What Happiness Looks Like (Promises)

by Lenfestey, Karen

  Kate crossed her legs. “Yes. There wasn’t anything suspicious.” She explained that when confronted about his Facebook page, Mitch claimed that “Big Ben” was a fellow watch-collector he’d run into the night of the Thomkins disastrous visit.

  Joely put her hand on Kate’s knee. “Then it’s probably nothing. I felt that you should know. Just because you told me you were worried.” With her free hand, she toyed with the locket around her neck, pulling it side to side. She thought about Mitch dressing up like Fonzie for Kindergarten Dads’ Night. He was so good to Anna. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. “But this is Mitch we’re talking about. He isn’t one of those guys. He likes Monty Python movies, drinks tea and fixes old pocket watches.”

  They both remained silent.

  Joely clung to the golden heart charm near her throat. “He isn’t exactly a player.” Although looks and brains were a compelling combination. She could imagine a woman setting her sights on him, seeing him as quite the catch.

  Kate stood and wiped her hands on her slacks. She reached for the phone and dialed.

  KATE

  Kate wanted to believe in Mitch. She hated fighting with him and longed for a truce. That’s why she’d called his cell and told him she was making his favorite dinner, lasagna. (Fortunately, she had pre-assembled it the day before because she was wiped out). It was both a peace offering and a test. Would he admit that he’d already eaten?

  Now she and her husband sat at the kitchen table across from each other. Yet he felt far away. She saw him eyeing Joely and Anna’s empty chairs. “They went to bed already.” Fiddling with her Williams & Sonoma salt and pepper shakers, she wondered why she put them out. Force of habit, she guessed. Much like their marriage—everything had become a dull routine.

  As she spooned pasta onto his plate, she realized she didn’t want to play games. “I think we should talk.”

  His shoulders squared and his jaw flexed, probably in anticipation of another fight.

  What would she do if he were cheating? Suggest counseling? Get a divorce? A shiver zipped up her spine. She didn’t want to separate. She cleared her throat and nervously served herself. “Joely said she saw you today.”

  He nodded and took a sip of wine. “I know it probably looked bad, but Heather isn’t anyone you need to worry about.”

  She dropped the serving spoon, splattering globs of marinara on the table. Heather. “Who is she?” Gulping from her own glass, she noticed the sparkling grape juice tasted sour. The fact that she couldn’t drink wine fueled her rage. She’d devoted herself to having a baby while he’d decided to trade her in for another woman. A younger, fertile woman—no doubt. “Tell me the truth.”

  He opened his mouth, but hesitated. His shoulders shrugged. “She’s just a friend.”

  Like Kate and Evan had once been? She twisted her paper napkin under the table. Mitch wasn’t one of those guys who had female friends. He didn’t like shopping or talking on the phone or any of the activities girls liked to do.

  She pursed her lips and stared into his brown eyes. “So you’re not having an affair?”

  “Of course not. I love you.”

  But I’m not in love with you. She waited for him to fill in those words. But he didn’t. She paused to catch her breath. More. She needed to know more. “How do you know her? Can I meet her?”

  He sighed and seemed to consider his response. “She’s a vendor from work. When she comes in to town, she always takes one of the engineers out for a meal. It’s no big deal. Next time I’ll make someone else go.” His eye twitched like it did when he was uncomfortable, like when he was holding something back.

  Her napkin ripped in two. But she didn’t want to push him too hard. She wanted to save their marriage. She allowed the silence to stretch out while she considered her next move. “Do you remember Lily?”

  His nervous tic stopped as if he were relieved to change the subject. He glanced toward the ceiling like he did when he searched his memory. “She was one of your students at Foxworth High School, right? That girl in foster care that you tried so hard to connect with?”

  “Yes. Well, she called me today. She had a baby.”

  His mouth twisted to the side. “Hmm. I hope she’s pulled herself together.” His shoulders relaxed and he started to eat.

  She glanced at the mozzarella and chunks of ground beef on her plate. She had lost her appetite. “That’s what I want to talk to you about. She doesn’t have a place to live because her boyfriend told her not to come back if she had the baby.”

  “Poor girl.”

  “I was with her at the hospital today. The epidural went up her back and paralyzed her lungs. It was so scary.”

  His brown eyes widened, his fork froze in mid-air. “My God. I’ve never heard of that happening before.”

  Remembering Lily’s limp body, she shuddered. “I’m still upset.” The whole day had been nerve-wracking. Lily almost died. Kate stood up her clients. Her husband might be seeing another woman. The first two statements were definitely true, but she didn’t really have any proof of the latter.

  He pushed the lasagna around on his plate. “I can imagine.”

  She shredded her napkin under the table some more. “I was thinking about that extra bedroom upstairs.” The one he’d been sleeping in lately. “Maybe Lily could move in there temporarily.”

  His forked dropped onto the plate with a sharp clank. “Invite her to live with us? Isn’t that a breach of ethics or something since you were her counselor?”

  “I’m not her counselor anymore. She’s long since graduated from high school. This is the perfect opportunity for me to help her get back on her feet. She’s finally ready to let me in.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t like it. You always did get overly involved in your students’ lives. It’s not healthy.”

  “This girl has never had a family. No one to take care of her.” She stared at him, hoping to make him understand how important this was to her.

  “I’m sorry for her, but she’s not our responsibility. Your sister and niece already live here. I can’t even walk around in my boxers in my own house because we have permanent guests.” He practically scowled at her as his voice raised. “The last thing I want are two more people moving in.”

  Kate tried to gather her thoughts. He had been patient with Joely living there rent-free for so long. And she was blood. He didn’t even know Lily. How could she convince him? “Lily is talking about putting her baby up for adoption.”

  The lines on his forehead faded as his expression morphed from angry to curious.

  “Maybe we would want to adopt her baby. Or maybe Lily will realize that she doesn’t want to give up her baby.” She was rambling, but she couldn’t stop herself. “You wouldn’t want to adopt a baby from a mother who was forced to give her up, would you?”

  “Of course not.” His cell phone rang. He looked at it, crinkled his brow then silenced it.

  Kate felt revved up. Maybe it wasn’t too late for them. “This would give us the opportunity to know for sure that the birth mother wanted us to have her child.” Come on, Mitch. Get excited about this!

  He drummed his fingers against the table. “You’re saying we help Lily and in the end we might raise her baby as our own?”

  Wanting her husband back, she nodded a little too eagerly. Deep down she knew he hadn’t cheated on her. At least not yet.

  The tempo of his fingers slowed and eventually stopped. He took another drink. He seemed to mull the idea over while more wine made its way down his throat. “How’s the baby? Is she healthy?”

  Her head bobbed up and down again. “Oh, she’s precious. With beautiful blue eyes and a tuft of red hair.” She knew a baby’s eye color could change, but she hoped they’d stay blue. She paused. “I never liked the idea of adoption before, but I know Lily. It’s different somehow.”

  He raised his glass as if in a toast. “Tell me more.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

 
JOELY

  Joely was surprised when Jake called Anna on the phone to tell her how much he missed her. When she hung up, Anna begged her mom to take her to Michigan to see him and his parents—Anna’s grandparents. Joely said no. She knew Anna’s grandparents weren’t the kind to bake cookies and read bedtime stories. They were the kind to say, “Don’t touch that” and eat at restaurants that didn’t have children’s menus.

  Jake called again the next day and Anna pleaded some more. Joely was starting to feel like an ogre. She liked that Jake was making an effort to stay in touch, but a phone call couldn’t take the place of actual face-to-face interaction. Plus Anna deserved to have grandparents and like it or not, these were her only ones. Like usual, Joely caved to her daughter’s pleas.

  After an hour and a half car ride, they pulled into the curved driveway in front of a stucco mansion. With its fountain in the front yard and its wrought-iron balconies, the place seemed to scream success.

  Once out of the car, Anna jumped up and down, asking to ring the doorbell. It chimed like the bells of Westminster Abbey, the familiar tune grandfather clocks often played. A bit pretentious, Joely always had thought, but never said so. She personally dreamed of a home small enough that she didn’t need a doorbell because she could hear a knock at the front door. A cottage near the water would be nice.

  Jake and his mom met them at the front door. Mrs. Mahoney’s white-blond hair was in a tight bun, her slim body in a beige-colored suit by a designer Kate would probably recognize. A poodle with pink bows adorning each ear yapped at her feet.

  The woman practically sneered as her eyes scanned Joely’s batik sarong and landed on her cane. She quickly regained her composure and gave Joely an air kiss near each cheek. She actually planted a kiss on Anna’s rosy cheek before squeezing her. “Oh, aren’t you precious! I always wanted a little girl I could spoil. Do you like to go shopping?”

  Anna’s face smooshed against her grandmother’s shoulder. “I guess so.”

  “Good.” Mrs. Mahoney made a dismissive wave with her hand. “You can meet your grandfather later. He had a nine o’clock tee-time.”

  Joely bit her tongue. It was all coming back to her now—the golfing, the shopping. Jake’s parents’ priorities hadn’t changed one bit.

  Once at the mall, they spent an hour in the children’s department of Macy’s where Anna tried on fancy party dresses that she would never have an occasion to wear. Jake’s mom bought her eight. Jake could barely carry them all wrapped in plastic bags, still on hangers, as they headed toward the next store. Joely rubbed her knees, not feeling up to an all-day hike on hard tile floors.

  In the mall’s mezzanine, they passed an Asian man giving a massage to someone in a leatherette chair in the aisle. Joely longed to sit and have her shoulders rubbed. Her shoulders, her back, her knees—everything ached. Stress could do that, make her lupus act up. She figured a former lover suddenly re-entering her life and a disapproving almost-mother-in-law added to the mix, was more than her fair share of stress.

  She kept walking, trying to use the cane to relieve the pressure on her knees. They went into another store where Anna pointed out a shirt with a glittery cupcake on it that she liked. Anna seemed to enjoy the fact that she could pick something out and unlike Joely, who would say, “I’ll think about it”, Jake’s mom said, “Try it on. If it fits, we’ll get it.”

  Joely checked her watch. They had been there two hours and had barely started through the mall. She glanced out the store and saw a bench in the center.

  “You OK?” Jake asked.

  Joely hadn’t even realized that she’d been rubbing her lower back. She gestured toward the bench that beckoned her. “I think I might go sit out there and wait.”

  “Sure.”

  Joely checked with Anna before making her way to the bench. Sitting provided some relief. Unsure how much her body could handle today, she took a deep breath. She didn’t want to ruin Anna’s special day. She’d seen the twinkle in her daughter’s eye when Jake’s mom bought her a necklace with her initials AJ on them.

  Constantly glancing at her watch, she couldn’t believe how slowly time was moving. Twenty minutes later Jake joined her on the bench, plastic dress bags in tow. “Mom wants to take Anna to go get her fingernails painted. I thought I’d hang out with you.”

  She nodded, glad for some company, even if it was Jake.

  He leaned back on the bench and crossed his long legs at the ankles. “Anna is already learning to strategize in chess. I can’t believe how quickly she learned the movements of each piece.”

  Joely swelled with pride. “She found a website where she can practice playing chess. She’s been doing that ever since you left.”

  “Pretty soon she’s going to kick my ass.”

  A smirk pulled at her lips. She thought that sounded great.

  “Joely? Is that you?” a female voice called from across the aisle.

  Joely looked up to see her former employer and dear friend rushing toward her. Pleased to see a familiar face, Joely smiled and stood up. “Kelly!”

  Dressed impeccably in an olive sheath dress, Kelly gave her a gentle hug that lasted longer than usual. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m just visiting.” Kelly’s obvious joy over their chance meeting warmed Joely like sunshine.

  “Boy, did the clients complain when I lost you.” Kelly looked at Jake while pointing toward Joely with her thumb. “This one’s so creative, I had a heck of a time trying to replace her.” She smiled at Joely, flashing her white teeth. “I miss seeing your finished pieces so much. What are you working on now?”

  Joely eased herself back down onto the bench. “I’ve been busy raising my daughter, volunteering at her school. . .” Words failed her. Was that all she did? Now that Anna was in class five days a week, Joely didn’t have much to fill the time.

  “Well, it’s a shame that you’re not painting.” Kelly’s hand reached toward Joely’s collarbone. “Is that one of the necklaces I made?”

  Joely eyed the jade pendant surrounded by glass beads. “Yes, it’s my favorite of yours.”

  Just then Joely heard her daughter’s high-pitched chatter coming toward them. She turned and could see pink eye shadow and blush on Anna as she approached. Joely’s blood pressure shot up. She didn’t believe little girls should wear makeup.

  Kelly looked to see what had garnered Joely’s attention. “Is that your daughter?”

  Joely nodded.

  “So cute. Where did she get the blond hair?”

  Joely didn’t respond. Kelly glanced at Jake and appeared to put two and two together. Joely had told Kelly all about Jake, but they’d never met. He was married, living in California, at the time she and Kelly had become friends.

  When no one spoke, Kelly said her goodbyes, gave Joely one more delicate hug and left.

  Before Joely could protest, Anna held out her tiny fingernails, and fluttered them in the air. “Look, Mom. They put little hearts on them.”

  Pink nails with white hearts. She could see how much Anna liked them. “They’re beautiful. Did you remember to say thank you to. . .” She wasn’t sure what to call her.

  “Grandma,” Jake’s mom said. “I told AJ to call me Grandma.”

  “Her name’s Anna.”

  Mrs. Mahoney made a dismissive wave with her hand. “Fiddle-dee.”

  Joely cringed. She did not like people changing her daughter’s name. She’d dreamed of naming her daughter Anna Jo long before she’d ever met these people.

  Anna continued to admire her own polished nails. “I told Grandma about Dads’ Night at school and she said she used to have a real poodle skirt. Isn’t that neat?”

  Then Joely saw something glimmering on Anna’s earlobe. Joely pushed back her daughter’s long blond hair to reveal a diamond stud. “What did you do?”

  Anna looked down at her toe, twisting it like she was squishing a bug. “Grandma said you’d understand.”

  Joely shot the woman
a look. “You let my five year old get her ears pierced?”

  Mrs. Mahoney nodded. “Every young lady should have a pair of diamond studs.”

  “Those are real diamonds?” Joely pulled on her daughter’s lobe to get a closer look. She’d never owned a real diamond herself.

  Anna flinched. “Ow!”

  Joely released her daughter’s now-pink ear. “Sorry.” She shook her head. “This is not OK. I’m her mother. And getting her ears pierced was something I was saving for when she was older.”

  Mrs. Mahoney shrugged. “I didn’t think you’d mind.”

  “You were wrong.” Joely took a quick breath, pain and anger flaring. “Coming here was a mistake. We’re going home.” She stood abruptly, not thinking how the seesaw of Anna’s emotions was about to come crashing down.

  Joely clasped her daughter’s hand, grabbed her cane, and made a beeline for the exit. Anna started to cry.

  KATE

  They’d talked late into the night and by morning, Mitch had decided. He hummed “Papa’s going to buy you a Mockingbird” as he and Kate walked through the painting section of Howell’s Hardware Store downtown.

  They stopped in front of the wall of color strips. She wished he would reach for her hand, but he didn’t and she was afraid to try and hold his. Even so, she oozed happiness. She couldn’t even remember the last time she and Mitch had done something fun together. Now they were like a young couple embarking on a new adventure.

  He perused the paint samples. “Anna’s room is already pink, so I was thinking maybe we’d go with something else.”

  Kate didn’t like the sound of this. She’d loved decorating Anna’s room with its canopy bed and frilly peppermint-striped comforter. It was exactly how she’d always imagined it. “But pink is the perfect color for a little girl.”

  Nodding, he kept his gaze on the rainbow of paint samples. “What about something non-traditional?” He reached for a card displaying a range from navy to teal.

  “Blue for a girl is certainly non-traditional.” She shook her head. “There’s no way we’re painting Lily and Dayna’s room that color.” She mulled over the baby’s name, Dayna. Not bad. Unfortunately, Lily hadn’t spelled it the way Kate thought it should be. The child would suffer a lifetime of saying, “There’s a ‘y’ in the middle.”