Baby Daddy (26 page)

The crow
d roared their approval and shouted for him to give Cindy the matchbook.  Reno tossed it out to her.  She caught it and tucked it inside her already full bra.

“
Thank you Cindy.  I bet my brother Dallas $20 you’d be here.  I told him that when a girl signs her name with a little circle over the letter
i
, it means she’s hot for you.”  Reno threw her a kiss and she gave him a sassy wiggle.

“The next item
is an old map of Route 66 that has been marked with several black X’s.  From the stories I’ve already heard tonight, I’m thinking these were the honky tonks the band was no longer allowed to frequent.  Am I right?”

The crowd erupted into applause and laughter.  Finally one voice came from the back.  “The
re aren’t enough marks!”  More laughter followed.

“Perhaps it was early on?
”

An old guy held up his hand.  “I’ll take
that.  I drove Scandals’ bus over that route for many years.”

Reno tossed it to him and reached back into the box.
  “Another item we couldn’t figure out was this semi-white gym sock with pink bands around the top and a note inside that says…
I’ll be by the van.
”

The crowd reacted with
hoots and catcalls.

“Cindy?  Do you have another one at home just like this one?”

She shook her head and appeared to be furious that it belonged to another woman.

Reno looked at the note again.  “It
’s signed Patty!  Is there a Patty here tonight?”

Everyone looked around, searching for the infamous Patty.

“Looks like Patty’s still out looking for her other sock.”  Reno put it back in the box.  “Now that you’ve gotten a sample of the treasures in the boxes, check them out later. And no fighting.  There’s enough for everyone. But right now, it’s time to start the program.  This man has known Roger since they were in grade school.  He’s an original member of the band Scandals, as well as Roger’s attorney and friend…Harlan Gooding.”

Reno shook Harlan’s hand and gave him a man hug
as they traded places on the small stage. The applause for Reno was genuine and Harlan waited a respectable amount of time for it to die down.

“
That was wonderful, Reno.  I don’t know if Roger’s looking at you kids from up or down, but he would be so proud of all of you.”  Harlan looked around at us before continuing. “Roger Elliot…he was my lifelong buddy.  Like all of us here, he made his share of mistakes plus a lot more. Unlike all of us, he spent most of his life paying back…and paying forward.  He never stopped giving.  As his attorney, I saw Roger’s generosity time and time again.  Most of you met his children tonight.  In the last twenty years there wasn’t a month that would go by that he didn’t call me and tell me to find a way to get money to one of their mothers because they needed braces, a dress for a school dance or money to go to summer camp.”

I could see Harlan really looking inward as his eyes glistened under the soft
indirect lighting.

“Roger figured out a long time ago what the right things in life were all about, how to make amends for what he
had done wrong and how to help others.”  Harlan laughed.  “He never sweated the small things like money…
Do the right thing and the money will take care of itself
, he used to say.  I think I’m just getting to understand what that means in my life.”  He held up two fingers, kissed them and held them up toward Heaven.  “I love you, man.”

Everyone applauded as Harlan made way for Reno
to introduce the next speaker…Terry Roth.

We watched from the hallway as Terry took the stage and started telling his favorite old stories.

“You’re really good up there…smooth,” Tulsa told Reno and gave him a fist bump.

“I get fired up…good crowd
.  I like Roger’s friends…most of them, anyway.  Do we have a plan for when this breaks up?”

“The boxes are set out on the
big table in the library where everyone can mingle and say their goodbyes,” Dallas reassured us.

“
One of us should hang in the entry hall, one by the door to the garage and two by the pool so we can keep any eye on all the exits. I’ll be in the studio watching everything on the monitors,” Tulsa told us.

“So far, so good!”
Christopher added as he walked up to the group.  My heart skipped a beat when I heard his familiar voice.

“Look who decided to join us!”
Liberty teased.

“I was out keeping the goodwill flowing.”
  He smiled but having become familiar with Christopher, I could see he was more than a little drunk.

The audience started clapping and cheering, and Reno hurried back to the stage to open the mi
c to anyone who wanted to share their memories.

I took that as my cue because I didn’t know if I’d get a better chance.

“Christopher, can we talk?” I asked bluntly, knowing he was too polite to turn down such a straight-forward request, especially in front of the others.

His
attitude was reluctant, but he nodded and led the way out to the pool.  Since everyone was inside, we had the privacy that I wanted.

He stopped on the other side of the pool and looked out over Lake Travis, unwilling to meet my eyes.  I sucked in a deep, bracing breath and stepped directly in front of him, forcing him to look at me.

When he did, my knees almost buckled from the intensity of his gaze.  All the emotions that had been boiling inside me for the last two weeks rushed to the surface.  There was nothing I wanted in the world more than for him to reach out and touch me…to take me into his arms and kiss my fears away…to tell me he loved me and forgave me.

His hands moved, then thrust themselves deeply into his pockets.  He didn’t speak
, waiting instead for me to lead the conversation.

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, with only partial success.  My voice was shaky as I spoke.  “I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am.  I should have told you about the baby.”

“Or were you going to try to pass it off as mine?” he asked, his voice cold.

“What?”  That accusation startled me so much it was like a physical blow.  I took an involuntary step backward.  “I would never have done that!”

“It felt like a trick to me,” he declared.  “Practically throwing yourself at me, not using birth control…waiting for a couple months to tell me you’re pregnant, then hoping I couldn’t do the math.”

“Excuse me!”  My contriteness turned to anger.  “I didn’t throw myself at you.  As I remember it, you practically ripped my clothes off and fucked me against the wall.  And I don’t recall any mention of a condom…until we’d had sex like
a half dozen times.”  I lifted my chin indignantly.  “I didn’t tell you about the baby because it was none of your damn business.  It was all on me.  My baby.  My decision.  I would never have tried to pass it off on you.”

“You lied to me.”

“I didn’t tell you everything, but what I told you wasn’t a lie.  And how stupid do you think I am to not know that a simple paternity test would have proven you weren’t the father?”

His nostrils flared in anger.  It was clear that he didn’t believe me and that I was wasting my breath trying to convince him otherwise.

I felt my eyes filling with tears…tears of frustration and regret.  I bit my lip in an attempt to keep my cool until I could get away from him.  I looked up into his dear, wonderful face and took a mental snapshot so I would never forget him…this man who I had fallen in love with, but who would never be a part of my life.

“I’ve got to get back inside,” I mumbled and brushed past him.  He didn’t follow me.  I felt the fissure in my heart crack and crumble into pieces at the realization that he was going to let me go.

At the doorway, I paused to compose myself and wipe away the tears.  It hurt so much I could barely catch my breath.  But tonight was too important for me to not play my role.  I had to pull myself together and help sell the sting.

I entered the house just in time to hear Reno say,
“Thank you for coming.  Roger’s laughing his ass off somewhere.  There’s still plenty of food and alcohol, so stay as long as you want.  But don’t forget to stop by the library.”

Everyone applauded as the five of us made our way to
our posts.  On my way to the kitchen I stopped in at the library to check to see if the music sheets were still there.  Reno followed me, carrying the box that had been with him on-stage.

A thin man
, heavily tanned with tobacco-stained middle fingers and thin shoulder-length hair was rummaging through one of boxes.  He pulled out an old beat-up baseball glove.  He looked at me.  “Roger won this glove from me…in El Paso.  Shit, I don’t remember what the bet was…probably something stupid.  We were both wasted most of the time back then.”  He slipped the glove on his left hand and pounded into the center of it with his right fist.  “Hell, I wish I had called him.”  He turned to Reno.  “You were funny.  Roger was funny too…like father like son!  I’m taking my glove back, if that’s okay.”  We both nodded and he slapped Reno on the arm as he walked slowly toward the foyer.

“Sad…
drugs really did a job on him,” Reno commented.  He set the other box on the table and left.

I stayed for a few minutes as several more people came into the room and went through the boxes. 
Most of them took things, small things that obviously meant something personal to them.

I went to my post in the kitchen where I could watch the exit leading to the garage.  It was a good place to people watch, and I had a chance to talk to almost everyone before they headed toward the front door. 
The house grew quiet and I was beginning to think we had failed.  Terry had made no move toward the songs.  In fact, he hadn’t even gone near the library because I had a clear view of it from where I was sitting at the island.  I watched, getting more depressed by the moment as the caterers wrapped up the leftover food and cleaned the kitchen.  The bartender brought in some of the extra bottles of tequila, rum and vodka from outside because there wasn’t room to store them out there and left them on the bar for John to put away later.

I thanked them all as
they left.

“Well…this was
wonderful…you guys did an amazing job!”  Harlan said as he and Terry walked into the kitchen.  “Congratulations!”

Reno, Dallas, Liberty and Christopher entered the room from
different directions.  Tulsa was the last one in.  We all exchanged covert looks that expressed our mutual frustration.

“Hearing those stories tonight really made me miss Roger…huh Harlan?”
Terry said.

“Sure did
.  It’ll be a long time before I’ll be able to go through the day and not think of him,” Harlan agreed and bowed his head.  I wondered if he was truly sad or feeling guilty for his part in the betrayal.

After all the laughter and noise of the evening, the kitchen was heavy with melancholy.

“You know what we need?” Terry exclaimed, slapping the granite top of the island.  “A world-famous Scandals margarita, just like we used to make on the tour bus.  I’ll be right back.”  He hurried out of the house, leaving us to look at each other and shake our heads in confusion. 

He returned in less than a minute
holding a fancy-looking bottle full of golden liquid.  “This is Tequila like you’ve never tasted.  This, my friends is a bottle of AsomBroso 11 Year Anejo…for you gringos, eleven-year-old aged Tequila…only $1,200 a bottle…but well worth it!”

“Wow, that’s a lot of pesos for tequila, dude,” Reno remarked.

“Nothing’s too good for Roger’s friends
and family.”  Terry went to the commercial-sized blender the caterer had cleaned and left on the island.  He poured a generous amount of tequila into the glass container, added some Triple Sec and lime juice, put the lid on it and pushed the button.   The blender spun the contents into a lime green mixture.  Terry dumped in some ice, but didn’t blend the ice into the liquid.  He took eight margarita glasses out of the cabinet and set them out on the counter, then poured them full of the chilled drink.

“To Roger!” Terry exclaimed.

He picked one up and held it up.  We all followed suit, feeling a little obligated since it was Roger we were toasting. Even Liberty took a glass.

“
Just like old times!” Harlan declared.

“Cheers,”
everyone said and took a drink. I pressed my lips together so it would appear like I was drinking without actually letting it get in my mouth.

“Wow, these are great!” Reno said and took another drink.

“This tastes just like my mama’s lemonade,” Liberty stated and took another big gulp.  She licked her lips and smiled.  It was the first time I had seen her actually drink anything alcoholic.

Everyone else must have agreed because they drained their glasses and Terry gladly refilled them.  I had a sudden urge to pee and slipped out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom.  I dumped my margarita into the toilet, then did what I had come to do.  For a second I stared at my image in the mirror, knowing I had to hold it together for another hour until we either caught Terry with the music….which was now seeming unlikely…or he left.  I had gone heavier on the makeup tonight because it was such a fancy party.  But getting all weepy over Christopher had done a little damage.  I used a tissue to wipe the mascara off from under my eyes. 
I combed my fingers through the strands of my long blond hair and sighed.  Soon it would be time to go.  Of course, if this scam didn’t work, I might have to stay long enough to catch Terry in another trap.  But I just didn’t know if I had it in me to stick around.