Queen of Pain (Things YouCan't Tell Mama) (4 page)

7

The next day after Brandon and Tara decided it was time to move forward with planning their wedding, Brandon had left for his corporate offices in New York City when Tara’s phone made an event notification sound. Tara looked at her phone and the event manager displayed, “All Day, Wedding between Gary and Tara.”

The date had slipped Tara’s mind and her thoughts drifted to Gary. Tara wondered what Gary was feeling at that moment knowing that this was the day he was supposed to be getting married to her. What if she had never ran into Brandon in the hotel spa, would she be getting ready to say her marriage vows later that day. Tara went upstairs and sat on the balcony. While Tara looked out at the ocean she remembered someone she hadn’t thought about in years.

Right after she left college and started her career, Tara met a man in a nightclub named Jason. Jason was everything that Tara wasn’t. Tara was slightly naïve, conservative and not very adventurous. Jason grew up fast and experienced many things in life at an early age that should have been reserved for adults. Jason noticed Tara and her wholesome beauty while she was sitting at a table with her friends. Jason walked over and asked Tara to dance. Tara was intrigued by Jason’s aura of confidence and swagger, plus his good looks didn’t hurt. After dancing to an upbeat tune, the next song that played was a slow song and Jason was not about to allow Tara to leave the dance floor. Jason pulled Tara close to him and she felt his strong, chiseled body under his clothes. Jason asked Tara for her phone number and she gave it to him.

Jason call Tara and they next time they met he took her for a ride on the back of his motorcycle and this was a new experience for her. Tara was fascinated by this bad boy that was so different than anyone she had been with. Jason was confident, masculine and reeked of dark sex appeal. Tara fell deep into lust with Jason and began a torrid, sex fueled romance with him. Tara found herself torn between two worlds. Jason’s world was a blue collar slice of America with an edge of adventure and Tara’s was the white collar corporate rat race in which she was a small mouse at that time. Jason swept Tara off her feet and thought he had found the perfect woman to balance his penchant for pushing the envelope. Jason wanted Tara to be his ride or die chick and asked her to marry him. Tara was twenty-two years old, thought she was in love and said yes, but things changed.

Tara got a position in her company that caused her to have to travel to different offices in her company on a monthly basis. Although her travel was not extensive, that’s when she found out about Jason’s streak of jealously.

Jason started to question Tara about what she did on her trips and if she was with anybody else. It turned out that Jason was full of distrust and accused Tara of being unfaithful although he had no proof or reason to base his accusations on. Jason shocked Tara when he insisted that she quit her job. Tara thought long and hard about her situation with Jason and decided that as much as she cared for him, she would not be happy being with a man that wanted to control minute aspects of her life. Tara made the decision to break off their engagement and when she told him, Jason couldn’t understand the idea that Tara wanted to have her own career even if it meant being away from home at times. Jason felt that she should be happy if he was happy, even if that meant that she compromised her career goals.

Tara had reconciled that her time with Jason was simply a youthful error in judgment driven more by hormones than love, but she couldn’t get Gary out of her mind. Tara looked at her phone and found Gary’s number in her contact list. Tara stared at it a long time before she pressed the number to dial it.

“Hello, Gary it’s Tara. How are you?” Tara said.

“I’m doing okay. I’m surprised to hear from you,” Gary said.

“I know, but you know what today is and I had to call you, just to see how you were handling things,” Tara said.

“Yeah, this was supposed to be our wedding day. We would have been full of nerves and anticipation about right now,” Gary said.

“Yeah I know. My phone went off and reminded me that all day I was getting married to you. I’m so sorry about the way all of this happened. You didn’t deserve for that to happen to you. You’re a good man and your treated me like a princess. I should have handled things better than I did,” Tara said.

“Tara there was no good way to handle what happened. It was just an ugly situation,” Gary said.

“Are you seeing anyone special?” Tara asked.

“Why do you ask? Would that make you feel better? I’m sorry, that was mean. Yes, I am in a new relationship, it early, but promising,” Gary said.

“Is it someone I know?” Tara asked.

“Well yes it is. It’s Shannon,” Gary said.

“Shannon, our friend, Shannon Murphy?”
Tara said.

“Yeah, we talked a lot after you left and we grew close. About a month ago we started dating. It’s been good so far,” Gary said.

“That’s good. I’m just a little surprised, but Shannon is a good person,” Tara said.

“Well how are things with Brandon?” Gary asked.

“Things are great, we’ve kind of decided on a date for our wedding, well at least nailed it down to a couple of months,” Tara said.

“That’s great, things are moving forward. What are you doing now?” Gary asked.

“I’m sitting on the balcony looking out at the beach and ocean,” Tara said.

“Nice. Look, I’ve got to run. I’m on my way to meet Shannon for lunch. Tara, it’s good to hear from you, bye,” Gary said.

“Bye,” Tara said.

Tara hung up her phone and starred out at the ocean as tears ran down her face. The fact that her friend Shannon couldn’t bear to tell her that she was in a relationship with Gary made Tara sad for some reason.

Tara was shaken out of her melancholy mood by an incoming call from Ashley. Ashley wanted to know if Tara wanted to grab a late lunch at one of the five star restaurants in the area. Tara agreed to go to lunch with Ashley who said she was on her way to pick her up.

8

Ashley arrived to pick Tara up in her new Rolls Royce Wraith. Tara was wearing exquisitely fitted red leather pants that clung to her trim frame like paint with six inch red designer heels on. When she got into the passenger side of Ashley’s car she saw that Tara was wearing a pair of black leather pants that were similarly tight with six inch black heels to round out her look.

“I like your car,” Tara said.

“Oh yeah, this is the other part of my anniversary present. I like your pants and shoes. We might cause some necks to snap in that restaurant. Two bad bitches in red and black leather, somebody might get the wrong idea,” Ashley said.

“That’s okay. They can look, but can’t touch,” Tara said.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Ashley said as she drove away.

With that, two women that came from very humble beginnings drove away in a three hundred thousand dollar automobile.

“Brandon and I have decided that we should get married within six months. I need to start planning my wedding. I need to find a wedding planner, find a wedding dress and everything,” Tara said.

“I’ll help you. I love weddings. There are great wedding planners right here. In your position, you don’t find a wedding gown, you hire a designer and have it custom made just for you. This is your chance to really have a real fairy tale wedding because you don’t have any limits,” Ashley said.

After arriving at the restaurant and being seated Tara asked Ashley a few question.

“You have been married to Frazier for over a year now. How has it been? Do you travel with him a lot when he goes away on business?” Tara asked.

“I used to travel with him a lot on business trips, and then I found out that they were really business trips. Frazier would be tied up in meetings all day and hosting potential big clients with dinners at night. Now we pick and choose when I travel. If he’s going to France, Spain or somewhere like that then we might extend over the weekend, but just routine trips, I’ll pass,” Ashley said.

“Doesn’t that mean that you’re alone a lot when he’s gone? I know that Brandon is gone a lot. How have you filled your time? There’s only so much shopping and redecorating someone can do,” Tara said.

‘Believe it or not, I’m going to college. I didn’t go to college when I left high school and I spend my time studying and taking classes. A lot of
my classes are online, but I go into the city to attend class once a week,” Ashley said.

“That’s great. I had no idea,” Tara said.

“Look, I need to improve my skill set. I’m married to Frazier and hope it lasts forever, but I’m his third wife. I need to be prepared if something happens and I become ex-wife number four, so I can make it on my own. Of course, I wouldn’t be destitute or anything, my prenup will see to that, but I want to be able to take what I have and build on it and getting a college degree will help me in doing that. By the way has the subject of a prenuptial agreement come up yet with Brandon,” Ashley asked.

“No, Brandon hasn’t brought that up yet, but I know it’s coming, that’s the way things are today. I know
Brandon’s’s been married once before, but I don’t know any details. I know it doesn’t mean he doesn’t love me, but someone with the level of assets that people like him have they would be crazy not to protect themselves financially. The only thing that is strange about a prenup is that it seems to make breaking up an easy choice between spending time to work on a relationship or just paying this agreed upon price to move on. What if someone new just blows your husband’s socks off and he wants to be with them now. He knows just what it costs to dump you and get with this new woman. If it’s not a big deal to him financially, he could just pull the plug. There’s no real incentive for a wealthy person to hang in there over rough spots or resist impulses. It’s kind of scary,” Tara said.

“Look we have very little to worry about compared to some people. We have rich people problems and I wouldn’t complain to someone that can’t put food on their table. That ring you have on your finger would bring you more money than most people make in ten years,” Ashley said.

“I knew there was a reason I liked you. You still have your waitress sensibilities about you,” Tara said.

Ashley leaned in close to Tara.

“I’m not fooling myself into believing that I’m some blueblood socialite just because I married a billionaire. When Frazier first saw me, he wasn’t looking at my brain. He was wondering about what something else a little lower down was like. Well he found out, dumped his wife and brought it home. He better be happy with what I’m putting on him in that department. These guys may be filthy rich, but that other head still thinks for them too,” Ashley said with a mischievous grin on her face.

“You are so bad, but you’re so right. Brandon promised a whole lot of things to me after we had our first encounter. ” Tara said with a laugh.

“That’s what I’m talking about. You’ve got to work that thing while you can, because if things don’t work out for the long haul, you’re still better off than you were before,” Ashley said.

“I guess you’re right, rich people problems. I’m going to be busy for a while planning this wedding. Six months is not that long, especially since it will be in Dallas,” Tara said.

“Dallas, I’ve never been to Dallas. Are there cute cowboys down there wearing those tight jeans and big hats,” Ashley asked.

“Well most of the men dress like men in New York and wear business suits to work,” Tara said.

“Really, that’s a bummer. I was hoping that if I went there to help scout out wedding locations that I would see some cowboy beefcake,” Ashley said.

“I’ve got to get Brandon to Texas so he can meet my parents. I don’t want my mother and father to meet their new son-in-law at my wedding,” Tara said.

“What’s the issue with getting him to meet your parents?” Ashley asked.

“Time, I guess. They don’t live in the city, so we would have to fly in to the closest city and drive down there,” Ashley said.

“Why don’t you fly them up here, then they could see where you live,” Ashley said.

“That’s a thought, but they don’t really travel that much. I guess I’ll have to talk to him
about it. My mother was crazy about my ex-fiancé” Tara said.

“Well, it’ll be alright. I don’t think that your mother will be mean to Brandon because of that,” Ashley said.

“There I go with more rich people problems. I guess I’m over thinking everything,” Tara said.

Tara and Ashley enjoyed lunch, before moving on to a round of retail therapy at the designer boutiques that were abundant in the community. Ashley dropped Tara off and Brandon was already at home. Tara spoke to Brandon and he agreed that it was important for him to meet her parents and they would fly down to Texas the next weekend. Tara called her mother and told her that they would be visiting. Tara was a little nervous, but she was excited in anticipation of seeing her parents for the first time in a while.

9

Brandon and Tara landed in at the East Texas Regional Airport in Longview, Texas on Brandon private jet. Once they deplaned they made their way to a rental car counter and picked up the sport utility reserved for them. Brandon punched the address of Tara’s parents into the GPS system and began the journey to their home situated off highway 259 between Henderson and Mount Enterprise, Texas.

“There are a lot of trees out here,” Brandon remarked.

“That’s why it’s called the piney woods,” Tara said.

“I’m a little nervous,” Brandon said.

“You’re nervous? I can’t believe that. You’ve met President’s and dealt with some of the most powerful people in the world, these are just two simple country folks,” Tara said.

“No they’re not. They’re your parents and two of the most powerful people on earth, because they will be my mother and father-in-law. What if they don’t like me or think
I’m an asshole like a lot of other people do?” Brandon said.

“I don’t think you’re an asshole,” Tara said.

“Well I hope not since we’re getting married! Thanks for the endorsement,” Brandon said with a laugh.

“I was trying to be supportive, and then I realized how ridiculous that sounded,” Tara said laughing.

After thirty minutes of driving, Brandon exited the main highway and drove one mile down a side road that intersected the main highway before pulling into the driveway of the modest three bedroom home.

“Well, we’re here,” Tara said.

“Okay here we go,” Brandon said as he got out.

June and Clyde had come out onto the porch to met their daughter and her fiancé. Brandon was struck by how much Tara looked like her mother only younger. June was about the same height and size as Tara. With gray streaks in her hair, a few wrinkles on her face and blue eyes that told a story of overcoming a hard life to survive. June wore her blond hair in a tight bun and walked out to meet them.

“Tara baby, come give your mama a hug,” June said as she squeezed her daughter tight.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Clyde, Tara’s father,” Clyde said as he shook Brandon’s hand.

Tara’s father Clyde was about five feet ten inches tall and he weighed about one hundred and eighty pounds. Clyde drove a tanker truck for an oil company and hauled water for injection into underground shale deposits to fracture the rock to allow natural gas extraction.

“Nice to meet you Mr. Wilson,” Brandon said.

“Hello Brandon, I’m Tara’s mother June,” June said as she shook Brandon’s hand.

“Let’s get inside, it’s hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk out here,” Clyde said.

Brandon and Tara had packed lightly for their brief two night stay. Brandon had informed his staff that he would be back in the office on Tuesday of the next week.

“Brandon you can put your things in this room back here and Tara your stuff can go in this room,” June said.

“Mama, what are you doing? Why are you telling us to put our things in different rooms?” Tara said.

“Well, you aren’t married yet and if you’re not married you are not sleeping in the same bed in this house,” June said.

“Tara, that’s okay. We go by the rules of whomever’s home we’re in,” Brandon said.

“Tara, I like him already,” June said.

Tara looked at Brandon, went into her room and placed her bag on the floor. Brandon and Tara joined

“Well Brandon, it’s nice to finally meet you. I know that New York isn’t around the corner, but
I’ve been anxious to meet the man that swept Tara off her feet. Where are you from originally,” Clyde asked.

“My family lives in California, in the Berkley area near San Francisco,” Brandon said.

“How did you end up on the other side of the country in New York?” June asked.

“There was this girl I was crazy about and I followed her all the way to New York and she dumped me for some stock broker guy,” Brandon.

“Ain’t that always the story? Men end up all over the world following behind a woman. I got to hear the rest of this. So you’re all the way in New York and the woman’s gone, what did you do?” Clyde asked.

“Well I had an uncle in New York and I stayed with him. I was pretty good at writing computer programs and got on with a company in their programming department, but I really started messing around with writing programs for personal computers. I thought that one day almost everybody would have one of those in their house. If there was a way people could connect and stay in touch with their friends and family all over the world, wouldn’t that be great. I started designing
friendworld and now, not only do people have computers in their home, they carry them around as phones today,” Brandon said as he took his cell phone out.

“I don’t know a lot about computers, but my niece came over last week almost in tears. I asked her what was wrong. She told me that she was upset because her best friend had moved her out of the house to the neighborhood on
freindworld. I didn’t know what she was talking about,” June said.

“Wow, that’s means that her friend moved her further out from her on getting information. I designed
friendworld so that where you are indicates how close you are to someone. In the same room like we are means we’re very close. In the same house is really close, like close friends and family. Being in the same neighborhood is when you’re kind of a casual friend. When someone shares something like an announcement they choose whether to share it with people in the room, house, neighborhood, city or world. Her friend must have told her that she was moved out of the house because otherwise she wouldn’t know where she was in the network,” Brandon said.

“So that’s why she was upset? Now I understand what going on. So you came up with this on your own?” June asked.

“Yeah, pretty much and after my girlfriend dumped me I just started writing computer code to make it work until I got it up and going. It started slow and just kept growing into what it is today. Now there’s a huge staff of people working to keep it going and growing around the world,” Brandon said.

“There’s nothing like having an idea and working hard to make it happen. Just like Henry Ford,” Clyde said.

“You know I read his story and it’s amazing what he did in a time when there was nothing to copy,” Brandon said.

“Well Tara you’ve got yourself a smart man. What about Tara caught your eye?” June asked.

“Mama, you shouldn’t be asking that,” Tara said.

“Why shouldn’t I ask that?” June said.

“What if he says it was my butt or something?” Tara said.

“Well I know it wasn’t that because you got the same one I do, none?” June said.

“Mama, please,” Tara said.

“That’s okay. When I first saw Tara, her beauty, smile and there was something in her eyes that spoke to me. It seemed that she wanted to see what the rest of the world was like. I couldn’t resist trying to get to know her,” Brandon said.

“Well, that must have been a powerful attraction considering that she was engaged to someone else,” June said.

“Mama we don’t need to go there. We all know the situation,” Tara said.

“No Tara, I think we need to put that on the table. It was a painful thing that happened and we all took heat for it. It was very embarrassing for Gary, people said bad things about Tara and they thought I used my position and wealth to steal Tara away from someone that worked for me. The truth is, I just fell in love. Tara wasn’t married so I didn’t break up someone’s home and we just fell in love with each other and I promise that I won’t hurt her as her husband,” Brandon said.

“I’m not blaming you one bit. When I first saw June she was going with one of my friends and they were serious, but I got her attention and here we are,” Clyde said.

“Mama, you never told me about that,” Tara said.

“Why would I tell you that? You were a kid,” June said.

“Hey folks, I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry. Where can we go to get something to eat, my treat,” Brandon said.

“Why don’t we go to that Mexican food restaurant? I could use a margarita,” Tara said.

“Let’s go,” Clyde said.

Brandon was a hit with Tara’s parents and later that night after it cooled off some, Brandon was sitting out on the porch with Clyde.

“It sure is quiet down here,” Brandon said.

“Yeah, I love the country,” Clyde said.

“Do you smoke cigars?” Brandon asked.

“Every once in a while.
What do you have,” Clyde said.

“I’ve got a few Cubans,” Brandon said.

“Cubans, I thought we couldn’t get those over here,” Clyde said.

“I bought up a lot of pre-embargo Cuban cigars. Their expensive, but I only smoke them on special occasions. Here, let me give you a light,” Brandon said.

“Oh man, that’s smooth,” Clyde said.

“These are the best,” Brandon said as he puffed on his cigar.

“Look at them out there smoking those cigars like their old buddies,” Tara said,

“Tara, Brandon’s a nice guy. Do you love him?” June asked.

“Yes mama, I love him,” Tara said.

“That’s all that really matters,” June said.

“Look mama this is the main house, there’s one in Florida, Hawaii and France too,” Tara said as she showed June a picture on her tablet computer.

“Good lord. That looks like a big hotel. How do you clean a place that big?” June said.

“Mama, I don’t clean that house. We have a staff that comes in to work every day. We have a housekeeper, groundskeeper and cook,” Tara said.

“You don’t even have to cook. Where do I sign up for that?” June said.

Tara and Brandon finally retired to go to bed in their separate rooms.

About one o’clock in the morning, Tara felt her bed move and she opened her eyes.

“It’s me,” Brandon said in a whisper.

“What are you doing sneaking in here?” Tara said as Brandon snuggled up to her.

Tara felt something familiar.

“I know you don’t you think you’re getting some with my parent’s room right up the hallway, do you?” Tara said.

“Come on, why not?” Brandon said,

“I just feel weird about it,” Tara said as Brandon started rubbing her in all of the right places.

“Oh Jesus, Brandon that feels good, okay, but we have to be quiet,” Tara said as Brandon pulled her panties down from behind.

There in that small room of her parent’s house far away from the opulence of their home in New York, Tara made love with Brandon in silence. It was one of the most intense and erotic experiences Tara ever had. Tara bit down on her pillow to muffle her moans and the feeling that she could be caught by her mother at any moment made everything seems even more illicit.

The next day Tara’s younger sister Caitlin, and her six year old son came over to visit. Caitlin was twenty four years old and had a somewhat contentious relationship with Tara. Just before she was to finish high school Caitlin got pregnant and that caused her not to be able to go to college. Caitlin was not the student that Tara was in school and she always resented the comparison her mother would make whenever her older sister’s name was brought up.

“Hey David, come give Auntie Tara a hug,” Tara said as her nephew ran into the house.

“David, this is Brandon, he’s going to be your new uncle. Say hi,” Tara said.

“Hi,” David said.

“Hi Tara,” Caitlin said as she walked inside wearing shorts and a pair of heels.

“Hey Caitlin, what’s up? This is my fiancé, Brandon. Brandon this is my younger sister Caitlin,” Tara said.

“Nice to meet you. So you’re really going to marry my sister. I hope she makes all the way to the wedding this time without running out on you,” Caitlin said.

“Caitlin, that’s enough!” June said.

“Aren’t those shorts a little too short and tight?” Tara said.

“It’s hot outside, so I’m wearing my
coochie cutters,” Caitlin said.

“Caitlin, could I see you in the back room for a minute?” Tara asked.

“Sure,” Caitlin said as she followed her sister.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you acting this way?” Tara said.

“Acting what way Tara,” Caitlin said.

“Like you’re trying to embarrass me on purpose in front of Brandon,” Tara asked.

“How am I embarrassing you? I’m just being myself. At least I’m not trying to be a fake just to marry some rich man,” Caitlin said.

“What?!
You come in here dressed like a streetwalking hooker with your ass cheeks hanging out in front of my fiancé. It’s totally disrespectful,” Tara said.

“What, are you afraid that he might like what he sees?” Caitlin said.

“If Brandon wasn’t here I’d whip your skinny ass like I did when we were growing up!” Tara said.

“Hey, hey!
You two cut that out. Caitlin you know better than coming in here dressed like that with your sister’s future husband in the house,” June said.