Summer Swing (45 page)

“Uh… Well, I don’t know,” I admitted honestly.

“Would you like me to go to the door for you? I’m not sure if being the driver of their son’s friend would get any information, but I could try.”

I chuckled. “No, that’s okay. I guess I could just…”

I went to open the door myself, but Eduardo was up just as quickly, doing it for me.

“Uh, thanks…”

“I’ll remain in the car until you are done,” he reminded me.

“Okay…”

I couldn’t believe
that this
was
where Tyse grew up.
In a gigantic house on the beach?
I just couldn’t comprehend it. But here I was, somewhere I never expected to be, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was just a coincidence, or was I actually supposed to be here? I mean come on, a driver that just happens to offer me a ride to anywh
ere? How was that a coincidence?
Maybe this was just a journey I was supposed to take.

My
thoughts continued as I rang the doorbell, and as I waited, I looked over the beautiful
ly
landscaped yard. There was a fountain right near the walkway. It was an angel pouring water out of a bowl. It was really pretty—something that I could probably never afford—and I kept my eyes on the running water until the front door opened.

“Yes?” a pretty Hispanic woman asked.

“Um, yeah, I was looking for Mr. or Mrs. Morgan?”

She looked me over suspiciously, and then glanced to the curb where the town car was parked. Maybe that implied that I might actually belong in a neighborhood like this.

“Mrs. Morgan is home,” she replied, inviting me inside. “May I tell her who is visiting?”

“My name is
Ambrielle
.” I decided to use my full name, just in case it sounded more formal. “I’m a friend of her son. Tyse?”

She stared at me, like I’d delivered the most unbelievable news ever.
“
Are you kidding
?” she finally asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Who is it Juanita?” a woman asked, entering the mammoth entryway. I could tell right away that she was Tyse’s mother, based on her just her dark hair and something about her mouth. She stood there waiting for Juanita’s answer, but Juanita had nothing to say.

“Are you Nicola?” Regina asked. “Because I was told you were five-foot-
eleven
. You won’t do, sweetheart,” she said
,
practically shooing me away with her hand. “And if the agency allows another one of you to come to my home again they can be—”

“Excuse me for interrupting, but I’m not Nicola. My name is Ambrielle. I’m, uh, Tyse’s friend. From Oregon.”

The woman just stared at me, for a long time, and I was about to ask if I was really at the right home when she said, “Get out of my house.” She even pointed to the door, like I was a dog that had just crapped on her floor.

“What? I’m only here because I came to visit Tyse and I just need his address…”

She was laughing—not kindly, but more like
Cruella
DeVil
—and even Juanita seemed to shrink from the room.

“Is this some kind of joke?” Regina asked. “I mean really, the son that hates my guts has a lovely little friend in my foyer?” She said it snooty, like “
foy-yay
.”

“So does that mean you won’t give me his address?”

She laughed
again
. “That means I don’t even
know
his address. Look honey, I don’t know what in the world my son told you about us, but we have no contact with him whatsoever. He does his thing, we do ours, and everyone is happy that way.
Now get out of my house before I call the police.”

She stormed to the front door and flung it open. “If you find him, tell him that mommy wants her reputation back.”

She slammed the door once I had barely stepped onto the porch.

I was numb, and I literally did not know what to do. I could feel my eyes burning with
tears
, and just as Eduardo stepped out of the car with a concerned look on his f
ace, I barely made myself walk
down the walkway.

“Let’s go,” I mumbled as he held the door open for me.

I angrily
dropped down o
nto the seat just as I heard, “Wait. Please? Miss?”

I stuck my head out of the door to see Juanita rushing across the yard from the side of the house. She had a piece of paper in her hand and gave it to me.

“This is Tyse’s
street
address,” she told me. “
Please do not ask me how I got it
, but I believe it is where he lives right now.”

I was very grateful. “Thank you so much—”

“I have to get back inside,” she said quickly
,
ready
to hurry away
.

“Wait, Juanita—”

“I’m sorry,” she practically whispered, glancing back at the house. “It is not good that I am doing this, so please just go.”

She left without another word and disappeared around the side of the house. Eduardo gave me another concerned look, but he shut the door and walked around to the driver’s seat.

“I am sorry that did no
t work out how you expected,” he said as we drove away.

“Yeah, me too. But really
,
I don’t know what I expected. I know that he doesn’t have a relationship with his parents, but I had no idea it was…that awful. Maybe I did, I don’t know. I don’t know what I was trying to accomplish.
I just wanted a stupid address…
”

The tears fell
easily
and Eduardo let me cry in silence. Finally I handed him the piece of paper and muttered, “Here.”

He sighed. “These people are a different kind,” he finally said. “I guess I should have understood a little better; maybe I could have prepared you.”

“Well I didn’t exactly know what I was doing,” I admitted. “I didn’t realize Tyse’s mom was Satan.”

He chuckled. “There are many just like her.”

“Well that’s a shame. I guess now I understand what Tyse meant about the girls here.”

“That they are different?” he smiled.

“Please don’t tell me they’re all like that woman.”

“No, no, no,” he
smiled
. “Maybe if they have parents just like her.”

“Hm
m
, then I guess I don’t want to meet his sister.”

Eduardo only smiled as he ventured onto Interstate 5. He let me ride in silence for a bit until I began asking him about himself—his wife, his kids, where he grew up—and I enjoyed listening to him share his life. He actually had a son my age and he hinted around that I should meet
him
. We talked about J
os
é
for a while, and then Eduardo asked more about Tyse.

We made it to La Mesa pretty quickly, and because it was one-o’clock, I hoped that Tyse was home and finished with his
friends
. We pulled up to a house that matched the address on the GPS, and Eduardo turned around to face me.

“Well? Does this look okay?” he smiled.

I nodded. “Yeah, this is more my pace.” The house was pretty simple in a regular neighborhood, and definitely within my expectations.

“Well good luck to you,” he told me as he opened my door.

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out as I moved up the walkway. I was pretty nervous, but maybe I was still a little rattled from the last porch I’d been o
n. Taking
another deep breath
,
I
tried
to forget that awful experience
and rang the doorbell. I glanced back at Eduardo, and seeing him smile and give me two thumbs up as he stood by his car made me finally smile. I felt a huge weight lifted from my shoulders, and I knew everything was going to be—

The door opened and Nate was standing in front of me. He just kind of looked at me in general, and then his mouth dropped open.

“Ellie?” He didn’t seem sure
, so I nodded my head. “Holy shit.
Uh, what are you doing here?”

“Well, I came to see Tyse. Is he here?”

He was still kind of staring at me until he replied, “Uh, yeah he’s here. He’s in the shower right now
but,
uh… Yeah, come on in,” he motioned.

I looked behind me and said, “Uh, I have a couple of bags…” Actually
,
was I really going to just haul my luggage into Nate’s house? Talk about inviting yourself over…

Nate followed my gaze and raised his eyebrows. “Oh, you came in style.”

Eduardo smiled a huge smile and waved, and it made me chuckle. Nate awkwardly returned the wave.

“Hang on just a sec, okay?” I asked Nate. “Let me just… Uh, hang on.”

“Sure.”

I made my way to the car and Eduardo still had the same smile on his face. “Yes? You’re staying? Everything is good?”

“Um, yeah I guess so. I mean I still need to make sure Tyse is okay with it…”

His face perplexed and he looked toward the porch. “Oh, so is that not…?”

“Oh! No, that’s not Tyse,” I smiled. “I guess he’s in the, uh, shower. But should I wait to bring my stuff in? I mean is that really rude, or should I wait to be invited?”

“It’s up to you. I can wait in the car until you speak with your man.”

I laughed at the twinkle in his eye. “Okay, maybe I’ll do that. If you don’t mind?”

“Oh, no. I have all day, remember? And besides, I’d like to see this Tyse for myself. I’ll let you know if I approve.” I softly chuckled and he leaned closer to whisper, “I don’t approve of that guy, so I am very thankful there is another
option
.”

I returned to the porch where Nate was still standing and he shrugged his shoulders. “You’re not staying? I thought you had bags.”

“Oh, uh, yeah I do, but I just thought…”

“Just thought what?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Just wanted to make sure it was okay.”

“Yeah, it’s okay. Bring your stuff in.”

“Oh, he’ll just wait for a few minutes. I’d like to see Tyse first.”

“Oh. Yeah, of course.” He motioned for me to follow him inside
,
so I did and shut the door behind me. “He’s gonna
drop a load
when he sees you, though.
”

“What do you mean?” I asked, following him into a family room. “Is that a good thing or—”

“Ellie?”

I turned to face the hallway where Tyse was just standing in his boxers. He looked absolutely stunned that I was in his house.

“Tyse, go get some pants on, man,” Nate told him with a chuckle.

Tyse didn’t even seem to hear him. “Ellie, what are you doing here? I thought I heard your voice but…I thought…”

“Well you’re not dreaming,
hermano
,” Nate said. “So go get some pants on so she doesn’t feel weird when you hug her.”

I kind of laughed, and Nate winked at me before he left the room.

Tyse just stood there for a moment, and then held up a finger to tell me to wait. He was back in about ten seconds, dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. With a big smile on his face he gathered me in his arms and said, “I can’t even believe you’re here.”

I just stood there with my arms wrapped around him,
breathing him in and
feeling quite a lot of relief that the day finally felt okay again. With my face against him I said, “I hope it’s okay. I mean I wanted to surprise you, but I guess that was kind of risky if it didn’t work out…”

“No, it’s okay. It’s more than okay.” He pulled away to look at me. “How long
can you stay
?”

“Um, just until Sunday evening. If that’s okay with you guys,” I added. “I don’t have to impose, I can stay at a—”

“No, you’re not staying anywhere else,” he scoffed. “My house is your house. Anytime. You can have my room and I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“No, the couch is fine for me.”

He smiled. “Ellie, if y
ou give me any trouble about it…”

I scowl
ed at him. “Fine.”

He looked around briefly. “Where’s your stuff?”

“Oh, it’s still out in the car.”

“
You drove here
? Oh, did you rent one?”

“No, I have a driver,” I smiled. “And he’d like to meet you to make sure it’s safe to leave me here.”

He gave me a funny look but slipped on a pair of
shoes
and followed me outside. Eduardo appeared almost immediately.

“Eduardo, this is Tyse. Tyse, Eduardo.”

The two shook hands, and even though Tyse was a little confused about being introduced to a driver, he was polite about it.