Page 41 of Trusting Trey
“He beat around the bush, but it was obvious what he was saying. “
I felt disappointment fill me with his words. I never expected him to turn this around on me. “I was only trying to help.”
“In the future, don’t. I can get a job on my own with the experience and skills I have, not because my girlfriend decided she needed to be my mommy.”
He stormed away, stomping down the hallway and I lay back on the bed to stare at the ceiling. What went wrong? I should have followed my brain instead of my gut and not interfered. He didn’t even tell me if he took his job back. I had to assume that he had, considering how angry he was, but I would think that would make him happy, not angry. Maybe I was just too off base on this one.
My cell phone rang and I pulled it out of the pouch on my wheelchair and answered it. “This is Allison.”
“Hi, Allison, this is Mr. Livingston. I hope you don’t mind I got your number from physical therapy.”
“It’s no problem at all,” I assured him. “What can I do for you?”
“I wanted to talk to Trey, but he’s not answering his phone. I think our discussion this morning with Mr. Garrison may have done more damage than good.”
“You could say that,” I said. “He’s angry with me for speaking to you.”
He sighed and it was long and as though it carried the weight of the world on it. “I was afraid of that. He respectfully asked me for a few days to decide if he wanted his job back. He said he needed to think about if he could work side-by-side with Mr. Garrison and respect him as a boss. I could definitely understand why he was anxious about that and wouldn’t fault him in the least if he decided to move on.”
I put my forehead in my palm and cleared my throat. “That never crossed my mind when I came to you, but then I wasn’t angling for you to give him his job back. I was there to make sure this didn’t happen to another couple. Trey is a good man with a good heart who would do anything for anyone. Case in point, the wheelchair I was in today.”
I paused and he said, “Yes.”
“That was one of my Christmas presents from Trey. He spent his own money on it to make sure I would be comfortable and more mobile. I can’t tell you the number of nights he has come home and spent hours sketching out braces and legs to find the best fit or modification for a patient that was on his mind. You have lost someone who cared and I have a feeling he won’t be coming back.”
“I’m hoping he changes his mind about that when he finds out Mr. Garrison has been terminated from his position with the hospital.”
I gasped audibly and covered my mouth with my hand. “No, no, please say you didn’t. I didn’t want anyone else to lose their job over this. That wasn’t my intention at all.” I felt frantic as I saw the implications of what I did. I moaned a little and heard him clear his throat.
“Allison, I really need to talk to Trey. Would you give him your phone? Just don’t tell him who it is.”
“Hold the line then. I have to get into my wheelchair,” I said. He told me to take my time and I did, because I wasn’t sure what I was going to find when I rolled out there. I picked up the phone and laid it on my lap, wheeling the chair down the hall to the main living room. He was sitting in the dark, the only lights being from the tree, his head in his hands. In that moment I felt ashamed of what I had done and felt tears in my eyes. I tapped his knee and he looked up. There were tears on his face, too, and that only made my heart clench tighter.
I held the phone out to him and whispered, “You can be mad at me. I accept that, but please someone needs to speak to you.”
He looked down at the phone for a few long moments and finally took it from my hand. I wheeled back to the bedroom and went into the bathroom. I closed the door and let out a sob. I wanted to call Baba and have him come get me. I wanted a hug from my ma and fresh baklava, but I couldn’t call them. He has my phone, but I also knew Baba would be disappointed in me for not being honest with Trey. He would be right, of course, but sadness hung over me like a shroud and I didn’t know what to do. Trey is five years older than I am, but when we’re together, it doesn’t seem like it. Maybe my immaturity is what made me think it was smart to meddle in his work relationships.
I washed my face with a warm rag, holding it over my eyes for a long time, trying to find the strength to make this right, because I knew I would never be able to say goodbye to him. Maybe I should stay with my parents for a few days and give him some time to decide what he wants to do. Maybe all he needs is some space and some time alone.
“You had good intentions,” I said to the woman in the mirror. “You had no idea things would come off the rails as they have.”
Maybe I didn’t, but I should have seen that interfering would only make things harder for him, and now it involved Garrison as well.
There was a knock on the door. “Allie, are you okay? You’ve been in there a while.”
I ran water so he could hear I was alive, but I didn’t trust my voice not to waver yet. I washed my face and cleared my throat a couple times. “I’ll be right out,” I called. I made a show of flushing the toilet, even though I hadn’t used it, and then opened the door. He sat on the bed with my phone in his hands and his face free of tears. I was grateful for that at least. I would start crying again if he did.
“I’m sorry. I screwed this all up,” I said, the tears starting already. “I should have stayed out of your business. I see that now. You have every right to be upset with me. If you’ll give me my phone, I’ll call Baba and have him pick me up. I’ll stay with them while you figure out what you want to do and where I stand, or rather sit, in that plan.”
I tried to roll past him to my dresser to get clothes, but he grabbed the frog leg and held it. “You’re not going anywhere, Allie.”
“I should give you some space,” I insisted and he turned the chair until I had no choice but to look into his eyes.
He rested his forehead on mine the way he does when he’s feeling overwhelmed. “I don’t need space. I didn’t realize until today when I met with Mr. Livingston how scared I actually was about losing my job. I was scared for myself, but I was more scared for you. I kept thinking about how I have to take care of you and without a job that’s going to be hard to do.”
I held his face and brought my lips up to kiss his forehead. “You aren’t responsible for me, Trey. You don’t have to support me financially. That’s not something my family or I would want to lay on your shoulders,” I insisted.
He stood and pulled me from the chair, setting me on the bed and moving the wheelchair out of the way. “That’s not how I work, Allie. As far as I’m concerned we’re already family. Maybe you don’t have a ring on your finger, yet, but you have wrapped yourself completely around my heart and I would do anything for you. Was I angry when I found out about your secret meeting? Yes, because you had the guts to do something I didn’t. I would rather find a new job than confront someone about my old one. That’s just who I am, and that will never change.”
