Chapter 6 #3
When I saw the post for the kids’ night here, I never thought I’d end up making a friend. Because that was what I was doing, right? It was hard to tell since I hadn’t talked to any adult who wasn’t related to me, working for me, or involved in my daughters’ education for at least a year and a half.
Boy, that was pathetic, wasn’t it?
I tried not to think about it, which was much easier to do when Jeannie picked up the conversation.
“So, what do you do for a living?”
I told her, trying to sound matter-of-fact about it.
People got a little weird whenever I mentioned that I was a landscaper, because either they’d been ripped off by someone in the past, or they wanted me to tell them how much it would cost to do XYZ on their property, or they wanted me to give them a cheaper quote than the one they had from someone else.
Blergh.
Jeannie, however, only shot me a concerned look. “Is your back all right with that? Mine aches just keeping up with Max, and you’ve got two girls.”
It was a simple statement, and yet it genuinely surprised me. Maybe it wouldn’t have if I was human and prone to the lower back aches that plagued their species, but all I needed to recover was a good night’s sleep and a lot of red meat.
“I get by. I get the impression it’s a lot different raising a boy than it is to raise girls.”
“Yes, it was really different raising Max.” She let out a tinkling laugh, and my body instantly responded to it.
I stomped down on that feeling with both feet.
It was too soon after Zara, much too soon.
Besides, I’d come to terms with the fact that my story was concluded.
My happily ever after was more of a happy-for-a-time.
My job was to make sure my daughters would flourish on their own journeys.
“How about you?” I asked.
“Oh, I do freelance editing—mostly novels, some research papers, and the occasional article.”
“An editor? Really?” I was impressed. “I don’t ever think I’ve met an editor in real life.”
“Mostly because no one wants to admit to being an editor lest people ask them to edit their unpublished novel for free.”
I chuckled again. “Would it surprise you if I said I knew exactly what you mean?”
She raised one of her honey-blonde eyebrows. They were just dark enough so they weren’t invisible against her pale forehead. “People asking you for freebies and discounts?”
“You betcha.”
“Then I believe that you know exactly what I mean.”
We probably could have stayed in that line and chatted forever, but to my surprise, we were already at the front. I ordered another two hot dogs for myself—one was definitely not enough to satiate a full-grown bear of any gender—a hot dog for Addy, and a burger and fries for Eva.
We were going to need a large tray, because I wasn’t done. I ordered Max’s pretzel, then glanced at Jeannie. “Do you think he’d want a side with that?” I asked.
Panic flashed over her face. Although she didn’t have the same light Southern accent that most of us had in the Carolinas, I was sure she had the Southern mannerisms, because her first instinct was always to turn down an offer.
It was a bit silly if one thought too hard about it, but it was a culture thing.
“Oh no, you don’t have to.”
“I know I don’t have to, I want to.” I tried to soften my eyes as best I could.
“Really, I mean it. He’s a good kid, and if you think he’d want a side, I’d like to get him one.
It’s really the least I could do. Addy isn’t normally like that.
I guess since her mother died, she developed a bit of a phobia of blood. ”
Ah shit, had I said that out loud? I could tell from Jeannie’s scent and the way her eyebrows went up that she was surprised by how casually I’d dropped that little factoid.
Honestly, I was too. I liked to think that I had come to terms with my grief as much as one could in eighteen months, but I hadn’t thought I would blurt out that I was a widower.
“It wasn’t violent or anything like that,” I said quickly. “We spent a lot of time in hospitals. I guess she developed an aversion to it, and I didn’t notice since she hasn’t injured herself in a long time.”
“I’m sorry that happened. It sounds very stressful.” Jeannie’s eyes flicked to the cashier, who was staring at us. Oh right, she’d probably heard everything, too.
That was awkward.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Jeannie said. If I had to bet, I was sure her cheeks were flushed under all her winter protection.
“That’s all right. I shouldn’t have brought it up.” Jeez, where did I go from here? I had turned what was a possible new friendship into a tragedy. “So, what side?”
“Pardon?”
“Uh, the side. What side would your son like?”
Oh, yeah, real smooth. Like the very ice I’d almost broken my neck on and my daughter had hurt herself on.
“Max?” She blinked. “Right, uhm, do they have tater tots? He gets full fast, but he somehow always has room for tater tots.”
“Do you have tater tots?” I asked the cashier, who looked like she was dissociating to a place where she didn’t have two awkward adults taking forever to put in their order.
“Yes, we do. Cajun, ranch, or no seasoning?”
“No seasoning, please,” Jeannie said quickly.
“Perfect. And for you?” I asked, and there was that wide-eyed stare again. I felt bad for putting her through a bit of a ringer, but I was only trying to treat her and her son. Maybe I should’ve just thanked them and let them go on their way.
Ugh. I couldn’t seem to stop messing up.
“For me?”
“Yeah. Do you think I’m gonna let you watch us while we stuff our faces?”
“Let me?” she echoed, but instead of sounding shocked, the corner of her eyes scrunched, her face covering moving in a way that let me know she was smiling again.
“Poor choice of words,” I said, unable to stop myself from grinning back. “But please, we’re holding up the line. So, if you’re okay with it, I’d like to get you something.”
“All right, if you insist. I’ll have a cheeseburger with mayo and lettuce.”
“No ketchup or barbecue?”
She shook her head. “Nightshade sensitivity, I’m afraid. Gives me the worst heartburn and burns in other places on the way out.”
“Noted.”
I turned to relay the order to the cashier, but she was already punching on the buttons before she gave me the flattest smile I had ever seen.
“Will that be all today?”
I winced and pulled a ten dollar bill out of my wallet to preemptively place in her tip jar. The girl relaxed a bit. “Actually, we’d all like drinks.”
I didn’t let myself get distracted this time and rattled off the rest of our order quickly. We moved to the next counter to wait for our food.
It took a while, but I wasn’t in a hurry.
The kids all had their shoes on and their ice skates over their shoulders.
They walked over to us in a little gaggle, and I realized just how small Max was.
He was shorter than Eva without his skates, and it looked like he weighed less too.
And yet he communicated like he was Addy’s age.
Then again, I’d been told that girls often hit their growth spurts before boys, so maybe that was normal? Since I used to be a young boy, I would have thought I’d remember, but I really didn’t. Time was funny that way, I supposed. I did know that I was taller than Zara when I met her.
“I’m cold, Mama,” Max said, his voice small, and it was like the short woman practically teleported him, instantly wrapping him up in a hug.
“I’m so sorry, big man. The food is taking a minute. Come on, why don’t we go inside and find a table for all of us.” Her concerned eyes returned to me, her brows knitted together. “Will you come find me once our order is up?”
“Sure.”
Max’s lips were pale and pressed into an uncomfortable, thin line. Jeannie quickly pulled up the same face covering she had so only his eyes were showing, then hurried them inside.
“He’s cool, Daddy,” Eva said, walking forward and automatically taking my hand. “He said he liked my hat and he and Addy talked about killing people!”
“You what now?” I blurted. I knew kids could say the darndest things, but surely there was a line!
“She’s making it sound worse than it is,” Addy said somewhat defensively.
“We were talking about how crazy it is that ice is so hard since it’s just water, then he mentioned watching a crime show where a guy thought he did the perfect murder because he used a weapon made of ice, then melted it!
It was relevant to the conversation. We weren’t planning a murder! ”
“Yeah, that’s what I said,” Eva said.
I truly had no idea what to say, but I was grateful that Max and my girls were getting along. Thankfully, I was saved from having to come up with something to say to that because our order number was called.
“All right, can you girls help me by carrying your drinks while I get the rest?”
“Yeah!”
“Okies!”
The three of us headed into the community center. I scanned the room, then spotted Max’s bright smile. His scarf and parka was sitting in a pile on the chair beside him.
When he saw me, he waved. If I wasn’t holding a tray, I would have waved back. His movement caused Jeannie to look up from where she had been digging in their bag, and I locked eyes with one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen.
Oh fuck!