Page 13 of A Constant Love
I erupted in a fit of giggles when I saw a picture of the two of them having a tea party. Tess had Tyler wearing a dress, a big fancy hat, some fake pearls, white gloves, and some very poorly done makeup.
“Ha ha ha, laugh it up, Kansas. Tess could be very persuasive when she wanted to be. She’d always trick me into this short of shit. Plus, back then she was still taller than me and could kick my ass.”
“You were a very beautiful girl. Prey do tell, what did Tess call you while you were in this get-up?” I said, barely able to stop laughing long enough to get it out.
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
I knew he was lying. “Come on, I know she gave you a made-up girly name. I won’t laugh.”
“Yes, you will. I’ll never tell,” he said pursing his lips together.
I just shrugged. “I’m sure Tess will tell me if I ask.”
He pointed at me, “Don’t you dare, Kansas.”
“Or what?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips, showing my attitude.
“Or I’ll just have to do this…”
Before I could ask what this was, he grabbed me and started tickling. My loud laugh, or cackle rather, echoed throughout the large room with the vaulted ceilings.
“Ouch, ouch, stop!” I cried through my laughs.
He raised his hands up in surrender. “What? What did I do? Are you okay?”
My chest heaved, out of breath from giggles, “Yeah, I just wanted you to stop.”
“You’re evil, woman. Do you know that?”
We spent the next couple of hours looking through the albums, and it was nice to see a different side to his mom in the photographs. Whereas in person, his mom seemed cold and distant, in the photos, she seemed warm and genuine.
The photos of her with a newborn Tyler were precious. Even with no makeup on, and sleep deprived, his mother looked beautiful. And happy…she looked so happy.
“These pictures kind of tell a different story of your mom,” I said while flipping through looking at the pictures of her playing with the children.
“Look Sam, I know you’ve seen one side of my mom, the bitch side. But truth be told, she wasn’t always like that. Yes, Tess and I were mainly raised by Jacinda because both Mom and Dad worked and traveled constantly…except when we were here.”
He gestured to the house around us. “It was sort of an unspoken rule that when we were here, business came second, and family was first. A lot of times Jacinda wouldn’t even come up here with us. That’s why this is my favorite place in the whole world because while we were here, it was like we bore some resemblance to a normal family.”
“So, what was your mom like while you were here?” I asked, desperate to hold onto something good about his mom instead of all the negative I felt toward her.
“When she was here, she’d put her phone away and just enjoy being in the moment. She loved to lay out by the pool or go on walks. And while we were here, she would try to actually spend time with us kids one on one, whether that was playing outside, reading a book, or having a picnic lunch.
“It seemed like the older we got, the less we came here. The bigger the business got, the less time they had for us. And I mean the twins were already moved out, and Tess and I were teenagers, both with our own lives. Hell, sometimes, she and I would grab some friends and come here on the weekends by ourselves.”
Jokingly, I said, “Oh, I see. I thought I was special, being the first girl you brought here.”
He chuckled, “I said friends, Sam…not girlfriends.”
“Sure, sure, that’s what they all say,” I sarcastically replied, throwing in a wink to assure him I was joking.
Because honestly, I didn’t care who he had brought here before me. All that mattered was that I was the only one he brought from that point forward. Tyler was able to look beyond my past even though it still haunted me every day, so I really didn’t care who he had fucked in his.
When it was dinner time, Ty pulled out two large steaks from the refrigerator. My eyebrows shot up because despite all of Tyler Wendell’s obvious talents, cooking wasn’t one of them.
“Don’t give me that look, Kansas. I watched some cooking videos and did my research. I got this,” he said, holding a hand up
“Okay, but those steaks look damn good, so don’t mess it up. No pressure.”