Chapter 36

A few days after the barbeque, Montana and Paul had gone to the cake tasting. She was stuck between two she particularly liked, going back and forth between samples.

"Oh God, I think I'm going to be sick," Paul announced, sitting back on the chair with his hand on his stomach.

"Serves your right for being a pig," Montana replied.

"What? They put all this shit in front of us."

"It's cake tasting, not wolf down the whole samples. Come one, which one of these should we get?"

Paul nibbled at the two samples, then let out a loud belch.

"For God's sake, Paul!" Montana made a face at him.

"Sorry." He then pointed to a plate. "This one." It was the carrot cake.

"If I didn't already know your parents, I'd think you were brought up in a cave. And you have the audacity to make fun of Brian. Sometimes I think he has better sense than you do."

"Work with Spanky about fifty days a year when his ass isn't plopped at our place and you could change your mind. Never mind the dumb jokes about wanting to jump my bones."

"Can't say I blame him. The man has good taste."

"No he doesn't. Don't encourage him. Is there a bathroom around this place?"

"Down the hall to the right. We passed them when we came in."

"Oh, right. Be back in a few. You can go ahead and wrap stuff up if you like. Whatever you dig is fine with me."

Montana nodded, going to place the order as Paul made his way to the men's room. Finding a stall, he managed to retch up what remained.

"You too, huh?" a man's voice in the next stall asked.

"Uh…yeah, I guess," Paul replied, finally composing himself.

"I don't know why women put us through this stuff," the man said. "I mean, cake is cake, right? Just pick one. Why drag us along and torture us?"

"I think this is my biggest torture yet. Thank Christ we're only having a small wedding."

"Lucky you," the man laughed. "We're having six hundred at ours. Her idea for this big event, not mine. I'd been happy getting it done in front of a judge."

"First for both of you?" Paul asked.

"Yeah."

"Aha, I should have guessed. My first one was a big event, but we only had two fifty."

"First?" The man raised an eyebrow. "This should be awkward with an ex in the background, shouldn't it?"

"Actually, my first wife died a few years ago," Paul corrected.

"Jesus, I'm sorry."

"It's cool. It was kind of rocky for the first year or so, then I got used to it. Then I met my fiancee and knew she was the one. Plus my kids are nuts about her and she loves them to pieces."

"Kids, huh?" the man asked with a chuckle. "She must be something special. How many?"

"Two girls, six and three."

"Wow, you must have had your first marriage awful young. You don't even look like you're thirty yet."

"Um…..something like that, yeah." Paul wasn't about to get into gory details about the unexpected conception of Mac and the resulting marriage to Reggie before the girl was born. "Anyway, I got to get back before the lady thinks I fell in."

"Good luck on your wedding," the man nodded.

"You too, man."

Paul walked back down to where Montana had just finished paying for the cake selection.

"There you are," she smiled. "I thought you got cold feet and ran out on me."

"Yeah, like that would ever happen. I was just talking to this dude in the bathroom."

She chuckled. "Typical you. No matter where people are, you are always chatting them up. That is one thing I just love about you. You're good with people, but I guess one has to be with the business you're in."

"Yeah, it isn't exactly endearing when one comes across as being an asshole in public. Kind of like those promos of Spanky's. I don't like what they got him doing; it's tearing that kid apart because he hates having to say hurtful things to people he does care about."

"Well, it's just a role. We all know better than that," Montana nodded. "He's really a sweet guy with a big heart."

"Yeah, but there's still people out there that actually fall for it and will end up hating his ass for real because of it. Mon, they don't realize how upset it's got Bri. I would hate it too; I love my fans and I know Brian loves his. It's fucked up to have him go so far over the line, that he has to sit there and tell them all with a serious look, that he doesn't care about them and he only teamed up with me 'just to get his foot in the door.' It's bullshit."

"It has to be terribly difficult," Montana agreed as they got in the car and headed home.

"You're telling me. And I know what it's like to get booed and then have people give you dirty looks in public. It throws your game off so bad, it's hard to focus. And honestly, I don't know if I could do the heel thing."

"They're planning on doing the same to you?"

Paul nodded. "They're apparently in talks on doing it for me, but I don't know if I'd make a good heel. When they wanted me to complain and make people hate me, I could do that, but I couldn't act like a jerk seriously. I think I'd rather stick to jobbing."

Montana gave him a reassuring hug. "Maybe because you aren't a jerk in the first place," she smiled up at him.

"I should keep you around more often. You're good for the ego. But you know, I really shouldn't be bitching about work when we have a wedding coming up."

"I really don't mind. It's good to vent. Don't forget, we have to pick up Kira on the way home too."

"Jesus, I forgot about that. Good thing you said something. The last thing I need right now is to be one of those guys on the news that forgot his own kid. You read about that couple that forgot their kid at the airport?"

"I heard about that. How can someone forget their own child? I worry when Mac is five minutes late coming in from school. Which reminds me, there's a letter at home for you from there."

"Oh God," Paul groaned. "Should I ask what that is about? What did she do, piss off one of the nuns or something?"

"I don't know. Being it's addressed to you, I didn't exactly open it."

"Oquela." He rolled his eyes.

"Aren't you overreacting a bit? It's probably nothing at all."

"Uh, if it wasn't 'nothing' love, they wouldn't have sent a letter."

"You know what I mean."

"You're talking to a guy who got sent to the principal's office at least once a week."

Montana's eyebrows shot up. "You?"

"Yeah, I had my moments." He began to laugh.

"Well, then I guess Mac is her father's daughter in more ways than one. Still, when we get home, you better have a look at that letter from school in any case."