Chapter 2
2
T abitha was enjoying a bath as she did every morning in the tub with a view. Her sabbatical was serving the purpose she had hoped for. A lot of it was due to the time she had spent with Winston. She picked up painting again and learned she could be happy without a romantic partner. Friends and herself were plenty and a lot less complicated.
She decided Maxim was too young, Marcus was never going to commit, and Greg made a colossal mistake. None were meant to be, and she was okay with that. If the right man came along, Tabitha would celebrate, but if he didn’t, she could celebrate, too. She had an amazing daughter and friends who had been there by her side through thick and thin.
Tabitha’s bath pillow had a timer so she didn’t fall asleep while bathing and drowning. The pillow deflated while the alarm sounded, which had come in handy on several occasions. Since arriving in Melbourne Beach, Tabitha had perfected the nap. Power naps had seemed lazy to her before, and she rolled her eyes at work when folks went to their vehicles for a fifteen-minute snooze. She laughed when they suggested a napping room at work and said it was NASA and not a preschool. Tabitha wasn't sure how a nap would fit into her nine-to-five life, but now she was willing to give it a try.
She had closed her eyes when she heard a familiar voice. It was Greg, and she hadn’t dreamed of him in a long time. For a long time, they were nightmares, and now he was usually a supporting character in her reveries. Wait – Tabitha soon realized that she wasn't dreaming and it was her ex-husband she was hearing. She asked herself what he was doing in Melbourne Beach. It couldn’t be an emergency involving Deenie or April. Deenie was sleeping, and April was probably on the beach with Carmine by now.
Tabitha threw on her robe and twisted her hair into a knot.
Greg was in the kitchen drinking a mimosa with Dale. It was like old times, even though Dale couldn’t stand Greg. He’d never forgive him for what he did to Tabitha, but he was cordial because that’s the kind of guy Mel’s husband was.
“What are you doing here?” Tabitha asked.
“I guess you won’t buy that I was just in the neighborhood – eh?” Greg asked jokingly. “I’m here on a whim. I was going to fly Deenie back to Houston next week, and I decided to drive and pick her up instead.”
“Deenie is sleeping because she was with Dalton last night,” Tabitha said.
“You let her spend the night with a boy?” Greg asked incredulously.
“Yes, Dalton was in rehab all day for an accident that nearly cost him his leg. His mother always appreciates it when Deenie stays until he falls asleep. The pain is horrible, and he refuses narcotic medication because he’s heard too many stories of addiction, and Dalton doesn’t want to be a statistic. Our sweet daughter reads him to sleep and helps with Allison’s little ones while she is there,” Tricia continued. It was nice making Greg look foolish. “Dalton’s mother, Allison, called to say she had fallen asleep on the couch and asked if she could stay for the night.”
“Oh,” Greg said.
“It’s good practice for her and her future interest in getting a nursing degree,” Tabitha said. She may have gone a little far in making Greg look clueless. Tabitha thought it would feel good, but that wasn’t the case. She just didn’t have enough antagonism to make anyone, including Greg, feel that way.
“Do you think our girl would mind if I poked my head in and woke her up?” Greg asked.
Tabitha smiled. “Deenie would never forgive me if I stopped you from doing so. It’s at the end of the hallway, but enter at your own risk.”
Greg asked if he could grab a sunflower after he had it in his hand. Dale said no problem, and he ran down the hall to his daughter's room.
“Greg is one lucky ex-husband,” Dale said after he was out of earshot. “You handled the situation gracefully, and I don’t think many women could manage it like you do.”
“You were drinking a mimosa with him, so good on you, too,” Tabitha said.
“Yeah, well, we’re too old to be mean and hold onto feuds. That’s a young person’s game,” Dale said.
“We’re not that old,” Tabitha said jokingly. “I do know what you mean, though. Greg is Deenie’s father, and that’s why I’ll always treat him with respect. The divorce he’s going through now is payback enough for what he did to me.”
They heard squeals of delight coming from Deenie’s room. She was a daddy’s girl and a mama’s girl. It was one of the few perks of being a child of divorce. The first time Deenie said her dad was her best friend, she felt slighted. Then she heard her on the phone telling her father that she was her best friend.
Mel came down wearing her beach cover-up with Quinnie trailing behind her. They were ready for a beach day with Dale, and while he had to go back, Quinnie would stay with her mom for a few days.
“I’ve been saving this for you, Dale." Mel pulled up her cover-up to flash her lime green two-piece swimsuit. “Worrying about your marriage is a surefire way to tone the body and lose a few pounds. When stressed, I run a few extra miles and lose my appetite. I guess you could say that you did this to me.”
“I’ll gladly take the blame for that. I will have to beat off the other men on the beach. With my daughter and wife, I’d say that I’m the luckiest man on Melbourne Beach.”
Tabitha wondered how long Greg was going to give Deenie before he whisked her off to Houston. She was not looking forward to her daughter’s painful goodbye. Deenie would likely cry all the way to Texas. Leaving a first relationship before it had a chance to fully blossom was torturous, and Tabitha remembered going through it when she was fourteen. Tabitha’s parents had sent her to summer camp in the mountains of North Carolina, where she met Bobby Figliola. She had fallen hard for him, and when it was time to leave, her tender heart was broken. She and Bobby had promised to write, and when they turned eighteen, they had planned to run away together. High school happened, and Bobby was replaced by Trevor, Dante, Mark, and many more. Tabitha googled Bobby from Decatur, Georgia, now and then. He was a dentist in Atlanta with three kids. Deenie didn’t need to hear that story, though. She had to painfully live through it herself.
Tabitha heard them walking down the hallway.
Deenie wore a pair of boxers and one of Dalton’s Florida State sweatshirts. “Did you have any idea Daddy was coming early?”
“I did not, or I would have shared it with you. Have the two of you decided when you’re leaving for Houston?” Tabitha asked.
“We had a negotiation, and I regret teaching her that concept when we had a garage sale. She always comes out on top, even when I know she’s coming in hot. I agreed to rent one of The Cottages for three days so she would have extra time with Dalton. I thought that would be plenty of time for a long goodbye,” Greg explained.
Tabitha knew it would never be enough as far as Deenie was concerned.
“I countered his offer with two weeks because I wanted to see Dalton through rehab until he left for school. He’ll have to switch to a new therapist once he’s settled in Tallahassee,” Deenie said. “He’s come to depend on me, and I can’t abandon him now.”
“I said no because I have Addie in a couple of weeks, and I can’t miss it while Julie and I are in the middle of a custody battle,” Greg said. “She’s looking for anything to use against me.”
“I eventually came down to one week, and Dad said five days max.”
“She won because The Cottages only accept one-week rentals,” Greg said.
“That’s silly. You can stay here in one of the bunk beds in Deenie’s room. The rental for one of those places on the beach is $1500 per week. I imagine you’re watching your pennies with the divorce and a new baby.”
He shook his head. “This is your space, and I don’t want to invade it after all I’ve put you through. I’ll find a motel room nearby, and it’ll be fine,” Greg said. “You have your week, Deenie. If I don’t stay in Melbourne Beach, then I’ll be nearby. I have a lot of former work colleagues in the area, and your week isn’t in jeopardy.”
“Daddy, please stay here. Mom says it’s okay and wouldn’t offer if she felt otherwise. It would let us hang together, which is something I would love. While we’re in Houston, you spend a lot of time on your divorce from Julie. Having you and Mom under one roof again would be a dream come true,” Deenie said.
“I hope you’re not becoming one of those kids who harbors the fantasy of her parents reuniting,” Tabitha said.
“No, that isn’t happening. I know the score, and I’m lucky the two of you have found a way to be civil with one another. I was old enough to see the divorce happen in real-time,” Deenie said. “Do we have a deal, Dad?”
“I guess so. Thank you, Tabitha,” Greg said.
Tabitha gave Greg basic house rules. She’d rather he not use the bathroom on the second floor as that was the private dwelling for Deb and Mel. Most of the other rules he remembered from the days when they were married. They were things like not leaving towels or dirty laundry in the common area and putting dishes in the sink. Tabitha wasn’t thrilled with her ex-husband under her roof, but it was her idea. Deenie mattered the most, and she was glowing, so it was worth it.
Deb and Mel would be suspicious of having the man who hurt their friend stay with them. Like her, they’d get that he was Deenie’s father. If Tabitha were okay with it, then they would be, too. Greg still might consider sleeping with one eye open.