Tristan Trilogy- Story 3

CHAPTER 10

A lunch break had just begun and Holly was studying a sheet of music when she heard the murmurs around her. When she looked out from the stage to he aisle, she could see that the conductor was speaking to someone. Holly squinted. He was standing in front of the visitor, blocking her view but he seemed quite animated and effusive. Two of the cellists were standing nearby.

“Is that really her?” one asked.

“I wonder what she’s doing here?” The other replied.

Holly heard a gurgle of laughter that she’d recognize anywhere. It was Tristan. In Tampa. Alone? She watched as Tristan stepped to the conductor’s side and waved in her direction. She raised her arm and pointed to a picnic basket that dangled from her elbow. Holly left the stage and joined her as she was finishing her conversation with the maestro.

“What in the hell are you going here?” Holly asked. “Where’s Kevin?”

Tristan placed her free hand on her hip and sighed. “We’re not joined at the hip, Holly! Jeez… He went over to AJ’s to work on some music. He’ll be there all day.”

“So… does he know you drove to Tampa? By yourself?” Holly asked cautiously.

The question sat a little uneasily with Tristan. “I’m not a child!” she bristled. “And he’s not my keeper! This was spur of the moment! Do you want me to leave or something?”

Holly was a little confused by Tristan’s defensiveness but guessed that it had been a bit of a strain for the last few days. She was surprised to hear that Kevin had actually gone to AJ’s without her. The fact that Kevin had gone to the studio on Monday had struck her as odd, too, until Nick mentioned that Amanda had stayed with Tris.

“Don’t be silly! I’m glad to see you!” Holly squeezed Tristan’s arm, effectively erasing her pout. “Please tell me there’s food in that basket…” Holly laughed.

Tristan raised the lid of the basket. There was enough food in there for six people. Holly eyed her skeptically.

“Who else is going to eat?”

Tristan frowned again. “I’m hungry!” she snapped. Sheesh… “Okay, okay… Let’s go..”

The women found a spot on the banks of the Hillsborough River, across the water from the University of Tampa. Holly didn’t say anything but wondered if Kevin had told her about Nick’s announcement on Monday. She wondered if that was why Tris had come. Holly opened the conversation as Tristan passed out sandwiches and potato salad.

“How’s it been since MTV’s report, Tris? We saw the reporters and all around your house on the news. Have you been catching flack?” Holly popped the top on her soda and waited for Tris to answer. She had seen some of the tabloids. Now her interest had become personal.

“It’s been a little upsetting, but we expected it.” Tristan shrugged. “I haven’t been out much, but people have left notes attached to the fence. Some have been nice and supportive, but there have been a few…..” Tristan words trailed off.

“Threats?” Holly frowned.

“I dunno. Does ‘Die Bitch Die’ count?” Tristan chuckled.

Holly wasn’t amused. “Does Kevin know about these notes? What does he say?”

“I usually bring them in the house and trash most of them, Holly. I keep a few of the sweet ones to show him.” Tristan smiled reassuringly at her friend. “It’s okay. Kevin doesn’t want me on the internet and I’ve left it alone. It hasn’t been too terrible.” She sighed and threw some crusts of bread into the river. A family of ducks immediately gobbled them up. “The fact is that Kevin has a lot on him right now. He’s not sleeping all that well and he’s tired during the day. He was up late Monday; checking phone messages and said he’d be right up to bed. He didn’t come to bed until almost five and then Mason came by at nine. Last Saturday he was up all night, too. He feels like he has to take care of everybody, you know? But then he doesn’t take care of himself. Even fans have commented on the way he’s looking these days…” She gave Holly a rueful smile. "I think he's trying hard not to be smothering but I wonder sometimes if it isn't better to let him be overprotective and clingy. I almost think it's more stressful for him if he isn't allowed to do that."

“And now they’re working up to a new tour and all that goes along with it.” Holly nodded. “Nick’s out promoting right now…”

"I heard." Tristan paused and threw out another crust into the water. "That's not all I heard." Tristan was looking at the ducks, waiting for Holly's comment.

Holly wasn't really sure how to respond to Tristan's statement. She could play coy and pretend that she didn't know what Tristan was talking about but she didn't want to play games with her friend. The fact was that she felt a little embarrassed since she had made such a fuss about Tristan and Kevin's secret wedding. She was also considering Nick's parting remarks. Nick had told the guys and now he wanted her family to know. The party was only a few days away and he would expect a public commitment from her - public at least as far as industry insiders went. In a way, she was relieved that Tristan knew about this. Now she could ask her advice.

Unfortunately, Tristan didn't have any to offer. Holly would have to decide what to do on her own. Tristan rose up from the grass and stretched the kinks out of her back. Then she turned to Holly who was watching her expectantly, still trying to solicit an opinion.

"I'm supposed to meet him at the party Sunday night. He's expecting a 'sign' from me - a yea or nay… I don't know what to do."

Tristan smiled at her friend. "Yes you do, Holly…."

****************

When Tristan arrived home at three in the afternoon, Kevin's truck was already there. She hadn't expected to see him until late. He had even told her not to expect him for supper. She walked back to the fence before she entered the house and pulled four sheets of paper and a small poster from the iron bars. She hadn't faired so well today. The poster and one of the notes had been cheerful and congratulatory. The other three sheets of paper carried hateful sentiments and one of those, written by Kevin's 'true love' had described, in great detail, Kevin’s sexual preferences according to 'Tiffany Marie Richardson'. A picture was attached of a young girl who might have been sixteen. She was fervently licking a vegetable. Despite the girl’s claims, Tristan somehow doubted that Kevin would enjoy anal penetration with a zucchini squash.

She took the notes and walked around to the back of the house, depositing the notes in the trashcan on her way to the rear entrance. The French doors were unlocked and as she entered, she could hear Kevin speaking on the phone.

“….there isn’t a note! I’ve been here since two….. Okay, well let me know if you hear from her….. I know, I know. Bye.”

She watched as Kevin hit the ‘off’ button and then slammed the phone down in its cradle, mumbling curses under his breath. Then he leaned onto the counter, folded his arms and rested his head in the crook of his elbow.

“I think you need a nap….”

Kevin’s head shot up from his arm. His expression changed from surprise to concern and then Tristan caught a touch of anger reflected in his eyes.

“Where have you been?” His voice was too flat. He was trying hard to be nonchalant.

“I didn’t think you’d be home until late…” Tristan answered lightly as she threw her keys into the bowl on the counter.

“Where did you go?” he asked her again.

Tristan wasn’t thrilled with Kevin’s tone. She felt a little like she was being cross -examined. The excursion to Tampa had made her a little tired, too, but she took a stab at humor in order to diffuse Kevin’s growing tension. She bombed.

“Oh, since you told me you were going to be away, I decided to meet my boyfriend at the ‘Sir Screwsalot’ motel on route 60.”

Tristan thought she was very funny and started giggling. She wrapped her arms around Kevin’s waist and leaned into his shoulder, laughing. It didn’t take her long to realize that he wasn’t being entertained. His arms hung at his side and she felt his body stiffening. When she backed away and looked into his face, she could see that he was chewing on his tongue and when he met her gaze with an icy glare, she felt herself shiver.

“Come on, Kevin! I was just…”

Kevin slammed his hand down on the counter to silence her and she backed away, startled. “Tristan, don’t make me ask you again. I called here a dozen times and you didn’t answer. I came home and you weren’t here. Now, all I want to know is where you were.” His voice was low and still flat.

“I…I went to see Holly. We had lunch…” she stammered.

“Holly’s in Orlando?”

“No…”

Kevin’s eyes closed slowly. “Don’t tell me that you drove to Tampa…”

Her silence was her answer. Still, Kevin fought to control his anger. He managed not to yell but his words he used screamed.

“Are you an idiot? Do you think that people aren’t watching you? Do you think that there are no nuts out there who would like to get at you? Do you think I haven’t seen some of those notes that are stuck on the fence? And you go traipsing off to Tampa… an hour and a half each way. What if someone had been following you? What if you had gotten sick on the road? What if the car had broken down and no one knew where you were?” Kevin reached behind her. When he bought his hand back to her face, it held her cell phone. “This wouldn’t have done you much good, laying here beside the coffee maker, would it? Why the fuck do you think I want you to keep this with you all the time? Why is that so God damn much to ask? Are you trying to drive me crazy or are you just stupid?”

For a brief moment, Tristan saw red and was tempted to ask Kevin to turn around to see if he did, indeed, have a zucchini stuck up his ass. Something was stuck up there. Her anger, though, quickly evolved into hurt feelings and bitter memories.

Idiot…stupid…

Kevin mentally kicked himself for name-calling and reached out to her. He had just been worried. Surely she could see that. He found that he felt defensive and that made him mad. Why did he have to defend the fact that he wanted her safe? Tristan had turned her back to him. After a moment she began to speak. Her remark seemed totally unrelated to their disagreement - at first.

“Did I ever tell you that I ran away from home when I was fourteen?” she whispered.

Her admission surprised Kevin only because Tristan rarely spoke of her childhood unless pressed but he was still in defense mode. Most kids ‘run away from home’ - usually to a neighbor’s for a couple of hours after having made a dramatic exit with a paper bag full of comic books. His reply was sarcastic. The sense of control that he yearned for didn’t seem to apply to his own mouth.

“Somehow, I’m not surprised by that, Tris. You’re very good at running away. How long were you gone? An hour?”

“Four months…..” she murmured.

Kevin’s mouth dropped open, his anger suddenly gone. Four months?

“What?!” Kevin’s mind was full of questions. “Where did you go? To a relative’s?”

Tristan’s back was still to Kevin and he saw her shake her head. She spoke very quietly.

“I don’t really have any relatives, Kevin. I rode to Richmond with my father who was going to speak at a symposium at MCV. Normally I wouldn’t have been allowed to go but I told him that I wanted to do some research for a required home school project and he agreed to drop me off at the public library. He would pick me up after the meeting.” Tristan paused and Kevin thought he heard a slight lilt in her voice. “I wasn’t there when he came to pick me up. I had been saving my money. I remember I had over five-hundred dollars! I went to the bus station and bought a ticket…”

Kevin was stunned. He closed his mouth and swallowed. “Where did you go, baby?”

Kevin’s tone had become gentle, but Tristan kept her back to him.

“I went to Baltimore. I just went…” Kevin saw Tristan shrug. “Anyway, he couldn’t find me for a long time. The police finally tracked me down and sent me home.”

“He must have been relieved to see you…”

Tristan actually laughed. “He was angry and embarrassed, Kevin. Angry that I had defied him and embarrassed because people would wonder what had happened to make a fourteen-year-old girl run away. After all, he was a respected doctor - a pillar of the community.”

Kevin wanted to know. He needed to know what had happened in that house. When he had tried to approach the subject before, he could virtually see Tristan closing up to him. He had felt that he couldn’t push her. Now he asked and he was disappointed. He only gathered one more small bit of information and it was information that Tristan had deliberately chosen to give him at this particular time.

“Why did you run away, Tris? What happened?”

Tristan let go a deep sigh and then gave him a partial answer.

“Lot’s of things happened, Kevin. Lots of different things over many years. But there was always one constant. My father and two oldest brothers never failed to remind me that I was idiotic, stupid, moronic, a dumbbell, retarded, a bone head, unteachable, dim and brainless.” Finally she turned and gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry that I worried you today. I’ll try to see that it doesn’t happen again. Now, I’m going to take a bath and lay down for awhile. I’ll fix dinner later.”

Tristan turned and made her way up the stairs as Kevin watched. Her spirit seemed broken. He ached to go join her in the tub and lay down with her but knew that she needed to be alone for awhile. He wished that he could just bulldoze through her memories and replace them with warm and tender recollections. It seemed unfair that he had so many and she had so few.

After an hour, Kevin unplugged the phone and went up the stairs. Tristan was lying in the middle of the bed on her side, facing the door. Kevin thought she was asleep. He sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes and took her in. He smelled honeysuckle and brought his legs up onto the mattress. Letting his body fall next to hers, he moved himself up against her into a spoon and buried his face in her hair, breathing in the sweet scent. He was surprised to hear her speak.

“I’m glad you’re here.” She whispered sleepily.

“I’m glad, too, baby.” Kevin murmured as he nuzzled the back of her head. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. Kevin. I’m okay…” Kevin’s arm had wrapped around her. She covered his hand with hers and softly stroked his knuckles.

“I’m sorry about your family, Tristan. I’d give anything if things had been different for you.”

Tristan squeezed his fingers. “It wasn’t the end of the world, sweetie. The story had a happy ending. You’re my family now…”

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