Chapter 2
Before Trish knew it, another work week had flown by, and Friday night rolled around. Jake had brought by some Mexican food the day before for lunch, and tonight constituted the first installment of payback. Since they’d had Chinese and Mexican, Trish decided on Italian for the night’s meal. She had manicotti in the oven and had started on the salad when she heard him knock.
“Hey, Jake.” She unlocked the door and let him in. “Ooo, wine. Red, perfect. Why don’t you open it for us and keep me company while I throw together the salad. It’s been awhile since I’ve relaxed with a glass of wine and good company.”
Jake followed her into the kitchen and took the wine opener she offered him, pouring them both a glass.
“So, what do you have planned for the weekend?” Trish tore more lettuce and added it to growing bowl of greens.
“I’m having dinner with you tonight and Sunday. That’s about it, unless you want to have me over tomorrow night, too.” Jake looked at her hopefully and smiled.
She smiled back. “Can’t. Callie and Eva are making me go with them for a girls’ night out on the town. I’m still not sure what we’re doing, but I believe margaritas will be involved.”
“That’s right, you mentioned that earlier in the week. You can even stay out late since you’ve got the whole house to yourself, huh? Don’t go too wild.”
“Ha! Like that’s going to happen. My wild days were over a long time ago, Jake.”
“Jesus, Trish, you make it sound like you’re a little old lady. You’re still in your prime, woman.”
“It sure feels like I’m a little old lady sometimes. I definitely don’t have the energy I once had. What about you, Jake? Are you still wild?”
“Not so much. Oh, I like to party every once in awhile, but believe it or not, I spend a lot of time at home alone.”
“You’re joking. You always had a bunch of girls vying for your attention. You’re still gorgeous, and you’re charming and a great flirt. Lexie’s definitely in love with you.”
“Men are not gorgeous, Trish, although I’ll take the charming comment, and I do like to flirt on occasion, especially with Lexie.”
Trish looked over at him, a sparkle in her eye. “I hate to break it to you, Jake, but you are gorgeous. Beautiful, too. Those dark blue eyes, that build of yours. Any girl would kill for those long, thick eyelashes and curly hair.”
“Why, Trish, I never knew you even noticed.” He batted his eyelashes at her, making her laugh out loud.
“Anyone with eyes would notice, Jake. Don’t be modest. You’ve seen yourself in the mirror. Between that face, that body, and the cross between cowboy and businessman, you’ve got it going on.”
“Well, aren’t you the one? I can’t remember the last time I got so many complements in one night.” He winked at her and took another sip of his wine, never taking his eyes off of her.
“How about every time you walk into the room? Surely you’ve noticed women checking you out. You could have your choice.” She took a sip of her own wine.
I’m hoping so, sweetheart. “Maybe I should try out some come on lines and flirting on you, Trish. What about it? Here’s one.” Jake cleared his throat and got a sexy smile on his face. “You must be tired, darlin’, because you’ve been running through my mind all day.”
Trish erupted into a fit on giggles. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“No? Okay, how about this one. You didn’t hurt yourself, did you baby? It’s a long way down here from Heaven.”
“Please, Jake no more.” Trish continued to laugh and rolled her eyes. “No wonder you’re single. You might as well ask if she wants a burger and fries to go with that shake.”
“Let me write that one down, Trish. It’s good to hear you laugh. You don’t do nearly enough of that. As I recall, you always had a smile and a laugh handy when you were a kid. Why so serious?”
Trish sobered. “I just grew up, I guess. Life has a tendency to do that to you, especially when you have kids.”
“Kids are all the more reason to laugh and cut up, if you ask me. God knows those two of yours keep me laughing every time I’m around them.”
She smiled again. “Kids do say and do the funniest things, don’t they? You should have a couple of your own some day. You’re great with them.”
Now Jake got serious. “I’ve always wanted kids. Maybe someday. In the meantime, I’ll just rent out yours from time to time. You’ve got great kids, Trish. You’re doing a great job with them. You’re a wonderful mother.”
“Thanks, Jake. Heaven knows I try. It’s the most important job I’ve ever had in my life. I’m so worried I’ll screw it up. They already have a strike against them, since they don’t have a father around. I just want them to grow up and be happy.”
“I’d say they’re off to a great start. It must be hard being on your own.”
“Sometimes. But in some ways, it’s easier.”
“How so?”
“Listen to me, going on and on. I’m sure you’re not interested in the pros and cons of single parenthood.”
“Sure, I am. I care about you and the kids, and I am interested. What were you going to say?”
“When you have two parents, although that’s best for the kids in the long run usually, there are lots of things that come up that you disagree on. Like going to church every Sunday instead of sleeping in, or how to discipline the kids when they misbehave. It’s hard to agree on things all the time.” Serious again, Trish got ready to set dinner on the table.
Jake missed her smile. “I guess it would be a good idea to try to square away as much of that stuff before you have kids as possible. There are always going to be surprises and unplanned things that come up in a marriage, but I’d think trying to find middle ground beforehand would be a good idea.”
“Yeah, that’s true. Unfortunately, you never really know a person before you marry them. You think you do, but they often turn out to be someone entirely different from the person you thought you knew and loved. Life is just full of nasty surprises.”
“Are you speaking from experience, Trish?”
Trish tensed visibly. “Yeah. Now, it’s time to eat.”
What happened to you, Trish? What turned you off of love and marriage and trust? Someday, you’ll tell me. Then I’ll prove to you sometimes it’s worth taking a chance on people.
“It sure smells good. Thanks for having me over.” Jake took the salad from her and walked over to the table to set it down.
“Sure. It’s nice to have company and adult conversation for a change. Have a seat, and I’ll take the manicotti out of the oven.”
The rest of the evening passed by quickly, and both of them took extra care to steer away from serious topics. Jake concentrated on making Trish laugh and relax. He helped her with the dishes and cleaning up, even though she told him he didn’t have to, and they said goodnight early, as Trish had Saturday morning story time to prepare for the next day. They hugged goodbye, and Jake kissed her on the cheek, a new addition to their goodbye rituals from the past. It was nice.
Trish stayed up late again, and felt exhausted when the alarm went off at six the next morning. She gathered her materials and headed off to the Lit Center early to get a head start on some work. Saturday mornings were reserved for giving back to the community. There was no charge for attending story time, and more and more kids were showing up with and without their parents to listen to books being read aloud and to participate in fun activities like acting out scenes, drawing a picture board, and reader’s theater afterwards. She alternated reading Saturdays with writing Saturdays when kids wrote their own stories and got to sit in the fancy red velvet Author’s chair Trish found at a garage sale and share them aloud with others.
“Nice crowd today, girlfriend.” Callie came to stand next to Trish as she scanned the room to make sure everything ran smoothl
y.
“Yes, it is. The Story Time classes are really catching on. I had my doubts they would, but we’re building a nice following. Some of them come back for extra help during the week, so free Saturdays end up bringing in money in the long run sometimes.”
“So, what’s on the agenda today? Are they reading or writing?”
“A little of both, actually. Today is poetry day. We’ve got several fun poems to read to them, then they get to write their own. The best of both worlds, I guess.” Trish smiled at her friend and business partner. “Where’s Eva? We’re usually a trio on Saturday mornings, but I haven’t seen her yet.”
“She’s finalizing this afternoon’s session. We have a guest speaker today from The El Paso Women’s Services. They’ll hear about some great resources available to them.” Saturday afternoons at the Lit Center were reserved for self improvement classes for victims staying in the battered women’s shelter to attend. Callie and Eva talked to them about how to find jobs, conduct an interview, apply make-up and fix hair and dress professionally, and most of all, they tried to instill some self-confidence, which the ladies always lacked. Eva served particularly well in that capacity, since she had been a battered wife herself and had moved on with her life.
Moving on. Trish knew firsthand how difficult that was to do. She’d been on her own since the death of her husband over two years ago, and she still struggled at times. She’d like to think she’d moved on like Eva had, but after talking with Jake last night, she knew she still struggled with forgiveness and bitterness leftover from her marriage. She didn’t want to feel those things, but she had yet to put them behind her.
“Y’all need some help? With the kids gone, I’ve got some time to spare.” Trish offered her time gladly. Although she hadn’t been physically abused by Pete, she sure knew the difficulty in picking up the shattered pieces of what she’d thought would be a good life.
“That’s sweet of you, Trish, but we’ve got it covered. You should go home and get some rest. You’re looking tired these days. Take advantage of some down time with the babies gone. You need it, whether you think so or not.” Callie continued to study her friend, and Trish knew she saw the red eyes and dark circles underneath.
“I’ve got some paperwork to do, then I’ll relax a little. There’s just so much to do, and having the house to myself allows for accomplishing a lot more in a shorter amount of time. That’s what I need to take advantage of.”
The morning sessions with the kids wound down, and Trish started in on her paperwork while her friends helped the ladies from the battered women’s shelter. They made her think of her own marriage again.
It had all started out so sweetly. She and Pete had been high school sweethearts, and she thought they’d known each other as well as they’d known themselves. It wasn’t until much later – two kids later – that she’d finally seen the real man who’d made it a point to hide the truth from her for so long. By then, the life she’d thought she’d been leading went to hell in a hand basket seemingly overnight, and she found herself and her kids destitute and practically living on the streets. Thank God she’d had her parents to fall back on.
Her time with Jake the night before brought all the bitterness to the surface again. She remembered when she’d been like him, looking forward to sharing a future with someone, building a life together. But that was before she’d actually been married. Walking the walk had proved a hell of a lot harder than talking the talk. She didn’t want to be bitter. She just wanted to live her life and raise her kids. Alone. Just like running the Lit Center, she didn’t trust anyone but herself to do things right and get the job done. There would never be room in her life again for a relationship with a man. Too risky, too unsure, and too messy. She had her kids, and that was enough.
However much she reminded herself of that, Trish sometimes felt lonely. She wouldn’t allow herself to think of when her kids were grown and gone. After everything she’d been through the last few years, she still caught herself daydreaming about belonging to someone and having a partner to share her life with, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Sometimes, she got tired of being strong. Sometimes, she wished there was someone around to lean on. Then, she’d remember the hell of the past and snap herself out of it.
The afternoon classes finished, and Callie and Eva made her promise to be wearing something slinky and sexy when they picked her up around seven for girls’ night. Which meant she’d either have to go shopping or root around in her closet for something she hadn’t worn in years. She doubted seriously that she owned anything sexy anymore. Ugh, shopping.
Trish went to the mall and rediscovered that shopping could indeed be fun, especially when you didn’t have two little kids to wag around with you. She found a cute, short skirt and a form fitting cashmere sweater to go with it. High heeled black suede boots were the perfect compliment. Nothing revealed too much, but she knew she looked like a million bucks in the ensemble, and yes, she looked pretty sexy if she did say so herself. She decided to wear her long, honey blond hair down and curled. With a little bit of help from Estee Lauder – which helped cover the dark circles under her eyes – she felt ready to have some fun.
When she heard someone honk, she grabbed her purse and a short, black, leather jacket and locked the door behind her. It surprised her to see Jake’s black Avalanche in the driveway and climbed into the shotgun position since Eva and Callie already sat in the back seat.
Jake had to remind himself to breathe after he saw Trish walking toward the truck. He’d never seen her like this before, at least not since she’d been single. ‘Wow’ was all he could think when he saw her.
Trish fastened the seatbelt and exchanged greetings with everyone. “I thought this was a girls’ night. How’d you get roped into this, Jake?”
He pulled himself together with an effort and answered her question. “I’m the DD tonight. Apparently, it’s been decided that you’re all going to paint the town tonight, and since these ladies are coupled up, it went against some kind of girls’ code to allow a significant other to drive. Something about cramping their style. So, since I’m unattached to any of you, I have the distinguished honor of being your chauffer for the evening.”
Trish smiled. “You poor guy. I’ll try to make it as painless as possible for you. If you play your cards right, I may even be able to slip you a drink or two.”
“I take my responsibilities very seriously. Just Coke for me tonight, but thanks for the thought.”
Callie chimed in. “You look amazing, Trish. You should dress like that more often. The hair and makeup are great, too. You may be a mother, but you’re also a woman.”
Callie’s enthusiasm made Trish smile. “Mother first, teacher second, woman a distant third, Callie. But thanks for the compliment. You guys look great, too.”
Eva wore a little black dress with strappy high heels, and Callie had on a royal blue, shapely short dress with matching high heeled pumps.
Eva said, “I kind of miss my jeans, but it’s fun to dress up sometimes. And the hot look that Josh gave me when I came out of the bedroom to wait for Jake and Callie, not to mention those heated goodbye kisses he laid on me before I left, made it all worth it. I love you, girls, you know I do, but leaving Josh tonight came hard. The man has some serious kissing skills.”
“Cade laid a few kisses on me, too, when I got ready to go. Blue is his favorite color, but I doubt it was the color of my dress that got him going. He’s so cute.” Callie smiled that ‘I’m so in love’ smile as she talked about her husband.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don’t want to hear any more about it from you two. I’m going home alone tonight, as usual, so don’t talk about anything steamy waiting at home for you, please.”
“Who says you have to go home alone, Trish? Maybe you’ll meet someone interesting tonight. No kids or parents at home to witness. You should keep an open mind.” Cal
lie enlisted Eva’s help, and they both nodded in agreement.
Jake entered the conversation with, “Callie, leave the woman alone. There’s nothing wrong with going home alone.”
Callie laughed. “Onward, Jake. Chauffeurs are not supposed to join in on the conversation. Trish is young, beautiful, and single. If she meets someone interesting, there’s no reason why she shouldn’t enjoy her freedom.”
Trish rolled her eyes and added, “This is a moot point, since I have no intention of either meeting anyone interesting or bringing anyone home with me. This is girls’ night, and I’m here to have some fun. Clean fun, I might add. I have an example to set.”
Eva persisted with, “When the cat’s away …”
“I don’t need a man to have a good time, ladies. Men are overrated. Present company excluded, of course.” Trish smiled at Jake in apology.
“Of course. Thanks for the bone.” Trish smiled again, and he winked his eye. He sure was good looking, and that flirtatious little wink of the eye did funny things to her stomach.
They arrived at Carlos and Mickey’s and arranged to sit in the bar at a table close enough to hear the Mariachis, but far enough to allow for conversation. Jake went to sit at the bar, so they got their girl time in, and Trish had a chair facing his back. He sipped his coke and started making business calls to check on the various job sites he worked on, and Trish noticed there were several women making eyes at him, although he seemed pretty oblivious.
Some of the bolder – perhaps sluttier would be a more apt descriptor? – approached the bar to request another drink and oh so casually made conversation with Jake as they waited for the bartender to bring them their drinks. Trish found it extremely irritating. She wasn’t sure why it was so irritating, but it definitely was, and she didn’t like it one bit. She didn’t know which irritated her more, the women themselves or the fact that they were flirting with – no, actually they were throwing themselves at – Jake. She shook herself and reminded herself Jake was a big boy and could take care of himself.
Determined to put Jake and his prospective harem out of her mind, Trish dove straight into the conversation with the girls and another margarita. Jake was a free agent, and his love life was none of her business. What did she care if he slept with every one of the tacky bar flies which approached him? She doubted all of them together had the IQ she did. Sure, they were pretty, but looks weren’t everything, right? Besides, she wouldn’t exact use ‘wall flower’ to describe herself, when she put her mind to it.
An hour later, Trish continued to watch as woman after woman flaunted herself at Jake. Ridiculous. Jake was her friend. And friends helped friends out, didn’t they? She would save her friend from all this unsolicited attention. It was her duty. As his friend.
Trish stood up and walked over to the bar. When she got there, some woman that reminded her of a dirty street whore was leaning across the bar, making the most of her cleavage, and trying to get Jake’s attention. It amazed Trish that her lips didn’t slide right off the edge of her glass, as much lip gloss as she’d slathered on. Enough.
“Excuse me.” Not waiting for the likely prostitute to take her not so subtle hint, Trish grabbed Jake’s arm and pulled him around to get his attention. “I feel bad that you’re sitting over here all alone.” She looked pointedly to the bimbo next to him. “Why don’t you come and join us, Jake?”
“I thought you wanted some girl time. I don’t want to intrude.”
“You won’t be. Come on.” Not waiting for his agreement, she grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the table where her friends were waiting. She couldn’t resist throwing a pleased look over her shoulder at the wannabe hooker. Get your hooks in someone else tonight, you sleazy haybag.
Eva and Callie watched the entire display with avid attention. Very interesting. Better than TV, in fact. The two friends looked at each other and knew at a glance that they were both thinking the same thing. No words were needed.
“Are you sure you ladies don’t mind if I join you? I was perfectly fine at the bar. I thought the whole point of girls’ night out meant you bad mouthed us guys. I know you girls like your privacy for that kind of stuff, and I’m not sure I can stay quiet and not defend us poor boys who are at your mercy. You girls can get real mean when you travel in packs.”
“Apparently not the women hanging all over you tonight. They didn’t look like they had mean in mind at all.” Jake looked at Trish with a question in his eyes. “You know who I’m talking about. All those hussies that kept sauntering over to you trying to get your attention.”
Callie and Eva looked at each other again, then at Trish, and finally at Jake.
“Hussies? Come on.” Well now, this was interesting. Trish couldn’t be jealous. Could she? Jake decided he had to find out.
“Yes, hussies. Women should have more pride in themselves than that. It was disgusting seeing them flaunt themselves and vie for your attention like that.”
“They seemed like nice ladies to me.” Jake smiled slowly and couldn’t wait to hear her response.
“Ha! Floosies, every one of them. I finally took pity on you and decided to put a stop to it. You owe me one.”
“You’re a real pal, Trish. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Trish studied Jake’s face. “Are you being sarcastic? Did you want me to leave you to them? If you were interested, you should’ve said something. Go back there if you want to. I was just trying to help. Frankly, I thought you had better taste than that.”
This made for really great news. She cared, and she showed tendencies towards being possessive and even a little jealous. “No, no. I’m happy right here, and I’m not being sarcastic. You really are a pal. Thanks for watching out for me. I’ll be sure to return the favor. Ready for another round?” When they all nodded, Jake signaled for the waitress.
Over two hours and several drinks later, Jake ushered all three ladies to his truck for the return trip. They were all very happy and very inebriated. And they were all laughing uncontrollably at who knew what. More than likely, they couldn’t tell them what they found so funny, so he didn’t bother asking. He dropped Callie off first, escorting her to the door where Cade claimed her and managed to help her aim her lips towards his own. Finally. Eva was next. Josh met him at the truck, and after plenty of giggles and a noticeable lack of ability to walk a straight line, he picked her up and carried her inside. She waved goodnight over Josh’s shoulder and sighed contentedly.
“I think those drinks have had too many girls, don’t you?” Trish aimed her comment in Jake’s general vicinity.
“They’re not the only ones, sweetheart.”
Trish tried to focus on him, but had a hard time. She found the whole thing very funny, though, and she couldn’t stop laughing. “You’re such a nice guy, Jake.”
“Thanks, Trish. You’re a nice girl, too. How are you feeling?”
“I feel grrreat! I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I had a girls’ night out. Present company excluded. I think it was before I was pregnant with Lexie.”
“You should get out more, Trish. Look at how much fun you’re having. It’s good for you.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe if it was just girls, like tonight. I miss dancing sometimes. I just feel so old sometimes, like that part of my life is over. Fun is done. Hey, that rhymes. Fun, done.”
“The fun doesn’t have to be done, silly girl. Nobody’s too old to have fun. Stick with me. I guarantee you’ll have fun. I’m a fun guy.”
“You’re also a very sexy guy, but I can’t tell you that. All those women coming on to you. I didn’t much care for it myself.”
“How come?”
“That’s a very good question. Damned if I have an answer for you though. I guess I’ll have to think about it for awhile.”
“You do that, Trish.”
“They were hay bags, e
very last one of them. Not good enough for you, Jake. You need a woman who’s smart, honest, hard working, and faithful. You need a woman like me, Jake. I’m all of those things.”
“Are you applying for the job, Trish?”
“I don’t think so. That would not be wise, I don’t think. Or maybe it would. I’m not at all sure right now. What do you think?”
“I think you should seriously consider it. We like each other. You think I’m sexy, and I sure think you’re sexy, especially tonight. You should wear your hair down more. It looks good like that. Anyway, can you think of any reason why we shouldn’t hook up?”
“Yep.”
“What’s that?”
“Because I’d rather be alone. I think. You’re mixing me up. I was just fine until all those loosy goosies started hanging all over you. I don’t know why it bothered me so much, but it did. I’d made up my mind to just raise my kids and stay all by myself. That’s really for the best, Jake, it really is.”
“Is it because of Pete? I can’t believe he’d want you to spend your life alone. I didn’t know him very well, but he seemed like a nice guy. You can’t go on grieving for him for the rest of your life.”
“He did seem like a nice guy, didn’t he? Maybe he was, but it sure didn’t end well. Pete had a hidden side, and it wasn’t pretty. I’m never going to put myself in a position like that again. I’d rather be alone. And FYI, I am not grieving for him. I’m ashamed to say that I never have. I think I must be a very bad person.”
“Sweetheart, you’re not making any sense. What was it about Pete that turned you off of love and relationships? And you’re not a bad person, Trish.”
“I am, Jake. I really am. Not very many people know this, Jake, but I was going to leave Pete. I’d already filed for divorce. Then, he … died.”
“I’m sure that you had your reasons for leaving, Trish. Come on inside. We’re back at your place.”
“This isn’t my place, Jake. This is my parents’ place. I’m twenty eight years old, and I’m living with my parents. That is so embarrassing.”
“Get your own place, then.”
“I have terrible credit, Jake. Not my fault, but there you go. I’m the only one around to face the music.”
“I know a couple of places looking for renters. Let me know if you’re interested, and I’ll see what I can do.”
“I can’t let anyone, especially a man, help me. You can’t trust ‘em, Jake. You think they’re watching out for you and your best interests, but then you find out that they’ve ruined your life.”
“Don’t think of it as relying on a man. Just think of it as one friend helping out another. You helped me tonight by warning off all those … hussies was it? – so now I can help you move into a place of your own.”
“See, Jake that’s what I mean. You are such a nice guy.”
“Why don’t you give me your key, and I’ll see you inside.”
“Okay, my friend. Here you are.” Trish handed over the keys to thin air, and they fell with a loud clank on the porch. She thought it was hilarious. Jake picked up the keys and opened the door.
“Tell you what, why don’t I pour you into bed, and then I’ll see myself out, okay? You’re liable to fall down before you get there without any help.” Jake took her hand and asked her to direct him, which she did. “There you go, Trish. I’ll call you in the morning. Don’t forget you promised me dinner tomorrow night.”
“Okey dokey. Hey, aren’t you going to kiss me goodnight?”
“Do you want me to?”
“Hell, yes, I want you to. I haven’t been kissed in forever, and you look like a good kisser to me. And you’re my friend. Kiss me, friend.”
Trish slung her arms around Jake’s neck and puckered up. He kissed her on the forehead and lifted his head to look down at her.
“You call that a kiss? My granny kisses better than …”
Jake swooped down and kissed her like he’d wanted to for months. Trish felt the passion Jake’s kiss brought with it and drank it in. She was right. The man could definitely kiss. This time when he lifted his head and looked at her, she looked a little dazed.
“Wow! You really are a good kisser, Jake. Yummy.” She pulled his head down for more, and he obliged her for several minutes, until they were both out of breath. “Stay with me tonight.”
Jake took a deep breath and braced his forehead against hers. “Ask me tomorrow, and I will. Tonight, you need to go to bed. Alone. Now, before all my good intentions go down the drain, stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“All warm and cuddly. Come on, in bed with you.”
“Oh, alright. But you sure are a good kisser, Jake. I’ll see you tomorrow night for dinner. And we can have sex for dessert.”
Jake lifted an eyebrow. “We’ll see. Goodnight, Trish the dish. I’ll lock the door on my way out.”
“’Kay. Nighty night, Jake the snake. Shake and bake.” Trish laid her head on the pillow and was out cold in under a minute.
Jake looked at her, smiled, and called himself all kinds of fool for not curling up next to her.