Baby Come Back(48)
Tylar stopped over for lunch mid-week. She had been calling me daily since ‘the incident’ as Tristan and I had started calling it. Tylar bested my mother as a worrywart.
Preston was in the living room playing with Reese; Tylar and I were sitting at the dining room table where we could both talk and keep an eye on them.
“Well Tylar, last year was one crazy year, don’t you think?”
“You won’t get any argument out of me on that one, Gina.”
“We ought to write a book,” I said, laughing.
“A book?” she asked, “As in just one?”
“Yeah,” I replied, “I think it would make good reading.”
“Gina, it would have to be more like three books, I think. It would be impossible to cram all of that into just one book.”
“Ah hell, no one would believe it anyway,” I sighed.
“So, what’s in our crystal ball for this year?”
“Well,” she said, trying to use an accent and sound like a Hungarian gypsy “Let me see. I see a wedding this year. I see this wedding right now in my crystal ball. It appears to be a June wedding; the sun is shining and I see the beautiful bride and her very handsome groom walking down the aisle of a church. Wait a minute; it’s coming in much clearer now. Why yes, it is the wedding of my BFF. I see more. Shall I continue?”
“Oh yes, please do Madam Zelda,” I joked, refilling our ice tea glasses. Tylar was in an unusually playful mood today.
“I see your matron of honor walking down the aisle before you. Oh, the gown, she is so lovely! What’s this? Your matron of honor has gained some weight in the tummy, it seems. Only the tummy. How strange.”
“What?” I shrieked. “Are you serious, Ty? When?”
“I’m due right around Trey’s birthday.”
“What did you do, girlfriend; help yourself to some coma sex?”
“No, Gina,” she laughed. “It was the cruise. I distinctly remember Trey getting in the mood whenever I put one of those skimpy bikinis on that someone insisted I buy before the trip.”
“I see; so the bikinis I selected are the reason for this good news, huh?”
“Well that, along with the fact that my Depo-Provera shot had worn off.”
“I am really happy for you, Ty. How are you feeling?”
“I feel good, Gina. I feel like I did when I was pregnant with Preston. I hope that is a good sign.”
“Hey girlfriend; everything will be fine this time. Please don’t let yourself worry unnecessarily.”
“You sound like Trey, Gina. Anyhow, you haven’t asked Madame Zelda about what else is in store.
“Oh right, right. Tell me more, Madam Zelda.”
Tylar loved this fortune teller routine we had just concocted.
“Madame Zelda sees another diamond ring being placed on a slender finger. The man is very handsome; he bears a resemblance to George Clooney. The woman is very pretty and sweet; her hair is dark blond, her eyes are green.”
“Really? Your dad is going to ask Brenda to marry him?”
“Uh huh,” she said, pleased as punch. “He is asking her on Valentine’s Day to get engaged. I think he wants to wait a year or two before they get married though. My dad doesn’t jump into anything that quickly. Besides, he wants to retire from the bench before they wed so that he can totally devote himself to her. Isn’t that romantic?”
“Yeah, absolutely,” I said.
“Hey, what’s wrong Gina? You look like someone let the air out of your ‘happy’ balloon.”
“Oh, it’s nothing, Ty.”
She gave me her look that said she wasn’t going to drop it.
“It’s just the mention of Valentine’s Day; it brings back some memories now more than ever.”
“I’m sorry, Gina. I didn’t think.”
“No, no reason to apologize. It will fade eventually.”
I had confided some of my story relating Nick to Tylar, but not everything. Tristan was the only one who knew everything.
“Hey Gina,” she said, “Can I ask you something and you promise that you won’t get mad or take it the wrong way?”
“Sure,” I replied with a shrug.
“Why is it that you never shared with me any of that stuff about Nick? I mean, to be honest, as your BFF, it really kind of hurt that you hadn’t at least told me something before now. I mean Tristan knew, right?”
“Yes, Ty. I told Tristan about it after I returned from Hoboken. He was the first person that I ever told. I had put it from my mind for a long time; it was not a memory that I wanted to revisit.”
“Didn’t you trust me with your secret, Gina?”
“It wasn’t that at all, Tylar. What happened with Nick had no impact on our friendship whatsoever. I was finding that it was affecting my relationship with Tristan, and my ability to accept his love. He sensed something was there; he knew I had issues with intimacy. It was what he needed to know.”
“I guess,” she said, somehow not convinced that there hadn’t been a breach in the unwritten rules of best friend obligations.
“Tylar,” I said to her, “You are my best friend; you always will be no matter what. Tristan is my soul-mate. Sometimes there are things that you share only with your soul-mate. I’m sure if you stop and think about it, you have those same types of secrets from me, but you have likely shared them with Trey.”