WHEN THINGS GO SOUTH

Chapter 5 - Baby Come Back

"Just see me," Nick begs, "Don't we owe it to Jordy to give it one more shot?" Nick and I haven't seen each other for about three months. Now he's begging on the phone to go out, have dinner and talk. The only time he had ever taken me out to dinner was after prom. I guess somewhere in him, he wants the same thing for our daughter that I do, or he just wants to try and string me along. I know Nick is far from a great husband or even a good one, but he is a decent father. I try to remind myself of the few good times, like when we were dating, and we would ride out to Pines Bend Rd., where there's a farm at the dead-end with huge hay rolls.

We would turn up the car stereo and spread a blanket on the hay. Then, we would just lay there looking at the stars while Bryan Adams sang "Heaven" in the background.

After Jordy was born, some Saturday mornings when we would wake up, Nick would be in the kitchen cooking us breakfast with the stereo turned up. We would dance around the kitchen holding Jordy while singing "Brown-Eyed Girl" to us. Of course, he had probably been up all night and was still on a high, but those simple things, those are the things I loved.

I loved watching Nick with Jordy. Nick is like a big kid himself; he was always flying her through the air like a plane, throwing her up in the air; she would never flinch; she trusted her Daddy to catch her. I wish I could trust him like that.

Nick loves taking her to the creek to skip rocks, and he never passes up playing dolls with her when her tiny hand pulls him by the finger to her playroom. Nick loves life; he just lives too close to the edge and floats through life as if nothing bad will ever happen. I admire Nick's freedom, and sometimes I'm even jealous.

For our last shot at working things out, Nick and I plan on going out to Winchester to see a movie and have dinner. I am kind of excited.

This will be the first time I have been out on a date with Nick since Jordy was born. I guess in my heart, I am hoping he has made some drastic changes in three months. I'm also excited to get fixed up and wear my size two jeans I had been struggling to get back into. I take Jordy over to Nick's mom's and go back to Momma's to get ready.

I shower, then slip on my one and only pair of Calvin Klein jeans and my baby blue cashmere sweater. Momma always says light blue looks good with my dark skin and eyes. Next, I pull on my white ankle boots with fringe down the back. Finally, I put on a tiny bit of blue eyeshadow and black eyeliner. I'm not very big on lots of makeup like Momma wishes I was. She always says she doesn't understand why I like the simple look.

Here I am, sitting at the same white vanity I had sat at two years before, getting ready to marry the guy I was now getting ready to go on a date with. Momma comes in as I am getting ready.

Momma walks into my room, "What are you getting all dolled up for Riley Blair?"

"Going to the movies with Nick," I reply, very soft and low. I know what's coming next.

"Oh, Riley Blair, why do you set yourself up to be let down?" Momma is one of those do as I say, not as I do kind of Mommas. She continues, "Nick isn't ever going to change. He is so high most of the time he don't know his ass from a hole in the ground. He just wants to keep you hanging on."

What did she know? She had been married seven times, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven times.

That's unheard of unless you are Elizabeth Taylor. So, I would say Momma wasn't the best judge of character or just gave up too easily. I reply, "I know, Momma, I know, but this is the last time. If he hasn't changed, I will be done and go on with my life."

Momma leans over my shoulder and kisses me on the cheek, "Well, I sure hope so, Riley Blair. You deserve better."

Momma is heading out tonight with Daddy Number Seven to the Red Runner lounge in Winchester. Believe it or not, I had been in that bar/lounge a few times myself at a mere nine years old. A bar on Saturday with Momma or Daddy, and church on Sunday with Granny and Pa, sure did make for one confusing upbringing. Sometimes after a shopping day, Momma and her friend Ramona used to stop by the lounge for a drink and listen to music. Ramona had a daughter Laney who was my age. We were the best of friends. Laney liked music as much as I did, she would introduce me to Ray Stevens and The Mississippi Squirrel Revival, and I would introduce her to Prince and Purple Rain. Sometimes Laney and I got to tag along with our Momma's. We would sit at the bar drinking Shirley Temples while our mommas sat and gossiped over a couple of drinks and made comments about the few other ladies in the bar.