Serenity

Traci awakens on a crisp spring morning. Wishing she could cover her head and go back to sleep. It was Monday and she had to work. As she went about her routine, a vision from her dreams the previous evening still haunted her. His eyes were all she had seen. How she knew they belonged to a man she wasn't sure she just knew. They were vivid green with specks of gold. It gave her goose bumps.
As she walked into work she was so preoccupied that she almost missed her boss coming at her warp speed. The look on his face said it all. His wife had found out about his latest " lady friend". There were times Traci didn't know what to think about Bob. The man was 60 yrs old. He had been married to Elise for 40 years. She just couldn't understand with a wife like her, why he was still chasing "skirts."
Well, with Bob gone Traci had the shop to herself. "Expressions" was a 3-in-1. It was a photo studio, lab, and store all in one. She and Bob ran the store and lab. Elise ran the studio upstairs. As she went about preparing to open the store, her thoughts drifted to her ex-husband.
Nathan has the appearance of an honest man. Unfortunately sooner or later you realize it’s a false. Nathan Pierces generosity and sincerity was a cover for his greed. But to quote a cheesy phrase she had fallen "hook line and sinker".
Her first date with him had started like all the other blind date her mother had set up for her. She had threatened to cancel. She was especially not looking forward to this one. Nathan was 25 and a junior partner at a law firm. Her mother said she had met him thru a friend. But Traci guessed otherwise.
He had sent her flowers the day before with an obnoxious card that read ' 24 hours to paradise". [Can we say EGO!!]? She opened the door expecting to see a flashy suit and a Jag parked outside her house. Well she was pleasantly surprised to see a man dressed in tan khakis and a black polo and a convertible instead of a Jag.
The rest of the date went on the same path. The egotistical man she was prepared for never surfaced. He was gentleman and sweet. On reflection he could have won an academy award for that performance. Especially considering a repeat performance was few and far between.
The bell above the door brought her back to the present. She looked up to see a baseball hat bobbing up and down the aisles. As she looked down the center aisle she saw her mother enter the store.
"Hello mother, what brings you here this morning." asked Traci plastering a smile on her face.
"The same thing as always my mission to get you a man." her mother replied. Considering her repeat failure in this area, and Traci’s verbal requests for her to stop. It was a surprise she was still at it. As her mother told her about the new neighbors grandson Traci noticed the baseball cap had joined them at the counter.
"May I help you?" She asked as she turned to the man at the counter. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her mother make her exit.
"Sure can you make an enlargement of this?" he asked. Then handed over a wallet size picture of a young boy. She recognized him as Alex a boy in her daughter's class.
"How do you know Alex?" she asked him.
"He's my son, so I guess the real question is how do you know him."
"Oh he is in my daughter's class at school."
It was at that moment that he looked directly at her eye to eye. She had to grab the counter to stabilize her. His eyes- those eyes- were the eyes from her dream!!!! They were looking right at her. She was surprised she was able to make the arrangements for him to pick up the purchase without faltering. She gave him a weak smile as she told him the package would be ready Wednesday.
Jake was still puzzling about the beautiful woman’s reaction to him. He made a mental note to attend more P.T.A meetings at Alex's school. She would undoubtedly be there. It would be a good way to casually “bump” into her. He felt a tap on his shoulder and came to face to face with the women's mother.
"Are you married," she asked him?
"What?"
"You heard me I said are you married?" She replied matter of factly."
"No."
"Do you have any kids, a girlfriend, any entanglements?"
"I have a 6-year-old son and no to your other question."
"Perfect how would you like to take my daughter out??
"Whoa…. Excuse me?"
"Are you deaf? I said would you like to take my daughter out, you know on a date?" she replied slowly.
"What makes you think she would go out with me if I asked her?"
"First of all you won't be asking her I will. I periodically set her up and she goes to humor her poor old mother" she replied with a sardonic grin.
"Ok let's say I do want to take her out how do you know I wont take her to a dark alley and chop her up?" He replied sarcastically
"Well first of all by the looks you were shooting at her in the store cutting her up was the last thing you were thinking. Just in case and since you seem to be new in town…”
"I have lived here for six months".
"That is still new come to my house Friday night at 6:30. I'll tell her I am having a welcome dinner for a new townie, okay." She gave him her address and walked off.
He grinned as he got into his car now she was something else. He called information on his cell phone. Asked for the number to go with the address she had given him. Started his car and found his way to his ex-wife's.
As he stood on her porch, he wondered what she wanted. He knew she wasn't happy he had moved here. But he hadn't moved for her, he moved to be closer to his son and to spend more time with him. And he couldn't do that living 2000 miles away. His eyes almost popped out of his head when Melissa answered the door naked.
"Well Jakey, what can I do for you" she asked.
"I'm Sorry did I interrupt something?" He looked past her at the living room filled with candles and flower petals. “You called me and said you wanted to talk. That doesn't look like a place to talk."
"We never needed words to communicate," she said with a voice that made her intentions clear as day. "You moved here to spend more time with your family."
"I meant Alex! Sorry Melissa, but in case you forgot we are divorced. And beside that I no longer want what you are offering," he said as he turned and started walking back to his car.
"Rob asked me to marry him," she shouted
"Then what the hell was this?"
"I though you want me but if not I might as well marry him
"Go right ahead" he said as he got in his car.
He made a few stops on the way home. When he got home he called the number and asked the lady if he could bring Alex Friday. She said yes and sounded delighted he wanted to bring Alex. Then he called the photo store and was relieved when a man answered the phone. He arranged to pick up his order Saturday. That way good or bad she had to see him again. He also made a mental note to take more pictures and do all his developing at "Expressions".
It was on Wednesday as Traci was cleaning the kitchen that Anne called. "Dinner my house Friday night, bring Trish, got it?"
"Yes mom" She replied.
"Good ", her mother answered and promptly hung up.
Traci replaced the phone astonished I cannot believe my mother just hung up on me!! I will show her she thought and rushed upstairs to the back of the closet to the outfit that drove her mother nuts. She had bought it her senior year. She wore it every once in awhile to annoy her. It fit loosely at one time now it fit like a second skin. She hung it on the door.
She returned to her cleaning. As she went about her monotonous chores Her mind returned to her dreams from the night before.
In her dream she was laying in a hospital bed holding a baby that looked just like Jake. With Jake, Trisha, and Alex looking over her at the baby. She shook her head to dispel the image. Jake Scanlon was the name he had left with her for the enlargement. And thru the mommy network she had learned he had moved here to spend more time with his son. She had heard lots of nice things about Jake, but his ex-wife Melissa was a different story. She had only met Melissa a few times and didn't care for her.
She hadn't seen Jake since Monday. But now when the face haunted her dreams she saw his face in full. Sometimes he haunted her waken hours too. She checked her watch and left to go to the grocery store.
As she went thru the aisles she made sure she grabbed some of Trish's favorite things. She was browsing down the cereal isle when she bumped into another cart. She looked up to see she had clumsily bumped into Jake.
Jake was thinking of gray eyes and blonde hair when he felt his cart crash into something. He looked up and straight into the same gray eyes.
"Oh, excuse me." He said lamely. "I didn't see you."
"Don't feel bad I wasn't paying attention either. I'm trying to remember Trisha's favorite cereal. Kind of dumb huh but all of a sudden I can't remember which one she likes and which one she eats on demand."
"Ahh, you see the secret is to buy one that has marshmallows and a cartoon on the front and one that doesn't. That way when they grab for a cereal and it’s not the one they are use to they will think one is a treat and the other is some dumb health kick mom or dad is on that week."
"Hey you are good at this stuff. Any other pointers, should I get a pen?" She said with the sweetest smile he had ever seen.
"No, that's okay I wrote a book. Easiest ½ million dollars I ever made." He replied with a bit of sarcasm. She obviously got the joke she laughed. He liked the sound. That was a weird thing to say. But true nonetheless.
At that moment Jakes pager went off. "Oh excuse me that's my cue I set it to let me know when I have 20 minutes before Alex gets home it was nice talking to you." He said smiling and turned to go. Ignoring the urge to turn and look back. He could feel her eyes on him so he knew she was watching him.
As he checked out and drove home he couldn't figure out why he had not mentioned he would see her Friday night. Then again with the covert way her mother had invited him, He had a feeling she wasn't supposed to know.
When he got to home Alex was sitting on the stairs with his babysitter.
"I'm sorry we are early Mr. Scanlon", Shannon said as he climbed out of the car. My sister needs me to watch the triplets. I waited till you got home I would never leave him alone. I'm glad you are home I really have to run. Bye Alex, Mr. Scanlon I'll see you tomorrow."
He turned to Alex as Shannon drove off.
"Well what do you want to do tonight?"
"Can we watch Star Wars dad can we can we PLEASE?"
"Well I don't know which one do you want to watch?
"Return of the Jedi. Dart Veder, he is sooo cool."
"I thought Yoda was 'soo cool?' What makes Darth Vader cooler than Yoda?"
Alex seemed to give this a good deal of thought before answering.
"Well Darth Vader has that cool voice and he controls the storm troopers."
"Well I guess if you want to waste a perfectly good night in front of the TV I guess that's okay, I on the other hand would rather play football."
"Well how about if we watch Vader tonight and play football tomorrow?"
"Ok, you win this one." Jake replied smiling.
Yeah moving here was a good idea. He can run his business by phones fax machines and a business trip or 2 if necessary. Alex was defiantly worth the sacrifice. So he went inside with his son and spent the night making dinner, putting away groceries, helping with homework, and of course watching Star Wars."
The next 2 days were much of the same he came home and they were waiting for him. It was a good thing for they had to get ready for dinner at Anne's. They were expected at 6:30, but he figured getting Alex to comply with a decent outfit and extra bath might pose a challenge. He still felt guilty not telling the girl about the dinner. As they say in for a penny in for a pound.
Amazingly it wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. Alex didn't like the bath or the "monkey clothes" as he called them. Monkey clothes to him were anything that didn't have a cartoon character on it. It was near fatal to ask him to wear jeans and a regular old plain colored shirt. You would think cartoon shirts had some special power or something.
They arrived with five minutes to spare he heard a couple female voices inside he recognized Anne's, and he guessed the younger one to be her granddaughter.
Inside Traci was lost in thought as she set the table while her mother and daughter sat and gossiped in the living room. She felt guilty about not bringing Trish over more often but she could only stand much of her mother's interference in her love life. Or as her mother liked to say the lack there of. She had already gotten Trish involved not a week goes by lately that she is not told by one or the other how better their lives would be with a man in the mix and maybe if it wasn't to much Trisha could really use a sibling or two.
And by the number of plates her mother was at it again. There were 2 extra places set. God I hope she didn't invite 2 men at once!! Then again she had learned never to underestimate her mother. She still remembered the time she had called saying she had a ‘slight heart attack’. When Traci got to the hospital her mother had every available doctor on the ward in her room. Just in case Traci wanted to marry a doctor. She just happened to be passing by the door when the doorbell rang.
She recognized the two visitors immediately. Jake and Alex make quite an impression she gritted her teeth together to keep her jaw dropping, as well as from saying something to embarrass herself.
"Hi we were invited for dinner " Jake said then continued when it became obvious that she wasn't going to move anytime soon. "May we come in?"
Traci moved to allow them passage. When she looked back at her mother she was giving her a look. She wasn’t exactly what the look was about. But if her mother could see in her head she would be in big trouble.
Then her mother crossed into the foyer to welcome her guests. As Trish began to talk to Alex as she showed him to the playroom. It began to be obvious she was the only one who was in the dark about the Scanlon's dinner invitation.
As Anne showed Jake into the living room and gave him a drink, Traci pondered who would die first Jake, Trish or her mother? And what the hell was that look her mother had given her? What the hell did she think she knew? There was no way she could possibly know the dreams she had been having since the first one.
Every dream this week had had some odd connection with Jake and her and a lasting future. Sunday it was just the image of his eyes. Monday it had been a wedding scene with of course her and Jake as the guests of honor. Tuesday it had been the baby one. Wednesday had been Trish's wedding where she and Jake had renewed their vows at Trish's request. And last night had been a very graphic second honeymoon. Now that was what fantasies were made of. She closed her eyes and saw Jake the way he had been in her dream.
And now the man who had been commanding her dreams was sitting across the room chatting with her mother like it was a normal thing. She couldn't help but notice how naturally he fit into his surroundings. She could almost picture herself sitting next to him on the loveseat he occupied with his arm around her watching Alex and Trish sitting on the floor playing some silly board game with her mother.
To dispel the image she decided to check on the kids. She excused herself and went down the hall to check in on the kids. And again she noticed how natural it looked to see Alex and Trish playing together. They were so immersed in their play that they didn't even look up when she entered the room.
Back in the living room Jake chatted quite easily with Anne. It seemed she had lived in Grunge County Alabama when she was young. So they chatted about the difference in the small towns then and now. And every once in a while he would sneak a glance at the woman he now knew to be Traci. When he looked back to her mother she gave him a knowing look. Good thing she didn't know what he was thinking she'd have slapped him by now. He had seen Traci’s cheeks redden before she had excused herself and he wondered if their thoughts had been on the same path. Then again with the outfit she had on it was hard to think any other way
At that moment Traci entered and announced dinner was ready. And once again saw Jake giving her outfit the once over. Maybe it hadn't been such a good outfit to wear. Then again the way Jake was looking at her he didn't mind the scenery. Most shocking of all when her mother had seen her walk thru door with pair of jeans and turtleneck that looked painted on all she had said was "Don't you think its to hot for a turtleneck." And all Trisha had said is "wow mom you look sooo pretty." What was with kids and their exaggerating their words?
As she turned to go back into the dinning room she felt eyes on her back. Since her mother had gone ahead of her those eyes could belong to only one person. She sat closest to the door. That side of the table only had one chair by it. She was hoping he would allow her daughter to sit there. But when Trish came into the room she sat across the table and asked Alex to sit with her. Which meant Jake had to take the seat next to her.
As they eat and talked she learned that they only lived about 10 minutes apart. All thru dinner they seemed to constantly bumping into each other. If she didn't know any better she would think he was trying to unnerve her. But why would he do that?
"So" Anne began "Alex do you live with your dad?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Call me Anne I despise ma'am."
"Cool!"
"I understand you go to school with Trisha?"
"Yeah, we are in the same class."
“And do you like school?”
“Yes.”
"What is this mom the French inquisition?" Traci asked a little annoyed by her mothers questioning a kid like she was the Gestapo.
"I'm sorry dear I just like to get to know my guests." She said with a sour look on her face.
"I don't mind Ms Pierce, I'm used to people asking me a lot of questions. Its nice the questions are about me for once", replied Alex.
"What are the questions usually about" She asked him
“Mostly kid's moms ask me if my mommy and daddy are still together. And if I will give him their phone number and put in a good word for them and that they will make it worth my while,” he replied.
"And what do you usually do with those numbers" Jake asked.
"I usually throw them away, Alex answered “if they want you they can do it themselves I'm not a messaging center." He then looked at Traci and said, "None of them are as nice as you. I wouldn't mind if you asked questions. I know you are not a money grubbing 2 bit floozy".
"I'm not a what,” Tracy asked.
"That's what mom calls the ladies who chase after my dad."
Ironically, it was at that second that Jake took a drink of his tea. The second Alex said floozy he choked mid sip. Tea got caught in his throat and he went into a coughing fit as he tried to get his breath. For some reason everyone else seemed to think this was funny. It wasn’t that funny to Jake. Here he was trying to impress Traci and his son was telling her about all the women who wanted him. And on top of that he couldn’t drink tea right. She must think he was a first class bozo. Traci patted his back trying to help, he was sure. But he got the feeling she was getting more out of it then she should.
How dare Melissa talk that way with Alex in hearing range! He was going to strangle her. He couldn’t deny women had made no secret that they were interested in him. Jake had gone out of his way to make sure they stayed away from Alex. The fact that Melissa had told Alex about the floozies irritated him to no end. He didn’t want those vipers near him.
And the fact that those scheming vipers had tried to use his son to get to him was the last straw. Now the question is how to get Alex to tell him who they are without telling him why he wanted to know. He would pay each and every one of them a visit and “politely” tell them to leave him and his so alone. He heard Alex’s voice and realized, Anne, Trisha and Alex seemed to be talking about something he and Traci, should do.
“I’m sorry what did you say I wasn’t paying attention.” He said with all eyes on him. The three involved in the conversation all wore conspiring looks on their faces. Trisha’s was one of embarrassment, anger, and intrigue. Which told him the conversation he had missed was mighty interesting.
“Well is anyone going to tell me what I missed?”
“Well Mr. Scanlon, Alex and I thought that if you made people think you were already in part of a couple. Then the floozies would leave you alone,” replied Trish
To be honest he couldn’t disagree with that idea he would have to think about it. It seemed that there was more than just a friendly suggestion going on here. Why would that embarrass Traci? He was about to find out as Trisha continued.
“And since you are by yourself and mommy’s by herself who better than her to help you. She’s always telling me to we should help those in need. Right mom?”
He looked over at Traci and bit back a laugh. She looked proud, embarrassed, and on the verge of murder. He tried to imagine what it would be like to pretend to be with her. And then it hit him why she was so embarrassed. If they attempted this farce it meant going out in public and pretending to be mad for each other. Until all the “floozies” got the message. Then they could fake a breakup to their fake relationship and all would be back to normal.
The thought of breaking up with her didn’t sit well with him. Whether the relationship was phony or not why would anyone break up with her. It just sounded ludicrous. Then again if he agreed to go along with this farce it would give him ample time to get to know her then maybe it wouldn’t be phony for long.
At that moment as he looked across the table at the three conspirators and realized that was what they were counting on. He knew Alex wanted him to “meet people”, and he knew Anne set her up on blind dates, so it was logical that Trisha felt the same way Alex did. Then he remembered Alex mentioning a woman named Anne that helped at his school. He would be willing to bet that that Anne was sitting across the table from him. And Trisha wasn’t the only one being set up tonight. It was also a safe bet that this idea wasn’t a last minute idea that they came up with the ten-minutes they were in the playroom.
Trisha was thinking along the same lines. And the guilty look on her daughter and mothers face convinced her. So this was her latest tactic. It was one thing for her mother to try to run her life but dragging 2 kids into it was going to far. Then again it doesn’t look like she had to work to hard. It was obvious those two wanted what the other had.
She wondered at that moment about Alex’s mother sure she had heard a lot of things about her she wondered what type of mother she had been and with a swift glance as Jake what type of wife she had been to.
“Umm Traci can I talk to you for a minute?”
She gave him a short confused nod and got up to follow him. As the others got up to join them he shook his head and said alone. When they had escaped to the farthest reaches of the back yard he let out a sigh and a chuckle.
“What do you think about what just happened in there”.
“I’m not sure” she replied, “I knew she was up to something but this?”
“Well it’s not a totally outrageous idea. I mean it makes a little sense. It would practically be self-serving for the both of us. I mean how would your life be different if your mother quit setting you up with strangers.”
“She does not set me up with strangers. When sets me up with people she knows or friends of her know.”
Laughing he told her how he had been brought into the picture tonight, the inquisition outside the store and her mothers diligent love of the idea of Alex being part of the dinner. She looked utterly aghast.
“I specifically told her no more blind dates of any kind. No offense to you but they ever end well believe me. And do you mean to tell me you are actually considering going along with this ridiculous idea.”
“What is so ridiculous about it? It will keep your mom off your back and as Alex so plainly put it keep the floozies off mine”.
“Does my mother actually think I believe a fake relationship will keep her off my ass about a real one? She wants me to get in a relationship that will end up with marriage and more importantly more grandchildren. So yes for you it will be self-serving. But if I do go along with it there is nothing to convince me that my mom will stay off me to get married. The only up fall is IF we decide to do it the kids will know from the beginning that it is not real so they will not get to attached to the idea of a happily ever after and another plus if Trish sees what its like to have a “sibling so to speak” maybe she will get off my back to give her a real one.”
“Does this mean you are thinking about it?”
“I’m thinking lets put it that way.”
“Ok how about this we get a pad of paper and write down the pros and cons.”
She agreed and went to get the pad.

2

While she was gone he gave the whole thing an over view. It was obvious the kids wanted this “relationship” to be a real one. And he was sure if he could get her to agree to the “con” he could give everyone what he or she wanted. He wasn’t sold on the whole happily ever after, but the though of Traci being his if only for a little while made him smile. And who knows maybe in the future the ever after may just come into play.
Traci returned to see Jake with a sly grin on his face. She wondered what he was thinking about so intently?
“Ok lets get this over with. Lets do this in two sets you make your lists and I will make mine then we will make a joint list ok.”
“Sure what did you tell your mom you needed the paper for?”
“I didn’t I had it in my purse. Now get busy.”
They sat in silence each concentrating on what he or she was doing.
When they were finished their lists looked like this:
Traci’s List
Pros
Mom promised to chill for a while.
It will help Jake.
It would make Trish happy

Cons
She would have to lie to her friends
It was dishonest
The gossips would have a field day

Jake’s List
Pro’s
It wouldn’t be hard.
It would make 3 people happy.
It may be quite entertaining
No more floozies

Cons
Can't
Think
Of
One
Yet
It would make some people jealous
When they were finished writing their list they exchanged them and read the others list.
“You make yourself sound like a sacrifice. Would it be so hard to pretend?” Jake replied.
“Well look at your list you make it sound like a game.” Traci responded annoyed.
“Well if you think about it, it is. We are pretending which is a form of playing.”
“Ok I will give you that but what’s this about making people jealous?
“You seriously don’t know. Man if your mother knew we wouldn’t be in this predicament in the first place. Most of the single men in the county would give their right arm to be play your boyfriend.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere, ok so are we saying were going to do this?” she said
“Why not I think it will be fun and since you don’t have any bad cons. I don’t see why not. The question is are you going to do it. I want a yes or no, no mutterings.”
“Well, ok fine I will go along with this.”
“Good. Now to take care of the technicalities, Will you go out with me?
“Why of course I would be delighted,’ she said not trying to hide her sarcasm.
“Nothing I like better than a sure thing.” He replied smiling. He ducked as she tried to hit him with the paper. “See now you wont be lying. We are a couple I asked and you agreed.”
“Now lets talk terms,” she said trying to restore the seriousness of the issue.
“And what terms are those?”
“Well what is and isn’t allowed in this pseudo relationship.”
“For instance?” …
“Well for instance intimacy that sort of thing”, she responded shyly.
“Well if you insist”. He picked her up and said straight faced “your place or mine I was willing to wait but if you are so eager. I guess I could comply.”
She kicked and screamed for him to let her down. But he continued on his way carrying her into the house, as if he didn’t feel her fists attacking him. He finally set her down in the living room where the rest of them had congregated. And said with a flourish
“Traci has agreed.”
Anne and the kids pretended to be shocked. The kids were obviously thrilled as they jumped up and down. Trish heard Traci whisper to Alex “I told you it would work.” She started to walk over and ask her what she was talking about, but Jake put his hand up to stop her. “It was their idea so let them enjoy it.” She got the feeling he knew something she didn’t. But she decided to leave it alone…for now.
What had she got herself into? Had she actually agreed to parade around as Jake Scanlon’s girlfriend? What exactly did that mean? The questions running through her head were starting to give her a headache. As she watched the celebration going on before her you would think someone was getting married. Now, where had that thought come from? She was entering into a fake relationship with a she was not sure if she liked. Yes she was attracted to him but that didn’t make things any different.
He watched the emotions play on her face. He could almost see the struggle going on within her. He knew she was attracted to him. But how was he going to convince her to turn the game into reality. Then again if they had a real relationship, could Traci be right? Would the kids get hurt if it didn’t turn out like they hoped? That was the last thing he wanted to do.
Across the room Anne watched the faces of her daughter and Jake, she could tell from the way they were acting at the store that they were attracted to each other. But the look of turmoil on Traci’s face and the struggle that Jake seemed to be having with himself made her wonder if this had been such a good idea. Feeling a little guilty she walked over and tapped them both on the shoulder as not to interrupt the kids and motioned for them to follow her out of the room.
“I know this was partially my idea but are you sure u want to go through with this. Forget the kids for a minute; this has to do with you 2. Can you do what you are planning on doing? Think about it. Once this charade starts the kids will only be bystanders. It will be you who will be doing it. So if you are doing it for them don’t. I don’t want anyone hurt,” she said looking at Jake “that includes you and Alex. Well that’s all I wanted to say I will go sit with the kids if you need some time.”
“So are you having second thoughts I think mom is right we should air it all out before it begins. Any doubts should be taken care of now.”
“I don’t have any doubts. I was just wondering about the end of the whole thing. What about you, do you have any doubts?”
“Well to be honest I was worried about the kids its weird that they are so happy we are faking a relationship. And are we teaching them the wrong thing by doing this I have always told Trish that these things are not to be entered into lightly. But yet here I am doing the exact opposite?”
“Well think of it this way no matter how this ends for the little while this lasts they each get what they want, Trish gets a “dad”, Alex gets a “mom”. As for teaching them something wrong just see it as doing what they want.
“But are they really getting what they want, its not like we are living together. So wouldn’t it be more of the same? “
For some reason the thought of living with her and all that entailed made him smile. And the fact that she was worried about his kid as well as hers made his attraction to her grow. She was exactly the type of mom he had always dreamed his kids would have. Which made him think of the one thing neither of them considered yet.
“Umm, not to be nosey, but what kind of involvement does Trish’s dad have in her life?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Well, if you and daddy are pinning for each other it may put a damper on the plan. Or if she tells daddy everything it might be hard to put a believable front up if daddy knows the truth and decides to tell everyone what we are doing.”
“Well there is no pinning going on I can assure you of that. And if Trish wants this there is no way she would screw it up by telling him whenever he pries himself away from his girl of the week!” she replied slightly annoyed. “What about Alex’s mom?
“Well, my darling ex-wife and I use that term lightly, recently tried for a reconciliation because her boyfriend proposed to her and she wanted to try all her options. I made sure she knew I was not an option. So this will only help in that respect. And Alex hardly tells his mother about school. Not that she asks. Then again I wouldn’t put it past her to drill him when people find out about him but he has a defense system against her. So no worry’s on his part. But I’m sure you know if this last more than a minute the ex’s are going to insist meeting “the new one.”
“Lets cross that bridge when we get to it.”
“Ok lets talk strategy. How shall we begin our sordid romance?”
“What do you mean?”
Well we can’t just show up somewhere, as a couple no one would believe it. I know. Anne would you come in here for a minute?”
“Yes”
“I hope you wont take this the wrong way but when is the next one of your hen meetings?”
“Well I don’t have hen meetings but I will be going to the hairdressers in the morning. ” She said with a sardonic smile.
“Ok good now do any of the women from your hairdressers live in Traci’s neighborhood?”
“Yes. I believe Doris does.”
“Good I am going to take Alex home then I am going to drive Traci home
“But I have my own car why would you drive me home”
“Be quiet dear and listen I think he has an idea brewing” her mother said with a hushing tone.
“Thank you, now as I was saying when I take Traci home Trish will let herself in. and do whatever she does and Traci will stay in the car at which time you will call Doris and tell her to check and see if Traci got home alright that she had car trouble and the nice young man you had for dinner had offered to drive her home but in these days you never could be sure. Now when she looks out the window she will see lights on in the house but Traci will be in the car with me and we will be laughing and talking. And that should be enough to start the gossip.
“Yeah that will do it”, replied Anne.
“Now to ‘thank me for my kindness’ you will invite me for dinner. Now it won’t be just any dinner invitation. You will ask me in front of some one else. Like tomorrow for example when I come to your shop to pick up Alex’s picture.”
“I thought you picked those up Wednesday?”
“I had a schedule change.” He replied with a sly wink toward Anne.
“Well I don’t know about tomorrow the only person going to be in the store tomorrow besides me will be Elise.”
“That’s perfect no one likes to gossip more than Elise,” replied Anne.
“Elise is not a gossip. She is a very moral woman.” Traci said defending Elise seemed to be a daily duty of hers.
“I didn’t say she wasn’t moral but she has to deflect the gossip about bill some way so why not highlight someone else’s problems to take the spotlight off of hers!”
Traci could think of nothing to say to that one it is probable that was the way Elise saw it to.
“Anyway, getting back to the plan. Now with having driven her home and, and her having me over for dinner. The gossips will automatically insinuate that we are dating. But that won't be enough to guard me from the floozies, as Alex likes to call them. Now since most of them are parents at the kids school, hmm are you scheduled to help at the party next Friday?”
“Yes why?”
“Because we are going together me, you, Alex, and Trish. Now that should pour some heat on the gossips. Then starting next week you and I are going to be seen together a lot. Now who can we trust to watch the kids?”
“I volunteer of course,” replied Anne “since this was partially my idea.”
“I was just going to suggest that”.
“Why the hell are you two talking about me like I’m a kid.”
“Do you have any thoughts?”
“As a matter of fact I do the things you are planning seemed to forced. And if they look forced than we are wasting our time. So my suggestion is that we go about this, as any other relationship would happen you ask me out I say yes we date. That way it looks real. Now the idea of using Doris is a good idea except one thing if Doris sees us together in the car she will start gossip that will be taking the wrong way. What kind of mom would I look like to let Trish go into the house alone? That would start rumors about how I care more about a man then my daughter. No I think it would be better just to be seen in public together. Whether it is a planned date or we just happen to keep bumping in to each other. Also I know the kids are in on it but I don’t think we should discuss the game plan so to speak. They know we agreed to go along with their plan that is all they need to know. We need to keep as much of this between us as possible.”
“Well that was a mouthful. Ok fine we will go with your suggestion. I was planning something elaborate, but I agree with Traci something simple would go better.
“What do you think Anne?”
“Like I said it’s up to you how you want to do just tell me if you need me for anything. Now what do you say we have dessert I believe to children have school tomorrow.”
For the rest of the night they made a conscious effort to keep stick to normal topics. Jake for one was happy about that. He was afraid of what else might come out of his son’s mouth. He had no idea Alex knew words like floozy. The fact that his mother was the one who told him didn’t exactly sit well with him either. When they got home he was going to have a long discussion with Alex. Then he was going to have a nice long talk with Melissa. He knew Alex felt a little left out since most of his friends had moms and dads at home. Alex finally understood that he and Melissa were not going to be getting back together. And Jake had thought that was the end of it. But obviously he had not given up hope on being quote-un-quote normal family.
Which made him wonder just what would happen if they just stuck to the plan got the floozies to leave him alone then split. Would the children be happy with just having tried? Or would they be upset that it didn’t work? Shaking his head he turned his attention back to the people around him. This family was definitely a force to be reckoned with from Anne all the way down to Trisha. Anne was very loyal to her family. She obviously did whatever it took to give her family what they needed or deserved whether they liked it or not. He laughed a little to himself thinking of their meeting. It made him wonder if she ever considered the career as a detective, her interrogation skills were top notch. Then he turned his attention to Trish. She was a beautiful little girl; he could see why her mother was so obviously proud of her. And she must be a little like her grandmother to have gotten Alex to go along with their scheme. Then he turned his attention to Traci. She obviously worried about everyone else’s happiness before hers. She was like the fierce lion at the gate to those old world mansions. There was no way to predicting how his whole thing would end up.
But he was sure Melissa would be hard pressed to believe that after her he would pick someone so normal. Melissa’s high and mighty lifestyle had left him bored. Normal was exactly what he needed. And no doubt Alex could do with some normalcy. After being a model and former football star’s son, he was sure the fact that no one here knew of his parent’s former glories was easier on him. He once marveled that when he went to school no one jumped out of the bushes to take his picture. And he was treated as any other kid.
When Melissa moved here she was just a divorcee. No one knew she had won every crown shy of miss America. And no one knew Jake was a former Quarterback. To the people in this town he was Alex’s dad and a developer. He was now thankful his dad had made him go to college for more than football.
And since he owned the company he had basically all the free time needed to do what he needed for Alex. He was only a little surprised that when he moved here. Melissa didn’t fight when he wanted custody of Alex. Then again he had always been more of a burden than anything else. Oh sure she said and did all the right things. But she never passed up the chance to “alleviate” stress by sending Alex away. And now with him living within driving distance she had no problem with him keeping Alex.
Meanwhile Traci’s head was spinning with what ifs. What if she got to serious about this what if he did? What if nobody bought it? What if the kids decided they didn’t want it to happen? She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Ok she said to herself I have to think logically. If I go along with this mom will leave me alone for the duration. But then again she could just stockpile dates till it was over. And speaking of over how long did they plan to do this? What would be the right course of action? What would be most believable? Just how far would she allow them to go. She was pretty sure he was joking earlier when he expressed an interest in her physically. But what if he was serious. What if he would gladly welcome the opportunity to sleep with her? Was she willing to do it? I mean sure it would be fun. But would it be right? She was still thinking of the possibility of sex when she looked up to see his eyes trained on her. She blushed wondering if he could tell what she was thinking. To mask it she got up and took her plate into the kitchen. She rinsed it out in the sink. Then leaned on the edge to get her bearings when she felt 2 arms come around her and a head settle on top of hers. She knew immediately who it was.
“Penny for your thoughts. And by the color of your face when you left the room they might be worth more than that.”
He was joking with her and she knew it. So she politely and nicely elbowed him in the stomach. He jumped back and she turned around feigning a sad face and raised his shirt to view his imaginary sore.
“You hurt me I have a boo-boo” he said. Then with a devilish grin replied “would you kiss it and make it better. She looked him straight in the eye and replied:
“No but how about a matching one.”
He laughed and said “I might just have to tell your mommy I don’t think she would take to kindly to her guest being assaulted in the kitchen.”
“Well I guess since you are a guest in my mothers home I should either apologize or try to make up for it.” So what would you like me to do to make up for your ‘fatal’ injury?”
“What I don’t get an apology. Well, some people. In that case the payment and the only payment that will stop me from telling on you would be.
A kiss.”
So she turned her head to put her check facing him and replied, “go ahead.”
He grabbed her arms turned her towards him and the next thing she saw was his face getting dangerously close to his. Then she felt the impact of his soft lips pressed softly against hers. She felt his tongue outlining hers and a gasp escaped her and he took that opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth and she opened her mouth wider to receive him. As their tongues tangoed with each other Traci for the first time had a clear mind. When he finally ended the kiss and she had re gained control of her body she realized for the first time in her life she had literally been kissed senseless. And she had to admit she liked the feeling. And as she closed her eyes to center herself she found herself wondering what his mouth would feel like on other parts of her body.
“Ahh there you go with the blushing again”
“I do not blush “
“Go look in the mirror u will definitely see more color than earlier
“I do not blush”
“Ok fine what I want to know is what makes you “not blush””
“And with that her blush deepened”
“I plead the 5th” she said as she fled the kitchen
Ohh I just bet you do he said to himself. As he watched her retreating figure hurrying out of the small kitchen. Man there just wasn’t a bad side to that outfit and during that kiss his body was able to get an impression of what was under that tight ass outfit at that word the image of hers came to mind and he visibly shuddered. If he ever got to see what was under that outfit, he had an impression she would definitely be the end of him. But man what a way to go. He smiled to himself.
Ann watched Jake leave the room. She had not meant to eaves drop on them but she had started to walk in the kitchen when she saw them embraced together. And there was no way to make her presence known without spoiling the moment. And whether she had walked farther into the room or left she would have made the same noise. So she just sat in the shadows waiting for an opportunity to let her presence known. But the chance never came. In a way she was glad she had seen them cause now the guilt she had felt about the situation she had felt she had helped push Traci into wasn’t all that bad she knew her daughter well enough that if she wasn’t into him he would never have been able to hold her like that. Then one thing Traci had been right about is she never blushed but Ann had seen her blushing off and on all night. Very interesting she thought to her self.