Baby Come Back(38)
Trey had picked Preston up this morning to take her to Baton Rouge. She would be staying with Tylar. I had wished him luck before he left. I bathed Reese and then we headed out to run some errands. Around lunch time I decided to stop by the club I had promised Jo Anna I would bring him in for a visit.
Jo Jo was setting up the downstairs bar when I got there. She immediately stopped what she was doing to come over and take Reese from me.
“He is so beautiful, Gina,” she gushed. “Look at those pretty eyes. They look like they’re changing to green,” she said. She was baby talking to him and smelling his head.
“I just love the way that babies smell, don’t you?”
“You wouldn’t say that if you got a whiff of his loaded diaper once or twice.”
“Oh Gina,” she laughed. “Hey, I’ll play with him if you want to pop in and say hello to Tristan.”
“Thanks Jo Anna, I’ll take you up on that. Be back in a couple.”
Tristan was in the office filling out the schedule when I popped my head in.
“Busy?” I asked.
He looked up giving me his gorgeous, sexy smile.
“Not too busy for you, sweet baby,” he said.
I went over to where he was sitting and plopped in his lap, giving him wet, sloppy kiss on his cheek.
“I just stopped by to see my man. We’ve been missing each other a lot lately, haven’t we?”
“Yes, and I’m afraid it’s not going to get better any time soon until we add some more staff. I’m trying to figure out tomorrow’s schedule right now. I have one out sick, and one was promised the night off to get married so I don’t think I can do much about that.”
“Hey, what about me?”
“Gina, I have to work tomorrow night; who would watch the baby?”
“I could ask Jean. She’s offered. Preston left today to be with Tylar in Baton Rouge. How about it?”
“Hey, if you can line Jean up to babysit it will solve the immediate problem here.”
“Practically a done deal, babe. Want to give your son a kiss before we take off? Jo Anna is spoiling him rotten as we speak.”
Tristan walked me back out to the bar where Jo Anna and several other servers were showering Reese with attention.
He kissed the baby and then me goodbye, telling me once again he would be home late.
The following evening I got dressed in my work garb. I had lost all of my pregnancy weight. I was excited to get back into the swing of things at the club. I knew that Tristan had booked a kick-ass band for tonight. Jo Anna and me were working the main bar downstairs. Tristan was working the one near the stage.
Jean had arrived to babysit and would be spending the night. She said she was missing Preston already; I think she counted on Reese to fill that void.
The club was slammed which was great. Jo Anna and I were busting our asses trying to keep up with the drink orders.
“What’s this, Gina?” Jo Anna teased, “Aren’t you back on your game yet?”
“I’ll show you game, Jo Anna,” I said, grabbing a tin with my right hand and the ice scoop in the other. I tossed a double across my body with the tin, catching it in my left hand, as I flipped the ice scoop into my right band behind my back; I then brought the tin back to the other side with a flat flick, catching the tin perfectly with the ice scoop in my left hand.
“Ta da,” I said, winking at her.
“You got me there, Gina. I can’t keep up with that flair bartending stuff you do.”
A couple of the patrons asked me to do it again. I gladly complied, then demonstrated for them how to ice a glass mid-air. Tristan happened to walk by as I was showing off my flair skills.
“Gina, those glasses cost money,” he warned as he breezed by, a smile on his face.
“You’re just jealous, Tristan,” I teased.
We continued to be slammed which actually made the time fly. Pretty soon the band started playing and a lot of the patrons from the main bar made their way over to the bar nearest to the dance floor. Good, it was Tristan’s turn to be slammed for a while. I told Jo Anna to go on over and help Tristan; I could manage the main bar by myself.
I was restocking the cooler with the help of one of the bus boys. He had brought a skid of clean glasses and stemware out from the kitchen. I was hanging the wine glasses when I heard a familiar voice from the bar.
“Well, well. I hear you’re a mother now, Gina. Tell me, does Tristan do all the diaper duty like he promised me he would?”
I twisted around and saw that Libby had taken a seat at the bar. She was giving me a haughty, hateful look.
“Libby,” I greeted her with faux cheerfulness, “Did you stop by to congratulate Tristan and me on the birth of our baby boy?”
“Hardly,” she blurted. “I’m waiting for my date. I’m surprised you’re working here. Seems to me like you’d want to be tit-tied to your little bundle of joy; you know, like your friend used to be with her little brat.”
(Who the hell was she talking about?)
“I’m not following you Libby; do you want something to drink?”
“Sure. I’ll have a ‘Sex on the Beach,’ make it a double.”
I mixed her drink and set it down in front of her.
“So I hear your friend deserted her husband and child in favor of living the single life.”