“In the living room?”
Odd, but…okay.
The first time she’d ever been in Mark’s living room, three years ago for a retirement party for one of the teachers, she’d been impressed with the simple, elegant gold, brown, maroon and green decor. The room had the feeling of a cozy fall day, right down to the coasters on the plain oak coffee table. Rather than choosing the love seat or the sofa, Meredith chose the autumn-colored wing-back armchair. It only sat one. No awkwardness there.
“What’s up?”
“I need your help with Kelsey.”
Meredith’s stomach tensed again. “What’s wrong?” The little girl had been happy enough that night.
“Nothing, when she’s with you.” Mark’s words weren’t quite resentful, but his frustration was evident.
“She’s not okay with you?”
“Yeah.” He shook his head. “She doesn’t seem to like Susan and I don’t get it. Susan’s kind and gentle and she wants so badly to be Kelsey’s friend.”
Settling back into the chair, allowing her bag to slide down her arm and onto the floor, Meredith nodded. “I know she does.”
“I’m sure it’s just because Kelsey resents having to share me, but I have no idea what to do about it. I make certain that she and I still have at least three nights a week alone and on at least another two, she’s included in whatever plans Susan and I make.”
If only more parents tried that hard. “So what do you want from me?”
She could take Kelsey to her house to spend the night, or even a weekend now and then, but that wasn’t going to solve the problem.
“To see what you think. I couldn’t talk to you about this at school, of course, and most of the time you’re around, it’s with either Susan or Kelsey there.”
Thank goodness for that. She wasn’t sure how long she and Mark could last without fighting, if they spent much time together by themselves. She had a tendency to piss him off.
“I guess I was hoping, since Kelsey seems to adore you, that you’d be able to talk to her or something. Or maybe have some insights as to what I might do.”
Meredith wasn’t sure what to say. Susan was her closest friend—a lot of times in her life she’d been Meredith’s only friend. She would be loyal to Susan until death. So would it be disloyal to talk about her behind her back if she was attempting to help Susan get what she’d said she wanted?
Waiting until she felt calm inside, until she felt the doubts fall away, to be replaced by the certainty that she’d learned long ago to trust, Meredith let the quiet of the room settle around her.
And then with more confidence, she said, “Susan never learned how to interact with kids.”
Yes, it was okay to say that. “She wants to be Kelsey’s friend but she has no inner direction, nothing instinctual, not even a memory to draw on to tell her how to be a friend to someone that age. Which makes her feel awkward and insecure, and so she forces things. Kids can tell when people aren’t being natural with them and they respond with a defensiveness that’s mostly unconscious.”
That was how it felt. Pretty much.
Mark thought for a minute, hands rubbing slowly against each other. They were nice hands. Big. Dependable-looking. Meredith had seen them gently wipe away tears, tenderly hold shoulders, sign papers and applaud success.
“I understand,” he said at last. “But I still have no idea what to do about it.”
“I’m not sure, either,” she said. “Except to keep doing what you’re doing. The more they’re around each other, the more Kelsey’s going to be able to see that Susan’s a good person and perhaps start to trust her a bit. And the more Susan will learn what a nine-year-old kid’s about and start to relax, which will help Kelsey trust her.”
And…
No. Meredith refused to acknowledge her inner “awareness.” So what if she’d been shown a picture, a flash only, of her and Kelsey together. Then together again somewhere else. That didn’t mean it was real. Or even if it was, that she had to take heed of it.
And…
“And I think that it might help if, instead of always calling teenagers to sit with her—girls who are trustworthy and will keep her safe, mind you, but kids who don’t really see Kelsey as anything more than a chance to earn a few extra bucks—you call me. Or let me take her to my place for a night. That way she won’t feel like a castoff.”
Her life’s purpose was to help kids. She knew that. Any kids. Anywhere. Any way she could. It wasn’t so much a choice as a conviction that she wouldn’t be happy any other way. Helping kids completed her.
“I can’t ask you to do that. You have a life.”
“You aren’t asking. I’m offering. And it’s up to me how I spend my life.”
“Why would you give up your weekend for me? I’m not even that nice to you.”
“You’re not un-nice to me.” She should have left the television on. Of course, that would be out in the kitchen, which wouldn’t offer much distraction in here. “Besides, I’m not doing it for you. I’m doing it for Kelsey and Susan.”
He nodded. And relaxed. And when she realized she knew that, her own tension grew. She didn’t want to know any more about him than anyone else knew. Especially when all she experienced were random feelings without explanation and minus a name tag so she couldn’t even be sure of the source. But someone in this room had just relaxed, and it wasn’t her.
“I’ll think about it,” he said. “Thank you.”
Time to go. Meredith grabbed her bag as she stood, moving as quickly as she could for the door without looking as if she was running. He was right beside her, reaching for the doorknob—and not opening it.
Meredith didn’t like the way his tired, yet…something…look made her feel. All edgy and, oh, maybe…she didn’t know what. Just more. Was it him? Her? Both?
“In all the months I’ve been seeing Susan, I’ve never once heard of you out on a date,” he said.
“So?”
“I’m surprised. You’re a beautiful woman….”
And thirty-one. Her clock was ticking—slowly, granted, but still ticking.
Yet, if he thought she was beautiful…
“Thanks.”
She moved toward the door. It didn’t open. His hand was solidly on the handle. Hell, it was solid, period. Reassuring. Capable. She’d never thought much about men’s hands before.
“Why don’t you?”
Meredith’s first priority was to get out of there. She needed space. Peace.
“I find that my life’s happier that way.”
“Are you gay?”
In today’s world it was a reasonable question. “Does it matter?”
“No!” He stepped back. “Of course not.” And then… “Are you?”
She debated her answer. If she’d been gay, this intense awareness of him would never be an issue; never be discovered or even suspected.
“No, unfortunately, I’m not,” she said.
“Unfortunately?”
Yeah, she’d stepped right into that one.
Meredith