Page 15 of Baby, It's You
“My laptop equals me being able to gamble, which equals me being able to get out of your place sooner.”
Wait, what? “I told you that you only have till I leave Friday morning to get your shit figured out.”
“Yeah, well, I may need a few more days now that I know I can’t go back to my place.”
Would my conscience be okay with putting Dennis out on the street? Unfortunately, no. I wish I didn’t care and could tell him to eff off but that’s not the case. I have been known to give people one too many chances before.
“Okay, fine. I will get your stuff,” I concede. “But this is seriously it. You have to figure out your next step. It’s not my responsibly to take care of you.” He nods his head as I continue, “Tell me where and what time. I’ll work it into my schedule today.”
He quickly thanks me and gives me the address. Dennis tells me to swing by at any time because Ivy will be there all day, since it's her day off. I’m sure Ivy, whom I’ve never met, is going to have a great first impression of me. The cousin of her cheater boyfriend. I’m housing the enemy.
After I get to my room and have a steamy shower, I stare at myself in the mirror. The older I get, the more features I share with my father, and it’s a little uncanny to see the man looking back at me. I still feel like that dumb sixteen-year-old inside that would ding dong ditch my neighbors, and play “hey, mister” with my friends outside the gas station till someone bought us beer.
It unnerves me that one day we go from being children who have no responsibilities to suddenly having to figure everything out on our own. I guess that’s why I take pity on Dennis. Where I had a dad that cared and got on my case when I messed up, he never did.
I remember looking at my dad as a boy and thinkingman, he’s so brave. I thought nothing could ever scare him. That he was untouchable. The first time I ever recognized fear in his face, it was at the thought of dying and having to leave my mother and me. I tried to step up before he passed, show him that I could take over. That I could handle everything that life throws at me, but sometimes I don’t think I can. I don’t know what to do most days and feel like a phony trying to act like everything is okay without him. I need his advice and supportive nods when I mess up.
I wasn’t always a great kid. I made stupid mistakes like most teenagers and I know I disappointed him at times. As an adult, I want to make him proud; I hope to make him proud.
I love my job most days and I know I have a great life. I can’t lie to myself, though, and say I don’t feel like something is missing, something with depth. I work and then come home and repeat the cycle over and over. I’m starting to feel lonely, honestly.
I would like companionship beyond friendship. Ever since I lost my father, I haven’t been able to date, though. I tried to go on a few dates this past year and I found myself wishing I was at home with Dog instead every single time. I have become quite the hermit when it comes to women, not wanting to even put the time in to get to know someone…which is why last night hit me like a freight train.
I can't stop thinking about the woman from the bar, Olive. Her trying to smile and assure everyone that she was okay with blood dripping down her face. I cringe at the thought of what happened. I tossed and turned all night long, unable to sleep every time her image popped into my head, replaying the moment I tilted my face down to glance at her, all the way to when she hit the ground. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her chocolate brown eyes and lush lips. How even with an injury she was still the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on.
After many skateboarding slams, I’m no stranger to bruising and I know her face must be black and blue today. That thought alone causes nausea to churn in my stomach. The guilt is consuming me. I left the note for her but I’m sure she will never reach out to me. I’ll need to find a way to make it up to her if I ever see her again.
Chapter 13
Olive
Tripp looks over at me and his jaw drops. He then clears his throat, trying to quickly recover.
“This is Olive, the bar manager,” he tells the man he’s standing with, and then looks at me. “I am going to show Mr. Cronline around.”
The two of them completely ignore Rob’s presence, which is impossible because he’s huge. It instantly makes me dislike the situation. Tripp, I expect this from. But for this stranger to come into our kitchen and not even acknowledge someone else in the room makes anger bloom in me.
The old, lanky gentleman leans towards me with an eerie salesman smile. “Hi, little lady. I’m Ted Cronline with B&B Investments. I can’t wait to look around. That’s quite the nasty bruise you’ve got on your face.”
Rob makes eye contact with me and then grabs the trash out of the bin and exits through the back door. I mentally try to tell him toget back in here, but my attempt doesn’t work. Mr. Cronline holds out his hand for me to shake. I look at his hand and then his yellowing teeth. A piece of something brown is stuck between two of them. Maybe it's a piece of bread? No. Maybe it's a seed? A nut?
Realizing I’ve been standing there staring at his mouth while he holds out his hand, I quickly recover and reach mine out to finish the shake. I plaster on a fake, overly friendly smile. “Sorry. I'm feeling a little under the weather.” I lean into Mr. Cronline like I’m telling him a secret and whisper, “Head trauma. Tripp hit me with his car yesterday.”
The man looks taken aback and Tripp steps forward. “She’s kidding,” he tells him and then shoots daggers at me with his eyes. “Olive, why don’t you take the day off? Recover.” He narrows his eyes with disgust.
“No, I’m fine!” I respond cheerily. I feel satisfied that I pissed off Tripp in front of this businessman, so I begin to turn and to head to the office. Tripp grabs my wrist. I look down at it in shock—who does he think he is?
“No. I insist. Go home for the day,” he grits through his teeth.
I look at his sweat glistening on his bald patch and pull my wrist out of his grip, sharply. “Fine.” I smile. “I wanted to go visit Jane today anyway.”
“Great. Have a good day,” he responds with a smirk. He’s not even phased by the mention of his mother. Tripp turns back to the man and continues to speak like nothing just occurred. To him, I’m the scum of the earth.
Rob walks back into the kitchen, having missed the whole interaction. I tell him goodbye and he looks extremely confused. I point to my phone, so he knows to check his in a minute. He acknowledges with a single nod and then walks to the sink to wash his hands while Tripp continues to lead Mr. Cronline around. I know he will be listening in on their conversation for me.
As soon as I get to my car, I shoot him a text telling him to let me know when he figures out what that guy is doing with Tripp at the bar. I’m not even going to bother telling him about Trippgrabbing me; he would be livid. I don’t want Rob to lose his cool and get fired. There is a bigger fish to fry right now.
I stretch my arms out and try to shake off the emotions running through me. Tripp is the bane of my existence right now. I loathe him, and I will never understand why he has always been so nasty. When he moved out of state, he was a stockbroker. Jane always said he was doing well and busy with his job. So something obviously didn’t pan out as far as I can tell. I don’t think he would come back to Clairesville unless he was out of options. He has always treated the bar like a chore. Something to get over with as fast as he can, forget about and move on to the next thing.
