by Piper Rayne
“That was an internal thought and for the record, I’m not one of those women.” She speeds up and walks in front of us on the path.
“I think Mommy finds Daddy attractive,” I say.
“I do not,” she says over her shoulder.
“Do, too.” I say right to Calista and tickle her tummy which spurs another round of the most adorable giggles.
“Get off your high horse.”
I catch up to her and we walk in silence for a couple of minutes.
“So, bartending, huh? Rough hours when you have a baby to care for.”
Harley glares over at me and speeds up again so she’s in front of us. “Some of us don’t grow up with privilege.”
“Are you suggesting I did?”
“Well, I heard all about The Baileys,” she puts the Baileys in air quotes. “Town saviors.” She shakes her head to herself.
Her ass must’ve been a huge selling point for me because damn, my hands are itching to grip it.
“No wonder you’re a manwhore who sleeps with anyone with a pu—”
“Judge much? First of all, I used my college money to go to culinary school. Everything I have now I made and earned and invested myself. Okay? But I know to you it must look like a lot.”
She whips around so fast, the end of her curling ponytail hits her face. “Don’t go assuming you know anything about me.”
Yeah, I might’ve stepped over the line on that one.
“I apologize, but don’t go judging me like my life is some fairy tale either.”
“Fine. I won’t.” She puts her hands on her hips.
I lead us up the path toward Main Street and we couldn’t have picked a worse moment because G’Ma D is walking directly toward us.
“Fuck,” I murmur.
“Fuk,” Calista says.
Harley blows out a breath. “Nice. Literally, like what? Ten minutes?”
“Oh, believe me, you’ll be saying it in a second too.”
Just then G’Ma D looks up from the piece of paper in her hand and our eyes lock. It all happens in slow motion… her eyes move from me to Harley to Calista. Baby snatcher eyes ignite, and she walks toward us like she’s on a mission.
“Buckle up, the ride’s gonna be bumpy,” I say.
“What are you talking…” Harley stops speaking when the little blue-haired lady stops in front of us with her hands out to Calista.
Yep, this’ll be interesting.
Nine
Harley
“Give me,” the old woman says. I remember her from the restaurant when I confronted Rome. Her eyes were fixated on Calista the entire time as though she had some magical power and could figure out whether my daughter was her grandson’s.
“Um.” I slide my hands under Rome, the backside of my hand grazing across his strong chest. The flash of a memory from the night we were together comes unbidden. How is that even possible? The man is wearing a light jacket.
Go figure that a night I haven’t been able to forget for two years, Rome has no recollection of. I think he’s humoring me with his newfound clarity.
Once Calista’s in my arms, she stares at the blue-haired woman in front of us. The one with a pout on her lips.
“You can’t just take her,” Rome says to his grandma.
“She’s my great-granddaughter. And I’m your grandmother, so watch your tone.” Her hand falls between us. “I’m Dori Bailey. Your soon-to-be grandma-in-law, but I hate that whole in-law thing, so let’s just stick to grandma.”
“We’re not getting married,” Rome deadpans. “Mind leaving us to our business since this is my first day with my daughter?”
Dori waves him off. “You’ll have many more years than me. I’m old and could be dead tomorrow.” She moves her gaze to me. “I’m the sweetest. Mother of this one’s dad and grandma to all nine of the Bailey kids. I’m a card-carrying American Red Cross CPR certified member. Let’s see what else.” She looks over to Rome. “You should be boosting me up here. You know I don’t like to brag.”
Rome rolls his eyes and she hits him in the stomach. “Hey,” he says.
Calista’s eyes are wide, watching it all unfold. “Ow,” she says.
“Abusing me in front of my daughter. Great example you are.”
Dori turns her back on him. “Anyway, I’m Dori and you are?”
“Harley.”
“I’m sorry for my grandson’s manners with the whole knocking you up and leaving town thing.”
“I didn’t know she was pregnant,” Rome says with exasperation.
Dori puts her hand up in his face. “He’s a bad seed. Well, they’re both bad seeds. Him and his brother Denver. Those two never grew up. I’d tell you to run for your life if I didn’t love him so much.” She turns around and pinches his cheek. “Other than his commitment phobia he’s fun. Which I’m sure you know hence this little one.”
“G’Ma D?” Rome mouths sorry to me from behind her.
“Would you like to hold her?” I hold Calista out between us.
Rome’s eyes are wide in surprise. Hell, I’m surprised myself, but something about her spouting off a resume just to hold her great-granddaughter softened me.
I want Calista to have the one thing I didn’t have growing up—a family and a support network to love and be loved by.
“Here.” She shoves her bags into Rome’s stomach. He fumbles but catches them. Her wrinkled fingers stretch a few times as they break the distance and she picks up Calista, propping her on her hip like a pro. “You are so cute.” She tickles her stomach which Calista loves so she giggles, spurring Dori to do it again.
Rome smiles over to me admiring the way the two interact. Shockingly, there isn’t one ounce of jealousy or fear rifling through me. I’m not scared this woman will take her away from me.
Dori turns and walks down the sidewalk and all that peace shatters like crystal.
Before I can react, Rome meets her pace. “G’Ma D?”
“I thought we were going to the park.”
Rome looks at me. I wave it off.
“Wee,” Calista says.
“That’s right. Wee. Do you like the swing?” Dori asks.
“Wee,” Calista says again.
“ROME!” a man’s voice shouts from behind us.
We both turn, but Dori doesn’t stop. I watch her back although she’s still at a pace that I can catch up to her.
“Colin,” Rome says. “What’s up?”
“The fridge. It’s about as warm as a summer day in Florida.” He raises both eyebrows.
The young guy looks to me, smirking like someone just told him a secret. Maybe I should walk around town with a sign around my neck that says Rome Bailey’s Baby Mama.
“Crap.” Rome looks to Dori and back to me.
“Go,” I say.
“But…” He wavers, putting all his weight on one foot and then the other.
“Seriously. We’ll see you at the park. I’m fairly sure your grandma isn’t going to let us sneak away.”
“I’m Colin.” The blond-haired guy puts out his hand. He’s cute in that boy-next-door way. Too bad I’ve always been more of the bad boy type. My eyes instinctively find Rome who’s still looking unhappy.
“Harley.” I shake his hand.
“Okay, I’ll be there in a few, but…” He reaches into the diaper bag and takes out my cell phone from the front pocket.
My gaze slides to Dori and I see that someone has stopped her on the sidewalk. Another older woman with stark red hair that she obviously dyes. At least she’s still in my line of vision though God only knows what she’s telling that poor woman.
Rome’s phone rings in his jacket pocket a second later.
“This way we have each other’s phone numbers just in case.” He tucks my phone back into the bag.
“Great.”
He winks, steps forward, his hand ready to land on the small of my back, but I step back. “Yeah, okay. Meet you at the park.” He jogs down the street
toward his restaurant with Colin leisurely walking behind him saying hello to everyone he passes.
During the daytime, the downtown of Lake Starlight is quaint and cozy. With all the shops, bakery, diner, and restaurants mixed in with the insurance, veterinary, and medical offices it gives the impression of a movie set.
“Oh, here she is,” Dori says, waving me over when she sees me coming her way.
“Hi,” I say to the red-haired woman.
“Harley this is my dear friend, Ethel. She’s yet to be blessed with a great-grandbaby.” Dori pokes Calista again, but Calista squirms and reaches for me.
“And Rome is the father?” Ethel asks. Closer now, I can see her layers of makeup and bright red lipstick.
“Yes,” Dori answers for me. “Speaking of which, where did he go?”
“Emergency at the restaurant. He’s meeting us at the park.”
Calista continues to squirm, and Dori finally gives up the fight and hands her over to me. “Oh yes, we’re going wee,” she says with wide eyes to Calista. “Talk to you later, Ethel.”
“Are we still playing Mahjong tonight?” Ethel asks.
Dori gives her a bland look. “Be realistic Ethel, you think I’m giving up my title?”
I laugh.
Ethel glares at me for a fraction of a second before putting on a welcoming smile. “See you then. Nice meeting you, Harley.”
“You too,” I say, catching up to Dori who’s decided she’s done talking to poor Ethel.
“You play Mahjong?” I ask, relief falling over my body at seeing the park in sight.
“Gotta keep the mind sharp. Me and the girls try a new game every eight months.”
“Eight months?” That seems like an arbitrary amount of time.
“We’re old, so it takes us at least two months to stop arguing and understand how to play in the first place. Gives us six months to master the game. Mahjong was my pick.” Her tone is filled with pride and I have to say, I think I like Dori.
“I think that’s great.”
“Don’t mock me, Harley. I understand it’s completely ridiculous for a bunch of old women in their seventies to play a game in a different language.” She waves to someone eyeing me and Calista with curiosity. “Don’t mind them. Lake Starlight is nosy, you’ll have to get used to it.”
“I don’t plan on being here long, so…”
She nods. “I’m born and raised in Lake Starlight. I get why some people don’t like it. I mean people are in your business all the time. There’s this gossip blog called Buzz Wheel where anything you do can end up in it for all the residents to read. And add on that you’re a Bailey—”
“I’m not a Bailey.”
“She is.” She nods to Calista and I put her in the swing.
I refrain from mentioning that Calista’s birth certificate says my name, Sullivan.
“It must be hard to raise her all by yourself. Do you have family that helps?” She pushes Calista and Calista’s dangling feet excitedly move back and forth in a zig-zag motion while she giggles.
“I have friends.” I lean my shoulder against the wooden post holding the structure up.
Attendance at the park is sparse with there still being clumps of snow on the ground. Wasn’t this Rome’s idea and now we’re the ones out in the cold?
“No family?” Dori asks.
I might as well lay it all out because this woman isn’t someone I can guide into another line of conversation. She’s going to pry and pry like I’m an oyster and she wants that pearl inside.
“I was left at a fire station when I was younger. I bounced around from foster home to foster home until I was eighteen.”
She pushes Calista, her eyes not meeting mine. “I’m sorry. That’s hard.” It’s the first time I’ve heard concern out of Dori’s mouth. “I wish my ungrateful grandchildren knew how good they have it.”
“I’m fine.” I made peace with my childhood or lack of childhood a long time ago.
“Sure, you are, sweetie.” She smiles, a fake saccharine one.
She’s not worth proving wrong, I remind myself. Being a foster kid doesn’t define me.
“You said you’re not staying long. Where are you from? Seattle?” Calista’s head droops, the swinging and fresh air tiring her out already. I really wish I would’ve brought my stroller.
“I am. That’s where we live.”
Dori nods. Slowing the swing, she picks Calista up. Her eyes flutter for a second before falling completely closed, her head on Dori’s shoulder. Without a word, she walks over to the bench and sits down.
Calista is such a traitor. Why can’t I have that daughter who clings to me and wants nothing to do with strangers?
“Do you have a job there?” Dori asks.
I shrug. “I’m a bartender at an airport bar, but I’m going to school.”
“School? For what?”
“Massage therapy.” I sit down next to her, watching Calista’s mouth fall ajar. She’s so off her schedule, tonight will be a nightmare.
“Oh, I’ve had a massage before. My grandkids thought it made a good Mother’s Day gift. But let’s be real, no one wants to give a woman in her seventies a massage. I went anyway because being old means you don’t really give a shit either.”
I laugh.
“My massage therapist was telling me that she moved up here from the lower forty-eight because they get paid more in Alaska. I mean, the cost of living is more expensive up here, but she said it was double. That’s amazing, right?”
Go figure. The one trade I’m learning has to pay double around here. And add on that Dori knows that fact, bonus.
“I still have to finish my schooling. I have one more class.”
“Oh. Only one class away?”
“Yeah. But Calista had some health issues, so I needed to take some time off because between working and doctor appointments…” I let my words trail off. This woman was a mom, she understands what that means.
“What are Calista’s health issues?” Her forehead creases.
There’s no sense in keeping them to myself. I have a feeling this family shares everything with one another. Or with Dori at the very least.
I explain Calista’s condition and how it affects her all while Dori’s frown grows deeper. “That’s why I’m here, for Rome to take a DNA test. With me having no idea where I came from, I at least want her to have the information from her father’s side.”
“Well, lucky we ran into one another. You need to come down to my place. I’ll show you the long line of people Calista comes from and I can tell you all about what diseases they suffered from.”
“That’s kind of you, but I really only need his DNA. That’s all.”
She’s quiet for a second, her hand on Calista’s back, rubbing up and down. “Once you get his DNA, you’re heading back to Seattle?”
I put my finger under Calista’s open hand on Dori’s shoulder, staring at my daughter.
“Yeah, but Rome asked that I stay for one week. Then he’ll take the test.”
She smiles. “Rome is my smartest grandchild, did you know that?” She winks.
She thinks Rome will convince me to stay permanently somehow but they still don’t know about Shane. One of my friends is more than a friend.
Ten
Rome
I stop at the corner, waiting to cross the road, heaving for a breath since I jogged as fast as I could. Who knows what will come out of G’Ma D’s mouth?
Man, I’m so out of shape. I need some more cardio in my life. And now I’m a dad. I refuse to have the dad bod. Time to ramp up the workouts.
G’Ma D, Harley, and Calista are on the bench, Calista’s head draped on G’Ma D’s shoulder while the women are in a deep discussion.
I knew it was a shitty idea to leave them alone. What did I hire Colin for if he can’t handle a fridge not working? Thank goodness Jack at Hammer Time Hardware has connections, so a guy will be there within the hour to fix it.
Do I h
ave time for Calista and Harley in my life right now? Hell, to the no and repeat that twice for effect. I’m two weeks away from opening up my restaurant. Stupid me decided Founder’s Day would be the ideal time to open as a tribute of sorts to my parents. Now all I can think of is how I can convince Harley to stay a little longer.
She mentioned spending adolescence in foster care which might mean no parents. No family to speak of. What a shithead thought. I’m sure she’s got friends and a life there. I can’t just assume she’ll pick up her life and move here.
Finally, there are no cars, so I jog across the street catching the last bit of conversation between G’Ma D and Harley.
“Rome is my smartest grandchild, did you know that?” G’Ma D asks.
“Oh, G’Ma D, I love you, too.” I lean down and kiss her, staring down like a jealous boyfriend at Calista sprawled across her shoulder.
“You get it from me.” She winks. “Well, I should go now.” She picks up Calista and hands her to Harley who stares dumbfounded at me, while trying to soothe my baby girl back to sleep.
“That was quick.” Though I’m not complaining. I thought she’d be superglued to our sides all day.
“What? I can’t sit around here forever, things to do.” She leans into me. “Was I the first though?”
I feel the crease form between my eyebrows. “The first what?”
“The first Bailey to hold her.” She’s already wearing a prize-winning smile like there’s a board with rankings and her name will be under the number one.
“Um… yeah. Except for me.”
She pats me on the arm. “Good. I have to go practice. I have a big game tonight.” She bends down and kisses Harley on the cheek and then Calista on the head. “We’ll see each other again soon.”
“Okay,” Harley says clearly confused. “Good luck at Mahjong tonight.”
“What?” I say.
G’Ma D disregards me and waves her hand in the air. “Oh, I don’t need luck, but thank you.”
I sit down in the spot she left.
“She’s fun.” Harley rubs Calista’s back with the palm of her hand.
