Southern Belles 4 Blissmas (4 page)

Sounds like a good old fashioned fuck buddy
to me. Work, my ass. I'll show that little bitch some work. Right
about the time I take her out back and give her a little history
lesson."

Annie smiled, "Oh my God, Marti! Do you hear
yourself? You've obviously lost your mind, talking about whoopin'
someone's ass like a hood rat."

The tears started to well up in her eyes
again. "I'm not a ho - hood rat, but she's some fancy schmancy
Stanford bitch and she just makes me feel so stupid and he - he
doesn't do anything about it." She grabbed another tissue and blew
her nose again.

"Annie, what am I gonna do? My life is so
fucked up. Y'all are so happy and I just fuck things up more and
more as time goes by." Sniffle.

"Honey, you're home now. Go take a hot
shower, put your feet up and we'll figure something out. I'll make
us something to eat real quick. You hungry?"

Nodding her head yes, sniffling, "And you
know what's really fuckin' ironic? He owns the fucking cab company
that picked me up from the house and I didn't even know it! Talk
about stupid!"

"Oh honey…you're not stupid, you just didn't
know. Doesn't he tell you things like that?"

She looked down into her glass. "Yeah, he
tells me things. Things like 'suck this' and
'si
,
Princesa
, that feels good' but it's all in Spanish. I feel
like I don't know anything about this guy and then I get a wild
hair up my ass and fuckin' marry him! I'll probably be all over the
fuckin' news again. 'Gold Digger Takes the Money and Runs!' God.
And to think I wanted to be paparazzi. I fuckin' hate 'em!"

"Well, honey bun, we'll get this all squared
away." She leaned in and hugged her, rubbing her back. "Don't worry
about anything, now go on upstairs and get cleaned up. I'll fix us
something to eat."

Marti grabbed her tote and walked across the
room, starting up the stars. "Annie?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks, you know I love you," she sniffed.
"And the house looks real nice."

"Thanks, hon, I love you too, and don't
worry, we'll get it all figured out."

*****

Marti woke up with the sun streaming in on
her face. There was a little chill in the air, and a million
thoughts were flying through her head. She felt weird sleeping in
Annie's house all by herself, and it really hurt that Nick hadn't
even tried to call her. He was probably glad that she was gone,
fucking that bitch Ellie, having the time of his life.

She reached into her purse and picked up her
iPhone and realized she hadn't turned it back on from the plane
trip. She hit the button and as it grabbed a signal she had 27
messages from Nick.

"Princess, we need to talk. Please call
me."

"Honey, I miss you. We need to talk about
this, where are you, please let me know you're okay."

"Marti this is ridiculous. Call me"

"Marti, I am going to call the Tennessee
state police and have them look for you if you don't call me."

"Dammit, honey. Call me"

The messages went on and on. She dialed the
number to his cell phone, it barely rang. "Marti, is that you, are
you okay?"

Tears well up in her eyes as she heard his
voice, "Yes Nick, it's me."

"Oh my God,
hija
, where are you?"

"I'm at Annie's, I need some time to think.
I'm okay."

"Marti, I saw that you left and I was so
worried about you. I'm coming to get you. I'll be there in a few
hours."

"Nick. Don't get me. I really need some time
to think about this. Just give me a few days. I'm gonna do what I
can to help Annie with the holidays, and I'll probably go see my
mom today."

"Marti, I love you, Thanksgiving is in two
days, and
mi mama
is flying in today to spend the holidays
with us. I need you here with me." His voice was steady and a bit
demanding.

"Now you need me. Why the hell didn't you
tell me your mother was coming?" She huffed, "Now she'll probably
think that I am some crazy, gold digging bitch like they portrayed
me to be on TV. Thanks a lot! Shit! I gotta go, call you
later."

"Marti, wait, we need to talk about
this."

"Bye Nick, I'll call you later." She hit the
end button and tossed her phone on the bed. She sat there, staring
out the window. Fall was in the air and the leaves had already
changed color, turning everything to beautiful gold and crimson
colors.

God, Georgia is beautiful in the fall. If
You, Dear Lord can make all this beauty, can You fix me, too? Why
is my life so fucking complicated?

She put on Annie's UGG boots and ran
downstairs. UGG's were the shit. Ugly, but great for a chilly fall
morning. Not expecting Annie to be awake, she was happily surprised
when the aroma of fresh coffee seeped out of the kitchen. She was
even more surprised when she walked into the kitchen and saw Tommy
sitting at the big oak table.

"Good morning y'all!"

She turned to Tommy "Hey Tommy, I hope you
don't mind, but I borrowed one of your T- shirts, I didn't bring
any jammies and my ass won't fit in Annie's."

"No problem. Marti, grab whatever you need,
except my fiancé." He chuckled. "Girls, I hope you know how
uncomfortable this is for me. I still have the image of you two in
my head of that crazy night I walked in on you two doing that
girlie…sex thing." He leaned back in his chair.

"Annie, I love you and I trust you. And
Marti, I'm really sorry for the things that happened between us, I
know you're Annie's best friend, I forgive you, I forgave you a
long time ago. Let's hope you can forgive me and we'll get past
this." He let out a long exhale, rubbing his hands on his thighs.
"So now that's over, can I get some breakfast around here?"

Annie turned to look at him. "Tommy, honey, I
love you, too." A smile swept across her face, she giggled a
little. "But you know, honey, you're either thinking with your
dick…or your stomach."

"Let's not discuss my dick at the table," he
laughed.

"TMI, y'all. Get a room." Marti giggled as
she walked over to the ice box, opening the door, "You know what
y'all, I haven't cooked a meal for months. I've had all these folks
fussing over me, cooking my food, driving me around, shit, they'd
probably wipe my ass if I asked them to. So how about this morning
I make y'all some breakfast for putting up with me?"

Sipping her coffee, Annie laughed, "That
sounds amazing, we'll just sit right here and wait for our home
cooked breakfast."

"Thanks a lot girl," she laughed. "I
appreciate all the help!!" It felt good to be home again.

Marti scuttled around in the kitchen making
breakfast for the three of them. Bacon, eggs and a side of toast.
They chatted and laughed while they ate, and as soon as they were
finished, Tommy had to run off to the precinct and Annie and Marti
were left alone, sitting at the big oak table.

"Annie, girl, you know tomorrow is
Thanksgiving and we don't have any plans, yet. Let's go down to the
market and get us a big ole fat turkey and giblets. I'll cook. You
know, just us."

"Well I guess we could, I've never been a
great cook, but it sounds like fun. Let me go get cleaned up and
we'll run over there."

Marti stood up and stretched. She ran her
hand through her unruly hair, "Me too, I really need to do
something with this hair. Be ready in a flash."

Annie turned. "Hey, Marti? Just curious. Have
you heard from Memphis?"

"Yeah, he called about 30 times. I called
him. Told him I need time to think. I'm fucked up Annie, don't know
what I am going to do about him. I mean….I like him, but you know
all this bullshit was just so he could save face. Is he amazing?
Yes. A sex god? Yes. Annie, he fed me gold."

"What? Gold? Why the hell would you eat
gold?" cocking her eyebrow. "At a fancy restaurant in Vegas. There
was gold on this weird dish he ordered. Have no idea what it's
called but it had little gold flakes. I mean, the guy is loaded."
She sighed. "Lord God Almighty, what have I done? I married a man
in a drunken stupor who I didn't even know. We've barely been
married four months…and I've already left. Sounds pretty fucked up
to me."

"Honey, sometimes we do things without
thinking. You and I both know that God will take care of this. Just
let him. Come on, let's get cleaned up and get to the market, I'm
dying for some pumpkin pie!"

They both bounded up the stairs, Annie in her
room and Marti in the guest room. Marti yelled from the bathroom,
"Annie can we both take showers at the same time? You know, this
house is old and I don't want a cold shower!"

Annie hollered from her room, "Hell yeah!
When I had this house redone, I made sure we got new pipes and hot
water heater, a frickin' hotel could take showers in here all at
the same time, and nobody would know the difference."

*****

They pulled up in front of Robinsons Grocers.
It was an older grocery store, built over a century ago, but Mr.
Robinson always made sure it was spotless and updated. He always
kept it well stocked with the finest fresh fruit and vegetables,
and Harry the butcher was always ready to pack up a few fresh
steaks.

Walking into the store, Marti's eyes lit up.
She smiled, "Oh, Annie, it feels like old times. Remember when we
were little and came in here after school?"

"Yeah, how could I forget? You were always
running around touching and eating everything. Remember when Old
Man Robinson kicked us out when you ate all those apples? I thought
Grandpa was gonna beat your ass! He didn't need to…you were in the
freakin' bathroom for days!!" Annie busted out in a full belly
laugh.

Marti winced, "Shut up! I was just a
kid."

"You know Gramps came in later and paid for
those apples. He felt so bad for you." She covered her mouth to
stifle the giggles.

"Stop," she whined. "Don't make fun of me.
That hurt, my butt was on fire." The girls laughed so hard Mr.
Robinson walked over to see what the commotion was.

Annie looked up, a big smile on her face.
"Hey! Mr. Robinson, how are y'all doing?"

"Oh honey, we're good, we're good. Now what's
got y'all so worked up you can't control yourselves?" he asked,
smiling a big toothless grin.

Marti piped in, "Oh, we were just reminiscing
about how things used to be here at the store. You know, when we
were kids?"

"Yep, as I recall, you girls were just about
the death of me. Good thing y'all are all growed up. How y'all
doing up there at the ranch? And I'm real sorry to hear about your
grandpa. Old man Gibbons was an old bastard, but he was one of the
good ones." He took his handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped
his nose. "Been getting cold around here, y'all better stay warm
out there. Anything I can do for y'all, just let me know."

"Well there is one thing. You know we had the
ranch remodeled last summer? Well Tommy and I were thinking about
opening up the little store out there. You know for the tourists
who pass through Mountain View?"

He shook his head, "Yep, yep I remember that
itty bitty shop Gibbons used to have. Y'all thinking about opening
it up again?" He sniffled again, wiping his nose.

"Mr. Robinson, you really need to take care
of that cold. Why are you working anyway? It's the holidays and you
don't look very well. Do you need a ride home? I'm sure Annie and I
can run you home and get you some hot tea." She glanced over at
Annie, who nodded in agreement.

"Aww, hell, I gotta be here. My grandson done
went and got married; I don't have anyone else to tend the store. I
gotta stay open for the holiday, that's where I make my best money.
I'll be alright. He looked at Annie, "You tell that sheriff I said
y'all can go ahead and open that store, I'm just about to give up
on this one right after the holidays. Man can't work like a dog
when he's old. I'm just tired. Too tired." He shook his head. "Now,
did y'all need anything or did you just come in here to waste my
time?"

Marti went to give Mr. Robinson a hug. "We
love you Mr. Robinson."

He wrapped his old arms around her and Annie.
"It'll all work out, girls, it'll all work out." He sighed. "Now,
did y'all need anything?"

"Well, sir, if you can point us in the
direction of the turkeys, that would be just wonderful."

He nodded to the back of the store where the
refrigerator section was. "They're right over there. Now y'all know
how to cook 'em, right?"

"Yes, sir, Tommy is the best turkey man in
town." Annie smiled and they walked off toward the refrigerator
section. She turned around to look at the old man. "Bye bye, Mr.
Robinson, happy holidays!"

Marti sighed, "How sad. This is an amazing
little store and he doesn't have anyone to carry on the name. After
all those years right here in town…it's just sad."

Annie grunted as she lifted a huge turkey
into the cart. "Yep, people grow up and they move away from this
little bitty town. I heard the sushi place is about ready to close
too."

"I should buy it. How cool would that
be?"

"The sushi place? No one goes there
anymore."

"No, this store, I could turn it into a
little farmers market and you could bring the peaches here to
town." Her eyes were wide with excitement, like a kid in a candy
store.

Annie scoffed. "Marti, what the hell are you
going to do with a grocery store? In this town? Seriously? What do
you know about running a store?"

Marti stopped, "I wasn't gonna run the damn
thing, I was just going to buy it. I can hire people to run the
store. Duh!" She picked up a few sweet potatoes and dropped them
into the cart.

Picking up a pumpkin pie, Annie turned to
Marti and asked "Do you still eat pumpkin pie? And now that I think
about it, who the hell you gonna hire in Mountain View that is good
enough to run this store like Mr. Robinson does?"