Baby Daddy (31 page)

“I just saw a sign back there.  I love circuses.  All those beautiful animals.  I always wanted to try to ride Roman style.”

“Roman style?  Is that anything like Gangnam Style?” her aunt teased.

Kelly laughed.  “It sort of is except you dance on the bare back of a horse instead of a dance floor.  Actually, it’s when a rider stands on two galloping horses with one foot on each horse’s back, then jumps off and on and does all sorts of acrobatics.  It’s amazing.”

“You sound like your great-aunt Charlotte…she was in the circus.  Actually, I think it was Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey.”

“No kidding?”  Kelly was totally fascinated at the thought of having a circus performer as a relative.  “Is she still alive?  No one ever mentioned her!”

“Oh no, she died years ago.  She was kind of the black sheep of the family.  No one knew why, but she just ran away to the circus one day.  That was back in the late thirties or early forties.  After she retired, she moved to a home for circus people somewhere around here.”

“And she rode horses?”  Kelly asked excitedly.

“No . . . she used to swing from a rope and hang by her teeth.  It was a lot more dangerous back then because they didn’t have to use safety nets.”

Kelly was less excited after hearing her great-aunt hadn’t been involved with the horses, but it was still an interesting fact about her heritage that she’d never heard before.  “Well, that’s pretty cool.  I’ll see if I can look her up on the internet.”

“We used to have some old circus books in the garage.  I think my great-grandma went to see her sister perform.”

Kelly remembered going through some boxes of books in the garage, but she hadn’t really noticed what they were about.  She hoped her aunt hadn’t given them to the Salvation Army along with the leftover clothes and furniture.  As they got closer to the city, she observed how her aunt maneuvered in and out of the traffic as the road widened to three, then four lanes and the congestion increased as they neared the interstate loop that went on both sides of Tampa Bay.

“I made reservations for us at the best restaurant in the area.  It’s called Bern’s Steak House and it’s on South Howard.  I think we have to get off on 618 and head west,” Jane said as she reached down and picked up a map and a sheet of directions she had printed from the internet. She handed them to Kelly.

“What’s this?”

“You’re the navigator.  I’ve never bothered to figure out how to use my GPS in this car.”

“I’ll get Scott to help you.”

“Great, lessons from a sixteen year old about how to operate my vehicle,” her aunt joked.

“He knows a lot about GPS.”  That was certainly an understatement. Kelly studied the directions for a moment.  “You’re right.  You need to get off on 618, the Selmon Expressway.  It’s a toll road.”

They followed the map through the streets after exiting the expressway and finally down to the 1200 block of South Howard Avenue.  Jane turned left into the parking lot of a large warehouse-type building that looked nothing like a famous restaurant.  Two valets opened the doors of the Mercedes, one on her aunt’s side and one on Kelly’s side.  The valet held his hand out to help her exit the car which made her feel awkward, but also special.  Kelly smiled, thanked the young man and followed her aunt into the lobby of the restaurant.

“Wow, this place is huge . . . and the colors, the furniture.  Are you sure this isn’t the Ringling Museum?

“It’s pretty eclectic,” her aunt agreed.  “But the food and the service are exceptional.”

The hostess led the way past the butcher room where they stopped and observed steaks being cut and prepared to order.  She saw how interested Kelly was, so she took them past the large, floor-to-ceiling tanks in the kitchen, each with a different type of fish.  The hostess explained that when a customer ordered fish, the prep crew would select the specific type from one of the tanks, dip it out and prepare it as requested.  When it arrived at the table, no one could deny that the fish was as fresh as physically possible.

They wound through several small dining rooms until they arrived at their table and were seated.  The hostess carefully set down a large bound book next to Jane.  “I will have our sommelier recommend a wine for your dinner when you’ve decided on your main course, Ma’am.  Your server today will be Eric, and he will be here momentarily.  Enjoy your meal ladies.”  Before turning away, she looked directly at Kelly.  “You’re going to really enjoy
War Horse,
Kelly and by the way, happy early birthday wishes.”  She nodded, smiled and walked away.

Kelly’s jaw dropped open and she glanced at her aunt.  “How did she know my name and that we were going to the play . . . and about my birthday?”

Her aunt smiled.  “I must have let it slip when I was making the reservation.”

Kelly had never felt so honored.  She opened her menu that was about ten times thicker than any menu she’d ever seen and began to read.  Her eyes opened wider.  “Everything sounds delicious.  I’m going to need some help choosing.”

Jane was buried in the wine menu.  “Thousands of wines.  Too bad you don’t already have your license.  I’m always up for trying a new wine . . . or several.”

Kelly laughed.  “Everything is so expensive, Aunt Jane!”

Jane raised her right hand and index finger and wagged it side to side.  “This is your birthday gift from me.  I have a busy week coming up, so this is my time to say happy sweet 16!  You only have one of those.”

It was the most delicious meal Kelly had ever eaten.  Actually, it was the overall experience that made it so incredible, all the way down to the ice cream dessert that they ate in a special area upstairs from the dining area.

Within minutes after the valets had helped them back into Jane’s car, they had completed the drive to Carol Morsani Hall where
War Horse
was playing.  After a quick bathroom break, they took their center seats in zone B, row A.

“These are amazing seats,” Kelly said, looking around with excitement and trying not to act like this was her first play, when, in fact, it was.  “It looks like the theater is sold out.”

“This is what a college education can do for you, along with working in a place where colleagues sometimes have to change their plans at the last minute.”  Jane smiled.

“What?”

“One of the prosecutors I work with had the bad luck to have Judge Canella get their case, and the judge decided to hold court this weekend.  It’s a murder trial and the jury has been sequestered for a month already, so I got the tickets for face value.  I was about to buy some on-line for $100 more . . . each . . . when my colleague offered me his.”

Just then the lights dimmed and an off-stage voice announced, “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Carol Morsani Hall
. 
No photography of any kind is allowed.  Please take this opportunity to turn off your cell phones and silence your pagers.  And now, enjoy tonight’s performance of
War Horse
.”

Kelly didn’t move a muscle the entire first act.  The staging was amazing and the incredible design and manipulation of the life-sized horse puppets were so real that she almost forgot that they were being operated by people who managed to bring the animals to life.  From the moment the foal Joey came on-stage, then grew into an adult who was raised by the English farm boy, Billy, until he was sold and shipped off as a cavalry mount, Kelly was transfixed.  She had read the book and seen the movie, both of which had influenced her weird dream.  The play was just icing on the cake.

Far too soon for her tastes, the second act finished with Joey and Billy being reunited and returning home to the farm.  She jumped to her feet, applauding loudly with the rest of the audience to give the cast and complexity of the show a well-deserved standing ovation.  Her aunt bought her a t-shirt and a program that she hugged to her chest as they made their way through the crowds to Jane’s car.

They inched their way out of the garage and when the car had finally merged in to the traffic on I-75 headed southbound toward Fort Myers Beach, Jane asked, “You haven’t said a word since we left.  Didn’t you enjoy it?”

“Are you kidding?”  Kelly’s widened eyes sparkled.  “I loved it.  It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.  I can’t believe they could make those puppets look and act just like horses.  They even made their muscles move and it looked like they were breathing.  I knew none of it was real, but it was so lifelike.  Oh, Aunt Jane, I enjoyed it so much.  I’ll never forget this . . . any of this. Thank you.”

For several miles Kelly was completely lost in her memories of the performance.  When her aunt started talking again, she actually jumped.

“So how are you adjusting to Florida?” her aunt asked.

“Uh . . . great.”

“Not bored?”

Kelly shook her head.  “Not at all.  I’ve been so busy.”

“Busy?  Doing what?”

Uh oh.  She had to choose her words carefully or reveal too much too soon.
  “Oh, you know.  Unpacking.  Getting settled.  The garage sale.  Making friends.”

“Enjoy your summer.  When school starts you’ll be really busy, and I expect that your grades will earn you a full ride at a good college.”

“I expect that too.  Mom set the bar way ahead of the mandated curriculum.”  Kelly had been homeschooled and her mother had done a great job, taking her far beyond required levels.  Now Kelly was looking forward to being around other kids and learning from new teachers.  “We had even talked about me maybe taking a college course or two my senior year.  But I think I just want to enjoy my friends and a real school.”

“Your friends seem like nice kids.  And I like their parents.  I’m kind of ashamed that before our barbecue I hadn’t taken time to meet my neighbors since I moved in five years ago.”

“You were busy redecorating the house,” Kelly reminded her.  The house had originally been built by her great-great grandfather in the early 1900s and had been passed down to her great grandmother, then her grandmother and eventually to Aunt Jane.  As with all old houses, it had required a lot of maintenance and updating.  It had stood strong and proud through the years, weathering numerous hurricanes and the commercialization of what had once been a sparsely populated island.  The house had originally stood on several acres of land which had gradually been sold off until the house was now in the middle of a neighborhood.  After Kelly’s grandmother died, the house had gone to Jane and Kelly’s mother, Jessica.  However, Jessica was happy with her life in Texas and she let Jane buy out her interest.  It was ironic that Kelly was now living in that house.

“We’ve got to get started on your room soon,” Jane promised.  “I really appreciated you and your friends cleaning out my garage.  It was so full of stuff that I had hauled out of the house that I couldn’t park my car inside.”

“It was fun going through all those old things.” 
And finding the Spirit Radio,
Kelly thought, but didn’t speak it out loud.  She had told her aunt about finding the old invention, but she didn’t want her aunt to ask too many questions about it.  “Scott is really great.  He was so much help with the garage.  He’s really smart and a little geeky, but in a good way.”

“And then there’s Austin,” her aunt prompted.

Kelly hand automatically went to the beautiful shell necklace around her neck that Austin had so casually given her on the beach. 
Yes, there was Austin
, Kelly thought.  Tall, hunky and really cute with dark hair and blue eyes that made her heart flutter every time he looked at her.  She desperately wanted to talk about her mixed-up feelings about Austin and Scott, but she just couldn’t bring herself to confide in her aunt.  Not just yet.  It was all too fresh and strange.  So she said what her aunt probably already suspected.  “Austin’s really popular.  He’s been nice to me, but I think he’s probably nice to everyone.  His dad and his football coach keep him pretty well in line, I think.”

“What about Zoey?  She seems different than Scott and Austin . . . and you for that matter.”

“I’m still trying to figure Zoey out.  She’s not like her public persona, know what I mean?  I think she’s a little insecure at times, but she’s brave.  And she says whatever is on her mind.  That’s probably not always a good thing, is it?”

“No.  We all need a filter to stop us from saying the wrong thing at the wrong time or in front of the wrong people.  We’d have to drive all the way to Key West before I’d finish telling you all the mistakes I’ve made.  I’m getting better . . . I think.”

“I’m sure it will all change once we’re in school.  I’m kind of nervous about that . . . but pretty excited, too.”

“I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”  Her aunt adjusted the air conditioner settings, then glanced over at Kelly.  “What did you want to talk about anyway?”

Kelly drew in a deep breath and sat up straighter in her seat.  She reached out and redirected the airflow vent toward her face as she got her nerve up.  She had never lied to her parents, and she was uncomfortable lying to her aunt.  Well, she wasn’t lying exactly.  She just wasn’t telling her the whole truth about what was going on, and that omission was making her feel guilty.  She and all her friends had promised not to tell anyone about their time traveling adventures, but Kelly really wanted to come clean.