Laurie's Time (The Fairfield Series) (14 page)

At this, Laurie’s eyes jerked away.

Apologizing, Jean realized she touched a nerve. Laurie squeezed Jean’s hand. After having told Rob about her father, the secret seemed to no longer have the power to choke her as it once did.

“It’s fine, it really is,” Laurie assured her. “Quite simply, my wonderful mother was a teen mom, and both she and my grandparents showered me with love. I lost them all by the time I was twelve, but then my Aunt Emma stepped in and became my mom, sister, aunt all rolled into one. So yes, they would be proud.” She hesitated then, feeling comfortable with Jean, she continued. “My mother was a one-night stand to my father, and he never knew I existed and never wanted to.”

Jean was thoughtful for a moment then boldly asked, “How do you know he never wanted to know about you if he never knew you existed?”

Shocked, Laurie stood as though rooted to the floor.
What? Of course he didn’t care. A fling – isn’t that what Mom’s letter said. But…if he never knew I existed, how can I be sure?
After her childhood years of imagining her father as a prince that her mother loved, then to have the image of him as a player who used her as a fling, maybe she had never seen the real man.

“I’m just curious. Have you ever tried to find him?” Jean asked.

Laurie, decided that now Jean knew some of her history, she might as well tell her the rest. She told her of the stories she heard growing up, about the prince her mother fell in love with and then the T-shirt with his name in it that she received when she was eighteen. Jean listened in fascination at the story.

“I just never thought about finding him. I never needed to. I never missed what I never had,” Laurie told her, hearing the words that she had said countless times over the years whenever Emma would ask if she wanted to search for her father.

Jean stood to leave and patted Laurie’s hand. Looking down, she replied, “Sometimes knowing what we missed is painful. But often not knowing our past chokes up our future. I wonder… your mother gave you his shirt, but she was hoping she would be the one to give it to you. What answers would she have given you to the questions you have? She never sought him out, but must have known that it was something you might want to do once his name was revealed.”

With that, Jean left the room, leaving Laurie staring at her friend’s back. Knowing her mom’s adolescent reasoning for keeping his name a secret, she wondered what purpose her mom had for sharing once she was an adult. Shaking her head, trying to remove the tangled thoughts crowding in, she stood and headed home.
Time for another chat, Emma.

*

Laurie and Carol stood in her room looking into her closet once again. Now that she had a steady paycheck, Laurie had been able to purchase more clothes, but she was still clueless as to what to wear to meet Rob’s parents.

“Augghhhh,” she cried out, flopping down on her bed. “What do you wear to meet the parents of your boyfriend? I have no idea how to do this!”

Carol laughed, both at Laurie’s indecision over clothes and hearing Rob being called her boyfriend. She knew Tom’s player ways had ceased once they began dating, and she was sure that Rob would be the same. Tom had been doubtful that Rob would ever settle down, but she kept telling him that when the right woman came along, Rob would realize what he wanted and how to get it.

“No idea how to dress or no idea how to be Rob’s girlfriend?”

“Both.” Laurie, still lying back on the bed, raised her head up to look at her friend. “It’s happened several times, you know?”

Carol, with a questioning gaze, sat down next to Laurie on the bed. “What’s happened, honey?”

Laurie stared at the ceiling, feeling tears starting to slide down her face. Taking a deep breath, she explained, “Running into some of his old fuck buddies.”

“Oh, Laurie. I am so sorry.” Carol paused for a moment, lost in thought. “The same thing happened a time or so with me, but at least most of Tom’s old conquests were out of town, so I didn’t have to be constantly reminded.”

Laurie lay still, wiping at the tears before sitting up. “I know Rob feels horrible when it happens. I even tell myself that it will eventually stop. Oh, I don’t know,” she said with exasperation as she shook her head.

“You want to tell me about them?”

Laurie barked out a noise of frustration, ruefully shaking her head again. Sighing in resignation, she looked up at Carol’s sympathetic face and agreed. “Last week we were coming out of his mom’s bakery, laughing at something she had said. God, Carol, I felt so happy at that moment. His arm was wrapped around me, and everything just felt so…right. So…real. Then two women came out of a shop, took one look at Rob and walked over as though I wasn’t even there. One tried to press her boobs right onto his arm, and the other was placing her hand on his chest before he could pull us back. You want to know what happened next?”

Carol, almost afraid to agree, feeling nauseous, just nodded her head.

“They asked if he wanted to do a threesome again! Again! Jesus, that means he did it before!”

“What did Rob say?”

Taking a cleansing breath, Laurie admitted, “He was angry. Embarrassed. Upset. Afraid I was upset. He jerked back from them, saying that he was with me now.” Hanging her head, she continued the torrid story. “One of them just said that I was welcome to join.”

“Oh god, honey, I am so sorry,” Carol said as she placed her arm around Laurie.

“Of course, Rob was beyond furious at that time. He called them a few choice names, told them to get away from him and said that he had better never hear of them speaking to me again. Then he literally pulled me down the street away from them.” She paused again, collecting her thoughts. “It was awkward as hell. He didn’t know what to say. I didn’t either. I mean what do you say to that? ‘Gee honey, are you sure you don’t want a foursome fuck tonight?’ I finally told him to take me home – the day was ruined, after all. He was afraid I would walk away from him.”

Looking back into Carol’s face, she continued, “I thought about it. I found myself wondering if I could be the girlfriend of a reformed player. I feel as though whenever we are out somewhere, I am constantly on guard. When a girl walks near us, I feel sick to my stomach wondering if she is coming over to start something. There have been a couple of other times like that, but that was definitely the worst.”

Squeezing her friend’s shoulder, Carol replied. “Laurie, you’re the only one who can decide if Rob is what you want. If he’s worth the fight. If he’s worth the trouble.”

Laurie, eyes flashing, said, “Oh, I know he is worth everything. He is so much more than what those skanks see. He is so much more than what everyone sees. Hell, he is so much more than what he even sees in himself!”

Carol smiling, “So is he worth the trouble?”

Realizing what her friend had done, Laurie laughed. “Yeah, he is worth the trouble. I know he is true to me. And I know eventually the skanks will all fade away.” Then with a smirk, she added, “To hell, preferably!”

Laughing in agreement, Carol turned back to the closet, rummaging through Laurie’s clothes again. Carol had some perfect clothes, but she was much too slim to be able to share them with Laurie.

“Go casual, but classy,” Carol advised. “Bernie and Mac are down-to-earth people, and you don’t want to appear stuffy. But since you are being introduced as Rob’s girlfriend then you also want the classic look.” She pulled out dark jeans, a hunter green sweater with a modest V neck, and Laurie’s black boots.

Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, and realizing that she was running late, she jumped into her clothes and had Carol do her makeup. Standing with their arms around each other, the two women looked into the mirror. Carol’s blonde beauty gave her an angel like quality, almost otherworldly. She was slim, with a delicate look about her that belied the strength underneath.

Slightly shorter than Carol, Laurie knew she looked much more like Emma and her mom. Petite, but with the curves she knew Rob liked, her flawless face was framed by her dark hair that hung down her back.

Their eyes meeting in the mirror, they laughed just as the doorbell rang. Opening the door together, they looked up at two of the most handsome men in Fairfield. Tom’s Nordic-god looks had Carol’s eyes sparkling. Laurie’s pulse was racing just looking into Rob’s Celtic appearance with his black hair and blue eyes.

The men were equally entranced by the vision in front of them. Tom’s protectiveness came to the forefront whenever he looked into Carol’s angel eyes, and Rob was always stunned that his beautiful Laurie wanted him, faults and all.

Both couples headed out into the night, promising a double date soon. With that, Rob escorted Laurie to his parents’ house. He noticed that she was unusually quiet. Chancing a glance over at her profile, he could see she appeared tense.

“What’s up, babe?” he asked.

Exasperated, she looked over at him. “Can you always tell what is going on with me?”

Chuckling, he replied, “Laurie, first I don’t want you to hide shit from me. No matter how little you think it is, I wanna know. Second, babe, if you haven’t figured it out by now, I make it my business to keep a pulse on you. That’s what bein’ with me includes. Me knowin’ you. Me watchin’ out for you. Me takin’ care of you.”

His words moved over her, wrapping around her as tightly as his arms when they lay in bed at night. Smiling to herself, she almost forgot that he had asked a question.

“Babe,” he asked gently. “What’s goin’ on in that pretty head of yours?”

“I’m nervous about meeting your parents.”

“Laurie, honey you’ve had coffee at my mom’s shop a dozen times, and you met my dad at the school fire. What’s to be nervous about?”

“Rob, that was different. At the coffee shop, your mom just sees me as another customer, and your dad just saw me as someone you rescued. What if they don’t like me for your girlfriend? What if I don’t meet their expectations?”

He pulled over to the side of the road, putting the truck into park. Pushing his seat all the way back, he gently pulled her over the console of this truck and placed her in his lap, wrapping his arms around her.

“Babe, I’m gonna tell you like it is. Don’t like bringin’ up past shit, but it’s the only way to make you feel better. Fairfield isn’t a huge town, and it was no secret even to my parents how my reputation was gained.”

Laurie could feel herself stiffen at the reminder of his past. His arms tightened around her again.

“Eyes on me, Laurie,” he gently commanded. She raised her eyes to his, relaxing at what she saw there. His blue eyes held nothing but concern.

“My parents despaired of me ever meetin’ someone that could love me for me and give me a chance at a future like the one they had. And it wasn’t until recently that I pulled my head outta my ass and realized how my behavior reflected on them.” Shaking his head at his own folly, he continued. “Mom met you months ago and was bowled over. She couldn’t say enough about how pretty and nice you were. I never told you that I spoke to my parents about you before we ever went out on that first date. So they knew you were special. They knew I was fallin’. And they are over the fuckin’ moon about it. So babe, you’ve got nothin’ to worry about. They already love you and approve of you. You got nothin’ to fear.”

Smiling, she cupped his face in her small hands, bringing her lips in for a gentle kiss. The kiss began to build as their tongues mated, and she sucked on his lips. Pulling back, he groaned. “Oh girl, we gotta stop. I don’t want to have a hard-on walkin’ into my mom’s kitchen.”

Giggling, she went over to her side of the truck, and he headed them back down the road. Rob’s parents had moved to just outside of town when he was in college. Their house was a large refinished farm house with a small barn in the back yard that they had transformed into a big rec room. The weather had gotten colder, and when they exited the truck, Mac threw open the front door ushering them inside. As soon as Laurie crossed the threshold, Mac grabbed her in a bear hug, picking her up off the floor.

Rob slapped his on the back, growling, “Dad, let her go. You’re going to break her!” Laurie laughed as Mac set her gently on the ground.

“Ah, Laurie, darlin’, seeing you with Rob is a sight for sore eyes! Good to have you here.”

Bernie came walking in from the kitchen, with her typical apron around her waist. Pulling Laurie into a gentle although just as heartfelt hug, Laurie felt accepted. “Make yourself at home. I’ll bring out some appetizers in just a minute.”

As Rob escorted Laurie into the large comfortable family room, she noticed pictures on the fireplace mantle. Walking over, she saw several pictures of three boys at various ages from about five years old to mid-twenties.

“Oh my goodness, this is you, Tom, and Jake! You all were so cute!” Laurie exclaimed.

Rob laughed in embarrassment. “Yeah,” he answered.

Mac spoke up then. “Those three were inseparable. We all lived on the same street when the boys were little, so they were friends from preschool. Played football together in high school and college. Quite the athletes, all three. Tom and Jake went on to the police academy, and Rob came home to follow his old man here with the fire department.”