Page 41 of It's Going to Be a Chrome Christmas
The week had been interesting. Following their announcement of their romantic involvement and Cayden’s history, the employees seemed to have split into two factions. Those who didn’t seem to care and those who cared a little too much. Jeff, Joey, and her other managers were doing their best to keep things calm and running smoothly. Cayden continued to work just as hard and efficiently as he had before his reveal.
Two employees, Trinity in sales and Gary from the motor pool, came up to Trixie after Wednesday’s meeting to inform her that they were also dating. They had kept it quiet, not knowing Trixie’s policy on interoffice romances. Since it would have been hypocritical at that point to ban them, Trixie had had Joey do a little legal research. She then had Trinity and Gary and then herself and Cayden sign forms that acknowledged they were willing participants in a sexual relationship with a fellow employee and did not feel themselves pressured or coerced by their co-worker.
Cayden had enjoyed having to do this tremendously. He even asked for a copy of her form so he could frame it.
Jeff and Trixie had to address several employees referring to Cayden as ‘the convict’. She wasn’t sure if Cayden was aware of the name or if he was just being a good sport and ignoring it. Either way, she did not allow that sort of harassment. It was still unknown who had replaced Cayden’s coveralls with a black and white prisoner’s Halloween costume. Since she didn’t have a camera in the breakroom where the employee lockers were, there was no way to prove who did it. Cayden told her not to punish the employees and not to reprimand them as a collective. Instead, Cayden donned the costume and passed outcandy to the employees and customers like it was Halloween in the summer.
She admired how Cayden was taking everything in stride, but she worried that one too many occurrences would push him too far. Usually she was very proud to stand behind her Romero employees. She was finding it harder and harder to do so this week. Trixie did not like that. She hadn’t figured out yet what she was going to say at Monday’s meeting, but she knew she was going to say something. No matter how well Cayden took the pranks and nicknames, it was still workplace harassment. She told herself she wouldn’t allow it of any of her employees and she was not giving Cayden any special treatment because they were involved.
Cayden seemed to have put her reaction to the non-existent marriage proposal—his term—behind them. Though he had made it a private joke between them, making sure to bend down on one knee to ‘tie his shoe’ just as she walked into a room or would drop a pen that he would have to pick up down on one knee. She knew what he was doing, trying to get her to find humor in what had happened rather than dwell on it or be embarrassed. She loved him for it. Still, she knew she owed him a bigger explanation of her actions than ‘rough family history with marriage’. She was actually surprised he’d allowed her vague reply to go on this long without demanding further explanation.
Truth was, though, Trixie didn’t know where to start. Explaining her parents wouldn’t be difficult. She’d grown up with the knowledge that her mom had left them and wasn’t coming back. It had hurt the most in her teen years, but her family and Peggy had gotten her through. She knew herhermanoswere also affected and openly admitted that it was different for a young girl to be absent a mother than it was a young boy. They had had theirpapáandabueloto get themthrough their awkward teens. Trixie cringed, not wanting to imagine what her teens would have been like if she hadn’t hadTìaPeggy to guide her. To this day, she smiled at the memory ofPapátrying to explain how her ‘womanly parts’ worked.
She missed herpapáandabuelosomething awful. There wasn’t a day that went by where she didn’t think about them or wish they were here. Recently, she’d been wondering what they would think of Cayden.
She knewAbuelowould ask her the simple question of, “are you happy,nieta?” To which she could reply truthfully that she was very happy.
Papáwould try to act stern and tell her that he didn’t like him but knew that the moment he saw Cayden take apart a V8 engine he would have been right there beside him. Anyone who treated cars the way Cayden did was okay inPapá’s book. He would still make the paternal threats to treat hismijaright, but she had no doubt that Cayden andPapáwould have gotten along famously.
Herhermanoswere a different story. Explaining herhermanosto Cayden would be difficult and she would have to tread carefully.
Biting her lip, she thought perhaps she should get some background from him before she opened up about herself. Then she could determine how to proceed with explaining her family history as well as her reaction to the non-existent marriage proposal.
She picked up his pruning hand and laced their fingers together. “Will you tell me about prison?”
He stiffened. “Why would you want to know about that?”
“Because it’s a part of you.” She couldn’t see his face but envisioned his tense expression at her question. “You spent two and a half years of your life in there and I want to understand.”
He was silent though. For a long time. Too long. She feared she’d pissed him off with her question. Trixie sat up off of hischest and moved herself around so she could face him. His mismatched eyes were dark and the scowl on his lips confirmed that she had indeed angered him. The water sloshed as she maneuvered her legs under her butt.
She kissed the back of his hand despite the bubbles on it. “Cayden, why won’t you tell me?”
He turned his head away. She didn’t like that. He was always telling her to look at him, said that he loved watching her emotions through her milk chocolate eyes. But he wouldn’t look at her? That hurt.
Fear touched her soul as she realized she might not be the only one hurting. “Did something happen in there? Did someone hurt you?”
He quickly shook his head. “Not the way you’re thinking. For the most part, I was left alone as long as I left them alone. Sort of an unspoken deal. As much as I didn’t like it and wanted to separate myself from my old life, being a Black Python provided me with protection.”
Trixie knew the Black Pythons had a scary reputation. She didn’t understand though how that carried over to Cayden in prison or protected him. It wasn’t like his club could enter prison to have his back.
“It wasn’t easy, but I survived it.” He still wasn’t looking at her. Why?
“Then why won’t you tell me about it?”
He scowled. “Why do you want to know?”
She would have thought that answer was obvious. “Because it was a life changing event in your life, and I want to understand it.” Cayden, though, shook his head. “You said you were an open book,” she reminded him, and then instantly regretted it.
His head snapped in her direction, his eyes blazing. “You don’t get it, do you? How could you? Prison wasn’t some ‘vacation’. It wasn’t downtime and it wasn’t fun. It wasprison.That’s the point. I went where I was told to go, I ate what I was told to eat, I drank what I was told to drink, and I shit when I was told to shit. I wasn’tme. Why would I want you anywhere near that darkness?”
Silence fell between them. Cayden sat back against the edge of the tub and put his hand over his eyes. Trixie just stared at him, her heart racing. It took her some time to process his words as well as his reaction. Cayden’s personality was larger than life. He was self-assured and he liked to have fun. Like most people, he liked choices. To him, prison must have been extremely lonely.
In his way, though he was breaking a promise to her, he was also protecting her. Not her person but her innocent way of life. He didn’t want her to know about his time in prison because he thought she deserved better than to have to share those dark memories with him. Protecting her was more important than keeping his word to tell her anything she wanted to know about him. It was sweet, in a very stupid Cayden-way.
She stood up, bubbles and water dripping off of her. Without looking or speaking to him, she turned on the overhead shower and started to rinse off. She stepped out of the tub to grab her towel. When she was semi-dry, Trixie wrapped the blue towel under her shoulders and tucked it into place.
In the doorway, she turned back to him. “You coming?”
