Chapter 18 #2
Lily yawned, and he looked to Michael, who was already carrying Gina. Mila saw her niece’s head rested on Michael’s shoulder, and she was fast asleep.
“Time to go,” Carson announced.
“No,” Bobby and Lily protested weakly, but it was obvious that the kids were worn out from their day at Bayfest.
They headed back to their cars, making plans to meet again at seven tonight by the lobster roll truck.
“That’s Cecily’s favorite thing to eat at Bayfest,” Michael said. “We can grab some rolls and beer. Listen to some music. Then there’s the bonfire.”
“We’ll see you later,” Carson said, putting Lily in her car seat and lifting a tired Binky to sit beside her before driving to Mila’s apartment.
“I’ll be back around six-thirty to pick you up. I figure it’ll take us a while to find a place to park.”
“Sounds good.” She leaned over and kissed him.
Once home, she scanned her email, seeing she had one from the UIL.
It had the pairings for the first round of the playoffs.
Her Pirates would play the Marlins next Tuesday night in Corpus.
She shot a quick text message to her team to let them know and then got in a few hours of reading for the latest course she was taking.
She also wrote three pages of a paper which would be due in two weeks, wanting to get as much of it out of the way as possible before playing hooky with Carson tonight.
Checking the weather again, she saw the temps were dropping, so she changed into a cable knit sweater in soft pink, brushing her teeth again and applying a lipstick in a similar color.
She texted some of the pictures she had taken today to Cecily and then saw Carson’s text come in, saying he was about to pull up. She went out to meet him.
“Lily okay?” she asked as she got into the car.
“She actually took a nap. She hasn’t done that in forever.”
“We did a lot today. Hey, I probably could’ve used a nap.”
“Same.” He grinned. “Of course, if we would’ve been together, I doubt much napping would have occurred.”
Mila warmed under his heated gaze. “It’s nice Dotty took all the kids tonight. I know Cecily said she’s looking forward to alone time with Michael.”
They met her brother and sister-in-law at the food truck and got in line.
She liked how this food truck owner melted butter and mixed it with a lemony mayonnaise before spreading it inside the split, buttery bun.
The lobster meat was always tender, seasoned with kosher salt and pepper and mixed with minced chives and celery.
“Get me two,” she told Carson. “And some salt and vinegar kettle chips. Cec and I will go get in line for beers and meet up with you.”
Ten minutes later, they were sitting at a table, not much conversation going on. Everyone was savoring their lobster rolls.
“I’ve gotten some great, fresh seafood in the Bay, but these are out of this world,” Carson said.
“I’d like to try lobster rolls in New England,” Mila mused. “Maybe spend a few weeks one summer driving up and down the coast, vlogging about the search for the perfect lobster roll. And maybe the right bowl of clam chowder to go along with it.”
“That sounds good, but I’d rather do a queso vlog,” Michael said. “I think taking a tour of Texas and tasting queso and writing about it would be my idea of heaven.”
They finished their beers and wandered over to where a makeshift pavilion had been set up. Ellen Roberts was singing, her voice low and sultry.
“You said Ellen is your friend Piper’s mom?” Carson asked.
“Yes. Piper got Ellen’s musical talent and acting chops,” Mila said.
“I know you miss Piper like crazy,” Cecily said.
“At least, I FaceTime with her and Layne a couple of times a month, but Piper is always on the road in some traveling production. Sometimes, it’s a musical. Other times, it’s a play. She’s never in one place for very long.”
“I would hate that kind of life,” Carson said. “Always on the road. Not having anywhere to call home.” He paused. “Speaking of home, Hillary called me this afternoon.”
“She found something?” Mila asked eagerly.
“Sort of. The people at the end of the street I’m on now have decided to sell. The green house on my side of the street.”
She wrinkled her nose. “That eyesore? I can’t believe it’s still standing. It looks like it’s ready to fall down any minute. I thought you wanted to build using plans from Sullivan.”
“They can’t get much of anything for the house.
It hasn’t been lived in for years. It would take a small fortune to bring it up to code.
They’re willing to sell the house and the land it’s on.
I called Sullivan, and he came over. We walked down to it.
It’s a good-sized lot. On the corner, so it has a little more room than other houses on the block.
” He paused. “We’re going to raze the house and clear the property. That way, we’re starting from scratch.”
Mila smiled. “That’s great news, Carson. When will the work start?”
“Now that Sullivan knows the dimensions of the property, he’s going to fine tune what he’s drawn up. I’ll need to approve it, but in the meantime, Hillary recommended someone who could come in and bulldoze the house and cart away the rubble.”
Mila looked around. “It looks like people are heading down to the beach for the bonfire. Cec, want to hit the restroom with me before we go that way?”
“You bet. Do you guys want to meet us at the beach?”
“Sure, babe.” Michael leaned over and kissed his wife. “See you soon.”
Mila and Cecily made their way through the crowd, stopping at the Porta Potty area.
“Meet back here,” Cec told her.
Mila went into one, taking a deep breath before she stepped inside. Portable toilets were not her thing, and she breathed through her mouth, hurrying to finish up. As she stepped outside, she moved to where they were supposed to meet.
Suddenly, someone grabbed her elbow, spinning her around. Mila saw it was Marge Duncan, the middle school principal.
And she looked ready to spew anger like an erupting volcano.
“Did he tell you?” Marge demanded.
Confused, Mila shook her head. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Marge. Who?”
“That worthless boyfriend of yours. He removed Duncan from the basketball team. My boy lives for basketball.”
It surprised her that Carson had made such a major move so early in the season, much less not tell her about it.
She saw Marge wanted to pick a fight now, and Mila wasn’t about to fall for that.
The principal had a reputation for being feisty and not backing down.
Never compromising and meeting someone halfway.
Especially when it came to her spoiled son.
“That doesn’t concern me,” she said coolly.
“Well, it could,” Marge whined, and Mila caught the scent of the woman’s breath, heavily laced with alcohol.
Mila glanced around and saw they were attracting a crowd. A few people even held cell phones up, and she assumed they were being filmed. “Would you like to talk about this in private?” she asked, hoping to keep the situation from blowing up.
“No, I would not!” Marge shouted. “Your idiot fuck buddy benched my kid for no reason.”
“Carson wouldn’t do that,” she said, her own stubbornness rising. “Speak to him. There are two sides to every story, Marge. Not just Drake’s.”
The older woman pushed Mila’s shoulder hard, causing her to stumble back a few steps.
“Drake wouldn’t lie to me. He’s a good boy.
He’s the only player on that team with any talent, and everyone knows it.
It’s obvious Carson Andrews has no clue how to recognize talent when he sees it, much less know what to do with it. ”
“Don’t touch me again,” warned Mila as the principal closed the gap between them.
“What are you going to do, go tell your daddy on me?” Marge asked belligerently.
“I already talked to Bill about this. He said there’s nothing for him to do.
That it’s a coaching decision.” The woman glared at her.
“But Bill knows his daughter is in the sack with Andrews. He was always going to take his side.”
Marge swayed a moment, and Mila reached out, catching her elbow to try and steady her.
“Get your hands off me!” Marge yelled.
Then she spit in Mila’s face.
Stunned, she blinked, lifting her arm and wiping the spittle away. The crowd gathered had grown considerably larger. Cecily hurried up.
“Come on, honey. Let’s go.”
“Yeah. Run away. Go play house with your loser boyfriend. He’s never going to marry you.
He’s just using you, Mila. But don’t think I’m stopping now.
I’m going over Bill’s head. I’ll go to the school board.
Even the damn UIL. Somebody is going to listen and be impartial.
My Drake is going to play this year. Your asshole boyfriend is history. ”
Cecily grabbed Mila’s wrist, tugging her away. Thankfully, the crowd parted, allowing them to escape Marge’s wrath.
“What was that all about?” Cec asked.
“I don’t know,” she said truthfully. “But I obviously need to talk to Carson right away.”