by Alyse Zaftig
He says it like we've discussed it, like it's a done deal and of course we're dating. I suppose he did take my virginity, which means something, right?
"I don't know."
He raises his eyebrows. "Do you think we aren't?"
I lift one shoulder. "I guess we are."
"I know we are." He sounds very sure. "I haven't dated anybody seriously since she died," he continues.
I nod. I know it's true. I've seen women stumbling out of his house in the morning, but never more than once.
"And when it's right, it's right. You're the one."
I'm kind of freaking out. "What do you mean?"
"I mean you're not a one-night stand," he says.
"I hope not," I say. "Considering what we've done..."
"Yeah," he says. "And you're living in my house." He sounds really smug, a little too smug. I twist my hands in my lap and decide to change the subject.
"What do you want to get?"
"I always get a chicken BLT when I'm here. They melt Gruyere, Parmesan, and Romano cheese together on top and it's divine."
"Sounds good. I'll get that too. I'll take your word for it." I frown at the menu. "But I'll ask for a side of mashed potatoes instead of fries. Boiled potatoes have a lower glycemic index than fried potatoes."
"It's lunch," Jeff says. "And I don't think you have diabetes."
"You can't be too careful," I say. "It runs in my dad's side of the family."
Jeff shrugs. I feel really weird, like we aren't gelling. Our lunch date isn't really bonding time. Danny wiggles enough for Jeff to turn him around and help him stand on his thigh, looking over his shoulder. He turns so that Danny can still look at the rest of the restaurant.
Abruptly, I feel very cold. I look up. There's an air vent right over where we're sitting, which is awful. Right now I feel like the only reason I'm having lunch with him is the cover story I gave Marjorie. Watching him take care of his young baby is nice, but I feel like I don't really belong here in a hotel getting a power lunch with my boss. I don't feel like repeating this experience.
We're getting looks from other diners. They can see that I'm not Danny's biological mother. He looks just like Jeff, with the same blond hair and startlingly blue eyes. Danny doesn't resemble me at all.
I want to go home. There’s a really bad feeling in my stomach. I touch the back of my neck and rub it a little bit.
“Could we get the food to go?” I ask.
“Sure,” he says, a light in his eyes that says that he thinks I’m asking for something else. I look at Danny, who reaches for me. I pick him up and pull him into my lap. He pulls himself up with his little fists gripping my shirt.
“You’re getting stronger every day, aren’t you?” I say, kissing his tiny nose.
He yawns so hugely that it’s almost comical.
“You want to go back in your carrier, don’t you?”
Instead of answer me, he pulls himself close to me and buries his face in my shoulder.
“That’s okay, Danny,” I say. “Let’s put you down.”
Jeff holds the carrier still while I put Danny in and drape a blanket over it. Somehow, it’s easy for him to go to bed in public. That new recipe is a miracle.
Our waitress comes. I see the way that her eyes linger on Jeff’s shoulders. He has really broad shoulders. I irrationally want to jump between them and cover him up, even though he’s fully clothed.
“We’d like two chicken BLTs to go.” He points to Danny. “Our kid is asleep.”
I can see her visibly deflate. With the blanket over Danny, she can’t see that Danny isn’t my baby.
“Yeah, no problem,” she says. “I’ll put in the order right now.”
The chicken BLT must be ultra-popular, because the waitress is bringing out a box with the sandwiches in less than 5 minutes.
“That’s the fastest I’ve ever gotten this.” He puts a twenty in the waitress’s hand. “Thanks. I’ll pay the bill up front.”
“Sure,” she says, a smile on her face. “Have a nice day.”
We take the boxes and go outside. I’m holding the baby carrier while Jeff pays the bill. And we’re out on the street.
“Where do you want to eat?”
My mouth feels dry right now.
“The park, I guess.” I’m feeling oddly fragile. We walk to a small park where there are tons of kids all over the playground. I try to ignore the ants that are on the ground and the small anthill that they are streaming out of.
The first bite of food hits me almost as hard as an orgasm.
“Oh my goodness,” I yelp when I’ve swallowed my first bite. “What’s in this?”
“A mix of cheeses created by the hand of God,” Jeff says, laughing. “I told you it was good.”
“What an understatement,” I say. “I’ll get so chubby if I come down here every day.”
He squeezes my hand. “You’re perfect just as you are, Elia.”
I think about my high school crush who told me that I was cute but too fat for him to date.
“Sure,” I say.
“I mean it,” Jeff says.
“It takes more than one sentence to fix a lifetime of insecurity,” I say. “It’s not like I had a mom who could explain all the changes that puberty brought. I had a school nurse and Marjorie, but that was pretty much it.”
“I know,” Jeff says. “Thank God Danny isn’t a girl, or I’d be in the same situation.”
I shrug. “Well, he’s not.” I choke back tears. I’m not usually this emotional, but the idea of a tiny little Danielle who had to grow up without proper support. I’d obviously take a hand and Marjorie might have interfered, but she has to be retirement age now. I wonder for a moment if she stuck around so long because she was keeping an eye on me.
I finish the rest of my sandwich and close the box which has a few shreds of lettuce in it. I’m feeling better with a little food in me.
Jeff must have finished a few minutes ago, because he already threw away his sandwich box.
“You looked lost in thought,” Jeff says.
“Just thinking about what it would be like if you had a little who grew up without a mother, like I did.”
“Maybe I’ll get married again. Your father certainly could have, if you hadn’t despised every candidate on sight.”
I smile. “I stopped screaming eventually. It’s not like it was an eternal scream.”
“Your father respected your wishes.”
“Do you think that a kid can decide that kind of thing?”
“You didn’t have a mother, but you also didn’t have to deal with an evil stepmother.”
“True.”
He looks at his watch. “We should walk back now.” He picks up the baby carrier and we go back to the office building. We get into the elevator. It’s just us, a sleeping baby and a man with a look in his eyes as if he wants to ravish me right here. Before we get to his floor, he leans in and kisses me, baby carrier and all.
“Ahem!” Marjorie says as the doors open.
I blush furiously, my cheeks flooding with heat. She looks between us, a disapproving frown on her lips. “That’s enough!”
“I better get going,” Jeff says sheepishly. He gives me the baby carrier and presses the button for the ground floor. “I’ll see you at home tonight.”
Marjorie looks at my kiss-swollen lips for a minute, shakes her head, and walks away. I cringe inside but take Danny back downstairs to get my dad’s car so we can drive home. I want to take a shower and wash away Marjorie’s disapproval.
Part 2
Chapter 15
Guardianship
Jeff
When I get back to my desk, I can see that there's an urgent email sitting there. It's from my lawyer. Not our in-house counsel, but the one that I use for personal matters.
I open it. It only contains two words: Call me.
My mouth goes dry. What's going on? The sweet haze of seeing my girl and baby son for lunch immediately di
ssipates. I dial his number, which he keeps in his signature.
"Hello?"
"Richman and Harrison, how may I help you?"
"This is Jeff - Harry emailed me to call him immediately."
"Certainly. Please hold."
I hold for less than 5 seconds before Harry picks up the phone. Harry's first name is actually Thaddeus, which is a family name. He goes by Harry.
"Jeff, we have a problem," he says, diving in. "Your in-laws want custody of Danny."
"No," I say. My heart rate is picking up. I'm squeezing my office phone so hard that I'm surprised that the plastic isn't bending out of shape.
"You know the part of your living will that I wasn't happy about?"
"That Danny's guardian would have control of his shares of the company? We told you why we did it. We wanted to make sure that if we were in comas or something, he'd always be taken care of."
"I knew you had good intentions, but your in-laws apparently know about the language in your living trust."
"But I'm alive...and I'm still the trustee of this self-settled trust."
"It's complicated," he says, and I can see him rubbing his forehead even though I can only hear his voice. "Your wife set things up in a way that opens us up to this sort of legal challenge. They've declared their intent to ask for primary custody of Danny in court."
"They can't do that. I'm his father."
"You can sue anybody for anything," Harry says softly. "The real question is whether you can win."
"I will never lose my son," I tell him. "And I don't care what it takes to keep him."
"You're going to have a hell of a fight."
My dead wife's parents are wealthy enough to battle me in court for years. But right now, I have Danny. If I need to take him out of the country, I will.
"What are we going to do?"
"I'm going to have a long talk with their lawyer about his intentions." Harry pauses again. "I have to tell you, it really doesn't look good. They're making a case that they'll be able to provide a more stable household with the two of them rather than just you." Silence. I am barely breathing. "And your wife is entitled to half of your share of the company. You have voting stock, as you know. So this isn't just a family affair."
I'm going to throw up. Right now, everything that I've built is in jeopardy. They're wealthy people, but they're insatiable. They'd take Danny's inheritance so that they could profit off of it. I tried to keep away from my in-laws as much as possible. My dead wife loved them better from a distance.
And now they wanted Danny.
Chapter 16
Proposal
Elia
Jeff comes home that night, he has a bag of takeout.
"What is that?"
"Mee goreng," he says. "I thought you might like some Malay food."
"Smells good," I say, smiling up at him. But there's a very heavy sadness in his eyes.
"Do you think I'm a good dad?" he asks abruptly.
"Um, sure?" I look at Danny, who is sleeping in the living room, his little feet moving restlessly.
"Someone is suing me for custody of my son...two someones." He shakes his head and drops a kiss on Danny's forehead. Danny's eyelids flutter a little before he settles back down. "I don't want to lose him."
"What basis do they have for stealing your child?"
"They're Danny's grandparents," he says. "And they're trying to get partial control of the company."
My jaw drops. "Your company? The one you have with my dad?"
"Yeah," he says.
"Oh hell no," I say. "I'm not going to let that happen."
"I appreciate the thought, but you may not have any control over this," he responds. "Look at me," he says, stretching out his arms. "I'm just a single dad. There are two of them. They weren't exactly loving parents, but they want the money and power that custody of Danny could get them. They're trying to tell the court that I'm an unfit parent because I don't have a wife."
"Well, we could fix that," I say.
He looks at me. He puts the bag of food down. "Elia." That's all he says.
"Think about it," I tell him. "You don't have to answer me now. But think about it."
Chapter 17
Eating Mee Goreng
Jeff
I get out plates and utensils. My mind is spinning. Marrying Elia might be the answer to my problems, but I think it’s unfair to her. She’s just a teenager. I don’t know how Eric will react.
I wince. She hasn’t dated boys, so it’s a big leap for her to marry me. I’m going to have to call him after dinner is over, no matter what time it is.
For some reason, I can’t think of an alternative. They’re coming for Danny and I will do anything when it comes to protecting my son.
He turns over in his sleep. Elia is still eating as I pull him into my arms and walk upstairs with his light weight pressed against me. I kiss his forehead when I put him down in the crib in my room.
Nothing is out of the question when it comes to protecting him. And my decision is made. I’ll call Eric as soon as I’ve finished eating.
When I walk downstairs, Elia’s almost done. It seems like she inhaled dinner. When she hears me walking down the steps, she inhales the last bites of her ice cream and stands up to put her dish in the sink, choking a little bit.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Fine,” she manages to squeak.
“I’m calling your father after dinner,” I say.
“I’ll be in my room,” she says before walking off.
I’m not sure what’s going to happen now. There’s a chance that Eric will explode when I ask him if I can marry his daughter. We’ll just have to see.
As soon as I’ve washed the dishes, I go to my computer. Calls to China cost $0.02 per minute through VoIP. I take a deep breath before calling his cell phone. Both of us have one, since we travel to China, although my own trips have been less frequent with Danny around.
“Hello?” Eric asks. “This better be an emergency. It’s dark o’clock, you asshole.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” I say. He’s not the cheeriest morning person. I check the clock. It’s actually not dark o’clock. “Listen, I’m getting hit with a lawsuit.”
“You’re getting hit with a lawsuit or we’re getting hit with a lawsuit?” Eric sounds a lot more awake now.
“My in-laws are trying to take half of my voting stock.”
“What the fuck?” Eric screeches. “How?”
“My living trust, the one that I created with my wife. We had some ambiguous language that they’re trying to use to get half of my voting shares.”
“Fuck,” Eric repeats.
“Yeah,” I say. “And that’s not the worst part. They’re trying to do it by getting guardianship of Danny. They’re trying to say that I’m an unfit parent because I’m alone and working. There are two of them. It’ll be a more stable household.”
“So get engaged to some floozy,” he tells me.
“Not that simple. I’m sure they’d see through that.”
Eric sighs. “So what are you going to do?”
“What would you be willing to do to protect the company? How far would you go?”
Silence. “Pretty far.” Eric doesn’t sound very happy, because he knows where I’m going.
“I’d like to marry your daughter.”
“No fucking way. Snowball’s chance in hell. Fuck no.”
“Hear me out,” I say. “Listen, she’s already living in my house and taking care of Danny. She’s kind of like a mother. And I’ll take care of her, pay for her college, set her up with a trust fund, whatever. I promise I’d treat her right.”
“You’re lucky that it’s you, asshole,” Eric grumbles. “You might be the only man I’d trust enough for this.” He sighs. “And the divorce?”
“Elia and I will work it out.”
“I don’t like this,” he says. “But I’m going to give you a green light anyway. Don’t fuck things up,” he wa
rns.
“Got you,” I say.
“Later, loser,” he says, yawning. “I’m going to go back to sleep.”
And with that, the phone buzzes. He’s in bed and I’m about to ask Elia to be my wife.
I go to my safe. My mother was disappointed when I proposed to my dead wife with a custom-made ring that she designed. I have my grandmother’s ring, a tiny chip diamond set in a small gold band. It’s not worth a lot of money, but it’s worth the world to me. Elia might only wear it for a little while, but I know that I’ll like seeing it on her hand.
Chapter 18
Ring
Elia
I have headphones on and am trying to watch a really old episode of Sabrina when I hear a knock on my door.
“Can I come in?”
I take the headphones off. “Yeah, come on in.”
My feet are tucked under me. I’m facing my laptop.
“What’s up?” I ask.
He sits on my bed and smooths a small wrinkle in my bedspread.
“We need to talk.” He looks up at me. “And it’s serious. Sit over here.” He pats the bedspread next to him.
“Yeah?” I sit next to him. My feet don’t touch the ground.
He swallows and snorts a little. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
“What?”
“You know how you proposed to me downstairs? You’d become Danny’s stepmother and my wife?”
“Yeah.” My heart starts beating a little faster. “But you didn’t seem like you were into it.”
He rubs his eyes. “Things change. I just called your dad.”
“And?”
“He’s letting us do it.”
My little heart feels like a hummingbird’s right now.
“No shit?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he says. “I’m going to ask you to marry me.”
