Candy Kisses

Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Woman-to-Woman

Tooty flopped onto the chair across from Miles after she'd put her two youngest boys down for a nap. He looked up from his desk where he'd been pounding away on his laptop. She asked, "Were you able to get much written while I was gone?"

"Several pages, actually. Why so glum? Didn't you have fun with your friends?" He looked concerned before adding, "Are you feeling all right?"

Tooty drew circles on her belly. "I am such an idiot."

Miles waited for her to continue.

"I was at the coffee shop with the girlfriends when Monica came in. She looked so—I don't know—sad. So I asked her to join us. Actually, I forced her to join us. Of course, the gals were startled, but they were polite and friendly. Then Julie told us that she's pregnant and then Dixie said she and Alligator had received approval for an adoption..." her voice trailed.

"That all sounds wonderful. So, what's wrong?"

Tooty moved her gaze from Miles to the window. "While all this happy talk was going on, I looked at Monica and she had this expression that..." she paused, glanced back at Miles, "broke my heart. It was like she was the orphan peering through a window at a happy family and longing for something that wasn't hers. She looked so forlorn. And then she jumped up and left. Miles, it was like I was flaunting my happiness in her face. I feel terrible."

"Honey, you can't take Monica's woes on yourself. She created her situation."

"Did she really? Do we always have control over our circumstances?"

Miles didn't answer.

Tooty sighed. "I just can't let this go. I've got to do something to help her. If you'd seen the way she protected Tessa, you'd think of her in a whole new light. There's more to Monica than meets the eye."

"Sweetheart, what do you want to do? She was my lover. It's not like we can just infiltrate her life."

"I know. But that raises a question. Do we just ignore someone who is in need because of previous entanglements that might make us uncomfortable? Frankly, honey, I'm beginning to like her."

Miles wheeled his chair over to Tooty. "I'm serious when I say that if you have no problem helping her, I don't either. If you can handle being around her, I can too." He reached and stroked a finger down his wife's cheek.

* * *

Monica dropped Tessa and her best friend, Shauna, off at school. Tapping her fingers against the steering wheel to an upbeat tune on the local shit-kickin' station, she shook her head in astonishment. Over a month in Cowville and she was taking turns transporting children to school, listening to country music, and reading recipe books like they were the daily newspaper. The refrigerator was organized, the bookcases were organized, Tessa's half painted wall was now painted, and they had poured over the Sears catalog until finding the perfect bedroom furniture. All in all, her state of affairs since arriving was much improved. She had put the embarrassing coffee clique incident behind her and Dirk had hired a computer nerd to come to the house to set her up with internet access through his service company. She'd also found a Headhunter to distribute her extensive résumé to potential employers in New York. If she didn't receive any bites there, she would open her search to other areas.

Rubbing her belly that was filling out all her slacks, she said, "Little one, I'm going to have to splurge on some new clothes soon. If I still had money, we'd be shopping Saks this very minute." She giggled and parked beside a van in front of Dirk's house. I wonder who's here.

Entering through the front door her happy mood continued when she thought about the ultrasound she would have in a few weeks. She would finally know if her baby was a boy or girl. She stepped into the living room expecting to see one of Dirk's buddies but stopped abruptly. Tooty sat on the sofa across from Dirk. Quickly, Monica said, "Ah, hello, sorry to interrupt. I have things to do in the kitchen."

Tooty stood. "No, wait, Monica. I came to see you."

Dirk raised his recliner and grabbed his crutches. "If you ladies will excuse me, I have some phone calls to make." Monica watched him crutch toward his bedroom. She returned her gaze to Tooty and waited for her to speak.

Tooty patted the sofa. "Please sit down."

Cautiously, Monica perched on the edge of the couch.

Tooty looked nervous and Monica couldn't stand the suspense any longer. In a tone harsher than she wanted, she said, "Tooty, please just say what's on your mind."

Tooty inhaled and slowly released her breath. "I want to apologize to you."

Monica's eyes rounded. "Why? What do you have to apologize to me about?"

"Last week when I invited you to join me and my friends at the coffee shop, I made you uncomfortable. I feel bad about the way we were all prattling on. I could see in your eyes that you felt like an outsider and that wasn't my intention. I wanted–"

Monica interrupted, "I am an outsider and I don't want your pity." She stared past Tooty's shoulder. Finally, she shrugged and admitted, "If anyone should be apologizing, it's me. What I did to you in New York was unforgivable and I'm truly sorry. It's just that I wanted Miles' love so badly that I...I did what I did." She looked back at Tooty. "But Miles never loved me. At least not the way a woman wants to be loved. The first time I saw you at the airport and he introduced us, I could see in his eyes how much you meant to him." Monica blew a breath. She could see tears shining in Tooty's eyes.

Tooty said, "I know this is crazy, but can we be friends?"

Monica blinked. "That is crazy. What would Miles say?"

"Oh, he's already given his blessing. He cares about you and only wants the best for you and the baby."

Monica studied her hands in her lap. "At this point in my life I've come to expect the unexpected. If you want to give it a try, I will too" She paused. "Just don't get all mushy about it."

Tooty reached and grasped her hand. "No mush, I promise."

After their woman-to-woman talk Tooty asked Monica to give the Wednesday morning coffee get-together another try. Although Monica wanted to decline, the pleading in Tooty's eyes kept her from refusing. "All right. But I can't come this Wednesday. I'm going on a field trip with Tessa's classroom to a museum in Cortez. But I'll come next week."

Tooty grinned and glanced at her watch. "Goodness, I have a doctor's appointment in half an hour. I don't want to be late. Miles is meeting me at Doc's and then we're taking Morgan and Austin to see a movie before Harris and Eli get home from school."

Monica shook her head. "How do you manage such a big family?"

Tooty's eye's twinkled. "Love makes anything possible. I really believe fate put Miles and me together. We're as mismatched as can be...but we complete each other."

After Tooty left, Monica thought about their surprising conversation. What does fate have in store for us, baby?