Something Like That, Phoenyx!

April 8th, 2012
11:00 a.m.
Evergreen City Park

The thought hadn't fully crossed his mind yet that he was married, he was married to someone he didn't know and once again he was putting his heart on the line. Somewhere in his mind, somewhere sensible should have just told him to quit while he was ahead, to just pack up and go home but he wanted love. Sure, he'd admit in some sense he was envious of the relationship that Caleb and Cheyenne had, that sort of connection and his lack of one but he had little to no luck with this whole thing.

Just yesterday he stood in the chapel, exchanged vows with the red head that was now his wife and became a husband and too his surprise; a stepfather. It wasn't a bad thing, it was actually pretty awesome. He had been dreading the fact that he was going to be a father with little to no experience, (the years just helping his mother didn't exactly count). But, now he had a stepson, and despite the fact that he wasn't biologically related to the young infant, he had a feeling that it wouldn't be long before he fell in love with the boy.

Today, when the world would be filling their faces with pounds of chocolate and marshmallow treats, Trent would be taking his new wife and son out for a walk in the park, which was unsurprisingly quiet and vacant given the fact that it was a major holiday, no little children, noisy children or couples to bother them. Just a day at the park, little Jackson in his stroller as the two walked along the little trail that seemed like it was made years ago, the cracks in the stone proved it's wear and tear.

She was pretty, she had this other world feel surrounding her, and he liked it. He liked the fact that for knowing her a little over a day, she seemed like a pretty cool person. He needed that, couldn't handle someone who would freak out over everything. He wanted someone who could also be a mother, especially with Cheyenne getting further along in her pregnancy, every day inched closer to their due date. The last match was just all wrong for him, all wrong in every single sense of the word, she seemed like she was better at posing than she was at being human.

It seemed like a fairly good day, his wife wasn't already complaining about the weather, the nasty bugs or walking, and she actually seemed pretty sweet and nice, genuine and actually pretty decent. He needed that, and he was foolishly starting to get his hopes up about this one, ”Phoenyx is an unusual name, I've actually never heard of it but that's not saying much because where I'm from everyone is named after nature things and their ancestors.” He chuckled nervously, realizing how stupid that probably sounded. ”So, you're from California? How was that like?”

"There's nothing wrong with that" Phoenyx replied with a smile. It didn't sound at all stupid to her. If anything, it was more normal to her than naming a kid Mary or Thomas or something else that was considered a 'classic' name. "A lot of my family members have nature names too." Especially those that were pagan, or had parents that were pagan. "My mother got my name and those of my sisters from different myths and legends. My eldest sister is named Nimue, after the Lady of the Lake in the Arthurian tales. The younger one is named Thalia, after the Greek muse of comedy."

Phoenyx considered the question a moment before answering. "Well... it's not all beach parties and movie stars like some people think it is. Mostly it's like anywhere else. But with more earthquakes and wildfires. The weather does tend to be warmer and fairly mild for the most part. At least in the part of the state where I grew up."

In the stroller, Jackson was wide awake and staring around at everything. He made soft contented gurgling sounds, chattering to himself and testing out his vocal cords. Neither he nor Trent had seemed to take a dislike to the other, which was a good thing. A very good thing.

Sandy's leaving had hurt, but she understood how overwhelming it could be to be a parent... to be responsible for the life of someone else. At least they had parted on amicable terms... unlike her first match. But the third time was the charm... or supposed to be. Something like that, anyway. Phoenyx hoped that whoever 'they' were, they were right. It hadn't been an easy choice for her to make, but in the end she had decided to give it one more go.

"What about where you grew up? What was it like there?" she asked, looking up for a moment at Trent.

It was a bit odd to think of the man walking beside her as her husband, but that's what he was. Tall, dark, handsome, broody mysteriousness and all. She barely knew anything at all about him, and wondered what secrets he had locked in his mind. Her biggest one wasn't exactly a secret, or at least hadn't stayed one for long once they had met. She just hoped whatever secrets he had weren't too bad. She didn't want to end up with another failed match. There were only so many times a person could put themselves through this kind of thing and even Phoenyx had limits to her patience.

Maybe it was just the fact that he was born in less than normal conditions, but he just clicked well with this girl, mostly he owned up to the fact that they weren't exactly what was deemed normal and he was quite fine with that. ”I guess we know what we'd be naming any kids we have then, Willow, Oak, Creek.” He grinned, avoiding a frog that was crossing the path, he never liked frogs that much but they were alive so who was he to even think about stopping it from moving on it's natural course of life?

”My parents just follow traditions, which is why I guess we but heads. I don't think I should be forced to follow someone else's path. I should be free to find my own.” He had lived in this state his whole life so hearing about someone who lived elsewhere was fascinating. ”That's good to hear, I don't know how I'd feel marrying an actress or something.” He briefly glanced down at the baby in the stroller, Jackson was a cute name for a cute little baby. The thought had crossed his mind that in a few months he'd be doing this all over again, strolling his daughter or son around the park, not even old enough to walk but old enough to take outside.

She asked about him, and he got nervous. Especially knowing that this portion was usually the one where the ladies decided to peace out regardless of the fact that they had a ring on their finger or not. ”I'm from a Indian reservation not too far from here.” He looked back at the ground, his eyes following the cracks as he began to speak again. ”I ran away from my supposed destiny to try and find true love and I left the woman I was supposed to marry...

He looked back at Jackson, peaceful in his little stroller. ”She found out she was pregnant.” Glancing back up at Phoenyx, he waited for her reaction, ”And if that makes you want to run and flee... I'll annul the marriage.” He was giving her an option, figured it was the only thing to do in this situation. He honestly could see why people thought he was terrible, but he wanted to believe that maybe someone was willing to see that he made a mistake but the mistake didn't become him.

He really hoped she wasn't going to back out of it, he liked Jackson and Phoenyx, and the one mistake did have some back story with it but it didn't mean it would happen again. ” But, other than that issue, I'm a pretty good guy. I'm always outdoors, I work at the stables in town. I don't drink or smoke and I like to consider myself a decent human being. I've never cheated and I don't plan to.” He said this very quickly as his nerves were getting to him. ”And I really just want to make you and Jackson happy but if you don't want to try than I will understand.”

Phoenyx grinned back, and blushed a little. They had only been married a day and already he was talking about having children with her. Not that she objected in any way. So far he seemed like a good man, and with as good looking as he was he was bound to make equally gorgeous offspring.

She noticed the frog as Trent avoided it and stopped the stroller long enough for it to get past. "Traditions are all well and good, but they shouldn't be taken as law." One person couldn't grow in the shadow of another, and one person couldn't live another's life for them.

"Showbusiness has never appealed to me. I'd rather not have my every move scrutinized by the general public, and I can only imagine how tired celebrities must be with all the demands on their time" she wrinkled her nose in distaste. That sort of life wasn't for her. Interviews, premiers, conventions, tours, traveling from one location to another to film or hold a concert. And that was only talking about their careers, and not even touching on the way their personal lives were put under the microscope.

When he started talking about himself, Phoenyx remained silent and didn't interrupt or ask questions until he was finished. In part because it would be rude to interrupt, but also because she didn't want to come off as paranoid or a nag or something when she was neither of those things.

After he finished speaking, she kept her silence as she considered what he'd said. She believed him when he said he wasn't a cheater, and so far she hadn't seen anything to indicate he was a bad person. As for the pregnant ex, well she was hardly one to throw stones about coming into a relationship as a parent or expectant parent. She liked that he worked with animals, and like the fact that he didn't smoke or drink even more than that. Having the occasional drink was well and good, but too many took it to the extreme. As for smoking or any sort of tobacco use, she didn't want that around herself or her son. The side effects weren't worth it. But there was one question that was sticking in her mind about his ex.

"I do want to try to make this work" she replied, her tone and expression staying calm and even. "But I have one question before this goes any further. And I really don't mean to sound like a bitch, but there's no delicate way to put this and it needs to be asked." She winced mentally at herself. "When you left, was it before or after you found out she was pregnant?" Yeah, there was definitely no good way to ask a question like that.

Trent liked listening to her talk, the sound of her voice was like a gentle little whisper of wind or something. It just seemed natural and the way she spoke, it didn't seem like she was just trying to please him. He had met girls who would say just about anything in order to make him like them, he didn't want that fake type of girl, he wanted someone who was genuine and real and so sure of themselves that even if they lived the worst kind of lifestyle, they worked the room like they owned it, he wanted a girl who wouldn't change for him.

Phoenyx didn't seem that type of girl, and the way she handled her son, how careful and protective she was of him, it just gave him that little extra spark to see about her. He guessed that was the difference between her and Cheyenne, Cheyenne was just so young, that regardless of the fact that she was a mother, it just wasn't the same. Phoenyx was quite obviously a woman in every shape in form, he didn't have to worry about the risk of immaturity or even the chance of her being a bad stepmother to his child, she was already well prepared.

”I honestly don't know how I'd take being married to someone who was famous, to be perfectly honest.” The whole cameras, lights and random people trying to take your picture, Trent had lived a pretty simple life up until a few months ago, he didn't know if he could ever handle the life of the rich and fabulous and luckily, he wouldn't have to. Honestly, Phoenyx seemed much too down to earth to ever be a movie star, she just had the natural wholeness about her, a nice breath of fresh air.

It was the uncomfortable silence after the whole discussion of Cheyenne, it had been always been a deal breaker with the previous matches, and if this girl was anything like the rest, it would work for all three. ”I didn't know she was pregnant before I left,” He paused, looking her straight in the eye, ”And there are times where I look myself in the mirror and wonder what it would have been like if I would have just stayed, I realized that it wouldn't have done either of us any good. Does it make me feel terrible? Of course it does.”

Casting a quick glance at the ground, he dug his shoe in the gravel path, ”If I would have known, I wouldn't have left, I probably would have just pretended for the sake of her and my child.” A hand raked through his own hair, waiting for her reaction. ”I've learned that things just happen for a reason.”

"It's good we don't need to worry about finding out." So far Phoenyx liked Trent. She would hate for anything to put what they might come to have at risk. Especially when that something was as fleeting as fame tended to be. Becoming famous was definitely not going to be an issue for Phoenyx. She simply didn't want it. She valued her privacy too much to give it up in such a way. In fact, she felt bad for the celebrities more often than not. Every aspect of their lives was out in the open for the public to see. Every mistake, every bad hair day, every failed relationship, every change in appearance no matter how minute. Given the choice between that and anonymity, Phoenyx would rather be anonymous.

She met Trent's gaze steadily, not shifting her eyes away or showing anything but open attentiveness. She would wait to hear the whole story before forming an opinion. "Staying with someone for no other reason than that you have a child together never turns out well" Phoenyx said softly. She kept one hand on the stroller and slipped the other into Trent's, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. It would take more than simply fathering a child with another woman before he had ever met Phoenyx to cause her to go running. There were always more sides to a situation than that alone. Phoenyx's mother had taught her to get all the details of a story before passing judgement.

"If you had been running from responsibility to the child, that would be a different story. But you weren't. And okay so there's a broken engagement in there too. They happen sometimes. If both people aren't happy going into it though, eventually resentment is going to build up and turn everything sour." Phoenyx had seen it happen more than once. It was hard to put into words exactly what she was thinking and feeling. But she could say for certain that she was still willing to give this marriage a go. In the grand scheme of things, there were many things that were a whole lot worse than Trent's past. Whatever else might be said, she did believe him, and she believed that whatever mistakes he might have made or whatever hurt feelings there might have been on the part of his ex fiancee, his heart was in the right place.

It was different, this was different. He was ready for another girl that wouldn't love him, but her words did nothing but confirm that she wouldn't judge him. Maybe that was the issue with the rest, they were so ready to jump down his throats with accusations that they never really stood a chance which was a shame because Trent could have been a really good husband, he never once treated Cheyenne bad except for when he left her but that from different circumstances entirely. He didn't have the experience, he was aware of that but what he lacked in experience he made up for with his genuineness.

There was a time where he believed he had loved his first wife but weeks after the marriage, he realized it could have never worked out, she was just too paranoid and he couldn't have that, not around his future child and not around Cheyenne, she of all people didn't deserve that. If anything, he would do everything in his power to protect that girl, even more so after all the damage he had caused her, emotionally and physically with the pregnancy that was sure to change that girl's whole life.

He really needed a breath of fresh air, he needed a girl that would be different and honestly he'd never been interested in the fake chested and bleach blonde types. He wanted a girl who was as real as possible, a girl who was comfortable regardless if she was a hundred pounds or two hundred, it was their skin, they should own it with pride. Truth was, he words comforted him. It gave him the reassurance that maybe he wasn't doing something wrong by not marrying Cheyenne, maybe it would have just made things worse for the both of them and eventually their child.

Whether or not she knew it, Phoenyx was a really good person. ”I'm glad you aren't freaking out over this, I've had a few bad run-ins about the subject.” It was acts like that which made him wary about going back into the pools, but so far it was working out. ”It made me feel like I was a bad person, which really isn't a good feeling at all.” His gaze went to the floor, a sigh escaping his lips. "Thank you... for not judging me and all.” It was a nice surprise, one that he was hoping would lead to many others in the near future.

"I'm hardly squeaky clean myself, being pregnant with Jackson before I was married and having a couple of failed matches of my own" she replied. Another woman might have stood there and badmouthed both of her recent exes - especially the first one - but the thought never occurred to Phoenyx, and if it had she wouldn't have followed through. It wasn't in her nature to do such things.

Had they known each other a bit longer, Phoenyx would have hugged Trent at his comment about having felt like a bad person. She really doubted he was. She didn't get that sort of feeling from him. Usually she got a gut feeling if someone wasn't a good person - or at least not good for her to be around - and while it wasn't perfectly accurate, her feeling was right more often than not.

"You're not a bad person" she said firmly. "At least... you don't strike me as being one. My personal opinion is that whatever hurt feelings there were on the part of your ex, your heart was in the right place" she continued, voicing some of her thoughts of a moment ago. True she didn't know how he had gone about ending things, but there was rarely a way to end a relationship with someone that didn't result in tears and hurt feelings, or anger. "You're welcome" she replied, smiling gently at his thanks.

Deciding it was time to move away from this particular line of conversation and brighten the mood, Phoenyx cast her mind around for something else to talk about. "So... what exactly do you do at the stables?" she asked after a few moments of silence and a glance at the stroller to check on the baby. Jackson was still looking around wide-eyed at everything, and though he was still awake he looked as though he was fighting sleep and fighting it hard.

He couldn't honestly understand why someone would have left a woman like Phoenyx, in Trent's eyes she was nothing but optimal in terms of wives. Granted, he had only known her for less than a few dozen hours but negative traits were known to appear by now. It just didn't make sense that she would be deserted. But, he had the experience in the past, it made him wonder if it was the good people that were ditched the easiest, no one wanted to waste their time with those who had baggage. Trent with his ex-fiancee and incoming child and Phoenyx with little Jackson, they were just things that most people would look away from.

But she was sweet and he wanted to make her happy, he was sure they had to be compatible if a match making site would have thrown them together, unless of course they were just doing it anymore for the hell of it. ”Well, if I'm not a bad person than what am I?” He scratched his head at his own unanswerable question, the words that seemed to be spoken more to himself than anything. ”But it's nice to know that someone doesn't think I am.” Well, make that two people. He was pretty sure Cheyenne wouldn't don him as a bad person either, but she was too nice for her own good.

However, he was glad for the change in conversation, today was too beautiful a day to waste in on self pity and gloominess. The topic turned to his job, and boy could he spend hours talking about his jobs. ”It's pretty simple work most of the time, I clean out stables, feed the horses and then I train some of them.” He shrugged, ”It's not exactly the most clean sort of work, but i love it.” He glanced down at the little boy in the stroller, ”Poor little guy looks like he's about to be knocked out cold.” The boy was adorable, and even if this marriage didn't last, he'd still want to visit Jackson. ”So what does Phoenyx Halliwell like do for fun? I'm sure taking care of little Jackson here isn't all that you like to do.”

"You're human. Just like the rest of us are" Phoenyx said softly with a small shrug, not sure what else to say. Everyone did things they weren't proud of, whether it was ultimately the right thing to do or not. The fact that Trent clearly felt bad about having left his ex told Phoenyx that while he was as imperfect as anyone else, he was ultimately a good person.

Phoenyx wondered why Trent's past matches had left. Okay, so there was the pregnant ex in the picture. Maybe they were afraid he'd go back to her. Or maybe they were jealous over it for some weird reason. So what if he wasn't a virgin? Most women weren't either, so it was hypocritical to expect a man to be one. As for the potential leaving part... well, that wasn't worth stressing over. If it was going to happen, it would happen regardless. And in all likelihood it wouldn't happen. So there was no reason to go getting worked up about it. As far as she could tell so far, Trent was a genuinely good man. Even if it didn't work out, she would still like to keep him as a friend. Cliche? Maybe a little. But Phoenyx was the sort of person who actually meant it, rather than the sort that said it just to pacify the other person.

"Working with animals rarely coincides with staying clean" she replied with a soft chuckle. "Especially work that entails being outside." She could imagine zoo work was just as messy at times. Working with animals all day sounded like fun though, whether it was messy or not. Well... except for veterinary work. There were parts of that that weren't so fun. Such was the nature of most jobs, though. "But messy or not, it's good to be doing something you enjoy. Too few people can say they like their jobs."

Her attention went back to the stroller where Jackson was now rubbing his eyes a little. She couldn't resist grinning down at him. Sometimes it still amazed her that he was hers. "Walks do that to him sometimes." Her love for her son was clear in her soft tone and expression.

"I like being outside a lot, whether just sitting and reading in the shade or something more active" she answered with a grin. She did enjoy taking care of Jackson, but there was definitely more to her than just being a mother. "I've got a small herb garden planted in those containers of soil sitting in the back yard and the kitchen window. I do a lot of crafts and such, too. Mostly I make candles and soaps... some of which I sell online as a sort of side job, and some I keep for myself or give away. And I do the odd bit of cross stitching here and there." Phoenyx blushed a little as she added the last part, hoping it didn't make her sound too old fashioned and matronly or grandmotherly or something.

"What about you? What do you do for fun? Other than play with horses for a living" she asked having teasingly, turning the tables on him a little. She was curious about the man she had married, and how much they would have in common as far as interests and hobbies went.