On the menu, Kimmie pointed to a picture of a waffle topped with nuts, syrup and whipped cream. “What’s that?”
Zack read the caption. “Walnut Maple Surprise.” He indicated another. “That’s the Pineapple Express.”
“I love pineapple!” Her voice rang with excitement.
“Then pineapple it is. Unless you’d prefer the Banana Pecan Special?”
“I like bananas, too.” She sounded worried, as if making the wrong choice might have dire consequences.
“We could get both and split them.” While he’d prefer the walnut maple, that wasn’t the point.
“Yay!” Kimmie said. “I mean, thank you.”
What a polite little girl. Even though she had his eyes and Jan’s dark hair, Zack felt as if he were taking someone else’s daughter to lunch. With Berry, the connection had been instantaneous.
Late one afternoon, striding toward his car in the Los Angeles hospital parking lot, he’d heard a woman calling frantically and seen a toddler galloping toward him, her tiny black pigtails bouncing. “Whoa!” Zack had caught her in a gentle grip. “Okay if I pick you up?”
“Yes! Yes!” The exuberant child had practically flung herself into his arms.
“Ups-a-daisy.” As he’d lifted the toddler to carry her to her mother, he’d felt a jolt of tenderness. As if he’d met her before, or as if they’d been destined to meet.
When he restored the tot to her mother, Zack had recognized Rima as a woman he’d seen in the hospital waiting room a few times—probably a patient. He must have seen Berry there as well, but that didn’t fully explain the sense of connection.
Rima had been grateful and apologetic, explaining her heart condition prevented her from running after her daughter. As Zack watched them drive off, a sense of loss had washed over him.
A few days previously another nurse had told him that Jan, who was about five months pregnant, was expecting a girl. Zack realized he’d been dreaming about that child, and somehow an image of Berry had sneaked into his subconscious, standing in for the unborn daughter. Just a quirk of his psyche, perhaps, but he’d felt as if she and he were already a family.
A few days later, spotting Berry and Rima in the waiting room, Zack had stopped to chat. Impulsively he’d invited them to a children’s art fair he’d seen advertised.
Lonely and hurt by what felt like Jan’s betrayal, Zack had quickly grown attached to Rima and Berry. Had he not met them, maybe he’d have tried harder to win Jan’s forgiveness three months later when he learned of her innocence in the medication error. Their lives might have taken an entirely different course. But what would have happened to Berry?
“I changed my mind. That’s what I want.” Kimmie pointed to a picture of a waffle with chocolate and whipped cream. “Okay, Zack?”
He was here to make friends, not enforce a health code. “Sure.” If I were your real father, I’d tell you to eat something that at least pretends to be good for you.
Only he wasn’t yet her real father. And, as Kimmie plopped down the menu and stared past him, he could tell she knew it, too.
* * *
VIEWING THE DEPARTMENT store’s home-decor section filled Jan with longing. Graceful couches in bright colors, gleaming parquet tables and cabinets, a charming dresser with fairy-tale stencils... She couldn’t afford this stuff. Instead, she bought some cheerful throw pillows that were on sale.
Later, at the Suncrest Market, she followed her list around aisles that were just starting to become familiar. She was loading her purchases into the cooler in her trunk when an unfamiliar ring sounded in her purse. Zack’s phone!
As she took it out, she checked the time. A little past one-thirty. Were he and Kimmie still at the restaurant?
She pressed the button. “Dr. Sargent’s phone.”
“Oh.” The woman on the other end sounded surprised. “Who is this, please?”
How awkward. And disappointing. You idiot. You should have considered he might have a girlfriend. “This is Jan Garcia from the hospital. We had a little mix-up with our phones.”
“Oh, Jan!” Someone she knew? “It’s Kate Franco.”
Relief yielded to concern. “Is Berry all right?”
“She’s fine. Well, except for being unusually cranky. I’ve never seen her this way.” Kate’s voice had a frazzled edge. “We finished the performance early, and she and Brady have been squabbling ever since. She’s demanding to go home this instant.”
Now what? Jan and Zack had agreed not to say any more than necessary about the situation, so she couldn’t go into detail as to his whereabouts. “He had some errands to run, so he may not be reachable yet. Why don’t I pick up Berry? I’ll make sure she gets home safely. I have to drop off his phone anyway.”
Then it occurred to her she and Berry hadn’t met. The little girl might be understandably reluctant to leave with a stranger. And Kate’s going to think Zack and I are involved.
Nothing to be done about that.
“Wonderful!” Kate’s effusive response didn’t leave room for backpedaling. “My baby’s fussing and Tony’s out playing golf, so he can’t drive her. I’d appreciate it so much.”
“I’ll be right over, if you’ll give me directions.”
A few minutes later, Jan was on her way.
* * *
MAKING POLITE CONVERSATION with a seven-year-old strained Zack’s mental agility more than he’d expected. After they ordered, he asked a series of questions to which she gave shorter and shorter replies. Yes, she missed her friends in Texas. No, she didn’t eat out often. Yes, she liked her teacher.
Then they sat listening to the surrounding clink of china and chatter of voices. Happy families, close couples, people who conversed without hesitation.
“Is there anything you’d like to ask me?” Zack waited for Kimmie to pose the painful questions. Why didn’t you marry my mommy? Why did you raise another little girl instead of me? Why are you here now? Instead, she played with her cutlery and opened packets of sugar, which she dumped into her milk.
“Do you do that at home?” he asked.
“We don’t have these paper things.” She tore another one, spilling sugar on the table. A sideways glance told him she was monitoring his reaction—testing him.
“If you don’t do it at home, please don’t do it here,” he said.
She made a face but stopped opening packages. Mercifully, the waitress chose that moment to appear with their orders.
The platters looked enormous. “Do you want me to cut up your waffle for you?” Zack asked.
Kimmie regarded the piled-high confection in front of her. “I can do it.”
“Tuck your napkin into your collar,” Zack warned. “You don’t want to splatter chocolate on your dress.”
“I’m not a baby!” Her lower lip protruded.
Picking up his own napkin, he stuck it into his shirt collar. “Does that make me a baby?”
She cracked a smile. “It looks silly.”
He waited.
“Okay.” She did the same.
As Kimmie sawed earnestly at her waffle, Zack instinctively reached over but then dropped his hand. Berry always let him help if she needed it, but this was a different little girl. Very different. Berry would never stuff large chunks of food in her mouth and smear chocolate across her face without wiping it off. He tried his best to ignore the mess.
Kimmie did look cute with those smudges. And she radiated pleasure as she
dug into her food. “Mmm, good!”
“It is,” Zack agreed. He was enjoying his maple waffle.
“Makes me thirsty!” Grabbing for her glass, Kimmie didn’t take into account the slippery chocolate on her hand. As if in slow motion the glass tipped, seemed to hang in midair for a second and then dumped milk all over the table. It soaked the container of sugar packets, flowed around the little pitchers of extra syrup and surged across the tablecloth.
Anger flashed through Zack. How embarrassing! Kimmie should have been more careful.
Large green eyes stared at him in fright. Although he hadn’t spoken, she’d registered his fury. “I’m sorry, Zack.”
As quickly as it had flared, his rage faded. She was only seven. And he didn’t want to be like his father, quick to lash out with harsh words that left scars. “It was an accident.”
“You’re mad at me.” Her chin quivered.
Zack began sopping up milk with his napkin. “You know what?”
Kimmie shook her head.
“My dad used to blow his temper whenever I did anything wrong. It made me scared of him. I don’t want you to be scared of me.”
Her lips firmed. No telling what she was thinking.
A waitress hurried over. “I’ll clean that up for you. We’ll get a fresh tablecloth.”
“If you could lay down a towel and bring more napkins, we’ll make do,” Zack told her. “And another glass of milk, please.”
“Of course.” As she left, Zack made a mental note to leave an extra-large tip.
“You couldn’t drink that milk anyway. It was loaded with sugar,” he told Kimmie. “Now you get a fresh glass.”
“Really?” She blinked at him. “For free?”
“I’ll pay for it. This isn’t the restaurant’s fault.” Zack glanced at her plate. “You got some in your waffle. How does it taste?”
Kimmie took a bite. “Milky. But yum!”
By the time the waitress restored order to their table, Kimmie had relaxed. With a new glass of milk and a clean napkin in place, she ate happily.
“So, are there any questions you want to ask me?” Zack hadn’t forgotten his query earlier. Maybe now she’d be more comfortable with him.
Kimmie put down her fork. “You’re a doctor, right?”
“That I am,” he confirmed.
“Do you fix animals or just people?”
“Just people.” Not as naive a question as it might appear. Rural doctors had once treated valuable farm animals as well as humans, and until recently, medical students had practiced surgical techniques on dogs and other living creatures. “Doctors specialize in one or the other. Animal doctors are called veterinarians.”
“Why did you pick people?” Kimmie asked.
“I guess that’s the way I was brought up,” Zack conceded. “My grandfather was a preacher and my father was principal of a private high school. They emphasized service to others. To other people, I mean.”
“I like serving to animals,” Kimmie replied earnestly.
On the verge of responding it wasn’t the same thing, Zack realized Kimmie had every right to her opinion. And that many people would agree with her. “So I’ve seen.”
They moved on to discussing Smidge and her adjustment to her new household. Somewhere along the line, it occurred to Zack they weren’t struggling to find topics of conversation anymore.
They’d turned a corner. It might be only one in a series of corners, but he was grateful they’d made it past the first bend in the road.
Chapter Eight
Tony and Kate Franco’s home sat atop a bluff. From the driveway Jan caught a glimpse of the harbor—not directly below, but close enough for her to make out the white triangles of sailboats and the colorful splash of catamarans gliding through the sunlight.
She rang the bell. After a moment Kate answered, her brown hair askew and two-year-old Tara on her shoulder. “Oh, good! You got here fast.”
“I came right from the supermarket.” Jan followed her through the foyer, past a curving staircase and into a large family room. Beyond, through glass doors, she saw a pool landscaped with rocks and ferns, and splashed by a waterfall. Beside it, a dining and lounging area surrounded an outdoor kitchen.
“What a beautiful house.” Jan didn’t feel more than the tiniest prick of envy, though. She’d never pictured herself living anywhere so luxurious.
“Thanks. It was Tony’s before we got married. I can still hardly believe I live here. Where’s Kimmie?”
“Having lunch with a friend.” Not exactly a lie.
Kate led the way into a sleek, upscale kitchen. “In the interest of world peace I sent Brady to his room.”
“I hope he isn’t being punished.” Jan suspected Berry’s mood was unrelated to anything the little boy had done.
“It’s no punishment. I’m afraid he’s a little spoiled with electronics, although we do limit his time on them.”
Off the kitchen, in a sunroom with a bay window, a girl glanced up from the padded bench where she sat reading a fashion magazine. Although tall for a third-grader, Berry still had a childishly round face.
“Berry, this is Kimmie’s mother, Mrs. Garcia,” Kate said. “Or have you two met?”
“We have now,” Jan said. As she registered the tightening of Berry’s jaw, she wished Kate had introduced her differently, perhaps as a coworker of Zack’s. But why should she? Kate had no idea how touchy this situation was for them. “I’m going to give you a ride. Hope that’s okay.”
The little girl stared at her, frowning, as if she’d like to refuse. “You can take the magazine,” Kate offered. “I’m done with it.”
Berry swung to her feet. “Thank you, Mrs. Franco.” She held tightly to the publication with its cover image of a striking model. Although Jan disapproved of emphasizing thinness and sex appeal, she wouldn’t mind if Kimmie showed more interest in wearing dresses once in a while.
“Don’t forget your things.” Kate pointed at a backpack. “How about I send you both home with some brownies?” To Jan, she explained, “I baked a double batch. We’ve got plenty.”
“Daddy doesn’t like me to eat sweets.” Berry grabbed her pack.
Ordinarily, Jan would have accepted on Kimmie’s behalf. But if Zack was strict about diet, she didn’t want to make Berry feel bad. “It’s kind of you, but Kimmie’s been eating too many sweets herself.” Such as waffles for lunch.
“I understand. Tony can always take them to work tomorrow.”
In the car, Berry put on her seat belt and sat as far away from Jan as she could. Jan didn’t blame her. Having Zack take another little girl to lunch was bad enough, and now she had to ride home with that girl’s mom.
“The September issue is always the best.” Jan indicated the splashy magazine in Berry’s lap. “They feature the college back-to-school fashions. It’s fun to see what’s in style, isn’t it?”
The girl flicked a sideways glance at her. “You read this?”
“I subscribe.” Jan hadn’t missed the fact Berry wore embroidered jeans and a white T-shirt with a rainbow on the front. Even in Southern California that seemed a bit casual for church and a performance. “Those are pretty colors you’re wearing.”
“I like dresses better.” Berry stuck out her legs, which drew Jan’s attention to her pink tennis shoes.
“Those are nice.”
“They’re ugly.”
“You’d rather have patent-leather Mary Janes?” That was what Kimmie wo
re when she dressed up.
“What’re those?”
Clearly Zack had a knowledge gap when it came to girls’ clothes. “They’re shiny and black with a strap across the top.”
“I’d like that!”
Navigating away from the bluffs, Jan realized she hadn’t considered logistics when she’d promised to take Berry home. She had a carful of groceries and her apartment was on the way.
The prospect of unthawed vegetables and hamburger patties won out. Also, she wasn’t sure if Zack was home yet. “I have groceries in the trunk. I’d like to stop and put them in my fridge. Is that okay?”
Berry thought for a moment. “Yeah. Okay.”
After the grandeur of the Franco house, arriving at her apartment complex made Jan more aware than ever of its modest stucco exterior, close-packed buildings and narrow walkways. Also, their carport was a hike from her unit, and she’d bought more groceries than she intended.
“I can carry some,” Berry volunteered as Jan extracted her reusable bags from the cooler.
“That would be a big help.” Jan settled a sack of frozen food into the girl’s outstretched arms. She was able to carry the remaining groceries, and Berry fell into step beside her. They hauled their load past a pair of children running around shrieking in fun.
“You live here?” Berry asked.
“Sure do.”
“Wow. Right next to the playground.”
And here she’d been envying Zack’s large yard! “You have a playhouse,” Jan reminded her as they entered her apartment.
“It’s no fun by myself.”
Inside, the furniture seemed shabbier than ever. Well, it would look better when she brought in the new cushions, Jan decided. “Make yourself comfortable while I put the groceries away.”
“Okay.”
In the kitchen, Jan realized that she didn’t usually give a ride to someone else’s child without permission, let alone bring her home. She wondered if she’d overstepped. On the other hand, Zack was taking Kimmie to see his house and the kitten. Why shouldn’t Berry get to know this place, too?
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