Authors: Monique Miller
The Marrying Kind (12 page)
Chapter 16
During the next week, Travis tried his best to pass the time without thinking about Beryl. He went out with Tory a couple of times, taking her to the movies again and to play miniature golf, but the twenty-something could not get his feelings out of the clouds. She was nice enough, but Travis was growing wearily tired of always being on the go with the girl. She always had to be doing something and there were times when Travis just wanted to sit still for a little while.
Not only did Tory always seem to literally want to play games, she didn't have any real direction. She was a hard worker, working her eight-to-five job all day, but she also liked to party hard. She rarely watched the news or talked about reading anything of substance, nor did she like to think or talk about the future. She was happy just living for the day.
In addition to her smoking habit turning Travis off, he had found that Tory didn't like children and she had no intention of having any children. This was a big problem for Travis because of his two little boys. He couldn't seriously date a woman who didn't get along with his two boys.
Then there was Jade. Travis had to do some real soul-searching there. Jade was older and sophisticated. She also seemed to have it all going on with her expensive clothing, expensive car, and the overall expensive taste to go with it all. But with all that expense and sophistication, Jade didn't seem to have any soul. And Travis got the distinct feeling that Jade was indeed a gold digger. It didn't seem to matter what Travis tried to do for her, it seemed to never be enough for her. In his book, money was important, but it wasn't everything.
One other thing that bothered him about Jade was that he really didn't know that much about her. He only knew some very basic and superficial things. He had no idea if she had any siblings, if she was originally from Silvermont, where she went to college, or what her favorite color was. And he couldn't see Jade around the boys, either. He didn't know if she had any motherly aspirations or what kind of feelings she had toward children.
Being a player was turning out harder than he had ever imagined. He was going to have to let his role as T.J. with Tory and his role of being Wayne with Jade go. There was no reason to continue wasting time with two women he knew weren't going to amount to anything long term for him.
Now when it came to his thoughts of Marla, they were warmer. She was a nice woman with wholesome qualities. He knew a little bit more about her. And now with his decision to drop Tory and Jade, he could spend his efforts getting to know Marla even better. That is, if he could focus long enough on Marla and stop stewing over the fact that Beryl had found another man to marry so quickly after their divorce.
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“Here you are, sir and miss. Please have a seat right here and your waitress will be with you in just a moment,” the hostess seating them said.
Travis pulled out Marla's chair so she could sit. Then he sat in the chair directly across from her.
“Thank you, Travis, for bringing me here,” Marla said.
“Are you surprised?” Travis asked.
“I am. I can't believe you remembered my birthday. And that you remembered that Mama Lula's is my favorite restaurant.”
“I've got a pretty good memory, I am told,” Travis said.
“I mean I think I told you about my birthday and the restaurant that first day we ate dinner in the fellowship hall. It was just a friendly talk over dinner after church, nothing to write home about,” Marla said.
“Nothing to write home about for someone who isn't interested,” Travis said, making sure to make his interest known.
The waitress came to their table. “Hi, my name is Jody. How are y'all doing on this fine Sunday afternoon ?”
“We're good, Jody. How about you?” Travis asked.
“I am just great. What can I get for you all to drink while you decide on what you would like to eat?”
Travis looked at Marla.
“I'll have a sweet tea,” Marla said.
“Me too; I think I'll have a sweet tea as well,” Travis said.
“Okay, let me go get your drinks. I'll be back in just a moment,” Jody said.
When she left Marla said, “And thank you for taking me by the nursing home before coming out to eat.”
“No problem. I know you like to visit your aunt on Sundays. I didn't want to come between you and your aunt. Besides, I didn't want your aunt to dislike me before she even met me,” Travis said.
Marla chuckled.
Travis had rented a car to take Marla to the nursing home and out to dinner for her birthday. At first he was going to just get her a gift certificate for the mall, but after he won $200 on a scratch-off ticket he decided taking her out to dinner would be more personal and appropriate, especially since he was in the mode of trying to get to know her better.
The waitress returned with their iced teas and took their orders. While they waited for their food, Travis learned that Marla was originally from Houma, Louisiana. And it just so happened that she had moved to North Carolina for a change a month before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. She felt fortunate to have been able to move with all of her belongings before devastation hit the area she formerly lived in.
While eating dinner Travis learned more about Marla. He learned that she had a teenage son who was in college in South Carolina, and that her mother and father were still living in Louisiana. She loved family and called them at least once a week and her goal was to return to visit them at least once a year. Thus far she had been able to do so.
It was clear that she had caring genes, loving genes, and motherly genes. She cared not only about family but she also cared about her friends. Travis liked to talk, but Marla liked to talk even more. Information about her life spilled out as she talked.
Here and there he would interject information about himself. He told her about his mother and sisters and the fact that he never knew who his father was. But he never bought up Beryl's name and didn't tell her that he had two little boys. He feared that if he brought their names up then Marla would want to start talking about them more. She would want to know more information about his relationship with his ex-wife now and his sons.
Over the next couple of weeks, while he found it very refreshing to talk with Marla, he felt bad about deceiving her about his spiritual status. He never lied to her about why he seemed to know so much about the scripture and the Word during the church services, he just hadn't divulged the truth to her. He'd never let on that he had been cheating by going to the first service to be clairvoyant about what the pastor was preaching about.
As he got to know Marla better and better, he felt as if he could feel the little angel and devil sitting on each one of his shoulders. The angel nagged him to come clean with her and tell her the truth about himself, while the devil poked him with encouragement to be a playa and play on.
If Travis could have had a crystal ball he would have come clean with Marla that day at Mama Lula's. The crystal ball would have warned him of events to come. He would have taken the opportunity to tell her all about himself. He'd tell her about his ex-wife, his two little boys, and about his being a double agent at church.
Chapter 17
Going out to dinner after church had become a ritual for Travis and Marla. It was Labor Day weekend and they were sitting at a booth in the window of the Piccadilly Cafeteria in the mall. Marla and Travis had enjoyed the second service together, and now they were eating the desserts they had chosen.
Marla was telling Travis about an incident at her job. He wasn't going to be able to tell her anything about his job in turn because he had been let go from the county when they downsized. He was one of the last hired and ended up being one of the first fired.
Travis heard someone knocking on the glass of the window where they were sitting. On the other side of the window Travis saw his oldest son, Cameron, knocking, and his baby boy, Jayden, with his face mashed against the glass.
Cameron smiled and waved when he saw that he'd finally gotten his dad's attention. Jayden, too, pulled his face back and waved at his dad. When Travis looked up he saw Beryl holding hands with her Urkel-looking fiancé. He dropped the forkful of cheesecake he was about to put into his mouth and made contact with Beryl and her new man.
Seeing the exchange between Travis and the people outside of the window, Marla asked, “Who are they?” Her smile was unassuming.
“Those are my sons,” Travis said almost under his breath.
He wiped his hands with his napkin and stood to walk out of the restaurant to greet his boys and finally confront the man who was doing his best to take his place.
Before Travis could take a step, Marla said, “They are your what?” He could hear the understandable confusion in her voice.
He smiled and waved back at his little boys. He couldn't focus on Marla's confusion right then. He had to get outside. “I'll be right back,” he said to her.
His feet couldn't move fast enough. The people who were standing in line to pay for their food were like human obstacles for him. He pushed past them, barely uttering an excuse me.
“Sir, sir,” he heard the cashier say.
“I'm not leaving. My friend is still sitting in there with the check. I'll be right back.” Then he kept walking.
As soon as his boys saw him come around the corner, they ran up to Travis. He picked them both up, each in an arm. The boys hugged him just as if they had missed him the entire time they had been apart. They hugged him tightly as if they didn't want to let go. The smile on his sons' faces held genuine smiles, different from the ones he'd seen on their faces when Beryl's fiancé played with them. Those laughs and smiles had been more like “I just want to have fun with someone” smiles. These smiles were “I love you, Daddy” smiles. And it warmed Travis's heart to the core.
“Hello, Travis,” Beryl said. Her voice was cool.
“Beryl,” Travis responded to the greeting.
“Hi, Daddy,” Cameron said.
“Hey, Daddy,” Jayden said.
“Hey, boys.” Travis smiled into the eyes of both of the boys.
“Where have you been, Daddy?” Cameron asked.
“Daddy's been trying to take care of some things,” Travis said. It was all he could offer at the time to his son.
“I missed you, Daddy,” Cameron said.
“Daddy has missed you two boys too,” Travis said. Tears threatened to fill his eyes. How could he have stayed away from his two little men for so long?
Jayden squirmed down out of his father's arm and ran back over to his mother. Beryl picked the boy up, and when she did, Travis saw the rock that was on Beryl's left ring finger. The thing seemed to glisten in the light that was beaming from outside. It would make the engagement ring he'd given her years ago look diminutive if the two were placed side by side.
“Hello, I am Darrin. You must be Travis.” Darrin extended his hand to shake Travis's. His voice was deeper than he had remembered it being from the day they'd had the altercation at Alley's. For some reason Travis really expected it to sound more high-pitched.
“I am,” Travis said. He stuck his hand out with reluctance and shook Darrin's hand.
Darrin's handshake was feeble to Travis. Travis liked people who had a firm handshake. Travis returned the handshake with a firm one. He held the shake for a second longer than need be, wanting to continue shaking and squeezing until he broke a couple of bones in the guy's hand. But he'd gone ahead and let go, glaring at him. There was something that Travis did not like about the guy at all.
“So, Travis, what are you doing here in Silvermont?” Beryl asked. She looked over at the woman sitting in the restaurant and gave her a polite smile.
“What am I doing in Silvermont?” Travis asked. “What are you all doing here?”
“I live here now,” Beryl said.
“Say what?” Travis said. “When did you move here?”
“We've been here about a month now,” Beryl said. “And what about you?” Again Beryl glanced over at the woman sitting in the restaurant. It was obvious that she was curious who he was having dinner with.
“I live here as well,” Travis said.
“Oh, really. So this is where you moved to,” Beryl said. “I knew you had moved somewhere in this county, but didn't know you had actually moved to Silvermont. What a small world.”
“It is a small world indeed,” Travis said.
“Daddy, Daddy, can we come with you?” Cameron asked.
Travis looked toward Beryl and Darrin, then back to his son. He knew that it wasn't feasible for him to take either of the boys with him today. He needed some time to sit and talk with Beryl about setting up some time to be with the boys, plus he had caught a ride with Marla that afternoon.
“Not today, son. I am going to talk with your mom some more to see about setting up some time for you to visit, especially now that I know how close you all are to me now,” Travis said.
Cameron whined at the answer he received. Jayden laid his head down on his mother's shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Darrin take a long glance at Beryl, as he let out a sigh as if he was bored.
Travis didn't know completely why, but this gesture by Darrin really started to make him almost lose his cool. The only thing that helped him keep his emotions at bay was the fact that his little boys were standing right there. He didn't want the boys' smiles to turn into tears as they had the day at Alley's.
As far as Travis was concerned Darrin could just go somewhere and disappear. He wanted to talk to Beryl alone and couldn't talk with her like he wanted to with Darrin looming around. The guy acted like Travis was beneath him. He acted as if Travis were nothing and he too just wished Travis would disappear off the face of the earth.
“Beryl, I would like to see about setting up some time to spend with the boys,” Travis said.
“We can work that out I am sure,” Beryl said.
Darrin looked at his watch. Travis couldn't resist not keeping his mouth shut. “I'm sorry, am I keeping you all from doing something?”
“Yeah,” Beryl said. “We just got out of church and had to run by here to pick up something. We haven't eaten yet. We're headed back home to eat.”
Travis knew what that meant. Beryl had cooked a full Sunday dinner, like she used to do when they were married. He could just imagine that she had cooked a roast, and mashed potatoes with gravy. She had probably made some turnip greens and homemade lemonade. And if he really knew his ex-wife, he was sure that she had made a chocolate cake for dessert.
For the first time he noticed that the four were all dressed up in Sunday attire. They looked like the average happy little family strolling around the mall after church. The only problem was that they weren't actually a family.
“Besides, aren't you being rude to your dinner guest in there?” Beryl asked.
Travis had almost forgotten about Marla. He looked over at her and saw that she didn't look too happy, as she had already balled up her napkin and put it on the plate atop her unfinished apple pie. He could tell Marla wasn't pleased as she sat there with her arms crossed and she stared in thought down at their empty dinner plates.
“Yeah. Beryl, I'll give you a call to see when we can set something up so I can see the boys,” Travis said.
“Okay,” Beryl said.
Travis gave his oldest son a kiss on his forehead and then put him down. “Daddy is going to call your mom and we'll talk so that you and Jayden can spend some time with me.”
“Okay, Daddy,” Cameron said. He walked over to his mother, leaned on her, and put his arm around her waist.
“Nice to meet you, man,” Darrin said.
Travis wasn't about to say “same here.” So he just gave Darrin a single nod.
Then the mock family of four walked out of the front doors of the mall. Travis watched them until they were out of sight. Once he couldn't see them anymore, he returned inside the restaurant and joined Marla at the table.
As soon as he sat back down in the booth, Marla started asking him questions.
“So, those were your sons, huh?” Her tone was that of hurt and shock.
“Yes,” Travis replied.
“And was that your ex-wife?” Marla asked. When asking this question, Marla's tone didn't seem so hurt. He guessed because Beryl had acted with warmth toward the woman.
“Yes, that was my ex-wife,” Travis said. “And with her was her new fiancé.” This he said with sarcasm.
“Do they live around here?” Marla asked.
“Yes, they do,” Travis said. He was still surprised by that revelation.
“They live right here in Silvermont and you've never even told me anything about them?” Marla asked. “What is up with that?”
“There is nothing up with that. I didn't know they lived in Silvermont until a few minutes ago,” Travis tried to explain. “I don't know why I hadn't told you about them before now.”
“I know why,” Marla said. “It is because you didn't want me to know. Here I am spilling my guts to you about any and everything. But you don't really see me as someone worthy enough to share anything of real importance with obviously.”
Travis reached for Marla's hands, but she pulled back.
“Look, Marla, it isn't like that, I assure you. It's just that ...” His voice trailed off, not really knowing how to explain it all.
“See, just like I said. It is okay for me to tell you about me and my life, but you don't want to share your life with me.”
“No, Marla. Honestly, it is a long story.”
Marla clutched her purse under her arm and slid out of the booth. “Well, Travis, I don't have time for any long stories. You've had more than enough time to share any long stories with all the time you and I have been talking on the phone, coupled with all the times we've been out.”
Travis slipped out of his side of the booth also. “Marla, look, I'm sorry. I really am. There is no excuse, I realize that.”
“Well, keep those sorrys to yourself. I don't have time to hear them right now. Bye, Travis.” Marla left the table and headed straight out of the door.
Travis sat back down in the seat and put his head in his hands. He had gotten himself in a mess with Marla. His ex-wife had found another man, his sons perhaps another father, and now he was back to square one in the relationship game of life.
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