by Naomi Niles
“Hey, Bethany. How are you doing?”
“I am good. I um, I just got your voicemail.”
“Yeah, I am so sorry about that. I promised my son last weekend, and we didn’t go, so I would feel horrible if I took you out and the kid was still waiting to hang out with his old man. But, like I said, you’re more than welcome to come if you’re up to it.”
I looked at April as she sat close to me, listening in on our conversation. She lipped, “No,” and shook her head. I smiled. “I’d love to go with you and your son, Gavin.” She put her hand on her forehead and sulked in her seat. “Just let me know what time, and I’ll be there.”
“Great. Sounds good. I told him that we could go bowling and catch a movie or something, but we will just play it by ear.”
“Okay. I am looking forward to it.”
“Likewise.”
I hung up the phone as April stood near the stove, stirring the pot of spaghetti with one hand on her hip. “Welp, here we go. Do you want me to start calling you step-mom right now?”
“Stop it.”
“I am serious. You know how you are with children. One look at his son, and I bet you’ll fall head over heels for him.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
She turned towards me, pondering my question. After all this time of trying to hook me up with someone, it seemed as though she was going back on her decision. It didn’t seem like her. “Well, I guess it’s not. That’s what I signed you up on the dating site for, so yeah,” she turned back to the stove, “I hope it works out. I just don’t want you to get too attached so soon, you know? I don’t want you to go get hurt. I mean, he seems like a good guy so far, but I just want you to be careful. Move slow. That’s all.”
“Yeah, I know.” I walked closer to her and put my arm around her shoulder. “Thank you for caring. Thank you for everything. Seriously. I think I will be alright with this one, and if not, well, I still have that pepper spray that you gave me a few days ago.”
She laughed. “Yeah, you better. That shit cost twenty bucks.”
Chapter Nine
GAVIN
I told Vinny about the idea of bringing Bethany to hang out with us. At first, he was resistant to it. In his mind, he always felt like the place next to me would always belong to his mother. I had to explain to him that things wouldn’t work out between me and Karen because we just weren’t meant to be. “Son, listen, I love your mother. I do, but we are just not meant to be. It was like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. We just didn’t fit. I know that you want me to be happy just like your mother is, and you are mature enough to understand that sometimes, things won’t go the way you want them to. That’s a life lesson.”
I remembered his face when I told him that. He sat on his bed, looking off into the distance with a blank expression. I could tell he wanted to cry, but he kept his emotions in check. “Alright Dad,” he said, finally. “I understand. I don’t mind if she comes along. You are right. You deserve to be happy, even if it is not with mom.”
I hugged him, and after that, I called Bethany about the possibility of coming on the date with us. I was surprised when she agreed to it because, in my mind, it was a little too soon to ask her that, especially since I’d never introduced any other woman to my son since I split up with his mom. It was a big step for me, but I figured that since I was focused on settling down, Vinny would have to meet the woman eventually. Now was as good a time as any.
Saturday came in a blur. We decided to head to the bowling alley, and then get a bite to eat afterward. I tossed the movie idea out the window because that wouldn’t give us a good chance to interact with each other. I knew that Vinny was a well-mannered young man, but I was nervous about what his interaction would be with Bethany. It was going to make or break our chances of taking things further.
I arrived at her place just before 2 pm. I sat outside of her house and shut off the car engine. Vinny looked straight ahead, not uttering a word. “Well, son, here we are. Are you ready to meet her?” He nodded his head silently. I glanced at her front door. The house was smaller than I’d imagined it would be. The neighborhood was decent, but there were a few houses that had let their lawns get a little out of control. It was the type of area I had lived in before my business became successful, so I could relate to small beginnings.
“Dad,” he said, finally.
“Yes?”
“I hope she is nice.”
I smiled and tapped him on the leg. “Yeah, son, she is nice. If she wasn’t nice, I wouldn’t bring her around you. As a matter of fact, and this is between me and you, okay?”
“Okay.”
I looked him square in the eyes the way that a man would look another man during a business decision. “If you don’t like her… I mean, if you have any bad feelings about her, then I won’t see her again. Your input matters in situations like this, and I don’t ever want you to feel that I am choosing a woman over you. You are my son. If you aren’t comfortable, then I won’t be either. I just want you to understand that. Okay?”
“Okay, Dad. Thanks.”
Just then, I grabbed the handle and stepped out of the car. Vinny followed me to the front door. A cloudy blanket covered the sky above us as we rang the bell. It took a few seconds for Bethany to open the door, and when she did, Vinny’s eyes lit up. “Ms. Pope?”
She smiled, “Wow, this is some coincidence! Vinny?” She looked at me. “Vinny is your son?”
My brows wrinkled at their interaction. “Um. Yes. Now, this may seem weird, but how do you two know each other?”
Vinny walked forward and put his arms around Bethany. She smiled as they embraced. “Vinny is one of my favorite students at Morris Elementary. He is sooo sweet, and I always wondered who raised him because I never saw either of his parents at the school. I mean, I am just a secretary, so I am not there during the parent/teacher conferences, but I know a lot of the parents pretty well.”
“Oh, really?” I was embarrassed that I didn’t think to ask her what school she worked at. It may have been easier for me to let Vinny know that she was coming along had I known that information. “Wow. Look how things work out.”
Vinny released her, and with a smile on his face, he looked at me as he held her hand. “She is my favorite. I wish she was a teacher, but she only helps during recess, lunch, and after school.”
Bethany’s smile mirrored his. “Yeah, I told him that I am working on that part. But, for now, we’ll just have to stick with the arrangement we have. Times will change soon, though. That’s what I believe.”
“Well. Now that the so called ‘hard’ part is out of the way, I guess we can go.”
“Absolutely,” Bethany responded. “Just let me grab my purse, and I’ll be right out.”
As she walked away, Vinny and I stood on the porch. His snaggle-toothed grin gave life to me. “I like her, Dad. I really like her a lot.”
“Really? That is a good thing, then! A real good thing.”
It felt like confirmation that I was headed the right way with Bethany. I thought it was going to be tough to get him to warm up to her, but seeing as how he already adored Bethany, half the battle was already won. Now, I just had to focus on building more chemistry with the three of us as the day went on. A few minutes later, Bethany came back to the door with her purse on her arm.
With the initial surprise taking over the moment, I didn’t get a chance to see how she looked. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail that hung to the middle of her back. She wore jeans that hugged every curve below her waist and a pair of sneakers to cover her feet. Her t-shirt clung to her body like it was full of static. After she locked the door, she faced me, “Ok, I am all set.”
Her lips glimmered from the thick coat of gloss. The arch of her eyebrows looked sharp enough to cut someone. I was allured from the very first moment. “You look amazing.”
She glanced at her clothing. “Seriously? In this?”
“Yes, in that. You look amazin
g.”
She blushed. “Well, thank you, Gavin. You don’t look so bad yourself.” She looked down at Vinny, “And you? You always look handsome every time I see you. Now I know where you get your good looks from.”
He smiled. “Thank you, Ms. Pope.”
“Oh. While we are out, you can call me Bethany.”
“Okay, Ms. Pope,” he nervously corrected himself, “I mean, Bethany.”
After that, we all went to the car. Vinny opened her door before I had a chance to, then he climbed into the back seat. It seemed as though he had a crush on Bethany, and for a good reason. She was an attractive young woman who had a way with children. I wished that I had run into some attractive teachers or secretaries when I was his age. I may have done more to pay attention in school. I got into the car and headed to the bowling alley.
When we got inside, Vinny rushed to find a ball for him to use while Bethany and I stayed behind at the counter to pay for everything. “I am so embarrassed that I didn’t know you worked at his school. I should’ve known that.”
“No, it’s alright. I mean, we were just kind of talking about everything. I was just as surprised to see him, though. I didn’t expect that at all.”
“Yeah, me either.” I looked at Vinny as he shuffled through the balls on the rack, searching for one his size.
“Where is his mother? If you don’t mind me asking.”
I took a deep breath. His mother was always a sore spot for me, but I didn’t want to let Bethany know. “We just weren’t meant to be together. She is doing her thing, and I am doing mine. She is still active in his life though. We are just co-parenting. I feel that we are better with that than an actual relationship.”
“Yeah. I do remember you telling me something like that earlier.”
I smiled. “Oh. Were you trying to fact check me? See if I said the same thing or something else?”
“Well,” a crescent smile escaped the corner of her mouth, “maybe I was. I was told that it is harder to remember a lie than it is the truth. So, either you are telling the truth, or you are a good liar.”
“I think we will go with the former.”
Just then, the cashier was ready for me to pay for everything. I figured we would determine who was the best with three games under our belts. As we started bowling, I was surprised at how well Bethany did. She sent the ball straight down the middle on her first three attempts, striking all the pins down at once. “Wow. Are you trying to embarrass the Wallace men today?” I said, jokingly.
She held her finger up and blew the smoke off it like she was holding a pistol. “I am a straight shooter.” She strutted back to her seat as Vinny laughed and made his way to the lane. With his back turned, she walked closer to me. She bumped her backside against me as I stood near the ball rack. “So, you better watch out.”
“Yeah,” I said, admiring her perfectly shaped body, “trust me, I am watching.”
“I did it, Dad!” Vinny yelled, grabbing my attention. He spun around with a wide grin on his face as I looked down the lane.
“Good job, Vinny! A strike? Wow, both of you are trying to put me to shame, huh?”
He ran and gave Bethany a hug, “You were right, Bethany! I just had to hold the ball like you said, and it worked! I got them all!”
“Alright, alright you two. Step aside. Let me show you how it’s done.”
I grabbed my bowling ball and walked by the two of them. I loved the fact that they had already secured a tight bond with each other. I knew that Bethany wouldn’t replace his mother, but she would be an excellent stand-in whenever his mother wasn’t around.
Chapter Ten
BETHANY
I sat in my bed that night, reflecting on how much fun I’d had on my date with Gavin and Vinny. I still couldn’t believe how destiny seemed to position Vinny right between us the way he did. I was a little nervous about meeting Gavin’s son, even though I knew how good I was with children. There was just an extra bit of anxiety flowing through my blood, hoping that I wouldn’t find a way to screw things up.
When I saw Vinny on the other side of the door, it felt like a load of bricks were lifted from my shoulders. I always wondered who his parents were because out of all the children at the school, he was by far the most well-behaved. He seemed so much older than the rest of them. I started to think if our children would grow up with the same mannerisms, but I quickly ended those thoughts. Stop it, Bethany. Children already? You’ve barely known this guy for two weeks. Calm down.
I glanced at the book on my nightstand. The desire I had to read those love stories had slowly begun to fade away ever since I met Gavin. I knew that I was probably jumping the gun, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to be in love, and so far, everything seemed like my love would be from Gavin. My phone rang in the middle of my thoughts. “Bethany! How was the date with Gavin and his son?”
“It was AMAZING!”
“Listen. I know that I said we would talk about it tomorrow, but I can’t help it. It is almost 8 pm, so I am coming over there right now. Besides that, my husband is getting on my last nerve, so I need to get away.”
I laughed. “Alright, come on by. You know my home is always open to you.”
She showed up almost twenty minutes later. She used her key to let herself in, then hurried to my bedroom and flopped onto my mattress as if out of breath. “Dear Lord, I’ve never been so tired in my life! This baby is kicking my ass!”
I looked at her stomach. Her baby bump was still the same size. “You don’t even look pregnant. I swear you aren’t going to gain any weight during this pregnancy, and before you know it, you will be back down to the skinny girl you were before you got pregnant.”
“Shit. I hope so. I don’t want to imagine what I will look like in a couple more months.” She popped her head up, “And that reminds me. We need to go the store tonight. Belville’s closes at 10 pm, and I saw some cute maternity clothes there that I wanted to grab.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
“But, before that, tell me about the date, step-mom.”
I laughed, then told her that I already knew his son because he was enrolled at the same school that I worked for. She was just as surprised as I was, and she felt like things were starting to look like they were meant to be for us. “Yeah, it kind of feels that way, you know?”
“Yeah. But, like I said, I still want you to take it slow. Get to know him a little more before you start talking about anything else. I’m sure that if something is wrong with him, it’ll come out. If not, you may have lucked up and found yourself a winner.” Her eyes popped open, “Wait a minute, how long has it been since I signed you up on that website?”
I laughed. “Um, it’s been more than a week.”
“Fuck! Damn it! There is thirty fuckin’ dollars down the drain. You guys met on what? The second day?”
“Yeah. First or second.”
“Shit. Well, I’ve paid for another month already, so you may as well keep the profile up just in case you and Gavin don’t work out. Um,” she hesitated, “have you heard anything from your ex?”
I sighed. “No. Nothing. I hope it stays that way. April, you know those were some of the worse years of my life and I never, EVER, want to go back to those days. God. I felt like I was going to do die. Drugs. Stripping. Abuse. I don’t know how I made it out alive.”
“Yeah, I know. But, with you going out a little more with Gavin, you are increasing your chances of being spotted–”
“Gee, thanks for reminding me.”
“No, I am just saying that so you can keep your eyes peeled. Possibly let Gavin know about your past. Did you tell him about your ex?”
“No, not yet. I mean, I will eventually, but I don’t want him to know those details yet. I figured it would be best to keep that quiet for now. I don’t want his impression of me to change right away.”
I thought back to my days of being a stripper. I worked at a few clubs in Richmond, VA. I bounced around wherever the money wen
t. Some nights, I could see over a thousand dollars, and other nights, I would barely crack five hundred. That is when I met my ex-boyfriend. He came off as a nice, sweet guy who just wanted to get to know me, but it only took about a month for his possessive nature to show.
After a couple years of putting up with his abuse, I snuck away from him in the middle of the night. With tears in my eyes, I got on a bus and left, not knowing where I was going to land. When I got to Roanoke, I stayed in a hotel for the first month until I was able to find a job at Morris Elementary. I found favor with Principal Jones, but I had to lie on my application just to get the interview.
I knew that if they found out what I did in the past, I may lose my job, and if I told Gavin anything right now, I wasn’t sure if I could trust him to keep it quiet. Things could easily get out, especially since his son went to my school. I didn’t want to chance it. Not right now, at least. If things went bad between me and Gavin, he could literally ruin my life by exposing what I used to do before I moved to Roanoke. It wasn’t worth the chance. Not yet.
“Yeah, that may be a good idea,” April said. “Well, let’s get up and go to the store. You’re driving because um, because I just don’t feel like it.”
I laughed, grabbed my keys and headed out to the store with her. While we were in the car, Gavin texted me a few times. “Oh my goodness, is that him again?” April looked at her phone, “My god damned husband hasn’t texted me once since I left. Ugh. He makes me so fucking sick sometimes, Bethany.”
I looked at her as she glared out the window with an angry glare on her face. “Maybe the baby has your hormones out of whack.”
She sent the menacing glance in my direction, “Or maybe my husband doesn’t love me anymore.”
I stifled my laugh when she said that. I knew her husband loved her with all of his heart, so that wasn’t the case. This pregnancy just had her more emotional than she’d ever been before, so I understood why she was feeling that way. “No, he loves you, and you know he does. You said he pissed you off? What did he do?”
