-- 01 --
"Kyra, your father and I will go away for about a week, hopefully less than a week, but anyway, can you please help me taking care of Jake while I'm gone?" said Reba packing some clothes in her overnight bag. She closed the bag and walked toward the stairs.
"Where are you going mom?" asked Kyra following Reba.
"To Fisheye Bottom, I have to go help your dad getting his wife back!" said Reba, handing Brock her overnight bag to put in the car.
"That's all you packed?" it didn't look like much for a week. Barbra jean could pack the whole closet just to go away for three days.
"Enough to be away for 9 days but not a day more" Reba always packed 2 days more of clothing just in case. Reba gave Kyra a few instructions of what to do and what not to do around the house when she was gone.
"How are you going to get her back, dad?" asked Kyra. She was shocked too when she first heard that Barbra Jean was legally married to someone else before she married her father.
"I don't know yet, I'll figure it out when I meet her," said Brock before getting into the car and driving away.
"Well, all we know right now that Barbra Jean went back to Fisheye Bottom, but we don't know where she is exactly. So once we get there, you go talk to her big daddy to give you her location. And if need be, I'll help you talk to her." Reba made a plan
"I don't know what to say to her Reba. How could she be married to someone else for almost 10 years without knowing?" Brock was frustrated
"She was half drunk!" Reba thought about that picture she found in the garage that she thought Brock cheated on her long before their marriage was in trouble. One of the guys in that picture was Barbra Jean's legal husband. They were half-drunk and they went to a chapel and got married.
"Still!" Brock couldn't believe it.
"She said she thought he got the marriage annulled... but apparently he didn't!" Reba recalled the conversation she had with Barbra Jean when she found out.
"Say what again?" Reba was shocked
"I was married to Dr. Yonge" Barbra Jean confessed
"Who?"
"A dentist from my hometown. We were sneaking behind his wife's back for a while before I moved to Houston. Well his wife found out. That's why I moved to Houston"
"Was that your hobby? Sneaking around with married men?" Reba just remembered that when she found the picture of the dental convention in Hawaii, Barbra Jean admitted that she went with somebody else's husband, but not Brock.
"Anyway," Barbra Jean ignored Reba's sarcastic comment "We met again in Hawaii and I found out that he was recently divorced, we went and celebrated. We got kinda drunk, and we thought we'd get married at a drive-thru chapel. We thought it was just a joke. But it turned out, that was legal" Barbra Jean started to weep.
"Would you quit weeping and tell me what happened next?" Reba grew impatient; this was bad.
"Well we went to the hotel and we..."
"NOT THAT!" Reba cut her off
"ok, when hangovers wore off, we talked about what we did and he said he would have that married annulled. I never heard from him again until a few weeks ago, I got a call from him. He was looking for me and wanted a divorced." Reba paid close attention to what Barbra Jean had to say. "So we decided to meet. And when we saw each other again... we didn't want the divorce after all"
"WHAT?" Reba smacked her arm.
"Ouch..." cried Barbra Jean. "I love him!"
"Say what again?" Reba was even more shocked
"I said I love him!" Barbra Jean repeated,
"How could you? What about Brock?"
"He knocked me up!"
"You're not going to throw away 6 years of marriage for that guy, are you?"
"Why not? Brock did! And as I recalled, you broke up a serious relationship with Terri to be with Brock too, so who are you to judge me?"
"That was different, I wasn't married to Terri!"
"And I am married to Dr. Yonge" Reba had a headache. This was too complicated!
"You have a son with Brock!"
"And you have 3 kids with him!" Reba sighed, Barbra Jean continued, "Reba, what would you do if you had married Terri and you met Brock later?"
"Then I'd got myself a bar, and wouldn't have you to deal with!"
"I'm serious, Reba. Wouldn't you regret marrying the one who you thought you loved, and later found the one you truly loved? You broke up with Terri because you loved Brock. Now I feel the same way you did when you dated Terri and you met Brock. But the different is, I am legally married to the man I love, not the man who knocked me up."
"Barbra Jean! You know what, I'm having a headache, I can't deal with you right now" Barbra Jean took the hint and she left Reba's kitchen. Before she left she said.
"I believe there's one soul on this earth that was meant for us to be with, don't you believe that too?"
'I did and you stole him away from me' Reba answered the question in her head. The next thing Reba knew, Brock came to her with the letter Barbra Jean left. She ran away with her legal husband.
"Reba!" Brock snapped her out of her thoughts.
"What?"
"I asked where would you like to stop for lunch?"
"Oh, anywhere is fine" she answered. He pulled off to the next exit.
All the way to Fisheye bottom, Reba was surprised that they could carry a nice conversation with out fighting. They drove past a few cheap motels, but Brock knew Reba didn't like cheap motels, so he didn't even stop. He began looking around for a decent hotel, and he found one. They decided it was a good chain hotel, so this is where they would spend a week.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to go check out the swimming pools. Can you get the rooms?" asked Reba, when they drove into the hotel parking lot, she saw the most beautiful swimming pool yet. It had been a good 8-9 years now that she went for a swim. Brock nodded and went to the register to check in. Once he got the keys, he went to get Reba. She was standing by the pool staring at the crystal clear sparkling light blue water.
"Man I wish I packed my bathing suit with me!" she mumbled. Brock grinned; he hadn't seen her in a swimsuit even before the separation.
"Why don't we go get one after we put everything in the room" said Brock, looking at the clock. It was just 3:30pm "And after that we can go for dinner" Reba followed him. When she stood in front of his hotel room door, she asked for the key to her room and was shocked to discover that Brock just got one room, not two.
"Say, what?" Reba was angry knowing he only got one room for both of them
"It's high season and it costs 165 per room, per night! And you don't want to go to a cheap motel!" Brock was annoyed at the price
"Don't they have anything cheaper?" Reba also annoyed, she had to stay in the same hotel room with her ex!
"Don't you think I asked? This is the cheapest room they have left, the next one up is a honeymoon suite that costs nearly 300 a night. Would you prefer that one?" he opened the door and let Reba in. Reba looked at the room, it had two queen-size beds. She still felt awkward about this.
"We're divorced! I didn't even feel right about you were sleeping in my living room when I was sleeping up stairs, let alone being in the same hotel room!"
"C'mon Reba, it has two beds, and what's wrong with two friends sharing the same hotel room?" asked Brock
"Once again, we are divorced! We shouldn't see each other in our pajamas anymore!" Reba was frustrated, she would have gone out and got another room, but she couldn't afford to spend 300 a night for almost a week. Her next option would be the cheap motel, but she could never get comfortable in a cheap motel, even when she was with Brock, let alone by herself.
"See you in pajamas? Reba, you always wear cotton pajamas that never show off anything. What do you afraid that I'm gonna see? And let me guess, you also packed that grey washed up robe with you too, didn't you?" Reba's jaw dropped, her eyes were wide open. She was startled. Brock still knew her that well. And he was right about the cotton pajamas and old washed up robe.
"What if I packed sexy lingerie with me?" she didn't know why she said such thing, maybe she just didn't want to lose an argument, but still. She mentally kicked her own butt for saying that.
"You? Sexy lingerie? Reba, I've known you for almost 30 years and married to you for 20 years. The only thing sexy you ever owned was just a couple of nursing bras. C'mon, I don't even think you own a pair of shorts!" well he was right again and that bugged her a lot!
"I do too own a pair of shorts! I wore them to the beach with Barbra Jean!" Reba defended herself
"A knee length, I don't even think that's called 'short'. Face it Reba, you were never a sexy type, being sexy isn't your style. Well I have to admit you are cute, adorable, beautiful, and a whole lot of words I can use to describe your attractiveness. But honey, hot or sexy ain't one of them." Reba grabbed her overnight bag and hit Brock with it. "Ouch! What was that for?"
"Shut up that's what's for!" Reba threw her bag on the bed. Annoyed that he said she wasn't sexy material. She opened her bag and he was right, she brought her cotton pajamas and the old washed up robe with her to this trip. He was also right that she was always wearing conservative clothing, she couldn't even remember when was the last time she wore anything risqué, or ever!
"Look if it bothers you that I'd see you in your pajamas then sleep naked" that didn't help! Reba smacked him upside his head before letting out a big sigh of frustration. She headed to the washroom. She had to freshen up and go shopping!
"Give me the car keys" she demanded, after coming out of the washroom after refreshing up.
"Where are you going?" asked Brock
"None of your business" said Reba annoyingly.
"Well, it kinda is my business since we only have one car, and we're out of town." stated Brock. Reba sighed before answering.
"Shopping, I really want to swimming in that beautiful swimming pool, and skinny dipping ain't my style" Brock got a good chuckle out of her comment. Ever since Barbra Jean found out about her 'legal husband', today was the first time he had a good laugh. He still couldn't believe he said that to Reba, that she should sleep naked for him not to see her in her pajamas.
"I'm going with you," said Brock
"NO!"
"Why not?" Brock would not give her the car keys.
"I'm going to shop for a SWIMSUIT, you CANNOT come with me" Reba glared at him with a dead serious look.
"But after you buy it I'll see you wearing it anyway. And come on, we had three kids together!" Brock shook his head, he really didn't understand Reba's point of view. Not like they had never seen each other underneath their clothing before! "But tell you what, we'll go to the mall together, when you are shopping for your swimsuit, I'll just go to a book store and wait there. I don't want to be in a hotel by myself." Reba thought about it and decided, they only had one car, and they had to go to dinner afterward, so as long as he'd just wait in the bookstore, then it should be ok.
So Brock drove them to the nearest mall.
"Oh yeah, get swim trunks for me too, you know my size" said Brock before disappearing into the bookstore. He really didn't mean anything behind that statement, but Reba could feel her cheeks turn pink!
She walked into a department store and looked for a one-piece dark color swimsuit that was usually her style then she began thinking about Brock's comment, that he couldn't see her as a sexy person. She was irritated. 'I'll show him I can be hot and sexy!' Reba said to herself before trying on a few bikinis instead of a one-piece swimsuit. She decided on a set of sparkling emerald green bikini. The bikini bottom had two strings tied in a bow on each side of her hips, and the 'bra-like' bikini top clasped at the front, exaggerated her already-well-blessed cleavage. She got Brock swimming trunks, his size, and on the way to the cash register, she walked pass the lingerie section. She grabbed a two-piece bright sheer black mesh attached at the bust, that'd definitely show a glimpse of her sexiness; pretty much almost left nothing for imagination. She looked for her size and didn't even try it on, she knew if she tried it she wouldn't buy it. But Brock's statement kept repeating itself in her head. 'Not a sexy type, my butt! I'll show him!' Reba determined to have Brock take back saying that thing about her. However... she turned around and grabbed another set of lingerie that well... at least 'covered something'. Just in case she chicken out. And of course, she didn't try them on.
And she also went looking for shorts, he said she didn't own any pair of shorts and he was right, but now she'd own one! However, she looked at them and they were mostly designed for teenagers, she couldn't see herself wearing them, but she spotted a short one-piece dress and she tried it on. It contoured her body, showing off her hourglass figure and had nice trim at the rim. The dress was much shorter than what she'd usually wear, it only cover half her tights and had split on left side of the thigh. It was daring. And it dared her to get it! Well, the dress and Brock's comment!
"What took you so long? And whoa, did you buy the whole store?" asked Brock when she went back to see him at the bookstore and saw Reba carrying a few bags. Typical woman, she just went to buy one thing and came back with handful of stuff. "Need help?" he extended a helping hand to carry the bags, but Reba jumped back a little.
"No!" Brock was startled at her reaction. "Woman's stuff" ok, that line worked. Reba put all the bags in the back seat and make sure every bag was secure and nothing would fall out if Brock had to slam on a break. Brock glanced at her from time to time, wondering what she was doing. And he hid his grin when he accidentally saw a shiny green emerald material. 'Her swim suit' he thought 'couldn't believe she'd go for a bright color swimsuit, normally she'd wear navy blue or black'. Little did he know... that was not just another swimsuit.
"When are you going to find Barbra Jean?" Reba made the conversation. She'd never saw Barbra Jean's family before, and really didn't plan to see them. She only came for a moral support and gave Brock advice if he needed it. Oh yeah and help him drive, but that was all. Well if he needed to, she'd talk to Barbra Jean and put some senses in her empty head! How could she take Henry and run away with somebody else?
"I'll try tomorrow. Man her big daddy never likes me. Can you come with me?"
"Nope, I'm here for moral support, not a family re-union. But if you can convince her to come and see me at the hotel, I'll help you talk to her."
"Honestly, I'm starting to give up" Brock sighed
"What?"
"Reba we've been fighting on and off, she threatened me with divorce a few times. And I tried to save our marriage. You know I did! But to find out that our marriage was never even legal, maybe that was for the best, that we didn't have to go through the divorce"
"What the heck are you talking about? You love her and that's what you should do! Keep your hopes up and fight for the woman you love!" Brock didn't make any statement after that. Reba had been helping him a lot with Barbra Jean. She even talked her not to move away to Little Rock, trying to save his marriage. 'Fight for the woman you love', that sounded simple, but would it even be possible? Barbra Jean legally married to that guy, Yonge, and they didn't want to get a divorce, what was left for him?
Reba also thought about Barbra Jean, what can she said? Barbra Jean had a previous marriage and she thought it was annulled! It was a silliest thing ever! Now it was just a mess! Reba couldn't tell Barbra Jean to divorce the other guy and marry to Brock again, that would break up a marriage, wouldn't it? She also couldn't just sit back and see her best friend leave her family for a guy she married when she was half drunk either. Dang, and she thought those six years of craziness had past!
Reba and Brock went to have a dinner at the small Italian restaurant not too far from the hotel, they had small conversation, and tried to figure out what to do if the other guy wouldn't divorce her. But what to do if Barbra Jean herself wouldn't divorce him? Face it, he was a good looking man, and Barbra Jean and good looking men, you just couldn't take a banana away from a monkey's hand. And Reba didn't even tell Brock that Barbra Jean said she loved the guy. This was bad.
After dinner they returned to the hotel, Reba seemed to forget about the sexy items until they went back to the hotel room and Brock handed her the shopping bags that Reba didn't want him to touch in the first place. He had carried it back to the hotel for her.
"Shoot! I forgot about those, thanks!" she quickly took the bags from his hand. She hoped he didn't see anything in those bags.
"What exactly did you buy? You seem a little jumpy"
"Nothing, here's you're swim trunks. You owed me 20." Reba carefully pulled out the swim trunks out of her bag, making sure she didn't grab anything else, especially since it was in the same bag with her lingerie and bikini. Brock looked at her a little bit suspicious.
"Ok fine, don't tell me. So are we going for a swim?" asked Brock examined his swimwear Reba bought: her style, nice and simple. If she was like Barbra Jean, she would have picked a Speedo! But he admitted, he liked 'Reba's style' better than 'Barbra Jean's style', she may not be sexy, but she was elegant and classy.
"No, I am going to swim, I don't care what you're doing just don't go anywhere near swimming pool!"
"Why not? Are you afraid I'll see you in your swimsuit as well?" Brock chuckled. He didn't mean to provoke her, but she didn't take it well. She looked... mad? She didn't say anything but just glared at him. That was just enough for Brock to think he should start looking for cover. He thought he might get hit.
However, Reba just grabbed the bag she just bought and walked in the washroom, she'd change into her brand new bikini, and Brock had to take back saying she wasn't sexy. She put them on and stood by the mirror telling herself she had a great body, nothing to be ashamed of, she could show it off. Reba psyched herself to build up some confidence, still a little nervous about this. Dare she step out of the bathroom door?