CHAPTER 37
Gina and I were out with the masses doing our Black Friday shopping. It was going to be so much fun having a baby to buy for this Christmas. Gina and I both went overboard on Preston. Gina managed to find a plush stuffed Santa that bellowed "Ho! Ho! Ho!" when his fat belly was pressed.
"Look Ty," she said "It's kind of like that ghost I bought her that screeched 'Boo!'
"Yes she loved that too."
Come to think of it, I hadn't seen her plush ghost for several weeks. I had a sneaking suspicion Trey was behind the disappearance.
I bought Trey some new sweaters, another Atlanta Falcons jersey and a black wool dress coat. I noticed Gina was looking at some Izod sweaters in the men's section at Dillard's.
"What are you looking for?" I asked her coyly.
"I was just thinking how great this color would look with Tristan's eyes," she replied pulling an emerald green sweater from the rack.
"So you and Tristan are exchanging gifts?"
"Why not? We've been exchanging bodily fluids on a regular basis," she laughed.
"So what happened with you two last night?" I asked.
"We pulled an all night fuckfest."
"By the way," I said, "What was with the dirty look you gave me yesterday when I invited Tristan to stay with us when he's back in town in a couple of weeks?"
"Because I'm staying there and you just have the two bedrooms. I don't want Trey knowing about Tristan and me as far as the physical relationship we have."
"Oh I see. That's all it is then - a physical relationship."
"Yes I've explained that to you already."
"Well for your information Gina, Trey has already figured that part out."
"What? How?"
"Hello? It's a bit obvious with him calling you 'babe' and always touching you for gosh sakes."
Gina smiled as she decided to go with the green sweater for Tristan. She could pretend all she wanted to that it was just a sexual relationship but I knew how she rolled. She was falling in love with him.
"Hey," she said, "So what's up for Christmas anyway? Are you going up to Bristol?"
"I'm not sure yet. I would kind of like to see if Trey would mind spending it in Baton Rouge with my dad. He wants to see me and his grand-daughter."
"You know Ty, I think it is so fantastic that you found your dad. Does it seem weird to have a dad after all of these years?"
"Well you know I always knew that I had one of course, but all I had to go on was Maggie's version of him which was another one of her fabrications. I guess I like that fact that he is a good man. I mean I filled you in on the specifics of their one and only night together."
"Yeah that was kind of a hoot. It almost sounded like your mom kinda crushed on him even though she was pissed he took her cherry thinking she was a pro. I bet he was good in bed and she liked it."
"Gina! I can't think of him that way. He's my father after all."
"Just saying,' she replied laughing. "Hey what does he look like?"
"Well he is built slender; not as tall as Trey. He has brown hair that is graying at the temples; his eyes are the same color as mine but they are very intense. I mean I just saw him briefly. I remember thinking he was nice-looking for an old guy."
"How old is he?"
"He's fifty."
"That's not really all that old Tylar. It's like ten years older than Tristan."
"Hey so if Trey and I go there at Christmas then you and Tristan will have the apartment all to yourselves," I said, giving her a wink.
"I figure Tristan will be in Bristol with his family."
"What if he invites you there with him?"
"I doubt very much if that will happen. One of us needs to be here to take care of the club, remember?"
Gina dropped me at the apartment when we finished shopping. She said she wanted to take a nap before she went into work.
My Blackberry chimed when I was in the elevator on my way up to our floor. It was Daniel.
"Hey," he said when I answered the call, "I just wanted to let you know that Maggie got here this morning. She is buried next to our baby and I've ordered her a headstone. She was 43 years old; soon to be 44 according to her records."
(Hmm - she had lied about her age just a tad - imagine that.)
"Have you gotten the results of her autopsy yet?"
"No Daniel, they said it could take up to six weeks. I will let you know what it reveals though."
"I appreciate that Tylar. They opened her casket for me when it arrived at the mortuary. She looked good. They did a nice job on her. I had them buy a suit for her to wear. I kissed her before the shut the casket. Her skin was so cold."
His voice was cracking and I felt compassion for him to some degree.
"Daniel," I said gently, "Maggie loved you in the only way that she knew how. She would want you to be happy again. I hope you continue to straighten your life out; I hope you meet someone that you can love in a healthy way."
"Thanks Tylar," he said. "Take care."
When I went into the apartment neither Trey nor Preston were anywhere around. I carried my packages into our room and saw that Trey was stretched out on the bed watching television; Preston was curled up asleep beside him.
I put my bags in my closet and went over to him quietly.
"Hey you," I whispered leaning over to give him a kiss. "Has she been good for you?"
"She just fell asleep a few minutes ago. She has some really bad diarrhea going on. I'm not sure what that is all about."
Trey had contacted her pediatrician earlier in the week to let him know about Maggie and the potential poisoning and the fact that she had breastfed Preston during those days she had her.
The pediatrician instructed Trey to follow back up with him once the post mortem report was released as to Maggie's cause of death. In the interim he said that we shouldn't worry. The fact that Preston had vomited after breastfeeding from her was indicative that the milk didn't agree with her system. He said that since she has been healthy since her return it was highly unlikely she ingested anything harmful.
"Well sometimes babies get bouts of that once introduced to solids. I don't want to get into a panic about it, Trey."
"I'm not panicking baby; I just want you to know that you are on diaper duty the rest of the day."
He gave me a grin as he got up from the bed. He carried Preston to her crib and tucked her in.
"Do you want some lunch?" I asked him as he came out to the kitchen.
I had the refrigerator door opened; eating slices of turkey standing there.
"Sure I could use a sandwich."
We ate lunch together and I decided it was a good time to discuss our plans for Christmas.
"Trey, have you given any thought to what we are doing for Christmas?"
"You don't want to go to Bristol this year?"
"It's not that but my dad would really like to see us. He hasn't met his grand-daughter yet."
"Tylar he lives clear down in Baton Rouge. Has he invited us for Christmas?"
"Well not yet but I think he probably will."
"Then let's wait and see what happens okay. My God we've got Gina moving in here next weekend so one way or another we are going somewhere for Christmas."
"Do you want to drive out to the house when Preston wakes up?" Trey asked.
"Sounds good, honey," I replied.
"I am going to have to start packing once the holidays are over. I am getting so excited."
"We need to go furniture shopping," he commented.
"I'm glad we've got your furniture money back."
"That reminds me. We need to stop at the club so that I can pick up my check while we're out."
"Absolutely, and it's going into our joint account right?"
"Yes Trey," I said rolling my eyes.
(Hot Nazi!)
Once Preston woke up I nursed her and then changed her diaper. She hadn't had any further diarrhea. I dressed her warmly and we headed out.
The house was nearly finished. All of the light fixtures had been installed; the upstairs flooring was completed. The window treatments were due to be installed the second week of December. The appliances we ordered for the kitchen were due in the week after Christmas.
Trey and I had selected the room colors and they were very warm. I wanted him to help select the furniture for the living room. The furniture in the apartment's living room was going to go into the back family room at this house. We still had to furnish a guest room and then Jean's quarters. She would have a bedroom, her own bathroom and a small sitting room.
Preston's room was much bigger than the room she had at the apartment. There was a walk-in closet and an alcove in her room that had built in shelving for her books and toys. We had done it in yellow, peach and lavender. It had thick peach colored carpeting. There was another smaller bedroom upstairs that would be Trey's office.
Our master suite was done in neutral tones. The magnificent bathroom however was done in black marble with gold threading throughout. One wall was completely mirrored making the room seem more expansive than it already was.
Preston was jabbering away and pointing at the mirror when we went into the master bath. The house had a large staircase so I made a mental note to look into baby gates for the top and bottom.
We stopped at the club and I signed the papers and collected my check. It appeared that Tristan had given me a bit more than what I had invested. He was a caring and generous man. I truly hoped he and Gina turned out to be more than jut "fuck buddies."
Trey and I stopped and picked up Chinese on the way home. We were turkeyed out for the time being. I bathed Preston and nursed her again before putting her down for the night. I wasn't going to give her any solids until I was sure the bout of diarrhea was over.
Trey joined me in my bubble bath much later. We relaxed under the covers later after making love. He had been so gentle and sweet with me. I looked over at him sleeping with his hand flung over his brow. He was so beautiful and sexy. I felt butterflies.