Driving with Mrs. Tarver

Damn you, Leonard! How can you be so selfish all the time? It's not like you didn't know about these plans months in advance. Yet, here you are, another countless time putting your reputation and work before your family. Bridget Tarver slammed her husband in her head and wanted to slam the steering wheel of the car she drove. Instead, the forty-year-old mother of two held her anger in check and only tightly squeezed the steering wheel. An attractive woman with long, wavy caramel blonde hair, and icy-blue eyes, Bridget turned heads regularly with her fit figure, large breasts, and curvy ass. Besides having the figure of a woman a decade younger, Bridget was incredibly smart. A doctor, she specialized in obstetrics and gynecology; however, her husband, Leonard, often looked down on her medical work. As a neurosurgeon, he had a highly inflated view of himself, one that wasn't helped when he was promoted several years ago to the chief resident of surgery at Honey Hollow Medical Center. Bridget had long suspected the promotion was more for the title than the additional responsibilities, which he seemed to pass off on younger colleagues.

A girlish laugh from next to her shook Bridget from her thoughts and made her feel guilty for ignoring her passenger and the story she was telling. "...and then my cousin Cecil received perfume from her, even though he's a boy!"

Joanne "JoJo" Gibble, her son Sean's best friend and Bridget's next-door neighbor, sat in the passenger seat. From her seat, she regaled her friend's mom with an account of her family's Christmas party from the day before. JoJo, at eighteen years old, was a cute brunette, with her brown eyes, burgeoning breasts, and a firm, curvy behind. Usually, a shy girl, she could be quite the chatterbox around Sean's family. This likely had to do with her being considered almost a second daughter and sister to the Tarvers. When Leonard flaked out on the trip for the second straight day, Bridget had a spur-of-the-moment idea and walked next door to see if JoJo wanted to come with. She knew how disappointed Sean had been that his closest friend had to miss the trip because of the party last night.

"I know I shouldn't laugh too much, Mrs. Tarver. Great Aunt Claudia is getting up there in age and could be getting forgetful or, worse, senile. But it's so funny how she gets us kids confused by gender or age. Declan is only thirteen, and she gave him a bottle of vodka," the young brunette continued with a wide grin.

"I wouldn't worry about that, JoJo. For as long as I've known your parents, your dad's aunt has always been an eccentric woman. Not to mention she's been giving these mixed-up gifts for years," Bridget recalled. "What was it you received again this time?"

"A men's grooming kit! I'm certainly not a girl that has a mustache. I traded that to my cousin, Liam, for his art set. I then gave that to Zoey, since she's the wannabe Picasso in the family," JoJo reported, referring to her younger sister.

"So what did you finally end up with?" Bridget asked again, noticing her deep blush.

"Um, some...underwear for older women. Aunt Claudia had given it to my cousin, Kian since he's in college," she quickly added, embarrassed by the subject matter.

"Underwear for older women? Like lingerie?" Bridget repeated, getting a short nod back. "At least it wasn't a pink bunny costume like Ralphie received in A Christmas Story."

Bridget noted again how quiet JoJo would get if sex or her looks got mentioned. She's turning into such a beautiful young lady, but it breaks my heart to see her struggling so hard with it. If she could just gain some confidence about her looks, especially her breasts, JoJo would be able to pick any guy she wanted.

Bridget didn't think it, but deep down, she knew what guy she would love for JoJo to pick. In her dream scenario, her second daughter would marry her son, Sean; and her second son, Finn, would marry her daughter, Peyton. Yet, Bridget swore she wouldn't push the two of them together--nudge maybe-- as it had to be their choice. She had learned her lesson when she pushed too hard with Peyton and Finn, which had ended with the worst fight that the mother and daughter ever had. It took months for the tension between the two to dissipate.

Instead, Bridget thought if she could only find some way to help JoJo gain more confidence. In hindsight, she wished she had focused on doing something before now, but she hadn't wanted to overstep any boundaries. I should have followed up again when I suggested years ago to her mother that JoJo ought to try out for cheerleading, but Jillian had found the idea so absurd she couldn't stop laughing. It could have helped; I've seen many other girls gain confidence, good or bad, by being on the squad. Still, I can't blame Jillian; not every girl is made for cheering; lord knows, I found that out with Peyton.

The Peyton Tarver Cheerleading Experience hadn't exactly crashed and burned like the Hindenburg, but it also hadn't been pretty. After years of pressure from both Bridget and Lana, the laid back Peyton finally agreed to try out in ninth grade, her last year of junior high school. The younger Tarver made the team but endured a year of bitterness and boredom over the decision. The peppiness needed on almost a daily basis wasn't Peyton, so when the year ended, it was no surprise to anyone that her cheer career came to an end for good. Even with its more downs than ups, Bridget still thought it had been a good experience for her eldest child. Peyton became close friends with many of her teammates and stayed friends with them beyond high school and into college.

Hmm, maybe I can talk to Peyton about some ideas for JoJo. Changing up her tomboy look and baggy clothes could help. Becoming more comfortable with her bust is key; I've always loved my bigger boobs; they gave me confidence, and JoJo should feel that too from them, not embarrassment.

"Mrs. Tarver, are you alright?" the teenage brunette asked, mistaking Bridget's quiet reflection for another feeling.

Startled that she had given away her anger at her husband to the young girl, Bridget wasn't quite sure how to reply. "What do you mean? Do I look upset?"

"Um, maybe. I...uh, thought you were thinking about your friend, and why you're getting together with the others," JoJo struggled to come up with the right way to ask the question without upsetting Mrs. Tarver further.

Bridget felt relief that JoJo didn't pick up on the tension in her marriage but felt the fresh wave of pain she still felt even after ten years. "I wasn't thinking about Cassie if that's what you thought," she glanced over to see a worried and guilty look on the girl's face. "It's okay that you asked, JoJo. As painful as it can be, I'll always be happy to talk about one of my best friends."

Nodding, JoJo still felt terrible. She knew this would be an emotional week for the woman she admired. It was a few days shy of the tenth anniversary of the **** of Cassandra Singer, who died in a car accident on an icy road. JoJo remembered Mrs. Singer as one of the kindest, sweetest women she had ever met.

The darkest day in my life, Bridget recalled of the day she received the distraught call from Rachel Stratton. Cassandra was the joy in so many lives, and to be taken in such a senseless way. And poor Finn--oh, Finn!-- to have to witness his mother's **** right before his eyes. Unable to help it, her memories brought tears to Bridget's eyes, ones that the teenager noticed when she wiped them away.

"I'm sorry," JoJo meant so much with such a simple statement. She felt sorry for Cassandra's ****, the pain Mrs. Tarver felt from losing a close friend, and for bringing up the ****.

"Oh, Jo, don't be," Bridget told her with a smile for the caring teenager. "There's going to be a lot of tears this week, but also a lot of happy memories. I know some of the stories will probably bore you since you've heard them so many times from me, Tinsley, Gabby, and Rachel."

"So Mrs. Toone couldn't come this year?" JoJo asked although she knew the answer already. She hoped talking about others would brighten up Mrs. Tarvers's mood.

"No, Ned, her husband, is still dealing with a serious health issue. Flying here from Hawaii would be too far if Tinny needed to rush back home. It's killing her not to be here this year," Bridget answered before drifting off in thought again. Tinsley, her next-door neighbor, had been her best friend since before they could even walk. When she and her family had moved to Hawaii twelve years ago, a piece of Bridget had left too. At that time, she thought it was the worst feeling imaginable until the day two years later when a car skidding on ice hit another vehicle, flipping it into a ditch.

"Are they going to be able to come back for Sean's graduation?" the brown-haired teen asked.

"I hope so. Peyton's graduation was the last time they were in Honey Hollow. Three years is already long enough. After seeing how much you and Sean have grown up, I worry I might not even recognize Nate and the twins," the older woman said with a touch of sadness. "I thought about planning a spring break trip to see them as we did four years ago, but with Leonard's schedule, I've all but given up on it."

"I can't imagine not seeing Sean for three years," JoJo shuddered at the thought of going so long without her best friend.

"Even after all these years, it's still hard. We've been attached at the hip from practically the moment we were born. Bridget Fallon and Tinsley Day, oh boy, were we little hellions," the blonde recalled with a laugh. "We were impulsive, fearless, rule-breaking, and boy-crazy little girls. The two of us drove my older sister crazy, as she was supposed to be watching us, but no way could she handle us. She called us poor role models for my baby sister, Brandy, which might be true when you consider how wild she turned out. But, hey, Tinsley's little brother, Teddy, turned out to be a responsible adult...probably since Tin and I made him babysit Brandy all the time."

JoJo grinned at the sight of Bridget's face brightening up over her fond memories. "I just can't picture you being such a brat, Mrs. Tarver," she added with a laugh.

"Oh, the two of us were brats. We sure were! The only reason we avoided getting into trouble, even more, was the little girl that we met in pre-school, who it turned out lived a block behind us. Cassandra Bank was everything me and Tinny weren't. A quiet, shy girl, Cassie could be a little worrywart. She would be the one standing off to the side, pleading with us to not do what we most certainly wanted to do. In many ways, Cassie was my Newt, and Tinny my JoJo," Bridget told her, reaching over at the last statement and patting the teen's knee.

"Sean and I were never that bad!" JoJo defended her and her friend with a chuckle.

"Oh, I didn't mean like that, just at how close the two of you are. I'm sure he's going to be thrilled at your surprise appearance. He really hated not having you come with," Bridget informed her.

"And I bet Newt is so busy playing on his tablet, he forgot he's at a cabin with Sean," the teen said knowingly.

"That's another reason Cassie was my Newt. She never was the cheerleader type, but she would sit in the bleachers reading a book whenever we had practice. Usually, at some point, she would look up in surprise to find that she sat in front of a bunch of screaming cheerleaders."

"That sounds more like Sean, with his mystery novels, than Newt," laughed the young brunette.

"Well, we can blame Cassie partly for that; she encouraged him to read right from the start. She was great that way. That's why so many of her students still talk fondly about her. I wish she had taught at your school so you could have experienced her on a daily basis, " Bridget noted, thinking of Cassandra's career as a second-grade teacher.

"I think it's great what you and your friends are doing this year, Mrs. Tarver. Starting a child literacy program sounds exactly like something Mrs. Singer would have done on her own," raved JoJo.

"Rachel deserves the most praise for the idea. They taught together at the same school for all of Cassie's career, and she's the one that ran the idea by Finn. He loved it so much that we knew we had to make it happen," Bridget explained. "Fiona Wynwick's been a tremendous help too. You know her son, of course, from school, and he's a former student of Cassie's, so Fiona was thrilled to help. It's all because of her that the literacy program will be the featured charity this year for the New Year's Eve charity ball. Having a brand new program get this level of exposure is very exciting."

"That's so cool. I'm lucky I had a dress in my closet that I could wear to the ball. My mom and I had planned to go shopping this week for a new one, but I couldn't pass up a second chance to come with to the cabin," said JoJo excitedly.

"I'm sure you'll look lovely in your dress; boys will be lining up with you for a dance," Bridget told the teen, watching her blush at the compliment. Bee, you have to do something to help this girl. She deserves to be the belle of the ball this week. I just need to find a way to make it happen.

"Are we already there?" Jojo asked as Mrs. Tarver slowed the car down and turned into a driveway.

"Yes, we are. I guess time flies when we get to talking," the blonde answered with a laugh.

She pulled the car near the front door, unsure where she should park for their stay. Telling JoJoe to just bring her bag, for now, they would come back for the rest after finding out where they were staying; they approached the front door. They could hear some noises inside the cabin. Rachel did mention some of them might not go with to the hot springs--wait, was that a shriek? And that sounded like a moan! Oh, I hope Sean's not in trouble.