Disclaimer
: This is a work of fiction, and it was created solely by me as the author. Any similarities to characters, businesses, places, or things are all happenstance, though my appreciation to those who have
inspired
my works is immense.
Author's Note
: This entire series is based on the same characters, places, and general situations, but will be shared in the form of five different versions. I'm hoping you'll appreciate the various approaches as they are posted. And be aware, some versions go into certain details more than others, so remaining calm and awaiting the next installment may be necessary, but I assure you, it'll be worth it. Questions and comments are welcome. I hope everyone will be kind.
And this story will make little to no sense if you haven't read Version 2-1. ENJOY!
BMB: Version 2-2
While Tommy drove her back to her place, Trin was quiet and lost in her own thoughts. Pregnant. The night they were together had produced a baby. The night he didn't realize, recognize, or even acknowledge had actually
happened
had produced a pregnancy. And they had lost it. She knew she had to tell him. She knew nothing would ever be OK if she didn't face the fact that something had to be said, and the ball was in her court. He didn't know and couldn't know until she set him straight. She had to do it. She knew she had to do it.
"Do you want to go to bed when we get there or sit in the living room for a little while?" Tommy asked and looked over at her as they waited at a stoplight.
"Living room, I think," she answered. "I've had quite a nap, so I guess I need to wind down from the 'excitement,'" she explained and put up her fingers to do air quotes for the last word.
Tommy brought her into the house and had her set up on the couch before he shut and locked the door and made his way back over to sit with her. "Can I get you anything? Soup or some clear soda? I stopped on the way over from work because I thought when you said you didn't feel well that maybe it was a stomach bug or something."
"I'm fine," she told him and then realized he probably hadn't eaten anything since work. "Oh, gosh, Tommy," she said sadly. "Have you eaten? I have some food in the fridge you could heat up if you're hungry. I wish I would have thought about it on the way here. You could have picked something up for yourself."
"I'm fine, Trin," he told her and sat down next to her. He looked around. "I can't believe I haven't really been in here all that often. I mean, I know the layout of your house from when we helped you move in, and I've been here recently, not to mention that great Thanksgiving feast you served, but after all this time, we just haven't hung out or anything."
"That's what a rule will get you," she said sadly and shrugged. "Do you want me to put on a movie or some music?"
"Music would be cool," he told her and watched as she leaned down to pick up the remote to turn on her stereo. "So,
you
lead here, Trin. I don't want to ask a question which will upset you, and I don't want to pry. I just want to go back to the way things were between us. And if you want to have me leave the room so you can let the father know, I can do that too."
"No need to worry about the father, Tommy," she told him. "It's a moot point." She sighed. "Well, I don't know if we can totally go back to the way thing were, but we can iron some stuff out, I guess."
"Here's what I remember," Tommy offered. "We met up at Frankie's, and after the discussion between you and us builders, we were on good terms. We talked about getting together to have a talk about the fact that the rule was no longer an issue, but we couldn't talk then because the bigger party called us over."
"Everyone sure knows how to ruin a good thing, right?" Trin asked and sniffed a laugh.
"Right? I hate that," he told her and reached for her hand. She let him hold it and smiled. "So, um, the rest of the party after you left got blurrier and blurrier, I guess. I have very little recollection about it. I'm
told
that Joe brought me here. When I remember that time frame, I remember being at the pub watching you leave and then waking up in my bedroom with what felt like a mangled-up hangover."
"I filled you in on the part I played by figuring out that you had been drugged. I'm told you called for a ride to come get you to bring you home once I fell asleep. While it's not what I would have had you do, I couldn't have stopped you, I suppose, since I was asleep. You're a grown man, Tommy. And you made it home safely and to work on time, so there was that.
"I was in a great mood when I woke up, so I stopped and got us our coffees and pastries before heading into work. When I walked in, I thought I'd give you your things before heading up to my desk. You did not share my good mood and made sure to let me know that, so I went upstairs, and shortly thereafter, I received a call from Sheriff Dugan. I met with your dad to let him hear about the incident from the sheriff as well as my issue with his lack of discussion about the rule with me. I left, bumped into you, and then went home to sleep off my frustration before getting ready for the Christmas party."
"So, I went in and talked to my dad after I had bumped you and had my whole world altered. I went home after work and took a nap," Tommy told her and sat back to look at her. "Are you comfortable?"
"Yeah," she answered him. She was finding herself right back into the ease of being with him. She wasn't sure how he was going to take the news, but maybe if they got all the other stuff out in the open, she could get back to that night and ease into the subject. "Do you want to share the blanket? Oh, do you want to change? I have a pair of large sweats or shorts and a t-shirt I got for my brothers to wear when they visited, but they never used them."
Tommy got up and helped her off the couch to bring her to the spare room. "Oh, you cleaned it up," Tommy noted and sat on the bed. "Last time I was here, I think, you mentioned that you were cleaning out the room. It looks nice." Trin was surprised he had remembered that, but then again, he probably didn't realize that it was the night in question.
"Yeah, um, thanks," she told him and held out the shorts, pants, and t-shirt.
"I'll take the shorts," he told her and walked past her to go into
her
bathroom to change rather than into the everyday one next to the spare room. She stood frozen for a few seconds and then shook her head and shrugged. She walked into her room and sat on the bed to wait for him to come out. She just wanted to see how he would react.
Tommy was wearing just the shorts as he came out of the bathroom, and when he looked up, Trin stood up. He stopped for a full 30 seconds and then slowly walked up to her. "Have I been in here before? This is really familiar."
"Yeah, you used my bathroom last time you were here. Anyway, is the shirt good? Need a different one?"
"Oh, it's fine," Tommy told her and put it on as he followed her out of the room. She swore he looked back at the room for a little longer, but she held his hand and kept pulling him toward the living room again. She got under the blanket and made sure he was covered as well before moving on with the conversation.
"So, I showed up to the party and brought in all my gifts for all of your family and for the Secret Santa exchange," Trin continued. "I went looking for your dad and came upon your conversation in the study. That was probably my final straw, Tommy. That was hurtful. I wish you would have just told me that you wanted to break up the partnership. I never intended to hold you back. I never thought to think we weren't good together."
"What? No, Trin, I didn't say we weren't good together," Tommy clarified. "I said that part about holding me back to convince my dad that I needed to get out of the situation we were in. And by the next day, when I opened that gift you got me, and then again on Christmas, I didn't feel that way anymore. I was upset about something else and let it get the best of me."
"What were you upset about? What did I do?"
"You didn't do anything, Trin," Tommy told her and sighed. "I was embarrassed about the way I had acted at the pub, how it looked like I'd fallen off the wagon, and about the fact that I had no recollection of that night."
"What happened to you wasn't your fault," Trin told him and shook her head. "No one could have known."
"You knew," he told her and covered his face. "And Trin, there was something else I wanted to talk to you about that night. I never intended for you to hear that conversation, and when I got your gift, I wanted to take you for a walk and tell you all about what I had been thinking when I had told you we needed to have a talk."
"You liked the gift?"
"Liked the gift?" Tommy asked her and moved the blanket to sit closer to her. "Trin, it was the most thoughtful, amazing gift. I wanted to thank you properly that day, but you were gone. And then the silent treatment began. Oh, you definitely made your point known," he told her and cupped her cheek. "Have you forgiven me for the way I treated you and for what I said that day about our partnership?"
"Yeah, I forgave you," Trin told him and pressed her face to his hand which held it. "I'm sorry I left without watching you open it. I knew you'd love it. I just, I couldn't sit there after hearing what you'd said." Trin closed her eyes and tried to bring her breathing back to normal again. "Tommy, why'd you choose to go into my bathroom rather than the one next to the spare room?"
"I don't know," he told her and shrugged. "I just felt like that was where I should have gone to change. Why? You're not upset with me for that, are you?"