A Duet for Three

I looked at Al in shock. "And Traci? She's staying in Chicago?"

Jean chuckled as Al looked at her in amusement. "Do you want to tell him, or do you want me to do the dirty work?"

"You tell him. He still likes me. I want to keep it that way."

I suddenly felt a weight in my stomach.

Jean looked at me in sympathy. "Poor boy. I guess you haven't heard that Tyler High School has a new drama teacher this year." Jean looked at my parents, "Say, wasn't that singer Meatloaf from around here?"

+++

I spent the rest of the Thanksgiving holiday shell-shocked. On Monday morning, I was still unsettled and had a feeling of impending doom. I didn't know it, but my day was about to get a lot worse.

Monday mornings are usually the busiest times at a service department. Cars break down or develop noises and vibrations over the weekend, so the first thing on Monday cars are dropped off for repairs or diagnoses. Loaners and rentals have to be ready for delivery, advisers and techs need to be caffeinated and at the top of their game, and the service department needs to be firing on all cylinders. When at all possible, I always tried to stand by to assist where I could on Monday mornings. I had always been very hands-on and that was one of the many qualities that made me good at my job.

Ken had sent me a text to come by his office once the morning rush had died down, that's why I was in a chair facing my boss' desk at 10:00 AM.

"I had an interesting call on Saturday," Ken said.

"From who,"

"Al D'Amico," Ken said.

"I was afraid of that," I said. "He paid me a visit on Thursday. What did he want."

Ken picked up his coffee cup and studied the contents for a moment before looking me in the eye. "To buy me out. Lock, stock, and barrel."

"Jesus," I said.

"Yeah, I know. He offered me twenty percent over the present value."

"You'd be insane not to take it."

"There's a condition," Ken said.

"What kind of condition?" I asked.

"All the employees have to stay."

"That's a good condition," I replied.

"Including the service manager," Ken said.

"I see," I said. "So, if I stay, you get a big payday, and all your hard work will have been worth it. If I don't, you get nothing."

"I wouldn't say nothing. He's still willing to buy me out, but the twenty percent premium goes away if you don't stay for at least a year. The premium would go into escrow to be paid to me at the end of the year. Everything else is in cash. I have one other little tidbit of news for you."

"I'm not sure I want to hear it," I said.

"I found out what DCA Enterprises from next door is all about. "D'Amico and Connery Automotive." I asked if the Connery in DCA was you or your ex-wife. He just shrugged and said, 'Both. Either. Does it matter?'"

I ran my hands through my hair in frustration.

"You don't have to say anything right now. Why don't you take a few days to think it over and let me know? Coy, whatever you decide, I'm good with it. You have done more for this dealership in two years than anyone else in the last thirty years. I have been able to pay myself some healthy bonuses because of you. I know you're well compensated, but I want you to know I appreciate you.

If you want me to pass on the whole deal and keep it as is, with just you and me running the store, then I will. If you want to walk away, I understand. My feelings are not going to be hurt either way."

+++

Christmas was the slow time of the year at Bullard Ford-Lincoln. Ordinarily, Ken and I would be huddled in Ken's office working on next year's budget and goals. Since Ken would soon have no interest in BFL, consulting with him was unnecessary. Al had complete trust in my judgment and so he gave me the freedom to set my own budget and goals for the upcoming year.

I had agreed to stay at BFL for one year. That was the minimum required that would ensure Ken received his purchase premium. Al and Jean had found a home in Tyler's Azalea District, the landmark historic area of Tyler with stately older homes that spoke of real money. Al and Jean were not in as dire straits as I had assumed. based on their home selection and their paying cash for BFL. They had just completed the move and were getting settled and acclimatized to Tyler.

I had not seen or heard anything from Traci. I had gone online and was astounded to find that Traci had been in Tyler and working as the drama teacher since the beginning of the school year. This had confused the hell out of me. She had obviously moved to Tyler because I lived there and worked just a few miles down the road in Bullard. Yet she had never contacted me or reached out to me in any manner.

In some ways, having Traci living in Tyler was like having the Sword of Damocles hanging over my head; just waiting for the thread to snap and send the sharpened point plunging into my skull. Two years away from Traci had brought a certain amount of indifference thanks to time and distance. But now? Not so much.

The week before Christmas, I decided to let Emma know that her ex-stepmother lived in Tyler.

"I know, Dad. I spoke to her."

I knew my eyes bugged out at that statement. "When? Where? What did she say to you?"

"The high school put on a show for us in the auditorium a few weeks ago. I talked to her then. She hugged me and told me that she missed me. She said that she had done something to hurt you and that was why she couldn't be with us."

"Why didn't you tell me about that? I just found out a few days ago that she lived in Tyler. When did we start keeping secrets from each other? Did Traci tell you not to say anything to me?" I could hear an accusatory tone creep into my voice and that upset me more than anything. Emma had never kept secrets from me.

Emma shook her head. "No, Daddy. She told me she had hurt you, so I didn't want to make you feel bad by talking about her. She didn't tell me not to say anything." Emma was starting to cry because she could see I was upset. I picked her up and hugged her, kissing her cheek.

"It's okay, baby. Traci was very important to both of us."

"Do you think that you will ever get married again?"

"Why are you asking me that Emma?"

"I don't know. It's just that you never go out on dates or anything. You just go to work and then come home. It's like you don't have any fun in your life. And now that Mr. Ken is selling the dealership, I'm worried about you."

I smiled proudly at my daughter. "Are you sure you're only eight?"

@@@@@

"I need my Jim, Ted, and Lila on their marks!" Traci called, her voice cutting through the chatter of the cast and crew.

The Christmas show this year was going to be Holiday Inn. Most people knew the show from the 1942 Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire movie, with music by Irving Berlin. The staged musical premiered in 2016 and in just a few years had become a holiday classic. This show was going to run for four performances and every show was already sold out. This was the last dress rehearsal, and the audience was filled with teachers and office staff as well as several students who had a free period for the last class of the day.

Traci gave the signal, and the orchestra began the overture. They played for a few minutes and then segued into the first song of the show, "Steppin' Out with My Baby." Two and a half hours later, as Jim and Linda sang the final notes of the reprise of "White Christmas" the cast launched into the finale, and then the curtain came down to a standing ovation from the audience.

Tom Dalton, the principal of Tyler High, enthusiastically shook the hand of his new drama teacher.

"That is by far the best thing that the drama department has ever done. That is first-rate! First rate!" he exclaimed. Principal Dalton would have said this about the show even if he didn't have a bit of a crush on Traci Connery. All he knew about her was that she was from Chicago, she was divorced, and she had appeared in a couple of commercials several years ago. And that her father had recently purchased the Ford dealership in Bullard. So, she came from money on top of everything else. Tom was a deacon in the Church of Christ and happily married so he would never act on his crush, but man...

"Oh, I'm supposed to give these to you," Tom said as he handed Traci four tickets to the production's last performance.

"Thank you!" Traci smiled happily. Two of the front row tickets were for her parents but the other two would probably go unused. But she had to try.

@@@@@

I was talking to Mark Thrasher, my parts manager, when I received a page to the service drive. It was not unusual for me to be paged by one of the service advisers, although it did not happen as much as it used to. I had empowered the advisers to take care of customer complaints with assurances that I would never criticize any action they took to make a customer happy. As a result, when I did receive a page, I knew it was a hot situation.

Or, in this case, my ex-wife standing in the service area as my service advisers looked at her awestruck. Even Wilma, who despite mannish outward appearances and a butch haircut was one-hundred percent straight, looked at Traci with undisguised longing.

"Everyone, this is Al D'Amico's daughter, Traci. Traci, this is Wilma, Wayne, Thomas, and Abe; our service advisers."

After shaking everyone's hand and telling them how glad she was to meet them, Traci asked me if we could speak in my office.

After getting settled, Traci got into the purpose of her visit.

"I know I'm not your favorite person, but I want to ask you for a favor," Traci said.

"What favor?" I asked.

"Tyler High is performing Holiday Inn as its Christmas show. I have front-row tickets for the last night for my parents and you and Emma."

I sat back in my chair. "Traci, I don't know if that's such a good idea. Emma told me that she talked to you a few weeks ago. I didn't even know you were in town, and meanwhile, my daughter is keeping secrets from me about you."

Traci looked distressed. "Coy, I didn't ask her to do that. I would never ask her to keep secrets from you."

"And that's what she said. It's all part of some puzzle that I am trying to put together, but I have no idea what it's supposed to look like. The only reason for you to come to Tyler is to get back with me. The only reason for your dad to buy Bullard Ford is to help you get back with me. You have lived here for months, and this is the first time that you have reached out to me. You have an objective, and I know that it is to get back with me. But I cannot figure out how you are going about obtaining that objective

by ignoring me for months. Traci, what the hell's going on?"

Traci smiled brightly. "Coy, you know I love you. I have loved only you since the first time I saw you. Being married to you was the best part of my life. And I destroyed it. Me. No one else. If you had not interrupted us, I would have slept with that absolute waste of space. But I didn't. I have had over two years of therapy to understand what happened and what led up to that night. I would love to sit down and go over everything that I uncovered with my therapist. But we will have to do that another day because I don't think the service manager's office at a Ford dealership is the place to have that talk." Traci pulled the tickets out of her purse and put them on my desk.

"All four performances are sold out so if you don't want to use them, please give them to someone else. But I really hope I see you and Emma there."

With that, Traci smiled at me, stood, and exited my office and the service department.

+++

As soon as Emma saw Al and Jean, she ran towards them and launched herself. Al picked her up and held her tightly as Jean put her arms around them both. They were all three crying with joy, and I felt a lump in my throat. 'Goddamn her,' I thought for the millionth time. 'She took this away from them.' This time, however, I couldn't summon the same anger as I had in the past.

"We are so glad you decided to come," Jean said. "I didn't think you would, but Al and Traci said you would be here."

"I left it up to Emma. She found some video clips of Holiday Inn that were recorded at Drury Lane Theater in Oakbrook, Illinois. After seeing those, there was no doubt we were coming. She even picked out a new dress for tonight."

"She looks beautiful. You should be so proud of her, Coy," Jean said while thinking, 'That stupid, stupid daughter of mine. How could she throw this away?'

Emma sat transfixed throughout the entire show. It was her first time to see a musical in a live performance. As the cast came out for their bow, she jumped up and down, clapping with excitement. When the cast called for Traci to come out and take a bow, the audience went wild. The new drama teacher was radiant as she bowed. Her eyes fell upon Emma in the front row and suddenly, her radiance was dialed up to eleven. She smiled beautifully and tears rolled down her cheeks as the curtain came down.

"We're going to Dakota's," Al said, as the audience started filing out of the auditorium. "Please come with us."

"I appreciate the offer Al, but it's getting late, and Emma is getting tired."

"You should ask me if I'm tired," Emma said grumpily as she crossed her arms in front of her. "I've never been to Dakota's." Truthfully, neither had I. It was Tyler's most expensive steakhouse, and the prices were every bit as steep as Gene and Georgetti's in Chicago.

"C'mon, Coy," Jean said. "Don't make an old lady beg."

I laughed. "Okay, I give up. We'll meet you there."

Jean grabbed Coy's sleeve, looking at me intently. "Do you promise? Do you promise you'll be there?"

I smiled at my ex-mother-in-law. "We'll be there. I promise."

Dakota's was crowded since it was a Saturday night during the Christmas holidays and our party did not have reservations. I did not know how he did it, but back in Chicago I had seen Al pull this same rabbit out of a hat on countless occasions. Me, Emma, Jean, and Traci went to the bar area to order cocktails while Al checked in at the host station. I knew that Al would have us seated within 15-20 minutes, and I was not disappointed.

"Traci, thank you for inviting us. That was amazing. It was just as good as anything we ever saw in the city." I felt awkward after that statement. I didn't mean to refer to the time when Traci and I were married, but it just slipped out.

"It was so cool, Mo---Traci." Emma caught herself before calling Traci, mom.

"Excuse me," Traci said suddenly as she stood and walked quickly towards the restroom. It looked like she had tears in her eyes.

When Traci and I were married, Emma would call Traci "Mom" when speaking to her. It only made sense. Her birth mother had abandoned her when she was a baby and had never once reached out to her. Traci had married me when Emma was barely three, so she was the only mother figure that Emma had ever known. But after our move to Tyler, we had agreed that Traci would be referred to as Traci and not 'Mom.'

"Emma let's go check on my daughter," Jean said. She pulled Emma's chair back, and they walked towards the restroom.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," I said.

Al looked at me in surprise. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously. Why? What am I missing?"

"Traci still thinks of herself as Emma's mother. It is soul-crushing to her not to be in her life. Every now and then, something will happen to trigger an emotional response like what just happened. I'll tell you what the worst was. We were driving from Chicago to Springfield because I had business at the state capital. We were listening to an oldies station and that old Meatloaf song that you two used to sing, "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights" I think it's called came on. Anyway, that song starts playing and Traci starts having trouble breathing. Next thing I know, she has her hands over her ears rocking back and forth and screaming, 'Turn it off! Turn it off!' I couldn't change that channel fast enough. I turned the car around and we listened to classical music all the way back to Chicago." Al laughed ruefully. "I was going to bid on a contract to service state vehicles at DLF. But it was more important to get my daughter back home."

"And that's when she went into therapy?"

Al snorted. "That was after a year of therapy. She gets upset when she hears any song that she played with that band, The Meltdown. But that particular song? She told me that was your song, yours and hers, and then she sang it on stage with that jackass... She does a pretty good job of hiding it, but her guilt can be crippling."

Al took a sip of his martini and set his glass down. "Look, I know you think that she moved here to get you back and that everything we're doing is enabling her. But that's not it. Just being in the same city with you has been good for her. You didn't even know she was living in Tyler. I'm hoping you can at least be her friend but if that doesn't work for you, then so be it. It won't have any effect on our working relationship."

The ladies returned at that point, smiling and laughing. Traci was carrying Emma who looked at her adoringly.

'Well, shit,' I thought to myself.

+++

"We're spending Christmas with Al and Jean," my mother said.

"You're doing what?" I asked in disbelief.

"Your hearing is perfectly good so if you're asking me to repeat what I said, it's to buy yourself time to make a smartass remark to your elderly mother. So now that I've given you all that time to think of something, hit me with it."

"Fifty-four is not elderly," I muttered.

"Whatever," she said. "So what time are you coming over to Al and Jean's?"

"We haven't been invited," I said. "But hey, you and dad have fun, okay."

+++

It was two days before Christmas and Emma and I were watching a Christmas movie on Netflix when the doorbell rang.

I opened the door to find Traci standing there. I stepped aside so my ex-wife could enter. The house was open concept, so the living room and kitchen were one big room. As she quickly took in the room, I thought Traci might be looking around for signs of our marriage, but I had left everything back in Chicago. A flash of sadness flickered across her face before she turned to face me, a smile reappearing.

"Can I get you something to drink? A glass of wine?"

She smiled at me and then at Emma. "No, I can't stay. I came to invite you over for Christmas."

"That's very kind of you, but we were just going to hang out here and make cinnamon rolls and open presents."

Traci looked distraught. With my parents spending Christmas with her family, I don't think it ever occurred to her that I might decline her invitation.

Emma, too, was not pleased with my response.

"Please, Daddy, I want to go. If you don't want to go, I can go by myself."

I closed my eyes and exhaled. I then looked at my daughter and smiled. "Of course, we can go, baby."

Emma clapped her hands excitedly and Traci looked at me in apparent gratitude. "Come over around 5:00 PM on Christmas Eve for dinner. After that, we'll have cocktails and then walk over for the service. We'll sleep in on Christmas Day and then get up and make cinnamon rolls and open presents." Traci's smile lit up the room. "This is going to be a great Christmas!"

+++

"Sleep tight; don't let the bedbugs bite."

"Oh, Daddy," Emma said in mock exasperation. "I'm not two."

I closed the door after once more telling Emma goodnight. It had actually been a very pleasant Christmas Eve. Jean and my mother had prepared a traditional Texas Christmas Eve meal of tamales, frijoles, and rice. My mother had learned how to cook authentic Mexican food in one of her cooking classes at Franklin Farms and so the tamales had been made from scratch. I thought they were delicious.