Innocent Tears

by Iris Blobel

  “So, what’s Teresa’s plan for Nadine?” Carl asked as he poured.

  With a big sigh Flynn sat down on the one-seater and as he leaned back into it, he squeezed his eyes shut to remember what had been said between him and Nadine’s grandmother.

  “Her words were that Nadine would stay for the holidays so we could get to know each other until I’d take over full custody.”

  “But why does Teresa want you to have Nadine? She never liked you, and now she wants you to have her granddaughter?” Jenny asked.

  Flynn lifted his right shoulder in a shrug. “Don’t know,” he muttered.

  “I never liked her!” his father threw into the conversation.

  “Look,” Flynn tried to remember what had been said. “Teresa was never the mother-of-the-year type. They’re retired and I’m sure they would’ve been heavily involved in the upbringing of Nadine so far. Probably more so when Saz got sick.” He swallowed hard at the thought. “I suppose for them it was the right thing to do. Whether I like it or not.”

  “Darling?” Jenny sat forward on the couch and gazed at her son intently. “Don’t get me wrong. We really like the girl, but do you know that she’s your daughter?”

  He cupped the glass in his hands and said quietly. “She’s got your eyes, Mum. I don’t need any other proof.”

  Her eyes reflected her love as she turned to Carl. “Your father’s first words. She’s got your eyes, darling. No doubt about that.”

  Flynn’s mouth tugged into a smile as he watched his parents sharing a loving moment. He took another sip of the wine. “I was wondering what you are thinking about the idea of taking care of Nadine,” he said avoiding his parents’ stare.

  “Take her back to Queensland?” Jenny asked, and Flynn slowly nodded.

  Carl scratched the back of his head. “What exactly are your thoughts regarding your daughter’s future?”

  “Dad. I can’t look after her. It’s just not possible,” he replied louder than he had intended. Flynn placed his glass onto the table and stood up. As he walked over to the window, he pinched the bridge of his nose. A headache was starting behind his eyes. “I… what… I mean–” He sighed and turned to look at his parents. With his shoulders sagging, he finally said, “I just can’t raise a child.”

  Carl leaned forward and propped his elbows on his knees. He rubbed his jaw, deep in thought. Finally he said, “I always thought we raised you to do the right thing, and goodness only knows how proud we are of what you have achieved in your life.” He paused momentarily to gaze into his wife’s eyes. “But we have also raised you knowing you can count on us in every situation. In all honesty I’ve got to say I don’t like your decision, probably more from the perspective of a father who has wonderful memories of sharing your childhood.”

  Carl stood up and walked over to Flynn and placed his hand on his son’s shoulder. “I will obviously have to talk to your mum, but I’m more than happy to spend the rest of these holidays here in Melbourne to find out whether you’d still like us to take her after you have spent some time with her.”

  Flynn looked down to his feet. Considering, rethinking, and figuring out decisions he had to make. It wasn’t going to work. He had no idea about girls. About little girls. About children. What about his job?

  He shook his head. “Dad. It’s not the getting to know her. It’s the time she deserves. It’s my job.”

  Jenny watched her two men carefully, and with a voice close to a whisper she said, “Flynn. I think what your father is trying to say is that by the end of next week or the week after you might look at the situation from a different angle. You might like to arrange your life around her instead of your job.”

  Flynn turned to his mother. “I worked hard for this job–“

  “And lost so much because of it.” His father’s voice was deep and sad.

  Flynn raised his eyes to find his father watching him intently. How could they not understand? He shook his head again.

  “Son. Let’s talk about it next week. We want you to relax and make the best of every day, and we promise you either way, we’ll help.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” He nodded in appreciation. “I know I’m asking for a lot.”

  “Your mum and I will go down to Torquay for the weekend to visit the Tierneys to catch up. How about you’ll spend some of that time with Naddie doing something special?”

  Flynn nodded, even though he knew he had a few important business meetings those days. His mind raced straight away about what he was going to do with his girl, when he thought of Emma! She just had to help him again.

  With a weak smile he turned to his mother. “I will do.”

  * * *

  * * *

  She couldn’t believe it! As soon as Emma heard Flynn’s voice on the phone, she was no longer able to think straight. She tried her very best to ignore him because she didn’t like his arrogance or his inability to hug his little girl. Not to mention that he didn’t seem to be able or to even want to look after his daughter.

  She wanted to hang up, but another part of her wanted to listen. She had missed his little girl and was wondering how things were going.

  “How are you Em?”

  “Busy, so I’d appreciate if you’d make this quick.” It took Emma all her energy so her voice wouldn’t falter. She heard his breathing and her palms became moist with sweat.

  “I’m sorry,” he said just above a whisper. “Truly, I am.”

  Tears welled at the back of her eyes and she had to blink a couple of times to control them. Do. Not. Cry.

  “Em?”

  She sighed. “Yes?”

  “Nadine would like to see you again.”

  A smile spread across her face. “That’d be lovely. I’d like that, too.”

  “How about I drop her off tomorrow?”

  Emma stiffened instantly. “You need a babysitter, don’t you?” The tone of her voice sounded harsher than intended.

  “No. No, not at all. She wants to–” She hung up on him.

  Holy smokes, she was angry. That man was about the only person on this earth who could make her numb with rage. She grabbed her sneakers and made her way downstairs to go for a walk. It was just what she needed, a stroll around the block to clear the mind. It had been a busy day at the hotel. She yanked open the front door and… her heart nearly jumped through her throat! Flynn scared the life out of her with his arm raised, about to knock.

  “For goodness sake, Flynn, you’ve almost given me a heart attack.”

  He slowly lifted his head to meet her stare. “Sorry about that.”

  Her lips thinned with anger. “What do you want?”

  “Come in?”

  Emma shook her head. “Can’t do. I’m about to go out for a walk.”

  “No worries. I’ll come with.”

  Her jaw tensed as she glared at him. “Okay. First of all, I don’t think so. Secondly, I just hung up on you. How come you’re here?”

  “I wanted to talk to you in person.” Flynn moved a strand of hair from her face. “I’m honestly sorry. Can’t you at least give us a chance to talk about it?”

  Emma lifted her gaze and met his hazel brown eyes. Why did he do that? Why wouldn’t he just leave her alone? The tide of emotions she had worked through the previous days just rose inside her again.

  She knew she was heading towards something special with Jack. Or was she?

  She knew she didn’t like Flynn and his arrogance of putting his job before his child. Or did she?

  She sighed. “Drop her off at lunchtime with her overnight gear. No talking. No explaining. No nothing.” And then she met his gaze dead on. “This is a favour for Nadine, and has nothing to do with you. It’s not her fault that she’s ended up with a jerk of a dad like you.” Then she turned and walked off, feeling his stare on her back as if he was touching her. She could’ve sworn she heard his voice, but ignored it.

  22

  The next day, Flynn stood in front of Emma’s door with Nadin
e by his side. Excitement radiated from his daughter’s eyes.

  A woman with wild, blonde hair opened the door. He guessed her to be in her late fifties. A leftover flower child of the sixties it seemed. “Oh my. You are quite a hunk, aren’t you?”

  Flynn’s eyebrows shot up as he stared at the woman in front of him, wearing a very colourful T-shirt, flared jeans, and of course bare feet. But then his gaze slowly moved over to Emma. A smile pulled at the edge of his lips as he noticed the red cheeks underneath her hands covering her face.

  “Nice to meet you.” He held out his hand to the woman next to Emma.

  “Mary, I’m Emma’s auntie.” She smiled, but ignored his hand. Obviously, formalities weren’t quite her thing.

  “Hello, Nadine. Nice to meet you,” Mary said as she looked past the girl’s dad. She kneeled down to be on eye-level with the child. “My name is Mary.”

  Nadine smiled. “Hello, Mrs. Mary.”

  “Hmm. How about Auntie Mary? I’m Emma’s auntie, so you may call me Auntie Mary as well.”

  Nadine nodded. “I’d like that. And you can call me Naddie.”

  Mary pinched the girl’s chin. “I reckon we’re going to have a great day.” She took Nadine by the hand and took her inside. “You can help me finish the cake while Emma has a little chat with your dad.”

  Nadine nodded, again, and hopped along.

  “Hey, Miss Muffin. How about a little, See you later, Dad?”

  Nadine turned around and waved at him. “See you tomorrow, Dad.” And then she followed Mary into the kitchen.

  Flynn scratched his head and turned to Emma. “I suppose that’s better than nothing.”

  Emma remained silent. Her stony expression as she gazed back at him sent shivers down his spine. What on earth had he done?

  “Em, can we talk about this over dinner some time?”

  She held back a snort. “What about?”

  She was about to turn when he grabbed her arm.

  “Let me go, Flynn, please.”

  He slid his fingertips down her arm to her hand, and then laced his fingers through hers.

  Emma pulled back her hand and whispered. “I’ll drop her off tomorrow after lunch.”

  * * *

  * * *

  “Emma, do you like rainbow cake?”

  Emma chuckled. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a rainbow cake, but I look forward to tasting it.”

  Mary balanced a handful of 50ml natural colour bottles in one hand, and nodded her head towards three bowls where the colour had already been mixed in. “We found these and thought we’d give it a try.”

  Emma laughed. “This is going to be interesting.”

  They spent the next hour helping Nadine mixing all the ingredients in a bowl and pouring the dough in a greased baking tin. The little girl loved the whole experience, giggling the whole way through.

  The cake turned out well, and while it was cooling down, they all enjoyed a lovely afternoon with a walk in the local park and then some board games back at the house.

  Later that afternoon, all three of them settled in the lounge room when Nadine asked Mary, “Do you miss your sister sometimes?”

  “Of course I do,” Mary replied. “Every single day.” And Emma thought to notice that her auntie searched the girl’s eyes for some sort of hint about her thoughts. “Tell me about your mum, Naddie.”

  Nadine smiled. “She’s a rainbow fairy now.”

  “Is she?”

  Nadine nodded. “Yes. She’s watching over me.”

  “How about your grandparents?”

  That twinkle in the child’s eyes disappeared and she looked away. “They’re nice,” she replied just above a whisper. “I like my new grandparents.”

  Emma looked up. “Your dad’s parents?”

  “Yes. They came here on a plane as well. Nan told me they live near the beach.”

  There was a lump in Emma’s throat. “Naddie, is this where you’re going to go? Are you going to live with your Nan?”

  The girl shrugged. “Don’t know,” she said quietly. “I don’t want to. I want to go back home.” She wiped the first tears away with her shirt sleeve. “I miss my friends.”

  Emma’s heart ached. There were no words for how much she wanted to throttle Flynn. She was furious, angry, but most of all she was incredibly sad for her little friend. And helpless! In one fluid motion she wrapped her arm around Nadine’s waist and pulled the child onto her lap.

  “I’m sure everything will turn out all right. I promise.”

  Mary made a little cough noise but Emma ignored her. She knew already she shouldn’t have made that promise. It was stupid. It was irresponsible to give her little friend hope. But perhaps it was just that little bit of hope that kept this girl going. She sighed and lifted her head to meet her auntie’s eyes. Mary seemed just as helpless as she herself was.

  Emma and Nadine nearly jumped off the couch when Mary suddenly clapped her hands on her lap.

  “I almost forgot!” Mary stood up in one fluid motion and walked over to the door for her bag. “Look at this, young lady. I did bring some evening entertainment for us, while Emma cooks us dinner.” She held up a fairy DVD and smiled when she saw Nadine’s reaction.

  “Oh, wow! Which one is it?” Nadine asked excitedly.

  Emma’s mouth curved into a smile. Her little friend seemed to have forgotten about her sorrows. At least for a little while. Thank goodness!

  Mary unpacked the DVD out of the wrapper. “I don’t know, honey. Let’s have a look.”

  Nadine walked over to Mary as Emma stood up. “Well, I’d better heat up this fabulous lasagne then.” But nobody listened. Her guests were eagerly figuring out how to start the DVD player and get the movie started.

  Contentment rushed through Emma. If Jack knew his DVD player was playing a fairy movie, he’d have a coronary. That thought gave her a little chuckle.

  23

  Emma heard Jack’s footsteps as he came upstairs. She glanced over at the alarm. Two o’clock. The waves must have been good, not to mention the drinks she assumed he’d had with his friends. The door opened slowly and the dim light from the hall fell into her room. What was he doing? He stepped closer to the bed but stopped in his tracks when there was movement next to her in bed. She heard a faint swishing noise, and assumed his fingers searched for the dimmer lights on the wall.

  “Don’t turn on the light, Jack,” she whispered.

  “You’re still awake?”

  She giggled quietly. “Shh. I’ve got someone with me.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  Emma backed off. Something in his voice told her he didn’t like what she had just told him. Tensing up, she tried to focus on him in the dark. What was wrong? What had happened? Who did he think she would have in her bed? Disappointment spread through her.

  “Who on earth is in there with you, Em?”

  She rubbed the tiredness out of her eyes and peeked over to Nadine, who stirred but didn’t wake.

  “I’ve got Naddie with me.”

  “Seriously, Emma. What are you doing?”

  Before she was able to answer, he’d already turned and left the room, slamming the door on the way out. What a jerk!

  Nadine made some noises, but settled back into sleep. Emma’s head fell back onto the pillow and she covered her eyes with her hands. Frustrated and knowing she wouldn’t get to sleep, she threw her legs over the side of the bed and stood up.

  “Jack?” She gently knocked on his bedroom doorframe.

  He turned. His hair was tousled from a day at the beach, and his face was well tanned. Man, he looked good.

  For a moment, his brown eyes hovered over her body and then a smile flickered across his face. “Hey, you.”

  She couldn’t help but smile back. She must have been really tired to have misunderstood the previous situation in her bedroom. Stepping closer to him she almost shivered when his hand touched her waist as he pulled her closer. He gently kissed her.<
br />
  “Didn't you have your auntie here?”

  She brushed some sand off his cheek. “I did, but I looked after Nadine as well. The two got along really well.”

  He took a deep breath and moved his head back to see her eyes. “I don’t want this guy to take advantage of you, sunshine.”

  “He doesn’t, and I like spending time with Nadine.”

  “Well, I don’t like it that you do. Not if it means that you have less time for me.”

  She frowned, not really sure about his comment.

  His thumb trailed over her bottom lip. “Hey, I just missed you, and I’m a bit jealous of your little friend.” He lowered his face and began to trail kisses down the slender curve of her neck. Emma closed her eyes and ran her palm up the front of his shirt. In one smooth and slow movement, he picked her up and carried her to his bed. Her lips tingled from his kisses.

  “Jack?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Please, you need to stop. I’ve got to go back to my bed.”

  He moved his head back to meet her eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  Jack rolled off her and onto his back, and she leaned up on her elbow. Gazing at him, she traced his lips with her finger. “Why don’t you like Nadine?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t like kids.”

  “But why?”

  He moved her hand, threw his legs over the bed, and rose. “Watch my lips, Emma. I. Don’t. Like. Kids. Deal with it.”

  She flinched and stood up as well. What was it with his mood tonight? She heard his sigh and turned to face him.

  Scratching the back of his head he slowly met her gaze. “Sorry. That dad annoys me the way he takes advantage of you.”

  She opened the door. “He doesn’t, Jack. I happen to like Nadine. My heart goes out to her as she struggles to get her feet back on the ground,” she said quietly, and shut the door behind her as she went back to her own bedroom. What was it with Jack and kids? She remembered Jacqui’s words and what she had said about him. Why on earth couldn’t life be just simple? Was it too much to ask to enjoy time with Jack and Nadine, okay, not necessarily at the same time, and for Flynn to back off? Flynn! She touched her lips and thought about his kiss. Can there be a difference in kisses? She rolled her eyes. You’re losing the plot, Em! Carefully, she slid back under the duvet and after a lot of tossing and turning, she finally found sleep.