13. Billie
CHAPTER 13
BILLIE
B illie folded a set of pajamas and added them to the pile of donated clothes. Today was laundry and sorting day, a once-a-month event when she washed and went through all the clothes that had been donated. It was always a big job, and she usually had lots of help from her staff, but today she’d decided to do it on her own. Billie didn’t feel like talking to anyone, and she needed time to think. She was alone in the center’s biggest room with piles of clothes spread on the long table in front of her.
Last night, she and Max had spent the night together. Nothing had happened beyond sleeping in the same room, but still, the memory was strong in Billie’s mind. They’d shared a lovely dinner at Max’s diner in Colorado Springs, and the snow had forced them to stay in the city overnight. When Billie had found out that they were sharing a room, she’d half considered the idea that it might be fate. Perhaps the universe wanted her and Max to spend one more night together. She’d had visions, very clear visions, of Max pressing her gently against the hotel room wall and kissing her until her knees went weak. Memories of the night they’d spent together had come flooding back, and Billie had known that another night would be even better.
When they’d slept together the first time, she’d been certain that it was nothing but a one-night stand with a man she wasn’t all that fond of — and it had still been magical. Now that she knew Max better, now that she respected him and even admired his dedication to his restaurants, it would be even better.
But it still would have been a terrible idea. After all, Max was a major donor. And he wasn’t interested in Billie. He’d clearly thought of her as a one-night stand and nothing more, just as she had. After all, he’d seemed relieved and very quick to agree when Billie had told him that she wanted to keep things professional.
Even though being professional was the last thing she wanted.
Billie examined a white shirt with a spaghetti-sauce stain down the front and shook her head. Why did people donate things like this? She tossed it into a pile of unusable clothes that she’d recycle into rags or crafting material and reached for a small pair of jeans with appliqué flowers on the legs. Better. She folded the jeans neatly and put them on a pile of preschooler clothes.
When they’d gotten back to Denver this morning, Max had dropped her off at home so that she could change, then bid her a polite goodbye. It had all been so… ugh… professional.
Billie almost missed the days when she’d thought that Max was nothing but a self-centered, entitled jerk. Things had been simpler then. She’d known that she needed to keep her distance, which had been easy to do despite his attractiveness. Now that she liked him as a person, it was much harder to ignore her desire to be close to him.
Just then, there was a knock. Billie looked up from a green T-shirt with a T. rex on the front and called out, “Come in.” It was probably one of her employees with a question.
“Hi, Billie.”
Billie was beyond startled to see Max standing in the doorway. He wore a different suit from the one he’d slept in — why had he slept in his suit, anyway? — and he looked refreshed.
“Hi, Max.” Billie frowned at her phone, where she kept her calendar app. “Did we have an appointment?”
“No. Sorry for dropping in.” Max looked around at the piles of clothing on the table. “Is this a bad time?”
“No, it’s fine. Um, why are you here?” That had come out a little harsh. A traitorous part of Billie’s brain suggested that he might be here because he wanted to spend a little more time with her, but that probably wasn’t it.
“I was hoping you might be able to help me.” Max crossed to the table and picked up a small pink sweater, which he folded messily. Billie gently took the sweater from his hands and refolded it.
“With what?”
“I overheard one of my employees talking. Apparently, she and her husband are foster parents, and a sibling group of five kids was dropped off at their house last night with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Their social worker is trying to get some clothes from their house, but my employee, Janet, wasn’t feeling optimistic. I felt so bad for those kids. It’s almost Christmas and they don’t have anything. Not clothes — and definitely not presents.”
“Max.” Billie tilted her head to the side. “Are you overcome with a charitable urge?”
Max chuckled. “Yes, it seems like it. I’d like to get Janet a few things for the kids, but I’m not sure where to start. I was hoping you could help.”
“I’d love to. We should start by calling Janet and asking if it’s okay for us to help — and finding out a little more about the kids.”
“Good idea.” Max pointed to her. “I knew I came to you for a reason.”
Billie chuckled. “I’m happy to help. I’m going to finish up here while you give Janet a call.”
“Sounds good.” Max turned away and began to dial as Billie folded a pair of tights. A few minutes later, he was back. “Okay, Janet says she’d love any help we can give. The kids are eleven, eight, five, two, and a baby — the five- and two-year-olds are boys, and the others are girls. They’ll all be home after five if we want to drop anything off, and I have her address.”
“Perfect. Nicely done.” Billie looked down at the table full of donated clothes. “I know where we can start. Let’s see if there’s anything here that’ll fit the kids.”
Within a few minutes, they were able to fill a large plastic bin with three outfits for each child. Billie tossed in a few unopened packs of underwear and socks from her supply closet, then enlisted Max’s help to put the rest of the clothes into the closet.
“What’s next?” Max asked as he slid the last pile of teenager-sized shirts onto the corresponding shelf in the supply closet.
“Let’s swing by the store and pick up a few toys, toiletries, some diapers, and maybe something nice for dinner so that Janet doesn’t have to cook.”
“We can grab something from the restaurant for dinner,” Max suggested.
“Great.” They grinned at each other, and Billie had the warm, pleasant sensation of being part of a team. Max really had changed from the guy she’d met at the Grateful Gala. That guy would never have gone out of his way to make sure a foster family had what they needed for the holidays — while this guy hadn’t hesitated.
“We should get going,” Billie added. “It’s already two in the afternoon and we have a lot to buy.”
“I brought my car, so I can drive.” Max held out his arm, and Billie instinctively took it. “Shall we?”
“We shall.”
The first stop was the store where they’d purchased Christmas gifts for the kids a few weeks earlier. Max made a beeline for the toy section, where he and Billie picked out a few small gifts for each of the kids. Then Billie led him towards the grocery area.
“Toys are fun, but they also need healthy snacks,” she told him.
“That’s a good point.” Max grinned. “I guess there’s still a lot I don’t know about kids.”
“You’re getting better. You picked out age-appropriate toys for all the kids.”
“Good for me. So, what kind of snacks should we get?”
“I imagine the foster mom — Janet, right? — will buy most of the snacks. We can just get a few things to get her started — I’m thinking fruit snacks, some crackers, and some fresh fruit.”
“How about we get some cereal and milk, too?” Max suggested. “I know we’re bringing over dinner, but I can imagine it’ll be a scramble to get breakfast ready in the morning.”
Billie was impressed. “That’s a great idea. Look at you, all responsible and charitable.”
“I’m trying.” Max turned into the cereal aisle, where he grabbed a box of something that looked like miniature cookies. Billie chuckled.
“Or maybe you’re just a kid yourself. I think we should also get some healthier options.”
“Fair point.” But Max still added the miniature cookie cereal to the cart, and Billie didn’t complain. It would be nice for the kids to have some special food when their whole world was falling apart.
They went to the toiletries section next, where Billie picked up a few boxes of diapers and found shampoo, conditioner, and body wash — all kid-friendly.
“How much of your job is just buying diapers?” Max asked as Billie added a third box to the cart.
“A lot,” Billie admitted. “They’re both essential and expensive — and babies go through a lot of them.”
“That doesn’t sound like fun,” Max said.
“I can’t imagine it is, but at least not having to worry about how to afford diapers makes it easier.” Billie added a container of wet wipes and some diaper cream, plus a few canisters of formula.
Once the cart was full, they headed to the checkout, where Max insisted on paying for everything. They loaded their purchases into his car, then headed to the restaurant. It was almost time to meet Janet at her house, so Billie called ahead to confirm the address and make sure it was still all right for them to come by while Max ran inside to get the food.
“I have grilled cheese, chicken fingers, French fries, and buttered pasta,” he told Billie as he slid back into the car. “They seemed like the most kid-friendly options.”
“All good choices. Janet says she’s ready for us to come over and said thank you again.”
“I’m the one who should be thanking her .” Max fastened his seatbelt. “It’s impressive that she’s taking in so many kids right at Christmas. All we’re doing is shopping.”
Billie gave him an approving nod. “That’s a good way of looking at it. But keep in mind, the real heroes are the kids, because they didn’t have any choice in the matter.”
“True.” Max put the car into drive, and they headed towards Janet’s house. “There’s a lot that I just never thought about.”
“It was the same for me when I started working with foster families,” Billie agreed. “My family didn’t have a lot of money, but I was lucky enough to grow up with loving parents who were always able to put us first. Not everyone gets that.”
“True,” Max echoed, and there was an unmistakable sadness in his blue eyes for a fraction of a second.
They arrived at Janet’s house a few minutes later. After parking out front, they each loaded their arms with bags and headed to the front door. A woman around Billie’s age with long, red hair in a bun opened on the first knock. Her eyes widened at the sight of Billie and Max with all their supplies.
“Wow,” she said. “You said you were bringing over a few things, but I didn’t expect this. Thank you so much.”
“There’s no need to thank us,” Max said. “Do you mind if we come in and set everything down?”
“Of course not.” The woman, Janet, opened the door wider to let them in. In the living room, two girls and two boys were playing a game of Sorry . A baby snoozed in a pack n’ play in the corner. At the sight of Billie and Max and the bags, the kids looked up with interest. Billie blinked in surprise as she recognized the oldest girl: Sierra came to the afterschool program at Sweetest Surprise sometimes.
“Sierra, Kate, Jordan, Carter, this is Billie and Max. They’ve brought over a few things for you.”
“Like what?” the oldest girl, Sierra, asked suspiciously. Then she caught sight of Billie. “Miss Billie!”
“Hi, Sierra.” Billie set down the bags and knelt to the girl’s level. “How are you doing?”
“Mom had to go away for a while.” Sierra looked worried. “I was trying to take care of everybody, but it was too hard.”
“Of course, sweetie. You did a wonderful job. And now Janet is here to help.”
“Yeah.” Sierra nodded bravely.
They spent around an hour with the family. Janet insisted they stay to share the food they’d brought over. Luckily, Max had brought plenty for everyone. After dinner, they played with the kids for a little while. Max was a natural with the younger boys, spending quite some time helping them assemble the Hot Wheels set he’d picked out for them and sending cars careening down the long, curved track. Billie rocked the baby for a while, then spent some time talking to Sierra and Kate.
When they left, Janet thanked them again and, once again, Billie and Max waved off her thanks.
In the car, Max turned to Billie. “What sweet kids.”
“I know. The oldest one comes to our afterschool program sometimes.”
“Did you know her family was having trouble?”
“A lot of the families we work with are having trouble in one way or another, but I didn’t know about Sierra’s family in particular.”
“I feel so bad for those kids, living in a new home at Christmastime.”
“I know.” Billie paused. “Speaking of which, Sweetest Surprise has a lot of programs that work with foster kids. If you’d like to keep volunteering after Christmas, maybe you could work with one of them.”
For a moment, she was sure she’d gone too far, and that Max would laugh at her and say that he wasn’t interested in charity after Christmas was over. But, to her surprise, he nodded.
“I think I’d like that.”
“That’s wonderful. And thank you for coming to me when you heard that Janet might need help.”
“Of course. I didn’t consider anyone else. And, to be honest, it felt good to help.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” Billie smiled at him. “We played a small role, but it’s nice to think that, because of what we did, we can make things a little easier for that sweet family.”
“It is.” Max looked at the time on the car’s dashboard. “But now I need to get back to work.”
“Back to work? It’s well past working hours.”
“Yes, but I was out all afternoon and there’s a lot to do.”
“I can’t really fault you.” Billie grinned sheepishly. “I was thinking of doing a little more work myself.”
“I’ll drop you back at the outreach center, then?”
“Yes, please.”
They listened to Christmas songs as they drove back to the center, where Max bade Billie goodbye and she slid out of the car. Inside, she headed straight to her office and sat down in front of her computer. Max might be a workaholic, but she had the same tendencies. Every moment that she worked meant that things could be a little easier for the kids.
And each moment that she worked meant another moment that she wasn’t replaying every second she’d spent with Max in her mind. Otherwise, she’d just be remembering how he’d said that helping actually felt good, how he’d smiled at her as though they were sharing a secret, how he’d said he still wanted to work together after Christmas — and how he’d kissed her, almost a month ago now, when they’d spent the night together.
Billie opened a grant application she’d been writing. It was definitely better to work than to get caught up in her memories.