by Claire Adams
I stuffed a giant piece of crab meat in my mouth. Shut up, I told myself.
“I’m certainly not defending divorce, but, good things can come from it,” Maddox offered. “Children, for example.”
“You sound like my sister,” I said. “No, I don’t believe this world needs any more children in it.”
Maddox’s voice was quieter than normal. “So, you’re not interested in having children of your own?”
“Not at all,” I said. “That’s my worst nightmare, actually. I decided a long time ago I was never having kids. Bringing them into a broken world full of divorced families is a mistake. No child should have to go through that.”
Maddox fell silent and focused more on his plate, but as the silence stretched, I realized he was hardly eating anything.
“Anyways, shellfish might be a little more complicated, but it’s definitely worth it.” I changed the subject, and that seemed to perk Maddox up. Note to self: divorce and children was not a suitable topic.
“It’s wonderful.” Maddox finished his lobster claw. “You’ve surprised me once again.”
“I’d hope that my cooking skills aren’t that surprising.” I smiled.
“Of course not,” he said, and we finished our dinner.
I packed up my belongings and he walked me to the door. I took one more glance around his magnificent house, once again in awe at the grand splendor. The decorations looked far too rich and unique for a lone businessman, and it didn’t escape me that there were at least six couches total on this floor alone. I glanced at the grand staircase in the corner, wondering how much more room there was upstairs.
“Dinner was incredible tonight,” Maddox said.
“Thank you,” I said, heartened by his compliment.
“But, I was wondering if I could take you out to a real dinner on Saturday? At a four-star restaurant this time?” he asked.
“Like, to get ideas for dinner?” I asked.
“That,” he nodded. “and possibly, like a date. Depending on how it goes.” He smiled, and once again I found his charm to be far too alluring for his own good.
“Saturday. Dinner. Yes, of course,” I said. How could I say no, anyways? He was my boss, after all.
“Great, I’ll pick you up at 6.” We said our goodbyes, and I slid into my car.
As I drove home, I convinced myself that this date was just something I was doing to keep my job. It was a requirement, and I had agreed so quickly because of that single reason.
But I couldn’t get Maddox’s smile out of my head, and the closer I got to home, the less convinced I became.
Chapter Thirteen
Maddox
I leaned against my door and watched as her beat-up Corolla disappeared into the night. I hoped she hadn’t noticed my abrupt mood change during dinner, but her words had been so forward and direct that I hadn’t had time to truly consider the meaning until we were walking toward the door.
Everly didn’t want children. Not only that, but she was passionate about not having children, and held to her belief that every marriage was doomed to fail. I could hardly blame her; my daughter had been created out of a one-night stand. And I couldn’t ever be sure of what would have happened had Abby’s mother stayed in the picture and forced me into becoming a parent. Would we have gotten married for the sake of our child? A relationship that would have only lasted until our hatred for one another spiraled out of control, and ended with the fragile mentality of a child suffering from our own mistakes.
Everly didn’t want children, and yet, the most important person in my life was a child.
I should have been honest with her from the start. Now, I had two lies that were beginning to spiral out of control, and they were only set for failure.
I walked over to Nick’s to pick up Abby, and she ran straight toward me for a kiss.
“My painting!” She pointed at a mess of paint in the corner. Her eyes were shining with pride as she tried explaining in her little mind what the painting was supposed to look like.
“How was it?” Nick asked.
“Sweetheart, we still have some time before bed; do you want to work on your painting a little more?” I asked Abby.
“Okay, Daddy.” She nodded and ran back to the corner. When I was confident that she couldn’t hear our conversation, I turned to Nick and told him about Everly’s opinion.
“You were against children at one point,” he reminded me. “Hell, I think at one point most of us are.”
“True,” I said and watched Abby dip her fingers into a jar of paint and spread them across the canvas. “The thought of having a kid terrified me.”
“Maybe that’s it,” Nick said. “Maybe she’s scared.” But there was a tone in Nick’s voice that revealed his hesitation. He seemed bothered by Everly’s confession, which wasn’t surprising considering how close he and Abby were.
“We’re leaving, Abby,” I said, and we both said our goodnights to Nick. He refused to ever take money from me, but he’d been watching Abby far more than usual the past week, and I wanted to repay him somehow. I waited until he was distracted with hugging Abby and then dropped a few hundreds on his counter.
“The painting is huge!” Abby said, and we walked back to our house. “But a little too green. I’ll make it more red tomorrow.”
“What was it again?” I asked.
“Christmas tree,” she said. She had been obsessed with Christmas ever since I went a little crazy with the decorations last year. “With lights and two angels.”
“Two angels.” I laughed. “Why not three?”
“Because one is a mommy, and the other a daddy,” she said. I loved hearing her talk about painting, and it always brought a smile to my face.
“Where’s the kid?” I asked.
“She’s not ready.” Abby swung on my arm. “I don’t need help, Daddy. It’s my painting.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” We entered the kitchen and I began setting a plate for Abby from our leftovers. She explained more about her painting, and I ate every word up. She was such a little artist. Maybe she was spending a little too much time with her uncle.
“This is yummy,” Abby said as she licked fingers covered in melted butter. I cracked open the crab legs for her and set the meat in a pile on her plate, with a side of lobster meat. She loved the vegetables the most, which was a testament to Everly’s skills.
“You like crab?” I asked after she begged for more.
“It’s sweet and plump,” she said. I laughed as her eyes widened.
“Just like you.” I gave her another plate, and ate the rest of the leftovers myself. Everly really was an incredible cook. Her seafood restaurant would do amazing on the pier.
“The pretty girl cooked this?” Abby asked. “The one with the red hair?”
“Her name is Everly. The chef, and yeah,” I said. “She’s good, isn’t she?”
“Yup!” Abby responded with a mouth full of food. She took a giant gulp and washed it down with juice. “Can I tell her?”
I frowned. “Maybe one day. Come on, let’s get ready for bed.”
“Already?” Abby whined, but she was already walking toward the stairs.
I helped her with her pajamas, and she sat on the sink as we brushed our teeth. She asked me to braid her hair before bed, and it ended up in a loose side braid that was already falling apart.
“I’m not tired.” She yawned and climbed into her bed. I settled beside her and picked up a book from her nightstand.
“Good, because we still have to read two more chapters,” I said, as I opened the book to the dog-eared page. I’d read Alice in Wonderland to her nearly 100 times by now, but Abby never wanted me to read anything else.
“She has to meet the caterpillar!” Abby squealed and fluffed her pillow. “Okay,” she said, as she relaxed. “Read the book, Daddy.”
I read until Abby was snoring louder than most 3-year-olds, and then spent a moment watching her breathe. She had repeated a few of the line
s as I spoke, and we had a conversation about whether or not the Cheshire cat was a good guy or a bad guy. Abby refused to believe he was anything but an innocent kitty, and I felt she was too young to explain what an unreliable narrator was.
My mind was full of Everly’s words. She wasn’t wrong, in a sense, that bringing children into a world full of divorce and broken families was hard. But with Abby sleeping so peacefully beside me, her tiny hands clutching the worn pages of her favorite book, I knew without a doubt that I wouldn’t change a thing. This little girl had changed my life with her pure love and childish innocence, and no matter how much of a struggle the past few years had been, I would do it all over again.
Maybe Everly was like me, afraid of the responsibility and potential for failure. But, maybe like me, a child would change her mind.
Maybe it was time for Everly to learn about Abby.
Chapter Fourteen
Everly
“Can we watch it again?” Belle asked, and Lacey and I both groaned as we hit the play button on our TV. She thanked us and settled back on the couch for our third showing of “Frozen.” Lacey kept the lucky girl home from kindergarten to spend time with us, coincidentally at the same time that Belle found the dusty Blu-ray of the movie buried deep within the coffee table’s drawer.
“Can’t really blame her,” I admitted as Lacey and I finished our mimosas. “I have a soft spot for movies about sisters hating each other.”
Lacey grinned and asked if I wanted a refill, which I stubbornly refused.
“So, you have a big date on Saturday?” Lacey teased me. I had mentioned it briefly after she asked me to see a movie with her and Belle Saturday night, and had stressed that it wasn’t a big deal.
“It might not even be romantic,” I said. “He didn’t really seem to like my opinion of children.”
Lacey shook her head. “You don’t tell a man that you don’t believe in having kids and you’re against getting married until at least the fourth date,” she said. “You haven’t even been on one.”
“He’s my boss!” I argued. “I didn’t think there were rules on that sort of stuff in a work relationship.”
“This is very obviously not your everyday work relationship. Look how much he’s paying you for four meals a week.”
“Four meals that I teach him.” I clarified. “But yeah, you’re right. It feels like there’s a catch.”
“The catch is that he’s a very handsome man interested in a young, vulnerable woman and is using his looks and wealth to manipulate her into falling in love with him,” Lacey said as we both took seats on either side of Belle on the couch. “I’ve read this story a dozen times at my book club.”
“My life is nothing like those books you read,” I argued. “It’s a lot more complicated than that. And he’s not manipulating me. I needed a job; he needed a cook. That’s it; plain and simple. Why do you have to be like Mom and read more into simple things?”
“Ouch.” She narrowed her eyes and glared. “Because his chef just so happened to retire or die or whatever you said.” Lacey gave me the ‘are you serious’ look.
“Lacey, I’m already stressed enough about this date, or whatever this is,” I said. “You’re not helping.”
“Okay, I’m sorry.” She patted Belle’s head as the little girl sang along with the movie. “Tell you what, we both have the day off. Let’s make a girls’ day out of it. We’ll get our nails done, go shopping, do something with your hair.” I rolled my eyes at the last bit. “How does that sound?”
“I don’t know, Lace,” I said.
“You can’t use your bank account as an excuse anymore,” she reminded me. “That man is paying you way too much for your hair and nails to look like that.”
“Could you be any subtler?” I snapped and turned to Belle. “What do you think? Do you want to go shopping?”
Belle paid me little attention as a snowman sung a song about summer on the television. She nodded, at least, and that was enough for Lacey.
“You drive. I’m going to look up new hairstyles on Instagram for you on the way.”
After finishing the movie, we spent a few hours browsing through stores far too expensive for us, and each bought a few outfits at the department store in the mall.
“Is this pretty?” Belle asked as she slipped her new scarf around her neck in the food court. Belle and I shared a plate of Chinese food while Lacey ate a taco salad.
“Who are you trying to impress?” I teased her. “Any cute boys in kindergarten?”
She blushed, and her mom gasped.
“Belle, you do not have a crush on a boy,” she accused, and I felt bad for the poor girl.
“Calm down, Lace,” I said. “But yeah, it’s really pretty. It brings out your eyes.”
Belle offered me a weak smile and tightened the scarf. “Thanks, Aunt Everly,” she said, and I was reminded of when she used to call me Auntie Evie.
“I got the wrong size,” Lacey complained as she looked through her bag. “Could you take Belle to the hair salon downstairs and I’ll meet you there?”
I agreed, and I walked hand in hand with Belle to the salon. The three of us had gotten our nails painted, and Belle showed me a pretty powder blue on hers.
“I love it,” I said.
“Don’t tell Mom, but Miles’ favorite color is blue,” Belle said.
“Is Miles the boy you like?” I asked.
“Not really. I mean, he’s nice and cute, but we barely talk.”
“So you just think he’s cute.” We waited at the salon until the hairdresser was ready. “Well, you can tell me anything, you know that right?”
“Of course.” Belle smiled. I never truly noticed it, but we were always told that Belle looked just like me when I was her age. I felt like I was beginning to see it.
“Thank you, Aunt Everly,” Belle said. “I had a lot of fun today. And I hope your date tomorrow is fun.”
“I hope so, too. You’re the best kid, do you know that?” I said honestly. “And I also had fun.”
Lacey met us just as I sat in the seat. They sat nearby as the hairdresser did a small trim, despite Lacey’s best efforts to convince me to replicate the latest trends on Instagram.
“Which dress are you going to wear?” Lacey asked.
“Oh, I love the blue one,” Belle said.
I winked an eye at her. “Good thing my favorite color is also blue.” Belle blushed, but Lacey didn’t notice.
I dropped them off at Lacey’s house and went inside to help her prepare dinner.
“I’ll stop by on Sunday to let you know how it went,” I said, once I was done chopping vegetables. Lacey handed me a glass of wine, and I ended up staying to make dinner as well.
“Send a picture of how you look in the dress,” Belle said. She really liked the blue dress.
“Of course.” I hugged Belle and said my goodbyes.
“Don’t fall in love.” Lacey teased, and I rolled my eyes.
“Not even an option,” I said in a loud voice to make sure Belle heard. “I want an established career before I fall in love with anyone, even a cat.” I thought fondly of the tuxedo cat at the cat café. What a keeper.
“Or a dog,” Belle added. She’d been begging her mom for a puppy for nearly three years now.
“Whatever you say,” Lacey said to me and closed the door as I left.
Don’t fall in love, she suggested. I laughed as I even considered it.
But then again, what if it was too late?
Chapter Fifteen
Maddox
“Give me that,” Abby ordered as I held a tie against my suit. I handed it to her, and she threw it on the floor. “Ugly,” she declared and ran to my closet to pick out a blue tie.
“Abby, my suit is gray,” I said. “This blue doesn’t go with it.”
She frowned and gave me doe eyes that always were successful in getting their way. “I like this blue,” she said.
“Okay,” I said, and decided to hide
another tie in my pocket. Abby climbed onto the bed and grabbed the open ends of my suit and tried buttoning them.
“This is hard,” she whined and furrowed her eyebrows in concentration. She had insisted on helping me dress, going so far as picking out several combinations of shirts and pants that were completely mismatched. I had convinced her on a gray set, and she had reluctantly agreed.
“Can I do this?” I asked as she struggled with the first button. She shook her head.
“I got this,” she said. I nodded, thankful that I still had at least three hours before I was supposed to pick up Everly.
“You’re okay with staying at Uncle Nick’s, right?” I asked and guided her fingers through the process. This was the most help she would accept, but if I didn’t try and nudge her along, I’d be here with her all night.
“Yeah!” She smiled, momentarily distracted as she mumbled something about the painting she was working on. I took the opportunity to quickly button at least three before she noticed.
“Hey!” She frowned, and I went back to helping her.
“And you like staying at Uncle Nick’s this time?” I asked, the guilt eating at me. This was becoming frequent, and I hated not including my little girl.
“I love it,” she answered, and my heart swelled knowing that she was telling the truth.
“We’re lucky to have him, huh?” I asked, but she was too focused on finishing the rest of the buttons. We were lucky, indeed. Not many people, especially men, had friends they could trust to babysit their little girl, but Nick was true blue.
“Okay, how do I look?” I asked as I looked into the mirror. This particular suit was a bit more dressed up than I was used to, and I felt ridiculous. But Abby seemed to love it, and her enthusiasm was infectious.
“I’m excited!” she squealed and jumped off the bed.
“Me too, kiddo.”
I dropped her off at Nick’s and was driving toward Everly’s home with the help of the navigational app on my phone when I realized I was sweating far more than usual.
“Don’t be nervous,” I told myself. “There’s no reason to be nervous.”