Chapter 12
With the color change of the foliage came the dread of the holidays. And cabin fever. While Lauren loved being home with David, at times she felt isolated from others. Which made her eat more and sabotaged her diet.
“Come to Zumba with me on Friday,” Shelly said one Tuesday night in November as they ate dinner at Lauren’s house.
“I can’t. I have David.”
“It’s an hour, seven to eight a.m. Can’t your dad watch him? You said he hired an assistant so he could be more available. You can even shower and make it to Bible study by 9:30.”
“Why are you doing Zumba?” Lauren cut her chicken.
“I want to look as good as Danny says I do.” Shelly grinned. “Besides, it’s totally fun. Like dancing but great exercise. And you don’t have to worry about guys picking up on you.”
Lauren laughed, recalling their nights of dancing before she married Adam. The only guys that started conversations with Shelly were unemployed or married. “I don’t know, Shel. We aren’t twenty anymore. I had a baby. I don’t know that I can do that.”
“You’ve always been more coordinated than me.” Shelly pointed her fork at her. “If I can do it, you can. Come on Friday. If you hate it, I’ll never ask you again.”
His feet hurt so bad he didn’t want to get out of his car, but he missed her. It had been a long week. Every day he missed Lauren and David more. He got through the day by counting the hours until he would see them. “Thank You, God, that it’s Friday,” he muttered, forcing himself out of his Corvette.
“Hello,” he called, entering the house.
“Outside.”
A flurry of activity at the barbecue flipping steaks and cooking shrimp in a grilling basket, she was a sight for tired eyes in her skirt, sweater, and boots.
“Where’s David? Is he still awake?” Tyler asked.
“Sorry, I put him down a half hour ago.” Lauren handed him the platter with two New York strip steaks and then scooped the shrimp into a bowl.
“Are you kidding?” Tyler glanced at the clock on his phone. 7:02 p.m. “Why so early?”
“He’s finally sleeping through the night.” Lauren was in the house before he turned. “I realized this week he sleeps twelve hours if I put him down by six-thirty. It’s the weirdest thing. He wakes super early if I put him down later. Mama doesn’t want to get up before six thirty.”
“Well, I can accept that, for your sake.” He headed to the dining room table. “But you’ll need to put up with seeing me tomorrow. I miss little man.”
“Sounds good. We don’t have plans.” Setting the shrimp on the table, she reappeared with salad and mashed potatoes before he had a chance to sit.
Lauren looked him over after they prayed for the food. “Long day or no caffeine?”
“Both.” Tyler placed his napkin in his lap. “The days keep getting longer, so I’m consuming more caffeine.”
“Which leaves you more exhausted.” She plopped a steak on his plate.
Tyler lifted his water glass. “Day one of decaf. Figured I can reset myself this weekend. How about you? How much did you have today?”
“None.”
Tyler sized her up. Make-up, dressed up, moving fast. Must be manic. “C’mon. You can’t fool me.”
“I did Zumba today.”
Tyler froze reaching for the potatoes. “You did not.”
“I did.” She dropped two scoops of the creamy starch on his plate. “It was fun.”
“You did?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah.” She filled his bowl with salad then her own. “Kind of like a big dance party.”
Smirk on his face, Tyler shook his head.
“What?” Lauren asked.
“I’m picturing you shaking your hips, doing vogue arms. Is modeling next?”
Lauren shoved him. “I need to exercise. I want my pre-pregnancy body back.” She glanced at her chest. “Well, I guess I’m stuck with these until he’s not breastfeeding, but it would be nice to fit into my jeans again.”
“Who needs jeans when you have such cute skirts and dresses?” Tyler stared at her legs a little too long. He began cutting his meat in an attempt to distract himself.
“What do you have against Zumba?” Lauren ran her hands over her skirt.
“It could stumble a guy, for sure.” He dipped a piece of steak in his potatoes.
“It’s only women.” Lauren poured salad dressing over her greens.
“And the music.” He pointed his fork at her. “You only listen to Christian music. The music is pretty graphic.”
“That’s the best part.” Lauren stirred her salad. “Most of the songs were in Spanish. The only words I recognized were heart and love.”
“Obviously it makes you manic.”
“It’s exercise. Exercise gives me a natural high, releases endorphins. All that good, natural stuff.” Lauren sighed, eyes narrowed. “Why are you so against it?”
“You shouldn’t feel like you need to change.” He bit his lip as he searched for the appropriate words. “I work with women who are completely hung up on their outer beauty. The Bible says not to be that way.”
Lauren lifted her hand. “No need to quote more verses, Mister Top Ten Sexiest Men.”
“Those days are over.”
Lauren shook her head. “Right.”
Tyler ran the back of his hand over his clean-shaven face. “I gave up my spot when I decided to shave.”
“Whatever.”
Pulling his phone from his pocket, Tyler searched “top ten sexiest men” and placed it beside her plate. Lauren clicked on an article and scrolled down. Not finding him, she hit the back button and searched “photos of top ten sexiest men,” chuckling when pics of men with five-o’clock shadows filled the screen. She scrolled several times before suddenly stopping.
Tyler glanced over to find the picture of the two of them at the awards eight years before.
“I never realized.” She slid the phone back to him. “Then why shave?”
He stared at them, so young. Everything was so different…. He raised his gaze to her. “Wanted to show you I was different. That’s not important to me anymore. It’s not who I am.”
“Losing weight isn’t a vain thing for me.” She wiped her mouth. “I want to be comfortable in my old clothes again. Plus, it felt good to exercise.” Half her mouth turned up in a grin, the other down. “Haven’t done anything since my stair climbing days.”
Adam told Tyler how he loved to watch her climb stairs in the arenas while he warmed up for his concerts on tour. “She’s so determined to take care of herself. And pretty hot in workout clothes.”
“Sorry for giving you a hard time. Exercise is good.”
“And you know I like to dance.”
Staring into her eyes, he found they were laced with sorrow. “I do. Maybe we should go dancing sometime.”
“Don’t think I’m in that season right now.” She returned to her steak. “I’ll start with Zumba.”
They ate for several minutes in silence, Tyler wondering if he upset her until he caught her staring at her bare ring finger. “You miss him today?”
Putting down her utensils, Lauren clasped her hands together in her lap. “When David woke from his afternoon nap, I walked in his room without a word. The minute he saw me, this gorgeous smile exploded on his face. He looked exactly like Adam.” She ran her hands over her skirt. “He’s such a blessing, but sometimes it’s so hard.”
Tyler rubbed her arm. “Four months ago you were in the hospital in excruciating pain. You made it through that. You even made it through the dark room of torture. I know it’s hard, but each day gets easier, right?”
Lauren nodded.
“I’m thankful you’re well enough to exercise,” Tyler smiled. “Even if it is Zumba.”
His smile stopped the tears from coming. She gazed into his face, thinking of the old photo of the two of them. Lord, I didn’t know such change was possible. Thank You for the man he has become.
“I’m thankful you shave now.” She ran the back of her hand over his clean-shaven cheek. “I always thought you were more handsome without your five-o’clock shadow.”
“Thanks.” His eyes wandered to her hand, then to his steak. They both returned to eating until he broke the silence. “I talked to Kris today. They’re coming with my parents for Thanksgiving. We’d love you, David, and your dad to join us.”
“Sure, I’ll talk to Dad.” Lauren stirred her mashed potatoes. “How long are they staying?”
“About a week. They arrive the Monday before to do the tourist thing. They’ll attend the opening of Into the Jungle on Friday night and head home Saturday.”
“That’s great. Are they staying at the beach house?”
“Maybe one night. They want to stay with me so they’ll be closer. Guess I’ll get air mattresses or something.”
“That’s a lot of people in your house,” Lauren said between bites. “Kris and her family are welcome to stay with me.”
“No, they would never impose.”
“It’s not an imposition. David can sleep in his portable crib in my room. Justin can have his room and Kris and her husband can stay in the guest room downstairs. Besides, your nephew needs a place to run and play, not to mention toys to play with. I have plenty here.”
“I don’t think you want a crazy one-year-old in the house with David. That’s a bit too much excitement.”
“I did okay with Hannah.” Lauren bit her lip. “I’ve been dreading being alone during the holidays. I think it would be good for me. We can even eat here.” She motioned around them. “My dining room is big enough.”
Tyler sighed. “I didn’t invite you so you could do everything.”
See, there you go taking over. It’s not even your family. He only invited you because he pities you.
“Sorry.” Lauren averted her eyes. “I’m not trying to take over.”
“That’s not what I meant. I don’t want to put more on your plate. I want to spend Thanksgiving with you. You guys are like family.”
The sincerity in his eyes washed away her insecurities. “Bonnie can prepare the turkey. She really does like that. Dad can make mashed potatoes, and you and your parents can bring the rest.”
“Sounds good.” He paused momentarily. “We’re going to make it through the holidays and his one-year anniversary like we have the past ten months. You don’t need to be anxious.”
She nodded. “I know.”
The confidence in her voice filled him with gratitude. God was still doing a work in her, building her faith. He felt blessed, like he did the night before David was born, to be by her side. “So, Zumba?” He munched on his salad.
Lauren laughed. “It’s pretty crazy.”
“Could you keep up?”
“Barely. I got turned the wrong direction at least twice each song. But I think I did better than Shelly and she’s been attending for a month.”
Tyler laughed. “I can picture you two laughing your way through it.”
“It was pretty funny. Of course everything is more fun with Shel.” She scooped up some potatoes. “I talked to the teacher about maybe doing a class Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the church. She seemed interested. I’ll call Joyce tomorrow. Think it might be a good outreach and fellowship for moms and other ladies in the church.”
“You seriously want to do this with a room full of people you know?”
“The more the merrier. Besides, accountability is a good thing.”