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“Well, they’re good men and they love you. I know I might not be sitting here right now if it weren’t for Teddy’s help.”
Deanna smiled.
“Honey, he thinks of you like a sister. He’d do anything for you and so would Jim. So did you do anything last night after work?” Deanna asked and Gia smiled. Deanna was always asking if Gia had met anyone or if she accepted invites from her friends to go out to bars and clubs. Gia had the feeling that Deanna missed that time of her life.
“Actually, Sammy and Kaleigh got me to go out after work to a place called Casper’s.”
“Oh my God, I love that place. I haven’t been there since the baby was born. Teddy knows the owners and their sons. They were all in the Marine Corp you know.”
“Yes, I saw all the pictures there last night and met John Luke. He was very nice.”
“Well, I’m proud of you for going out. I know it was probably a huge step. Did you feel okay about it afterward?”
She thought about that a moment. Deanna, Jim, and Teddy knew about what happened to her back in New York. They knew she was untrusting and that she didn’t like being exposed in any way.
“I guess I survived it.”
“You’re a very beautiful woman, Gia. The kind of woman that both men and women take notice of in a crowd. That’s not a bad thing, but you’re going to have to learn to accept it someday. It doesn’t mean you have to get involved in a relationship any time soon.”
“Oh, there’s no chance of that, believe me. I nearly had a panic attack last night when I met a few cowboys. It still never ceases to amaze me how handsome a lot of men are here in Houston. I mean it’s like something is in the water.”
Deanna chuckled. “Yeah, I’m glad I wrangled me two of them. Maybe you’ll meet a few and settle down here, too,” Deanna said in her Texas accent. Gia continued to get a kick out of the twang in certain words.
“Are you kidding me? I can’t even sit next to an attractive guy, never mind more than one. I think I would pass out.”
“You don’t know that. Maybe it will just take the right guys.” Just then baby Julia began crying again. Poor Deanna, she had just settled the baby down and it didn’t last long.
“I’ll go pick up Dale.”
* * * *
Gia knew that Dale was going to be surprised that she was at his school to pick him up. He loved her sports car, a Mercedes convertible SLS Roadster. It was silver with black-tinted windows. She treated herself after landing the great advertising job and selling some of her own artwork to get from New York to Texas. As she pulled up to the high school, she was impressed with the cleanliness and curbside appeal of the landscaping and campus. It was a very large school. She could see all the football signs and banners wishing good luck to a championship season. She knew football was big in Texas and she was glad she enjoyed watching it. As a NY Giants fan, she knew how to take the ups and downs of football teams. But high school? High school was something extra special. These kids were young, energetic, and all thought they were going to play college ball and ultimately become pros. Dale was one of them. She looked forward to seeing him play his first game next Saturday against a big rival team.
She parked the car behind a few other parked cars and a sign that said “drop off and pick up.”
She fixed her skirt and then looked into the rearview mirror as she waited for Dale to come out. His mom said she would see a group of the boys from the team leave the building together.
With sunglasses on and the music playing kind of loud, she wanted to pull off the cool older cousin. She thought about her own years in high school. To think about the decisions she made, the lack of parental supervision and guidance she received, made her wonder how she hadn’t wound up in trouble sooner. In her desire to succeed after college, she had taken the wrong route with Antonio and it nearly cost her everything. Swallowing hard, she gulped the lump of emotion and guilt in her throat. That was then and this was now. She was young, she had started over, and this was her chance for a future of happiness and success not fear. She had the car, was making the good salary, and she determined to survive whatever life threw at her. She hummed along to the music, ultimately eliminating any negative thoughts and simply just allowed the music to fill her.
She waited in the car until she looked at the clock and saw other kids heading out but not Dale. She got out of the car and saw a group of boys from the football team. They were wearing matching shirts with football helmets on them.
“Excuse me, are you guys on the varsity football team?” she asked and they looked a little shell-shocked except for one tall, kind of cute boy.
“We are, darling. Can I help you?” he asked, sounding all cocky and she had to hide her chuckle.
“Sure can, cowboy, if you know Dale. I’m waiting on him.” She leaned
against the car. The kid looked shocked and then she saw Dale approaching with some guy following from the building. The man was dressed in jeans and a collared football shirt. He was big, he was tall, and he didn’t look too happy.
“Gia,” Dale said as he pushed through the crowd of boys.
“Dale, you know her?” the one guy asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Dale said and Gia again hid her smile. Her cousin wanted these guys to think that she was his girl. How cute was that?
“Is that your coach?” she asked him and immediately the other guys took off to the parking lot.
“Dale, I told you that I wanted to speak to you a minute.”
