54. Jillian
FIFTY-FOUR
Jillian
Thirty minutes later, I’m standing at Sheila’s door. My mind is still reeling from what I heard. I knock on the door, and it opens a moment later. Sheila welcomes me with a smile. The sound of little feet running on the hardwood floors precedes Jamie. I kneel with open arms and he throws himself at me. I hug my boy tight and inhale the sweet smell of his baby shampoo.
“I missed you so much.”
Jamie’s arms go around my shoulders, and he holds tight for a minute and then pulls back, signing how much?
I smile. “This much.” And open my arms wide.
He grins and signs me too .
I stand and pick him up, dropping kisses all over his face. He scrunches his face and tries to pull away, and I double down by tickling him.
Jamie lets out a squeal of joy.
My heart stops. And behind him, Sheila covers her mouth with both hands, her eyes wide and rapidly filling with tears. I hold back my own tears. Jamie kicks his legs and lets me go. He runs back to the living room and sits on the carpet in front of the TV, where a Lego set waits for him.
She’s still looking at me, eyes wide, hands still covering her mouth. She knows about Jamie making sounds before, but this is the first time she heard him. She takes my hand and I follow her into her bedroom. Sheila closes the door and does a crazy dance, jumping up and down and turning in circles. I can’t help but laugh at her joy for my boy.
“Oh my God,” she whispers. She makes another full circle, waving her hands in the air, looks at me, stops, and says it again. “Oh. My. God.”
I wipe a runaway tear. “I know.”
She stops and fans her hands at her face. Closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. “Okay. I’m calm now.”
I open my arms to her and Sheila steps into my embrace and we hug each other, swaying from side to side. She steps back and pulls me to sit on the bed next to her. “Okay, tell me everything. What happened last night?”
My cheeks immediately burn. I catch my reflection in the mirror mounted on the back of her door. Yep. Red as a tomato.
Sheila grins. “That good, huh?”
I fan my heated face. “Yeah, it was amazing. He’s kind of perfect.”
Sheila lets out a squeal and immediately covers her mouth. “Are you willing to share any details?”
“No.”
“Ah, come on.” She nudges her knee against mine. “Let me live a little. I’ve been single longer than you. ”
I shake my head. “Yeah, no. Sorry. I can’t. I don’t kiss and tell.”
“Actually, you do kiss and tell. What you don’t do is fuck and tell.”
“Sheila!” I glance at the door, even though I know Jamie could not have heard her. We’re not loud and I can hear the TV sounds from here.
“Okay. No details. What can you tell me? Did he stay over?”
I smile. “Yes. It was amazing. We talked a lot, had dinner. He spent the night. We made breakfast together and then he left to get ready for work.”
I frown, thinking of what I heard in his office.
Sheila catches on. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure. I was getting ready to come and pick up Jamie when I noticed he forgot his phone plugged into my charger. So I figured I’d drop it off on my way here.”
Sheila stands up. “Please tell me you didn’t look through his phone and found some weird shit.”
“No. Nothing like that. I’d never breach his privacy that way. It’s not that.”
Her hands go to her hips in a superhero pose. She’s like Wonder Woman, ready to battle for me. “Tell me!”
“I would if you let me.” I give her my best glare.
She zips her lips.
“I overheard something odd when I went in to return his phone. A man was walking out of his office, and I’m pretty sure it was his father. And he said something that made me pause. Neither of them saw me. I hid behind a huge plant.”
Sheila opens her mouth, ready to protest my slow revelation again .
I stop her with a raised eyebrow. “His father said ‘You have one week. You won’t like what will happen if you don’t get me the fucking building.’”
Sheila frowns. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I can’t be sure, but I think it’s about me. Or about my store and Leonora not selling the building because of it. You know they’ve been trying to get me to leave for the better part of a year.”
“I do.”
“If it weren’t for Leonora turning them down all this time, I would have been on the street months ago.”
“Leonora would never allow that to happen.”
“Leonora won’t be able to protect me forever. She’s eighty-eight. You know as soon as—” I swallow the knot forming in my throat. I love the old woman. It hurts to think that she can’t possibly have many more years left.
Sheila finishes what I was about to say. “As soon as she passes away, her kids will take over and try to kick you out. Sell the place to the highest bidder.”
“There will be no trying. New York State holdover is ninety days. And I have another six months on my lease. Leonora said she’d renew the lease. But who knows what will happen? Her kids are pressuring her to sell. And the real estate company is pressuring her to sell. How much resistance can a little old lady have?”
“Leonora? She got that Sicilian blood in her. She’ll live to be a hundred and fifty out of spite.”
I laugh. She’s not wrong. Anyone looking at Leonora would see a white-haired little lady, barely five feet tall. But she didn’t get to be the matriarch of her family by being soft.
The TV sounds no longer play in the background. I stand up and open the door. Jamie is coming toward us. “Hi there. Is your show over? Ready to go home now?”
Jamie nods.
“All right then. Let’s pack your things and clean up the mess.”
I know the conversation is not over, but we’ll need to finish it another time. I don’t want Jamie overhearing us and worrying about losing the only home he’s ever known. We clean up his toys together while Sheila folds his pajamas and yesterday’s clothes into his backpack.
I look around the room for any runaway Lego pieces. “Okay, I think we got everything.”
She gives the backpack to Jamie. “Don’t worry, if there are any Lego pieces left behind, I’m sure I’ll step on them. Can’t miss a Lego piece when you step on them. I’ll put it on the side and give it to you next time I see you.”
He giggles. The sound is low and raspy, more of a gurgle than a giggle, but it’s there.
My heart leaps, and God bless Sheila, she just goes with it. “Oh, you think that’s funny, huh? Me hopping around holding my foot in pain?” And then she does exactly that. Hops on one foot while holding the other and fake crying.
This time the giggles are more laughter than grunts.