Baby Come Back (22 page)

              It was New Year’s Eve!  What a year it had been.  There had been joy and sadness; laughter and tears; birth and death; arguments and great make-up sex.  Trey was recovering and a giant weight had been lifted from us as a result.  Tylar and I were good again - best friends never stay angry at each other for very long.

             
Nigel and Tess had been blessed with a beautiful baby boy, Royce Nigel Sinclair who just happened to be the spitting image of Reese.  It had bothered me at first; it didn’t any longer.  Tristan and I had come a very long way in our relationship.  If I hadn’t known before, I was sure of it now:  He was my lobster and I was his.

             
Reese was spending the night at Trey and Tylar’s since Tristan’s Shady Lady was having a blow-out extravaganza on New Year’s Eve.  Tristan looked resplendent in his black tuxedo.  My man was fucking hot!  I had dressed in a form-fitting, black spandex dress that was strapless.  Tiny silver sparkles were clustered as stars throughout the dress.  I had put some surprise undergarments on for Tristan’s benefit.  I had on a black satin garter belt with black nylons attached; black crotch-less undies in Tristan’s favorite flavor.  I put on a pair of sexy, black heels, hoping that I wouldn’t regret wearing them before the night was over.

             
The dining room was serving a prime rib buffet.  The band booked for the night was a group from Philadelphia called ‘Billy and the Badass Blondes’.  They did both ‘70’s and ‘80’s rock and pop.  Ian had tried to book them before with no luck.  He had claimed their agent was a dick-head; Tristan had no such problem with getting them booked.  They definitely had a following.  Our club was packed.

             
Tristan and I weren’t working tonight other than ‘over-seeing’ the various areas.  It allowed us to mingle with many of the regulars, as well as to keep an eye out to make sure that things were running smoothly on both levels.

             
We made our rounds, taking our time to talk to the customers and members of the band that were getting ready to take stage.  We went up to the mezzanine at Tristan’s insistence.  He said he wanted to make sure that Eddie and Jo Anna were set up with all of the help they needed.  Once the band started, the mezzanine usually got slammed with the over forty patrons. 

             
Tristan had had a portion of it walled off from the balcony so that customers that preferred to be able to hear themselves speak could.  Tristan had been acting a bit peculiar this evening; constantly looking around and making sure that I was close by his side.  I had finally had enough of his strangeness.

             
“Tristan, for Chrissake, you’re walking around here like you’re expecting a hit man.  What the hell is going on?”

             
I caught his sheepish smile just as someone came up behind me, putting their hands over my eyes and saying, “Guess who?”

             
“Pete?” I sputtered, wrenching his hands from my forehead and turning to face my big brother who was wall-to-wall grins.

             
“Oh My God,’ I said, launching myself into his arms, hugging him tightly.  “What the hell are you doing in Atlanta?”

             
“Surprising my little sister, obviously,” he said with a grin, giving me a brotherly kiss on the cheek.

             
“It’s a great surprise,” I shrieked, grabbing his hand.  “I want you to meet, Tristan -”

             
“We’ve met,” Pete said with a laugh, “Earlier today when I came in to the club.  He knew about the surprise since this afternoon.”

             
“No wonder you were acting so weird,” I said to Tristan.

             
“How long are you staying?”

             
“We actually came with the band,” he said, “Tommy Hall, their lead guitarist is a neighbor of ours.  When I heard where his New Year’s Eve gig was, I decided a visit to my sister was in order.  Amie and I flew down this afternoon.  We’re spending two nights.”

             
“Where’s Amie?” I asked looking around the crowded mezzanine.

             
“She’ll be here in a sec.  I’ve got another surprise for you,” he said smiling.  “Someone else tagged along; Amie should be back in just a minute with them.  Their flight just got in about an hour ago.”

             
“Mom and Dad?” I asked, hopefully.

             
“Not quite,” he chuckled.  I looked up at Tristan; he shrugged.  Apparently, this was going to be a surprise for him as well.

             
Pete was craning his neck now, looking out over the people mingling on the mezzanine.

             
“Ah, here they come,” he said, grinning, raising his arm up to wave them over to where we stood.

             
I followed his gaze into the crowd and suddenly I felt as if my heart had dropped to my knees.  I recognized Amie weaving her way through the throng of people; another woman was with her; following closely behind them was Nick Camerucci.  His dark, brooding eyes locked with mine.  I saw his mouth twitch into a half smile.

             
I immediately turned to Pete.

             
“Are you fucking crazy?  Why in the hell would you invite Nick Camerucci to be anywhere within a hundred miles of me?”

             
I saw Pete’s mouth drop open; Tristan’s eye darkened as he stepped closer to me.  There was nothing to do at the moment but to stand my ground.  I wouldn’t let Nick Camerucci have power over me again.  Besides, he was on my turf, now.

             
“We’ll talk later, Pete,” I said, turning to greet Amie.  I hugged her, genuinely glad to see my sister-in-law.  She turned then to introduce me to the dark-haired, slender woman beside her.

             
“Gina, this is Teresa Camerucci, Nick’s wife,” she said.  “Teresa, this is Gina Hatton, my sister-in-law.”

             
“Actually, I go by Valenti again,” I said, holding my hand out to shake Teresa’s.  She accepted my hand, squeezing it lightly.  She gave me a shy smile.  She appeared almost fragile.  It made me wonder if she had always been that way or just since she had known Nick.

             
“It’s good to meet you, Gina.  Nick is always talking about the good old days in Hoboken.  Your name comes up often.”

             
(What fucking good old days?  He must still be getting high.)

             
Nick came over to me, putting his hands on my shoulders and kissing me on my cheek.  I could feel Tristan stiffen beside me.

             
“Gina,” he said, smoothly, “You are even more beautiful than I remember.  I missed you at Mother’s funeral.”

             
“Nick, of course you have my condolences,” I replied, turning away from him quickly to introduce Tristan.

             
Tristan managed to be cordial to Amie and Teresa; he was struggling to maintain civility with Nick.  It was apparent to me, though I wasn’t sure if anyone else had noticed.  I saw the slight twitch in Tristan’s cheek that did not appear often; only when he was livid.

             
“How about if I find a table for you all?” Tristan offered.  “Gina, why don’t you and Pete go to the bar and get some drinks on the house; the rest of you follow me.”

             
“The regular for us,” Nick called after him.  Tristan had done this purposely so that I could have a couple of minutes alone with Pete to ask him what the hell he had been thinking.

             
Over at the bar, Pete was waiting for me to say something.  I wasn’t sure what to say since apparently my mother had not given him any explanation for my sudden departure before Angie Camerucci’s funeral.

             
“Pete,” I said, “Did it ever dawn on you that perhaps Nick and my split was something less than amicable?”

             
“Gina,” he replied, wearing a confused expression, “Neither you nor Nick has ever divulged the particulars.  I guess I thought after all of this time, bygones would be bygones.”

             
“I guess that’s my fault, Pete.  I never shared details because I was too ashamed; I suppose Nick didn’t share because he was afraid of people knowing the kind of monster he had become.  Look, I can’t get into this now with you; besides that, I’m not sure I want to share this with anyone other than Tristan.  He knows the particulars; he is the only one besides Nick and me that knows the details.  So please, just act normal but don’t expect me to sit with you and socialize while he is there.  I can’t do it.”

             
“Gina, Nick did tell me that he had a problem with coke while you two were together; he said he blamed his addiction for you leaving and he totally understood why you would have left.  He never told me anything beyond that.  I know that he’s clean now; he lives a good life, makes a good living, and seems to be a good husband to Teresa.  People can change, Gina.”

             
“People can change their behavior, Pete.  I believe that; but people are what they are and the Nick I knew was scary.  That’s all I can say.  You and I can talk tomorrow when we are alone.  I just wanted you to understand about tonight.”

             
We ordered the drinks and I asked Jo Anna to take them over to the table where Tristan had seated them.  She hurried back with Tristan on her heels looking at me quizzically.

             
“God Gina, are you alright?”

             
“I’ll be fine, Jo Jo - I just wasn’t expecting to see a nasty blast from my past, that’s all.

             
“Your brother?”

             
“Not exactly.”

             
Tristan was by my side again.  I’d have to fill Jo Anna in on it later.

             
“Gina, I had no clue when I talked to your brother earlier that he was going to spring Nick on you.”

             
“I know that, Tristan.  It’s fine.  I simply told Pete that Nick and I ended up bad terms and I wasn’t prepared to be around him.  You would have thought my mother might have clued Pete in,” I bitched.

             
“Babe, you didn’t really tell your mom much, you know.  Perhaps she didn’t even know that Nick was coming here.”

             
Let’s just go down to the lower level; I can’t stand being in the same building with that son-of-a-bitch,” I hissed.             

             
Tristan and I managed to stay busy on the main floor.  I felt like my senses were now on high alert knowing that Nick was nearby.  Perhaps he had triggered some primal instinct in me; the fight or flight response had given me an adrenaline rush.

             
Tristan and I were sitting at the main bar when Johnny Four-Fingers came out to find Tristan.  Apparently, there was an issue with the electrical circuits to the ovens in the kitchen.  Tristan ordered me to sit tight; he would be back in a few minutes.  I didn’t feel like sitting tight.  I was a bundle of nerves, but I wasn’t a coward.  This was my club.  I wasn’t going to sit in a corner like a scared victim.

             
I went upstairs to the mezzanine to where Jo Anna was tending bar. 

             
“Hey Jo Jo,” I said, “Can I bum one of your smokes?”

             
“You don’t smoke,” she said, eyeing me warily.

             
“It’s a special occasion,” I replied, holding my hand out.

             
She pulled her pack of Camels from her pocket.  Her disposable lighter was tucked inside. 

             
“Here, take my jacket,” she said, tossing it over the bar.  I stepped out the side door onto the fire escape to light up.  The wind was blowing; there was a damp chill in the air.  I went down the fire escape and stood behind the dumpster in the alley.  It offered some protection from the gusting wind at the moment.

             
Inside the band was playing a medley of U2 songs. I took a couple of puffs of the cigarette. 

             
(Yuck!  Now I remembered why I had quit!)

             
I dropped it to the pavement, crushing it out with the toe of my shoe.  I shoved my hands into the pockets of Jo Jo’s jacket and turned to head back up.  I collided with a tall body as I did.  I stood frozen on the spot as a lighter flicked and in the flame I saw Nick’s face as he lit his cigarette.

             
(I knew it was a Parliament; that’s what he smoked.)

             
“You’re not going to run-off without even talking to me, are you, Gina?”

             
(I will not let him frighten me; I will not let him frighten me.)