To the grammar police, keep me on my toes, I’m trying to get better at proofreading.
You’re a vile one, Mr. Grinch
You have termites in your smile
You have all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile, Mr. Grinch
Given a choice between the two of you I’d take the seasick crocodile! Dr. Seuss
Drew hit Tess’s number on his speed dial. He was ten minutes away from home. He hadn’t seen her a week and was wondering if he should have spent more time in Austin cooling off a bit. He wanted to deal with her betrayal directly and with honesty, but he didn’t want to go nuclear on her when they talked.
She picked up on the first ring. “Hello Drew”
“Tess, I’m about ten minutes from the house. I’d like to come by and pick up some clean clothes if that is alright.”
“Of course, but this is your home, you should stay here. Do you want me to find somewhere else to go?”
“No, I’m sure the baby is comfortable where he is, and I’ve been driving for two days. I’d like to get a good night’s sleep, then go by the shop and check the boys in the morning. Maybe we could meet at noon.” His tone was flat, he shared nothing of his emotions.
“OK, do you want me to make something for you for dinner?”
“No, but I would appreciate it if you could pack some clothes in my gym bag and toss it on the porch. That way I won’t have to come in.”
“Is it that bad Drew, that you can’t abide the sight of me?”
“Tess, I’ve always been honest with you, and I always will be, so the answer to your question is, yes, it is that bad. I cannot trust what I might say to you after driving almost 900 miles and being emotionally and physically exhausted.”
“Your bag will be on the porch in five minutes” she replied softly.
“Thanks. Do you think your mom could take the baby out while we talk tomorrow? A couple hours should work. What is his name by the way?”
“Yes, mom can do that for us. His name is Michael Finn.”
“That’s a nice name” Drew replied. Then he clicked off.
Drew slept restlessly at the Fairfield Inn just off highway 24. He was in the garage by 6 AM a good hour before anyone else. He surveyed the work orders and took general stock of where they stood. As he had predicted, the last week being spring break the work had been light. But the appointments for the coming week were already almost full. Having taken Lori’s advice to heart, he had made one decision today. He was staying in Clarksville, or “Clarkston” as she had mistakenly called it. That made him chuckle. He would continue to grow his business and make a life for himself. Divorce seemed more than likely but that wasn’t a decision he needed to make this morning. One step at a time.
Tess tossed and turned all night. Her mother suggested a mild sleeping pill and about 1 AM she finally popped one and was able to get about 6 hours of sleep before the morning light was streaming into their bedroom. “Odd,” she thought, “I still see this as our bedroom. Probably not much longer though.”
She showered, fed the baby, and talked with her mom most of the morning. Her mother advised her to listen more than talk, not make promises she couldn’t keep, and for goodness’ sake, don’t try to push Drew in a direction he didn’t want to go. This was a first conversation her mom reminded her. Even if there wasn’t a second one, she wisely counselled her daughter not to try and manipulate the situation. At 11:45 her mom left.
Drew was greeted enthusiastically by his crew when they began to arrive around seven.
“How are we doing Mitch? Things running smoothly?”
“I donno boss, I guess so. You’re better with the books and schedule than me, but I don’t think I screwed any of it up too badly. You stickin around or are out of business?”
“Nope, we’re not closing. Yep, I’m staying. I’m in a bad spot brother, I won’t bull shit you. But the place I need to be to get through it is right here with my friends. I’m seeing Tess this afternoon so I may know more by then, but I do know I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me Mitch.”
Mitch smiled and turned to give his attention to a 2017 Hyundai Genesis G90 that needed new brake pads. As he left, he said, “That’s what I figured.” Which, translated from Mitch parlance meant, “I love you too brother.”
Drew pulled into the driveway at noon, parked and knocked on the front door. Tess was surprised he didn’t just come in. “He doesn’t see this as his home anymore” she thought to herself as she looked in the mirror one last time to make sure she was presentable. She put on a smile as best she could as she opened the door. She wanted to dive into his arms and cling to him for dear life, but she kept herself as composed as she possibly could.
“Drew, the door was unlocked, this is your home, you don’t need to knock, please come in.”
“Thank you, Tess,” he replied ignoring the house comment, or just leaving it alone for the time being.
They sat down uncomfortably at the kitchen table. Tess asked if Drew wanted something to drink, he took a bottle of water.
Always the gentleman, Drew asked, “Tess, would you like to begin, or do you want me to start?” Taking her mom’s advice, she asked him to go first. He looked relieved.
“Eight days ago, I rushed home, picked you up and we raced to the hospital. Even with all the cursing you did due to the pain of the contractions, I was the happiest man on earth. I was getting ready to be a daddy to our son or daughter with the only woman in the world I truly loved. My heart was so full I thought it might burst. That joy was interrupted for a moment when the doc said the baby was breach, but I was confident that everything would work out fine. Lord knows with all the praying our parents and friends were doing I felt you and the baby would be OK.”
“When the doctor came out of the delivery room, I knew right away something was off. She assured me both you and the baby were fine. She told me you had delivered a healthy nine-pound baby boy. Looking back, I realize she never called him “your son” or “you and Tess have a baby boy.”
“Then she walked me down to the nursery, and at first, I thought there was some mistake. The doctor assured me; this was the baby you had birthed. I asked if there was any way medically, we could have a child with his physical characteristics. She said it was all but impossible at which point she began to ask me some awful questions.”
“Did we change plans and have someone impregnate you?”
“If not, did I have any idea if you sought invitro or a sperm donor without my knowledge?”
“Then the ultimate humiliation, ‘Was there a chance you had a sexual liaison with another man who obviously looked different than me?’
I answered no to each question but a moment after the last one, it dawned on me. It had to be Eddie. You had spent so much time with him, there was no other reasonable answer. Somewhere, somehow, you’d abandoned me for him. It was a soul crushing moment that I’ll always carry with me.”