Our James.

Episode 10: Saga of the Queens.

"I- I reacted badly when I saw you with her. I judged you harshly." The sad look was back.

"I'd like us to get past this. What can I do to make you believe that I forgive you?" James asked.

She snorted with a grin and looked at the table's surface. The waitress brought James's food and asked Tristan if she wanted anything. She just ordered a glass of water.

Once they were alone again Tristan looked at James with a mischievous smile. "You could give me some French fries. Then I'd know you've truly forgiven me."

"MY FRENCH FRIES!?! YOU ASK TOO MUCH!" James gasped in mock outrage.

Tristan burst into giggles and James pushed his plate towards her.

She took some and hummed happily as she ate the crispy fries. The waitress returned immediately with her water and Tristan thanked her.

James dug into the burger and smiled as his taste buds came alive. He made quick work of the burger and Tristan watched in awe.

"You must have really worked up an appetite-" she froze as she suddenly recalled what he and Rose had been doing. "So where is Rose?" she said then bit her traitorous tongue.

James blushed and looked at the woman across from him. "Taking a nap, where is Dale?"

Taking a nap- not because we had sex- I mean, he likes to take a nap in the afternoon. He says it helps him to be sharp at dinner. Tristan was beet red and had twisted the paper napkin into shreds.

"Not awkward. At all," James smiled.

Tristan burst into giggles once more and relaxed. "I'm really looking forward to meeting the rest of Rose's friends. Can you tell me anything about them?"

"Sure! I think Angie is Rose's best friend though she also hangs out with Zoe. The three of them can be pretty wild together I'm told. Angie's husband used to be a rock star but he got sick and died. She's a lovely woman. She has a daughter named Isabelle who was going to University but isn't right now. Zoe also has a daughter but she's in prison right now for kidnapping and assault & battery."

"Oh my god? Who did she kidnap?" Tristan gasped.

"Me."

"What? You?"
"Yes!"
"but why?" she asked.

"It was for a sorority house or... something like that! She drugged me and put me in restraints so she could use me to frighten the new pledges. The drugs were really rough on me and I was off work for a week. I understand her father was a bad influence on her. He's serving a life sentence for murder I think. But Zoe isn't like that at all. She's... she's..." James's heart and mind were doing flips when he thought about Zoe. "I'm having trouble describing her but you'll like her. I hope I haven't frightened you off. Zoe's a good person too!"

Tristan was staring at James in shock. He'd been tortured by the woman's daughter and he was still having a relationship with her. Her curiosity was going through the roof!

"Stephanie and Carolyn are best friends that live in the neighborhood and hang out with us. Stephanie has four wonderful kids but her husband cheated on her multiple times so she's divorced now. She's so full of life and fun! She really likes movies." James suddenly blushed as he thought he might have said too much. Tristan watched this with interest.

"Carolyn was an anthropologist and lived in the jungle with tribes when she was younger. She has an awesome tattoo on her back which is the only written record of a lost tribe's language. She writes books now. She has two kids and her husband recently died. He was badly beaten by the friends of the lady boys he was having sex with in Thailand. He died of his injuries. That means Carolyn is a widow. She's really smart and very nice because she never makes me feel dumb!"

James frowned in thought for a second then looked at Tristan once more. "Sometimes another neighbor hangs out with us. She owns the first home on the street. Muskie Shore, she is a surgeon at the hospital. She told me she's the best one there. She's dating Grace's best friend Heather. They're a really cute couple!"

"Oh James, now I really want to meet them! They sound wonderful!" Tristan gushed with a big smile.

"There was another neighbor whose name is Victoria. I thought we'd be adding her to our group but her husband was a very bad man. He was a judge but he'd killed a man! He was apparently not very nice to her either. He was going to kill me as he thought I was having an affair with her. In the end Victoria shot him dead and now I think she's in prison too."

"You weren't in a relationship with her?" Tristan asked.

"No! She was married and had two daughters! I'd never break up a marriage." James said vehemently.

Tristan saw James had a strong moral compass even if it didn't always conform to society's rules. She snatched another fry from his plate and he fake scowled at her menacingly. She winked at him and thought about how he brightened up talking about the kids.

"Do you want kids of your own?" she asked.

"Yes, one day. If Grace wants one," he answered.

"I think you'd make a great dad," she said honestly watching him accept the compliment with a shy nod and smile.

"What about you?" he asked.

Tristan winced and James immediately felt horrible for opening his mouth. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that."

"No, fair's fair. I asked you the same question," she said. We tried a few years ago but... it didn't work.

He nodded and they both looked out at the beach.

"I've never been to a beach before today." James said quietly. He was thinking of Grace and wishing she was here to join them. He would have to bring her on a tropical vacation one day.

He shook his head. "We never had any money to travel and there are no beaches where I live. I've never flown anywhere. I've never been on an island before. This is the first time I've been away from home." Suddenly a wave of homesickness washed over him and he gasped as he gripped the edge of the table.

Tristan recognized what he was experiencing as she'd gone through the same thing when she and Dale first moved away from her friends and family. A sense of displacement! She reached across the table and took his hand. "It's OK, James. This feeling goes away. Home is still there and you will go back to it soon. You're just feeling a little disconnected, It happens. I've felt that way too. Listen to my voice. Concentrate on what I'm saying to you."

James's amber eyes fastened on hers and she suddenly felt his full attention locking on her. It was almost tangible. She needed him to come back to the now.

"Feel that breeze on your face. Feel the heat. The table feels smooth under your hand- "

"Your hand is strong but very soft. Your rings are hard and smooth. Your eyes are amber but flecked with gold..." he seemed to relax then he looked around like he was waking up. He glanced at his hand in hers and pulled his hand back with a blush. He looked at the time. "I think I'd better go wake up Rose so she can get ready for the party. Are you and Dale going to be there?

She smiled at him. "Yes, we'll be there. Don't let him trick you into drinking the hard stuff!" she teased.

He grinned. "I read they're serving punch. I should be safe with that."

Oh boy, she thought.

They got up and went their own ways. Tristan walked slowly back to her room to give herself time to think. She really had been completely wrong about James. He was as innocent and genuine as Rose said. She couldn't pin down what it was about him that made her immediately want to protect him. It was a ludicrous concept considering his size. That thought brought her back to that moment when she first hugged him by the beach. He was a large man in more than one way. Dale was also a large man so she knew what she was feeling. No doubt Rose enjoyed his attention. The old pang surfaced as she thought about James's question about children. While she kept it from her husband she really did want a child of her own. To feel it grow inside her and to bring it into the world.

She savagely pushed that thought aside. It wasn't meant to be.