The Marrying Kind (17 page)

Read The Marrying Kind Online

Authors: Monique Miller

BOOK: The Marrying Kind
6.28Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
“Are you serious? That price is like $2,500 less than the sticker price that was on the car,” Travis said in disbelief.
“Yes, it is. I am the owner and I can set the prices. And let me tell you one other thing that might blow your mind. The price you are paying for this car is about five thousand less than market value,” Phillip said.
Travis took a step back and pinched himself. “Are you for real? I mean this is like really blowing my mind.”
“It's called a favor, Travis. And the Lord blows my mind all the time too,” Phillip said.
Chapter 23
Travis hit the CD changer on his new CD player in his new car. He had filled all six changers with music, ranging from gospel to R&B and jazz. He had taken that Friday afternoon off to prepare for his visit with his sons. Beryl had called him the day before to tell him that she would meet him with the boys on Saturday and that they could spend the night with him.
He had been all around the city picking up toys for the boys to play with, groceries for them all to eat, and kid movies and popcorn so they could have movie night together just as they'd had when they were all living in one home. Travis felt like he was shopping on Christmas Eve to surprise the boys the next day.
Thus far the trunk of his Accord was filled with balls and trucks for the boys to play with, plus two scooters. His plan was to make sure the boys had fun the entire weekend. He missed playing with his sons a lot.
The next morning, Beryl met Travis at one of the city parks. Beryl and her new man got out of the Lexus they were in. The car Darrin was driving had a personalized vanity plate with the emblem for Carson State University, and letters that said
EXCEL
. Travis also saw an insignia for a fraternity decaled in the back window of his car.
As soon as the boys saw their father they ran up to him. Travis tried to hold back tears. The boys were dressed similarly with khaki shorts and T-shirts. Cameron, the oldest, had on a shirt that read K
INDERGARTEN
R
OCKS
on the front and T
RINITY
P
ARK
E
LEMENTARY
S
CHOOL
on the back. Jayden, who was three years old, had on a T-shirt that read TLC D
AYCARE
on the front, and the back said T
ENDER
L
OVING
C
ARE
D
AYCARE
C
ENTER
with the address of the daycare.
“Hey, Travis,” Beryl said.
He could have been imagining it, but it seemed as if Beryl's greeting wasn't as hateful as it normally was. It was a bit softer.
“Hello again,” Darrin said.
“Hello,” Travis said in an attempt to be polite. He would have been fine just ignoring the guy all together.
“They've already had breakfast,” Beryl said. She noticed the tension between the two men.
“Okay. Great,” Travis said.
“And, don't forget, Jayden is allergic to peanut butter,” Beryl added.
“I know, Beryl,” Travis replied.
Beryl pulled one of the booster seats out of the Lexus and Darrin got the other one. They handed them to Travis. He put them in the back seat of his car.
“Nice car,” Beryl said.
“Thanks.”
“Is it yours?” Beryl asked. Travis could hear the genuine curiosity in her voice.
“Yes, it is,” Travis said. He had never owned a car free and clear in his life.
“Yeah, nice ride,” Darrin said.
It was all Travis could do not to say anything back. He knew if he did, the wrong words would flow out of his mouth.
Beryl must have sensed the tension again because she quickly said, “So we'll meet you back here tomorrow at five.” She pulled the boys' overnight bag out of the Lexus and handed it to Travis.
“Cameron, Jayden, come give Mommy a hug.” The boys hugged their mother and she kissed them both on the forehead.
“Come on, guys. I've got a fun-filled day planned for you,” Travis said to his sons.
“Yeah, Daddy, what are we going to do?” Cameron asked.
“You'll see,” Travis said. “Now come on and get into your seats so we can head on out.”
Beryl headed with Darrin back to the Lexus. Travis figured the happy couple would probably make the most of their time together without the kids. But as he looked at Darrin and Beryl's faces it was like looking at a tale of two cities. Darrin looked excited and relieved, while Beryl looked keyed up and worried.
As soon as they left the park, Travis drove over to the Silvermont Children's Museum. One of his coworkers had mentioned taking the kids to the museum when Travis told him that he was going to be getting his sons for the weekend. He had never in his life heard of a children's museum and wondered why in the world little kids would want to look at art paintings and sculptures. The coworker schooled Travis on what a children's museum consisted of and he was sold.
In the museum the boys played for hours. At first they played in an area that had a play fire truck and dress-up outfits. Then they played with the play ambulance that had items a real ambulance would have, like a gurney, a stethoscope, a hospital IV pole, and even lab coats. Once the boys got tired of playing doctor, they took on the roles of being veterinarians in a pet hospital. Just like the fire truck and ambulance, the pet hospital was fully equipped. The hospital had stuffed dogs and cats, an exam table, pet cages, and even X-ray sheets and an X-ray light board.
Travis had to coax them to check out other areas. There was a play kitchen, a grocery store, and diner, which all had items to make the areas look realistic. Once the boys finished shopping as if they were in a grocery store while Travis pretended he was ringing their items up on the play cash register, they headed to the three-story pirate ship to play.
They spent four hours in the museum and still did not cover it all. When Travis told them it was time to go, Jayden cried and Cameron pleaded with his father, asking for another ten minutes. Travis gave in twice to the ten-minute extension, which didn't help because the boys still were reluctant to leave.
In the end he had appealed to their stomachs. Both children were hungry. As it turned out they were also very tired. He hadn't gotten a mile down the road before both boys were asleep. Travis drove with the music off so that he could listen to their snoring. It was a sweet sound he hadn't heard in over a year.
When he got them home he fed them some spaghetti he had cooked the night before. As he remembered it, both of them loved to eat spaghetti. Things hadn't changed, they both cleaned their plates.
After giving them their baths, Travis spread out a thick blanket on the floor in the bonus room and put the DVD for the
Cars
movie in the DVD player. The boys clapped their hands when they saw which movie it was. Then Travis popped popcorn and joined his sons on the blanket for movie night. Ten minutes into the movie both children had fallen asleep again.
Travis moved them to his bed to sleep. He grabbed a pillow and blankets and made himself comfortable on the recliner in the bonus room. That night Travis slept like a newborn baby without a care in the world.
The next morning, Travis awoke early and fixed breakfast for the boys. He turned on the gospel music and hummed along with it as he scrambled eggs, made fried country ham, and poured orange juice in their glasses. He also made grits and jelly toast.
After eating breakfast, Travis got himself and the boys dressed for church. He had forgotten how long it took to get two additional people ready for church. So instead of making the eight o'clock service they went to the eleven o'clock. Even though the church had an area for children to enjoy service so they could learn at their own age level, Travis kept the boys close, knowing that in just a few hours, he was going to have to send them back with their mother. Then he didn't know how long it would be before he would get the chance to see them again.
Five o'clock came much too quickly for Travis. When he pulled up to the meeting spot, he saw where Beryl and Darrin were already waiting. When Cameron realized he was going to have to leave his father, he started to kick, scream, and cry. When Jayden saw his brother crying, he started crying as well.
It tore at Travis's heart knowing the picture was completely wrong. Travis could also see that it tore at Beryl's heart as well, as she did her best to take the booster seats back and their overnight bag without crying. She tried to soothe the boys, but it looked as if she needed soothing herself.
Darrin looked like a knot on a log. He was basically useless and void of feeling. “Come on, boys. Time to go.” He sounded like a nerdy robot to Travis.
Travis held Cameron in his arms. “Cameron, it's okay. Daddy is going to see you real soon. It won't be a long time like before. I promise.”
Cameron's cries turned into whimpers. “Promise, Daddy.”
Travis took his thumbs to wipe the tears off of the boy's cheeks. “I promise. Isn't that right, Mommy?”
Beryl did her best to smile. “That's right. You'll see your dad soon.”
“Okay, Cameron,” Travis said to his son. He gave him a kiss and long hug, then placed him in his booster seat in the Lexus.
He did the same with Jayden and gave him an almost tighter hug as he knew Jayden was more confused than anything else. His cries had also subsided when the emotions of his brother and mother had subsided.
The whole while, Darrin looked on as if the whole display was a nuisance and he had better things to do. Again, Travis got bad vibes about the guy. He looked at Beryl, who was starting to get into the front passenger seat of the car. She had barely said two words directly to him. He noticed also that she hadn't made full eye contact with him, either.
“Beryl, I'll give you a call in a couple of days to talk about setting up another time for me to get the boys,” Travis said.
Beryl looked at Darrin for a second first before turning her attention to Travis. “Okay,” was all she said. Then she closed her passenger side door.
As they passed, Travis could see Beryl looking straight ahead with her arms crossed. Darrin seemed to be talking a mile a minute with an intense look on his face. Travis made eye contact with the guy and stared him down until Darrin finally looked away.
Travis wondered for about the hundredth time what was going on. Was there trouble in paradise? He had no idea but prayed that the Lord would look after his ex-wife and the boys. For now it was all he could really do.
Chapter 24
Travis kept hitting his alarm clock but the insistent noise wouldn't stop. Then he realized it wasn't the alarm clock at all. It was his cell phone. He glanced over at the clock and saw that it was 2:43 in the morning. Trying to catch his bearings he realized it was the wee hours of Monday. He wondered who in the world could be calling him at such an early time in the morning.
When he checked out the caller ID his heartbeat quickened. “Hello?”
“Travis,” Beryl said.
“Beryl, what's up?” His voice sounded gruff.
“Can you talk?” she whispered.
“Yeah. What's wrong?”
There was silence for a moment.
“Beryl, are you still there?”
“Yeah,” she continued to whisper.
Again there was silence. Travis wondered what was going on, but he was slow to speak.
“I never told you thank you for doing right by the boys. You've really changed.”
“You don't have to thank me. Those are my boys and it is my responsibility. I am just sorry it took me so long to do what I was supposed to do,” Travis said.
Again there was a brief silence on the other end.
“Beryl, is there something you want to tell me?”
“No, no. I just wanted to tell you that. I am sorry for waking you. Go back to sleep. Good night,” Beryl said as she continued to whisper.
Travis sat up. “Beryl, Beryl.” But instead of a reply, he heard a click on the other end of the line.
Travis laid his head back down on the pillow hard, wondering what in the world had just happened. For the next hour he wondered what in the world was going on. He wondered if Beryl's calling him was her way of reaching out to him, but for what?
The next few mornings the same weird sequence of events happened. Travis's cell phone would ring in the middle of the night with Beryl on the other end. Each night she talked a little more and a little longer with Travis. By the third night he'd come to expect that the phone might ring in the middle of the night.
He wanted to get to the root of whatever problem was going on, but each time he started asking questions of Beryl, she would just clam up and she would get off of the phone. So he learned to listen and let her talk and ask questions at her own comfort level. Travis could almost picture Beryl somewhere in another room whispering to him on the phone. And he wondered where Darrin was when all of her late-night calls were going on. For some reason Beryl was trying to hide her reaching out to Travis from Darrin.
On the third morning in a row that Beryl called, a Wednesday, Travis was geared and ready to listen and answer any questions she had in her normal whispering small talk pattern. Soon after Beryl's exchange started Travis sensed something different in her tone, very different than it had been in previous nights.
“Travis,” Beryl said.
“Yeah,” Travis said.
“I believe you now.”
“What do you mean you believe me?”
“Remember when you kept telling me that you were calling me and leaving me messages, and you accused me of not returning your calls?” Beryl said.
“Yeah. What about it?” Travis asked.
“I wasn't lying. I called you when I got the messages.”
“Beryl, what are you talking about?”
“I changed my billing for my cell phone and asked the cell phone company to send me a detailed bill. It showed me a number of calls that lasted for more than a few seconds from you. You must have left quite a few long messages,” Beryl said.
“I'm confused. What do you mean you never got the messages?”
“I don't know. At first I thought you were lying about calling me. You know your track record with telling the truth is not that great. And you know how you like to embellish things.” Beryl paused.
“I'm listening,” Travis said. He sat up to give her his full attention.
“Well a couple of weeks ago I know I distinctly heard my phone ring. I was in the bedroom about to take a shower. I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was you who had called and that you had left a message. I put the phone back down without checking the message. The shower was running so I decided to check it after I got out of the shower.
“When I got out of the shower and got dressed, I thought about it and picked my phone back up to see what your message said and the message was gone.”
“So maybe your phone is malfunctioning,” Travis said.
“Not only was your message gone, but your name and the history of your call weren't there, either.”
“Did you hit the button to erase the message and my phone call from the phone by accident?” Travis asked.
“No. I've had this phone for a while now and I've never erased anything by accident before,” Beryl said. This time her voice got louder and animated.
“Okay, calm down. What are you thinking? What are you trying to say?”
“I think Darrin erased it.”
Travis processed what Beryl was saying. “Why do you think Darrin erased it?” Travis wanted to be clear. Beryl wasn't the type of woman to just jump to conclusions.
“Because it isn't the first time something like this has happened causing me to second-guess myself.”
“What do you mean?”
“You're not the only one who has called to say they've left me a message and I have not gotten it. So like I said, I went ahead and asked the cell phone company to send me a detailed billing sheet for the past three months and it looks as if there were calls from you as well as a couple other people that I never received,” Beryl said.
“Okay, but again, why do you think Darrin erased the calls and the messages?”
At first Beryl didn't say anything. Travis patiently waited for her to speak.
“Darrin is a bit hands-on,” Beryl said.
“Hands-on?” Travis sat forward in his bed. “He put his hands on you? Did he hurt you? Is that why you've been walking around cloaked in hot clothing when it is over eighty degrees outside?”
“No, no, calm down, Travis. He has never laid a hand on me,” Beryl said. “You know me. I wouldn't put up with that.”
Travis relaxed a little, but only slightly.
“What I mean is that Darrin wants to know what is going on at all times. He wants to know where I am, where the boys are, if someone comes to visit or if I go to visit them. With me not working it's not like I have a job to go to anymore, so I am at home a lot. If and when I do go out and spend any money, he wants to know how much, where I got it, and why I got it. So it's gotten to the point that a lot of times I do just stay home and sketch. It seems like my drawings are the only thing I have anymore,” Beryl said.
Beryl loved to draw. It was one of the main things she did when Travis had been married to her. She had even had a few of her illustrations published in a children's book. Travis felt bad about not supporting her more with her artwork, but was glad that she was continuing to do it.
“And he really doesn't want me hanging around anyone but him. He has alienated my friends and even my family doesn't like to come around when he is at home. They think he is too controlling.”
Travis nodded his head in agreement. “What do you think, Beryl? Do you think he is too controlling?”
“Well at first I didn't, but now I just don't know. I want to believe that he is just really attentive. I mean he knew my situation when I met him. We talked for hours and hours and he has been so supportive. Even when I lost my job a few weeks after he and I started dating, he immediately started helping me take care of all my bills. He made my car payments; I mean I don't have to ask for a thing. Then he even asked me and the boys to move in with him.
“He'd been wonderful and without a job and any prospects at home, I decided what the heck, and I moved here to Silvermont with him.”
“Beryl, it sounds as if he is trying to control you completely. He doesn't want a relationship; he just wants someone he can control,” Travis said.
“I think you are right, but sometimes I think that maybe I am blowing it all out of proportion.”
“Can I ask you a question?” Travis asked. He didn't want her to revert to clamming up on him if he started to ask too many questions.
“Yes,” Beryl said. She seemed so much more forthcoming than she had been before.
“That day I was talking to you on the phone and Darrin called you three times, does he do that often?”
“He does it all the time. That is why I am calling you in the wee hours of the morning. He sleeps pretty hard and this is the only time of night that I can get some peace and quiet to myself. I always feel like he is watching my every move,” Beryl said.
“And that day I saw you at the mall with the scarf and shades on, were you hiding from him?”
“Yeah. I was trying to hide from him but somehow he still knew that I was at the mall. I hadn't told him I was going to the mall,” Beryl confided.
“So how did he know you were at the mall?”
“I have no idea.”
“Something isn't right. I knew there was something about that guy I didn't like,” Travis said.
“Travis, you wouldn't like anybody I dated,” Beryl said.
“True, but this goes beyond that. I get bad vibes when I am around him.” Travis paused for a moment as he tried to gather his thoughts.
“What is his whole name?” Travis asked.
“Darrin Hobbs,” Beryl said.
“Does he have a middle name?”
“Yes, it's Michael.”
“How old is he?”
“He's thirty-three,” Beryl said.
“Oh, so I see you got yourself a young man,” Travis said, trying to make a joke. “Got tired of little old me and traded me in.”
“Not funny, Travis. He is only a year younger than me and you're not that old. You're thirty-six not fifty-six.” Beryl paused and let out a small breath of frustration. “Why are you asking me all these questions?”
“Don't worry about that.”
“You aren't going to do anything crazy, are you?” Beryl asked.
“Beryl, honey, I may be a lot of things, but crazy is not one of them.”
“Sorry,” Beryl said.
“Where—” Travis was cut off by Beryl.
“Oh, my goodness, I hear something. I think he's up. I've got to go.” Her whisper was so low that Travis had to strain his ears to hear her.
He spoke quickly, “If you feel at all threatened, then you get my boys and get out of there.”
“Okay, I will,” Beryl whispered back.
“You call me if you need me. I am here for you,” Travis said.
“I will,” Beryl said; then she hung up her phone.
Travis hopped out of the bed and started pacing back and forth. What could he do? Beryl sounded scared even though she was trying her best to hide just how scared she was. That guy meant Beryl no good. It sounded like he was on the fast track to making it so Beryl would be completely dependent on him, and then what?
He felt helpless as to what he could do. If Beryl had needed him right then, he would not have been able to do a thing. He had no idea where they lived. If he did he would drive over to their house and sit outside just in case Beryl did call him in need. He could just kick himself for not knowing where his little boys lived.
Feeling the need to vent out his frustrations, he went to the bonus room and started lifting weights. As he lifted them he thought about what he might be able to do the next day. First he would go to the library and do a search for the name Darrin Michael Hobbs to see how much information he could pull up on the guy.
Beryl was such an unassuming person that she probably hadn't done any background checks on the guy. Especially since it seemed like he was a knight in shining armor coming to rescue her from her circumstances. He also presented himself as a prince there to lull her into modern-day servitude.
She basically believed that all people were good until they proved themselves to be otherwise. It seemed as though Beryl was starting to see that Darrin was starting to show himself to be otherwise. From the phone calls he'd received, especially the one that night, it sounded as if Beryl was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
There was no way she would be able to do any checking on Darrin with him calling her every two minutes and continually looking over her shoulder. At least she had been savvy enough to realize that she could make phone calls in the middle of the night.
When Travis realized there was nothing else he could do for Beryl in the middle of the night, he took another shower and got back into the bed. And though he tried and tried he could not get back to sleep. He realized that although there was nothing that he could physically do right then to help his family, there was something he could do spiritually. He prayed for them.

Other books

Bzrk Apocalypse by Michael Grant
Cupid's Way by Joanne Phillips
Key to the Door by Alan Sillitoe
The Willows by Mathew Sperle
Murder Under the Palms by Stefanie Matteson
Morgan and Archer: A Novella by Burrowes, Grace