#PartyBoss isn't a term Tulip Carpenter coined herself but she wears it with pride. Her life is a party, she's doing what she loves, creating mindblowing celebrations for the happiest moments in people's lives. But when the baby she put up for adopt...
The expected four-hour trip to Fredericksburg took six and a half but neither Tulip or Sidney were complaining. Austin wasn't a part of the itinerary but fifty miles out from Capitol City, Tulip learned Sidney had never been and sought to change that. They had lunch at Vaquero Taquero and dessert from Gourdoughs. Then they walked off the street-style tacos and doughnut holes at the Bullock Texas State History Museum.
It wasn't until they were back on the interstate and nodding along to the hits of TLC that Sidney asked her a question that made her foot ease the brake pedal down.
"Is your Fasa a scrub?" Tulip repeated the words as if she were searching the gust of air that wiped through the opened windows. "I don't know. Why?"
Sidney's head tilted as she twirled one of her braided pigtails around her fingering. "Just wondering."
"Wondering what?"
"Nothing." The little girl quipped, turning her sight to the open country landscape gliding by.
Tulip stole a glance over at the child curious to the thoughts running through her mind as she took in the hill country as if it was the craters of the moon or the red surface of Mars. She sighed knowing this was entirely her fault since she repeated the song title with the word in question more than once almost a half hour ago. She pondered on it for a while. Was Jasper a scrub? He was sitting on the passenger side of his best friend's ride. He had his car, a luxury car, and his own house. Two to be exact. One of which they were headed towards right now. Did he take care of his child?
She took another glance at Sidney and immediately knew the answer. Once he knew she was back in their care he took up the duty as 'Dad' with ease and enthusiasm that would back any woman swoon. He was kind of a total package if she omitted the baggage of the past. Nurturing. Caring. And responsible. Tulip gripped the bottom of the steering wheel trying hard not to entertain the thought that was beginning to nag her after the chemistry-filled moment she and him had in her kitchen before her brother and Sidney interrupted.
Just as she was about to open her mouth and answer Sidney's question, the girl shot another inquiry at her.
"What is that?" Sidney pointed to a scattering of animals in an open field.
"Longhorns." Tulip happily answered, satisfied that the girl had moved on to the previous subject matter. "The pride of Texas or something shit like that." She shrugged. "I'm a Mississippi girl, remember."
Sidney nodded turning back to the window to peer at the long antler bulls. "Can we go there next?"
Tulip's nose twisted. "We'll see." She wasn't fond of her home state with its Confederate-inspired flag swinging in the wind and the bad memories that resurfaced at the front of her mind when she thought of the Delta state.
Tulip turned the music up as the next song started to play and fed the engine more gas. If they were going to make it to their destination before sundown she had to go above sixty-five and she surely didn't want to be on the open road in the dark of night in the country. It wasn't 1967 and Texas isn't Mississippi but it was still a state in the USA and she didn't want a State Trooper pulling up behind her or anyone else for that matter.
******
Before the sun started to fade Tulip eased her yellow vintage Bronco into the driveway of the expansive ranch house that sat on sixty-plus acres of plush land. She let out a sigh of relief that morphed into a yawn as she shifted the gear to park as the stress of travel melted from her shoulders. She nudged Sidney awake from the slumber she fell into when they were fifty miles out.
The front door opened and Jasper appeared with a welcoming smile as he hurried to the vehicle. Tulip had killed the engine and stepped out of the SUV and in mid-stretch by the time he reached them.
"Hey!" He sang with a smile that toldher he'd been waiting for them since he left Houston a couple of days ago.
As soon as she accepted his offer to come up and visit his country house he hurried back to the residence in what he said was to 'get it ready'. She didn't know what that meant but it must've been tedious since he had to leave that very same day and wasn't able to go with them to SplashTown, which was probably for the best. Jasper and Will weren't fast friends and Sidney got alone time with her uncle and the family. The Carpenters were a small bunch but no less important.
"Someone's tuckered out." Tulip nodded to the ten-year-old silently peering at them fighting a battle between waking up and staying asleep.
Jasper opened the passenger side door and unbuckled Sidney's seatbelt. "Can you walk or do you need to be carried?"
Sidney let out a big, quiet yawn and muttered. "I'm a big girl." She languidly got out of the car and wrapped her arms around him like a baby koala as her eyes fought to stay up. "Let's get you inside and fed, then off to bed."
"Sounds like a plan." Tulip echoed reaching into the backseat trying to get all their bags.
"Leave it." He insisted with a fan of his hand. "I'll get it while y'all eat." He freed his arm out of Sidney's grasp to wrap it around her and hold her tight to him just in case she dozed off from the drive away to the foyer. "I made ox-tail stew and the cornbread just came out of the oven."
Tulip relinquished the handles of the bags at the utterance of those words. It had been ages since she had the dish that was a favorite that her mama and granny used to cook up on cold days. It wasn't below seventy outside and she was in sandals, not snow boots but she could devour a bowl or two; there was no doubt about it.
"You made oxtail stew." She said more like a question as she stepped away from the SUV finally getting some rest.
"Yeah." He said lifting Sidney off the ground and securing her in his arms. She easily rested her head against his shoulder and let her eyes give in to temptation. "I remember."
"I see." Tulip quipped before he turned back to the front door. She said a silent prayer before entering the abode and hoped God heard her because she was going to need all the help she could get.
Why do you think Tulip said a 'silent prayer' before going into the house? What do you think she needed help with?
What do you think Jasper had to go back early to prepare for? Is he up to something?
Why do you think Sidney asked Tulip if Jasper was a scrub? What do you think is going through the 10-year-old's mind?
Should Tulip be a little worried about traveling through the open countryside, every city isn't as diverse and accepting as Houston and its surrounding suburban enclaves.
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