Authors: Monique Miller
The Marrying Kind (21 page)
Darrin slammed his fist on the desk. “You do that and I'll sue you for slander and defamation of character.”
“You can't sue me for telling the truth, and hey, if you do, so what? Like you've said before, I've got nothing to lose.” Travis folded his arms. “Just think of how bad you will look. And think of how many customers you will lose.”
Travis could tell that Darrin was taking all of what he was saying into consideration.
“Do yourself a huge favor. Follow my advice and leave Beryl and the boys alone. Find someone else to use to check off the wife and kids on that life list you've got, because when it comes to Beryl and the boys, they are already spoken for.”
Travis put two fingers up, one at a time as if counting. “So you've got a choice, you can take the easy way out and follow my directions or you can take the hard way.”
“Get out of my office,” Darrin yelled.
“Gladly. I'll take that to mean that you are taking the easy way out.”
Travis opened the door to Darrin's office, then turned around and spoke one last time to him. “Oh yeah, and, Darrin.”
Darrin stared with hate-filled eyes at Travis.
“You got Beryl fired, and you got me fired. Now you are fired; you are no longer Beryl's fiancé,” Travis said.
“What are you talking about?” Darrin asked the question with confusion.
Travis pretended he was wobbling and started singing the Alley the Alligator song as he walked out of the door. “Come on, kids, follow Alley. Jump and play and eat yippee.”
“That was you? Man, you are crazy,” Travis heard Darrin say just before the door slammed behind him.
Chapter 28
That evening Travis unlocked the front door to the house. He didn't know exactly what he would find. As he walked through the door, he reflected on the events of the evening after his confrontation with Darrin.
As soon as he was out of the parking lot of Darrin's business he checked to see if there were any messages on his phone from Beryl. There weren't any. He called her cell phone but had not gotten an answer.
Though he had wanted to drive straight home he also knew that he still had a night job to do. He went to his janitorial job, completed his duties, and then headed home. There still hadn't been any contact from Beryl. He prayed all went well and she had followed his advice, because if she hadn't he didn't know what to think about how Darrin would react when he got home to her.
From the outside he didn't see any lights on, nor did he see Beryl's car in the driveway. As he walked through the house he still didn't see any signs of his family. On the second floor he listened for any signs of life but again didn't hear anything.
When he turned the light on in his bedroom, Travis fell to his knees, releasing the breath it seemed he had been holding ever since he found out his family might be in trouble. There on the bed Beryl stirred out of sleep. Cameron and Jayden were also on the bed, sprawled out, asleepâone on each side of her. She looked up and smiled at Travis. “Hey.”
For a moment he just stared at the three of them. Tears started rolling down Travis's cheeks. Beryl gingerly slipped off the bed so as to not wake the boys. She took Travis's arm and led him out of the room and down the stairs to the kitchen.
Once they were downstairs Beryl found a couple of glasses, and got them both some water to drink. They both sat on the stools at the bar. It was still a few moments before Travis was able to speak.
“Are you okay?” Travis asked.
“Yeah, we're fine.”
“Good,” Travis said with a sigh of relief. “Where is your car?'
“I parked it in the garage like you told me. You didn't see it?” Beryl asked.
“No. I didn't.” Travis shook his head. He had completely forgotten that he'd told her to park in the garage.
“I know it sounds crazy,” Beryl said. Her body shuddered as if cold. “Now I just don't know what tomorrow will bring.”
“Shhhh.” Travis placed his arms around Beryl to comfort her. Then after a few moments he pulled back and looked directly into her eyes. “Tomorrow is going to be fine.”
“Travis, I know you are optimistic to a fault, but the truth is I am going to have to face tomorrow. Who knows what Darrin is going to do? I know he probably hit the roof not finding me home. He'll come and look for me. I just know it.”
“Darrin isn't going to come to look for you. Darrin isn't going to be bothering you anymore. I can assure you of that.”
Beryl put her head in her hands. “How can you say that, Travis?”
“I have taken care of Darrin. I told him not to bother you and the boys anymore and I think he got the message loud and clear.”
Beryl's head popped up. “Really? When did you talk to Darrin?”
“This evening, while you were getting the boys out of the house, I paid Darrin a visit. We talked and we came to an understanding.”
Beryl eyed Travis suspiciously.
“No more Darrin problems.”
“Travis, how am I supposed to get by now? I don't have a job and I don't have anywhere to live. How am I supposed to live and take care of the boys?” Beryl asked.
“I've got this. You and the boys can stay here.” Beryl looked around. “Where are we, Travis? Whose house is this?”
“Well it is ours for about three more weeks; that is, until my friend Brent comes back home. I'm housesitting for him,” Travis said.
“So I've got three weeks to find a place to live,” Beryl said.
He took her hand. “Don't worry about that right now. I am here for you and the boys. I'll take care of you. Let me worry about getting a place to live.”
Beryl sighed. “I am so tired.”
“I know it's a lot to think about right now. It's late, so go ahead and get ready for bed. You and the boys can have my bed. I'll sleep in the bonus room.” Travis stood and took the glass from Beryl's hand. He put both of their water glasses in the sink.
Travis took Beryl's hand. “Come on. I'll show you where the towels and washcloths are.”
Visibly exhausted and tired of talking, Beryl followed Travis upstairs.
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Travis pulled up to the curb at the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina airport and immediately saw his friend Brent waiting with three suitcases. He put the car in park and got out to greet his friend.
“Hey, Brent. Welcome back,” Travis said.
“Hey, Travis, man. It is good to be home,” Brent replied.
The two men gave each other firm handshakes and a brotherly hug.
“Let me help you with those,” Travis said as he pressed the button on his key ring to open the trunk.
Brent looked down at the car. “So this is your ride huh?”
“Yep.”
“Nice,” Brent said.
“Yeah, it is. Thanks,” Travis said with pride in his voice.
After retrieving the luggage and putting it in the trunk, both Travis and Brent got into the car and headed back to Brent's house. When they arrived at the house and pulled up into the driveway, Brent commented on how the yard looked from the outside. “The yard looks good, man.”
“Thanks. I tried to keep everything up, just the way you had it when you left,” Travis said.
Travis drove the car up into the garage and then helped Brent with his luggage. Travis let Brent get settled as he finished packing his last box of belongings from the guest bedroom.
When Travis descended the stairs he saw Brent sitting on a barstool in the kitchen. The man was holding his digital camera. He looked up when he heard Travis enter the kitchen.
“Did you get some good pictures while you were abroad?” Travis asked.
“Yeah. Check these out.”
Travis sat on the other barstool as Brent showed him what seemed like hundreds of pictures chronicling the man's trip starting with day one. Midway through the pictures, Travis started noticing a trend of pictures that featured not only Brent, but a pretty brunette woman who Brent referred to as Jennifer.
“So I see you and Jennifer took quite a number of pictures together,” Travis said.
Brent smiled. “Yeah, we did.” Then he paused, not saying anything else.
“So, ah, it looks like you might be pretty fond of her,” Travis said.
“Yeah.” Brent nodded his head. “I am pretty fond of her. I went on this mission trip to help people. I had no idea I'd end up finding someone.”
“So you like her a lot?”
“Yeah, a whole lot. I mean like enough to make my parents happy about finally getting a daughter-in-law and maybe having some grandkids someday.”
Travis was taken aback. “Really? You like her that much, huh?”
“I do.”
“So, tell me more. What does she do? Where does she live?” Travis asked.
“She is a nurse and she lives in Boston, Massachusetts.”
“Boston?” Travis asked.
“Massachusetts,” Brent confirmed.
“So you're going to be in a long-distance relationship ?” Travis said.
“Hopefully, not for long,” Brent replied.
“Is she going to move here?”
“Probably not. We've discussed it and I've got less holding me here than she does holding her there. I'm flexible,” Brent said.
“What about your parents?” Travis asked.
“Well, I'm sure they won't mind jumping on a plane to fly out to see me.”
Travis nodded his head knowing that Brent's parents could and would easily fly out to visit Brent the same way other people would take a day trip on any given Saturday or Sunday.
Brent looked around. “You really did take good care of my place. Where did you find a place to live?”
“I haven't yet. We're booked at the Escape Inn for now,” Travis said.
“We?”
“Oh, yeah. It's a long story, but the short version is that my ex-wife and kids are here in Silvermont now. And we've been sort of living together for the past couple of weeks,” Travis said.
“Ah, could there be wedding bells in the future for you and the ex?”
Travis put his hands up as if in surrender. “Man, we are just trying to take things day by day. We've been living like a family for the most part. And we've even been going to church as a family again. I must admit, it's been pretty great. But we are taking it pretty slow. Like I said, it is a long story.”
Brent nodded his head as he took in what Travis was saying. “So, what are you all going to do? The Escape Inn is probably going to get expensive after a while.”
“I actually work at the call center for the Escape Inn so I get a discount. But I don't want my ex-wife and kids living in a hotel for much longer,” Travis said.
Again, Brent nodded his head; then his face contorted with the look of someone contemplating a situation. “I've got a thought,” Brent said.
“What's that?” Travis asked with curiosity.
“Hear me out on this before you say anything. I've got another proposition for you.”
Travis sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. The last time Brent had made him a proposition, things worked out for the best. Travis had been able to get back on his own two feet. In his gut he felt like he was going to be pleased with the proposition that Brent was about to make. “I'm all ears,” Travis said.
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“Okay, guys, say good-bye to the Escape Inn,” Travis said.
“Bye, Escape Inn,” Cameron and Jayden said in unison.
“Bye,” Beryl said.
The four of them climbed into Travis's accord.
“Next you all can say hello to our new house. So put those blindfolds on,” Travis said.
“Really, Travis? You are serious, aren't you?”
“Yep, now put on your blindfold.” He looked in the rearview mirror and saw that the boys had no problem putting their blindfolds on.
“Daddy, Daddy, I got my blind folder on,” Cameron said.
Travis chuckled. “Blindfold, son.”
“That's what I said, Daddy,” Cameron said.
“Me too, me too,” Jayden said.
“See, the boys are playing along with this game. So what do you say, Mom? Don't you want to play along?”
“Oh, all right, what can it hurt, right? I mean people don't have the opportunity for surprises every day, do they?” Beryl said.
Travis, Beryl, and the children had been living at the Escape Inn for almost a month. With his employee discount he'd gotten the rooms for a fraction of the cost of the regular room rate. Now he had found a permanent place for them all to live. And he wanted to surprise them with their new residence.
During the time Travis had been reunited with his family, he had been able to reconnect emotionally with Beryl. He'd also had time to tell Beryl about all that he'd found out about Darrin and about what happened during his last meeting with Darrin. She had been appalled by the fact that Darrin had been stalking her. Ever since then, she frequently looked over her shoulder and paid way more attention to her surroundings.
Travis also filled her in on his current life and lifestyle. He told her about the two jobs he had been holding for months, and the debt he had gotten himself out of. He had also told her about how he now had a budget and didn't spend frivolously, and also how he didn't waste his time anymore. Travis had wanted to let her know he was striving to live as an accountable provider for his family.
“Okay, we are almost there,” Travis said.
The house they were going to wasn't that far from the Escape Inn they had been living in, but Travis drove around longer than need be to throw Beryl off, making it seem like they were going somewhere far.
When they pulled up to their new place, Travis said, “We're here.”
Beryl's hands went to her blindfold to take it off, but Travis stopped her. “Hold on there, young lady.”
Travis got out of the car and opened the door for the boys. He let them out and held their hands as he walked around to Beryl's side of the car. He let her out and then led them all to the front door. He opened the door and led them in. The scent of vanilla wafted from the inside. Travis had lit candles earlier as he prepared their new place.
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