Chapter 5 #2
“It’s great to see you,” I said, wrapping her up in a gentle hug. She had always been tiny, hardly passing her son’s shoulder, but she seemed even smaller now when I leaned over.
Her once-chestnut hair was mostly gray now, the blue eyes she’d passed along to Lee shining at me as she pushed me back.
“You look wonderful.”
“I don’t know about wonderful,” I said with a laugh. “But thank you.”
I hadn’t seen Lee’s mother in almost a year. She’d stopped by to see my mother one weekend I’d been visiting, and I felt as if I’d aged in light-years since then.
“You are beautiful,” she said, gripping my biceps. “You always were, but you grew up to be stunning, missy.” I laughed when she tapped my nose. “Didn’t she?” She craned her head to Lee.
“She looks great,” Lee said, a smile floating over his lips as his gaze snagged on mine.
I darted my eyes away when tingles climbed up my spine.
Memories and loneliness were a lethal concoction, altering my brain cells into producing things that weren’t there, like heat along with pride in Lee’s gaze.
“How’s Gary? Where is he now?” She squinted at me. “Overseas, right?”
“Japan,” I said. “I try to speak to him and his family once per week in that tiny window when we’re both awake, but he’s been out on this special mission for the past few weeks.
He barely has time to check in with my sister-in-law, but she says he’s great.
My nephew is seven and speaks three languages. ”
“Wow. Seeing the world is a wonderful education, I’m sure.”
Before I could reply, a tap on my shoulder startled me.
“Hey, Stella. Nice to see you.” Lee’s sister, Debbie, came up to me to give me a quick hug. She was five years older than her brother and had already been away at college when we’d all found one another.
I didn’t know her as well as Lee’s mother, as she’d only been home on holidays then moved upstate after she graduated, but they’d always seemed like a close family.
They were the family Lee had depended on for more than just watching Bennie, and now they were leaving.
“Daddy!”
We all turned to a little voice behind us right as Bennie slammed into Lee’s hip.
“When is pizza coming? I’m big hungry.”
I bit back a laugh when her little brown eyebrows pulled together as she peered up at her father, rubbing her stomach over her pink Bats T-shirt.
“I know, baby girl,” Lee said, lifting her as if she weighed nothing more than a feather and setting her on his hip.
Bennie had grown since the last photo Lee had shown me, but she seemed small snuggled up against her father.
Her dark hair was in a ponytail, loose strands wisping down her neck and over her ears, just like mine had as a kid.
She craned her neck, squinting her blue eyes when they landed on me.
“This is my friend Stella,” Lee told her, following her gaze to me. “She hasn’t been here in a long time, but you talked to her on video.”
“Oh yes,” she said, nodding as she studied me. “She lives at the airport.”
“No,” Lee said, the deep rumble of his laugh combined with the sight of him and his daughter getting me right in the chest.
“She was always at the airport, yes, because she was traveling for work. But now, she’s staying home, so we’ll be seeing a lot more of her in person.” He threw me a glance as he set her down.
Bennie was beautiful like her mother had been, but I spotted more of Lee now, especially around the eyes. Not just the color, but the way they could trap you, as if they were seeing right through you.
“Aunt Debbie needs to keep packing so she can move out on time next week,” Debbie said. “Mom and I already ate, so you can have the dining room to yourselves to catch up.” She tickled Bennie’s side. “If I don’t see you before bed, good night, kiddo.”
“Good night, Aunt Deb,” Bennie said, looping her arms around Debbie’s neck.
“Good to see you, Stella. Come on, Mom. I’ll take you downstairs.”
“I need to pack too since I move in a few days, but luckily, my new apartment will be furnished.” Mrs. Orrico tucked a lock of hair that had escaped Bennie’s ponytail behind her ear.
“I heard,” I said. “My mother mentioned you asked her about the place.”
“Yes, she said good things. I’ll still be close, and my children can rest easy that I won’t get into any trouble.”
I laughed when she glared at her son.
“Mom loves it. It’s nice. Just be careful at bingo. Not for the faint of heart.” I chuckled.
“I look forward to it.” She laughed, reaching for her son’s arm. “I’ll let you catch up.”
“Good night, Mom,” Lee said, bending almost in half to kiss the top of his mother’s head.
“I’ll miss this one in the mornings,” Mrs. Orrico said, giving Bennie’s ponytail a gentle tug.
“But we can come visit all the time. And I can play bingo! We do it in school sometimes.”
Mrs. Orrico cupped Bennie’s chin with a shaky hand, making my nose burn. I would cry into my mushrooms for this family if I didn’t get it together.
I followed Lee and Bennie into the dining room after his family left, sweeping my gaze over the walls.
Half the photos had been taken down, judging by the way they were spaced, and the shelves on the display cabinet in the dining room where I remembered Lee’s mother displaying her fancy plates were bare.
“They’re about ready to go, I see,” I commented, scanning the space.
“They are. Debbie and Tom’s moving date is right before my next long road trip.”
“They’re going to Chicago,” Bennie told me. “It’s in the middle west.”
“Midwest, baby girl.” Lee smiled, smoothing a lock of hair off her forehead. “There is a good pizzeria close by, and they deliver fast. I’ll get half mushroom and half plain. Hopefully the mushrooms stay on your side of the pizza,” Lee joked, a hint of a smile curving the side of his mouth.
“You love mushrooms on pizza too?” Bennie’s jaw dropped when his gaze snapped to mine.
“Yes, and your dad doesn’t know what he’s missing.” I crouched down in front of her. “How old are you now?”
“Seven and a half,” Bennie said, holding up five fingers on one hand and two fingers on the other. “How old are you?”
“Younger than your dad,” I said, smiling up at Lee.
“A lot of people are.”
“Nice, Ben,” Lee said, shaking his head at his daughter. “And Stella isn’t that much younger than me.”
I laughed to myself, thinking of how much older Lee had seemed when I’d first met him. He was a year older than me, Gary’s age, but while my brother seemed like an annoying boy, Lee had looked more like a man even then.
It hadn’t been only that he’d been so much taller than us.
His voice had been deep and smooth, his soulful eyes betraying whatever he was feeling without his saying a word, even now.
I could spot sadness when he’d miss his father and the joy when they’d lit up as he’d told us about the girl he’d met at school.
I’d been scared to speak in that first group therapy session, and when Lee’s gaze had fallen on me, I still remembered the way my heart had stuttered at first, but then I’d found my voice. I’d turned my head to his beautiful smile, and that had been it.
Or the start of it. As we’d spent more time together, a switch had flipped inside me that no one else could see but had plagued me for years after.
“Do you like mozzarella sticks?” I asked Bennie. “We can split those and our mushroom pizza,” I said, cracking up at Bennie’s slow grin.
“Daddy, can I have both? Please? I promise to finish my pizza since Stella and I are sharing.” She clasped her hands under her chin.
Lee closed his eyes, his shoulders shaking with a silent chuckle.
“Daddy usually says no because then I don’t finish my pizza if we get extra stuff,” Bennie explained, cupping her hand on the side of her mouth as if she were telling me a secret. She was so adorable, the ovaries I never thought about ached.
“I’m sorry. I should have asked Daddy first.” I cringed when I lifted my gaze to Lee.
“It’s no problem. You’re a guest, and it’s a special day.” Lee pulled out his phone, punching the screen.
“Pizza, mozzarella sticks, and I think we have some iced tea in the fridge, unless you want something else.” Lee flicked his eyes to me.
“Why is it a special day?” Bennie asked her father, scrunching her adorable nose.
“Because Stella lives back in Brooklyn now,” he said, holding my gaze as he looped his arm around my shoulder. “And she’ll be close, so we can see her all the time.”
“Oh,” Bennie said, her eyes wide and darting between us. “So whenever Stella comes over, we can have mozzarella sticks?”
“Maybe not every time,” Lee said. He was close enough for me to feel the laugh rumble through his chest. “But we can allow it for today.”
His slow grin reminded me of the beautiful boy I’d first met, the one who’d made me forget my troubles, despite causing a few.
But the boy was a man now—and a single father trying to take care of his daughter without the wife he’d always love.
I couldn’t let silly fantasies of the past sneak in and screw up the present.