“Sounds great,” Karla said, shaking Derek’s hand as if they’d just finished some master negotiations or something. He stood and gripped Archie’s board under his arm, taking his junior self with the other hand.
“Say goodbye to Mikey,” Derek said and, dutifully, as if he was clay to be molded, Archie waved and said, “Bye Mikey!”
“Bye Archie!” said Mikey, watching them both walk away.
Derek leaned Archie’s miniature board against the railing and tugged off his little wetsuit, rinsing off the salt water at the showers before drying him off and tugging on the new “Surf Shark” T-shirt over his damp baggies.
“Did you have fun today, big guy?” he asked as they waited to cross the street and head for home.
“Sure did!” he said. “Are you really my Dad?”
Derek paused, turned and bent to one knee, heart suddenly pounding. It was midday in Seaside, Florida, traffic was light, foot traffic was even lighter, the sun was bright after their day in the surf. He looked into Archie’s soft, green eyes and said, “I sure am, why do you ask?”
Archie shrugged. “I’ve never had a real one before,” he said, clutching Derek’s hand as they waited for the crossing sign to turn. “I think I like it!”
Chapter 11:
Sage
“It was a group of dolphins jumping, playing and making noises together.”
Making a funny face, Sage slid the open book onto her lap and pretended to make screeching, chattering dolphin noises, just the way Archie liked so much. Now it was his turn to laugh and laugh and laugh.
“Do the starfish now,” Archie giggled, squirming in his little chair as the afternoon light bathed the Kiddy Corner in golden hues.
“Scronk, scronk,” Sage said, holding up five fingers in each hand and squeezing them tight before releasing them.
“No,” Archie laughed, slapping his chubby little knee. “That’s not how starfish sound.”
“No?” Sage asked, just like she did every time she read Archie’s favorite book, Terry Treetop Saves the Dolphin. “How do starfish sound?”
Archie waved his own chubby little fingers and went “zoink, zoink, zoink,” laughing in his favorite, fuzzy red chair.
“That’s not how starfish sound!”
The voice was slurred and sultry, Dana appearing out of nowhere, tall and slender in a little black dress, face made up garishly, hair teased atop her head.
“Mommy!” Archie said but, as Dana teetered on glittery hooker heels, he recoiled. “You’re acting funny again!”
“Dana!” Sage said, standing abruptly and putting herself, protectively, between mother and child. “How good to see you!”
Dana’s eyes were glassy, Colby racing up behind her, a panicked look on her face. “I tried to tell her you and Archie were busy,” she said, looking desperately apologetic.
“A boy is never too busy for his mother!” Dana said, brushing past Sage to scoop little Archie up. Or, at least, to try to. She tumbled instead, landing in a display of building blocks and toppling them noisily. Archie’s face crumpled, growing pink, before he began to cry.
“Jesus,” Sage muttered, turning to Colby. “Can you… can you watch him until Derek shows up?”
Colby nodded, emphatically, reaching for the little tyke. “Come on, Archie,” she said, thinking quickly. “Would you like a lemon scone?”
Archie brightened. Like Sage, Colby already knew all the little boy’s favorites. And why not? After two weeks in town, he spent nearly as much time in Sequels, Sage’s bookstore, as he did in her loft apartment above the store or in the waves with his father.
While Colby occupied Archie, Sage yanked Dana to her feet. “Hey!” Dana said and, to quell the anger in her own heart and the defiance in the young mother’s eyes, Sage slapped her – hard – across the face.
“You and me,” Sage said, dragging her out of the store. “We’re going to go someplace nice and safe for you.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you!” Dana muttered, but the way she clung to Sage every step of the way to her car, she clearly wasn’t going anywhere without her, either.
It was just as well. Sage could smell the alcohol wafting from her young, pale skin and, as soon as she got Dana situated in the passenger seat of her car, the young mother passed out. Cold.
Sage was backing out, driving carefully so Dana wouldn’t wake up, when her cell rang. She synched it through the steering wheel blue tooth when she saw it was Derek. “I thought you were in charge of your baby mama,” she huffed, steering through town.
“I had to get the new boards for the surf camp,” he said, sounding panicked. “She was fine when I left.”
“Yeah, well, she’s passed out in my car right now.”
His voice was incredulous. “What?”
Sage ignored his surprised tone. “Did you give her any money, perchance?”
He paused, and she knew he had. “Just a twenty,” he confessed. “She said she was going to get a toy for Archie, and I was happy because that’s the first time she’s done that.”
Sage clucked a remorseless tongue. “Yeah, well, she’s dressed up like the den mother at a hooker convention and more loaded than a soldier on shore leave, so… guess Archie’s gonna have to wait twenty eight-days for his toy.”
“Twenty-eight…” He started confused, then wised up fast. “Sage, where are you right now?”
“I’m headed to the Sunnyside Rehabilitation Center, Derek,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Where the hell is that?”
“Twenty miles out of town,” she said. “They buy books from me every month, half-price stuff for their residents. Said if I ever needed a favor, I should drop by. Well, I need a favor… so I’m dropping by. And while I’m at it, I’m dropping your sorry ass baby mama off as well!”
Derek chuckled joylessly. “I’ve never heard you talk like this before.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve never found out my boyfriend had a child, whose mother is an alcoholic, and nearly passed out on top of her son today, so… forgive me if I’m a little blunt at the moment, Derek.”
“When did this all happen?”
“Five minutes ago,” she huffed, taking the exit that would lead her to nearby Sunnyside. “I’m sorry, Derek, but… it’s the best thing for her. Am I wrong?”
“No, baby, I just… I should be there with you.”
“No, baby,” she grunted. “You should be doing this for me. I shouldn’t be involved. At all.” Sage felt a great rush of emotion, gazing at Dana, slumped in the passenger seat, dead to the world as she cruised up US 1 alongside the breezy Atlantic Ocean. Outside her car windows, the sky was blue and softly dotted with clouds. Inside, her boyfriend’s baby mama snored, oozing vodka – or worse – from her young veins. God forbid a cop should pull them over!
“Ever since Dana showed up,” Sage said, unloading on poor Derek as the words, and emotions, kept gushing out. “I’ve tried my best to be understanding, to be kind, to be generous and thoughtful. And all this witch has done was to play you until she could get you to trust her and, the first time you do? This is what happens. So yeah, she’s going someplace nice, safe and dry for a month and hopefully when she comes out, she’ll be the mother Archie deserves.”
Derek sighed and, wherever he was, Sage could picture him nodding. “Thank you,” he said. “For everything. Will you… be coming home tonight?”
“That depends on your girlfriend here,” she huffed, feeling slightly better after her tirade. “Listen, do me a favor? Archie’s with Colby at the store. Can you grab him when you get a chance? Keep him with you until I get home?”
“Already on my way,” he said. “Listen, be careful, okay? And if you need me…”
Sage hung up, not too eager to hear Derek’s empty promises at the moment. She loved him, desperately, but since Dana had shown up he’d been about as helpful, and half as charming, as little Archie!
She calmed slightly during the last few minutes before
the rehab appeared in front of her, looking more sterile – and less bucolic – than she had imagined. She parked in front of the building; Dana slumped and zonked in the passenger seat.
Inside the front office, Marigold, the receptionist recognized her right away. “Sage?” she asked. “Are you... okay?”
Sage realized she hadn’t even brought a free book to pave her way! “Sorry to barge in on you like this, Marigold, but… I’ve got somebody that needs your help.”
“Oh dear,” she said, standing. “I’m not sure…” She picked up the phone, dialing quickly. “Let me see if we have a vacancy.”
Sage bit her lower lip. “I know I’m showing up unannounced,” she muttered, as if to herself.
While on hold, Marigold smiled and, placing her hand over the receiver, said, “It’s never a good time for rehab, Sage.” Just then a voice barked and Marigold put the phone up to her ear. Sage couldn’t hear the voice on the other end but saw the look on Marigold’s face. “Oh thank goodness,” she said, hanging up the phone. “We’ve got one bed left on the unit, so…”
Sage sat, trying to fill out paperwork the best she could. While an orderly helped an incoherent Dana into a wheelchair, Sage snagged her purse and filled out the rest. “As for payment,” Marigold said, “it’s not cheap, but… you’ve been so good to us. Let me crunch some numbers with my boss and get back to you in a few days, okay?”
Sage sagged with relief, trying to figure out how much was left on her total of three credit cards. She had plenty for shoes and purses and teddy bears and apple juice, but nowhere near enough for a month’s stay in rehab.
“Thank you,” she said to Marigold, tears finally falling as they wheeled Dana into the reception area. “I just… I didn’t know where else to go. We’ve tried everything we know.”
“Is she… related?” Marigold asked.
“It’s… a long story.”
Marigold nodded, standing and joining the orderly near the doorway to the medical wing. “We… need to get a few things ready,” she said. “If you want a few last minutes before she’s ours for the month?”
Sage nodded, sitting in the chair facing Dana. When the door shut, Dana’s eyes fluttered open then shut. Sage would have been perfectly content to spend the last few moments in peace, but she didn’t want them to part that way. “Dana!” she said, loudly, the young mother returning to consciousness suddenly.
“What?” she asked.
Sage ignored her wide eyes and the desperate, feral look inside them. “Goodbye,” Sage said, gripping the arms of her handlebar. “For now, goodbye.”
“Where are you going?” Dana’s breath reeked of alcohol, eyes growing drowsy again.
Sage felt sadness in her heart as she stood, watching Marigold and the orderly return. “Not me, honey,” she said as they turned her around and began to wheel her away. “We’ll see you in a month!” she said to the door, swinging closed as Dana slid down the hall on the other side.
Marigold walked Sage out to the car, the sky golden and blue. “She’ll be able to make calls by next week,” the young woman explained.
“Not until then?”
Marigold shook her head sternly. “This is serious business, Sage,” she said, gripping her forearm. “We need time to assess her and make her feel welcome. We can’t do that if she keeps reaching out for home.”
“Sure,” Sage said, giving the girl a brief, brisk hug. “I understand.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t pop into the store in a few days and give you an update myself!”
Sage brightened, suddenly realizing how much she cared about Dana and her fate. “I’ll make sure to have a stack of books ready,” she said, surprised by how much she was looking forward to Marigold’s visit even as she drove away from Sunnyside.
Chapter 12:
Derek
Derek paced nervously in the visitor’s room of Sunnyside Wellness Center, jittery from two cups of free coffee from the little table in the corner. It was a functional room, well-lit and breezy, but he was nervous just the same.
Dana had been in rehab for two weeks now and, this being her first weekend for visitors, she’d asked to see Derek. And only Derek. Sage had pitched a fit, wondering why her first thought hadn’t been of little Archie. Derek couldn’t really argue with her, until now.
Despite the visiting room’s sunny yellow walls and soft tiled floor, the worn wicker chairs and puffy green cushions, it was what it was: A rehabilitation center for adults dealing with substance abuse. And cheery or not, the room smelled like a hospital, and felt like one, too. Between the framed beach and sunset prints hanging on the walls were warnings ranging from “Absolutely zero food or drink permitted in this room!” to “No physical contact allowed!”
Derek had to empty his pockets on the way in, forgetting that the breath mint strips in one pocket could “stimulate alcohol cravings” if Dana smelled them and forgetting that the small bottle of “Ocean Breeze” hand sanitizer Sage had given him for good luck contained, duh… alcohol!
He sighed, hearing a door shutting down the hall and, behind it, several sets of shoes squeaking down the long, linoleum hallway. As he stood nervously, wiping his hands on his best blue jeans, he heard muffled voices and, then, the door opened.
“Derek, hello,” said a middle aged African-American man, sturdy and fit, with large biceps bulging beneath his blue on blue striped golf shirt. “I’m Serge, Dana’s Rehabilitation Sponsor.”
“Hi Serge,” he said, extending a hand to feel it swallowed by the man’s vice-like grip. “It’s nice to meet you. I appreciate… I appreciate you letting me see her today.”
“Well, about that,” Serge said, nodding toward a cluster of wicker chairs in the corner.
“Can I stand?” Derek asked. “I’m a little nervous.”
“Totally understandable, Derek. And, apparently, Dana is, too.”
“Yeah?”
“She’s been doing really well all week but, the closer this day got…”
“I thought she wanted to see me?”
Serge held up his hands, as if to assure him. “She does, Derek, she does, she just… without the alcohol, Dana is finding new ways to explore her emotions. It hasn’t been easy for her.”
“Is it supposed to be?” Derek snapped. “I mean, it hasn’t been easy on us, either.”
Serge nodded, eyes flashing protectively. “I’d kind of like to avoid that type of blaming language if you two see each other today,” he said.
“I’m sorry, Serge, it’s just… she has a little boy, you know?”
“Archie.”
“Right, and… shouldn’t he be here now, instead of me?”
Serge looked around the room, confirming Derek’s earlier fears. “Do you think this would be a healthy scenario for either of them?”
“I guess not, I just… she doesn’t seem to have much interest in her son, you know?”
Serge sighed, his overly pleasant, overly cautious façade suddenly faltering. “It’s… something we’re working on, Derek. Dana has a lot of baggage, being a teen mom, you know?”
Derek smirked. “And with me not being a teen dad, I suppose?”
Serge snorted, his steely façade crumbling even further. “You could say that. But, you know what… let me give you guys a few minutes together and hopefully it will work out, okay?”
“I don’t want to set her back,” Derek said.
“I’ll be right outside,” he said, already halfway across the room. “I won’t let anything happen… to either of you.” Winking, he turned around and stepped into the hallway. After a little muttering, Dana stepped into the room, the door closing softly behind her.
She looked radiant, skin aglow and kissed by the sun, auburn hair tousled and frisky, smile vaguely bashful but there was no mistaking the panther-like prowess in her steps as she approached, looking sleek and sexy in a simple white sundress and soft, brown sandals.
“You look great,” he said.
“Tha
nks,” she gushed, brushing a lock of hair behind one blushing ear. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, too, Derek.”
“It seems like you’ve been in here forever,” he said, finally sinking into one of the room’s worn wicker chairs.
“To both you and me!” she snorted, sinking into the chair right next to him. Warmth and sexuality oozed off of her in waves and Derek felt ashamed of the warm, sexy thoughts he was feeling in response to her glowing skin and the way her full breasts pressed against the thin cotton of the sundress.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Great!” she said, but there was sadness in her eyes and brittleness to her tone that belied the act she was obviously putting on just for him. “They’ve really taught me a lot in here.”
“Like what?”
She slid a hand atop his knee, their eyes meeting as she obviously hadn’t read the warning signs about “close physical contact” plastered all around the room. “About what’s important to me,” she purred and Derek half-expected her to stand and do a striptease. “Like you, Derek.”
“And Archie, right?” he said.
“That goes without saying, Derek,” she insisted, turning to face him. “I think… I think the reason I’ve been so miserable is because I couldn’t give Archie the family he wants, and needs. But now that I’m here, now that I’m getting sober… I can.”
He nodded, mind racing, but figuring this wasn’t the time to remind her – again – that he was in love with Sage. That he would always be in love with Sage. That he loved Archie, and would never do anything less than love him, but that if they were going to be a “family”, they would have to work around the fact that Derek and Sage were a couple.
Instead he peered back at her, wondering why, if all of the above were true, he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to sleep with Dana again…
Chapter 13:
Sage
“Welcome home, babe.”
Waves of Desire Page 5
