Keeping Her Love (11 page)

“But you haven’t sent the invitations, right?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“I don’t want the plans for your business to get sidetracked because of this wedding, so why don’t we extend it a few months farther into the future?”

She gave him a warm smile. “That’s sweet of you. Yes, perhaps we will.” She laughed to herself briefly. “If I told Layla or my mother that, they’d be quite upset.
Change the wedding date, what heresy!
Hah. What the heck. I like being away from them already. At least if I tell them over the phone or something, I can hang up.”

He inserted a bite of his duck a l’orange into his mouth after responding, “Exactly.”

They finished their dinners, split a delicious crème brûlée with their coffees, and then Rhett paid the bill. They left feeling confident about their decisions, and they discussed the idea of telling the family about their plan to leave
after
they had found a place to move into. They wouldn’t want to carry on living in the house if there was a pessimistic air about their plans. Rhett could already imagine just how wonderful it would be to have an entire apartment to himself and his lover: afternoons spent entirely naked, making love when and where they wanted, not having to step over their words in front of their elders… Who cared about money when the tradeoff was so great!

When they got home, they got right on the computer to look at apartment listings in the area. Using their power as a couple, they decided to split their time setting up appointments with the differing listings they wanted to take a look at. They got excited imagining what it would be like to live together as a couple, with Tula making plans on putting aside some of their savings to decorate their new space. The door to Tula’s room was closed during this whole exchange, and Tula’s father took it upon himself to make sure that it was opened when he walked down the hall.

“What are you two up to?” He asked after swiftly knocking on the door three times.

“Nothing!” They answered innocently, huddled in front of the computer.

“Hopefully nothing impure,” he responded with a wink before walking off.

Asshole,
Rhett found himself thinking after he left.
Oops, I probably shouldn’t be thinking that about the father of my future wife. Still… he’s just as nosey as the rest of them, in his own way. He’s Mrs. Florian with a sausage between his legs. If he had the slightest interest in weddings, he’d be crawling all over Tula’s back about that, too.

They went to bed soon after making some appointments. Tula was tired and had to be in at work in eight hours, so there was no time to be wasted staying up with her beaux. They shared a brief kiss, and Rhett wandered back to his room.

Soon we’ll be sleeping in the same bed, just like man and wife. I don’t know if that spoils things any or if it’s a good prep period for when we are married. Hell, I know I want to marry the girl. I know we’ll be good together, so I don’t need to live together with her to know it. I wouldn’t have done this if things weren’t working out with her family. Oh well.
 

When Rhett woke up the next morning, it began just as it did any other work day. He hit the alarm clock to shut it off, slept for another ten minutes, got up, and then washed his face off. After getting dressed, he stopped to grab a protein bar and a cup of coffee. Glancing at the newspaper Mr. Florian had already leafed through, he’d place his coffee cup in the sink before heading off for the street where his Camaro was parked. Only on this day, there was something disturbing about the way his prized car appeared. Right on the hood was a small, round dent and a few long, jagged scrapes. He gasped, tracing his finger over the affected area.

Shit, what happened?
He thought.
It’s only been about twelve hours since Tula and I were driving in it. Those damn neighborhood kids… I bet it was one of them playing in the street at night with a basketball or soccer ball. This looks exactly like what would happen if some idiot dropped their toy from thirty feet up and then jumped over the car with their cleats. Little hellions. I’ll give the kids on this street a little talking to when I see them next. Christ, this really gets me angry! Another reason to move the hell away from here. An apartment complex isn’t much better, but at least my car has slightly less of a chance of being damaged. Jesus…

He threw his lunch pail into the back, got in, and slammed his door. Taking a moment to gather himself and breathe, he turned the ignition and tried to remain as calm as possible as he drove away.

No need to make situations worse by causing an accident. I have enough on my plate as it is with the move and Tula’s family.

When Rhett got off work, he checked out the designated apartment that he had chosen on Craigslist. It wasn’t a bad space—a little old and covered with many layers of paint—but with a little flair, he knew that Tula could probably make it feel like a home. A small home, anyway. Who needed extra room when all they wanted was to be as close as they could to one another all the time?

Rhett got home at around the same time Tula did that day, due to the fact that she had some errands to run after inspecting the two locations they were thinking of moving into. She was pretty ecstatic about one of the apartments, though it was slightly more pricey than the others. Rhett liked it only because it was the location farthest away from Tula’s family. That was reason enough to settle on the location.
 

“So do you want to make it final?” He had asked while they sat on Tula’s bed. “I already have some credit and rental history, so it should take no time for us to get out of here. A week, I’d say.”

Tula rolled her fingers up and down over the comforter in thought. “Well, do you think this is enough time to look? Should we check out some other places?”

Rhett shook his head. “If you think it’s a good place, that’s good enough for me. It’s a one year lease?”

“Yeah. It seemed a nice enough place. I did what you told me and checked all the faucets and cabinets for problems. It didn’t seem like anything was out of order.”

“Then let’s make this official. We’ll call the landlord and tell him that we want to make an offer.”

She squealed a little, handing him her phone. “Okay! But I want you to do it. I’ve never done this kind of thing at all. I want to see you do it.”

Three rapid knocks came against the door and Tula’s father opened it forcefully. He had a smile on his face, which set them a bit at ease, though Rhett never really did get accustomed to him barging in.

“Hey, kids. Can I speak with you both in the kitchen?”

Tula and Rhett looked to each other in mild concern.
 

“Is there something wrong, Daddy?” Tula asked.

Mr. Florian rolled his eyes up in thought. “No, not really. Your mom and I just want to talk to you guys. Is that okay?”

“Okay,” Tula responded, shrugging her shoulders.

Rhett and Tula got up and followed Mr. Florian to the kitchen. Mrs. Florian was already sitting at the round table with a pot of tea and some treats ready to be consumed. Something seemed a little fishy about all this, and Rhett wanted to ask Tula if this was some kind of bad sign, but there was just nothing to be done about it. Rhett, not caring if it was rude, poured himself some black tea and took a small frosted scone from the tray. The undiscerning eye wouldn’t have been able to pick it up, because on any other woman Mrs. Florian’s expression seemed neutral, but she seemed a tick less cheery than she usually was.
 

“So what did you guys want to talk to us about?” Asked Rhett before throwing the scone in his mouth.

“To start,” said Mrs. Florian, pouring a cup of tea for her husband and then herself, “we’re both concerned about certain plans we’ve heard about lately concerning you two.”

“Plans?” Asked Tula.

“Yes,” stated Mrs. Florian. “We’ve been informed that you two were thinking of leaving.”

Rhett and Tula’s eyes widened.
 

“Where did you hear that?” Tula asked.

“It doesn’t matter where we heard it from,” said Mrs. Florian. “The fact of the matter is that we were informed, and we want to know what the story is. It’s not good to hide things from your parents, Tula. I thought that we raised you better than that.”

Tula slumped back in her chair, pondering in her head on how her parents could have possibly found out about her and Rhett’s plan. “But we were only talking about it last night. We were alone,” she found herself saying aloud.

“Tula, that’s not what we’re addressing tonight,” said Mr. Florian snippily.

Rhett found himself glaring at Tula’s father. He had considered himself a grown man since he graduated mechanics’ school and moved out of his mom’s place. The fact that Tula’s parents were speaking to her as if she were a small child instead of a grown woman irked him in a very primal place. It felt like an extension of the way they were treating him. He didn’t want to say anything, though—he reminded himself that it was better to remain neutral than angry when at all possible.
 

“I’m sorry, but it’s just so odd,” responded Tula. “How could you both possibly know?”

“What
we
want to know is what your plans are,” interjected Mrs. Florian. “Are you planning to move out or not?”

“Yes, we’re planning to move out,” Tula responded in a stony tone of voice. “We were planning on telling you both about it. We just haven’t had the time.”

“That’s not what we were told,” said Mrs. Florian. “Lay—I mean, we were told that you were going to keep it from us until you had already left.”

“Layla told you?!” Tula found herself exclaiming.
 

“Tula, don’t speak to your mother that way!” Shouted Mr. Florian.

Rhett’s teeth ground as he crossed his muscular arms. He was about ready to bolt with Tula in hand if they spoke down to his fiancée another time.

“Look, Mr. and Mrs. Florian,” started Rhett in as calmly a voice as he could muster, “we didn’t mean to offend anyone, and we certainly didn’t want to start drama over this. If we upset you in any form in the way that we went about this, we’re sorry. The fact of the matter is that Tula and I wanted to stretch our wings together a little early. It’s been a stressful time, and we just need a little space.”

Mrs. Florian’s eyes spread to the size of saucers and her complexion turned a shade redder. Mr. Florian didn’t look much more amused.

“This is out of the question!” Mrs. Florian announced. “I cannot have my daughter living in sin with you, however pleasant a man you are. No, this is not the right way to go about it. We’ve been kind enough to let you into our home granted that you remained a gentleman while under our roof. This moving out business… No, I won’t have it.”

Not knowing quite how to handle the situation, Tula and Rhett kept silent. To openly oppose Mr. and Mrs. Florian seemed like a step too far. Rhett didn’t want to become hated by the entire extended family via the grapevine because he spoke out about wanting to ‘live in sin,’ but he also didn’t want to get steamrolled by a couple of Bible thumpers.

Are they aware that Tula and I have been banging since about the time we started calling ourselves boyfriend and girlfriend?
He thought.
Tula must be keeping the wool over their eyes. She’s sweet enough, so it probably wasn’t difficult. God, this whole idea of moving in was such a terrible idea. Nothing but problems since I got here. Tula’s parents are impossible. It’s like being in a gang—once you’re in, you don’t really get out. Should I just move out without Tula? No, that doesn’t seem like a good idea. It doesn’t send a positive message.
 

“Can you give us some time to discuss this?” Asked Rhett. “I respect you both as Tula’s parents, but we are adults. I hope that you two can treat us as such.”

Mrs. Florian was about to open her mouth in the middle of Rhett’s comments, but stopped after the last sentence.
 

“There’s nothing you two can say to change our minds,” said Mr. Florian. “We don’t believe in unmarried people cohabiting, however well-meaning their intentions.”

Rhett nodded politely, pushing away from the table to leave. Tula followed his cue, not saying a word more to her parents. Something felt very cold about the whole exchange, and deep down, Rhett felt that he’d crossed a sacred line with Tula’s parents. Perhaps not something heinous enough to earn their ever-lasting scorn, but they made it painfully clear how seriously the took the prospect of the move out. Getting to Tula’s room, Rhett made the executive decision to close the door behind them. If there were a lock to close, he would have made sure the door was secured.
 

They both let out heated sighs, collapsing on the bed.

“Well, so much for that,” said Tula. “They made sure to stamp out our big plans real quick.”

“I don’t think it’s right, but I can’t exactly do anything about it,” said Rhett. “Is there nothing we can say to them to change their minds? I know they put up a strong front, but you know them a lot better than I do.”

She turned to him with a hopeless expression. “Once they make up their minds about something, especially something like this, they often don’t change their minds back. My mom is pretty traditional with some of her beliefs, especially lately. I guess it’s that Baptist church she loves so much.”

“Do they know we have sex?” He asked in as quiet a volume as he could muster.

“I don’t know,” she whispered back, her face lingering ever-closer. “But I’d rather they never really found out for sure. Doesn’t that seem like the best plan to you?”

They flashed little smiles to one another, eventually joining in little kisses.

“I wish that they hadn’t found out,” said Rhett. “We could have had so much fun just doing whatever we pleased. And they couldn’t have done anything about it if we were already gone. They’d just have to put up with us.”

“Yeah.” She sighed sadly. “I feel like I have no control over my life, you know? That they can say whatever they want because they’re my parents, and I have to do what they say to keep them happy. Everyone has to do what they say to keep them happy. Sometimes I just want to escape—to fly away.”