FIGHT FOR ME

by AJ Crowe

  “Oh, Lucas? He’s a nice guy.”

  “Do you know him?”

  “I guess. At the beginning of the year –not too long after Nikolai...” Jess set down her dinner on the counter and started again. “At the beginning of the school year I talked with him about Emma’s situation and he was very sympathetic. He often goes out of his way to make sure we’re doing well. If Emma had started school with any other teacher I don’t think she’d be doing as well. But she loves him. I appreciate him, definitely, but I do think he’s a little odd.”

  “He asked me how you were doing today.”

  “That’s sweet of him. If he asks again, tell him I’m doing… okay. Better.” At this question Ivy saw her sister’s expression tighten. She understood why Lucas hadn’t wanted to ask Jess this question directly.

  “Why do you think he asked? It surprised me, a little.”

  Jess shrugged. “I guess he’s kind of taken an interest in us. He was just being nice when he asked.”

  “You don’t think it’s a little weird?”

  “Nope.” Jess looked down. “I mean, you probably don’t have a kid with a dead father in most classes as a teacher…”

  “Hey, Jess,” Ivy said compassionately. She stood from the couch and walked over to her sister. She gave her a tight hug. “I wanted to hug you earlier, but I didn’t want to bring up anything for Emma…”

  Jess hugged her back. “Thank you. I’ve really needed you here. I… I wish you could have stayed here ever since the funeral.”

  They went to sit on the couch, Jess with dinner and fork in hand.

  “You should have just asked.”

  “I know. I just couldn’t ask you to leave your life like that.” Jess sighed.

  “It’s fine. I haven’t taken more than a week off since I started that job. Also... Coming here isn’t leaving my life. You and Emma are really important to me.”

  Jess smiled. “Thank you so much.” She took the last bite of her instant meal. “I’m going to go start getting ready for bed.” She got up and threw the plastic container in the trash and the fork in the sink. “Oh, this Friday Emma’s going to be in the kindergarten’s spring play. I can’t be there because it’s in the middle of the day. Would you mind going and filming it for me?”

  “Of course. That’s sounds so cute. What’s she playing?”

  “She’s the magic butterfly that comes out at the end and solves all the animals’ problems. Since I can’t be there she’s told me all about the story and practiced her lines a lot for me.”

  “Aw! That sounds precious. I’m excited. I’ll let her know in the morning that I’ll be there.”

  “Thanks again,” Jess said. “Emma loves having you here, you know,” she said. “She needs as many loving adults as she can get in her life right now.”

  Ivy smiled. “I wish I could stay longer.”

  “I think mom is going to come out a little while after you leave,” Jess said. “But I wish you could stay too. I… I really do need a hand.” Without another word, Jess left to brush her teeth and get to bed early.

  Ivy spent the rest of the night mindlessly surfing the internet. She couldn’t stop thinking about how she’d said that coming here wasn’t like leaving her life. She kept imagining Lucas as a part of her life. No matter what their future was –even if they didn’t have one –she couldn’t stop thinking about him and she could predict that she wouldn’t be able to forget that face (and body) easily. Lucas Fray was a part of her life, and he didn’t even know it. Whether she liked it or not, thoughts of him weren’t going anywhere.

  She wondered if he’d be at the kindergarten play. He probably would be –it would be his students up on the stage showcasing their acting talents. She hoped he would be there.

  Chapter Four

  He was.

  Ivy had barely seen him on Wednesday or Thursday; he hadn’t talked to her except for a few brief “hellos.” But there he was, sitting in the first row of the school’s auditorium that also functioned as a cafeteria and a theatre.

  There were fake trees and rocks and grass on the raised platform at the end of the room. Soft classical music played over the hum of parents chattering.

  Ivy made her way through the parents and folding chairs to the second row. She sat down in the chair behind Lucas.

  “Is the play any good?” she asked jokingly.

  He turned around in his seat and smiled when he saw her. “I definitely think so. You’ll be proud of Emma. She’s a great fairy.”

  “I’m excited.”

  “Jess isn’t coming?”

  Ivy shook her head. “She’s at work. That reminds me…” Ivy took her phone out of her purse and pulled up the camera. “I’m here to film the play for her.”

  “She’s been working a lot lately. Is she all right?”

  Ivy bit her lip. There he went again, asking about Jess. A polite, concerned person would just ask once. Lucas had to be more than just concerned.

  “Yeah, she’s all right. It’s better than working long hours and having to worry about Emma all the time.”

  “That’s very true.” Lucas met her eyes for a moment before turning back to the stage. The music had quieted down and a short, elderly woman with frizzy hair, presumably the principal, walked up to the stage.

  “Hello everyone. Thank you for coming to our kindergarten spring play. I hope you enjoy it. From what I hear they’ve been working very hard on it. Oh, and please no flash photography during the play. There will be plenty of time to take pictures of your children in their costumes after the show.” She smiled and walked back into the audience. A polite smattering of applause filled the auditorium.

  Ivy couldn’t quite follow the plot of the play. She would get to watch it later with Jess, anyhow. She spent a good portion of the play looking at the back of Lucas’s head, neck, and shoulders.

  She could see the way his shoulders moved just slightly when he breathed, how he tilted his head to the side when surprised, how when he laughed he barely moved at all. Though she didn’t exchange one word with him during the entire forty-five minute play, she felt like she got to know him a little better.

  When Emma came on to the stage in her fairy wings and sparkly makeup, Ivy realized just how much she was enjoying staying with her sister. It had only been a few days and already, several times, her heart had beat faster than it had in years. Lucas, however confusing, was gorgeous and represented exciting possibility. Emma was adorable and made her heart warm up every time she spend time with her. Jess was someone that she knew well and really loved.

  It all made her wonder why she had spent her post-college years working all hours of the day in the name of making money and barely making any deep friendships or relationships. As Emma used her magic wand to solve the problems of the entire animal kingdom, Ivy realized that she felt… different. She didn’t want to go back to her surface life in the city.

  She liked it in Paisley.

  She vowed to explore the town this weekend instead of just staying inside with her laptop like she had the past few evenings.

  The curtains opened and the three kindergarten teachers of the school went onstage to bow with their students. Lucas looked just as adorably happy as the students as he bowed, smiling. His hair fell into his eyes and his button up shirt rode up a little above his jeans.

  When it did, Ivy thought she saw a glimpse of a large tattoo on his hip. Did she imagine it? Maybe it was just a shadow.

  Lucas stood and his shirt settled into place again. He looked entirely innocent once again.

  Ivy stopped the recording on her camera and clapped, hard.

  * * * *

  Ivy, Emma, and Jess spent that evening watching the recording.

  When the recording ended, Jess gave her daughter a big hug. “I’m super proud of you, honey. You’ve definitely got a future in acting.”

  Emma jumped up and down a few times, clearly excited by this idea.

  Jess laughed. “Settle down. It’
s time to go to bed.” Jess turned to Ivy. “I’m going to put her down. When she’s asleep do you want to watch a movie or something?”

  “Sure.”

  “But I wanna watch a movie!” Emma pouted.

  “You can watch cartoons tomorrow.” Jess picked up Emma and kissed her on the forehead. “C’mon.”

  They left Jess’s room, where they had been watching the recording on Jess’s desktop.

  Ivy stood, yawned, and got ready for bed herself.

  When Jess came back, the house was quiet. She poured them each a glass of red wine. “This week was exhausting but really productive. I really can’t thank you enough for coming out here, Ivy.”

  Ivy smiled and sipped her wine, getting comfortable on the couch. “No problem. I was thinking of going out this weekend. Would you be all right with that?”

  “Yep, sure. I can stay at home with Em. I barely got to see her all week.”

  “Is there actually anything to do around here?”

  Jess rolled her eyes. “Yes, there is. There’s a great little downtown with boutiques and classy restaurants and a few clubs. Well, just two. There’s also a gorgeous park a few minutes away. Oh, and the library is great. You probably noticed the big gothic stone building on your way in? That’s the library. What were you thinking of doing?”

  “I don’t know, I just don’t want to stay inside.”

  “I get that.” Jess put in a movie, some chick flick with a ridiculous plot that Ivy wasn’t too into.

  She focused more on drinking wine. Eventually she ended up with the bottle next to her on the coffee table. She was a little buzzed.

  She got to thinking about Lucas.

  The main actor in the chick flick looked a little like him, but a bit older and not as smoldering. When the main characters finally fell into bed together, cheesy indie music playing over their PG-13 moans and sighs, Ivy couldn’t help but imagine Lucas.

  He affected her so strongly. She needed to do something about this. More like he needed to do something about it. Something with her. Except… he didn’t seem as interested as she had initially thought. Fuck him.

  Ivy set down her –empty –glass and considered asking Jess about it. Would Jess be okay with Ivy crushing hard on her daughter’s teacher? It didn’t seem too bad on one hand, but on the other Jess was a tiny bit unpredictable and might get really pissed off.

  Maybe there was another way to bring this up, and get two questions answered at once.

  “Hey Jess?”

  Jess looked away from the screen, where the protagonists of the movie were now fighting over something unimportant. “Yeah?”

  “Do you think Lucas is into you?”

  “Mr. Fray? What?” Jess raised an eyebrow and laughed a little. “No way. What brought that up?”

  “He just keeps asking about you.”

  “Like I said, no way. He’s honestly just a caring guy. Lucas is… extremely single. Ever since he moved here, like half a year ago, I’ve never seen him in town with anyone really. It’s like he spends all his time working his ass off or at home.”

  “You sure?”

  “Hell yes. Also, I’m pretty sure he’s not a complete idiot. Not stupid enough to go after a widow.”

  Ivy put a hand on Jess’s and nodded. “Okay. That makes sense.”

  Jess smiled grimly and turned down the TV. She could tell there was something to talk about.

  “Why do you ask? Really? I mean, why do you care?”

  Ivy shrugged. Great. “I... Well…” Curse good red wine. “I guess I’m interested.”

  Jess made a face. “I don’t think he’s boyfriend material. Like I said, I haven’t seen him take an interest in anyone since he moved here. And he might want to stay away as a courtesy to me. Just because he’s polite, you know.”

  “Thanks, Jess,” Ivy said sarcastically and poured herself another glass of wine. “Honestly, I didn’t think he was into me anyway.”

  “If you really need some action while you’re in town, I can find you someone.” Jess laughed. Ivy blushed.

  “Fuck you, Jess.”

  Jess turned up the volume on the movie. “I want to see how this ends. If you still want to talk more about my daughter’s unavailable kindergarten teacher afterwards, we can.”

  “Got it.” Ivy felt herself drifting off as the movie came to a dreamy happily ever after close. She thought about the weekend. It sounded nice to wander around the small town. Maybe it would help her get her mind off things.

  Chapter Five

  The next morning, Ivy left the apartment with a slight headache and a bit too late to order breakfast from most restaurants. She walked the few blocks to Paisley’s tourist trap of a downtown and chose a quaint café to eat brunch in simply because it was the closest. The sign hanging outside it let her know it was called “Antonelli’s” in pretty cursive paint.

  She ordered pancakes with a side of fruit and ate them with relish. They were a nice change from the instant food abundant in Jess’s household.

  The few other diners in the café seemed like they were either tourists on their way somewhere else or locals that had never been anywhere else. Ivy felt a little out of place; she wasn’t a tourist passing through or a long time local. She was something in between.

  She finished her breakfast, paid, and walked through the two block downtown. She wandered through various curio shops and found an antique shop that she wanted to return to when she had cash on her.

  Eventually she ended up at the park Jess had mentioned, a sprawling expanse on the edge of town, complete with a lake and a gazebo.

  By then her headache was gone and she was full of good food. The day was warm and sunny. She walked over the grass to the little lake –pond, really; the body of water had initially impressed her because as a city girl she didn’t see much standing water –and sat on a bench facing the water. A few ducks hopefully swam nearer to the shore where she was sitting, but when she showed that she had no food in her hands they swam away.

  Ivy wished that she had found the library and brought a book to the park. It was the perfect place to read. A warm day, a gentle and refreshing wind, and lovely scenery –perfect. She shut her eyes and listened to the sounds of the pond and the park. She could hear kids yelling somewhere nearby; there was probably a playground. A few dogs barked in the distance. And… footsteps, and the sound of a leash jingling. That wasn’t unexpected. There was a path all around the lake.

  But when the footsteps stopped right in front of her, Ivy opened her eyes and looked up.

  Between her and the lake, on the path, was Lucas. She saw that at the end of the leash in his hand was a somewhat small dog with black and white fur sitting at his heels. The dog looked a little bit like a pit bull, but not quite. Ivy thought back to her days volunteering at an animal shelter in high school. Pit bull terrier. A mix unique to America of two dogs, bred to fight other dogs, but now widely accepted as a great human companion.

  Either that or it was a mutt. She couldn’t really tell. She took a breath and met Lucas’s gaze.

  “Hi, Ivy,” he said.

  “Hi,” she replied. There was a moment of silence. The dog lazily thumped its tail on the ground a few times, letting Lucas know he was bored but not upset. “Who’s this?” she asked finally, referring to the dog.

  “This is Kimbo.”

  “He’s adorable. May I pet him?”

  “Go ahead, but be careful. He’s unpredictable and doesn’t like some people.”

  Smiling nervously, Ivy reached down to Kimbo. First she let him smell her hand. He didn’t seem repulsed so she gave him a gentle pet and scratched him behind the ears. The dog wagged his tail and rolled over.

  “Aww,” Ivy said, smiling for real now. “He’s great.” She scratched his stomach for a moment but froze when Lucas sat down next to her on the bench.

  Was that normal? That wasn’t normal. Usually if you saw an acquaintance at the park you said hello and moved on. Sitting down next to them
meant something. Did he want to talk to her? Did he have more questions about Jess?

  Ivy sat up, leaving Kimbo to roll back right side up. Lucas leaned over and unhooked Kimbo’s leash from his collar. “Go play, boy!” The dog started to run down the path around the pond, joyful. “I take him out here on weekends. He loves to get to run around freely. Usually he’s stuck in my apartment all day, so…”

  Lucas seemed oddly relaxed and at peace, just like Ivy had felt before he showed up and sent her into a nervous state. He was smiling and gazing out over the pond.

  Maybe it was just that kind of day.

  “I had a dog, as a kid.” Ivy watched as Kimbo stopped a hundred feet away or so to sniff something on the ground.

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah. His name was Zipper, because he was tiny and ran around really fast.”

  Another silence.

  “I got Kimbo when I moved here, a little more than half a year ago. He’s a great dog.”

  “He seems like it.”

  Ivy glanced over at Lucas. He was looking at her but looked away once he saw her notice. He reached into his jeans pocket and took out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

  “Do you mind?”

  “Oh, no, go ahead.” Ivy didn’t smoke but she found the action extremely aesthetically pleasing. Sometimes she thought she would pick up the habit eventually just because it looked so gorgeous.

  He lit up and leaned back into the bench, letting the cigarette rest between his lips.

  Ivy wondered at how contradictory Lucas was. A kindergarten teacher with a dog, super kind and caring toward a student with no father, yet also… ripped, and a smoker. Maybe she was overthinking this, just finding a way to make her curiosity in him legitimate and not completely romantic.

  Ivy watched as he gently exhaled smoke from between his lips.

  Sexual, she mentally corrected herself. Her interest was undeniably sexual.

  She crossed her legs. Lucas turned to her at the movement. She saw his eyes linger on her bare legs. Just like the first time she met him, his gaze made her skin tingle. There was that same look in his eyes that made her wonder why he wasn’t ripping off her clothes right then.