by Kimi Flores
“I have to think about Madison now.”
“Yes you do, and Abby sounds like a perfect answer to that. You just said yourself how good she is to her, and Madison obviously adores her too. What’s the problem?”
“I don’t know; I just have to think about it more, that’s all.” He gave her a sly look. “So what’s going on with you? Why are you leaving again?”
“John is taking me to Barcelona.”
“Because you haven’t been there before?” He gave her a knowing look. She was always running, and it worried him.
She scrunched up her face, “No. Because he likes me and respects my choices.”
“Does he?”
“Yes Caleb, he does. He’s a nice guy, and our fathers play tennis together.”
“How romantic. You know I’m just concerned about you.”
“Oh stop. Not all of us can meet our perfect mate twice in our lifetime like you, Caleb.”
He ignored her comment. “What about Stefen? How is he doing?”
“Uh, my brother is the same womanizing manwhore as ever. He gets so mad if he thinks someone is trying to get me in the sack while he goes around town sowing his wild oats. Such a hypocrite.” She shook her head feigning annoyance, but the affectionate look in her eyes said she appreciated her brother’s concern.
“He’ll see one day. Stefen can’t go on like this forever Bri, and neither can you. I know our parents and their pretentious world didn’t give us the best example of how to be completely healthy, functioning adults, but there is a time to grow up and you guys need to get to that point.”
“How did we go from talking about your love life to bashing Stefen’s and mine?” Bri scowled. Caleb knew she loved him, but he just might be pushing her too far tonight.
“I’m not bashing. I’m really worried about you guys. You are always running Bri, and I don’t understand why. You know how much I would love it if you would move out here.”
“I know, but this town isn’t for me. I don’t mind visiting, but I need to travel, to see the world.” She brought her knees up to her chest and placed her head on her knees as she hugged them.
“I think it’s more than that Bri. You were fine staying in one place until college. What changed?” He sat back further in the couch, waiting for her answer. They were close, and there was no reason for her to keep anything from him.
“I just saw that there was a bigger world than the one I was living in.”
Leaning his elbows onto his knees, he looked back. She continued to sit with her arms wrapped around her legs. “But there is always a different guy attached to each new adventure. I hope you are being safe.”
Her head popped up. He’d offended her. “Caleb! Please. I do not sleep with these guys. They are just companions to have fun with. Besides, they leave when they realize they aren’t getting anything more from me. That’s why there are so many of them if you must know.”
“Good to know. Maybe if you settled somewhere you could meet someone who is stable and isn’t just trying to get into your pants.” His home phone rang.
“Maybe. But I’m not ready for that yet.”
“Maybe? I’ll take that.” He picked up the portable phone on the side table and looked at the caller I.D. “Speak of the devil.” Placing his sock clad feet up on the coffee table, he crossed his legs and answered the phone. “Hey, your ears must be burning. We were just talking about you.” Caleb winked at Bri still seated next to him.
“I can only imagine the awesome things you must be saying then.” Stefen’s low chuckle sounded from the phone’s earpiece.
“Not quite Mr. Arrogant. What’s up?”
“I wanted to talk to Bri before she left, but I’m glad you answered. You’re coming out here for Thanksgiving, right?”
“Damn, that’s right. This year it’s out there isn’t it?” He hated going to his parents’ house for the holidays. There was always a drunken argument about some non-sense. Every. Single. Time.
“Yes it is, and don’t you dare try to get out of it. It’s the only way I can get you to bring Madison out here.” Although he only saw her a couple of times a year, Stefen had fallen in love with Madison when he and Bri had to step in to help Caleb out after Rene died.
“You could always come out here you know?” The couch dipped then flattened again as Bri got up. Caleb whispered, “He wants to talk to you in a minute.”
She mouthed back, “Of course he does,” then rolled her eyes on the way to the downstairs guest room.
Stefen spoke again. “Nice try, but we are working a massive case right now and it’s not ending anytime soon. It’s one of the most intense cases I’ve ever worked, and these people are ruthless.” Something in his voice made Caleb feel uneasy. Stefen never let a case get him so worked up. He normally acted more conceited about his ability to win them in record time.
“Yeah, we’ll be there. Can we plan to stay at your house? I don’t want my parents to have the option of offering. Not that they would.” He paused for a moment. “We won’t be cramping your style though, will we? You know I don’t want Madison exposed to your way of life.”
Stefen huffed. “Yeah, you can stay and no, you won’t cramp my style. I’m working on a sweet girl right now, but this case is kicking my ass so I can take a break until after the holidays.”
Caleb huffed. He wasn’t about to get into it with his cousin again over his womanizing lifestyle, but it still annoyed Caleb. “Fine.”
“Good. Can I talk to my sister before she leaves the country with that prick?” Caleb imagined Stefen puffing up his chest. He didn’t even see his hypocrisy.
He’d spent a week trying to process his feelings for Abby and was still coming up blank. Caleb was undeniably attracted to her and felt extremely protective, but he was still unsure of what he should do. He planned to play everything by ear for now because he didn’t want to lead her on if he decided not to act on it. He was very concerned about Madison’s growing affection for her. He couldn’t break his little girl’s heart by starting something he wasn’t even sure he could continue. He knew if Madison wasn’t a factor, he would have moved forward with Abby months ago.
Caleb hurried his little girl out of the front door. He held in a laugh while watching her run in front of him to their parked SUV. One of his favorite things about Madison taking ballet was seeing the way her little tutu bounced up and down exposing her cute little tushy whenever she moved. She’d taken dance lessons for the past couple of years. Grace insisted, and he didn’t mind except that all the other little girls’ moms flirted endlessly with him. These were the same moms from Madison’s school unflatteringly nicknamed the ‘Power Moms’. They walked around school in their power sweat suits with sparkly words on their behinds, hooker make-up, silicone-filled lips, and never without a latte in hand. To most guys, the flirting and innuendoes would be a welcomed thing, but he couldn’t stand it. Not only did he think it was inappropriate for married women to flirt with him but even if they weren’t married, he simply wasn’t interested.
It wasn’t as pathetic as it used to be though because he’d gotten the message through to one of the most aggressive of the women at the girls’ last recital. Her husband had been there this particular time and Caleb decided to give her a taste of her own medicine. He kept his eyes on her when the husband wasn’t looking and made sure she was caught flirting back. He didn’t think that plan through too well though because her husband confronted him afterward. He was able to talk the guy down and thankfully, the other family ended dropping out of the class. It sent a much-needed message to the other moms.
Caleb looked in the rearview mirror and noticed Madison staring out the window lost in thought. “You awake there Pumpkin?”
“Yeah Daddy, I’m just thinkin’.” She looked as if she was pondering something.
“Oh? What were you thinkin’?” He smiled at her word.
“I just wunnered if I will ever have a Mommy that can take me to ballet like my friends an
d do girl things, that’s all.” She pursed her lips.
A stabbing feeling cut into his heart. It still amazed him how easily this little girl could innocently yank such strong feelings out of him. “Honey would you rather Grammy take you to ballet because she’s a girl?”
“No Daddy, I love when you take me. I just wish I had a mommy to take me too.” Well damn. He wasn’t going to be of any use today. She was not trying to hurt his feelings at all. She was just being a kid. Honest.
They pulled up to the dance studio with plenty of time to spare. Leah caught his eye when she stepped out of the white van they’d taken to her cousin’s wedding the week prior. She was dressed in a thin long red dress used for dancing. She was struggling to carry a few yoga balls. After parking, he jumped out to offer her help. “You need a hand with those?”
She looked up flustered, “Oh hey, Caleb. What are you doing here?” She tried to balance one ball on each hip while holding onto them for dear life. He grabbed one then went back to his car to let Madison out.
“This little princess takes ballet here.” Madison jumped out landing her little feet on the asphalt in the parking lot.
“Hi, Sweetie.” Leah leaned down a little as Madison stood close to her daddy offering a tiny wave. “Do you remember me? I’m Miss Abby’s best friend, Leah. We had lunch together at the Chowder Festival. “
A beautiful smile broke out on her little face at the mention of Abby’s name. “Of course I member you, silly. Do you take classes here too?”
“No, I’m here to help some special friends learn how to exercise while they dance.”
“Are they special because they are your best friends like Miss Abby? I have two best friends named Casey and Emily.” Madison held her interlaced fingers in front of her body as she swayed back and forth.
“Well they are my friends, but the reason I called them special is because they have the biggest hearts. Even though they may look or act different on the outside, they each have their own special powers.”
Surprised glee covered her face. “Like fairies? I love fairies.”
“No. These friends have the power to heal other people’s sad hearts because they love everyone no matter what. Most of them have the power to make people think a little harder about what is really important in life.”
Taking in an excited breath, Madison turned to Caleb. “Daddy, can I meet her super friends?” She bounced on the balls of her ballet slipper covered feet.
Leah glanced at Caleb. “If it’s ok with Leah, I think it would be fantastic.”
With a huge smile spread across her face, Leah urged them to go into the studio.
That was the best hour he’d ever spent at that dance studio. They’d decided to skip out on Madison’s class and help Leah instead. Watching his little girl interact with other children that society deemed as disabled was overwhelming. The children in Leah’s class truly did have remarkable powers. One even wore a red cape with her tutu and leotard. They were not concerned about how they looked; they just followed Leah’s lead with unbelievable joy spilling from their souls. He’d smiled the entire time. A few had assistants to help, but for the most part, they followed along to the best of their abilities including a girl bound to her wheelchair. He learned that Leah taught this class once a month, and that they held their own recital once a year. Madison and he would certainly be participating again.
After walking into his favorite coffee shop with his tutu-clad daughter, Caleb scanned the menu even though he already knew what he was going to order. Why he did that every time, he didn’t know. He was such a boring creature of habit.
The regular barista, Rachael, took one look at Madison and raced around the corner to snatch her up into a hug. “Well hello pretty girl. Did you just come from dance class?” The only thing that bugged him about going to this coffee shop was knowing Rachael had a crush on him. She was trying to get to him through Madison, and that never sat well with him.
“We helped my daddy’s friend with her dance class. She teaches super power kids to dance, and she’s really pretty.” A crushed look crossed Rachael’s face. He felt somewhat bad that she was making an assumption. He was also relieved that she thought he might be taken so she would lay off on the flirting. After placing their order, Caleb held Madison in his arms and stood by the pick-up counter.
He’d noticed a group of women at one of the small tables when he first walked in, but didn’t realize who they were until now. Damn. More of those sparkly-behind moms. He heard them whispering and looking in his direction. Great.
After grabbing their drinks and heading to the door, he caught some of what they were saying. He put Madison down when they moved over to where the sugar and stir sticks were. Pretending as if he needed something, he zoned in on their conversation. They were talking about Abby and him. They must have thought he’d made it out of the door because their volume increased.
“Well I heard they were making out on Mission Blvd for everyone in Santa Barbara to see. How disgusting. She’s so homely. If he wanted to explore someone’s mouth, I would be happy to oblige.” Yuck. She was married. He realized that he must be mistaken. There was no way they could be discussing Abby.
“I don’t believe that. He would never go for her. He is way too hot, and she is just so plain.” Yeah, they were clearly talking about someone else. He picked up his things, and looked down at Madison who was sucking with all her might, trying to get some of her frozen drink through the straw. He snickered and was just about to head toward the door again when he clearly overheard the next statement.
“Someone told me they were at the chowder festival together, and her ex-boyfriend showed up with his drop-dead gorgeous fiancé, and rubbed it in Abby’s face. Caleb couldn’t keep his eyes off the fiancé. My source tells me he even asked her out later in front of Abby. I feel sorry for her. She’s trying to play in a league she just doesn’t qualify to be in.”
Caleb couldn’t hold back any further. While holding Madison’s hand, he approached the vultures. He struggled to rein in his anger. “I’d love to know where you get your information from because that’s not the way I heard it went down.” He simply stated. These women pissed him off so much. He couldn’t believe they drove him to have this confrontation in front of Madison. They wouldn’t dare continue now though.
“Uh.”
“Er.”
“Um.”
That was all he got out of the three overly made up females at the small round table. “You should check your facts before you bring your gossip to the table for others to hear. Afternoon.” Caleb tipped his head in a farewell gesture. He normally would have added ‘ladies’ to the end of his statement, but these were no ladies. They were the epitome of catty bitches, and he wanted nothing further to do with them.
“I’m telling you right here, and right now Abby, if you do not snag this man, I am going to. As corny as it sounds, he really is dreamy. You should have seen him with the kids. Dang, he is so freaking gorgeous too. That smile broke a bunch of hearts. Cynthia was absolutely gaga over him. She kept looking to make sure he was watching her dance. It was the cutest thing. He even let her kiss him on the cheek before she left. I must admit, I was a little jealous.” Abby knew her friend was egging her on to take some form of action.
Leah was folding clothes while Abby made dinner, and they sipped on margaritas. This had become a weekly ritual. Leah didn’t own a washer or dryer in her small apartment, so she came over and did her laundry at Abby’s.
“Well he isn’t making any moves toward me so you should go for it.” As much as that stung, it was true. She had felt as if they’d shared a moment on the dance floor at the wedding. Then she’d felt so overwhelmed when he was ready to stick up for her in front of the Zuckmans at the chowder festival, but she hadn’t heard from him in over a week. He hadn’t even picked Madison up from school. Grace or Robert did.
“Oh please Abby. He is totally into you. Plus he’s too tall for me. I know most women like t
heir men over six feet, but I’m too short for that. You know I prefer mine just under that.” Leah explained as she continued to fold her clothes.
“I catch him staring at my boobs sometimes, but that’s it. I’m used to guys gawking at them.”
“Girlfriend, I stare at them. It’s something you just can’t help but do. They are just so… out there.” Leah held her hands out gesturing as though she also had an enormous chest.
“Thanks a lot.” Abby frowned and threw a dishtowel at her.
“Well, you may not have caught him staring at the rest of you, but I have and he knows it. Just wait. It’s coming soon. I can feel it.” Leah was giddier about this possibility than even Abby was. It was a romantic idea, but Abby didn’t see it happening. He still mourned the loss of his wife, and she still remained too closed off to allow another person the chance to hurt her again.
“So Daddy, you are for sure going to come to my school and watch me march in the parade, right?” When did she get so sassy? Was that sassy? He’d missed a few events at school lately, so he knew where her question was coming from.
“Yes, Pumpkin. I already told you I was.” He was exhausted. He knew he wasn’t getting enough sleep trying to make his deadline, but when his little girl got on his nerves just by asking a simple question, he had to do something about it. They would be hitting the sack as soon as they got home that night.
“Then we are going trunk or treating afterwards, right?” Yep. He needed some sleep because these questions that he’d already answered several times before were seriously starting to bug him.
“When it gets dark, yes.” He’d never taken her trick or treating in their neighborhood before. He felt safe in their community, but you just never knew. He preferred taking her through the Halloween event that their local church put on. They walked the parking lot where people would park and hand candy out from the trunk of their cars, and there were normally some other kid friendly activities. His mother- and father-in-law joined them.
