The Daddy Gamble

by Debra Salonen

  “Oh. Well, my daddy is going to marry my mommy and they’re gonna have two babies that come at the same time. That’s called twins. Just like Dora the Explorer’s mommy.”

  She sounded so matter-of-fact that Rob had to shake his head to remind himself this was probably—hopefully—more Maya’s wish than the truth. Then he remembered something. His mother once told him that the family believed Maya had inherited her grandmother’s ability to see into the future. What if she was right?

  He heard a voice call out his name. “Rob?”

  Kate had entered the house through the kitchen. “Maya and I are in here,” he hollered.

  Seconds later Kate appeared in the doorway. Breathless and beautiful. He swore he’d never seen her more vivid and alive. Her hair was swept off her neck. She was wearing a sleeveless sundress that skimmed her knees. She looked like a princess.

  She looks happy. His heart did a painful little dive toward his shoes. She’d just come from her ex-husband’s company, and she looked as radiant and in love as Haley had when she’d greeted Adam after Rob and his dad returned from golfing.

  “Hi, Kate.” He stood up. He’d made a mistake by presuming that he could simply show up and expect Kate to be as ready as he was to move forward in their relationship. I’m a fool. We spent one night together. That barely even constituted a date. I can’t simply propose. “Your daughter was keeping me entertained. What a little jokester!”

  Maya’s look made him even more nervous. Who was he to think he could ever replace her father?

  “Well, I’m glad you’re here. Come out back and say hi to everybody. Most of the members of your Dads Group are here.” She took his elbow and started leading him toward the back door. “Maya, do you have your swimsuit on under your shorts?”

  “Yes, Mommy.”

  “Good. Be sure to bring me your floaties to put on before you get in the water.”

  “But Jacob’s daddy brought noodles,” Maya said. “I can hold on to one of those.”

  “Maya, you know I want you in either a life vest or arm floaties when you’re near the water.”

  “Oh, Mommy…”

  Rob opened the sliding door. He almost added his two cents but didn’t want to get in the middle of their argument. A second later, he was surrounded by his eclectic group of friends, including Nathan Barnes, who immediately handed him Gretel. Or was she Lucinda?

  Kate was drawn aside by a woman Rob didn’t know. She appeared to go willingly. Rob guessed the need to clear the air between them was something he alone felt. Maybe it was his legal mind at work. He routinely convinced people of B when they thought they believed A. If she were still vacillating between him and Ian, Rob needed to sit down with a legal pad and lay out his argument. “You should pick me over Ian because…” There were reasons. Good reasons. He just needed a little more time to think of them.

  “How ’bout breakfast tomorrow, Rob?” Nathan asked.

  Rob hadn’t been paying attention to their conversation, so he had no idea how the idea of dining together had come about. “Um, it would have to be early. And I haven’t run in a couple of days. Maybe lunch. Later in the week?”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Rob saw a flash of color. Orange. The color of Maya’s swimsuit. He turned to look over the head of the wiggling child in his arms. She was carrying a tube of hot pink Styrofoam that was at least twice her height. She was laughing and talking to a little girl who appeared a few years older than Maya. A prickling sensation ran down his arms. Something felt wrong. He couldn’t explain it.

  He spotted Grace’s cousin Gregor and motioned him closer. “Hey, Greg, do me a favor. Take this little beauty for a minute. I need to check on something.”

  He was about twenty feet away from the pool, but there was a milling crowd of adults, including Kate, between him and the spot where he’d last seen Maya. He scanned the area looking for anything orange.

  There she was. Sitting on the edge of the pool. Noodle in hand. Nice and safe. But she wasn’t wearing the flotation devices her mother had asked her to put on.

  He looked at the table where Yetta was sitting with several other adults. Just a few feet from the pool. The half-deflated armbands he recognized as Maya’s were on the ground behind her. Had Maya removed them without anyone noticing?

  “Maya,” he murmured under his breath. “Shame. Shame. I thought I taught you better.”

  He walked over and scooped up the plastic armbands then turned to the pool. Only a few seconds had transpired, but Maya had disappeared. No orange suit. But the hot pink noodle floated on the water on waves churned up by the five youngsters playing Marco Polo in the deep end.

  Rob didn’t stop to think. He threw down the floaties and sprang forward, clearing the distance to the pool in three long strides. He paused only long enough to spot her. Underwater. Struggling. Then he dove in, grabbed her arm and pushed to the surface with one adrenaline-charged kick.

  Kate was aware of a loud splash behind her but didn’t give it any thought until she heard someone cry, “Oh, my God. Maya.”

  Everything slowed down to strange, impossibly clear images that landed in her brain like raindrops on a wind-shield. Splat. A man in street clothes erupted from the water with Maya’s limp body balanced on his hand like a server with a tray. Splat. He went under—twice—until his feet found purchase. Splat. He surged through the water like an Olympian, carrying her daughter, who was coughing and choking, to safety.

  The people standing around her—her sisters and two old friends—moved toward the pool, carrying Kate with them. Her legs were useless. They didn’t seem to understand what she wanted them to do.

  “Maya,” she cried, clawing her way through the crowd.

  Rob seemed impervious to anyone else. His sole focus was on Maya. He worked so swiftly Kate barely had time to register what he was doing. Seconds passed. Long, terrifying seconds that felt like minutes. A lifetime. Then Maya started to wail. A harsh, painful, beautiful sound.

  Kate fell to her knees beside them and pulled her daughter into her arms. “Maya. Maya. Oh my God, what happened? How did…?” She couldn’t complete the question she was so overcome with emotion.

  Maya clung to her fiercely, still shuddering with convulsive coughing. She was crying. From fear, not pain, Kate sensed. Someone handed Rob a water bottle and he pressed it gently to her daughter’s lips.

  “Try a drink for me, sweetie. Your throat is probably sore from throwing up and getting chlorine down your nose.”

  After taking a sip, Maya turned and buried her face in Kate’s chest, sobbing as if she might never stop. Kate clasped her tight and looked at Rob. “What happened? Where are the floaties I put on her? How come nobody—?”

  He sat back, easing his legs out from under him. He was fully dressed. Right down to his shoes, which leaked water until he leaned over and took them off. “Boy, if she thought they squeaked before…”

  His low chuckle seemed out of place, but Kate could tell he was still coming down from the terrifying experience—her daughter’s near drowning.

  She looked at the pool then back to him, still trying to figure out in her mind what had just happened. “How did you see her? You weren’t even close.”

  He shrugged, the wet fabric of his shirt stuck to his shoulders. “Some sixth sense, I guess. I’ve only had to pull three kids—four, now—out of the water. There were always people around, but seeing a child on the bottom of the pool just doesn’t make sense. Your mind has to get past the horror before you can do something. A lifeguard reacts without thinking.”

  “Guess that makes you a bona fide hero,” Liz said, handing Rob a towel. “Right, sis?”

  He used it on his face and hair, but not before Kate spotted his blush. He was a hero. He’d saved Maya twice, although he probably didn’t know that his suggestion to spread the word about Maya’s abduction through his network of fathers had given them the break they’d needed to find Ian.

  Before she could express her thanks, M
aya gave a little shudder in her arms. Kate stroked her daughter’s wet hair. “Oh, precious, I’m so sorry. I should have been watching closer.”

  “No,” Rob said, moving to his knees. “Maya should have left the floaties on.”

  His tone was stern. Gruff, even. Maya lifted her head and looked at him. “You took them off, didn’t you?”

  Her bottom lip started to quiver and tears filled her eyes. “I th…ought I c…ould swim. Gemilla can.”

  He reached out and gently touched her chin. “I know, sweetie, but Gemilla is older than you. She’s taken lessons at the public pool. But…” He smiled with a tenderness that melted Kate’s heart. “I’m very proud of the way you held your breath for as long as you could.”

  “The noodle slipped out of my hand and I was too far away. I tried to kick but I couldn’t reach the side and water got up my nose and—”

  Kate squeezed her tight, blocking the image she could see all too easily. She buried her face in her daughter’s hair, afraid to let go until a hand on her shoulder made her open her eyes. “She’s going to be fine, Katherine. Let’s get her into dry clothes. I think she’s had enough swimming today, don’t you?”

  Kate let her mother take Maya, who started crying again as soon as she was in her grandmother’s arms. She watched them go into the house.

  Rob, who’d removed his shoes and socks and looked half-drowned himself, stepped to her side and offered her a hand up. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to have a little talk with the other kids about what just happened. They all need to learn to watch out for each other and not let the little ones near the water if they’re not wearing life vests.”

  “Yes, please,” she said. “Maybe the adults should listen, too. I can’t believe what just happened.”

  He put his arms around her and held her until she stopped shaking. “Everything’s going to be okay. This was a good lesson for her. She’s stubborn, and I think she honestly believed that she could swim. Maybe she’ll be more willing to learn now.”

  “Well, she won’t be allowed near the pool without a life vest on until you say so,” Kate vowed. “I’d better go check on her.”

  He nodded. “My bag is still in the car. I’ll get changed then do my spiel.” He bent down to collect his shoes.

  “You’re not going to leave, are you?”

  “I…um…I don’t know. I’d kinda forgotten about the party. We haven’t really had a chance to talk and—”

  Kate understood. They had a lot to say to each other, but she couldn’t abandon her daughter—or her guests. “Please stay. Grace and Nikolai should be here soon. My sisters and I are going to dance.” She felt her cheeks heat up. “We haven’t practiced. We’re probably going to suck, but Grace insists this is something you never forget, like…” She was going to say how to make love but was too embarrassed. She didn’t want him to know how much she’d been thinking about their night together. “Riding a bike,” she finished, lamely.

  “Well, okay. I did want to be here when Mom shows up. She sounded rather blue on the phone. Is there something she’s not telling me?”

  Kate shook her head. “I don’t think so. But you know Jo. There are times I swear she and Maya are related. They’re both bullheaded.”

  She followed him to his car and watched him toss his wet shoes into the trunk. He dug through his suitcase for a change of clothes. Maybe it was seeing the suitcase—a reminder that people come and people go—that made her say, “Um, Rob, I’m going to go check on Maya, but would you do me a favor?”

  “Of course. What?”

  “Would you let me borrow your truck?”

  “Any time.”

  “This afternoon? After the party?”

  “Sure. It’s still at Mom’s. She can run me over to pick it up after she gets here.”

  “No. Your mom has been working overtime. She needs a break. I’ll go with you. If Maya’s feeling okay by then. If not, then maybe tomorrow.”

  He didn’t ask any questions. Which was good. Since Kate had no idea why she needed the truck—only that borrowing it gave her a plausible excuse to spend time with him. Alone.

  Rob went through the motions on autopilot. He survived his friends’ congratulatory accolades, endured every handshake and pat on the back that came his way and even delivered a lecture that made every parent hug his or her kid tightly.

  But inside, he felt numb.

  As soon as he could, he escaped to the guest bathroom. Locking the door behind him, he leaned on the counter—just as his knees buckled. A wave of nausea passed over him.

  Was this any way for a hero to act? But this hero was also scared spitless. Questions shot through his mind like ricocheting bullets. What if he hadn’t looked for her? What if she’d bumped her head on the wall? What if she’d swallowed too much water to be resuscitated?

  He fought back the taste of bile and squeezed his eyes to keep the tears inside. A light knock on the door shook him out of what he assumed was some kind of post-traumatic shock. “Just a minute.”

  He hastily ran a faucet and splashed water on his face. Then he opened the door.

  And looked down. Maya.

  “Hi, sweet girl, how are you? Is your throat better?”

  She nodded and held out her arms to be picked up. He was happy to oblige, but assumed she wanted to sit on the counter so she could talk to him on the same level. She was wearing a matching short set that had purple butterflies set against a yellow background.

  She coughed delicately. “Grandma said that after I thanked you for saving me, I needed to ’pologize for scaring you. She said you looked ten years older when you came out of the pool with me in your arms.”

  Rob poked his head into the hall to see if Yetta was nearby. No one else was present, although he could hear the sound of voices coming from the backyard.

  “Well, she’s right,” he admitted, stepping back into the room. Her mass of curls had dried in wild disarray that reminded him of her mother. She was going to be a beauty someday, just like Kate. The sudden image of her struggling in the water sliced through him.

  He swallowed hard against the constriction in his throat and looked down. “I was just checking for gray hairs. Do you see any?”

  Her nose crinkled and she motioned for him to lean closer. Her tiny fingers carefully parted his hair. “Nope. Not yet.”

  “Good.”

  He started to straighten but her hands on his shoulders stopped him. “I’m sorry about your shoes.” Tears filled her brown eyes. “They really didn’t squeak. I just said that because…I don’t know why, but I didn’t mean it.”

  He pulled her against him and gently comforted her. His heart was dissolving and he could barely breathe but he managed to say, “It’s okay. I didn’t like them anyway.”

  Blinking, she looked up. “Really?”

  He nodded. “Hey, I just remembered a joke. Why is six afraid of seven?”

  She thought a moment then shook her head. “I dunno. Why?”

  “Because seven…eight…nine.”

  It was too old for her, he realized too late. He didn’t know anything about kids. He was retarded. Asinine.

  Then suddenly she started to giggle. “Seven ate nine,” she repeated softly as her laughter grew. “That’s funny. You’re funny. I love you, Rob.”

  “I love you, too, Maya.”

  She looked at the floor. “I told a fib earlier. Daddy and Mommy aren’t going to have two babies and call them twins.”

  “Oh.”

  “Mommy said Daddy has to go into grown-up time-out again because he took me without permission. And when he comes back, he might not live here any more. He might go somewhere else.”

  “Yes, I know. I’m sorry.”

  She didn’t say anything for a minute, then she scooted forward and slipped to her feet. “Wait right there. Don’t even move.”

  No problem. He wasn’t sure his legs were working.

  She returned a few seconds later, carrying a piece of white c
onstruction paper the size of a legal pad. “Here,” she said, handing him the artwork. “This is for you. To put on your refrigerator.”

  “Thank you. It’s beautiful,” he said, admiring the vivid primary colors.

  “These are the people in my family,” she said. “Well, not all of them.”

  Just four, in fact. A stick-figure girl with long brown curls. A mommy figure that actually resembled Kate somehow. And two men. One stood with Kate and Maya. The other was alone on the opposite side of the page, loosely connected by a bright wiggly yellow line.

  The solitary figure wore a gaudy green-and-purple tie.

  Before he could ask her to decipher the image for him, she said, “I have to go back to the party. My Auntie Grace is coming. ’Bye.”

  She was gone in a blink. Rob studied the painting a few minutes more, then carefully rolled it up and took it outside to his car.

  On his way back to the house, another car pulled into the driveway. Nikolai, whom Rob had met during the Charles Harmon debacle, was behind the wheel. Grace leaned out the passenger window and waved with her usual exuberant style.

  “Hey there, Rob, I hear you’re a real live hero,” she called. “If my sister doesn’t marry you, she’s an idiot.”

  And hope, despite his qualms about his place in Maya’s painting, blossomed in his heart. With Grace in his corner, maybe he had a chance to convince Kate they truly did belong together.

  Chapter 18

  “The key is inside. Do you want to wait here or come in?”

  Rob’s plan to talk to Kate yesterday after the party had been sidelined. First, there’d been the necessary rehashing of his rescue of Maya for the newcomers, Grace and Nikolai, who had heard the short version on the phone but had demanded blow-by-blow details. Then, there’d been food, conversation, a guys-versus-gals game of water polo and more food. Then, dancing.

  Amazing dancing.

  Rob had been mesmerized when four nymphs in belly-dancer costumes had appeared in the twilight. He’d been sitting with his mother when the music started. He couldn’t quite define the sound—part flamenco, part Middle Eastern rhythms. Their costumes shimmered with gold coins and glittering jewels woven into sheer fabric. Bright scarves fluttered as curvaceous hips oscillated in tempo.