by Naomi Niles
I took a deep breath. His mother was always a sore spot for me, but I didn’t want to let Bethany know. “We just weren’t meant to be together. She is doing her thing, and I am doing mine. She is still active in his life though. We are just co-parenting. I feel that we are better with that than an actual relationship.”
“Yeah. I do remember you telling me something like that earlier.”
I smiled. “Oh. Were you trying to fact check me? See if I said the same thing or something else?”
“Well,” a crescent smile escaped the corner of her mouth, “maybe I was. I was told that it is harder to remember a lie than it is the truth. So, either you are telling the truth, or you are a good liar.”
“I think we will go with the former.”
Just then, the cashier was ready for me to pay for everything. I figured we would determine who was the best with three games under our belts. As we started bowling, I was surprised at how well Bethany did. She sent the ball straight down the middle on her first three attempts, striking all the pins down at once. “Wow. Are you trying to embarrass the Wallace men today?” I said, jokingly.
She held her finger up and blew the smoke off it like she was holding a pistol. “I am a straight shooter.” She strutted back to her seat as Vinny laughed and made his way to the lane. With his back turned, she walked closer to me. She bumped her backside against me as I stood near the ball rack. “So, you better watch out.”
“Yeah,” I said, admiring her perfectly shaped body, “trust me, I am watching.”
“I did it, Dad!” Vinny yelled, grabbing my attention. He spun around with a wide grin on his face as I looked down the lane.
“Good job, Vinny! A strike? Wow, both of you are trying to put me to shame, huh?”
He ran and gave Bethany a hug, “You were right, Bethany! I just had to hold the ball like you said, and it worked! I got them all!”
“Alright, alright you two. Step aside. Let me show you how it’s done.”
I grabbed my bowling ball and walked by the two of them. I loved the fact that they had already secured a tight bond with each other. I knew that Bethany wouldn’t replace his mother, but she would be an excellent stand-in whenever his mother wasn’t around.
Chapter Ten
BETHANY
I sat in my bed that night, reflecting on how much fun I’d had on my date with Gavin and Vinny. I still couldn’t believe how destiny seemed to position Vinny right between us the way he did. I was a little nervous about meeting Gavin’s son, even though I knew how good I was with children. There was just an extra bit of anxiety flowing through my blood, hoping that I wouldn’t find a way to screw things up.
When I saw Vinny on the other side of the door, it felt like a load of bricks were lifted from my shoulders. I always wondered who his parents were because out of all the children at the school, he was by far the most well-behaved. He seemed so much older than the rest of them. I started to think if our children would grow up with the same mannerisms, but I quickly ended those thoughts. Stop it, Bethany. Children already? You’ve barely known this guy for two weeks. Calm down.
I glanced at the book on my nightstand. The desire I had to read those love stories had slowly begun to fade away ever since I met Gavin. I knew that I was probably jumping the gun, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to be in love, and so far, everything seemed like my love would be from Gavin. My phone rang in the middle of my thoughts. “Bethany! How was the date with Gavin and his son?”
“It was AMAZING!”
“Listen. I know that I said we would talk about it tomorrow, but I can’t help it. It is almost 8 pm, so I am coming over there right now. Besides that, my husband is getting on my last nerve, so I need to get away.”
I laughed. “Alright, come on by. You know my home is always open to you.”
She showed up almost twenty minutes later. She used her key to let herself in, then hurried to my bedroom and flopped onto my mattress as if out of breath. “Dear Lord, I’ve never been so tired in my life! This baby is kicking my ass!”
I looked at her stomach. Her baby bump was still the same size. “You don’t even look pregnant. I swear you aren’t going to gain any weight during this pregnancy, and before you know it, you will be back down to the skinny girl you were before you got pregnant.”
“Shit. I hope so. I don’t want to imagine what I will look like in a couple more months.” She popped her head up, “And that reminds me. We need to go the store tonight. Belville’s closes at 10 pm, and I saw some cute maternity clothes there that I wanted to grab.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
“But, before that, tell me about the date, step-mom.”
I laughed, then told her that I already knew his son because he was enrolled at the same school that I worked for. She was just as surprised as I was, and she felt like things were starting to look like they were meant to be for us. “Yeah, it kind of feels that way, you know?”
“Yeah. But, like I said, I still want you to take it slow. Get to know him a little more before you start talking about anything else. I’m sure that if something is wrong with him, it’ll come out. If not, you may have lucked up and found yourself a winner.” Her eyes popped open, “Wait a minute, how long has it been since I signed you up on that website?”
I laughed. “Um, it’s been more than a week.”
“Fuck! Damn it! There is thirty fuckin’ dollars down the drain. You guys met on what? The second day?”
“Yeah. First or second.”
“Shit. Well, I’ve paid for another month already, so you may as well keep the profile up just in case you and Gavin don’t work out. Um,” she hesitated, “have you heard anything from your ex?”
I sighed. “No. Nothing. I hope it stays that way. April, you know those were some of the worse years of my life and I never, EVER, want to go back to those days. God. I felt like I was going to do die. Drugs. Stripping. Abuse. I don’t know how I made it out alive.”
“Yeah, I know. But, with you going out a little more with Gavin, you are increasing your chances of being spotted–”
“Gee, thanks for reminding me.”
“No, I am just saying that so you can keep your eyes peeled. Possibly let Gavin know about your past. Did you tell him about your ex?”
“No, not yet. I mean, I will eventually, but I don’t want him to know those details yet. I figured it would be best to keep that quiet for now. I don’t want his impression of me to change right away.”
I thought back to my days of being a stripper. I worked at a few clubs in Richmond, VA. I bounced around wherever the money went. Some nights, I could see over a thousand dollars, and other nights, I would barely crack five hundred. That is when I met my ex-boyfriend. He came off as a nice, sweet guy who just wanted to get to know me, but it only took about a month for his possessive nature to show.
After a couple years of putting up with his abuse, I snuck away from him in the middle of the night. With tears in my eyes, I got on a bus and left, not knowing where I was going to land. When I got to Roanoke, I stayed in a hotel for the first month until I was able to find a job at Morris Elementary. I found favor with Principal Jones, but I had to lie on my application just to get the interview.
I knew that if they found out what I did in the past, I may lose my job, and if I told Gavin anything right now, I wasn’t sure if I could trust him to keep it quiet. Things could easily get out, especially since his son went to my school. I didn’t want to chance it. Not right now, at least. If things went bad between me and Gavin, he could literally ruin my life by exposing what I used to do before I moved to Roanoke. It wasn’t worth the chance. Not yet.
“Yeah, that may be a good idea,” April said. “Well, let’s get up and go to the store. You’re driving because um, because I just don’t feel like it.”
I laughed, grabbed my keys and headed out to the store with her. While we were in the car, Gavin texted me a few times. “Oh my goodness, is that him again?” April looked at her
phone, “My god damned husband hasn’t texted me once since I left. Ugh. He makes me so fucking sick sometimes, Bethany.”
I looked at her as she glared out the window with an angry glare on her face. “Maybe the baby has your hormones out of whack.”
She sent the menacing glance in my direction, “Or maybe my husband doesn’t love me anymore.”
I stifled my laugh when she said that. I knew her husband loved her with all of his heart, so that wasn’t the case. This pregnancy just had her more emotional than she’d ever been before, so I understood why she was feeling that way. “No, he loves you, and you know he does. You said he pissed you off? What did he do?”
“He fucking left the god damned toilet seat up, and I almost fell in the fucking water. That shit is so inconsiderate!”
I laughed. “April, didn’t you look first?”
“Oh, now you’re taking his side?”
“No, I–”
“You know what? Just forget it. Yes, I could’ve turned around, but when I have to piss, I have to piss! Damn it!”
I kept my mouth shut for the rest of the ride as she vented about all the things her husband did to piss her off during the last week. April was lucky to be in her position. She was with a successful man who loved and respected her, and she didn’t have to go to work. All she did was stay at home and cook, and even though I could see how that would get boring from time to time, in a way, I still envied what she had.
Her life was like one of the love stories I read at night, and I never told her that, but that’s how it felt to me. It was just past nine when we got to the store. She went inside before me and went straight to the maternity section, scanning through the dresses until she found the ones that she wanted. “Yes, this is it right here.” She held it up to her body in front of the mirror. “What do you think, Bethany?”
“That is really cute. You are going to look so gorgeous in that, April.”
“You think so?” she asked, glancing into the mirror. “Because I think I will look fat in it. My stomach is small now, but in a few months, I will be as big as a house. Hell, I probably won’t even want to leave the house when that happens.”
“That is what maternity dresses are for. Everyone knows you will be bigger because of your pregnancy, so the dress is not only supposed to enhance that fact, but make you look cute in the process. Get it. As a matter of fact,” I grabbed three more dresses that I thought she would look cute in, “get these, too.”
She smiled. “Yeah, I think I will. Shit. I am going to spend all of Mark’s money for leaving that toilet seat up.” She looked at me, “Do you want something?”
I shook my head no, and with that, she went to the dressing rooms to try a few of the items on. As I sat in the seat just outside the room, Gavin texted me again. “Hey. So, when do you want to hang out again? Just us two this time around.”
“It’s up to you. I am pretty free most weekends, so just give me a day and I’m sure I can swing it.”
“Alright, that sounds good. What are you up to now?”
“Just out with a friend shopping. Well, she is shopping, I guess I am just here for moral support.”
“I see. Well, if you feel like it, call me when you get home. I don’t want to interrupt.”
Just then, April came out of the dressing room. “How do I look?” she asked, modeling her flowery dress.
“That looks good, April. I mean, it’s not a maternity dress, and you won’t be able to fit it in another month or so, but it still looks good.”
“I’m buying it. I love it.”
“Alright,” I said, smiling.
After she finished, she took the clothes to the cashier so she could ring up the purchase. We headed outside and got into the car. As soon as I turned the engine, I froze. “Bethany? Bethany, what’s wrong?”
I knew that car from anywhere. My ex-boyfriend drove a white Escalade with 22-inch rims and heavily tinted windows. The truck rolled by us as a numbing feeling shot through my limbs. I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to believe it was him. “Nothing,” I said, starting my engine. “Nothing. We just need to leave. Right now.” I backed out of my spot, then sped out of the parking lot. Just when things seemed like they were getting better, I was brought right back down to reality.
Chapter Eleven
GAVIN
“Um, Dad?”
I squinted my eyes as soon as I heard Vinny’s voice. He stood on the side of my bed, fully dressed, with his bookbag on his shoulders. I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. It was 7:24 am, and he had to be out at his bus stop in five minutes. “Sheesh, I didn’t even hear my alarm.” I ripped the covers off and sat upright in the bed.
“It’s okay, Dad. I can walk myself out. I’ve already fixed myself some cereal and toast. I figured you were tired, so I didn’t to wake you up.”
I rubbed my hand over my face and waited a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the lights. His actions didn’t catch me by surprise. If I didn’t show up around here for a week, I’m sure he wouldn’t miss a beat at school. He would get himself up and ready for school, then fix breakfast. Nobody in the neighborhood, or even at his school, would be able to tell that he had been taking care of himself. I loved his independence, but at the same time, I didn’t want to miss teaching him the things that a father was supposed to. “No, son, it’s fine. I need to get up and walk you to the bus stop. I don’t want you walking there alone.”
“Okay.” He looked at his watch. “I’ll wait by the door.”
“Okay. I’ll be right out.”
I got out of the bed and grabbed a shirt and my jogging pants out of the closet. After I got dressed, I reached into my drawer and grabbed the note I had written for Vinny to give to Bethany. I thought it was a good way to deliver the message because she wouldn’t expect it. I wanted to catch her off guard. I grabbed the note, then walked to the front door where Vinny was patiently waiting for me. “Alright, kid, let’s go.”
We walked outside into the gentle, morning sunshine. It hadn’t gotten the opportunity to heat up yet, and right now, the warmth was at a perfect temperature. I put my arm around his shoulder as we walked to the bus stop. “Son, can you do me a small favor?”
“Sure, Dad.”
I pulled the note out of my pocket. “Would you mind giving this to Miss Bethany for me?”
He took it out of my hand, “Sure, Dad. You didn’t want to call her?”
“No. I think this way will be better. At least, for now.”
“Okay.”
He took out a pen and wrote a reminder on his hand, then shoved the note into his pocket. A few moments later, the bus slowly turned the block and headed in our direction. “Alright, here we go. You have a good day, alright?”
“I will, Dad.”
He smiled as he kept his eyes on the bus. I took a step back when it stopped near the curb and watched him climb up the steps and find his seat on the bus. I waved at him, and in moments, the bus took off down the street. After I went back into the house, I flipped on the television and made myself a cup of coffee. Today, the replacement secretary was set to begin working. For the first time, I wasn’t anxious to find out who she was. Usually, I looked forward to the next person to sit in that seat because, more times than not, it was usually a young woman who just happened to be my type. But, ever since Bethany stepped into the picture, I thought less about who was going to replace Amber.
Once finished, I grabbed my cup of coffee, then walked back into the front room, leaving a trail of steam behind me. As soon as I took my seat, a commercial for The Right Click came on. I smiled to myself, thinking about what had transpired since the first day I signed up for the service. I didn’t think I would be able to find someone like Bethany as quickly as I did, but I was happy that I did. So far, she was a dream come true.
Afterward, I went to my room to get ready for work and then made my way to the office.
“Hello, Mr. Wallace,” she said with a smile as soon as I stepped off the elev
ator. I kept a smile on my face, but she was far from what I was used to seeing as soon as I walked in. She was an older woman. Her gold frames sat peacefully on the bridge of her nose. She had tight, curly hair and crow’s feet on the edge of her eyes. Patches of wrinkles were scattered throughout her countenance as she stood near her desk. “My name is Shirley Smith. I am your new secretary.”
“Awesome.” I extended my hand to her. Her fragile grasp seemed that if I squeezed too hard, her bones would break. “It is nice to meet you, Shirley. Glad to have you on board.”
“I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve taken the liberty of printing out your schedule for the day just to clear up any confusion.”
“Thank you, Shirley.” She handed me the paper as I looked over the schedule. I had forgotten that I had another business meeting with a few men from LA. I smiled at her, “Thank you, Shirley. I needed this. You are off to a great start!”
“Thank you, sir.”
“You’re welcome. Now, if you need me, I am right down this hallway. Feel free to visit me anytime that you need to.”
“I will. Thank you, Mr. Wallace.”
“Oh, and please, call me Gavin.”
“Will do, Gavin. Will do.”
I entered my office and hung my suit coat on the coat rack. It was a bit different seeing an older woman in the place of Amber, but if anything was going to keep me in check, it would be the fact that my secretary was an older woman who was far beyond my taste. I leaned back in my chair and glanced outside. Bethany’s face flashed in and out of my mind as I faced the glass window. I couldn’t wait to see her again. The fact that she already had a relationship with Vinny made things that much better for us. Just then, there was a knock at my door. “Um, Gavin? May I come in?”
I spun around in my chair and faced the door. “Come on in.”
Shirley smiled as she walked closer to me, “Um, I am having a bit of a struggle with the spreadsheet. I am trying to print it out, but I cannot seem to get it to work. It wasn’t as easy as the Word document. I am sorry, but if you don’t mind, can you show me how?”
