Keeping Her Love
Keeping Her Love:
A Romantic Intrigue
By Tiger Hill
Copyright © 2014 by Tiger Hill
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, without permission from the author.
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Chapter 1
Rhett Williams was sweating in his button-down shirt and slacks as he walked up the drive to his girlfriend’s residence. She gave him a comforting smile as they walked together, completely at ease and seemingly unaware of his mild panic. This wasn’t just any visit to Tula Florian’s house—this was the day that Rhett would be meeting her parents for the first time. He hoped that the tank he wore underneath his powder-blue shirt was absorbing his sweat. He had taken special care into applying extra coatings of antiperspirant under his arms, knowing that he probably smelled like a very clean locker room. It was better than smelling like the alternative, anyway, he had told himself. Observing his fingers, he realized that there was still some oil and grime under his fingernails. The shower was supposed to keep people from noticing how dirty he was after working on cars all day. So much for that.
“Ready?” Tula asked, an ever-present smile on her face as he placed his hand on the front doorknob.
“Of course,” Rhett responded, forcing a smile in return.
Seeing Tula smile was better than most anything in the world. Rhett had decided on this little fact after they had first met at Karma’s Bakery, a little joint that he enjoyed stopping at before his shift at the garage. He had showed up particularly early one day, hoping to get a fresh cinnamon bun right out of the oven. When he asked the sleepy cashier if the pastries were ready yet, she rushed behind a curtain and re-emerged with the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his life. Tula was drowsy that morning, though as pleasant as she usually was, the left side of her face was covered with a thin layer of flour. She had sandy blonde hair, a long and slim body, and the most beautiful face that Rhett had ever seen in his life. Rhett stammered for a good minute when Tula asked what he wanted, the cashier having left to help other customers.
And then one month later they were on their first date! Rhett had returned fairly often after their first encounter, though not
too often,
always asking Tula what was good that morning or just chatting wistfully before he had to leave for work. Tula always seemed just as shy and eager as Rhett had been when they met in the mornings, so Rhett eventually just muscled up his courage and asked Tula out. Their first date was at a small amusement park, playing video games and riding go-karts. Cotton candy was shared, along with nervous giggles, and the evening was sealed with a kiss. From that night on, they felt like they were caught in a dream; a wonderful dream brimming with love.
They got to know each other fairly well over the next few months, though they were often distracted by their raw sexual desire for one another. Tula, now twenty-two, had worked at Karma’s Bakery since she graduated high school, and had only recently decided that she wanted to open a bakery of her own. Rhett, meanwhile, was a muscular mechanic simply going to and from work every day. They privately imagined a simple life together, and realizing that there hadn’t been too many bumps in their relationship, thought that something long-term was in the books for them.
Rhett was serious about making himself a presence in Tula’s life, and so he was going to try the best he could to make a good impression. He wasn’t rich or particularly sophisticated, he felt, but he was an honest guy who could make Tula feel like the most loved girl in the world.
When Tula opened the front door and led them both into the foyer, Rhett felt a fresh shock of adrenaline course through his body. He hadn’t felt so nervous about something since… Well, perhaps he hadn’t felt so nervous about anything before. The only events that came close were the first time that he and Tula made love, and waiting for his first job interview. Then again, he was only twenty-four years old. He didn’t have a whole
lot
of life experiences yet.
Tula kicked off her shoes towards the pile by the door, and Rhett followed her behavior. The house was two stories tall and about as ordinary as any upper middle class suburban house he’d seen. He couldn’t say that there was anything special about it—his childhood friends lived in many tract homes very similar in layout in color. It had a clean smell that reminded him of Pine-Sol. Before they knew it, footsteps were beating on the floor, heading towards them.
“Tula!” Called a high, feminine voice from an unknown room. “Is this him? Is this Rhett?”
Tula turned towards the entryway into the kitchen, her friendly smile bared. “Yes, Mom. May I introduce the man I’ve been dating for the past few months, Rhett Williams.”
Rhett stepped forward towards Mrs. Florian, hoping that his palms didn’t seem too sweaty when they shook. Tula’s mother seemed twice as jovial as Tula was, if that was possible. There was something about her that was adorably cute, especially considering her short stature and squat body. She reminded Rhett of a brown guinea pig.
“Nice to meet you, dear!” Said Mrs. Florian.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Rhett responded, hoping he didn’t sound too repetitive. Now that he was inside the quite luxurious kitchen, he could smell some kind of roast going. The suggestion of meat and potatoes for dinner that night seemed to turn on his optimism a bit.
“Your name is Rhett, right? It’s familiar to me. Where have I heard it before?”
“
Gone with the Wind
?” He suggested.
“Yes! That’s it. I love that book. The movie was wonderful, as well. I take it that your mother is a fan.”
“A huge fan, as a matter of fact. She still dresses up as Scarlet O’Hara in that green dress every year during Halloween.”
“Oh, isn’t that charming! I’m quite the reader myself, though I lean more towards mysteries. I’m sure if you and Tula become closer over the years, your mother and I will have quite a lot to talk about.”
A few seconds later, more footsteps produced a second person. Rhett knew when he saw him that it must be Tula’s father—his first impression was that Mr. Florian seemed easy-going and a bit older than his wife. He had salt-and-pepper colored hair, wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, and was the tallest man in the room. Rhett didn’t know what he did for a living, but figured that it must have been some kind of white collar job. He seemed too at ease in his green polo and khakis to be some kind of laborer. Now that he thought about it, Mrs. Florian seemed too sophisticated in her pantsuit to be a homemaker.
“Nice to finally meet you, Rhett!” Said Tula’s father, pulling him in for a firm handshake. “Tula has been talking about you so much. You definitely seem like a keeper. When are you proposing, anyway?”
“
Dad!
” Tula hissed with a shy smile.
Rhett couldn’t help but blush.
Mr. Florian seemed quite amused to be embarrassing his daughter. Taking a step further in that direction, he mentioned to Rhett, “As long as your feelings for one another are
platonic
as well as romantic at the moment, I suppose it’s all right if you make us wait.”
Rhett found himself coughing into his fist awkwardly.
They all went into the kitchen, chatting happily about their days and what they would be eating for dinner.
“I hope you don’t mind roast beef, Rhett,” said Mrs. Florian, leaning over to peer into her oven.
Tula definitely knows that I don’t have a problem with roast beef,
he thought slyly. “Roast beef sounds really good right now.”
Mrs. Florian pulled the roast out of the oven, Mr. Florian served everyone some red wine, and Tula brought the side dishes to the round dining table. As they sat down, everything seemed so picture-perfect, as if they were in a Kinkade painting. Just as Mrs. Florian knelt her head to say grace, her husband stopped her.
“Hey, we forgot all about Max!” He said, putting his hand on hers.
“Oh, that’s right. I nearly forgot he’s here all the time now, and not at the library for school. Usually he’s out doing things at this hour,” she said, turning in her seat. “MAXIMILIAN! GET DOWN HERE FOR DINNER! YOUR SISTER’S BOYFRIEND IS HERE!”
Rhett was a little alarmed by the yelling, though he didn’t show it. There was something a little comical about a woman like her yelling at the top of her lungs across a large house. Before long, heavy footsteps tumbled down the stairs. When Tula’s brother emerged into the kitchen, Rhett’s mouth fell agape. Sitting down across from him was the very mirror image of his girlfriend, only instead of being female, it was a male form. Something was a little different about Max, though—he lacked the sweet warmth that Tula had, and he seemed to prefer the color black a lot more. He was head to toe in the color, the only other shade being the lettering on his Bad Religion T-shirt. Max didn’t even make eye contact with Rhett or acknowledge existence.
“Why do you look so shocked?” Tula whispered with a little nudge. “I told you we were nearly identical ages ago.”
“I guess I forgot,” was all he could respond with. He figured that he should make sure not to mix them up in the future. Max was slender just like his sister, with a slight androgynous element to him. He was still obviously male, but he had a certain allure to him that his sister also shared. Their personal style was so different, however, that he figured it wouldn’t be difficult to tell them apart.
Mrs. Florian said grace and then they began to dig into the feast. Rhett was starving by then, having been so nervous about the dinner that he had completely forgotten to eat anything besides a protein bar for breakfast. He gave himself a heaping serving of mashed potatoes, green beans, and roast beef. Along with that were two large rolls with extra butter and a side of baked peaches. By the time he was done serving himself, he realized that he had twice as much food on his plate compared to everyone else.
Max eyed Rhett with a trace of judgement. “Quite the piggy you picked up, Tula.”
“
Maxamilian!
” Mrs. Florian hissed through grated teeth.
“No, no,” Rhett said, blushing. “I’m just really hungry today. I hope it’s okay I took this much food.”
“Of course it’s okay!” Said Mrs. Florian. “Take as much as you want, sweetie.”
“Have to feed those big muscles you have,” Mr. Florian mentioned with a friendly smile as he bit into a green bean.
Rhett couldn’t help but looked down at his large arms. It
was
true that he enjoyed spending time at the gym after work. Maybe if he hadn’t met Tula, he wouldn’t have gained the extra ten pounds on his frame; turning down anything his girlfriend made was quite the difficult task. Rhett wished that he could have a telepathic conversation with Tula at the moment—was Max mad at him? Was he just a little immature? Had someone said something that made Max have a bad opinion of him? It wasn’t to be, though—he simply chowed down on the awesome food and kept his thoughts to himself.
“So,” Mrs. Florian said after a drink of wine, “Tula tells us that you’re a mechanic?”
“Yeah,” Rhett responded with a forced smile, wondering if being a mechanic was ‘good enough’ for a family that he suspected was above his social class. “I’ve been working at Only Hondoyas for four years now.”
“Oh, how nice. Philip,” Mrs. Florian mentioned to her husband, “Rhett can look at our Acura if it ever has issues. Isn’t that nice?”
“Yes, you can never lose with those skills. Everyone will always need a mechanic at one point in their lives. At least, most of us. I’m sure you’ll regret telling us that you work on cars a few months from now when the family starts asking you for favors.”
Rhett laughed to himself. “Well, for you guys it’s not a problem to work on something free of charge. I can’t say the same for the rest of your relatives, though I can always give a discount.”
“I bet you get all greasy working on cars all day,” Max mentioned in a less than cordial tone.
Rhett shrugged the comment right off. “It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it. I like it, though. It’s problem solving. By the way, what do you do, Max?”
He lifted his head to gaze at Rhett for a moment before turning his attention back to playing with his food. “I’m in grad school for engineering.”