Cilla laughed. “I see how you work!”
“Yep!” He leaned forward to kiss her mouth. “What time do you have to be at the office?” he questioned.
Cilla grinned. “What did you have in mind?”
Malcolm skidded his chair closer to hers. He leaned his face close to hers, his cheek brushing against her cheek. He whispered in her ear and she blushed profusely. When he leaned back he lifted his eyebrows at her suggestively.
“Mr. Cobb!” she exclaimed, her voice dropping low.
He shrugged his shoulders and leaned forward to whisper in her ear a second time. His words were suggestive and sexy, dirty innuendo filling his comments.
Cilla’s eyes skated back and forth, looking to see that no one else had heard him. Her seductive smile lifted easily. She stood up, pressing her hands against his shoulders as she leaned to whisper back into his ear. “Let’s go back to my house.”
Shanell Cobb had been sitting in the parent parking lot of Ravenscroft School every day for weeks, watching as her daughters came and went. In the mornings they’d skip off bus #437 or from their grandmother’s car. But in the afternoon it was Malcolm’s new girlfriend who sometimes picked them up.
She sat watching as the girls rushed to their father’s car, he and that woman standing in conversation with two other parents. A tear fell from Shanell’s eyes. That was supposed to be her standing at Malcolm’s side holding his hand as he laughed happily. It was supposed to be her that their daughters ran to, excitement painting their expressions as they showed off homework and test scores. It was supposed to be her but it wasn’t. She sighed, the weight of it toxic to her spirit.
As they all jumped into Malcolm’s car and pulled off she thought about following but she didn’t. The last of her high was starting to wear away and she knew that the drop would be monumental if she didn’t get a quick fix soon. Her hands were beginning to shake and that twitch was back, her eyes watering and the left one flicking erratically. She swiped at her face with the back of her hand, sweat beginning to run profusely in spite of the car’s air-conditioning blowing on high.
Flipping through the car’s ashtray she found the remnant of a cigarette butt and lit it, taking a deep drag of the nicotine. A sudden rap on the driver’s-side window startled her and her head whipped left to see who it was. One of the school’s uniformed security officers was eyeing her critically. He gestured for her to roll down the window.
“Excuse me, ma’am, but you can’t park here.”
Shanell swiped her hands across her face a second time. “Oh, sorry,” she muttered. “I didn’t . . . I didn’t know.”
“Yes, ma’am, this is the loading zone only. But you’re welcome to pull your car over to the other side.” He gestured with his hand, pointing to a row of empty parking spots.
She nodded. “Okay,” she said as she dragged her palm through her tangled hair.
The security guard was still staring. “Are you okay, ma’am?” he questioned, concern shimmering in his eyes.
She nodded. “Yeah,” she said, a bald-faced lie passing over her lips. “I’m just great!”
Starting her car’s engine she tossed up a hand in the man’s direction, pulling her car out of the lot and into the early evening traffic.
The twins sat at the kitchen table finishing homework. Malcolm and Cilla were preparing their evening meal and Mama Claudette was in the adjoining space reading a book. No one expected the doorbell when it rang, everyone looking about in surprise.
“Are you expecting someone?” Cilla asked.
He shook his head. “It’s probably a Girl Scout with cookies,” he commented.
“I’ll get it,” Mama Claudette said.
“If it is a Girl Scout,” Malcolm added, “buy some Thin Mints.”
Cilla rolled her eyes. “I thought you were eating healthy?”
He grinned. “You’re eating healthy. I don’t have a wedding dress to fit into!”
Cilla laughed. “I will have no problems fitting into my dress, thank you very much!”
He shrugged, his broad shoulders pushing toward the ceiling.
They were all startled when Mama Claudette suddenly called Malcolm’s name, panic ringing in her tone. “Malcolm! Malcolm! Come quick!”
His eyes widened as he suddenly bolted out the room.
Cleo and Claudia jumped to follow before Cilla stalled their steps. “You girls stay right there,” she admonished. “Let your father handle whatever’s going on.”
“But what’s happening? Who is it?” both exclaimed simultaneously.
Hearing the raised voices Cilla had her own questions but insuring the girls were safe took precedent over her curiosity. She took a deep breath. “If your dad needs us he’ll let us know,” she said, pointing them both back into their seats.
Mama Claudette rushed into the room. She tossed Cilla an anxious look as she wrung her hands nervously together.
“You two stay here with your grandmother,” Cilla snapped as she headed toward the front of the home.
Malcolm stood in the doorway, his cell phone pressed to his ear with one hand, the other holding tight to the front door. Shanell stood in the doorway, barring him from closing it. She was drunk and sloppy, her arms flailing, slurring her words.
“Those are my damn kids,” Shanell was spitting, slapping a heavy palm against her chest. “I wanna see my babies!”
“There is a restraining order against her,” Malcolm was saying, clearly speaking to a 911 operator. “She’s intoxicated and she’s being violent,” he added as he ducked, Shanell taking a swing at his head.
“I’m not ’toxicated!” Shanell snapped, swinging a second time. She lost her balance for a brief moment but came back throwing her petite frame at the door as she tried barreling her way inside.
There was suddenly a piercing shriek vibrating through the whole house as Shanell screamed loudly for both girls. “Cleo! Claudia! Where are you! Where are my babies?”
Cilla heard the girls racing toward them before their grandmother could stop them. “Claudia, stop!” she said as she grabbed the girl by her shoulders. Cleo stopped on her own accord, coming to an abrupt halt at Cilla’s side.
“Mommy?”
Malcolm tossed a quick glance over his shoulder. Frustration creased his brow, a level of anger in his eyes that the girls had never seen before. It was almost frightening. Cilla drew both girls to her. Behind her she could hear Mama Claudette breathing anxiously.
“Upstairs! Now!” Malcolm snapped, looking from one child to the other.
“But Daddy, it’s just . . .” Claudia started, hot tears suddenly welling up in her eyes.
“Claudia, please! You and Cleo get upstairs now!” he ordered, his tone brusque.
Mama Claudette grabbed both girls by the hand. “Come with me,” she said, pulling the two along with her.
Shanell was still screaming in the doorway, trying to push her way inside. “I wanna see my babies! Let me see my girls!” Her tone shifted from begging to angry. “Cleo! Claudia! Get over here! You hear me? Get over here now!”
The two women suddenly locked gazes. Venom pierced the stare Shanell gave Cilla. She was suddenly even more frantic, punching and slapping at Malcolm as she tried harder to force her way inside. Profanity spilled past her lips as she called Cilla everything but a child of God. In the distance they could all hear the sirens turning into the drive. Flashing blue lights flickered against the darkening sky. And then Shanell fell to the ground sobbing. As the first police officer stepped onto the porch Malcolm’s ex-wife was inconsolable.
Malcolm was still filling out a report with the local police department when Cilla climbed the stairs to check on the girls. Both stood at the front window in Cleo’s room staring out to the line of patrol cars in the driveway. Their mother sat handcuffed on the manicured lawn as two EMS officers checked her vital signs and the injuries to her arms and hands from the strikes she’d thrown.
“What’s wrong with her? Why d
id she do that?” they asked, throwing questions at Cilla faster than she could answer them.
“Let’s come away from the window,” Cilla said, gesturing for them to sit beside her.
Both girls sat reluctantly, turning their tear-streaked faces toward her. She sighed, air blowing past her lips. “I’m really sorry that you girls are upset,” Cilla said. “Your mom and dad didn’t mean to scare you.”
“She’s drunk, isn’t she?” Cleo snapped, a hint of attitude in her tone.
“She’s been drinking and she’s not herself right now.”
“I hate her,” Cleo said, tears streaming over her cheeks.
Cilla shook her head. “No, you don’t and don’t you ever say that again. Your mother has an illness and she’s sick. When she gets like that she doesn’t know what she’s doing. But she loves you.”
“No, she doesn’t.”
“Why would you say that, Cleo?” Claudia cried.
“Because it’s the truth,” Cleo snapped back.
Cilla took a deep breath. “She does love you and you both love her. Your mom is just going through a bad time right now. It won’t always be like this.”
“Do you promise, Mimi?” Claudia asked, calling her by the name they had finally agreed on. Mimi, close to Mommy but not too close. Just the next best thing.
Cilla nodded. “I promise that your daddy and I will both do everything we can to help your mom.”
Both girls moved back to the window, staring back out as Shanell was moved from the grass to the backseat of a patrol car. Outside the door Malcolm stood listening, still trying to come to grips with all that had happened. He slid down the wall, drawing his knees to his chest. Mama Claudette stood against the other wall, both she and her son eavesdropping on the conversation as Cilla promised something neither was sure they could make happen.
“I don’t know what to do,” Malcolm said, throwing his hands up in frustration.
Cilla drummed her fingers against the table. “Well, we need to do something. She needs help and support and we have to find a way to make it better. And we have to make it better because if we don’t it will destroy the girls.”
“Shanell is not my responsibility. Her problems are not our problems.”
“Shanell is the mother of your daughters. And your daughters are both of our responsibilities. That makes Shanell our problem.”
Malcolm closed his eyes, leaning back in his seat. He sat with his head bowed, his thoughts racing. Cilla was right and he knew it but it didn’t make it easier. He felt her hand on his shoulder and he reached up to press his palm against the back of her fingers. Cilla kissed the top of his head.
“So what do you suggest we do?” Malcolm finally asked.
“Talk to the prosecutor. Instead of pressing charges against her see if they’ll negotiate her going to a treatment program instead. See if the courts can force her to get help. Start there.”
He sighed. “I’ll think about it.”
“Malcolm, you can’t just think about it. You need to act. The girls can’t go through another episode with their mother like this last time. They can’t. It’s not fair to them.”
He nodded. “You really are a great Mimi,” he said, lifting his eyes to hers. “And I have no doubts that you are going to make one incredible mommy when we have those sons of ours!”
“One step at a time,” she said. “Right now Mimi has two girls who need cheering up. So I’m spending the night and we’re all going to have a slumber party.”
Malcolm leaned back. “You’re actually sleeping over before we’re married? What will my mother say?” he said facetiously.
“It was your mother’s idea actually. She’s making popcorn. I’m about to whip up some chocolate brownies and we’re watching the old Nutty Professor movies. I hear that Eddie Murphy is someone’s favorite.”
Malcolm laughed. “And I wonder who you heard that from!”
“Cleo says you do an impressive Professor Sherman Klump impersonation. Claudia likes your impersonation of the grandmother better. I can’t wait to see them both.”
His laugh was gut deep, relieving the previous tension that had swept through the air. “I’m only doing my impersonations under one condition.”
“And what’s that?”
“Once the girls go to sleep you have to show me something.”
Cilla giggled. “Can’t do that. We’re all sleeping downstairs in the family room together. All close and comfy.”
“How close?”
“Very close and very comfy! With your mother and your daughters. All of us together, one big happy family in one big room.”
Malcolm pulled her down into his lap. He pressed his palm to her face and kissed her mouth. His tongue trailed across her lips, sliding past the line of her teeth. He kissed her eagerly, capturing her mouth with his own. One hand trailed the length of her back, the other pressed warmly against her abdomen. His kiss was deep and passionate and lingering, building to the sweetest crescendo. When he finally broke the connection, letting her go, both were panting heavily.
His salacious stare was piercing. “We’ll figure it out,” he whispered, winking one eye at her. “’Cause I’m still getting some. As soon as everyone’s asleep!”
Cilla was lost in the depths of a sweet dream when she felt someone shaking her awake. A gentle hand clutched her shoulder, pulling her from the pink sand and blue ocean she was tripping through. When she opened her eyes Malcolm was kneeling at her side, an index finger pressed against his lips.
Rising up on her elbows she brushed the sleep from her eyes and took a quick glance around the darkened room. The television was still playing, the volume turned off. Mama Claudette lay on the sofa, her backside facing outward, her face lost between the upholstered cushions. The twins lay side by side in their sleeping bags, both sleeping soundly. She smiled as she connected her gaze with Malcolm’s. There was a wide smile on his face. He gestured with an index finger, beckoning her to follow behind him.
Grabbing his hand Cilla moved onto her feet, tiptoeing behind him as he led the way to his office. Once inside he closed and locked the door, turning back to face her.
She shook her head. “You’re trying to get us in trouble,” she said.
“Shhh!” Malcolm intoned, pulling his finger against his lips again. “They might hear you,” he whispered.
She shook her head, her smile seductive. “If anyone can hear us then we definitely shouldn’t be here doing this,” she said, whispering back.
Malcolm nuzzled his face against her neck. “We’re not doing anything,” he said, blowing warm breath past her ear. He trailed his tongue across her earlobe, the gesture teasing.
Cilla relished the sensations sweeping through her. “It feels like something,” she muttered. “It feels like a whole lot of something.”
Malcolm continued trailing his mouth across her skin as he navigated her back against his desk. With one hand he pushed the contents lying atop the wooden surface aside. Papers, pencils, and pens flew and folders dropped to the floor. They both came to an abrupt halt, hoping the noise hadn’t been loud enough to wake anyone. Seconds later Cilla giggled softly and Malcolm chuckled with her. He kissed her mouth, stalling the sounds that billowed through the room.
With one swift move, Malcolm dropped his hands to her waist and lifted her off her feet. He sat her atop the desk and eased himself between her parted legs. He felt warm and snug as he cradled himself tightly against her, moving her to wrap her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.
Their loving was quick and easy, a sweet and gentle connection. With everything that had happened Malcolm needed her touch, needed it like he needed to breathe. He craved the heat from her skin, her breath billowing against his flesh. He yearned for that intimate connection, his body possessively marking hers. That moment when he could be afraid and vulnerable and just the nearness of her made everything well and good. His need was urgent and demanding and almost obsessive and he clung to he
r and she to him as if their lives depended on it. Loving Cilla felt like bliss.
Chapter Seventeen
“We should dress alike today,” Claudia said, her mouth filled with syrup-soaked pancakes. “It would be fun.” She licked the taste of maple from her fingers.
“As long as you don’t pick out some dumb dress,” Cleo responded, swallowing her own bite of sausage.
Claudia nodded. “Let’s wear the new jeans Mimi got us and I’ll pick the shirt and you pick the shoes.”
“I’ll pick the shirt.”
Claudia grinned. “Okay, just don’t get us in trouble, please.”
Cleo rolled her eyes, her own smile a bright beam in the center of her face.
Mama Claudette interjected. “It doesn’t matter what either of you chooses. You still have to pass my inspection before you walk out of this house.”
Both girls giggled.
“Who wants more pancakes?” Mama Claudette asked.
“I do,” Claudia chimed. “Just one more, please.”
Cleo shook her head. “I’m full, Grandma.”
Mama Claudette nodded. “Well, you both need to finish up, clear your plates, and go get dressed. I’ll drop you off on my way to the market.”
“Where’s Dad and Mimi,” Claudia asked.
“They both had to be at work early. Cilla is going to pick you up after school today so don’t dawdle around making her wait.”
The two girls tossed each other a quick look.
“What?” Mama Claudette asked, eyeing one and then the other.
“It just feels like we’re a real family with Mimi now.”
“We like it when she picks us up and spends time with us.”
Mama Claudette smiled as she reflected on their comments for a brief moment. “I think your Dad did good with that one.”
Cleo and Claudia laughed. “Me too!” both clamored simultaneously.
Playing For Keeps Page 22
