Star Bright

by Christina OW

  Dave drew back into his chair. Todd was right, she was a beauty. He had seen more beautiful women than her, but her fragile virgin look was hard for any man to resist, and he was certain it attracted the man who made her the way she was, “I want my promotion Todd.” he said, changing the subject. He didn’t want to talk about Maria, at least not in a lustful way.

  “I can’t do that,” Todd laughed, “I only said that to get you to help me, and besides it’s already yours.”

  “And if you want my help, you’ll find a way to make it happen sooner.”

  Todd stopped laughing when he saw how serious Dave was, before he could say anything Carol opened the door, “there’s someone here to see you.” she said with a laugh.

  “Who?” Dave asked, pushing his chair back and standing up.

  “A handsome little man with a tongue coated in honey,” she opened the door wider, “come on in Miguel.”

  Miguel walked into the office with a wide grin on his face and took the seat next to Todd, “Hi Dave.”

  “Hi Miguel, where’s Elizabeth and your mom?” He sat down, his full attention turned to him.

  “In the day care center.” He answered, swinging with the chair. Normally that would annoy Dave, but he didn’t mind.

  “Are they coming up?”

  “She doesn’t even know I’m here. I’m hoping we’ll be done talking before she notices I’m gone.”

  Dave picked up his phone and dialed the day care number. He knew how Paula would react if she didn’t know where Miguel was, the image of her on the floor in the cafe filled his head. She was in agony then, and she most probably would be far worse since he disappeared on her watch, “You should have told her before you left.”

  “Do you like my mama?” Michael spat out.

  “Yes.” Dave answered, as he waited for someone to answer his call.

  “Do you want to be her boyfriend?” Michael asked directly, his voice leveled. He had every intention to protect his mother and make sure she didn’t end up with someone like Ricky again. If he wasn’t fond of Elizabeth, and if he hadn’t noticed how at ease and very smiley his mother was with Dave during lunch, he would have been here to warn off the enemy and not size him up as a potential ally in protecting his mother from everything he considered hurtful to her.

  Dave was speechless for the first time, his blunt question had caught him completely off guard. He wasn’t sure how to answer him, as he had thought about everything else apart from that, his real intentions. He stared at Miguel, shocked, it took him a few seconds to realize the female voice on the other end of the line.

  A nurse in a purple uniform moved close to Maria, “What’s your son’s name?” she asked softly

  “Mich... Miguel.” Maria said, catching herself. She lifted Elizabeth higher, and wrapped her properly with her coat when she stirred and changed positions.

  “Skorfield! I bet he broke out again,” Maria turned to face the unconcerned voice. The stoutly nurse faced Maria, “He must be out roaming the building again.” Maria was about to yell at her for being irresponsible and letting a child leave the room, and not even bother to go out and look for him. “Miss Michaels, your son is in Dave Greer’s office.”

  Maria exhaled in relief. Dave’s office should have been her first guess. Michael was at ease enough to go to the cafe with him, why wouldn’t he visit him at the office. He probably went to tell him where they were. She thought of sitting back down and waiting for them to come, but she felt too anxious to wait. She wanted to make sure Michael really was with Dave and he was safe, “Thank you.” She said to the lady and went out the door.

  She knew where Dave’s law firm was, Leo showed them when he took them for the tour weeks after she had gotten to know him better. Apart from Tom, he was another man she had come half way to trusting, and now Dave was making his way onto that list, to the top of that list actually. If he trusted her enough to leave his daughter with her, she didn’t see why she couldn’t trust him the same way. But she had a stronger reason rather than the love for their kids not to.

  She walked slowly into the large busy firm. A few people stared at her as she made her way to the reception desk at the entrance, it made her uncomfortable. If it wasn’t for the sleeping baby in her arms she would have pulled her hair forward to partially cover her face. “Hi, could you tell me which way to Dave Greer’s office?” she spoke, above a whisper.

  “Go straight, then take a left down the hall, it’s the last office. There will be a red head secretary at his door.” The brunette lady spoke, unconcerned, without looking at her. Maria would have considered it rude, but it was relieving to have one less person staring at her.

  “Thank you.” She walked down the wide corridor, past a number of desks, keeping her eyes down. She looked down the hallway, to meet a number of eyes on her. She was a little bothered with the weird questioning looks most of them gave her, but she could feel her anger mount when she saw the familiar, lustful looks some men gave her. Those looks always made her feel like her beauty was a curse and not a blessing, as most women she met told her.

  They kept telling her she could get everything she wanted with her looks, what they forgot to tell her, or didn’t care to know, was all the bad things it brought too.

  She stopped in front of the red head’s desk and spoke coldly and quietly to her, “Is Dave in?”

  Carol looked up and smiled, amazed by Maria’s beauty, and completely ignoring how cold her question was, “That little hunk must be yours, I can see where he gets his looks from.” She stood up and rapped on Dave’s door, “Are you the new baby sitter or his girlfriend?”

  Maria felt guilty about being so rude when she complemented her son, but she was taken aback by the girlfriend remark, “Excuse me?”

  “I’m Carol, his secretary, and I only said that because, as much of a gentleman as he is, with an ex- wife like his, I was sure he had his own little action on the side.”

  Maria felt even guiltier. He had ended his marriage and not his wife, and by Carol’s words, she must have cheated on him. It did explain his sudden rage at lunch, “I’m Paula, and no, I’m not his girlfriend nor his sitter. How long have they been divorced?”

  “He filed the papers today,” she said quietly, looking at Maria more keenly, “How is it he left you his child? He never leaves Lizzy with acquaintances, let alone complete strangers. He must have done...” she stopped when the door suddenly opened. Dave stood there with a smile that lit up his whole face, his hands jabbed in his pockets.

  “Someone won’t be winning parent of the year anytime soon either.” The edge of his lips rose in half a smile. He looked at her and then at his sleeping daughter, he loved seeing them like that, they looked perfect.

  Maria stared at him, a smile automatically dominating her face, “Your parenting skills are contagious.” She noticed how much happier he seemed when his eyes darted to his daughter and then back to her. There was no doubt he really loved Elizabeth, and Maria liked that about him.

  Carol shifted her gaze between them. She was more shocked at how Dave looked at her. She’d only seen him look at one person like that once before, since she started working for him three years ago, his wife Amy. Then the look faded and disappeared when Amy started cheating, and now she was seeing it again. She had to admit, the girl was gorgeous, but she knew there must be something more to her that was making Dave slowly fall for her. He might not know it, but she did, and she was sure in another few months there would be more than one girl in his life, as much as Dave saw women as evil right now.

  “That’s not the only thing that seems contagious.” Carol said, as she sat back down.

  Dave and Maria gave her a questioning look, but didn’t bother to ask for further explanations, “Would you like me to take her?” Dave asked, raising his arms. He was hoping she would say no, he didn’t want to ruin the picture.

  “No, she’s comfortable and I’m already used to having her there.” Maria rocked gently when Elizabeth s
tirred again.

  “The earlier the better.” Carol mumbled. Maria and Dave turned to her again. Dave smiled, finally catching on to her innuendos, but Maria was still out of the loop.

  Dave shifted out of the door way and motioned for Maria to go in, “Don’t mind her, she’s a little imbalanced.” Maria was even more confused, but she walked into the office, leaving Dave outside. Dave leaned down to whisper in Carol’s ear, “Quit it, there is nothing going on between us.”

  “That’s what you think.” she whispered back, pushing him away.

  Dave walked in and closed the door behind him. Miguel was already at his mother’s side, beaming up a very adorable smile, he was sure Dave would get him out of trouble. She shook her head, bent down and kissed his forehead before she went to the pen and gently put Elizabeth down. She lingered over her for a moment to make sure she didn’t wake up, whispered something in her ear, kissed her cheek, then walked away slowly, light on her feet. Dave loved that image even more than her just holding his daughter.

  Maria stretched out her hands, unknotting the kinks before she picked up Michael and held him, not bothering to scold him. It had been hours since she held him in her arms, and she wanted to hold him close even for a moment, glad that he had been safe with Dave.

  Dave moved to them and pulled Michael out of her arms, “I think you need a break, your arms must be tired.” He placed a hand on her back and guided her to the empty seat next to Todd, “What was that you whispered in Izzy’s ear?” He walked around his desk and put Michael in his chair. He liked Miguel’s pet name for his daughter better than Lizzy or Elizabeth.

  “It’s a blessing. She whispers it in my ear too when I go to sleep.” Michael offered, spinning in the chair. Dave walked back around the desk and sat on it next to Maria with an eye shot to his daughter.

  “Sit still!” Maria scolded, but Michael didn’t stop.

  “Don’t worry about it, he’s been doing that since he got here. It kept him busy for a while as I finished some business.” Dave didn’t want to tell her about the question Miguel had asked him. He had managed to convince Miguel to give him some time before he answered it. He was very protective over his mother, and he got Dave to agree to supervised dates, by Miguel of course, as he figured out his answer.

  Todd stared at Dave, amused at how swiftly he lied to her. He could see Dave didn’t want to tell her the conversation he had with Miguel, but he couldn’t figure out why, “Hi I’m Todd.” He stretched his hand out to her with a smile.

  Maria swallowed a lump in her throat before she shook his hand. It’s just a hand shake, a harmless hand shake that’s all.

  Maria returned the smile, placing a face to the screw up Dave had been talking, more like rebuking, at the cafe. He was the personification of muscles and looks without brains. She figured his father was McKenzie when he said ‘dad’ and a promise of a promotion in the same sentence. “Hi.”

  “You must be Paula.” He lowered his tone to a seductive level. Dave looked at him with a raised eyebrow at the sudden change of his tone.

  The change in his tone annoyed Maria, making her withdraw her hand from his.

  Maria, repeating his earlier insinuation, “Yes, the waitress who he’s not sleeping with, we just have a habit of finding each other’s kids. How are the repairs going?” She was amused when she saw the red rush to Todd’s face, it would teach him not to think the worst of every situation. Dave placed a hand over his mouth to hide a smile.

  Todd picked up his notebook and stood up, reading in between the lines, “I’ll leave you two alone.”

  “Can I come see your office?” Michael chimed excitedly.

  Maria didn’t want him out of her sight again and was about to say no when Dave intervened, placing a hand on her shoulder, “Todd, tell Carol to watch him. Tell her, her job depends on it.” Michael shot off the chair and ran after Todd, not waiting for his mother’s approval. Todd nodded and closed the door behind him. Dave saw the worry in Paula’s face, “Don’t worry, he’s very safe with Carol.” Maria nodded and gave him a feeble smile. She was still worried and Dave liked that. Amy wouldn’t care if Elizabeth ran into speeding traffic. Dave sat in the seat Todd was on and turned to Paula with an amused look on his face, “You really put him in his place.”

  Maria felt relieved his hand hadn’t lingered too long on her shoulder, “Someone had to. I figured since I don’t work here and I can’t get fired for being rude to the boss’s son, I should take the initiative.” trying not to worry about Michael. She didn’t know Carol nor Todd, but Dave did, and he was sure he would be safe, so she had very little to worry about.

  Placing his hand on her arm, “Do you always eavesdrop on your customers conversations? How much did you hear?”

  Maria’s eyes darted to his hand, her throat quickly restricting, making her hold the breath in her dry throat. Don’t fret, she urged herself. She slowly let go of the breath and swallowed hard before she pulled her gaze back to his face, “All of it. You were pretty loud, and I was on my way back out to give you Elizabeth.” She tried to ignore the nervous itch his hand gave her arm, she was hopeful he would move it as quickly as he had before.

  Dave wanted to ask her the question that had been bugging him, but he thought against it, he didn’t want her to retreat into her shell. He would get to know the person she was trying to be, and then when she was comfortable around him, he would ask her about the life she was running away from, “I’m sorry, I have a short temper and I tend to get loud sometimes.”

  Maria there’s your warning, she thought to herself. But she saw how he was at the cafe, so he must be different.

  “But never physical.” Maria said unconsciously. She wanted to take it back immediately because it sounded like another accusation, and she definitely didn’t want to make him mad again.

  He saw she didn’t mean to say that, and it seemed more like a relieved proclamation than a comment. He was right, who ever she was running away from used to beat her, “My mother taught me only cowards hit women.”

  “Clever mom, you should lend her to the cowards of the world.” But she was sure nothing could change Ricky.

  Dave looked at her, the dark pained look on her face that mirrored her voice hurt him. He couldn’t believe anyone would consciously break someone as gentle as she was, “No woman deserves to be hit.” he said gently, making Maria lift her gaze to him, “not even the annoying ones like my wife.”

  “Ex-wife,” Maria corrected with a smile, “I’m sorry I implied it was your fault, I should have known there was something worse than your male chauvinist ego. I can’t believe she cheated on you.”

  Unable to bear the itch anymore, she pulled her arm from under his hand and scratched her neck in pretense. She may not like to be touched, but it doesn’t mean she had the right to be openly rude about it, especially to Dave.

  “How do you know that?” Dave felt embarrassed that she knew that. He had grown not to care about who knew how his wife was like, but with Paula, he felt self conscience.

  “Carol.” She said, noticing his embarrassment. But he had nothing to be embarrassed about, his ex-wife did, for cheating, and losing a guy like Dave.

  “She told you?”

  She placed her elbow on the arm of the chair and rested her head in her hand and closed her eyes, “No, it’s what she didn’t say rather than what she said. She was pretty happy when she thought I was your girlfriend, but I think I ruined her day when I said I wasn’t.”

  “Don’t worry, she’ll get over it.” Dave found himself staring at her intimately again. He liked the way her jet black hair flowed to the side, completely hiding her arm, “What are the words to the blessing?”

  “May God bless and protect you as you sleep, and guide you in all the days of your life, and may He shower you with His immense love, in your times of peace and trials.” Edna used to whisper it to her when she was young, it was something Miguel’s mother used to say to him.

  That was one part of
her father that Maria accepted, she found it comforting in her difficult life. She hoped it would come true for Michael since it didn’t for her, “It sounds better in Spanish.” She opened her eyes to meet Dave’s. It didn’t make her uncomfortable or angry, but she wasn’t sure what it made her feel.

  “I figured as much, I’ve always thought children of mixed race were more beautiful and wealthier.” He spoke quietly, sinking into her green eyes.

  Maria sat up straight, shifting her eyes away from him, “What do you mean?”

  Dave noticed the change in her. He cleared his voice and softened his gaze, “Wealthier because they have more than one culture and ancestry, more beautiful because they get the best out of both sides.”

  “But I didn’t tell you I was half Latino?” she smiled, grateful the cooing in his voice was gone.

  “Paula Michaels, and you’re beauty gave you away.” he said gentler than he had intended.

  Warning bells rang in Maria’s head as her smile faded again. She felt uncomfortable with his last remark and she wished he hadn’t said it. It always started the same, the stares, the compliments, the intimate get-to-know-each other moments. Then everything would move to stage two, where the dates begin and she would grow to like him even more, and ultimately love him. Then the final stage, when they hook up and probably live together, and then finally his true colors would come out, and she would end up suffering for it.

  She’d read the script, played the part, and as much as she was sure Dave was nothing like Ricky, she had no intentions of finding out she was wrong.

  She stood up and walked to Izzy’s pen, “It’s time for us to go.” she gently lifted her coat and replaced it with the pink blanket, “could you please ask Carol to bring Miguel back?” She gave Izzy a final kiss before she turned to face Dave.