Chapter 12
Drew
“Hey, Drew. Thanks for taking my call.”
“No problem. I was kind of surprised when Henry said that you’d asked for my phone number.” I couldn’t even begin to imagine why Marc, Henry’s brother, would need to talk to me urgently.
“The thing is, I have a huge favor to ask, and I wouldn’t blame you if you said no, but I got to thinking about who I could ask, and honestly, you were the first and only person who popped into my head.”
Something that felt close to pride—which would be beyond silly given the circumstances—settled over me. I’d spent twenty years doing everything I could to remain useful, wanted, and kept.
Truthfully, everything I’d done had been interchangeable with some other person, and in hindsight, the men I’d dated hadn’t had any trouble at all disposing of me. But I knew for certain that wasn’t what Marc wanted, so I was clueless as to what it was he thought only I could do for him.
“I can try. What do you need help with?”
“You remember my son? Ben?”
“Of course. Is he okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, he’s fine. It’s just that his preschool is going on a trip to the aquarium, and I have to chaperone. Except I can’t because I have a client who’s in a bad way, and I have to be with them during an audit. The state isn’t willing to reschedule the audit, and I can’t abandon my client.”
“Okay…” I was at a loss as to how he thought I could help him. It wasn’t going to be sitting with his client because that would be weird. “Uh, that sounds complicated, but I’m not sure how I can help you with any of it.”
“Henry can’t do it because he has some sort of big deal happening this week and has been in meetings nonstop. He said it was likely going to continue until next week.”
“Yeah, I haven’t seen him at all myself this week, but I have gotten the occasional late-night text.”
“I’m sure he’s pretty bummed about that.”
“Do you think so?”
I wasn’t trying to be coy, but it probably sounded like I was.
Every part of me wanted Henry to miss me because I certainly missed him.
Over the last couple of days, he’d been too busy to text or call, let alone get together, but hearing Marc say it felt a lot like validation, and lord knew I needed that.
“Gotta tell you, Drew, I think you underestimate how much my brother likes you.”
“Oh, yeah, of course. We’re friends.”
“Dude. You are way more than friends.” Marc paused for what felt like a dramatic moment. “He is a smitten kitten.”
The phone line crackled with Marc’s laughter at his own joke. Was this what it was like to have brothers?
Marc worked to get himself under control, and it took a few tries before he composed himself enough to continue.
“So, what did you need?”
“I need someone to take Ben on his field trip. I double-checked with the school, and if you send over your information this morning, I can email you the form right now. Then they’ll be able to get it processed by Friday.”
“You want me to take your kid on a field trip?”
“Don’t worry. There’ll be teachers there. It’ll be fine. Can you do it? Please? I’m begging you. Ben has been talking about this for weeks, and he’ll be devastated if he can’t go, and it’ll be my fault, and then it’ll make me feel like a shitty dad.”
“Well, I don’t want you feeling like a shitty dad.”
“And he really liked you. And obviously you’re great with kids. So, will you do it?”
“Yeah. I mean, I guess so?”
“Oh my God, Drew, you are a lifesaver. I’m gonna text you the form and the email for the director. She’ll be expecting it. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I owe you. If you want my second-born kid or, you know, tax prep, I don’t even care.”
“You don’t owe me anything. I’m happy to do it.”
“Yeah, I do. Before I called you, I double-checked with Henry about you working, and he said you were between jobs right now, which means I’m probably taking you away from a job search or interview options or something. I’m happy to pay you.”
When the words had left my mouth, I wasn’t sure if they were even true, but the more I sat with it, the more I realized they absolutely were.
I didn’t know if looking forward to a field trip with preschoolers to an aquarium made me foolish or brave, but either way, I wanted to do it, and that made me inordinately happy.
I, Drew Greene, said yes because I wanted to.
If I had a diary, this would be going in it.
“All right, Cory Cats, what do we do?”
“Stay in our school!” came the shouted replies from my three charges.
I’d been a little worried when my Uber dropped me off that this would be a huge mistake—a complete disaster—but surprisingly, it had been going well.
The school hadn’t lost my paperwork or forgotten that I was filling in for Marc.
Instead, they had a teacher waiting for me with a shimmery Cory Cat badge that matched the ones my charges wore.
“That’s right. I’m pretty sure I’ve got the best fish in the ocean today,” I told them with a round of high-fives.
They responded by doing happy dances around me that made everything in my life feel a little bit lighter. We’d gone through the freshwater sections, and now we were headed over to the saltwater exhibits and then the mammals.
“Mr. Drew?” Addison, one of my charges, spoke like she was about to tell you the secret of the universe because she was approximately seven hundred years old. Adorable.
“Whatcha need?”
“Do you have a child?” Her clipped tone was completely at odds with her tiny body.
I had no idea how her parents kept a straight face through any conversation. Although, based on what I’d seen so far, she likely ran that family with an iron fist.
“I don’t, but Ben’s daddy let me come with you all today so I could have some fun too.”
We paused to look at the seahorses floating through their swaying plants in the exhibit. It felt a little ironic to be having this discussion while I read them the plaque explaining how the male seahorse carried the babies.
“Do you want them?” she asked.
Ben looked on like he was very interested in the answer but didn’t want to interfere with the questioning.
“What would I do with them?”
“You could go to the aquarium every day,” Addison informed me.
“And the zoo!” Ben finally interjected.
“But you gotta get married first,” Charlie, the quiet third member of our group, suggested.
“Well, I could go to the zoo and the aquarium even without a kiddo, and I’m not sure anyone wants to marry me,” I said with an exaggerated frown.
Addison and Charlie laughed, but Ben was pensive again.
“You okay, buddy?” I asked, ruffling his hair.
“Yeah. If you wanna get married, ask Uncle Henry. I bet he’d say yes.”
Ben looked so earnest that I didn’t want to make him feel bad for his suggestion.
“Uncle Henry maybe doesn’t want to marry me. We’re friends. He probably wants to marry someone he loves.”
“How come he couldn’t love you?” Ben asked in the way kids did that both knocked the wind out of your soul and forced you to think about things you didn’t want to think about unless you were alone in your bedroom at three a.m.
“Is something wrong with you?” Addison asked suspiciously.
“Maybe Mr. Drew wants to marry a girl,” Charlie suggested.
“Uhh, I’m not getting married, first of all, but if I was, I’d want to marry a boy. But marrying a girl is a good idea too,” I added the last part hesitantly because I had visions of this conversation going sideways if it was retold to someone later.
“My aunt is married to a girl. She likes it,” Charlie said matter-of-factly. “I think it’s a good idea.”
Ben didn’t seem satisfied with my answer, but thank whatever lucky star was shining on me, he let the subject drop.
We spent the next little while wandering through the ocean life, oohing and aahing over starfish and itty-bitty jellyfish.
My charges were little sponges with endless questions and the ability to wander like feral cats.
What I hadn’t expected when I agreed to chaperone was how much I’d love it.
Learning with them was a ridiculous amount of fun.
“Cory Cats, are we ready for mammals?”
With their enthusiastic approval, we headed off to learn about otters and seals.
Watching their faces light up during the feeding demonstration was too cute, and I managed to get a lot of pictures so the center could share them with parents.
After the training show, we headed back outside to meet with the other groups at the playground, where we’d be enjoying our packed lunches.
The other groups trickled in, and it was pure chaos.
The director and an aide shepherded the kids to the restrooms for a mandatory handwashing session.
More than one child insisted it was completely unnecessary, with the most common reason being they wanted their parents to smell the ocean on them.
I was impressed the adults kept a straight face with that one, but they managed to pull it off.
While they were busy, I tried to make myself useful by helping punch juice pouches and open chip bags without spilling them. The kids returned with freshly cleaned hands and dug in like they hadn’t eaten in a month of Sundays.
“Thank you so much for coming today. You’ve made our lives so much easier,” Marcia said when she finally had a moment to stop moving. “I love the field trips, but they are so much work.”
“You’re very welcome. I was happy to be asked.”
“Ben said you’re a friend of his dad’s?”
I couldn’t tell if she was making genuine conversation or just being nosy. Since I’d liked her at first sight, with her tousled, messy curls and caftan, I was hoping it was genuine interest.
“More like a friend of his uncle’s, but I joined them on a picnic.”
“You’re a brave one.”
“Why’s that?”
“Taking on preschoolers, and Ben in particular. I love that kid, but he makes you work for it.”
“You think?”
“He’s one of those kids that, when he vibes with you, he’s good as gold, but if he doesn’t…”
“Really? I’ve only met him twice, but I like him.”
“Same.” Marcia glanced at him and smiled fondly. He noticed our attention and waved. We both waved back. “He wasn’t a fan of me in the beginning, but I’m happy to say I’ve grown on him.”
“Oh, I can’t imagine that,” I answered with a smile.
“Ha! True story. Anyway, we’re lucky you had time to join us today.”
During our conversation, we’d moved to a bench closer to the play equipment so we’d have a better eye on the kids. The other assistants and chaperones were on the other side. We, quite literally, had the kids corralled.
“That’s what happens when you’re a bum,” I muttered.
“What’s that?” Marcia asked with a puzzled expression.
“Oh, just saying that I didn’t have work today.”
“Cool. What do you do?”
She sounded genuinely interested, so I took a leap. Too bad Daddy wasn’t around to hear it.
“I’m between jobs at the moment.”
“Oof, that’s rough. Before I started my school, I was in corporate curriculum. When they start talking layoffs, the anxiety automatically spiked.”
“Is that why you opened it?”
“Yep. I got laid off in a restructuring, but they gave me a decent severance package, so I used it, plus my savings, to open this place.”
“Still use that curriculum?”
“Not even once. We like to focus on hands-on outdoor learning rather than worksheets. I know the kids like it, and I’m pretty sure parents aren’t sad about how worn out their kids are when they get home.”
The pride in her accomplishments was evident in Marcia’s voice.
It was hard for me to imagine what it would be like to actually be accomplished like that.
I went shopping and spent someone else’s money really well, but that wasn’t the same.
I’d never admit it aloud to her, but I was thoroughly jealous.
“Yeah, I think Marc mentioned that.”
“So what do you normally do?”
Indecision paralyzed me. Did I admit the truth—that for twenty years I’d been someone’s arm candy and entertainment—or come up with a lie? Every part of me screamed for the lie, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
“I’ve never had a real job. Just kind of floated, I guess.”
Marcia didn’t look shocked at all by my explanation, which was surprising in itself. She nodded knowingly.
“Yeah, sometimes we fall into patterns before we realize they’re the trap.”
“Exactly right.”
We sat in silence, watching the kids play chase or climb on the wooden rope pirate ship.
“But if you’re looking, we have an opening for an assistant.
You’d have to get a formal background check and fingerprints.
There are a few classes you’d have to take that we’d pay for, but they’re online.
The fingerprints can be done next week, but the classes have to be completed within a month of starting.
You could be working in a week if you’re interested. ”
Marcia paused, then laser-focused on the bow of the ship.
“Eleanor, we don’t make our friends walk the plank…”
She left to solve the assassination plot, and I was left in shock at the suggestion.
Well, isn’t that something. A real job offer for a real job? I’d never had one of them before.
Miss you.
I’ve missed you too.
OMG, I’m exhausted…those kids wear you down.
I hope you had fun?
It was the best time.
Marc messaged me and said that Ben came home raving about how awesome you are and that Marc should make you come on all the trips.
Awww, that’s so sweet.
How’s your stuff going?
We’re finally making some progress, but we still have a slog to get through.
Yay for progress?
Absolutely, yes.
How was dinner?
I was really tired when I got home.
And?
Sticky too, so I headed for the shower immediately.
Okay?
By the time I was done, I was going to go downstairs…
Then what happened?
I took a little nap and missed dinner.
You can’t spend all day taking care of kids in the heat and then come home without eating. I’m sending you some takeout. It’ll be there in about twenty minutes.
You don’t have to do that.
I’m aware. I want to.
Thanks…
…
Thanks, Daddy.
You’re welcome, sweetheart.
Good morning, sweetheart.
Are you an early riser?
Yep. Is it annoying?
I don’t know how to answer that.
I’d love the truth.
Uh, it’s not my favorite.
What is your favorite?
Sleeping until noon.
No worries, I’ll message you later.
TTYL
It’s 12:01.
Good morning, Daddy.
Weeeeeeeeell, technically it’s afternoon.
Close enough.
How’s the work going?
The work is tedious, and I hate my job.
Do you really though?
No, but I do hate this goddamn, blood-sucking studio lawyer.
You gonna beat him?
Until he begs for mercy.
That’s the spirit.
He wants to work through dinner tonight, but I told him I have better plans. It’s bad enough I’m working on a Saturday.
So what are you doing tonight?
I don’t have any plans.
Wanna make some with me?
I think I would.
Think or know?
Know, Daddy.
That’s my boy.
Real facts—I want to see you. I want to make plans. But I’m absolutely exhausted, and after dinner I have to go back and keep fighting with that fucker.
I can meet you somewhere.
Pizza okay?
Yes, I love it.
Do you really, or are you agreeing with me?
Legit love it, Daddy.
I’ll send an Uber at 6?
I’ll be ready.