Champagne Kisses: A Timeless Love Story

by Krista Lakes

  I gasped as it hit me where I had seen the boy before. He was the laughing child in the pictures on Mrs. Saunders' wall. His mother would be worried sick if she knew he was out on the streets of New York by himself.

  "Stop the car!" I shouted, unbuckling my seat-belt and practically lunging for the door. The driver looked back at me in surprise, but quickly pulled to the side of the road. Luckily, the street wasn't very busy, and he was able to find a spot.

  "Are you Jack Saunders?" I asked, hurrying over to the blonde-headed boy. He looked up from the map, determination and just a little bit of fear in his big eyes. He nodded.

  "Who are you?" he asked. His little voice didn't tremble, but he puffed out his chest and stood taller, trying to be bigger than he was. The warm wind ruffled his blonde hair, giving him a defiant look.

  "My name's Rachel. Your mom just hired me to make her some clothes," I answered honestly. "Are you lost?"

  "You're the lady who made the dress she likes?" he asked, looking up at me. His small mouth was pinching up on one side as he evaluated me. He must have decided I was trustworthy because he pointed to his map and said, "I'm trying to get to my dad's office."

  "Okay. Can I help you?" I asked, crouching down to be on his level. His big eyes somehow got even bigger as he nodded. He was doing a good job of not being afraid, but he knew he had bitten off more than he could chew. He handed me the map, his eyes watching me cautiously to make sure I didn't run off with it.

  I took the map from his small hands, turning it right side up, and looked at it carefully. Circled in red crayon was an intersection where I assumed was his father's office building was located. He pointed at the circle and looked over at me.

  "That's Daddy's office. I have a present for him. Yesterday was Father's Day, but he was busy at work, so I didn't get to give him my present. Mommy said I could go see him today, but then she got busy, so I am doing it myself." He gave me a toothy grin. "Daddy's going to love my present. I worked really hard on it."

  I grinned right back at him and folded up the map. "How about we let my driver take us? This looks like a pretty long walk from here."

  He looked over at the car, picked up his present, and hurried over to the passenger door. I made a mental note to mention to Mrs. Saunders how easily I had convinced him to come with me. Five minutes was all it took and I loved the kid already. I found myself grinning as I walked toward the car, the little boy's excitement infectious.

  He slid into the back seat and waved to the driver. "Ms. Rachel says you can drive me to my dad's office," Jack told him. The driver looked over at me as I crawled in beside the little boy. I nodded and handed the driver the map. He turned it in his hands, his eyebrows raising at the crayon circle, but he started the engine and pulled out into the street. I was glad he knew where we were going, because I had no idea.

  Jack fastened his seat-belt and carefully placed the present in his lap before reminding me that I should be wearing a seat-belt too. I quickly clicked the belt into place, and he gave me another toothy grin.

  "What did you get your dad?" I asked, nodding toward the box in his lap.

  "I didn't get him anything. I made it." Pride beamed off his small features. He held up the box for me to look at. "I even wrapped it myself."

  "I think homemade gifts are even better than ones you buy. What did you make him?" I asked, making sure to emphasize the corrected word.

  "I made him a picture frame. Mommy helped me get the picture- it's of Daddy and me playing football, but I decorated the frame all by myself. I also made him a card. See?" The little boy held up an envelope with the word "Daddy" scrawled in messy handwriting.

  "I am sure your dad is going to love it." I patted his knee gently and he beamed up at me. He pointed to the card and started telling me all about the colors and stickers he used. I let him babble on, nodding appropriately and asking simple questions. The more I sat and listened to him, the happier he became. It made me wonder just how much time he got with adults actually paying attention to him.

  The car rolled to a stop in front of a tall gray building. The summer light reflected off the windows as we stepped out onto the sidewalk. I told the driver I was going to make sure Jack got to his father's office safely.

  "I'll just park in the employee lot over there. When ever you are ready, just come get me. Take your time- I'm at your disposal for the rest of the afternoon," he told me. I felt my city exploring time fading away, but Jack's excitement at getting to see his father more than made up for it.

  As we walked into the lobby, a security guard recognized Jack and made his way over. Jack beamed up at the big man, waving and showing him the present.

  "Hey, little man, is that for your dad?" the guard asked. When Jack nodded furiously, the guard laughed. "How about I take you two up there to see him, then?"

  We followed behind the guard, Jack chattering up a storm as we stepped into an elevator. He didn't stop the flow of words the entire way up. The guard lead us to a large desk with a busy secretary.

  "I'd like to see my father, please," the little boy chirped up at her. She leaned over the desk and gave him a warm smile. It was apparent the boy was a common sight around the office, as workers often stopped to smile and wave.

  "Hi, Jack! Your dad's in a meeting right now, but I can let you see him as soon as he's done. It'll be about fifteen minutes." She looked up at me. "Are you two okay waiting that long?"

  I nodded. They must all think I'm taking care of him, I thought. She reached under her desk, pulling out a stack of coloring books with crayons. Jack carefully took them and carried them to a couch with a small table. He carefully set his gift down, then spread out the crayons, organizing them by color before opening one of the coloring books.

  "May I color too?" I asked, settling myself on the floor next to him.

  Jack nodded and handed me a book. "You can have this one. I don't like it."

  I glanced down at the book. It was full of numbers, all drawn to look like cartoon characters with big eyes and funny gloved hands. Inside the numbers were doing math problems.

  "Why don't you like it?" I asked. I had a sneaking suspicion it was because math was involved.

  "Because math is dumb," Jack said, looking up at me, his eyes full of what he thought to be knowledge. "I'm never gonna need that."

  I managed to keep a straight face as a future business owner told me he didn't need math. Math like addition and subtraction. He was going to have a heck of a time with payroll when he got older.

  "That's too bad. I have a cool magic trick, but you have to be able to do math for me to be able to show it to you," I said, picking up a crayon. I started to color the number four a nice shade of purple.

  "A magic trick?" Jack asked. He stopped coloring, obviously interested.

  "Yeah. I can tell the future. But, it involves math, so you probably wouldn't like it," I said, switching my purple crayon for a blue one.

  "But I like magic tricks," he said, a pout crossing his face. I knew I had him. No kid can resist a magic trick. "I wanna see your magic trick."

  "Well, I guess I can show you," I replied, making sure to exaggerate my shrug. I heard the secretary snicker at her desk, a knowing smile on her face.

  "Yeah! Show me! Please!" Jack came around so he could sit closer to me. I found a blank page in one of the coloring books, and ripped off a corner before handing it to Jack.

  I leaned in and starting explaining the directions carefully. "Okay. I want you to think of a three digit number that's digits are decreasing. It can be any number you want, but it can't be the same written forward or backward. So, 432 will work, but 121 or 456 won't. That make sense?" I handed Jack a crayon and he nodded.

  "I am going to write down what your number is going to be in the future." I wrote down '1089' on my ripped corner, then turned it upside-down on the table in front of Jack. "That is going to be your number. Now you write the number you have in your head down on this piece of paper."

  "Ca
n you see the number?" He asked, carefully hiding his number with his hand.

  "Yes. Since I already wrote down what your future number will be, I can see it." Jack had chosen 431. "Now, subtract the mirror of this number. So subtract 134."

  Jack carefully wrote out the numbers and began working his way through the problem. I helped him cross out the numbers and borrow from the bigger column. It took a moment but we got to the correct answer of 297.

  "Is that the number you guessed?" Jack asked excitedly.

  "We aren't done yet. We did subtraction, now we need some addition. We now need to add the mirror of this number." I watched as he furrowed his brow in concentration and looked at the numbers.

  He carefully wrote 792 with a plus sign.

  "Perfect. Now add them together, and I will show you that I knew the future," I whispered dramatically. Jack went to work, using his fingers to help him add, and without any help from me, he proudly displayed the number 1089.

  I flipped the ripped piece of paper over, revealing the magic 1089 number I had written to begin with, and Jack clapped his hands in delight. "How'd you do that? You really must be magic!"

  "It's just math. Still think it's stupid?" I asked.

  He gave me a thoughtful look. "Maybe not all math is stupid. Could you show me another one?"

  I laughed. "How about I show you how I did that one?"

  He nodded furiously and I was about to get another piece of paper when the door behind the secretary's desk opened and two businessmen walked out. A handsome third man followed, his features strongly resembling Jack's.

  "Daddy!" the young boy cried out, the magic math problem forgotten as his father welcomed him into a hug.

  "What are you doing here, young man?" The older Saunders gave his son a warm smile. The stress sluiced off of his shoulders as he held his young son.

  "I came to bring you a present. I got lost, but Ms. Rachel helped me," Jack said, pointing back to where I still sat surrounded by crayons.

  "Well, that was very nice of her," Mr. Saunders said. He walked over to shake my hand. "I don't believe we've met."

  "We haven't, sir. I'm Rachel Weber. I saw him walking along the street by himself, and I thought he could use some help," I said, feeling suddenly self-conscious.

  "Rachel Weber? The designer my wife won't stop talking about?" Daniel Saunders' blue eyes caught mine, showing me a depth of warmth and intelligence.

  "I guess that's me," I said, feeling a blush starting in my cheeks.

  "Daddy, Daddy! Ms. Rachel showed me a math trick! She says she'll teach it to me!" Jack interjected, pulling on his father's clothing. Mr. Saunders laughed and ruffled his hair.

  "Did she, now? My Jack excited about a math trick? You must have supernatural powers, Ms. Rachel," he said with a wink. "Grab that present I see there and the two of you come into my office."

  Jack scrambled for the present, a never-ending flow of words pouring from his mouth as he started to tell his father about how he sneaked out from the house and found his way here. I was given a hero's treatment in his story. Daniel nodded, and once we were all in his office, he pulled the young boy onto his lap, laughing as Jack handed him the present.

  "Open it, open it!" Jack squealed. Daniel opened the wrapper carefully, letting the suspense build until Jack was nearly vibrating with excitement.

  "Oh, Jack! This is beautiful! I'll put it right here on my desk where everyone can see it. Thank you, Son." Daniel said. He gave Jack a big hug, and Jack beamed with pride.

  "Oh, I forgot the card. It's out on the table. I'll go get it," Jack said. He jumped from his father's lap and hurried out the door.

  As soon as Jack was out the door, Daniel turned to me. "Thank you for taking care of him. He sneaks out to try and see me whenever he can. You didn't have to stop and pick him up, and I really appreciate it," Daniel said. His blue eyes caught mine again. They were darker than Dean's, with almost a green coloring. My heart hurt a little bit just thinking about him. I wondered if I would ever see blue eyes again without thinking of Dean's.

  "He's a good kid. He was so excited to bring you your Father's Day gift." I smiled as I looked out the door. Jack had gotten distracted and was showing the secretary his handmade card. She was oohing and ahhing appropriately and that was making Jack's face light up.

  "I can't thank you enough. That boy is the light of my world. I am making this company all that it can be so he can take it over someday." Daniel's gaze followed my own, a smile of pride at his son caressing his features.

  "Maybe he and his sibling will run it together," I mused.

  "What?" he asked, as if he didn't realize he had another kid on the way. "Oh, perhaps. To be honest, we weren't expecting this second one. Well, if the little one takes an interest in business, then he, or she, is more than welcome to help Jack run it. I just want them to be happy and for the business to stay in the family." Daniel sat down behind his desk and picked up the photograph, the messy stickers and paint of the frame making him smile. He made sure to place it where it would be prominently displayed.

  Jack ran into the office, his cheeks pink with smiles as he handed the card to his father. Daniel read it out loud and set it in a place of honor next to the picture frame.

  "What did you do for your dad for Father's Day, Ms. Rachel?" Jack asked, turning to face me. "If you forgot, you could use our phone to call him."

  "That's very kind of you, Jack, but I can't call him. My dad died when I was little, so I can't call him on the phone. Thank you, though," I answered. Jack and Daniel both looked at me with sad eyes. There was definitely more of Daniel than Bianca in Jack.

  "You can share my dad with me then." A big smile spread across Jack's face as he came up with the idea. "He's a pretty good dad, and then you can stay with me in my fort."

  "Thank you, Jack. That is very kind of you. You must be a good sharer." I said, managing to keep a straight face. Daniel was beet red, shaking his head at his son. "I should head back to my hotel. I need to get some designs down on paper to show Mrs. Saunders tomorrow."

  "Do you have to go?" Jack whined. "I wanted to learn how to do that math trick."

  "Still interested in that math trick, huh?" Daniel looked down at his son.

  "Ms. Rachel promised to show me how she did it. I did the addition part all by myself! I like math now!" Jack bounced up and down on the balls of his feet.

  Daniel leaned over and put his hands on Jack's shoulders, a serious look on his face. "Who are you, and what have you done with my son?" Jack giggled.

  "I'll show you how to do it another time. Until then, just practice that subtraction. You were so close to doing it all on your own," I said, kneeling down to his level. He grinned at me and gave me a hug. It surprised me, but I hugged him back.

  Daniel watched us for a moment, a smile starting to form as an idea took hold. "Ms. Rachel, what are your current job plans, other than designing some clothing for my wife?"

  I sighed. "Well, I'm waiting to hear back on some internships, but given that it's June, I'm not holding my breath." I stood up from hugging Jack, smoothing the fabric on my vest.

  Daniel's smile continued to grow. "Would you possibly be interested in a job? I think I have something that would be perfect for you."

  Chapter 21

  Present Day

  The drive was just as awkward as I was afraid it was going to be. I drove carefully, heading down the highway to the small town on the Atlantic coast. The county jail was only a couple of blocks from the marina. I had, unfortunately, been there to pick Robbie up for public intoxication. Twice. The hospital was only a few streets down from that; luckily, I had never been there, but it would be easy enough to find.

  Dean sat comfortably in the passenger seat, his long legs crossed as he looked out the window. We had started out making polite conversation, remarking on the weather- it was supposed to rain later- and how the football season was going. Neither one of us really had the time to follow sports, so that was a short conv
ersation. I didn't really want to discuss the current situation with Robbie, and anything regarding the Saunders family was dangerous due to Daniel's condition. Our usually easy conversations, just didn't seem to flow. Our minds were elsewhere. As a result, we sat in silence, listening to the radio. At least we both liked the oldies radio station.

  About halfway there, the sky started to drip. At first it was just a couple of big, wet drops, splattering across the windshield. Our little black car hurtled forward, undaunted, into the darkening clouds. Lightning flashed, blinding the sky. I glanced over at Dean as the thunder shook the car windows.

  "Some storm, huh?" I gave him a nervous smile.

  He nodded, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward in his seat to peer out the windshield at the threatening sky. As if just looking had torn a hole in the sky, rain began to pour. Water sloshed across the road, the falling rain too thick to see through. I tapped on the brakes, feeling the car wiggle on the wet road. Lightning seared across the sky, thunder hot on its heels. This was not a good place to be.

  I zeroed in on the brake-lights of the car in front of me, barely able to see them through the storm. Without warning, the car lurched, water stealing the wheels and veering us off the road. I made an undignified sound as I managed to keep control of the car, keeping it from flipping as we hydroplaned across the highway. Lightning scorched the sky, blinding me as I struggled to keep the car from sending the two of us to a watery grave.

  I barely registered the thunder, the smearing rain on the windows, or the strange sound the tires made as they powered through the river running down the road. From the corner of my eye, I could see Dean bracing himself against the car, a frown pulling his eyebrows together.