Page 56 of Living Hell

“I’m used to it.”

I understood why he ate that way, but I still enjoyed teasing him about it. The one time I went to Tyler’s house when we were teenagers for dinner, his father ate like a king. There was so much food I thought Tyler’s family was rich.

I came to find out most of the food was from the local grocer his father bribed. And the food was either fried or covered in butter. Nothing was fresh and there wasn’t a vegetable or piece of fruit in sight.

His father ate more than his fair share, going back for seconds and thirds. Tyler would tell me how he was never going to be like his father. I thought he meant he wasn’t going to lie and cheat people, which Tyler didn’t. But I realized now that he meant that he would be the opposite of his father in every single way possible.

He’s the healthiest person I knew, and I was including my personal trainer in that statement.

When I got the paper pulled away, it revealed a black thin box. Opening the cover, I gasped, “Is that my mother’s?”

He nodded. “I think so. I’m not sure, but I found it online and knew I had to grab it.”

I lifted the delicate black bag edged with white beads and decorated with a colorful woven flower pattern. I remembered sneaking into my mother’s closet when I was young and pulling it out to admire. She never let me touch it, but it was too beautiful to be hidden away. Told me it was her great-grandmother’s purse. That her grandmother gave it to her when she left the reservation to marry my father.

It was too bad my father never showed up for the wedding. Left my mom pregnant at the courthouse with nowhere to go. She was too embarrassed to go back to the reservation—so many people had told her my dad wasn’t worth leaving family over.

But she was young, and like me, she believed it when the man she fell for told her that he loved her.

I held the bag up and realized it was a sign. Perhaps my mother was watching from above, warning me to not make the same mistake again.

“I hear you loud and clear.”

Tyler tilted his head in confusion. “What?”

“Nothing. It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

“Am I late?” A short man with the best head of hair I had ever seen came over to the booth and sat next to me.

I held out my hand. “No. I’m early. I’m I.D., nice to meet you.”

He took it and gave a firm, but brief handshake. “Terrance Adamian. And you must be Dr. Tyler Ferguson. Babette told me all about you.”

He reached over the table and the two men shook hands.

“Babette mentioned Tyler?”

I was confused. More than confused, it felt as if I stepped into an alternate universe. When did Babette care about Tyler other than him being my fake fiancé? And when had Tyler held any interest in Hollywood? When I used to have my Vidtube channel, I asked if he wanted to make guest appearances and he adamantly turned me down. Told me the last thing he wanted in life was to be used by people for money or fame.

I was hurt by what he said at the time but having lived in Hollywood, I soon realized he was right.

“Yes. While I’ve been curious about doing a web series, I don’t think I can implement his idea. I only do movies. But I know some people who might be interested in doing a reality show involving a country veterinarian.”

My mouth fell open as I watched Tyler. He appeared happy with this announcement. The man who was afraid to leave the house the first day I showed up three weeks ago because of all the paparazzi wanted his own reality show?

“Are you feeling all right, Tyler?”

“Yes, of course, I am.” He chuckled and turned his attention back to Terrance. “So, do I come up with a proposal and submit it to your friends? Or what’s the process?”

“It would be a pitch and let me talk to them first. They’ll reach out to you if it’s something they’re interested in.”

I waved my hands between them. “Hey, I thought you were meeting me for a possible movie.”

“I am, but I’m helping Babette out, too. She wanted me to meet with Tyler as well.”

I made a mental note to call Babette after this and find out what’s really going on. Tyler had never been interested in the entertainment industry. I mentioned two weeks ago that he’d get more clients if he made a television commercial and he said he hated the idea of being filmed.

“I was thinking something like, vet by day and player by night. Maybe the show could be called The Dirty Vet,” Tyler said.

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