7
Beckett
T he alarm beeps on my phone and I take off my glasses, rubbing my tired eyes. I grab my phone next to my laptop and silence it, getting up from the dining room table and stretching.
I've been here working since 5am, trying to get caught up on all of the emails and planning I missed yesterday. Things have been so busy, I haven't had the time to zone in and really focus on the messages my team has been sending to me, and that makes everything else feel off balance.
I just keep reminding myself that I have to be selfless right now and know that what Edison is going through is life changing for him. I haven't had to really factor anyone else into my daily plans that weren't a part of my business for years now, and it's just something I have to figure out how to get used to.
I walk down the hallway of the rental home, passing by the kitchen where Dragana is already up and cooking breakfast, and continue on until I get to Edison's bedroom.
He had a tough time falling asleep last night, and I think that moving into another new home overwhelmed him. I ended up sleeping on the rug in his bedroom until he fell asleep, then waking up in the middle of the night and getting into my bed once he was truly settled. I left the door open in case he started crying, but thankfully he was sleeping like a rock after that.
He's still fast asleep when I go in his room now, walking over to open the curtains, before waking him up. I help him get ready, frowning when I look at his selection of clothes that we brought from Selah's home.
I decide to ditch the ratty looking clothing and go over to the suitcase with the clothes I had Helen purchase and bring with us. I wish I had thought ahead to ask Selah what Edison liked before shopping for him, but hopefully he doesn't mind wearing some clothes without his favorite characters on them for now.
I dress him in a blue t-shirt and some nice khaki shorts that thankfully fit his skinny frame. We make our way to the kitchen, and Dragana smiles when she sees Edison. They became fast friends last night when I brought him here, and she offered him the Vasina torta she had made during the day, her favorite Serbian dessert I grew up loving.
"Good morning, Edison! I have pancakes and eggs for you," Dragana announces, ushering him over to sit at the island.
"Thank you," Edison mumbles, smiling sleepily as he climbs into a chair.
The doorbell rings and I go to answer it, and let Helen inside. "Good morning Sir," she says, handing me a coffee cup that says Coco's Cafe on it.
"Morning, thanks," I respond, walking her back over to the dining room. She greets Dragana and Edison before taking a seat next to me.
"Did you get things caught up with the marketing team?" I ask, taking a sip of the black coffee.
"Yes. You have a Zoom meeting with them at 11. I added it to your calendar," Helen responds, taking out her phone. We go over some more items on my to do list while Edison eats his breakfast. After he finishes eating, Dragana takes him to go brush his teeth and I get up with Helen, going back to the front foyer.
"I'm going to need you to run some errands for me today in Charlestown," I say, putting on my shoes. "Edison really needs some new shoes now that I know his size. Also, if you can get him some more toys. Anything Ninja turtle themed you can find would be great. Coloring books, toys, clothes, DVD’s. Just buy all of it."
"No problem, Sir. Anything else I should get while I'm out?" she asks, as we make our way outside.
I think for a moment, "Maybe some kind of light for his room. You know one of those ones that projects images onto the ceiling. He has a bad phobia of the dark. Even with the nightlight Selah gave me for him it was rough getting him to settle down last night."
"I'm sure it won't be hard to find it there. Charlestown is much larger than here. I'll bring over everything when I get back," she says, typing everything into her phone. I give her one of my credit cards and she takes off in her SUV.
I talk to Edison a bit on the drive to school, but he is much quieter in the morning, which is fine with me. The barely strong black coffee that Helen brought me hasn't hit my blood stream yet and I'm still feeling groggy from my lack of sleep too.
I don't know how the hell people survive working when they have newborns, or small kids at home, it should be illegal.
We get to Upwood Elementary School and make our way inside. Edison takes my hand and we stop by the front office to go over some paperwork with the Administrator there, before heading to his classroom.
When we walk inside there are kids playing at different stations set up around the room from a kinetic sand table to Legos. My eyes roam around until I find Selah. She's stooped down at a table with two little girls, helping them form blue playdoh into shapes.
She's wearing pink dress slacks, and a white sleeveless blouse, with pink flats. Her dark hair is up in a tight bun, and her face looks makeup free like the first time I met her.
Seeing her really took me off guard standing outside of her front door last night. I expected Edison's teacher to be an much older woman with gray hair, and a couple of grandkids. Instead I came face-to-face with a beautiful woman with the face of an angel, and a body that had occupied more than one sordid dream I had last night in my restless sleep.
Everything about her was so sweet, and soft. I spent too much time staring at her during dinner in-between chatting with Edison. I watched her push around the meatballs on her plate, taking tentative bites when she couldn't feel my gaze on her.
I haven't been on a date in almost a year, but even when I was dating, I've never had a reaction like I had seeing Selah. I felt like someone hit me in the chest with a hundred-pound weight at the most inopportune time possible in my life.
Selah looks up as Edison runs over to give her a hug, laughing as he almost knocks her over. "Good morning Edi!" She sings, getting up and helping him take off his backpack. She looks up and sees me, startling when she realizes I'm also in the room.
"Good morning, Ms. Selah! Bye Uncle Beckett!" Edison chirps, before going over to the workstation with the Lego's.
I walk over to Selah, and she smiles at me timidly, suddenly shy again as if I wasn't just eating dinner with her last night. "Good morning, Mr. Kade," she greets quietly.
"Just call me Beckett, Selah," I say, following her as she goes to hang up Edison's bag. "How are you?"
She sighs, looking over at Edison. "Honestly, I had a hard time sleeping. I was a little worried about Edi," she responds.
I frown, not liking the idea of her being unsettled, "I'm sorry, Selah. Why don't I give you my number. That way if you're ever worried I can keep you updated on how he's doing when he's not at school," I suggest.
Her face lights up, "Really? I'd appreciate that. Not that I don't think that you're doing a great job with him. I know you said you have a nanny also to help you out. I just..worry."
I reach out a hand and gently rub her arm, "You don't have to worry about him, Selah. Let me do that now," I assure her.
She looks down at where my fingers are touching her soft skin, then slowly meets my eyes again, "Ok. Thank you, Beckett."
A bell rings and she jumps away from my touch. The kids all begin to clean up their stations like well-trained tiny workers, going over to the two sinks to wash their hands.
Selah runs a hand over her curls, regaining her composure, and a part of me appreciates how flustered I made her with just one small touch.
"Class is starting," she states. "Will your nanny be picking up Eddie after school, or will he be riding the bus?" she asks, walking me over to the door.
I chuckle at the thought of Dragana behind the wheel of a car. "No, Dragana spent most of her adult life in NYC and never really had use for a driver's license. My father and I always had drivers on retainer, so if she needed to go anywhere she used them, or just walked mostly," I explain, turning to look down at her. "I'll be here to get him. I'll see you later, Selah."
She smiles shyly, "I'll see you then. Have a good day Mr... um, Beckett," she corrects, quickly.
I smile and look over at Edison one more time before heading down the hallway, feeling oddly jealous that he gets to spend the day with her.
The rest of my day is full of meetings and going over budgets with Bobby. We get into a discussion again about Global Games, a huge Gaming company that we have been eager to partner with on some new projects.
I'm half eating a sandwich that Dragana set down next to me an hour ago as I finish sketching out some new ideas for an update to one of our racing games.
I keep checking the time to make sure I won't be late to get Edison from school. I don't want him to be the last one there waiting in class to be picked up. I remember how much I hated that when I was younger.
One nanny would get their schedule mixed up with another when I was in preschool, and I'd be stuck there with my teacher waiting for someone to take me home.
That went on for most of my first year of school until my dad fired all of my nannies and put Dragana in charge. She was always at school early to get me and walk me home, and I was never the last one to be picked up from school again.
I finally grab the keys to my rental car, and go to the kitchen to find Dragana washing dishes. "Can I have a latte please before I head out, Gana?" I mutter absentmindedly as I respond to a message on my phone.
She laughs and I look up to see her motioning to the empty counter, "We aren't in the penthouse, Beckett. The best I can do here is one of those twenty energy drinks that Helen put in the fridge," she says, turning back to the sink.
I run a hand through my hair in frustration. I know it's first-world problems, but fuck if I don't miss my thousand-dollar Williams and Sonoma espresso machine, and there being a Starbuck's five minutes away. It's surprisingly the only thing I have found I'm missing since we came here. I need something strong to keep me going with all that's on my plate right now.
"Right. Helen brought me a coffee earlier from some Café in town. I'll just stop by there on the way to school and pray they sell something stronger," I say, grabbing my keys.
"Oh! Pick me up some bagels if they have them. The ones with raisins," Dragana calls out as I head towards the front door.
"You got it," I call back.
I find Coco's Diner on Main Street and get a sufficient latte, and a bag of bagels for Dragana. I look in their dessert case and notice a pink cupcake with white frosting on top of it, and something tugs at my brain to buy it for Selah. I get all of my purchases and take them back out to my SUV.
My phone rings as I get inside and set down everything on the passenger seat so I can see who it is. I hurry to answer it and feel a jolt of anticipation when I see the name of my Private Detective on the screen.
"Antonio, give me some good news man," I answer, shutting the car door. I know that he wouldn't be calling me yet unless he has found Maria.
"Mr. Kade, I'm afraid that good news won't be coming today," Antonio responds.
I grind my jaw, wondering why he's calling me then. "Listen Tony, I paid you a lot of money to find this woman. I'm on a tight timeline here, and I still have to get everything set up for her here to actually parent properly and provide for my nephew once she's back. What's the fucking problem locating her? She's not a damn secret agent."
Antonio stays silent and I hear the noise in the background on his end disappearing like he's going into a quieter space. He comes back on and his voice sounds uneasy, something I'm not used to from him.
"Mr. Kade, the problem wasn't locating Maria. The problem is, she doesn't live anywhere anymore. Maria Alton died last month."