“Does this mean you’re planning on sticking around to see what happens next?”
I sighed and lay back on the mattress. “Aaron.”
He shook his head quickly. “No. Never mind. I’m sorry.”
It wasn’t something that I wanted to get into again. “How did the hunt for your mom’s new boyfriend go? Are you going to have a stepfather half your age?”
Aaron rolled his eyes. “I didn’t get to meet the guy but I was wasting my time anyway. Mom was already planning on inviting him to dinner. Apparently, they made last-minute plans for tonight, but everyone should meet him tomorrow.”
“Are you really worried that it’s another conman? I don’t mean to second-guess you, but I thought that kind of thing only happened in the movies or maybe in some upscale area where rich women are everywhere. It seems like a long shot to meet a woman on a cruise. Plus, your mother isn’t really the kind of woman who will let a man in a second time. I’m sure that she is being careful.”
“I don’t know what to think anymore.” He grinned. “You know, I accused her of hooking up with the bartender?”
“You didn’t!” I giggled. “Wow, I bet she was flattered. I think she likes the attention. Plus, it’s good for her. I looked through a catalogue that she brought with us, and I have to say, she has a great eye for art, which is something I never would have expected.”
“It was shocking, but it’s a problem too. She’s never had this kind of money before so she doesn’t know how to be careful with it.”
“And what about you? I know that I was never around to offer financial help. I just assumed that if you needed it, you would come to me.” I swallowed hard. “That call never came.”
“No, and it never would have. My father set up a small trust for me that I didn’t know about. It didn’t kick in until I was thirty. My mother said he set it at that age to make sure I wouldn’t just ‘piss it all away’, in his words.”
“You never should have dealt with that on your own though.” I shifted uneasily. It wasn’t something that I wanted to ask, but it needed to be addressed. “What about now? How will this work if I come back to Arizona with you? I don’t want to step in, but I want to be with Amy. I’ve lost too much time with her already.”
Aaron paused and cleared his throat. I could tell that he was struggling with what to say. “I don’t know, Julia. I wish that things could go back to normal, but you and I both know that’s a small chance. She is a person in her own right. I think a big part of who makes that decision needs to be her. Julia, she isn’t the little girl you left behind. Amy has been with me for the past five years. Are you suggesting I give that up?”
“Never!” I said in shock. “I was just wondering if she could stay with me every once in a while.”
“Julia,” he said, his tone warm and loving. “You’re her mother. I would never keep you away from her. I don’t know what our relationship is going to do, but that fact will never change. I never wanted for her to be without you.” He paused again. “Does this mean that you’re thinking that you will come back with us?”
I shot him another cold glance for bringing it up again, but before I could say something to him, he interrupted. “I know that you need time. I just hate walking on eggshells right now. So much has happened in such a short span of time. It’s still a little tricky to navigate around everything. Please, continue.”
Shrugging, I smiled at him. “I don’t really have anything else to say.”
“You can go back to telling me just how amazing I am as a parent,” he joked.
I pulled him down on top of me. “I have a better idea. Why don’t I show you just how hot I think it is that you’re a good dad?”
He glanced at the thin but impenetrable fabric separating us from Amy. “We’ll have to be quiet. I swear that kid either sleeps like the dead or wakes up at a raindrop. I can never tell which it’s going to be.”
“I can be quiet if you can go slowly. Last night, you nearly snapped me in half,” I whispered.
Aaron’s finger ran up my leg. “I can’t be held responsible for that. It’s been too long.”
Aaron
“What do we know about this guy?” Julia leaned over and asked me as we waited for my mother at dinner.
“Not much,” I muttered. “She waved me off before I had a chance to meet him. If I had to guess, I would say young, pretty, and willing to give her everything she wants—for a price, of course.”
“Wow,” she said. “You make everything seem so somber. You don’t think she would expose Amy to something like that, though, do you?”
“Normally, I would say ‘no’, but she was really into this guy. You should have heard the way she talked about him. I wouldn’t be surprised if they announced their plans to get married tonight.”
“Gross,” whispered Amy from across the table.
I’d forgotten what good hearing she had. She was sitting at the far end of the large table, pouting with her arms crossed as her eyes darted between me and Julia. So far, everything for Amy had been pretty fun and easygoing, but after an argument earlier about leaving the suite without an adult, she was busy sulking in the corner. I’d been impressed with the way Julia had handled the situation. She never once stepped in but gave us the space we needed to work through the problem.
A stronger woman would have struggled to stay out of the situation, especially when Amy started to cry rather dramatically. We couldn’t let ourselves forget that despite her upbeat attitude, she was still just a nine-year-old girl going through a huge adjustment. It was decided that we would be calling it an early night after dinner. I didn’t want her to think that her behavior didn’t have consequences, even while on vacation.
“What if it’s the real deal and he does care about her? Won’t she be heartbroken when they separate?”
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I didn’t think that far ahead. My mom is many things, including a hopeless romantic. If she does end up caring about this guy, then we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
“Well, it looks like we’re going to find out soon,” she whispered.
I saw my mother heading our way, the broad smile an indication of how the night was going to go. Her new friend wasn’t in tow, at least not yet, as she sat down. We waited and watched as she took her time getting settling in. Julia and I were sitting on the edges of our seats, but Amy didn’t let the mood affect her any. She was just thrilled to see her grandmother, the only sane one out of all the adults, as far as she was concerned.
“Mom,” I whispered through clenched teeth. “Do we get any details before this song and dance? Poor guy is going to walk into a dozen questions.”
“It’s okay,” said Julia soothingly. “She just wants to keep it a surprise. Let her have that.”
“Or she doesn’t want me to make a scene when he does show up,” I grumbled. I muttered under my breath, “I’ll still make a scene though. No kid is going to rip my mother off.”
“I assure you,” a deep, masculine voice came from behind us. “I have nothing but good intentions.”
Julia and I both spun around as my mother’s face beamed. The greying African-American behind me smiled down at us and held out his hand. I took it in my own, though I felt like a dwarf in doing so. My mother’s idea of a ‘young man’ had to be past fifty. His smile was captivating and I instantly felt at ease.
“Marcel,” he offered.
“I’m Aaron,” I said. “This is my wife, Julia, and my daughter, Amy.”
“Wow. You’re super tall!” said Amy.
My mother laughed. “He is a big man. Come, darling,” she invited, tapping the empty chair between herself and Amy. “Why don’t you sit down?”
“As you wish,” he said playfully, shooting me a wink as he wedged his way past the tightly packed tables.
“I’m so happy that you finally get to meet each other,” my mother cooed.
Marcel took her hand in his. He was enamored of her. “I w
ouldn’t have missed it for the world. So,” he said as his attention turned back to me. “I understand you’ve had some trouble with rapscallions going after your mother in the past?”
I nodded my head. “Yes. Given how her art has taken off, men seem to think that she’s easy prey.”
“Well I, for one, think it’s great that you’re so protective. She is a wonderful woman.”
“I think so too, so you understand if I’m a little skittish around new friends of hers,” I said.
Marcel smiled at me again. “Son, I think it’s great that you care. Not many kids make sure that their parents are safe nowadays.”
“Do you have any kids of your own?”
He nodded. “I’ve got six of them. Five of them, though, are the four-legged kind. You don’t know how excited I was when I recognized your mother at the bar.” He laughed at the memory. “I thought I was going to faint!”
Julie laughed as Amy’s eyes lit up. “You like dogs? Nana loves dogs too! She paints them!”
Marcel instantly transformed into a doting grandfather when he turned to her. “I know she does. I have two of her paintings hanging up at home. Of course, I can’t buy them now, but she sure is talented. Don’t you think?”
Amy nodded. “Why don’t you want any more?”
“Oh, Cher. I will have more, but since she’s so popular now, I have to share them with others. That’s always hard, isn’t it?”
“Yes sir. I hate sharing,” she said, reverting to her pout. “So is waiting around for adults.”
“Amy,” warned Julia.
Marcel didn’t miss a step. “Rules are important, though. It’s how us old people keep you safe.”
“Well, I don’t like it today,” she huffed.
Marcel smiled. “It can get hard to follow the rules. I bet you’re better at it than you think.”
“She really is,” gushed Julia. “I’ve never seen such a smart girl.”
“I guess you have a hand in that too,” said Marcel.
I didn’t want him to start poking Julia with questions. She had enough on her plate. I cleared my attention and turned the conversation back to Marcel whom, so far, I had no qualms with. His clothing was well kept but not overly expensive. He used good manners and wasn’t fawning all over my mother. He seemed to genuinely care about her too. I watched his fingers slowly move over hers and knew that no matter the conversation, his mind was with her.
“So you said you had a child? How old?”
Marcel’s face fell a little. “Oh, he would have been about thirty by now.”
My heart sank. “I’m sorry.”
He shook his head and smiled, if not with a touch of sadness. “It’s okay. It happened about ten years ago when he was stationed overseas. I’ve had a good bit of time to grieve, and I know I’ll see him again when the time is right.”
Julia’s eyes started to tear over a little and I took her hand. “You’re a fan of my mother’s work then?”
Marcel lit up again. “I’ve been a fan ever since I first saw it about four years ago.”
“She was just getting started then,” I said.
“I know. I was passing through Glenmont to see my sister and couldn’t resist stopping at a little flea market. Saw it hanging in the window and bought it straight away.”
“I remember that market,” I said. “They sold her work for the first six months or so.”
“He bought the painting of the two boxers,” offered my mother. “Do you remember that one, Aaron?”
I nodded my head vigorously. “That was the first one you ever painted! I remember you calling me the day you sold it. You were so excited.”
“Marcel was the one who bought it.” She beamed.
“Well, isn’t that something? Do you live near Glenmont then?”
“No sir,” said Marcel. “I wish I did now though. My sister lives about an hour north of there. I make the drive every once in a while to go see her, but I’m happy in New Orleans. Got myself a little hotel in the French Quarter. Up until I met this beauty here, I didn’t know I was missing anything.”
“You own a hotel?” asked Julia.
Marcel smiled and shook his head. “I don’t know that I’d call it a hotel, more like a motel and a few bungalows.”
“Oh, come now,” said my mother. “He’s being modest. It’s the quaintest little hotel I’ve ever seen. The pictures make it look absolutely breathtaking. Julia, you would love it. Nothing but protected land all around and it’s nestled back in the woods.”
“It sounds amazing. Maybe we should make a plan to visit sometime,” Julia said as she looked at me hopefully.
My heart started to race. “That sounds wonderful.”
“What about you two?” Marcel asked. “I hear you lead a pretty interesting life.”
“Oh, we manage. It’s nice to get a little vacation though together as a family,” Julia said, to my surprise. “I feel like I’ve missed out on so much by working.”
“Yeah,” Marcel agreed with a twinge of sadness again. “You never get those years back either. I can sympathize with that bottom dollar, but sometimes, family is just more important. I wish I’d had more time with my boy. You never know what you’re missing until it’s gone.”
“Well,” I said, trying to break the silence or stop Julia from breaking down. “I don’t think we need to worry about that anymore. We both know it’s time for a change, so Amy is going to have some changes to get used to.”
Amy wasn’t listening to the conversation until all eyes turned to her. She shrugged. “I like change. It’s new and interesting.”
“You’ve got a wild streak inside you, Cher?” asked Marcel.
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but Dad won’t ever let me go exploring.”
“Well, of course not!” Marcel said, much to our surprise. “Everyone knows that to be a spy, you have to have backup. Even the newbies know that. You always need to have a partner.”
“Wow,” she said, truly enamored. “I never thought about it like that. But who would make a good partner? I don’t want to leave anyone out of it, and there’s five of us.”
It was my turn. “Well, I think that I need a break, so why don’t we name your mother your official spy partner? Just until I get headquarters under control.”
She eyed me suspiciously before nodding her head. “I can agree to that.”
Everyone around the table laughed at her unique personality. The food started to roll out and the conversation died down some. Between courses, I asked Marcel more questions, but by all accounts, he was perfect for my mother. I could tell that they’d grown to care for each other in the short time they’d had. It made me hopeful for the future as I looked at Julia. She saw the loving glances that passed between them too.
When dessert finally came around, Amy was barely able to hold her head up. I wasn’t worried about my mother’s boyfriend anymore.
Taking Julia’s hand, I whispered to her, “I think it’s time to get her to bed. Are you going to stay here?”
She shook her head and smiled. “I think it’s time for us to talk about things, maybe talk about what happens after this.”
My eyes lit up. “Really? Are you sure you’re ready for that?”
Julia let out an unsure breath. “No, but I won’t know until I try.”
Julia
I counted the drops of water. I was up to sixteen but my mother was coming closer. She sat down at the table across from me. She was smiling, but I’d learned to tell the difference between a smile of satisfaction and a smile with an ulterior motive. I shifted uneasily in my seat. The glitter on my brand-new church shoes sparkled and caught my attention for just a few seconds before her gaze penetrated my concentration.
“I don’t like it, Mommy,” I whispered to her.
She reached across the table and took my hand, her fingers running over the golden medical bracelet she’d bought me the week before. I didn’t like it. It was a constant reminder that I was different from
the other kids. I always had to have an adult with me, even when I went to the restroom. For an already awkward seven-year-old, the difference was the world. She sighed and I looked up from my hands.
“Honey, you heard what the doctor said. The seizures are getting worse. We need to get you healthy again and the shakes will help.”
“They make my stomach hurt though,” I argued.
“That just means they’re fighting off the bad germs. If you weren’t in school, maybe we could cut them down in half?”
I shook my head vigorously and started gulping down the drink. It was salty, like tears. As soon as it passed my chest, the aching pain started. I hated the daily drinks. If it hadn’t been for my father’s insistence, I would still be drinking them in the mornings and missing school. Thankfully, he’d put his foot down and left the decision of public school up to me. I loved the break from my mother, who always seemed to be watching me.
“There, now,” she said as I crumpled up on the floor. “You will feel better soon, honey. Don’t be so dramatic.”
I stayed like that for a few minutes when the sound of heavy footsteps approaching struck fear into my mother’s face. She grabbed ahold of my arm and jerked me toward the steps.
“You know how much it hurts your father to see you like this. Get upstairs, now,” she hissed.
I groaned and slowly started to crawl up the steps. When I was near the top, I stopped because the pain was so intense. In the seventies-style home, I could see down into the kitchen. My dad hugged my mom before calling out for me.
“Oh, honey, she wasn’t feeling well so I sent her to bed. Why don’t you get a shower and I’ll start dinner?”
He nodded his head before glancing down at the table. I didn’t need to see his face to know he wasn’t going to be happy. He picked up the almost empty shake and glanced up the steps to me. I smiled at him, and within seconds, he was at my side.
“Hey, honey, are you okay?” he whispered.
Second Chance Draft: A Second Chance Sports Romance (Pass To Win Book 6) Page 33
