I'm a Beast Ch. 04

"Did Tracy and you have any children?"

"Yes we did, a little girl five years ago. That was a year before they found the cancer."

"I'm sure Tracy cherished her. I was always concerned that I might die before my children were old enough to remember me. Your little girl must be devastated but she will remember and cherish her memories of Tracy."

I thought I had really stepped in the shit now. Although I'd changed the subject from Tracy it looked as though this new one was going to really choke Jake up.

"Yes Mindy and Tracy were really close. Mindy is coping but it is so hard being a dad and mom for her. We both grieve for her," Jake said with a tear running down his cheek. He pulled a long drink from his beer and continued telling of the happier times when they had dated, married and lived their lives together. It was an awkward conversation to say the least. When Jake and my beer were finished I started to extricate myself from the situation. I started with Jake.

"Well Jake... I wish Mindy and you the best of luck. I can't begin to imagine how hard it is to deal with your loss and talk about it. However I do believe that as long as a person is cherished and remembered they're not truly gone."

Denny offered, "I'll drink to that," as we clinked our bottles together.

Denny continued, "To Tracy say one say you all."

"To Tracy," we all said.

I turned to Denny and said, "Trista should be home waiting for me by now. I wouldn't want to miss anything."

"Yes ... I can understand that," said Denny.

I turned to Jake and said my good-byes.

"Bye Jake. It was nice meeting you. Trista and I will keep Mindy and you in our prayers."

"Nice meeting you too Joe and thank you."

Turning to Denny I said, "I'll see you later," and walked out of the bar.

When I got home I told Trista that I ran into Denny at the bar. She asked, "How are Denny and Pat doing?"

"Denny is doing fine. Pat wasn't there and her name didn't come up. Yours did though."

"Oh... What did you say?"

"I didn't, Denny did."

I had Trista's full attention now. She looked at me with a gleam in her eye.

"What did he say?"

"He introduced me to Jake Turner as your husband. Jake said that he hadn't seen you in years and that he probably wouldn't recognize you. He said that you used to be hot. Denny said he would recognize you and that you're still hot."

Trista smiled at me but the gleam in her eyes had dulled a little.

"I dated Jake in school. He is the one that took me parking at the cove."

I remembered that story but now I wanted to know where this fragment fit in her puzzle of life. She had told me that she had shot the guy down. Trista had represented her's as a paragon of virtue and now I knew how hard it had been.

"Can you tell me about it?"

"There's really nothing to tell."

As Trista was talking I noticed she was avoiding eye contact with me. She continued, "After our date he pulled into the cove. Of course I knew what he wanted but a girl can always hope her date is a gentlemen."

"Did Jake get his tongue bit when he tried to French you?"

"Hell no, he didn't even get close. When he put the moves on me I asked him to take me home. That was the end of the date and us. He never asked me out again."

I had heard about the parking incident at the cove. I had heard about the tongue-biting incident. Now I knew for sure that they were parts of different incidents. Now I had a name and face to go with the Cove incident. It had been these fragments of facts that Trista had used to paint her paragon of virtue picture. It was these fragments of facts that had made it inconceivable that Dick Hairis would have ever gotten as far as he did.

"I remember you telling me about that. What's for dinner," I asked changing the subject.

"Taco's. Would you like to fry the tortillas or steam them."

As we were walking to the kitchen I answered, "Fry them. I'll steam your taco after dinner."

Trista laughed as we got the frying pan out. I had placed another piece in the puzzle of Trista's past. The picture that puzzle was making made me appreciate the troubles Trista endured while dating and shamed me for what I had put her through. She had been so afraid of losing me and I had been such a beast. At this point our future was so bright we had to wear shades. Plenty of time later for tears.

***

The four following chapters will be posted in the category that best fits them.