80. Chapter 80
Chapter 80
“This is so good,” David told Paige as they ate, with Jacob nodding his agreement as he wrestled with chopsticks. “Thank you for getting all this.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied, biting into a crispy egg roll, fried to perfection.
David had initially invited her over for dinner, intending to cook for her, but by noon, she’d decided to change the plan a little and get takeout from The Great Wall instead. Now, the kitchen table was sort of a free-for-all, with half a dozen containers full of various dishes—fried rice, Kung Pao chicken, sweet and sour pork, dumplings, chow mein, and egg rolls.
It was enough for six people and they’d just about obliterated most of the food when Valerie called.
Hearing his mom’s ringtone (“Thank you, Mom” by Good Charlotte), David quickly retrieved his phone from the kitchen island and answered it. “Hey, Mom,” he greeted her, only to frown a moment later. “What’s wrong?”
Paige glanced up at that and mouthed, Is she okay?
David gave a quick shake of his head before turning his attention back to Valerie, whose side of the conversation Paige couldn’t hear. And while it didn’t seem to be an emergency, it didn’t appear to be good, either. Worried, she got up to join David at the island and began absently petting Trick-or-Treat, who was stretched out full length on the granite countertop.
“All right,” he finally said. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. I need to stop at Home Depot and buy a shop-vac … no, I don’t have one. Because I don’t. Neither do you, so I’m going to go buy one … yeah, go ahead and start mopping up some of the water, if you want, but leave the washing machine alone. Okay … yes, I’ll see you soon.”
“What happened?” Paige asked after he’d hung up.
“Her washing machine leaked, and there’s water all over laundry room floor, and also in part of the kitchen.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Swear jar,” Jacob called out.
“Not now, Jacob,” David said, sounding both preoccupied and harried as his eyes darted around, taking in the after-dinner debris and settling on the little boy, still sitting at the table in his booster seat.
Pretty sure she knew what he was thinking, Paige rushed to say, “Go help your mom. I’ve got all this covered.”
Even though he looked relieved at that, David still asked, “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I’m more than capable of handling a messy kitchen along with Stinker over there,” she replied, with a jerk of her thumb in Jacob’s direction, using the nickname he’d really taken a liking to. “But, maybe you should show me where the first aid kit is, just in case things get out of hand. Oh, and maybe the fire extinguisher, too.”
“I just don’t know how long I’m going to be, is the thing,” he said pointedly, ignoring both the first aid kit and fire extinguisher references. “It might be really late before I get back and you probably have to get up early for work.”
“I don’t, actually. So, no need to worry about that. I can stay here all night, if necessary, and … sleep on the couch. Now, go.”
“All right,” David said, quickly heading over to Jacob. “Paige is in charge while I’m gone, okay?”
“Okay.”
He planted a kiss on top of Jacob’s head, then surprised Paige with one on the mouth while Jacob watched, followed with a quiet, “Thank you,” before rushing out of the kitchen. The sound of keys being snatched off the entryway table was heard, then the opening of the door.
“Lock up behind me,” David called out and a second later he was gone, the door almost slamming shut behind him.
After doing as instructed, Paige returned to the kitchen to find Jacob had climbed out of his booster seat and was standing next to the counter.
“You owe the swear jar,” he told her, pointing to a glass container on the counter Paige had seen before, but had simply thought was a dumping ground for spare change and loose bills. “You said a bad word.”
“You’re right, I did. So, how much do I owe the swear jar?”
“Fifty dollars.”
His bold delivery almost had her cracking up. “That seems excessive. How about one dollar, since it’s my first offense?” she countered.
He pressed his lips together. “Okay.”
After making a big production of putting a dollar in the jar, Paige surveyed the room. “Well, we should probably clean this mess up. What do you think?”
Jacob made a face that let her know he wasn’t a fan of that suggestion.
“You don’t like cleaning up?” she asked.
He shook his head.
“Why not? It’s a lot of fun.”
He shook his head again, this time with more vigor, clearly not buying what she was trying to sell.
“You don’t think so? Then you must not be doing it right, because I always have fun when I’m cleaning up. It’s all about the right music, though,” Paige said, getting her phone and scrolling until she found her ‘Funky’ playlist. She hit shuffle and almost immediately, Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” started playing.
While Jacob watched with curiosity, she made a show of dancing a little to the intro and then grooving over to the table and grabbing a plate. She then danced to the sink with exaggerated dance moves and turns, taking her time rinsing it off and putting it in the dishwasher. She did this several times, removing one thing off the table on each trip.
“That’s how it’s done,” Paige told him as the song ended and “Boogie Shoes” began playing. “Now why don’t you try it with me?”
She started dancing again, and after a brief hesitation, he joined in. It wasn’t long before he was able to copy most of her movements, while helping her clear the rest of the table. When The Gap Band’s “You Dropped A Bomb On Me” came on, she exclaimed, “Oh, this is a really good one,” and turned up the volume a little more. Jacob found the synthesizer sounds indicating a falling bomb to be hilarious and she immediately focused on more dancing with him. When the ‘bombs’ fell, she raised her arms and simulated jazz hands, making him laugh as he did it, too.
They also danced to Kool & the Gang’s “Get Down On It”, which Jacob seemed to dig, as well.
The kid had great taste in music.
After a few more songs, like “Got To Give It Up”, “It’s Your Thing”, and “Let’s Groove”, the kitchen was mostly clean, and she decided the two of them deserved a little dessert as a reward. Luckily, there was vanilla ice cream in the freezer and chocolate sauce in a cupboard (which actually shocked her, given David’s jihad on sugar), so she was able to make them both a decent sundae.
After a few bites, Paige leaned forward on the table and peered at Jacob’s face. “You have something on your nose.” Then, before he could really react to what she’d said, she dipped her finger into his chocolate sauce and wiped it on the tip of his nose. “Yep, right there,” she added, pointing.
His eyes widened comically for a moment and then he reached over and stuck his finger in her chocolate sauce and wiped it on her nose. “You have something on your nose, too.”
Straight-faced, she scooped a little ice cream and deposited it on his cheek. “Oops. You’ve also got something on your cheek.”
From there, it escalated into a mini food fight, and by the time Paige declared it was over, they were both laughing hysterically, their faces sticky, cold, and dripping a little bit. On the way over to the sink to wash up, Paige’s phone alerted her to an incoming text from David.
DAVID: It’s a mess here. I’m probably going to be here several more hours.
PAIGE: I’m sorry it’s a mess.
DAVID: So, how are things going there?
Paige looked down at Jacob. “Your dad wants to know how things are going. Should we send him a picture?”
“Yeah!”
She took a couple of selfies and sent him the best one. To her amusement, when he replied back, it wasn’t to comment on their destroyed faces.
DAVID: How much sugar are you giving him?
PAIGE: Just the right amount. Sheesh.
PAIGE: Anyway, gotta run. Stinker really needs a bath, and then we’re going to watch a scary movie before I put him to bed.
DAVID: You better be joking.
PAIGE: I’m not. He really does need a bath.
DAVID: You know what I meant.
DAVID: Paige?
DAVID: Paige?
DAVID: You’re not funny.
Paige had given Jacob a bath once before, so she was familiar with the whole production of it, from getting his pajamas ready and picking out toys, to the little pellets that turned the water a different color, and the foaming bubble bath that seemed to go everywhere.
After they rinsed off their faces, he’d gotten undressed quickly, only slowing down to carefully remove the black leather cord from around his neck with the aquamarine crystal hanging from it.
“That looks like the one Lauren wears,” Paige said.
“She gave it to me.”
“She did? Wow, she must like you.”
He nodded and jumped into the tub, sending water splashing and suds flying in the air.
When his bath was over, she dried him off, then cleaned up the tub area while he put his pajamas on, brushed his teeth, and then proceeded to … pee.
It took her a moment to realize what he was doing, and after reflexively glancing over to see him standing in front of the toilet, directing a little stream of urine into the porcelain bowl, she immediately looked away to give him privacy, and busied herself with stuffing his dirty clothes and damp towels into the hamper. Although, given that he was peeing with her only a few feet away, it didn’t seem like he needed any privacy, and the fact he didn’t seem to need any struck her in a slightly odd way.
Is this just how kids were? She didn’t know.
So caught up in her thoughts, she was only partially aware of Jacob flushing the toilet, then washing his hands. It wasn’t until he was leading her into his bedroom that she managed to shake them off.
The first time she’d seen his room, it’d been bittersweet, because it had a few of the elements she and David were going to incorporate into their own nursery—light blue paint on the walls and a slightly darker shade on the ceiling, decorated with puffy white clouds. David had obviously expanded their vision by adding random glow-in-the-dark stars on both the ceiling and walls, as well as recognizable constellations: the big dipper, little dipper, Orion, Cassiopeia, and Pegasus. The cork board squares he’d adhered to the walls in a line running all around the room were a touch of genius, allowing Jacob to tack tons of pictures to it and change them out whenever he wanted.
The green rug on the floor was shaped like a giant frog—which Paige absolutely adored—and matched his frog-themed bedding. She assumed it had all been purchased long before his Scooby-Doo obsession had become a thing.
Jacob rushed to his bookshelf to pick out a bedtime story. Book in hand, he then literally cannon-balled onto his bed, barely clearing Marshmallow who opened her eyes and glared at being rudely disrupted.
“Be careful,” she gently reprimanded Jacob, as she went to soothe the cat. “Remember, she can’t hear you.”
“Sorry,” he quickly apologized, giving Marshmallow a few sweet pets on the top of her head, which seemed to appease her, before crawling under the covers.
Once he was situated, Paige began lightly tucking him in and as she did, noticed he was clutching the aquamarine ‘necklace’. “Do you want me to put that on your nightstand?” she asked, pointing to his hand.
Nodding, he held it out to her.
She set it down next to a pair of crystals, recognizing one as obsidian but not recognizing the other. Picking it up, she admired the swirls and layers of colors before asking, “What’s this?”
He frowned. “I can’t remember.”
“Whatever it is, it’s really pretty.”
Jacob pointed to the black crystal. “That’s obsidian,” he said carefully. “It protects.”
“I know,” she told him, switching it for the multi-colored one. “Did you pick this at your first session with Lauren?”
He nodded.
“I have one almost just like it.”
“You do?”
It was her turn to nod. “I picked it during my first session with Lauren, too.”
“You had a … session?”
“I had several, actually,” she said, then clarified, “A few years ago.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed help to feel better after someone I knew had been mean to me, when I was little.”
His eyes widened at that. “Who was it?”
“My uncle.” When he seemed unsure what an uncle was, she used David as an example, since she didn’t know if Ashley had a brother, nor did Paige want to even bring up the other woman. “If your dad had a brother, he would be your uncle,” Paige explained. “My mom had a brother, which made him my uncle. He was the one who was mean to me.”
“Oh.” He studied her for a moment. “How was he mean?”
“He hurt me sometimes.”
“Did you cry?”
“Yes, I did. But he can’t hurt me anymore.”
“Because of your crystal?”
“That’s part of it,” she said, returning the obsidian to the nightstand and then sitting down on the bed next to him. “So, what am I going to be reading?” she asked, gently changing the subject.
He held up a well-worn book illustrated with the face of a monkey—his expression rather annoyed—against a dark red background. “This is my favorite.”
“Grumpy Monkey,” she said, reading the title as she took it from him. “It must be a good book, if it’s your favorite.”
“It is.”
“It’s not about your dad, is it?”
Jacob scrunched up his nose. “No.”
“You sure? He can be grumpy.”
“But he’s not a monkey.”
“Hmm. I guess you’re right.”
Paige opened the book to the first page, and a moment later, felt Jacob burrowing against her side. The action gave her pause, and as she looked down at his slightly damp buzzed hair, it occurred to her this was how her life could be, every night. The thought was as thrilling as it was unexpected because it made her realize she was now thinking in terms of what could be, instead of what could have been.
It was liberating. So very, very liberating.
Clearing her throat to get rid of the lump that had suddenly taken residence there, she turned her attention to the book in her hands, and for the first time in her life, read a bedtime story to a child.