17. Vince
17
VINCE
Watching Cat all day in those tight pants that looked painted on her skin was a struggle. That woman had a body I imagined some men started wars over. Full of curves, and that outfit she had on did not leave much to the imagination. From the moment she came out of her room this morning dressed to leave in that outfit, I knew today would test my resolve.
When she came back out from the hallway with her sister, I knew something was wrong. I was going to ask her about it when she sat back down, but she clearly didn’t want to talk about it because she used my mother to avoid me. I wasn’t worried about it. I’d just ask her about it later tonight when we were alone.
Archer, who had moved to sit next to me after the meal was over, spoke in a hushed tone. “ I’m ready to leave when you are.”
“When Val and Cat come back from Mom’s grip, we can head out,” I replied.
Tracy turned the corner to enter the room again and noticed that Val’s seat next to Archer was now free. I saw the intention in her eyes, and so did Archer .
“Aaaand I’m leaving now. I’ll see you there,” Archer announced to me as he got up from his seat.
I chuckled at his discomfort but knew I would do the same if I were in his shoes.
“We’ll meet you there soon,” I responded.
About twenty minutes later, both Cat and Val returned from my mom’s cat castle monstrosity, or whatever she called it. I told them Archer had already left to head to the pub, so we should probably leave soon, too. They both grabbed their stuff, and we said our goodbyes.
“Here, take some food with you. I have plenty,” my mother demanded.
“Mom, we’re headed straight to the pub, so we have nowhere to put it to keep it refrigerated,” I tried to convey, hoping that was a valid excuse.
“Oh, okay. I will just bring it over to your house tomorrow then,” she countered, and I just sighed in defeat. “ I have to bring Harry over anyway. It’s perfect.”
Since we couldn’t take Harry to the pub, my mom was going to cat-sit for the night and return him the next day, and she was thrilled about it.
We made our way out the door and started the twenty-minute drive to the pub. Val did most of the talking, giving a recap of her thoughts on my family and how much she’d enjoyed the evening.
* * *
The ladies and I walked into the pub together and were immediately assaulted by Christmas music playing in the overhead speakers. My guess was that either Tammy or Ellie was in charge of that decision.
“Come on over, guys. Welcome to the party,” Tammy yelled from behind the bar.
We were the last to arrive. Wade and Tammy were both behind the bar, serving drinks. Ellie and Ruthie were seated in front of Tammy . Archer , Jack , and Axel spoke together while standing on the other side of Wade .
As we walked farther into the room, Ruthie came speed-walking up to us and clapped her hands excitedly.
“I got a dog!” Ruthie announced.
She held up her phone to show us a picture, but Val grabbed the phone from her hand before I could see it.
“He’s a retired racing greyhound,” Ruthie added. “ My grandfather got him for me. He was there when I got to his house today. He’s eight years old and just the cutest thing ever. His name is Dash .”
“I thought dog racing was illegal in Georgia ,” I inquired.
“It is, but Dash came from West Virginia , where it’s still legal,” Ruthie clarified. “ My grandfather knows someone who volunteers at a charity organization that helps find homes for former racing dogs when they’re abandoned after they can’t race anymore.”
“Did you bring him here?” Cat asked next to me.
“No, I don’t have anything for him at home and no stores are open, so my grandfather will keep him tonight for me since he already has a dog. I’ll pick him up tomorrow morning and buy him a bunch of stuff.”
“How are you gonna fit a giant dog and a bunch of stuff in your tiny Prius ?” Jack interrupted, walking up next to me.
“He’s not a Great Dane . He’s only sixty-five pounds. We’ll be fine,” Ruthie shot back to Jack .
“You’re gonna need a bed, bags of food, and a bunch of other stuff. Just borrow my SUV . It’ll be much easier,” Jack offered.
“Do not let her borrow your car!” Archer yelled from over at the bar. “ Not unless you want a few dents and scratches on it.”
“That was one time, asshole!” Ruthie yelled back.
I chuckled as I walked around Ruthie and Jack , still arguing, and made my way to the bar where Archer , Wade , and Axel were talking.
“The kitchen is closed, but I can get you anything you want to drink,” Wade said to me.
“I’ll just have a Coke , thanks,” I replied then turned to Axel . “ Glad you came, man.”
Axel’s family was all still back in Sweden , so he hadn’t had anywhere to go for the holiday. Wade’s mom, who was even more overbearing than mine, had swooped in and practically forced him to attend their Thanksgiving meal today.
“Enjoyed my first authentic American Thanksgiving feast,” he responded in his subtle accent.
“Was it everything you thought it would be?” Wade asked.
“I think I could go without eating for the next two days and still live off the calories I ate today and be fine,” he declared, and we all laughed.
The women had all initially congregated over near Tammy’s side of the bar and the men on Wade’s side. Eventually , everyone merged and enjoyed conversation together. By the end of the night, Ellie was with Wade behind the bar, standing in front of him with his arms wrapped around her waist, chin resting on her head. Tammy , who had recently moved to the other side of the bar to be seated, was animatedly telling a story. Jack was behind her, showing Ruthie something on his phone. She listened to what he said as she looked at his phone but seemed to do it begrudgingly. The sexual tension between those two was high, though I wasn’t sure they would ever act on it.
I walked over to Cat and Val , who stood listening to Tammy . I leaned against the bar to ask if they were having fun.
“Yes, but I’m cool to leave whenever,” Val answered.
I put my front against Cat’s back, my hand on her hip, and asked, “ You ready to leave?”
She nodded but also stiffened beneath my touch, which was not what I was expecting. Since she seemed uncomfortable with my touch, I removed my hand.
“You okay?” I leaned in and whispered just for her ears alone.
“Yes. I’m fine,” she replied, sounding like she didn’t really mean it. Plus , I grew up with a sister. I knew “fine” was code for the exact opposite.
Did this have to do with her sudden weirdness back at my parents’ house? Or did someone say something to her here at the pub?
I decided this was not the time to bring it up since she seemed uncomfortable. I’d wait until we got home and ask her then.
We grabbed our coats and began to say goodbye to everyone.
“Are you planning to work at the office tomorrow, or do you not usually work on Black Friday ?” Ruthie asked Cat . “ After I pick up Dash and get him some new necessities, I will be in the office for a few hours to follow up on some paperwork I hadn’t finished, so feel free to come in and work.”
“Okay, great. I think I’ll do that,” Cat replied. “ I usually do work for a few hours, and Val works the lunch shift tomorrow anyway. Plus , I would love to meet Dash .”
“Me too!” Val joined in. “ I can swing by before my shift to meet him.”
“Ooh, I’ll come too,” Ellie added.
The women all hugged and said their goodbyes, and we made our way out.
* * *
“I finally have a night where a cat isn’t going to lie on my face, so I’m going to bed so I can get a good night’s sleep,” Val murmured as we walked in the door to my place.
She waved behind her as she walked down the hallway to her bedroom.
“Night,” Cat responded back.
Cat and I continued toward the kitchen, and I knew I needed to grab her before she snuck into her room. She must have sensed this because she plowed through the kitchen speed-walking.
“Cat,” I called out to her, but she kept walking.
“Cat,” I repeated a little louder this time.
She stopped when she got just beyond the kitchen at the entry to the other hallway—my bedroom was to the right, and her room was to the left. She stopped but didn’t turn back, which only confirmed something was wrong. She wouldn’t face me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as I walked up behind her. “ Talk to me.”
She finally turned to face me as she spoke. “ I’m fine. I don’t…” she said, then looked back toward the kitchen as if to check and make sure Val hadn’t walked in.
Whatever it was, she didn’t feel comfortable having Val there. I knew she wouldn’t talk about it here, but I also didn’t want her to just walk away and go to bed, so I gently grabbed her arm and led her to my room.
I closed the door and then turned to her. “ Talk to me. You’ve been off since we left my parents’ house. Did something happen there?”
“Vince, I …” she started to say then tilted her head down as though trying to figure out what to say.
“Did Chet get in your space? Say something to you?” I wondered, though I had tried to keep my eyes on him all night.
She lifted her head, a new determination in her face and posture. “ How do you feel about kids?” she asked, looking at me strangely.
She hadn’t said a word the entire ride home, and this was what she asked. I knew there was more to it, but I wasn’t sure what.
Treading carefully, not knowing where she was going with this, I opted to be vague. “ I like them.”
“Would you like to have more someday?” she asked, her face stoic.
More? I stared at her for several moments before swearing. I knew exactly what happened.
“Let me guess… Tracy told you about Laura Lynn .”
She made no verbal response, but there was a tiny flinch in her mouth, so I knew I’d guessed correctly. Even though I’d guessed that might be what this was about, having her confirm it only made my chest hurt more. I was pissed she thought I would actually be the kind of guy who would walk away from a responsibility like that.
“Before you make any other rash judgments about me, let me show you something,” I growled as I pulled out my phone, my anger clearly showing.
And I was angry. I understood being upset when Tracy told her, but the fact that she just believed it without coming to me and getting my side of the story first hurt.
When I found the photo I wanted, I flipped my phone to show her. The photo was one that my dad had sent me a few years ago.
“This is Laura Lynn and the daughter I was supposedly the father of.”
She looked at the photo for a few seconds. Then realization kicked in. Laura Lynn had bright blonde hair, and it was natural. I also had light hair. Her daughter had a dark olive complexion and black hair with brown eyes.
“She’s not yours,” she surmised, her voice quieter.
“No, she’s not,” I confirmed, my voice still bitter. “ Which I would have told you had you simply asked me.”
“Vince,” she said, her voice sounding defeated.
I interrupted her, wanting to make my point. “ What bothers me the most is that you actually believe I would have walked away from that kind of responsibility. That I would just be a deadbeat dad.”
“Tracy said you found out she was pregnant, and the next day, you left for the Army ,” she said. “ The timeline matched, so I didn’t think… I’m sorry. I should have asked.”
“Yeah, you should have, because I would have told you that I was already signed up for the Army weeks before that. I didn’t sign up because she told me she was pregnant so I could run away. I was already leaving the next day. Which , by the way, she did on purpose. She thought I wouldn’t question her because there wasn’t time to, and I would just send her money back home, and then by the time the baby was born, she would have figured out a new plan.”
She cursed, then bowed her head in defeat. “ I’m so sorry, Vince . I’m sorry she did that to you, and I made assumptions and didn’t come to you first.”
“You should be.” I knew that wasn’t nice to throw back in her face, especially after she had apologized, but I was still pissed.
She looked me in the eyes now, irritation filling them. “ I said I was sorry, Vince . What else do you want me to say? That I’m constantly paranoid about people and trusting them? Maybe that I was irrationally jealous because Tracy said you didn’t do relationships and I secretly hoped for one with you?”
Her voice started to rise as she ranted and paced in my room in front of me. “ Or how I pictured myself with kids one day, kids with you , only to find out you already had one that you didn’t tell me about. Yeah , Vince , it bothered me. And I didn’t handle it well. I don’t have a lot of experience with having friends or dealing with hot men. I’m sorry. I’ll leave you alone.”
She said that last part directly to me, angry but slightly defeated, and I didn’t think she realized everything she’d just announced. She began to walk to my closed door, likely to leave and head to her own room, but I was not letting her out before we discussed these new revelations.
She pictured having kids with me?
I knew there were other things she’d said that were also important, but my mind seemed to focus on the fact that she had thought about a future with us. A relationship. One with kids.
Up to this point, I hadn’t pushed her too much because I wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about me. I knew she found me attractive from the looks she sent me or how I would see her staring at me when she didn’t think I could see her. But I hadn’t known if her feelings were any deeper than lust.
Now I knew she felt more. Just as I felt more for her. You didn’t picture having a future with someone you simply lusted over.
Game on.
I chose not to waste this opportunity, so I reached for her and pulled her back to me.
“You want a relationship with me? Kids with me?” All anger was gone from my voice as I asked.
Her face changed instantly as she realized what she’d shared. Her cheeks grew red as she stayed silent.
“That’s good, sweetheart, because the feeling is mutual,” I told her as I pulled her close to me.
I cupped her face with my body flush against hers.
“I’ve pictured those same things, too, and now that I know it’s reciprocated, I’m not letting you walk out of here angry.”
“I’m not the only one who was angry,” she pointed out, and I knew she was on guard from my sudden attitude change.
“Yeah, and I’m not thrilled you believed Tracy without coming to me first, but I also realize that if you didn’t care about me, you also wouldn’t have been as upset as you were about what she told you.”
She sighed as she gathered that I knew where her mind was and understood.
“I do care about you, V ,” she uttered softly.
God, I loved hearing her call me that. The single letter used in our letters before she knew my full name. No one else called me that.
I leaned down and kissed her, enjoying the taste of her, the feel of her soft skin under my hands. I pulled back only slightly, my lips a mere millimeter away from hers.
“I care about you too, Cat . A lot.”
I dove back in, this time telling her with my mouth how much I cared for her, hoping she got the message straight. And if she was ready, then I would show her in other ways how much I cared about her, too.