5
As much as Rhett would have liked to discuss in detail what had happened the previous night between Tula and her brother, it couldn’t really happen. Max and Layla were always hanging around, from the time they had to break down the tents in the morning to fitting everything back into Tula’s hatchback that afternoon. Talking about it in the car was out of the question, of course, and by the time they got home Tula had passed out on her bed. She was off to work nice and early the next morning, too busy to answer her phone, and Rhett had his own work to do.
When they both got home, Rhett wasted no time in inviting her out for a nice dinner at her favorite restaurant. When she asked why he was taking her to such a nice place—a fancy French place with a delicious scallops dish—he mentioned that he wanted to treat her one last time for her birthday. Not questioning too thoroughly on a pleasant invitation, Tula got herself all dolled up for the night on the town. She looked stunning in a tight red dress, her hair curled, and bright red lipstick on her pert lips. Rhett almost felt bad about having to discuss such dark topics.
A woman’s weapon is an effective one, thought Rhett. She doesn’t even know that she wounds me with her beauty right now.
She took his arm as they headed for the door, announcing to the house that they were leaving. No one confirm that they had heard the call, but Tula didn’t seem to care.
They arrived at the French restaurant twenty minutes later, were seated, and then they ordered some drinks. Tula had a rum and coke while Rhett chose a pint of beer. The conversation started jovially enough, with the both of them just going over how their days went. Apparently some of the weekend bakers had messed up the croissants she had prepared on Friday, causing her to have to improvise and use the dough for something else. The dough produced some of the best tarts she’d ever made, and it all turned out to be a happy accident in the end. Rhett talked about some of the cars that had come in, knowing that it probably bored her to hear about having to replace a main relay and repair some frayed wires in someone’s passenger door.
After ordering the entrees, Rhett decided that the pleasantries were over with—they had to get down to discussing what was on his mind.
“So,” started Rhett, finishing off the beer. A waiter noticed immediately and brought him another one. “About last night. It was an interesting time, huh?”
She sipped at her tiny red straw. “Yes. Not the usual cake and ice cream, I guess.”
He decided to get right to the point. “I saw you and Max, on the ridge.” He let the words sit in the air, and observed how she reacted to them. She looked at him more intensely, he thought. But then, he did address the issue with an air of accusation. “What was going on with that?”
“What do you mean?”
Is this a form of denial? She must know what I’m talking about. Maybe she’s waiting for me to spell out exactly what happened. Maybe I don’t know everything that transpired between them. “I mean that I saw you both hugging each other. It looked like it was a little more intimate than innocent sibling affection. Especially considering that you and Max barely trade more than a few words on a daily basis.”
She bit on her straw. “Max is… in a bad place right now. I mean, you know him. Him with a girl like Layla? He was also drunk that night and needed some affection. It wasn’t anything more than that, I swear.”
Rhett didn’t know what to make of that answer. He wanted to believe her, and her explanation sounded entirely reasonable, but something about her words seemed strained. “So there wasn’t anything else that happened that night that I didn’t happen to see?”
“Nothing else happened. I mean, you saw us hug, right? That was about it.”
“He touched your face, too.”
“That, as well.”
He raised an eyebrow at her nonchalant attitude.
As much as Rhett would have liked to discuss in detail what had happened the previous night between Tula and her brother, it couldn’t really happen. Max and Layla were always hanging around, from the time they had to break down the tents in the morning to fitting everything back into Tula’s hatchback that afternoon. Talking about it in the car was out of the question, of course, and by the time they got home Tula had passed out on her bed. She was off to work nice and early the next morning, too busy to answer her phone, and Rhett had his own work to do.
When they both got home, Rhett wasted no time in inviting her out for a nice dinner at her favorite restaurant. When she asked why he was taking her to such a nice place—a fancy French place with a delicious scallops dish—he mentioned that he wanted to treat her one last time for her birthday. Not questioning too thoroughly on a pleasant invitation, Tula got herself all dolled up for the night on the town. She looked stunning in a tight red dress, her hair curled, and bright red lipstick on her pert lips. Rhett almost felt bad about having to discuss such dark topics.
A woman’s weapon is an effective one, thought Rhett. She doesn’t even know that she wounds me with her beauty right now.
She took his arm as they headed for the door, announcing to the house that they were leaving. No one confirm that they had heard the call, but Tula didn’t seem to care.
They arrived at the French restaurant twenty minutes later, were seated, and then they ordered some drinks. Tula had a rum and coke while Rhett chose a pint of beer. The conversation started jovially enough, with the both of them just going over how their days went. Apparently some of the weekend bakers had messed up the croissants she had prepared on Friday, causing her to have to improvise and use the dough for something else. The dough produced some of the best tarts she’d ever made, and it all turned out to be a happy accident in the end. Rhett talked about some of the cars that had come in, knowing that it probably bored her to hear about having to replace a main relay and repair some frayed wires in someone’s passenger door.
After ordering the entrees, Rhett decided that the pleasantries were over with—they had to get down to discussing what was on his mind.
“So,” started Rhett, finishing off the beer. A waiter noticed immediately and brought him another one. “About last night. It was an interesting time, huh?”
She sipped at her tiny red straw. “Yes. Not the usual cake and ice cream, I guess.”
He decided to get right to the point. “I saw you and Max, on the ridge.” He let the words sit in the air, and observed how she reacted to them. She looked at him more intensely, he thought. But then, he did address the issue with an air of accusation. “What was going on with that?”
“What do you mean?”
Is this a form of denial? She must know what I’m talking about. Maybe she’s waiting for me to spell out exactly what happened. Maybe I don’t know everything that transpired between them. “I mean that I saw you both hugging each other. It looked like it was a little more intimate than innocent sibling affection. Especially considering that you and Max barely trade more than a few words on a daily basis.”
She bit on her straw. “Max is… in a bad place right now. I mean, you know him. Him with a girl like Layla? He was also drunk that night and needed some affection. It wasn’t anything more than that, I swear.”
Rhett didn’t know what to make of that answer. He wanted to believe her, and her explanation sounded entirely reasonable, but something about her words seemed strained. “So there wasn’t anything else that happened that night that I didn’t happen to see?”
“Nothing else happened. I mean, you saw us hug, right? That was about it.”
“He touched your face, too.”
“That, as well.”
He raised an eyebrow at her nonchalant attitude.
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