Talania - a Trip Down Memory Lane... (30 page)

I have just started this session and I already want to be back at home with Tristan Jr. I look over at Drake and he is staring at Selena.

“Drake, go say hello,” I whisper.

He turns towards me.

“Uh, no.”

I frown. Why are men so complicated?

“Why not?”

He contemplates that for a few minutes.

“Because isn’t it tacky to pick her up during her chemo? I mean seriously, isn’t that a little odd?”

He has a good point, but then again it shows something about his character. It shows that he doesn’t care if she spends her days battling cancer or that she is bald. It shows he is a good man.

“No Drake, I think that makes you a wonderful man.”

He looks puzzled. “How so?”

“You’re sitting here with your soon to be sister-in-law, lusting over a cancer patient. She is single I might add. Men are fickle creatures. I am not going to lie and say every man is like you and your brother, because they aren’t. You would probably make her day.”

Drake’s eyebrows pull together. “Really?”

“Yes, really. Go say hello. I have my book. I’ll be okay, promise.”

I watch as he nervously stands up, takes in a deep breath and rubs his palms on his jeans. The poor thing is nervous as hell.

“Go on,” I whisper to encourage him.

He nods and walks over to Selena and she looks up with her big blue eyes. He sticks his hand out to shake hers. She smiles and returns the gesture. Selena shocks me and motions for him to sit. I think he almost does a double take. She looks over at me with a wink. Ah, she is a smart one. You go girl.

He doesn’t come back until my chemo is over with.

“Well, how did it go?” I ask while I’m being unstrapped.

“It went good. I got her number. She has heard about you all over the chemo ward though, the miracle woman with the miracle baby. Damn Sunshine, she is so pretty, and her voice is sweet like honey. She’s nineteen, only about six months younger than me.”

I listen to him as he laces his arm through mine, walking me slowly back down to my Mustang. He loves driving my ‘Stang.

“Drake, I think you’re already addicted.”

“I’m so far gone already. Oh, did you know she is from South America? How cool is that?”

I laugh. He is really is gone.

“Yeah baby brother, I knew,” I giggle.

“I’m a pansy, aren’t I?”

I stop him.

“Drake, look at me right now!” I push him up against the wall and point my fragile finger like the mother I am. “Look at all your brother and I went through. Hell, what we are still going through. Did you think he was a pansy when we were younger? I sure hope not.”

“No Sunshine. I get it. I just never felt like this before. She was all I could think about before I even spoke to her. She calls to me, you know?”

I smile and pat his arm. I loop my arm through his and start walking again.

“I know. You call her and take her on a date. Keep the dinner simple, nothing too heavy just in case she nauseous, okay?”

“Thank you Sunshine.”

“No problem. Now take me home to my two favorite men.”

“What about me? Aren’t I a favorite?”

I laugh. “Honey, you’re my third favorite now.”

“I can live with that.”

I sleep the entire way home, exhausted. I hear Drake cursing next to me when we pull in the driveway.

“What?” I rub my eyes.

“I’m going to kill him,” Drake growls, taking off out of the car.

What on earth? I climb out as fast as I can without stumbling.

Crap! Evelyn, take it easy.

Whose car is this?

It’s a red convertible soft-top Mustang.

I shut my car door and slowly walk up the walkway.

I pick up my pace as I hear Drake screaming and yelling at Tristan. Seriously, what on earth?

I walk through the front door into the living room, stopping short once I take it all in. There is a beautiful brunette women standing in my living room. She is stunning in a halter dress and stiletto heels, with her hair flowing down her back freely.

“Tristan,” I whisper.

“Baby, it’s not what it looks like, I swear. You know I would never do something so stupid.”

“You lying ass sack of shit! I walked in on you two kissing, but it wasn’t what it looked like?” Drake screams.

“She kissed me! I was trying to tell her I am off the market and she attacked me. Baby, I swear I didn’t kiss her back.”

I can’t breathe. I let my purse fall to the floor and grab my chest.

“Drake, look what you just did! She’s in fucking chemo!” Tristan screams.

“I wasn’t the one who had my tongue shoved down someone else’s throat while his infinity was off getting drugs shoved into her body.”

“I didn’t kiss her back,” he growls. “Monica, you need to leave right now!”

She scurries past me as Tristan Jr. starts crying.

“I’ll get him Sunshine,” Drake whispers.

“No, I need to get my son,” I whisper, walking shakily to the steps.

“I’m gonna rip you to fucking pieces,” Drake growls.

“I didn’t kiss her back! You think I am a fucking idiot? She came back from Europe and thought I was still single. She wouldn’t hear me out!”

I let his voice trail out of my hearing as I enter my son’s room.

I stand on wobbly legs and change his diaper. I pick him up and walk over to the rocking recliner, covering my shivering legs with a blanket.

My thoughts are running rampant in my mind. Why would he do this? Does he not want me anymore? Am I to much to handle with being sick and everything else? Maybe he is tired of explaining our memories to me.

I silently sob as I rock my son.

“Baby,” he whispers. I didn’t even hear him come in. I don’t wanna look up.

“Evelyn, baby, look at me.”

I don’t even bother shaking my head no.

“Please,” he begs.

I close my eyes as I hear the hurt mirroring off his voice. I finally look up.

“Baby, don’t cry. I swear I did not kiss her back. She wouldn’t listen to me.”

“We’ve been together for almost a year Tristan. It’s hard to believe someone would just show up out of nowhere and not know we’re together.”

He drops to his knees in front of me with tears streaming down his face.

“She’s been in Europe. She just got back into town.”

“Is this because I can’t have sex with you right now?”

“What? No Evelyn—”

“Is it because I’m sick and you have to always feed me our memories?”

“Baby stop, just stop,” he whispers, as he continues to cry.

“No Tristan! I was getting drugs shoved into my body. Your brother was right. And here you were making out with some other woman while our son was asleep right down the hall.”

He tries putting his head in my lap and I shove him away with the arm not holding our son.

“Don’t touch me,” I hiss.

He chokes on a sob. “Baby, I didn’t cheat on you. I would never do that!”

“I’m fighting cancer and I’m tired. I am going to feed our son and myself. Then I am going to call my father to come and get us for a while.”

“No, no, no baby. I will leave if you want space, but I did not cheat. Don’t leave; please don’t leave!”

“Whatever Tristan, take the baby. I’m too weak to get up while holding him.”

“Yeah, okay,” he whispers.

He takes our baby and tries helping with his free arm. I knock it away, causing pain to flash across his face.

“I don’t want your help Tristan, not with myself. Help with our son all you want. Just don’t touch me!”

He lets me go down the stairs first, probably to make sure I don’t fall. I hit the bottom step and look towards the front door.

“What the hell is she doing back here?” I yell. Hasn’t she caused enough pain?

“She has something she would like to say to you Sunshine.”

“Adella is a friend of mine so I called her to see what all this was.”

Oh, this just gets better and better.

“No, wait Sunshine, let her finish.”

“She told me who you were.”

I cross my arms, leaning against the wall beside of the steps.

“And who am I?” I spit out weakly. This is just too much. I am fighting cancer and just had a baby; how much more do I have to endure?

“‘Love Lost’. You are ‘Love Lost’. You are the mother of his child, and you are fighting cancer. He didn’t kiss me back. He was trying to explain and I…I didn’t want to hear it. I’m sorry for any trouble I caused you.”

She turns and goes through the open door, with Drake shutting it behind her.

“I told you,” Tristan whispers, causing my blood to boil.

“Tristan, tie up your loose ends or untie me,” I spit out.

“Okay baby.”

Why is his voice irritating me all of a sudden?

“I can’t do this. I can’t handle groupies Tristan.”

A year later and they still come around? The hell?

“You know dad paid the label off to cancel the contract. There will be no more.”

“Give it a rest Tristan. That doesn’t stop them from coming around. I didn’t want you to cancel the contract. You did that all on your own cause you wanted to be here. Make it known you’re off the market much louder if you have to, or cut me fucking loose!”

I sigh. I need to sleep.

“Can you feed the baby? I need to sleep. I’m too tired to eat now.”

“Yeah.”

I push past him and walk back upstairs.

I fall asleep quickly. This is all becoming too much for me to bear. I think I might be losing it.

I wake up in Tristan’s arms as he is carrying me out of the bedroom.

What on earth?

“Tristan, what are you doing?” I try to wiggle free, but his grasp is a million times stronger than my weak little cancer-ridden body.

“I have a surprise for you.”

This man is infuriating. I was sleeping!

He walks outside and down the stairs onto the beach where there are a bunch of candles lit. He stands me up in the middle of them.

“Tristan, what are you doing?”

He drops to one knee.

“I’m making it known; making it louder and clearer. How much louder is a wedding ring right?”

I gasp, throwing a shaky hand over my mouth, tears already forming.

“I’m going to recycle from our past, recreating another first baby, but I’m gonna add to it.”

He takes a breath in as he pulls out a ring box and opens it. It is my old ring that I found in my memory boxes.

“There are a million reasons why I love you, but it would take forever to name them, so I will just say a few. I love how you love me like our lives depend on it. I love your laugh, your voice, your touch. I love how when you’re mad at me you show it now. I love how you treat my brother as your own. I love how you call my parents mom and dad. I love you for taking one of my most embarrassing moments and turning it into something funny. I love how you just roll with everything. I love how smart you are. I love how beautiful you are. I love how you came back to me. I love you because you gave me our son. I love how you are so strong even though your body might be weak. But the main reason I love you is for how special you are to me, because there is only one Evelyn Marie Beaumont. There is no one in this entire world but you that I could love. I was meant to ogle you and hit you with that volleyball and I will never apologize for that again. I believe we were meant to lose one another only to find our way back to one another again. So will you marry me my crazy-ass beautiful girl?”