Tai's Story Ch. 07

"Evie is doing job interviews in the office we could just use one of the tables out here." I muttered.

"Evie is doing your interviews?"

I chuckled. "She is my new Maître De."

She nodded. "Hmmmm, now that's actually a very good choice. Well done you."

"So shall we sit over here?" I said indicating a table in the corner.

"Nonsense, let's go into the office we can do this quietly, we won't interfere with Evie." She picked up her case and we headed straight into the office.

Alex like the tornado she is walked straight into the office without even knocking. Evie and the applicant who were sitting together talking jumped in surprise as we barged in.

Evie looked up and at first she looked annoyed but when she saw it was Alex she smiled and stood as Alex walked up to her and they kissed. Alex smiled. "Evie darling you look divine, and who is this sexy little creature?"

Evie grinned evilly at her. "This is Ginger she is applying for a waitress position."

Ginger stood up and leaned in for a kiss which Alex held for way to long. I was just standing there watching jealously. Eventually they parted and Evie introduced me to Ginger. "This is Tai he is the owner and he will be the head chef as well."

Ginger managed to tear her gaze away from Alex and acknowledged me with a smile that melted my anger in an instant.

Alex and I sat down and she started to go through the mountain of receipts and invoices that I had. She chastised me. "God Tai this is a mess. Show me your bank statements and I will see if you need to close the doors before you open."

I wanted to bite but I knew she was just being snarky to impress. I pulled out my laptop and opened my accounts section. She looked up at me. "You can go now. I will look through these and when I have finished I will call you in."

I reluctantly got up and walked out to go back to the fridge installation.

There was a myriad of last minute things to do before I got a visit from the licensing trust to finalise my liquor license. I watched as Evie walked Ginger out and they kissed as she walked out. Again I was mesmerised by her. The way she moved was poetry in motion. As they were heading for the door Alex came out but instead of coming to see me she hurried after Ginger and caught her at the door. They fell into a very close embrace and I could see them exchange phone numbers and my heart sank. If I could have reached I would have strangled Alex at that moment.

The moment the door closed Alex walked slowly back to the office. She gave me a wave to follow her in.

Evie already had the next applicant in there and was grilling her. Alex sat staring at me studiously. "Well darling this is a mess. I don't know how but you have done very well. You are miles under budget unless you have other invoices I haven't seen."

"No that's it I muttered guiltily that's all there is."

"Good babe it means you have plenty in reserve. Louise has shown me all her advertising stuff and I am sure it's going to be fine. There is already a growing interest in your big opening. I am bringing all our friends so you better be good."

We talked for a while trying not to make too much noise. Alex was finally happy with all the paperwork and gathered it all together and we walked out together after she had kissed and hugged Evie goodbye.

At the door Alex hugged me. "Darling I know things have been tense between us, but you know I like you. I only want what's best for you." As she talked she leaned in and kissed me, just a friendly kiss. I also want to say thank you for letting me be involved." Her eyes sparkled as she whispered, darling this is going to be amazing."

I held on tight to her. "Thanks babe, I have been so scared about the financial aspect of this it was weighing me down."

"Why didn't you call sooner?"

"I didn't know you were an accountant."

"Silly I meant why not talk to Ben? He would have helped and he is far more knowledgeable than me."

"I felt guilty for the way things ended between us. I know he must hate me for being cruel."

She laughed. "He doesn't hate you dummy he is confused that's all. We talked about why you are so self-conscious about your sexuality. You obviously enjoyed our time together yet you are more worried about what other people say. We don't understand it but we accept it's who you are. Hopefully one day you can eventually emerge from beneath your mountain of guilt."

She gave me a kiss and wandered out to her car.

My other important meeting that day was with the owner of a micro-brewery from Bendigo. I discovered it the day I dropped Luce and the kids off out there. I wanted to run something other than the run of the mill beer. I had sampled his beer the day I was out there. He was bringing in some samples for me to test and to have a look at the restaurant to see if it was something he wanted to be associated with. It had to be a good fit for both of us.

So the day evaporated in meetings and paperwork. At least it was all coming together.

Later Talia got home from school and came in for a hug and catch up. We sat laughing as she talked about her day and what she had been up to.

She was really starting to find her way. She had made lots of friends and was comfortable in her own skin. I put a lot of that down to her relationship with Samantha. They were very close.

She did amaze me though. "Dad are you going to invite Mum to the opening?"

That threw me and I was a bit stuck. "Well I wasn't going to." I mumbled. "You know that we haven't really been getting along lately."

She got up and came and sat in my lap. "Dad it might help build a bridge. I have long since come to grips with the fact you aren't getting back together but I do think you need to at least be friends."

She was a deep thinker all right. "I will invite her if it's what you think it's the right thing to do."

She planted a sloppy kiss on my cheek. "Dad it is the right thing to do. I know she still loves you. We have been talking a lot lately and she has started to accept that I am gay. I would love her to meet Sam."

I nodded. "OK hon I will give her a call later." She jumped up and ran off to do some homework. As she got to the door she turned. "Has Evie spoken to you?"

I shook my head. "No is there something going on?"

She laughed. "You will see." She scooted out before I could say anything more.

As I pondered her last comment Evie walked in. She had finished the interviews. She handed over a sheet of paper filled with names. "These are the people I have selected." I read through the list, the two standouts were Talia and Samantha.

"What the fuck, why is Talia's name in here?"

She poured us both a drink. "Well she asked me for a job, so she could earn her own money and she wants to help. How the hell was I going to say no?"

"Fuck Evie she has school. She needs to be focused."

"Don't be and arse Tai, you worked when you were at school. I know you did because you told me."

I got up and paced around. "She doesn't get any favours Evie. If she can't cut it she gets the boot."

She laughed. "She will get no favours from me, but there's no way I am firing her. If it comes to that, then that's your job boss man."

It was nice to see Ginger's name on the list, although after seeing her and Alex together I figured that I was wasting my time looking for anything sexual.

Evie gave me a hug. "What say Amy and I go out on Saturday? Pete's off at work and I found this little spa where we could go and get the full works, facials, nails. Babe it would be fun. Amy hasn't been around much and I am worried you might lose her."

"I don't know Evie, its so difficult with Talia around, shit what would she think?"

"Well we could invite her as well. We could make it a real girl's day out. She would love it."

It was too scary to consider. "No thanks Evie I couldn't do that. I don't want Talia to think less of me."

She wiggled her nose at me. "You idiot Talia loves you, she has already seen you as Amy and I think she would love it. However if you are worried we just won't tell her. We can sneak off by ourselves."

It sounded wonderful and she was right I had been working so hard at keeping Amy suppressed because of Talia that I was starting to feel uncomfortable. "Yeah what the hell let's do it."

She gave me a sly smirk. "We could invite Alex."

"No I am not sure that's a good idea. I think Alex and I are going in different directions."

She shrugged. "Your call, but I think you are wrong about Alex. She has real feelings for you."

The next few days were filled with more of the same. Evie went out and purchased the uniforms.

The great thing about Alex being back around was her and Talia had reconnected. I know it was difficult for Talia at the start but after Alex did some serious butt kissing Talia let her back in. They were spending time together like previously and Alex and Sam had hit it off straight away. Alex had been taking them shopping and out to dinner regularly. So when I asked Talia if she wanted to come with me to pick up the cutlery she asked if Alex could come as well?

I could hardly refuse so we turned it into an event. Alex being Alex took command she knew all the best places and dragged us around lots of specialist suppliers. We ended up selecting the cutlery crockery and glassware. Plus it was a really fun day. It was good to have Alex back and seeing her and Talia getting along so well was awesome. It was good knowing Talia had someone to turn to for female guidance if she needed it.

We were down to the last few things now and it was making me as nervous as hell. This was all fucking Alex's fault I was so happy in my job and now I had this fucking thing dragging me down. Christ everybody was counting on me and if I failed everybody would fail with me. I would be a complete laughing stock.

Friday night I gave Luce a call and asked her if she wanted to come to the opening. I was amazed at how much she knew about what was going on. Talia and her must have really been talking.

"Tai will it be OK if I bring Mark?"

I had been expecting that and was prepared for it. "That's OK Luce if you want to then bring him." It was time to move on. I added. "If you do come I would Like Tane to stay with us if that's OK?"

She agreed. "Yeah that's fine Tai if he wants to stay with you we might go away for a few days and turn it into a holiday."

"That's cool Luce. I can't wait to see Tane we haven't talked much lately."

"I will be honest Tai he has struggled since I blurted out about you dressing up. We have talked a lot about it but I can see his confusion. You will just have to take your time and give him some space."

As we chatted she gushed. "Tai I can't believe you are a chef, I mean I know you like to cook but wow a Chef. It's just unreal unbelievable really."

"Well it's not proven yet Luce people may hate it and the whole thing will be a flop."

"Talia believes in you. She tells me she is going to work there as well, but I have to say that does worry me. What about her school work?"

"Yeah well that's not my idea. That's bloody Evie's idea."

"Yeah I know she told me. The only thing I worry about is her school work."

"Don't worry babe..." Shit that feels weird now calling her babe, I apologised. "Sorry Luce, force of habit. I have told Talia that the moment I think it's too much for her and if her grades drop she is getting the sack."

She giggled. "It's OK Tai I know what you mean. I have to catch myself all the time as well."

As we chatted she mentioned. "Tai when I told Mum and Dad they were as shocked as I was, but since they talked to Talia they are incredibly interested. Would it be OK if they came as well? We have been talking for a while about coming over to visit. Mum and Dad want to catch up with Karen and are going to stay at their place. Would that be OK?"

What could I say? "Yeah of course it's OK you just need to let me know how big a table you will need."

So they were all coming. Oh well it made me all the more determined to make it work.

The weekend was upon us. Talia went over to Samantha's place and was staying overnight so I woke in the morning kissed her goodbye and dived straight into my wardrobe to get dressed. I don't know why I bothered because we were going to get facials anyway but if I was going out dressed I wanted to look special. It took over an hour but as I paraded around in front of the mirror I gave myself a pat on the back I didn't look to bad.

Evie picked me up and we hit the road. As we drove I got nervous, I was still uncomfortable being out in the real world. She was worse than me she looked spectacular as if she was going on a date. As we appraised each other we both broke into laughter at the same time.

An hour later we pulled up into this secluded little rural property. It was pretty swish with a big long gravel driveway that meandered up to an old country villa. The gardens were perfectly manicured and were a picture of different colours.

At the door we were met by a beautifully dressed woman who led us out into the gardens where there were changing rooms. In the changing rooms there was nothing but towels. So we had to strip down to nothing and wrap our bodies in the fluffy towels.

Then it was out to the hot tubs where we immersed ourselves in the boiling water. Oh my god it was so relaxing I could feel all my tension, my aches and pains ooze and seep out of every pore.

As we laid back in the cedar hot tubs we were brought champagne. An hour later a couple of attendants came and leaned our heads back until our faces were covered with boiling hot towels and our faces cleaned and steamed like never before.

Once our faces had been cleansed they wrapped us back in the hot towels and we continued to stew in the hot tubs. By the time they dragged us out I was starting to feel like a boiled prune.

As we were led into the villa we were stripped and laid out on massage tables. A couple of beefy blokes came out dressed in not much with their six packs on display. I was a bit nervous to start with but once the massage started for real I was lost in the absolute pleasure. Oh god it felt incredible.

With the massages complete it was on to get a sack crack and ball sack wax job. This should be used by the government when they have to torture terrorists. Fuck the pain it was intense.

From there like an assembly line it was into the salon where we were pampered and spoiled. The beauticians went to work applying makeup and styling our hair.

By the time we finished we looked pretty good. Manicures and pedicures were the next stop. Then it was into the photo studio to have photos taken. The clothes were all glamorous and sexy. It was a really fun afternoon. I had never felt so sexy in my life I had to keep taking out my makeup mirror and admire my new look.

We drove home happy and elated. We talked about the treatments and how relaxing it all was. We pulled up at the restaurant and I gave her a kiss. "Evie thanks for making me do this it's been amazing."

She giggled. "Its fine enjoy being Amy for the rest of the day and relax." She drove off and I wandered inside looking forward to just relaxing as Amy for the day.

As I walked in I was shocked to find Talia and Sam at home. She was supposed to be over at Samantha's place. The moment I walked in the pair of them were dancing around with the music cranked to the max, so they didn't see me. As they turned and spotted me they both stopped dead in their tracks. I don't know who was the more shocked.

The instant Talia saw me she ran over and threw her arms around me. She held me tight. "Wow you look amazing holy shit. I am sorry I guess you weren't expecting us. Sam's mum is not feeling well."

Sam was standing there staring, and she looked confused. Talia turned back to her. "Sam come and meet Amy."

The coin must have dropped for her and she looked even more surprised. She walked over like her feet were stuck in lead. As she neared me she reached out and hugged me as well. "I'm so sorry for intruding I didn't mean to interfere with your personal space."

I was embarrassed and tongue tied. I couldn't shake off Talia who was clinging on like a limpet. She moaned. "We are so sorry Dad, if I had known we would have strayed away. I didn't mean to intrude."

As she slid out of my arms I got my voice back. "It's OK hon I shouldn't have embarrassed you it is me who is sorry. I will go and change."

Sam grabbed me. "No please don't change on my behalf. I think you look incredible have you been to a salon or something?"

I felt terrible, my wonderful day had been ruined and now I felt totally deflated. I snatched my arm from her grip. "No I am going to change." I pulled away and rushed off to my room. As I was stripping off my clothes Talia was banging on my door. I yelled louder than I had to. "Go away Talia, I need to get changed."

I jumped into the shower and as I stood under the hot spray I couldn't hold back the tears. No matter how hard I scrubbed I couldn't remove the embarrassment. After all this time I still felt like I was a freak. I climbed out of the shower hoping that Samantha had gone. I changed and walked out to try and talk to Talia. As I walked out into the lounge the pair of them were sitting cuddled together on the sofa. They both looked up at the same time.

Talia had obviously been crying. "Dad I am so sorry, we should have stayed away we didn't want to embarrass you."

"Hon it was my fault I had no right to put you through this. This is your house as well. I didn't mean to embarrass you in front of Sam."

"Dad please listen to me you didn't have to change. I love Amy I want her around. I need you to know that I am comfortable with her. I can't do that if you won't let her out."

Samantha stood up and hugged me. "Can I say that I hope you didn't change because of me? I thought you looked fabulous. I wasn't embarrassed because you were dressed if that's what you are thinking. Please I hope you are not uncomfortable with me being here."

She clung tightly to me. "I know what this feels like, I have been a lesbian my whole life. People have mocked me and made fun of me. I have been teased and tormented by girls who thought they were better than me just because I am different. Because I dress differently and I like different things." She kissed my cheek. "I know exactly how you feel."

We all sat together and we talked a little, Talia tried to make me feel comfortable, explaining how grateful she was when I accepted her sexuality without judging her. She also tried to explain how hard it was for her to come out, strangely it was made easier for her finding out I had my own issues. It was nice to hear that she felt comfortable around me, but my fears started to weigh me down and I had to retreat to the safe confines of my bedroom I was so worried that Talia would feel nothing but contempt for me. I feared regardless of what she said she would be unable to respect me. I feared that more than anything, the thought that she would hate me was to difficult to accept. I was going to make sure today never happens again.