Fire In His Eyes

by Nightingale, MJ

  Kids were versatile. They adapted well if they had love and support on all sides. I saw this all the time in my career. “Kids are smart today, Victor,” I offered.

  “She sure is,” he laughed. There was another pause. “Well, I will let you go to bed. Thanks for listening.”

  “No problem. Good night, Victor,” I whispered.

  “Good night, Monica,” he said softly.

  On Friday, during my lunch break, before I knew Ana had to go to work, I called her and filled her in on what was going on. She warned me and reminded me again that we were playing a dangerous game with this friendship business, but was glad Victor wasn’t leading me on and giving me false hope. I admitted to her that was what I was hoping she would say. She again cautioned me not to hope because anything could happen. She reminded me how our parents had remarried, albeit they had divorced again. I sighed, knowing this was true, having lived it myself.

  Friday night rolled around, and I called Victor. He had his daughter for the weekend. I could hear her in the background with Kat. They were laughing.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Oh, Kat and Stacey are in the kitchen cooking and baking up a storm, and I’m trying to stay out of their way,” he laughed.

  “You lazy SOB, you just don’t want to help!” I heard Kat yell.

  “Yeah, daddy!” Stacey yelled laughing.

  “Are you slacking in your duties?” I accused. I could tell that Kat must be close to Stacey by the way they talked and were so easy going together. She must spend a lot of time there.

  “Not you, too,” he laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re on their side?” he whined.

  “Good girl, Mon. Fight the power. Make sure he knows that the kitchen is not just a woman’s domain!” Kat called out.

  “What’s fight the power mean?” I heard Stacey say.

  We all laughed. “You’re lucky she didn’t ask what SOB meant,” I said, and I heard him chuckle.

  “Yeah, really. That one just slipped past her,” he mumbled. “That doesn’t happen too often.”

  “So, why are the girls in this cooking and baking frenzy for which you refuse to help?” I asked continuing to mock him.

  “They are . . . um cooking and prepping for a party, Joe’s retirement actually. We are doing a little something for him down in the courtyard area by the pool tomorrow night. All of us from the apartment complex are going.”

  “Yeah, and you should be helping!” Kat complained.

  “He’s your boyfriend!” Victor retorted. “Plus, I refuse to go anywhere near that counter.”

  “Oh you devil,” I heard Kat say. Then she yelled, “Tell Monica to come. It would be nice to see her.” Oh, my. Why would Kat put us in this predicament, I thought.

  “Is that Monica,” I heard Stacey say. “I want to meet her.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” I hastily stated. “I’m not sure.”

  “She says she is busy,” he started to offer as an excuse.

  “Busy, my arse!” Kat snipped.

  “I really want to meet her, daddy! Kat says she’s cool!” I heard the girl complain. Kat told Stacey I was cool. They had talked about me. The slight panic I felt began to rise.

  “Tell that skinny bit— um, Monica,” Kat cut herself off, “She’s expected at eight.”

  There was an awkward silence from both Victor and I.

  “So, eight then?” he asked when I hadn’t said anything.

  I paused, “Eight it is, then.” I felt like I hadn’t been given a choice. But the temptation to see him with his daughter was just too much. It would be painful, but something I thought I should do.

  At eight on the button, I made way into the courtyard of Victor’s apartment complex. I just followed the noise. It was obvious the revelry was already under way from the sound of laughter and music that filled the evening air. I walked between Victor’s building and the one next to it, and made my way down the small lane of potted plants, and decorative shrubbery to the pool and lanai area. I noticed someone had strung nets of white Christmas lights over the fence, some trees, and the umbrellas. It made for a nice atmosphere in the waning light of November in Florida. I saw two tables laden with food and drinks. There were a lot of people, much more than there had been when Joe had thrown a party last summer. People stood and sat in small groups, all around the oversized swimming pool and a sign was hung across the fence that read, “Good luck Joe! Congratulations.”

  Victor had his back to me, and Kat saw me first. “There you are, Mon,” she crossed the lanai over to me and gave me a quick hug. “Damn, girl. Victor was right. You are as skinny as pole. Not good,” she looked at me suspiciously.

  Victor turned in his seat when he heard Kat make that statement. “I had the flu last month,” I lied to brush away any questions. “It was awhile before I was able to eat anything solid. My stomach was very unsettled.” Her eyes were still suspicious. “I am gaining it back slowly now,” I tried to reassure her.

  Victor got up when he heard that, concern on his face. “You didn’t tell me you were sick?” He smiled but I saw a bit of doubt in his expression.

  “Oh, I . . . it slipped my mind is all,” I offered lamely as he crossed over to me.

  “Oh, well you are better now, though, right?” he asked and offered me a halfhearted hug.

  I nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I hugged him quickly and stepped back.

  Victor took my hand and tugged it slightly. “Come on and sit down with me and Joe. Tina, Maria, and Michael are here somewhere, too.” I followed him letting him drag me along, but I was looking around to see if I could spot his daughter. I had wondered if she would look like him. He noticed my glancing and knew what I was doing. He rewarded me with a breathtaking smile. “She’s with Joe’s two granddaughters. They came down from Jacksonville for the party.”

  “Oh, that’s nice,” I offered and smiled back.

  “Yeah, Stacey and Joe’s grandkids have been as thick as thieves all day. Brittany is fifteen, and Lucy is eleven, the same age as Stacey,” he said as Joe spotted me and waved calling us over. “Hey, Joe has seen you. Let’s say hello.” Victor took my elbow and brought me through the crowd of well-wishers over to the small group around Joe.

  Joe came forward to greet me.

  “Hey, Monica. It’s nice to see you, again. I’m glad you could make it. Thanks for coming,” he said and gave me a big bear hug.

  “Congratulations Joe, on retiring.” I handed him an envelope with a card wishing him well on his retirement. “I hear you are planning on spending a lot of time visiting the grandkids. That ought to be nice.”

  “Aw, you didn’t have to do that,” he said slipping the card into his back pocket.

  “It’s just a gift card to the new seafood place, Bone Fish Grille, the one down on Henderson Avenue. I had heard you mention you loved fish and wanted to try it,” I shrugged.

  “Oh, thanks. That was sweet of you, and about the kids, yes; I am looking forward to having the time to visit them more often, but not too much time.” His eyes began to twinkle and from my peripheral vision I saw Kat approaching. So that is what was putting the sparkle in his eyes just now, I thought to myself. “I’ve got a great reason to be spending time here as well,” Joe added. Kat went right to Joe, ducked under his arm, and gave him a peck on the cheek. Joe put his arm around her back and pulled her in closer.

  “Don’t stick around on my account, you old codger. You’ll just be underfoot,” she teased.

  “Not under your foot darling, but maybe under . . .,” Joe was caught off guard by the swift elbow to the rib cage Kat had given him. He coughed, and then laughed, and she kissed him on the cheek while blushing.

  “Oh, here come the kids,” Victor interrupted. I turned in the direction Victor was looking and saw three young girls approaching. Two were brunette, one very tall and thin, and the other shorter and a bit rounder in features. Sisters obviously, and the third girl, shorter than the rest had blond hair and Victo
r’s blue eyes. It was startling to see this little girl with those eyes, but no one could mistake that this was Victor’s daughter. She was stunning.

  I leaned over to whisper, “She’s beautiful, Victor. Beautiful.”

  He reached over and took my hand and gave it a squeeze. He was smiling at his daughter as she approached, but he was holding my hand making those circles he used to do with his thumb. It was like a shot in the gut. I hadn’t expected it, but electricity shot through me, and I think him too, because he looked down at our hands and winced. He let go of my hand regretfully. “I know,” he whispered back. “She is beautiful. And, it scares the hell out of me.” I nodded sympathizing with him.

  Victor turned in Stacey’s direction and called out to the kids, “Stacey, Monica just got here!”

  The little girl with the sparkling blue eyes skipped ahead of the other two girls and rushed to her dad slamming into him around the waist and gave him a hug. Then she turned and offered her hand to me. “Hi, Mon. Nice to meet you. Dad talks about you all the time. Oh, is it okay that I call you Mon? That’s what Kat calls you,” she rushed out.

  I took her hand and clasped it with both of mine and shook her small hand. She was eleven, but looked like she was eight. “Sure,” I smiled. “That’s what my sister calls me, too.”

  “Ooo, you have a sister. You’re so lucky. I wish I had a sister. It sucks growing up an only child. Nothing but adults to play with when you’re home,” she pouted.

  Victor ruffled her hair. “One of you is plenty,” he teased but was looking at me when he said it.

  “It sure sounds like it sucks,” I told her and it made her smile that I was agreeing with her and not taking her dad’s side.

  “You’re pretty, Mon. I love your jeans. I would love a pair of jeans like that, but mom and dad say no way, whenever I ask for a pair of skinny jeans,” she confided in me. I had just bought these this morning. I hadn’t wanted to wear anything sexy, but all my casual pants had been too large. They were not my usual style, but they were comfortable and fit well at least. Victor looked at my legs then, and I think it was the first time he noticed what I had on, because I saw a lick, just a bit, but I saw it, a flame in his eye. My heart accelerated.

  “Thanks Stacey, but your dad is probably right. If you wore these, he would have a heart attack, or worse, he’d have to chase all the boys away with a stick and you would be mortified,” I teased her. “Fathers can be so embarrassing at times.”

  “Don’t I know it!” she rolled her eyes and looked back at her dad.

  “Hey, I’m not that bad,” he sounded wounded as he looked at his daughter. Adoration for her filled his expression.

  “Yes, you are,” she teased. “Well sometimes.” Brittany and Lucy over by the snack and refreshment table began to beckon to her. “Okay, I gotta go get some snacks and I want to hang out with the girls. I’ll be back later, Monica because I want to ask you about your fingernails. Don’t let me forget.” And she was off, skipping over to the buffet, and her two friends who were piling their own snacks onto paper plates.

  I looked down at my freshly painted manicured fingernails, French-tipped. I had the nail tech add a little sparkle to the pinkies, but other than that, nothing fancy. “Oh, brother,” Victor laughed, “am I in trouble or what?” he joked, but clarified when he saw my confusion, “She’s been begging her mom and I to let her get a real manicure and not a fake one.”

  “They grow up fast,” I offered looking around and realizing for the first time we were standing by ourselves and that Joe and Kat were now sitting with another group of people.

  “Yeah, they sure do,” he grumbled. His hands rubbed his temples. “It’s scary. It scares me that I won’t be there every night.”

  My heart lurched. It sounded as though he was resigned to it being over with his wife. I squashed that feeling and put it away to ponder later. “You are,” I whispered and then more firmly. “Maybe not physically, but you see her every week at least, and every other weekend for three days, and when you do, I am sure it’s quality time. The time you spend apart, the lessons you teach, and the morals are with her always. Those just don’t go away,” I explained.

  “You’re right, you’re right,” he muttered and shook his head. “You were great with her, by the way. You really can talk to kids,” he added mildly surprised.

  “I, um, am a teacher, Victor! Kids are my life.” I teased. “I’m the kid whisperer.”

  “Well, then I may have to come to you for advice if you’re such an expert,” he laughed at my joke.

  “Sure. Anytime.” I laughed in return.

  “Come on let’s go circulate,” he offered me his hand, and I took it. He gave my hand a little squeeze and I trailed behind him. He introduced me to a few new people and I got reacquainted with those I knew; Michael, Tina and Maria.

  At one point, Victor wandered off to spend a little time with his daughter and I found myself back talking with Kat.

  After a few minutes of conversation, she came out with it. “Yeah, so . . .,” she paused. “You still love him, don’t you?”

  I couldn’t lie. I sighed. “Yes, but I am not a husband stealer. I just couldn’t do that to anyone. But, I do care for Victor, and I think we both just needed to know that the other was all right before we could move on,” I explained hoping she would understand.

  “I don’t think you’re a husband stealer, Mon. Please don’t take it that way. I’m glad you are here for him. His wife, er, Julianna, she bailed on the marriage four years ago.”

  My eyebrow arched up at her words. “Yeah, at first it was the sex. He hasn’t had sex with her in three years. He only started . . . ,” she paused searching for the right words, “seeing girls a year or so ago after she kicked him out. There were a lot, mind you, but he never saw any of them more than once or twice. And at first, it was only out of anger. But since you, there has been no one, not even since you . . . well you know what I mean,” she finished lamely.

  I was shocked by this revelation. She was telling me Victor had been in a marriage for three years without any sex at all, a man like him, and that he had just meaningless flings before me, then it was just me. I didn’t know what to say. I just stood there, jaw dropped, staring.

  She continued, “But I can understand why you want to be cautious. She was a winner. She played head games, making him think he was a freak, when it was more about the money. Her folks are loaded. She never got used to Army life. Would not even consider living in base housing even after Stacey came along. She would stay with her parents when he was away, or in training. Julianna made him get an apartment and never wanted to hang out with his Army buddies. We weren’t her people. She never even tried to get to know us. She kept to her own circles.” It was clear Kat was not a fan of Julianna’s.

  I was taking this all in. It confused me, and I couldn’t seem to make sense of all the information. It did, however, make me understand why Victor had lied for so long, and it did make me understand why he was such a mess. But, what I didn’t get was why he was fighting to keep a woman that didn’t love him. Why he didn’t understand it was more important for his daughter to see both her parents happy, than to be miserable together?

  “Thanks for sharing this with me, Kat. It helps me to understand a little better why Victor has done what he did. He hasn’t shared anything like this with me,” I reached out to squeeze her hand.

  “He would never bad mouth the mother of his child. That is just not him,” she offered with a smile. “But I wanted you to know.” Joe was calling her over, so we both strolled over to the other side of the lanai where Joe was talking to Michael and another guy I had not met yet.

  “Hi, Monica. It’s nice to see you again. This is my friend, Rick,” Michael stated. “Rick, this is Monica,” Michael added finishing the introductions.

  “Hi, Michael. It’s nice to see you again, too. And, it’s nice to meet you, Rick,” I smiled.

  “It’s always nice to meet a stunning woman,�
�� Rick smiled wickedly proffering his hand. He was tall, taller than Victor, leaner too, but well defined. He was quite a bit younger, with brown, close cropped military hair, and hazel eyes. Good looking, rugged. I shook his hand intending to make it quick but he would not let go. “Come on and dance with me and we can get to know each other,” he stated as he pulled me to an area where some couples were dancing. I had no choice in the matter, really, he was practically dragging me. But I was happy to see Michael following us and Tina not far behind.

  When we started dancing it was an up tempo song, and Michael and Tina kept circling around us making it more like a group dance so that I felt more comfortable. After two songs, Victor interrupted us to tell us the kids were all going to Joe’s for a sleep over, and wanted to say goodnight. I saw that he looked upset and was eyeing Michael like crazy. We stopped dancing, said good night to the girls, and Stacey hugged me. I was a little surprised at how affectionate she was. “You’re so pretty. Good night, Monica. I hope I get to see you again.”

  “I hope to see you, too, Stacey, goodnight.” I leaned down to hug her back. “And, I think you’re pretty, too.” I straightened and Victor wouldn’t look at me. He was deliberately looking the other way.

  “I’ll be back in a bit,” he said to Michael. “Joe’s daughter is going to put in a movie for the kids. I just want to see Stacey settled.” And with that, he marched off with Stacey.

  “Catch you in a bit, buddy,” Michael called out to his back. “We’re good here.”

  “Right,” he called over his shoulder.

  I was a bit concerned with his sudden change in mood and a bit distracted when Rick pulled me over to a chair. “Hey, let me get you a drink, Monica, and we can get to know each other. What will it be?” he asked, referring to the drink.

  “Umm, a Michelob Ultra would be nice. If they don’t have it, anything light will do,” I murmured absently as I was distracted in trying to puzzle out Victor’s mood change.

  “A beer drinking woman. My kind of girl,” he stated as he walked off. That snapped me back to reality. Uh-oh, Vic didn’t think? Well, I would straighten that out right away when he returned, I thought, suddenly nervous.