Chapter 19
Taylor watched her sleep. Her naked body was twisted up in the sheets and she looked more radiant than ever as the daylight danced across her. He knew that they had shared something very special and he treasured the fact that she trusted him so much.
Slowly turning over, he checked the clock to see that it was close to 11. He realized that Natalie was supposed to come by and drop Ezra off sometime after 11. Taylor carefully rolled out of bed, pulled on his boxers, gathered some new clothes, and headed off to the bathroom. Before long he was in the shower letting the warm water pelt his body.
Once redressed, Taylor wandered back to his room and back to Jody. She was still sound asleep, but Taylor opted to wake her anyway. He crawled back onto the bed and laid down beside her. He watched her breathe for a few more moments before he ran his fingers along her bare arm. She flinched at first, then opened her eyes slowly.
Her focus was not very good, but she could tell Taylor was the one who woke her up. She smiled upon seeing him.
“Morning Beautiful,” he said softly with a smile.
“Morning,” she replied with the same smile.
“How was your sleep?” Taylor questioned as she snuggled into him.
Jody grinned again. “I’d say it was pretty good.” She paused. “How’d you sleep?”
“You,” he said as he tightened his grip around her, “are one amazing woman.” Jody blushed hard and buried her face in his chest. He laughed lightly at her reaction and pulled her away from him for a moment. “You’re embarrassed?” Jody could only nod. He looked at her. “Well, don’t be.”
Jody looked up, still a bright shade of red. “Thanks.”
They looked at each other for a moment before Taylor spoke.
“Hey, um, Ezra’s gonna be dropped off soon, so I’m gonna go get breakfast going. I left an extra towel and washcloth for you in the bathroom if you wanna shower.”
“OK,” Jody said softly.
He patted her hip softly before kissing her lightly and getting off the bed.
Jody sighed contentedly and lingered in bed a few moments more before getting up. She made it to the bathroom and, just as Taylor had said, a washcloth and towel were waiting for her. It didn’t take Jody long to shower. She toweled herself off, then stepped out of the bathroom to retrieve her clothes from Taylor’s room. She gathered her clothes and dressed in the bathroom before towel drying her hair. After a quick search, Jody realized that she had forgotten her brush, so, with towel still drying her hair, she meandered upstairs to ask Taylor if she could borrow his.
“I’ll be back Thursday afternoon to pick him back up,” Natalie said as she handed Ezra over to his father. “Behave yourself,” she said playfully to the boy. “Don’t give Daddy any problems.”
“OK Mommy,” Ezra answered with an innocent smile.
“You, uh, wanna come in for coffee or anything? It’s cold out there.” Taylor asked. He knew Jody was in the shower, and if she was anything like a typical girl, she’d take a long time.
Natalie’s heart leapt. “Coffee sounds really good right about now. Thanks.” Taylor let her in and took her coat. Natalie looked around the apartment as she walked in. “You haven’t changed it much, have you?”
“Nah. No need to,” Taylor responded as he went over to the toaster to grab the toast he had prepared and to make more eggs. Natalie joined him after seating Ezra.
“What have you been up to lately?” she asked. “I feel like I haven’t talked to you in a while.”
Taylor took a breath and poured some coffee. “Well I...”
Jody had ascended to the top of the stairs and was still toweling off her hair. “Hey Taylor, could I...?” Jody froze upon seeing Natalie. “Oh,” she said awkwardly. “Hi Natalie.”
“Jody!” Ezra squealed.
“Hey sweetheart,” Jody said with the best smile she could muster up in the awkward situation.
Taylor cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Um, Natalie you know Jody, right?”
“Yeah,” Natalie said, pushing away the lump in her throat. “We met at the show a while ago.”
The most awkward silence any of them ever sat through ensued.
“Um, Taylor,” Jody said, breaking the tension, “I forgot my brush. Could I borrow yours?”
“Sure. Go right ahead,” he said.
“Thanks.” She turned to Natalie. “It’s nice to see you again, Natalie,” Jody said tactfully as she ducked back down the stairs.
Even Ezra had fallen victim to the silence in the room.
All eyes turned to Taylor.
“So she’s sleeping over now,” Natalie stated.
“Natalie...” Taylor started, sensing an argument.
Natalie shook her head. “It was bad enough that you moved on, but she’s sleeping over now?”
“Nat, please,” Taylor tried. He knew that on some level he deserved this barbing.
“Please what?” Natalie said, partially embittered.
“Daddy, can I watch TV?” Ezra asked.
“Sure,” Taylor said as he helped his son out of the chair and into the living room. Taylor turned on the TV to some children’s programming and made sure Ezra was settled before turning back to Natalie.
“What do you want from me?” he asked her. “Was I never supposed to move on?”
“Taylor, I...” Natalie looked at him and sighed. “I dunno.” He waited with crossed arms for her to continue. “I just didn’t expect you to,” she glanced at Ezra and lowered her voice, “to sleep with anybody just yet.”
“Who says we’re sleeping together?” Taylor asked, knowing that Jody would kill him if she heard this part of the conversation.
“Well she spent the night,” Natalie pointed out.
“Yeah, so?”
“Am I still the only girl you’ve been with?” she asked, knowing that she would finally get an honest answer from him. Taylor looked at his shoes, unable to lie to her. “I knew it,” Natalie whispered. “How long?”
“Excuse me?”
“How long have you two been going at it?”
“Natalie, stop it,” Taylor said defensively. “You don’t need to know that.”
“Why not? You can't seem to tell me everything else.” Taylor sighed, deciding not to answer. “Fine, then don’t answer,” Natalie said bitterly as she went to go get her jacket.
Taylor sighed again, finding no way out of this impossible situation. “Last night was the first night,” he blurted. Natalie spun on her heels to face him. “Honest,” he said almost defeatedly.
“So this is the morning after?” Natalie questioned. Taylor nodded, obviously tired of the questions. “Well this is a hell of a way to break in the new girl. See you Thursday.”
“Natalie, wait,” he called after her.
“Why?” she asked defiantly.”So I can watch you, my husband, make-out with another girl? No thank you.”
“I’m not your husband anymore, Natalie,” Taylor said calmly.
“Yeah? Then why did you put a hold on the final divorce proceedings?” she shot back. “Why, if you don’t wanna be with me, did you do that? Are you just stringing me along like that girl you have in your bedroom?”
“Leave Jody out of this,” Taylor said, struggling to keep his composure. “She’s got nothing to do with you.”
Natalie lowered her voice. “Then why is she the reason we’re arguing?”
With that, she left.
Taylor watched the door for a few more moments before attempting to process anything. He felt a tug at his jeans. He looked down to see Ezra.
“Daddy, why do you and Mommy fight?” he questioned.
“Because,” Taylor said as he knelt down next to the boy, “we love each other entirely too much to get along well.”
Jody appeared a few moments later when Ezra was once again enthralled with the television and Taylor was sitting at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of coffee.
“Hey,” she said softly as she put a tender hand on his back. “Everything OK?”
He looked over at her with a look that said it all. “This was not how I imagined the morning after our first night to be.” Taylor said as he reached for her hand. “I’m sorry about all of this.”
Jody shook her head. “Don’t worry about it.”
A silence settled on the two of them. “Um, how much of that did you actually hear?”
“Not too much. I just kinda stayed in your room to keep out of the way.”
A rush of relief washed over him. “Thank you.”
“But, um, I should get going anyway. My apartment’s a disaster.”
“Stay,” Taylor coaxed. “I want you to stay.”
Jody was unaccustomed to lovers being friendly the next morning. She was used to being thrown out or asked to leave, so Taylor’s sincerity caught her completely off guard.
Jody lowered her eyes. “Taylor, I dunno...”
Taylor lowered his voice. “Look at me,” he asked gently. Jody complied. “I’m not the other guy, OK? I’m asking you to stay because I love you.” He reached for her hand. “Stay with me today?”
Taylor’s plea had a very big effect on her. She wanted to stay so badly, and yet there was a part of her that was terrified that she was being led on again.
“What about Ezra?” Jody questioned. “You two haven’t had any time together in a long time.”
“One more day won’t hurt,” Taylor reasoned. “Besides, he loves it when you’re here.”
Jody put her purse down reluctantly. “OK,” she said. “I’m staying.”
Taylor squeezed her hand. “Let’s grab Ezra and get outta here.”
The three of them walked around the neighborhood and around Manhattan. They meandered to Central Park where Ezra proceeded to run through a flock of pigeons with Jody, causing Taylor to laugh at their antics. By the time dinner time rolled around, Ezra looked rather tired, his four year old body nearly dragging with every step he took.
“You tired, little man?” Taylor questioned. Ezra nodded and rubbed his eye. “Come here,” he said as he knelt down to pick up his son.
“No,” Ezra said, whining slightly. “I want Jody.”
Nobody in the group of them looked more surprised than Jody. Sure she loved Ezra, but this was a little much for her. She had had a rather complicated 24 hours and she was ready to go home and unwind.
“Jode, you up for it?” Taylor questioned. “You look exhausted.”
Jody smiled. “I’ve got good reason.” The two made eye contact and grinned at each other. “But I think I’m up for taking Ezra.” She turned to the boy. “You ready?” Ezra flung himself at Jody as she wrapped her arms around the boy and picked him up. “Let’s go then.”
Ezra was all but asleep two minutes later.
“Is he asleep yet?” Taylor questioned as they walked back toward his apartment.
“Almost. Give him another minute.” They continued in silence. Jody looked back at Taylor and, with her free hand, took his hand.
Taylor looked at her and smiled. He tightened his grip on her hand. They continued to walk in a rather comfortable silence down a few busy blocks before getting stopped at a cross-walk.
There were two or three girls that were just a year or two younger than Jody and they were whispering and looking over at them.
Jody looked at Taylor, rather worried. He squeezed her hand in reassurance. The light had signaled that it was safe to cross, so they proceeded across the street. The girls had started to follow Taylor, Jody, and Ezra down the street when one ran up to them.
“Oh my God! Are you Taylor Hanson?” she asked excitedly.
Taylor squeezed Jody’s hand again. “Yes,” he replied.
“It’s him,” she called to her friends as they came running over. Taylor grinned, completely used to the antics. Jody looked terrified. “And is that Ezra?” the girl asked as she scrounged around for a pen and some paper.
“Yeah, but he’s sleeping,” Taylor said in order to take the attention away from his son.
“Awww,” they cooed.
“How cute!” one responded.
“And are you Natalie?” the first girl asked.
“Um,” Jody said uneasily, “not quite.”
“That’s not Natalie,” the third girl said standoffishly. “That’s Jody. She’s the one that broke Taylor and Natalie up in the first place.”
“Hey,” Taylor said sharply as he looked at them, “that’s not true.”
The second girl eyed Jody up. “She’s probably just in it because you’re famous. She doesn’t care about you, she just cares about your name.”
Jody’s jaw went slack. “How could you...” she started.
“Jode, don’t...” Taylor said in a warning tone. “We were just leaving anyway.” Taylor grabbed her hand again as they turned to leave.
They started to walk away when a distinct call of, “WHORE!” was bellowed after them.
Jody’s face froze and Taylor looked over to her immediately. She adjusted Ezra in her arms, cleared her throat, and held her head high.
“You OK?” Taylor asked softly.
Jody nodded, obviously lying. “Comes with the territory.”
“They’re not all like that, you know,” Taylor said. “Remember the fans you met the day of the show? They were cool.”
Jody sighed. “At least they didn’t think I was a whore.”
“Jode, they’re just jealous.”
She nodded. “I know. I just...” She took in a breath. “I just wasn’t prepared for a reaction like that.”
“If it makes you feel any better, they were worse to Natalie after the wedding.”
“Oh tons,” Jody said with a hint of sarcasm.
There was a pause as Taylor thought things out. “Jode, this is what it’s like. This is what happens on a regular basis.”
Jody shrugged. “It just caught me off-guard.” She looked at him. “I’ll be fine.” Taylor didn’t look convinced. “A couple of jealous teenyboppers who don’t know what they’re talking about aren’t going to hurt me. I’ve been through enough sh...” She glanced at Ezra before continuing. “I’ve been through enough to know what’s worth being hurt over.”
“You sure?” Taylor asked as they rounded yet another corner.
“Positive.”
They walked a block or two more before they reached Taylor’s apartment. He let her in and she was careful not to wake him.
“Where should I put him?” Jody questioned.
“Let’s put him in his room,” Taylor said as he turned on the light by the stairs.
Jody carefully carried him down the stairs and into his room.
“Uh... Taylor?” she questioned. “How do I put him down?” Taylor looked at her funny. “I don’t want to drop him.”
Taylor smiled. “Here,” he said as he helped scoop the boy out of her arms and lay him down carefully. “Just like that.”
“Thanks,” she whispered.
“Thanks for carrying him all that way.” They exited Ezra’s room and went back upstairs.
Jody shrugged in response. After a moment she checked her watch. “It’s getting late. I should get going.”
“You don’t have to go. You could stay another night.”
“I know,” Jody said with a smile as she wrapped her arms around him. “But I don’t want to over-stay my welcome.”
“I don’t think that’s possible,” he responded as he held her. They kissed lightly.
“I’d rather not find out,” she said after another kiss.
“You sure you really have to go?”
Jody smiled. “Yes. I need to remember what my apartment looks like.”
“And you’re working tomorrow?”
“Yup.”
“What about the day after?”
“Um,” Jody said with a thought. “I should probably take a day to do chores.”
“Chores?” Taylor said with a slight scoff. “Is that a fancy way of saying you need a day to yourself?”
Jody laughed lightly. “Just a little bit. But I’ll be back the day after.” She looked at him with a scheme in her eyes and lowered her voice. “And there will be some time for us to be alone again.”
Taylor tightened his grip around her waist. “Come home soon,” he said softly as he kissed her. Jody smiled. “Call when you get in.”
Jody left and, eventually, made her way back to her apartment on Long Island. Just as she promised, she called when she got in.
The two lovers met each other nearly every day over the next few months. Jody, as before, would spend the night at least twice a week. The pair would spend long nights wandering New York City or in deep conversation over a glass of wine. There was love in every corner of their relationship. It would amaze strangers on the street how they looked at each other.
Taylor loved Jody. He never doubted that. However, he wasn’t quite sure he was in love with her. There was always this little voice in the back of his mind hoping that he’d roll over and it would be Natalie next to him. Taylor would see Jody from afar and truly believe that it was Natalie, but the moment she turned around, the woman was always Jody.
One day while Jody was at work, Natalie stopped by Taylor’s apartment.
She straightened her shirt and smoothed her jeans before reaching out to press the doorbell.
She heard Taylor rustling around before opening the door.
“Natalie...” Taylor said in shock as he recognized the figure in front of him. His heart began to speed up just a bit.
“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by.”
“Come in,” Taylor said as he opened the door wider to let her in. “Can I get you anything? Soda? Water?”
Natalie nodded. “Water would be nice.”
When Taylor came back, he found Natalie in her usual place on the couch.
He then did a double take. It was Jody’s usual spot- not Natalie’s. But how did...?
“You alright Taylor?” Natalie questioned a she spied his confused look.
“I’m fine,” he replied, slightly taken aback as he handed her a glass of water.
“Sit with me,” Natalie said as she patted the spot next to her on the couch. “It feels like we haven’t sat down and talked for a while.”
Taylor took a seat at the opposite end of the couch, weary of the look in Natalie’s eye. As much as he wanted her back, there was still a part of him that remained focused on Jody.
If only he could make up his mind.
The two talked for quite a while, covering everything from politics to what was happening in their own lives. Natalie, it turned out, was thinking about enrolling in a local college.
“So what about you?” she questioned. “What have you been up to?”
Taylor shrugged as he relaxed a little. “Just writing. Nothing too exciting.”
A silence settled on the two.
“How’s Jody doing?” Natalie asked after a beat.
“She’s doing well,” Taylor said, careful not to divulge too much. “She’s working hard.”
Natalie couldn’t help her next question.
“So how long have you two been together?”
Taylor thought back. “Six, seven months.” Natalie nodded. “Why do you ask?”
She shrugged. “Just wondering how long it’ll be until I get you back.”
Taylor shifted uncomfortably. “Nat...”
“What?” She looked at him intently.
“It’s not like that,” he said quietly after a beat.
“Give me a break, Taylor,” Natalie replied back. “You’re obviously after whatever ‘look’ I have.” Taylor looked away. “You know as well as I do that Jody and I look alike.” She kept after him. “Dark hair, big eyes, full mouth.” She looked at him again. “Tell me that’s just a coincidence.”
“Natalie stop it,” Taylor said slightly angered.
“Why? Because I’m making you see the reality of the situation?”
“Because I think it’s time for you to go.” He rose from the couch.
“You’re trying to replace me.”
“I am not.” He moved to the door. “Thanks for visiting.” He opened the door for her.
“Yes you are,” she said coyly as she leaned into him. Before Taylor knew what hit him, Natalie had pressed her lips to his seductively.
The way she lingered on his lips, the smell of her hair, her body so close to his... All of her elicited a very specific response from Taylor. He drew in a shaky breath.
“That’s what I thought,” she said with a coy smile as she withdrew her body from his and walked out the door.
Taylor stood stoically by the door for quite some time after Natalie left. When he finally pushed the door closed, he stared at it. What had just happened to him? Taylor shuddered as his mind began to spin.
An awfully big part of him was relieved that Natalie broke down the wall and crossed that line. The feelings that Taylor had been harboring since Natalie had first announced she had wanted out of the marriage had been realized. As great as he felt to know that his feelings were reciprocated, there was a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Taylor looked at the clock. Quarter to three. Jody would be getting out of work soon.
Jody.
Suddenly the nagging feeling had a name.
How was he going to tell Jody that Natalie had kissed him? Furthermore, how was he going to tell her that he liked it?
Taylor’s final verdict was not to tell Jody at all. After all, what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her, right?
“Go home, Jode. Your shift’s over,” Horace said as he excused her from her cashier duties. Jody looked toward the door. Something was wrong. “You alright?” Horace asked.
Jody nodded slowly and unconvincingly. “Yeah.”
Dana caught Jody’s arm before she headed to the back room. “What’s going on with you?”
“Taylor’s not here yet.”
“So? He’s allowed to be late every so often.”
“He’s usually here at least 5 minutes before my shift is over.”
Dana shrugged. “Maybe he got caught in traffic.”
Jody dismissed her comment. “He lives less than a block away from here.”
“Then I don’t know what to tell you, Jode. Just relax.”
Jody went to the back, hung up her apron, and grabbed her purse. She checked her phone. No calls. Something was definitely wrong.
Taylor entered Jody’s Starbucks ten minutes later.
“Is Jody still here?” he asked.
“Um, yeah. I think she’s in the back,” Horace told Taylor.
“I’ll get her,” Dana said as she headed to Jody. “Jode, your boy’s here,” she said as she went over to her co-worker.
“Better late than never, right?” Jody said as she gathered her things and went to the front.
“Hey you,” Taylor greeted with a smile. “You ready to go?”
Jody nodded and bid farewell to her co-workers.
She looked up at him as they walked down the street. “You look different.”
Taylor furrowed his eyebrows as they approached his apartment. “How so?”
Jody shrugged as Taylor let her into his building. “I dunno. You just do.”
The two were quiet for a moment and Taylor questioned if he was correct in hiding Natalie’s kiss from Jody.
“What’s this?” Jody questioned as she picked up Natalie’s glass of water that was on the table. Her defenses picked up immediately.
“Oh, uh, Natalie stopped by.”
“I can tell,” Jody said uneasily as she examined the glass. The red lipstick was all Jody needed to know to confirm her suspicions. “How’s she doing?”
“She’s fine,” Taylor said abruptly.
The silence was painfully awkward.
“Taylor, look, if something happened just tell me.”
“What makes you think that something happened?”
Jody picked up the glass of water. “No girl I know goes to an ex’s place wearing red lipstick with pure intentions.”
Taylor gulped and went over to her. “Jode, nothing happened.” He was kneeling by her so they were eye-level.
“Nothing?”
Taylor shook his head and looked Jody in the eye. “Nothing.” Jody’s face looked unconvinced. “Would I lie to you?”
Jody smiled. “No.”
Chapter 20
Index
Email: BunchOfFrogs@aol.com
