Chapter Twenty-Three
GAVIN
I woke up the next morning and reached out for Bethany, but grabbed a handful of mattress in her place. My eyes shot open as I lifted my head off the pillow. “Babe?” I called out, thinking she was in the bathroom, but silence flooded back into my ears like water over a broken levy. I exhaled, then reached for my phone that sat on my nightstand. I had fallen asleep last night without checking to see who called me. It was Karen. I wondered what made her call me again that late. I could tell that she was serious about giving us another shot, but I couldn’t help but wonder about her motive. I had to talk to Vinny just to make sure that he didn’t tell her anything about Bethany.
After I got out of the bed, I climbed into the shower to freshen up. When I got out, I walked to Vinny’s room to check on him. His bed was made up, and all of the trash that collected on top of his dresser was gone. I turned around and headed down the hallway. As I got closer to the kitchen, I heard the crackling sound of eggs frying in the skillet. On top of that, voices and laughter danced into my ears like pleasant lyrics of my favorite song. Vinny sat at the table when I walked into the kitchen. He smiled from ear-to-ear as his feet swung beneath the table. Bethany stood by the stove cooking breakfast.
“Well, it seems like somebody around here is feeling better.”
Vinny looked at me. “Oh, hey Dad.”
“Hey, Gavin. We didn’t wake you up, did we?”
“Oh, no.” I kissed Vinny on his forehead, “I am usually up well before then. I must’ve been tired. I did have a long night.”
I smiled and kissed Bethany on the cheek as she elbowed me in the chest. “Hush! You know he is smart,” she whispered. “He will pick up on those subtle hints. Zip it!”
“Okay, okay,” I said, whispering into her ear. Afterward, I focused on Vinny. “So, the stomach bug all gone?” I asked, sitting down at the table.
“Yes, Dad, it’s gone. My stomach doesn’t hurt anymore, and now, I think my appetite is almost completely back. Or maybe I was just tired of eating toast and applesauce all day. Anyways, Bethany said that she was going to cook us a big breakfast, and I couldn’t wait.”
“Well, good. I am happy that you are feeling better. Mike is going to come by and watch you for a little while so Bethany and I can hang out. Is that alright with you?”
“Yeah, Dad, that is fine with me.”
“Good.”
“Oh, did Mom call?”
I raised my brow at him, then looked at Bethany like she knew what Karen and I discussed on our phone call. She was oblivious to it, though, going along with her business as she finished fixing breakfast. “Yeah, she called yesterday to check on you.”
“Okay.”
“Why do you ask?”
“Because she told me that she was going to start calling me more just to check on me. She also said that she was going to get me a cell phone on the next trip because she thought I was mature enough to have one.”
“Yeah,” I said, tapping my fingernails against the surface of the table. “You are. You definitely are.”
I wanted to outright ask him if he said anything to Karen about Bethany, but I knew it wasn’t the best time for that. I would have to get a better understanding of what he said later on. Just then, Bethany placed our food on the table. “We’ve got bacon, eggs, sausage, and pancakes for my fellas,” she said, sliding our plates in front of us. “And no toast for you, Vinny. You might faint at the sight of it.”
His snaggle-toothed smile shone through like the morning sun, “Yeah, I think I might have. Thank you.”
“No problem, sweetie.” She fixed her plate, then sat down beside us. My mind altered Bethany’s face with Karen’s as she sat at the kitchen table. I had to shut my eyes tight and reopen them to discard the image. “Are you alright, Gavin?” she asked quizzically.
“Yeah, I’m good. I just tried to get a little bit more sleep out before we started our day. The food smells great though,” I said, quickly moving on to the next subject, “Thank you for cooking for us. You didn’t have to, though.”
“I know I didn’t,” she said with a smile, “but I enjoy doing things like this. I mean, I don’t know how to cook much for dinner, but I am learning. As far as breakfast food goes, though, I’d like to consider myself a pro.”
The three of us sat together eating breakfast when I heard Bethany’s phone ring in the other room. I slid a bite of eggs into my mouth as I looked towards the front room. “Do you want to grab that?” I asked, hoping that she would take the invitation.
“Yeah, I better. I told April that I would come by a little later today, so she is probably just making sure that I will still show up. She seems to think that I am quick to cancel plans with her now that you are in the picture.”
I laughed. “Well, yeah, you should take care of that. I don’t want to be seen as the bad guy.” She wiped her mouth, then hurried into the front room. As soon as she cleared the kitchen, I fixed my eyes on Vinny. “Son, I have to ask you a question, and it is okay to be honest with me.”
“Oh. Okay, Dad.”
I peered at him as he put his fork into his plate and grabbed one of his cut pancake squares, swirled it in syrup and slid it into his mouth. “Did you tell your mother anything about Bethany?” He froze and glared at me. His wide, blue eyes looked as though he was trying to grab an excuse out of thin air. I took a towel and wiped my mouth. His expression told me everything I needed to know. “It’s alright, son. It’s alright. What did you tell her?”
“It was an accident, Dad.”
“It’s alright. But, what did you tell her?”
He sighed. “I just told her that I hung out with you and your friend because she asked me what kind of things you took me to do. That was pretty much the first thing we’d done with each other in a while, so that was the first thing that came to mind because I had so much fun. It just came out on its own, Dad. I didn’t mean to tell her. I’m sorry, Dad. Really.”
“It’s alright, son. It’s alright.”
Now, at least I had an angle. I knew that she was trying to pull something underhanded and her efforts might not have been genuine. Just then, Bethany sat back down at the table. “It was her,” she said, “bugging me. I am going to stop by there before we go out together. Is that alright?”
I gently put my hand on top of hers, “That is fine, sweetheart. Absolutely fine.”
She left and came back later that evening. When the doorbell rang, she was standing on the other side with Mike. “Well, look at this. I thought I would be the one to introduce you two.”
“Shit, your ass was taking too fucking long, so I figured I’d track her down myself.”
Bethany smiled as I looked at her. She didn’t look nervous or anything, so I figured that she could handle Mike because I knew he didn’t hold back. “Yeah, well, like I said, Mike, you’re an acquired taste. He didn’t scare you off, did he, Bethany?”
Her eyebrows wrinkled together, “What? Him? Not at all. He is a sweet guy underneath all the rude behavior. I know it.”
“Rude?” Mike said as they stepped into my home. “Shit, I didn’t know I was being rude.”
She laughed. “Um, I think that asking me if I was the chick that was trying to put your best friend in prison is pretty rude.” She winked at me. “But that is fine. Gavin gave me a heads up about you before, so I knew that I couldn’t put anything past you.”
“Yeah, that’s Gavin alright. Sheesh.” Mike looked at me, “Where is the kid?”
“He’s in his room. Hey, Mike, behave, man. Alright?”
“Shit, you treat me like I’m your son. Get the fuck out of here and have some fun, damn it. You know Vinny is in good hands.”
“Vinny?” I called out to him. He stepped out of his room and met me in the hallway. “I’ll be back later on. Make sure you keep an eye on Uncle Mike, alright?”
He smiled, “Okay, Dad. You guys have fun.”
“We will.”
I took Bethany by the hand and walked her to my car. I couldn’t wait for us to enjoy our time out together. I felt that it had been an eternity since the last time we were able to hang out with each other. As the night went on, I noticed that she had become a little standoff-ish. Like, she was there, but she wasn’t as engaged as she normally had been with me. “Something wrong?” I asked as I stopped in front of the restaurant.
She sighed. “No. Well, I mean, I wouldn’t say that it was something wrong, but – I’ll just say that I’ve been thinking about some things. I had a talk with April when I went by her house, and she told me that I need to um,” she fumbled her words, “Let’s just go inside, okay? I just have to figure out how to get these words out.”
“Is it bad?”
“Bad? I guess that depends on what you consider bad.”
I fidgeted with my keys for a few moments before I opened my door. “Okay. Let’s go inside and if you feel like talking about it, go ahead. I’m pretty sure that I can handle whatever it is that you have to say.”
She took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s just go inside.”
I opened her car door, then escorted her into the restaurant. The hostess showed us to our seats in the dimly lit room. The candle flickered on top of the table when we took our seats. “Thank you,” I said to the hostess as I pulled Bethany’s chair out. She sat down in her seat. The cut in the front of her dress went down to a V to the middle of her cleavage. She was completely alluring, and if it weren’t for the people around, I would’ve stripped her naked and had my way with her.
She avoided eye-contact with me as we sat at the table. I wanted to enjoy her presence, but the way she avoided me made it hard to go through with our date. “Sweetheart,” I said, sliding my hand on top of hers, “Please. I know something is bothering you. The mood has completely shifted, and I know things will get better as soon as you open up to me. I won’t judge you. I won’t get angry. I will give you a listening ear and let you explain whatever you need to explain.”
She put her menu down and faced me. Her eyes were shifty as she twirled her thumbs around each other. I patiently waited for her to speak and right before she opened her mouth, a man approached our table. “Mystique?” he asked, peering down at her.
Her eyes opened as she looked upwards in his direction. “Excuse me?” She looked at me as I shrugged my shoulders.
“Mystique,” he said, smiling ear-to-ear. “Yeah, I know that’s you. You used to work at Shenanigans, right? The strip club. Damn, you look even better with your clothes on.”
She laughed nervously as I narrowed my eyes at her. “Um,” she said, her voice shaking, “you must have me confused. I’ve um, I’ve never worked there before.”
“No, no,” he responded matter-of-factly, “I remember a face when I see it. You are Mystique. Hell, I used to give you half my paycheck when I came to the strip club, so I know it is you.” He looked at me, “Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t mean any disrespect, but I just had to make sure that was her because I didn’t think I would run into her in Roanoke. Well,” he focused his attention back on Bethany, “you enjoy your night, Mystique. It was good to see you.”
As he walked away, I glared at Bethany. She sat across from me at a loss for words. “I um… I…” Suddenly, she removed herself from the table and rushed outside, leaving me alone. A stripper? She used to be a stripper? A few customers in the restaurant beside me looked in my direction after she left in a hurry. I was embarrassed, and I couldn’t tell if it was because she left me alone, or if it was because I had just found out that she used to be a stripper. How many men have seen her naked?
The waitress came to our table a few minutes after Bethany walked away. “So, can I start you out with any appetizers? A drink?”
I tossed my napkin on the table, “No, thank you. We are not staying.”
I got up and excused myself from the table. Outside, Bethany stood on the side of the restaurant with tears in her eyes, pacing back and forth in her dress. I stuck my hands into my pockets and approached her. “I was going to tell you,” she said as the tears smeared her mascara, “I was going to tell you tonight. I just had the damned talk with April, and she told me to tell you, so I was. I used to be a stripper in Richmond. There. I said it. I used to strip to make money, and those were some of the worst years of my life. It is where I met my crazy ass ex-boyfriend. It’s when my life just spun out of control. When I finally got a grip on it, I left, and I hoped that I would leave every memory of what I used to be. It followed me, though. It followed me here, and now…” She took a deep breath to calm herself. “Can we just go? Please. Can we just go?”
She left my side and walked to the car. I wanted to say something to her, but the words hid from my lips. I didn’t know what to say. Bethany used to be a stripper, and from there, I couldn’t do anything but wonder what else about her past that she was keeping from me.