by Jo Goodman
Ten. They’d met ten times. Mitch did not say this. Instead he shrugged and offered, “That sounds about right.”
“My point is that you don’t know nearly enough about me to assume that I would be a good mother.”
“Gabe chose you. Kathy agreed. They must have thought you could do the job.”
“Oh, be serious. They never really thought they wouldn’t be around to raise their own children.”
“I disagree. If they had only asked us to be godparents, I would say you were right. But they made a point of setting things in motion for us to be legal guardians. I think they did give it thought. A lot of thought. They hoped it would never happen, but they planned carefully for just the opposite.”
“Then what about you? Following your logic, they must have thought you’d be a good father. Who’s to say you shouldn’t have the children in your custody full-time? Why do you think it has to be me?”
“Because you’re the girl.”
She blinked. “You didn’t just say that, did you? I probably misheard you.”
Mitch proposed his alternate theory. “Because I’m the boy?”
Thea actually smiled. “I’m going to do you a favor and pretend you don’t walk dragging your knuckles. See if you can follow this.” Her smile faded as she began presenting her points. “I work twelve-hour days downtown. That’s if things are going smoothly. You, on the other hand, have the option of working out of your home and have done that on and off for the last five years. I currently live in Fox Chapel. You live in Connaugh Creek. When I get married Joel and I will be living in one of his condo properties on the North Shore.”
“The stadium or the ballpark?”
Thea’s lush mouth tightened briefly. It was enough to keep her from taking the bait. “When you get married you’ll still live in Connaugh Creek.”
“Gina is Sommers Real Estate, remember? We could live anywhere. Even the North Shore.”
“You’ll live in Connaugh Creek,” she said. “Your family. Friends. Everyone is right here. Why would you want to live anywhere else?”
“A good question. Maybe you and Joel could get a home here. I could talk to Gina’s dad.”
Thea kept going. “If the children are with me they’d have to change schools, make new friends. What about their activities? T-ball. Dance. Swimming. I’m not even certain Joel and I will have a yard. They’ve just lost their parents. Another upheaval can’t be good for them. With you, they can stay where things are familiar. You saw them regularly. I didn’t. I couldn’t.”
“And why was that?” he asked. “It’s not as if you lived on the other side of the planet. You’re an hour away. Maybe less.”
Because you were always hanging around. “Are you taking me to task? Because Gabe and Kathy never did.”
Mitch knew he did not want to pursue that. Waving her comment brusquely aside, he pushed his chair back and got to his feet. Increasingly restless, he found himself wishing there was room enough to pace. He walked over to the polished credenza that almost filled the back wall and parted a double stack of accordion folders so he could hitch his hip between them. He stretched out one leg for balance and support. Crossing his arms in front of him, his posture not so much defensive as it was contained, he regarded Thea frankly. “What about this other load of ... stuff ... that Childers was proposing? It’s one thing that you don’t want the kids living with you, but not even having them on weekends? I don’t understand. How can you not want to see them during summer vacation or on holidays?”
“I never said I didn’t want to see them. In fact, I said I would visit them.”
“Jesus, Thea. Maybe you don’t want to get that close. Are you and Joel afraid they have cooties? I’ll send them with a certificate that proves they were deloused.”
“Stop it!” She swiped at the strands of hair that had slipped past her ear to brush her cheek. The diamond on her left hand flashed with the movement. “I’m not like that.”
“Like what?”
“Insensitive. Cruel.”
“Yeah? I didn’t used to think so but I’m getting to know you better.”
Reeling, Thea forced herself not to show it. She was rather proud when she could respond with a certain steadiness. “I want to see Emilie and the twins. Don’t ever doubt that.”
“But on your terms.”
She hesitated. “I suppose so.” Thea watched Mitch shake his head slowly, something like distaste curling his lip. Distaste might be softening it a bit. More likely it was disgust. She decided she may as well move into the area of complete dislike. “I’m willing to pay child support. Education. Activities. Medical. Whatever they need.”
“Fuck you.”
Thea’s mouth went dry. She could feel a flush stealing up past the scooped neckline of her little black dress by Chanel. Closing the short-waisted jacket wouldn’t help. The heat was rising fast, warming the pendant at her throat, climbing to her cheeks and finally making her scalp tingle. Her cropped hair, light and feathery and already a deeply tinted red, threatened to combust. “I see why you chose cartooning,” she said evenly. “Words are clearly not your forte.”
“You understood me. That’s all I was after.” Mitch unhitched his hip from the top of credenza and just leaned back against it. He lowered his arms to his side, holding the edge lightly. “I don’t want your money.” A thought suddenly occurred to him. “Or were you offering Joel Strahern’s money?”
“Joel has nothing to do with this.”
Mitch didn’t believe that for a second but he let it pass. “The kids don’t need your money. Gabe and Kathy had a good insurance policy. Triple indemnity for accidents. You’d know that if you’d been around.”
“I know about the policy. Avery told me. But most of it will go into a trust.”
“That’s right. Wayne is setting it up. Ironic, isn’t it? Gabe and Kathy were working hard, saving, and still cutting some corners so there’d be no question of the kids going to any college that would have them. One drunk driver later ...” A muscle worked in his jaw. His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply. “One drunk driver later and the kids’ college fund is secure.” Because bitterness served no purpose, he reined it in. “As far as current expenses, the kids are eligible for Social Security. Wayne’s already submitted the paperwork to the SSA. In the meantime, I’m not exactly flirting with the poverty line.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
“I don’t need your money any more than the kids do.”
“I know that. I want to help.”
“Who do you think you’re kidding? You want to salve your conscience. Maybe you even need to. Sorry. Not interested.”
Thea was done deflecting his darts. She challenged him instead. “If you weren’t prepared to take Emilie and the boys, why did you agree to it?”
The pitch of Mitch’s voice was like a growl. “For the same reason you did: because I didn’t think anything would ever happen.”
“So you signed up hoping you’d never be called upon to serve.”
“Like I said: same as you.”
They both fell silent, each of them looking away. There was enough self-recrimination to go around without any more pointing fingers.
Thea was the first to speak, her voice barely audible. “I can’t do it, Mitch. I’m offering exactly what I’m able to give.”
“Money and a few hours here and there with your best friend’s kids?”
“Yes.”
“Jesus, that’s pathetic.”
“Yes. It is.” There was an ache in her throat. Thea swallowed hard, first literally, then her pride. “Please don’t throw it back in my face.”
Mitch stared at her a long moment, then he sighed. “I don’t get this.” She wasn’t telling him everything; he was fairly certain of that. He was also thinking that he was unlikely to persuade her to confide in him. He had managed to make himself as likable as Snidely Whiplash was to poor Nell. “What if you took Emilie and I took Case and Grant?”
When Thea didn’t regard him with horror-filled eyes he knew it was because she didn’t believe he’d ever sanction breaking up the kids. She was right, too. “Okay, it was a bad bluff,” he admitted.
“Yes.” Thea fingered her necklace. “You have family around, Mitch. A sister. A brother-in-law. Your parents are still young. I imagine your mom is the one watching the kids now.”
“A lot you know. They’re in school.”
“Oh.” Her smile was a trifle sad. “Well, there you have it. I don’t know much about it. I think some people are born nurturers, Mitch, and some of us ... that is, some people aren’t.”
“Yeah? You’re squeezing my bleeding heart.”
Inwardly, Thea winced. “I’m sorry,” she said, her eyes dropping to his chest. “I wish I could do this differently.” I wish I could be different. “My parents are in their seventies. They travel a lot. So much so that my wedding is scheduled around their itinerary.” She meant to say it lightly, with a little chuckle in her voice, but it was painfully close to the truth. Mitch didn’t smile and her own fell flat. “They’re in Florence now.”
“I know. We tracked them down in an attempt to find you.”
“Oh. I hadn’t realized.”
“No, I don’t suppose you did.”
Thea let her hand fall to her lap. “The children wouldn’t have the same support with me that they have with you.”
“No arguments there. I’m realizing you Wyndhams are a cold bunch. Marrying Strahern is overkill, don’t you think? Kind of like frost on a glacier.” He saw she wasn’t going to deign to respond to that but he was sure he hit the big red bull’s-eye. “What about Strahern anyway? He has kids.”
“Yes, but they’re grown.”
“No, I mean—” He stopped, momentarily struck dumb. His recovery was swift, though. “My God, you’re not marrying Junior, are you?”
Thea tried not to bristle. “If you mean Joel Strahern II, then no, I’m not marrying him. Jay happens to be happily married.”
“His father. You’re marrying his father.” Disbelief was rife in his tone. “He must be in his sixties.”
“He’s sixty-one. About the same age as your parents and if you recall, I just finished characterizing them as young.”
“Sixty-one.” He whistled softly. “Hell, he probably remembers where he was the day the music died.”
“What are you talking about? What does Buddy Holly have to do with anything?”
Mitch realized he had spoken his wayward thought aloud. “Nothing. It’s not important. Just something I’ve been thinking about.” He did some quick calculations. He and Thea were only a few months apart in age. “So Strahern’s what, almost thirty years older than you?”
“Yes.”
“More than a quarter of a century.”
“You know, I might have fried a few synaptic pathways trying to come up with that. Thank you for saving my gray matter for really important stuff.”
“No problem.” Thea Wyndham was marrying Strahern senior? He still couldn’t quite believe it was true. “So when’s the wedding?” Please don’t say June. He didn’t think he could keep from laughing if she said June.
“None of your business. Our engagement hasn’t been formally announced.”
“I see.” It was still a struggle to keep a straight face, though amusement wasn’t precisely what he was feeling. “Waiting to get it in Town & Country, are we?” He held up both hands, palms out, surrendering before she could attack. “All right. I’m sorry. I take that back. I wish you well.”
Thea’s eyes narrowed, gauging his sincerity. His expression was implacable. She chose to believe he meant what he said. “Thank you.”
“I guess it makes it easier to understand why he doesn’t want Emilie, Case, and Grant underfoot twenty-four/seven. Em’s pretty quiet, but the boys ... well, they’re boys. Snips and snails and puppy dog tails packaged as testosterone time bombs.”
The corners of Thea’s mouth lifted in a faint smile. It hovered for a moment, then disappeared. “They’re doing all right, though?”
He almost asked, What do you care? then thought better of it. Maybe she really was doing the best she could. In that case, he should just feel sorry for her and be relieved she wasn’t taking Kathy and Gabe’s kids out of some twisted sense of duty. “All right? I don’t know how to answer that. They’re grieving in their own way. Emilie cries when she thinks no one can hear her. I’m not sure the boys entirely understand that Gabe and Kathy aren’t coming back. They talk about them as if they’re still around, just away. It’s still so fresh. I’m playing it by ear, waiting to see what happens. Maybe we’ll all do some counseling.”
Thea nodded. She pressed her lips together. Her chin wobbled anyway. After a moment she said, “I know someone, if you’re interested.”
“I’ll call you if it comes to that. I’m talking to their teachers, keeping an eye on how they’re sleeping and eating, things like that. We’ll see how it goes.”
“You’re doing a good job.”
“I’m just doing it, Thea. One of us has to.” He almost wished he hadn’t said the last. The hurt in her eyes was palpable and somehow he ended up feeling worse for it. “I’ll be able to reach you?”
“Yes. I won’t be going anywhere without letting you know.”
He took a breath and let it out slowly. “When can I tell the kids you’ll visit them?”
“I don’t know. I have to check m—”
He had suspected it was going to happen; he just hadn’t known what would set him off. “Jesus H. Christ! Tell me you weren’t going to say you have to check your calendar!” He saw the truth clearly on her face. Mitch leaned forward at the waist, but he kept his hands white-knuckled on the edge of the credenza, only just holding himself back. “Listen, you enter them in when you get a couple or three minutes. Maybe you can call or send an e-card.” He saw her flinch and knew she correctly interpreted the homicidal bent of his mind. “You’re a hell of a piece of work, Thea Wyndham. You know those times Kathy and Gabe pressed me into asking you out? Right now I’m thanking God you always said no.”
Chapter 2
The phone was ringing as Mitch let himself in the kitchen through the garage entrance. He tossed his keys on the counter and watched them skid across the surface and land on the floor while he made a grab for the phone. “Hello.”
“Mitchell. This is your mother.”
“Mum, you don’t have to identify yourself. No one else calls me Mitchell.”
“Well, I don’t know why. It’s a perfectly good name.”
“Sissy name, Mum. Dad tried to tell you.” Predictably another voice immediately joined the conversation. Trust his mother to have him on speaker.
“I sure did, son. Wanted to name you Max. You’d have been the toughest kid on the block with a name like that.”
Chuckling, Mitch went through the contortions of removing his leather jacket without taking the phone from his ear. “I did okay for myself.” He hooked the jacket over the back of a chair and went to the refrigerator. “Who else is with you?” He surveyed the contents of the fridge.
“Mitchell, I put a pan of lasagna in your refrigerator.”
He grabbed a Corona. “I’m looking at it now. Thanks. The kids will appreciate it. Can you believe it? They’re getting tired of pizza.”
“They need fruits and vegetables, dear.”
“Hey, I ordered pizza with pineapple and green peppers.”
Farther in the background another voice chimed in. “That’s great, Mitch! You’re a credit to your gender!”
Mitch frowned. “Is that you, Amy?”
“Sure is.”
“Jeez, Mum, who all is listening in?”
“Just your sister and your dad. Oh, and Mrs. Talbot. She’s here with my Avon order. I told her I had to call you before the twins got home from school.”
Great, Mitch thought. “Hi, Mrs. Talbot.”
“Hello, Mitch. I saw your cartoon today. Naughty, bu
t oh, so funny.”
“Thanks. Mum?”
“Yes?”
He took a long pull on his Corona. “Did you have something you wanted to tell me about besides the lasagna?”
“Well, no. I wanted to hear what happened at Wayne’s. Was Thea there? Emilie said she might not be at the meeting.”
So Emilie had passed Wayne’s message along after all, only to his mother. Mitch took another swallow. Apparently there were some glitches with the ponytail express. “She was there. With Avery Childers. He must have cost her a small fortune. His suit wasn’t exactly off the rack.”
“I suppose you wore jeans.”
“Yep.” He knew his mother was sighing even if he couldn’t hear it over his sister’s laughter. “Anything else you want to know?”
“That’s not funny.”
“All right. But I can’t tell you much because the bus will be coming any minute.” It was now almost second nature for Mitch to meet the school bus at the corner. A few days after Case and Grant started back to school they forgot about going to Mitch’s house and got off the bus at their old stop. No one was used to the new routine, including him. Lost in inking a cartoon, working against a deadline, it was only when Emilie came in the door forty minutes later that Mitch realized the twins weren’t around. Admitting that he didn’t know where her brothers were was not a position he wanted to be in again, and he knew he never wanted to see that look on Emilie’s face a second time. Mitch still didn’t know if he’d ever be able to make it up to her. It was not an auspicious beginning for them. Case and Grant, though, were none the worse for their experience. They’d found a spare key their parents kept under a terra-cotta pot on the porch and gone inside. The cable hadn’t been disconnected yet, and when Mitch and Emilie and the police found them, the boys were watching Nickelodeon. If it had been MTV, Sergeant Wolliver would have probably taken Emilie’s complaint that her uncle Mitch didn’t know what he was doing more seriously. It was true enough.
“Is Thea taking the children?” his mother asked.
“No.”
“That’s—” She stopped herself, withholding her opinion. “What do you think?”
