

  “I’ll talk to him,” Jimmy promised.

  “I say we give Alex her birthday presents,” Kate said brightly. Jumping up from the chair, she retrieved a large, colorfully wrapped package from the kitchen and set it on the table by Alexandra.

  “It’s not my birthday,” Alex protested with a smile, yet began hurriedly opening the package. Carelessly tearing the wrapping paper, tossing it to the floor, she lifted off the box’s lid and unfolded the white tissue paper that lined the inside of the box, covering its contents. Beneath the tissue paper, she discovered a red silk dress. She pulled it from the box, stood up and held it in front of her body.

  “Wow, Kate! That’s some dress!” Jimmy whistled. “How come you don’t buy clothes like that for you?”

  Kate frowned at Jimmy and then turned a smile to her sister.

  “It’s beautiful, Kate,” Alex murmured, noticing the softness of the fabric. It was a fitted dress, low cut, and suitable for the holiday season.

  “I thought you could wear it tomorrow for your birthday,” Kate announced.

  “At work?” Alex frowned. She would hate to get the dress dirty.

  “Why not?” Jimmy asked. “Looks pretty hot to me. Your customers will love it.”

  “Anyway,” Kate explained, “I want to take you out tomorrow night when you get off. Thought we could go bar hopping.”

  “Bar hopping? Why would I want to do that? I work in a bar!” Alex laughed.

  “Come on, it’ll be fun,” Kate urged.

  “Go with her, Alex. By the looks of that dress, you’ll probably get lucky,” Jimmy said with a wink.

  Chapter 34

  The Christmas season always overshadowed Alexandra’s birthday. Often, Adam would forget to give his mother a present, yet when Christmas arrived, he would insist his gift was combination birthday and Christmas.

  Alex was surprised to find a small package waiting for her on the kitchen table at home. Adam had left it there before leaving for school, and she didn’t discover it until he was gone and the morning was half spent. Alex opened the gift and discovered a delicate gold heart locket. Inside was a miniature photograph of Ryan and herself. The sentimental gesture brought tears to her eyes. She immediately fastened it around her neck.

  Alexandra treated herself to a leisurely morning at home, indulging in an afternoon bubble bath, and she didn’t arrive at work until the dinner rush was well under way.

  Camouflaged within the Christmas garland bordering the dining room’s entrance archway, the white lights twinkled and blinked randomly, greeting the clientele of the Lucky Lady Restaurant and Saloon. Separating the bar and dining room, a towering Christmas tree, adorned with shiny red and gold balls, red velvet ribbons, and blown-glass ornaments, fooled customers into believing it was pine. The curious, those who gently touched the branches, knew the truth. The tree was made of silk. Yet, it was convincing.

  Poinsettia plants replaced the ferns on the oak pot shelves. Hues of hunter green colored the fabri
c of the plump seat covers, velvet window coverings, and plush carpet. Festive red ribbons adorned the shiny brass ornaments and warm polished oak, as delicately fashioned wreaths and an occasional fabric angel peeked out from the rims of the hanging brass light fixtures.

  Festive adornments complimented the nostalgic decor of the Lucky Lady. Christmas transformed the interior of the restaurant, bringing to life a spirit and energy that encouraged celebration and was keenly felt by customers and staff alike. The Lucky Lady Restaurant and Saloon was made for Christmas. It was its season.

  Wearing a crisp, white, long-sleeved dress shirt, black slacks, and a red velvet vest, Taylor cheerfully tended bar. Even Scrooge himself would find it difficult to resist the spirit of the season. Taylor prepared homemade eggnog and spiced cider, offering candy canes to the youngsters and a lopsided smile to the pretty ladies.

  Rosa and Steve laughed with their customers and co-workers, feeding on the energy and spirit that they themselves helped to create. Business was brisk and tips were good.

  Taylor almost dropped an entire rack of rocks glasses when he saw Alexandra walk into the bar area. She wore the most incredible red dress. Its front was low cut, revealing her full bust line without being obviously immodest. The seams caressed her newly trimmed waist, and the flaring skirt complimented both her slender hips and long, shapely legs. Alex had curled her hair and swept it up, allowing wispy tendrils to fall gently along her neckline and forehead. Taylor had never seen her look more feminine or inviting.

  “Wow, Alex!” Taylor whistled from behind the bar, forgetting for a moment that half the barstools were occupied. “Where did you get that dress? It looks like it was made for you!” His exclamation turned the heads of the bar customers in Alex’s direction. Their whistles confirmed Taylor’s opinion.

  “Thanks, Taylor.” Alex blushed, uncomfortably aware of the attention.

  He was amazed at how the dress showed off her figure, emphasizing her generous bust line, while accenting her recently slimmed-down figure. Alexandra walked to the waitress station at the end of the bar, standing just a few feet from Taylor, who leaned against the brass rail, ogling Alexandra.