Complicated Relationships (The Southern Devotion Series Book 3) (20 page)

Chapter Thirty-Five

Making amends

To say our father was more than happy to meet with us would be an understatement. Blake Jacobs has always been an eloquent speaker and when I called him he fumbled over his words repeatedly. We agreed to meet at a restaurant, just the three of us. Macy sat quietly for the first part of the meal. I went over the details of the disc and asked him to explain about the divorce and the custody of Macy.

“The envelope the attorney had contained paperwork that went along with that disc. It was an agreement signed by me and notarized that stated I would give you custody and that I would divorce her. When it came time to follow through, it devastated me. You were eighteen, and I felt that you were in a better state of mind than I was so I signed Macy over early. I regret that decision, not because you didn’t do a good job, but because I was a terrible father.”

Macy spoke for the first time since we sat down, “You weren’t a terrible father. Tristan just happens to be a better one.”

Ouch. You could see the pain flash in his eyes over her hurtful statement. I tried to ease the tension brewing,“I appreciate the sentiment, Macy.”

Macy scoffed at my wording, “It’s not sentiment, Tristan, it’s the truth. If I’m going to sit here and listen to him defend his actions then he is going to listen to me telling him the consequences of those actions.” 

To a passerby, it would seem my father was a mute. He sat there staring straight at her without a word or any movement. There were no emotions in his expression, no anger, no tears, nothing.

“Macy, be respectful, please. You’re better than this. He made mistakes, and we’re here to give him a chance to make up for them.”

Macy crossed her arms and slumped in her seat. “He’ll screw it up again,” she said caustically. I had never seen her act this immature before.

“If he screws up this time, then it’s on him. We are going to make the best effort we can though.”

Pushing up to a stiffer position, she took a drink from her water glass, cleared her throat and said, “I apologize for acting childish.”

"Neither of you owe me an apology or anything for that matter."

"Stop," I interrupted before he could go over the same drivel again about mistakes. "The past is the past. Will you join us for Christmas this year? Our friends will have a celebration at their home, and they've extended the invitation to you. I'd like you to get to know Lanie in a better circumstance. And, while we're here, you should know that Lanie and I are engaged."

My father's face brightened with sincere happiness. "Congratulations!" He stood up and embraced me in a firm hug. "She's a beautiful young woman, son."

As if she sensed we were speaking of her, my phone sounded with her ringtone. "We were just talking about you," I answered.

The voice on the other end of the line resembled Lanie, but it was deeper and scratchier. "I'm sorry to interrupt your dinner. I wanted to let you know that I am sick. I'm not sure if it's a stomach bug or food poisoning, but I don't want you to be sick. Until I'm feeling better, I think we should stay at our own houses."

It would be futile to argue with the woman in her current state, so I wished her well and hung up the phone. "I need to get Macy home. I'll call you with the details of Christmas dinner."

"Sounds good. Thank you both for this. I'll do my best not to let you down again."

Angel had been home for a week now, and she had been in a better mood than I could ever remember her being in. She bounced around the house singing as we walked in the door. There are days that her disease makes it difficult to walk and other days that she seems like the healthiest person on earth.

"How was dinner with your dad?"

"Fine. Can you do me a favor and stay home with Macy tonight? Lanie is sick, and I need to go over and check on her."

"Sure, T. We can have a girl's night," she exclaimed wrapping her arm around Macy's shoulders.

On my way to Lanie's house, I stopped to buy chicken soup, sports drinks, saltine crackers, and a few fashion magazines. We exchanged keys once I proposed, so I let myself into her house. I could hear her coughing upstairs. To calm her stomach, I poured the orange sports drink in a cup of ice and grabbed a sleeve of saltine crackers.

Her bed sheets were tousled, and her clothes were strewn all over the floor. Another gagging sound came from the bathroom where I found her slumped over the toilet with her head against the seat in exhaustion. "Lanie," I spoke softly trying not to startle her.

She could barely lift her head enough to scold me. "Tristan, I told you not to come over."

"I wasn't about to leave you here alone and sick." I grabbed a washcloth from her cabinet and ran cold water over it. In the drawer of her vanity was a basket of hair scrunchies. I grabbed the first one I saw, reached down pulling her hair away from her face and braided her hair to keep it out of her face and make it easy to lay down.  I used to braid Macy's hair when she was younger, who knew that talent would come in handy in a relationship as well. She sighed with relief when I pressed the cold rag against her forehead.

I slumped to the floor behind her, and she laid back on me. To cool her off, I moved the rag over her face. "I look disgusting," she began to cry. "You shouldn’t see me this way."

"You're beautiful. And I have to see you this way eventually, you know in sickness or in health and all that stuff." The heat of her skin came through the washcloth. "You're burning up, baby. Do you have a thermometer?"

She pointed up towards the medicine cabinet above the sink. I felt bad moving her, but it worked out at the right time because she sat forward to get sick some more. After a moment, I was able to pull her into my arms again and place the thermometer under her tongue.  It beeped a moment later showing a temperature of one hundred and one.

Her teeth were chattering as she pressed up against me struggling for warmth. To keep her from getting dehydrated, I grabbed the cup of orange drink and held it to her lips. "Take these two Tylenol to help with the fever and this drink is full of electrolytes, drink and it will help keep you hydrated. I bought you a few different kinds, plus I brought some soup and crackers for when you want to try and eat again."

"You're too good for me. Right now, I am freezing. Can you get me back to the bed, please?"

I lifted her up and got her tucked into bed with three layers of covers before she finally stopped shaking. The cold rag had gotten warm, so I drenched it once more in cold water. Under the sink she had a bucket for mopping; I grabbed that to place by the bed for an emergency.

I removed my belt and shoes and slid in the bed next to her, wrapping my arms around her. "Baby, you're going to be sick," Lanie whined.

"Shh. Don't worry about me. I'm here to make sure you feel better. I'm not leaving until your fever drops. Go to sleep, and I'll be here when you wake up."

While she slept, I slipped out of the bed and cleaned her room. Lanie's house was always spotless so I knew that when she got better it would annoy her to have such a mess. I fixed myself a large glass of orange juice from her fridge to get a dose of Vitamin C for my immune system and popped a few Tylenol myself.

I called Angel and arranged for her to get Macy back and forth to school the next couple of days just in case. Next, I called Derrick and asked for a the next two nights off. He had scheduled everyone due to the crowds getting larger lately. He said it wouldn't be a problem, that he and Ashton could take turns covering if needed.

Angel dropped off a bag of clothes for me too. I had her leave them on the front porch and ring the doorbell instead of coming inside. I didn't need to make her sick when she had so much going on already.

I'd been there for three hours, and Lanie still slept soundly. I went up to refresh her rag and check her temperature, it seemed to have fallen from the feel of her skin. I didn’t want to wake her by using the thermometer. I crept back downstairs to watch TV and grabbed Season one of
Doogie Howser MD
to give it a shot since she made such a big deal about it. I laughed when the credits open with him typing on a blue screen with white block letters. This show wasn't hiding its age. Even though bits of it were cheesy, I was getting into it. His pal Vinnie had me laughing hysterically at his awkwardness.

"I love this episode," Lanie said as she stumbled across the room all bundled in her comforter. I sat up on the couch and held my arms out to her. She curled up next to me and laid her head against my chest. "Mind if I watch with you?"

"As long as you don't puke on me," I teased.

"No promises," she replied glumly.

Lanie's stomach bug lasted for two days. The morning she finally felt better, she let me sleep in and made me breakfast in bed. I awoke to the smell of bacon which made sense when I opened my eyes, and she stood over me holding a strip of bacon in front of my nose. "Good morning, fiancé."

I pushed myself into a seated position, and she placed the tray of food on my lap. "Good morning to you. I hope you're hungry," she said.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"Not yet. I'm going to stick with a cup of soup and some crackers just in case. Thank you for taking care of me. I can't remember the last time…I can't remember anyone every doing that for me."

"It was my pleasure. You can get used to that kind of treatment from me, ma'am."

Chapter Thirty-Six

Looking Ahead

Ashton and Gracie had a Christmas Eve party for everyone at their house. They were the unofficial head of our little family. They had extended an invitation to my father for this event, and he accepted. They asked my permission before contacting him with the details, of course.

Macy was pretty excited at the prospect of sharing the first holiday with him in several years. The decorations in their house would put most mall displays to shame. The couple is very much in the Christmas season.

With the extra holiday money coming in at the club, Ashton, Derrick, and Gavin created a fund to purchase presents for children. This year they bought toys, and each took turns dressing as Santa to deliver them to the homeless shelter and the local Children’s hospital.

We all pitched in to help with as much as we could as well. Lanie and I did all our shopping together for gifts for everyone. It was our first Christmas together; we’re engaged and we’re buying joint gifts. The temperature outside was a brisk thirty, but that’s not the reason my feet are so cold at this moment.

Lanie and Gracie had been in the kitchen preparing appetizers when she ran into the living room. “Tristan, it’s snowing!” she exclaimed. We went to the window, and fluffy white flakes of snow were falling from the sky. Some were even beginning to stick. Although in Nashville they usually get ice or barely an inch of snow. Being a native Floridian, this was pretty exciting for me to experience my first snow.

I pressed up behind her, wrapped my arms around her waist, placed my head on her shoulder and watched the snow fall. She sighed with contentment, “Isn’t it beautiful? I love when the snow blankets the ground, and it’s the only time the dead trees of winter are picturesque instead of dreary. I’ve thought about getting married in the snow.” I tensed at the mention of wedding plans again. She pulled away from me and said, “I’m going to finish helping Gracie.” 

Derrick watched as Lanie went back into the kitchen. As soon as the door shut he walked towards me. “Are you two having issues?”

“Not that I know of, why?”

“She looked a bit…perturbed…when she turned away from you.” 

I shrugged; completely unaware of what could have upset her. “We’ve been very happy together, Derrick. Nothing’s changed.” 

He patted my shoulder, “OK, good.” 

“Where’s MJ?” I needed a subject change before I dwell on things too much and get paranoid.

“She’s in the back. As soon as we got here a few minutes ago she had to change Craig’s diaper.” 

Outside the snow was starting to pick up, the back porch now blanketed in white. “Do me a favor and give me two minutes and go get Lanie and send her outside to see me.” Derrick agreed, and I went to do something hoping to put a smile on my fiancé’s face.

The snow had covered the deck enough to give me a message board on their picnic table. I used my gloved hand to write it out. Lanie stepped outside and crossed her arms over her chest when the cold air hit her. “Derrick said you needed me?”  I stepped forward and rubbed her arms for warmth, then led her over to view my note. “What is this?” she asked.

“I wanted to see how it would look, and I gotta say it looks pretty great to me.” I had written out ‘Melanie Jacobs’ on the table. Lanie was short for Melanie and Jacobs being my last name, it represented what her married name would be.

The stern, unyielding look on her face had me worried. “What if I want to keep my maiden name?”

“Well, I guess that would be fine,” I answered with uncertainty. In this day and age, a lot of women keep their maiden name for professional reasons, but it still was a blow to a man’s ego.

She must have noticed my disappointment because she smiled and said, “Aw, sweetie. I’m teasing. Of course, I’m taking your name. And this,” she gestured to the name, “is the sweetest thing in the world.”

Wrapping her arms around me, she gave me a loving kiss. “You taste like chocolate.” 

“Gracie pulled out the chocolate fountain they used at Derrick and MJ’s wedding. We might have tested it out for flavor once or twice.”  

"Tastes pretty good to me." I grinned and bent forward once more for a kiss. We were interrupted by my father coming to tell us dinner was ready.

After dinner, we exchanged gifts and around midnight we began our ride home. Lanie went home with us that night and our first Christmas together would be a happy memory.

New Year's didn't go as well as Christmas, however. The evening went fine at first. I worked since it's a huge night for the bar business. Since I had to work, Lanie spent the evening there with me. She hung out with Gracie, Mary Jane, and Angel, most of the night. Maria and Macy were babysitting the children together and watching the ball drop on TV.

Just before midnight people hustled to find someone to kiss as the music note, Nashville's version of the ball, dropped downtown.

The bartender's found single women in the crowd to kiss and I made it to Lanie's side just as we got to the five-second point. At the stroke of midnight, I took her in my arms and pressed my lips against hers, dipping her in the process.

"Happy New Year, baby."

"Happy New Year," she exclaimed before pressing a blower to her mouth and exhaling to make the shrieking celebration noise. "Come to my house tonight so we can ring in the new year appropriately?" Lanie requested.

"Already arranged it for us to do that. Macy is spending the night with Maria. I get off in two hours."

"And then an hour after that as well," she said with sexual innuendo oozing from her.

"Mmm…I can't wait."

Lanie waited for me in her bed wearing a black nightie with lace over her breasts and nothing else underneath. We made love and fell asleep in each others arms. Up to that point, the night had been perfect. The next morning, things got a bit complicated.

"I've been thinking about something and wanted to get your opinion. I have an extra bedroom here, and since you are renting your place, I'd like you and Macy to move in here with me. What do you think?"

"Right now isn't a good time. Angel just came home from rehab, and I can’t leave her alone in that house."

Lanie stopped me from explaining further. "Of course. I meant after the wedding. That will give her time to either find a new place or possibly a new roommate to share the expense. You do want to move in with me, right?"

"Absolutely. I hadn't given much thought to it though. Angel began drinking because she felt alone and like the last single person on the planet. Now that I'm getting married, what if she slips back into that rut and falls off the wagon?"

"Tristan, you can't put your life on hold for Angel. She's an adult, and she's strong and has faced her problems head on and came out the other side unscathed. Give her some credit that she can continue to prosper."

"It's not that simple, Lanie. I trust her, but alcoholism and depression is a disease, not to mention the MS diagnosis she is coping with."

"MS is a lifetime disease," she stated the fact as though I didn't already know that.

"I know.  It's just that I don't want to move Macy around so much, and she loves Angel like a sister; it will be difficult to leave her there."

"And how do you love Angel?" she asked in an accusatory tone.

"She's a friend, Lanie. I've told you that several times before now. I don't understand the big deal. We probably won't even get married for at least a year." Well, that was probably the wrong assumption to make considering the look on her face when I mentioned it.

Lanie stood up and walked toward the door, "Forget I said anything, Tristan. I have errands to run. Thanks for last night. You can let yourself out."