by Keeland, Vi
“What’s derogatory? Is that like purgatory?”
“No, it means—”
“Why do people like boobs?” he interrupted. “The boys told me they did.”
I chuckled. “It’s just something they like because they don’t have them, maybe? Well, guys do have breasts, but typically not large ones…most of the time.”
“They said Uncle Levi’s friend had fake boobs! How do you get those? Can I get them? I don’t want them for me. I just want to know if I could, like, buy them for Uncle Levi for Christmas.”
Bending my head back in laughter, I couldn’t contain myself long enough to address that before he posed another question.
“Where do babies come from?”
Shutting off the water, I wiped my forehead with the back of my arm. “What made you bring that up now?”
“Well, when those boys were talking about boobs, they started telling me where babies come from, and I want to see if they’re right.”
Shit. I swallowed. “What exactly did they tell you?”
“I want you to explain it first.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s weird, and I don’t want to have to say it out loud if it’s not true.”
As I stood there with my mouth agape, unable to figure out what to say, Levi walked in.
He threw his keys on the counter and looked between the two of us. “What’s up?”
Alex turned to him. “I just asked Mom where babies come from, and I’m waiting for her to tell me.”
Levi’s eyes widened. He and I stared at each other with an oh-shit look.
This was a talk I’d always hoped Alex would have with Tanner, and I was certainly less than prepared to be having it now.
Levi cleared his throat. “What brought this on?”
“It started because of that girl with big tits you were with.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Levi shook his head. “Back up. And who taught you that word?”
“The kids at the playground. They were talking about some girl you were on the Internet with.”
Levi sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. “This is a conversation I wasn’t planning to have today, but if you want, let’s all sit down and talk about it.” He turned to me. “If your mom is okay with that.”
I nodded.
The three of us took a seat at the table. I had no clue how this was going to go down.
Levi twiddled his thumbs while I bounced my knees up and down. Alex just kept looking back and forth between us, waiting for someone to answer his damn question.
“Okay, Uncle Levi’s going to explain everything,” I finally said, turning to him. “Right?”
Levi’s eyes went wide. “I am?”
“Yeah, I think it would be nice if it came from you. You know, man to man.”
I watched as Levi’s ears turned red. Then he proceeded to grab his phone and scroll.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Googling birds and bees talk.”
After a few minutes, Levi flipped his phone around and faced it toward Alex.
I momentarily panicked. “What are you showing him?”
“Relax. It’s an e-book for kids about where babies come from. We’re gonna read it together.”
I exhaled. That was actually an amazing idea. I pulled my chair around to their side of the table. Over the next several minutes, I watched as Alex’s uncle read him every page of the book, which illustrated the anatomical differences between males and females and explained the process of how babies are made in as innocent a way as possible.
I watched and listened as Levi stopped to answer each question Alex threw at him. For someone who didn’t have kids, he certainly handled this situation like the champ he was—unlike me, who had totally frozen.
“How old were you when you found out where babies came from?” he asked Levi.
“I think I was about eight when my dad told me. So, only a little older than you.”
“Thank you for explaining it, Uncle Levi.” He stood up from his chair. “Now I’m gonna go puke, cuz it’s sort of gross to think Dad did that to Mom.”
Levi patted Alex on the shoulder. “You do what you need to do, buddy.”
After Alex ran out, I shook my head. “You totally saved the day there. Thank you. I don’t know why I froze up like that. I’ve often thought about the moment he’d ask me, but I totally wasn’t prepared.”
Levi shrugged. “I winged it.”
“You did amazing.”
“Well…anything for him.”
“That was a conversation he should’ve had with his dad. But if not with Tanner, I’m glad it was with you.”
“It’s the least I could do for him.” He paused. “Speaking of Tanner, have you heard from him at all?”
“No. Not in the past couple of weeks. I do expect him to check in soon, though. He doesn’t usually let it go past a few weeks.”
Levi shook his head. “It’s shocking to me that he hasn’t tried harder to be a better father. It makes me feel like he’s struggling more than I realize. Only someone terribly wrapped up in their own head acts like that.” Levi rested his head in his hands. “I do worry about him.”
I put my hand on his arm. “I know. Me too. It’s why I’ve always tried to give him grace. I never shut him out of Alex’s life, when he wants to be part of it.”
“You’re a saint for the way you handle it all. And if I haven’t said this to you already, you’re an amazing mother. You try so hard every day. You’re always smiling and attentive to Alex, even when I know you’re having a bad day.”
“Yeah, a bad day like today when you walked in and I couldn’t even form a response when my poor kid asked me about sex.”
“Well, no one’s perfect. And if I hadn’t walked in, you would’ve figured it out.” He smiled. “Alex is really lucky to have you as a mom.”
I got goosebumps. “Thank you. That’s nice of you to say.”
“It’s the truth.”
An overwhelming feeling came over me. I didn’t know what plans Levi had tonight, but all I wanted was to spend more time with him. So I went out on a limb.
“Hey, after Alex goes to sleep, would you…want to watch a movie with me?”
He blinked a few times. It felt like minutes went by, though it was only seconds.
Levi toyed with his phone. “Actually, I told Patrick McGibbons I’d meet him for a drink.”
My stomach sank. I shouldn’t have asked. Faking a smile, I said, “Oh, okay. Yeah. Have fun.”
That night, as I watched a movie alone, I couldn’t stop thinking about Levi and how great he’d been with Alex today.
I shouldn’t have, therefore, also been thinking about that DVD of him tucked away in my drawer. But after I went to my room, I was tempted to take it out and watch it. For some reason, though, it didn’t feel right. It sort of felt like exploitation, even if he was the one who’d given it to me. After everything that happened today, what he’d done for Alex and the kind words he’d said to me after, it felt wrong to touch myself while looking at shirtless images of him. So, I would abstain—tonight.
There’s always tomorrow.
***
The next few days kept me too busy to spend much time dwelling on my infatuation with Levi. The air conditioning crew finished installing the new system while I painted two more bedrooms and planted flowers in the beautiful flowerboxes that hung beneath each of the windows in the front of the house. Unfortunately, though, as had been the case since I arrived, taking one step forward was immediately followed by taking two steps back.
Yesterday evening, when I’d started clearing out the furniture in the next bedroom I planned to paint, I discovered mold on one of the walls. The old air-conditioning system had only cooled three quarters of the house, mainly the common areas and eight of the fourteen bedrooms. The remaining four bedrooms on the south side of the house had been added after the original construction of The Palm Inn. Those rooms had individual
AC units in the windows, and apparently one of them had been leaking water for a long time, which then spawned mold, and the heat and humidity had encouraged it to grow up the wall.
So yesterday, two guys wearing hazmat suits had ripped that wall down to the studs, and today the same men had been banging away all afternoon installing sheetrock.
“Hey, Miss Sullivan.” Ned, the carpenter, came into the kitchen. “Sorry to be here so late, but we finished hanging the new boards and slapped on the first coat of Spackle. That’ll need to dry overnight, so I’ll be back tomorrow morning to sand the walls and apply the second coat. We’ll be out of your hair by lunch.”
I nodded. “Oh, that’s great, Ned. I really appreciate it. I have six boys sleeping over Friday night for my son’s birthday, and I was hoping I wouldn’t have to find them little Martian suits like you guys had on yesterday.”
Ned chuckled. “Nope. All good. I’ll see you in the morning.”
After I showed the two men out, I turned off the light in the kitchen and paused to listen to the noise in the house—or rather the lack thereof. There had been a constant barrage of hammers banging and electric tools whirring over the last week. The newfound quiet was music to my ears. There weren’t even any voices since Alex was staying at my friend Katrina’s tonight for a sleepover with her son, and Levi had gone to his mother’s for dinner. Even Fern was out. She’d left early this morning with some friends to drive up north for the night to go on some river gambling cruise.
I figured I might as well take advantage of the rare quiet time and enjoy a bath. My muscles ached from all the stretching that painting and planting required, and a good, hot soak would probably help loosen things up.
While I waited for the tub to fill, I scrolled through the music on my phone to make a quick bath-time playlist and then grabbed a change of clothes before slipping into the steaming water. It only took a minute or two before my knotted muscles started to relax. So I popped in my earbuds, turned the volume up on an old jazz song I loved but hadn’t listened to in forever, closed my eyes, and sank deeper into the water. The equivalent of a sigh rolled through my body. This is exactly what I needed.
A half hour later, I was pretty much a prune when I finally got out. If the water hadn’t started to cool, I probably would’ve stayed in there all night. I rolled my head from side to side as I dried off, surprised by how much I’d loosened up. Only a deep-tissue massage or a good orgasm could’ve relaxed me more. Though the Zen feeling I relished came to an abrupt halt when a high-pitched alarm began to wail.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
What the hell?
I tugged on my PJs and whipped open the bathroom door to see where the sound was coming from. But the second I took a breath in, an overwhelming smell hit me.
Burning! Something was burning!
There wasn’t any smoke in this hallway, so I ran to the kitchen to check if maybe I’d left the oven on, but I hadn’t. Everything was off. The piercing alarm kept blaring as I ran through the rest of the house, trying to figure out what was going on. The burning smell grew stronger as I reached the south wing and approached the room that had been sheetrocked today. Smoke billowed out from under the door the workers had closed when they left.
Shit! I ran back to the bathroom to grab my phone and quickly dialed 9-1-1.
“I need the fire department,” I blurted as soon as they answered. “There’s a fire in my house!”
“What’s your address, ma’am?”
“Six thirty-eight Palm Court. It’s The Palm Inn.”
“Okay.” I heard the clickety-clack of typing, and then the woman spoke again. “I’ve dispatched the fire department. Are you inside the house?”
“Yes, I am. There’s smoke coming from one of the bedrooms. The door is closed, so I haven’t actually seen what’s going on. Do you want me to open it to see how bad it is?”
“Absolutely not. Get yourself outside and leave that for the fire department. Is anyone else in the house with you?”
“No, it’s just me.”
“Okay, good.”
I jogged outside and stood on the lawn, staring at the house. The room on fire was located at the front, but I didn’t see flames or anything through the window, so I thought that was probably a good sign. Two minutes later, I heard fire engine sirens in the distance.
I still had my cell up to my ear, but had forgotten I was on the phone for a second. “I hear them,” I said to the operator.
“Yes, ma’am. They’ll be to you any minute. Let’s stay on the phone until they arrive.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
When two big, red rigs and a black SUV pulled up, I said goodbye to the 9-1-1 lady and went to speak to the firefighters.
One of the men stepped forward as I approached. “I’m Captain Morales. Dispatch said the house was empty. Are you sure about that?”
“Yes, I’m positive. I was the only one home tonight.”
He nodded. “Good. Okay. Tell me what’s going on inside.”
“I don’t know. I was in the bath, and when I got out, the smoke alarm went off.” I pointed to the room at the far right of the house. “There was smoke coming out from under the door of that room. We had construction done in there today.”
The fireman waved for his crew to proceed to the house. “Levi Miller owns this place, right? The quarterback?”
“Yes. We own it together.”
“Okay. Why don’t you wait over by the truck while we check out what’s going on inside.”
I watched as at least ten firefighters in full gear ran into The Palm Inn. A few were carrying hoses, while others held axes and other tools. Neighbors started to gather and ask what was going on, and the block quickly became a scene. At one point, one of the firemen yelled for water, and the hoses connected to the truck started to pump. I felt a little sick watching all of the action, but also immensely grateful that no one else had been home tonight, especially Alex.
It seemed to take forever for Captain Morales to come back out again. But when he did, he walked right over. “So, you have a small fire in the walls. I can’t be sure what happened until we take a closer look, but usually with a thing like this, it has to do with old wiring. You said you had construction done on that room today?”
“Yes, but not any electrical work. Just sheetrock.”
He nodded. “They could have moved a frayed wire while they were working, or disturbed wires with rotted casings. It’s an old building. I can tell you more once we make sure all the hot spots are out.”
I nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Behind us, a pickup truck skidded to a loud stop. Both the captain and I turned toward the sound. Levi’s door was wide open, and he was already running toward me.
“What happened?” His eyes darted around at everything going on. “Are you okay?”
The fireman lifted his chin to me. “I’ll let you fill in Mr. Miller while I go check on things inside.” He looked to Levi. “When I come back, I’ll answer any questions you might have.”
Before I could even finish telling Levi the full story, two news vans pulled up. Cameramen and reporters got out and started looking around.
“Shit,” Levi grumbled. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and turned our backs to them. “The vultures already heard. Let’s move over here.”
We walked to the big tree on the front lawn and stood behind it as much as possible. But just when we thought we were safely shielded from attention, the fire department threw on a huge spotlight. They aimed it at the house, but we were standing right in the line of fire, now completely illuminated. Levi’s eyes dropped to my chest. “Uhhh…” He swallowed. “Your shirt is see-through.”
Looking down, my eyes bulged. The flimsy pajama top I had on did nothing to cover anything. I might as well have been standing outside fully naked.
“Oh my God.” I folded my arms across my chest. But then it dawned on me that my flimsy top also had a matching bottom. And I wasn’t wear
ing any underwear. I squeezed my eyes shut. “Levi, please tell me my shorts aren’t as see-through as my top right now.”
He said nothing for a few heartbeats, until… “Hands up.”
Confused, I opened my eyes. I was about to remind him that I couldn’t move my hands because I was busy covering my boobs, but then I saw why he was asking. Levi had already pulled off his shirt and had it above my head, ready to slip over me.
“Raise ’em up,” he grumbled.
The material fell to my knees like a dress, covering all the important stuff. Although Levi was now shirtless.
“Thanks,” I said. “But the reporters are going to have a field day with you half-naked. Pretty sure your bare chest attracts more ogling than mine.”
The corner of Levi’s mouth twitched. “Stay here. I’ll be right back. I think I have a jacket in my car.”
He jogged off, ignoring two reporters trying to ask him questions and multiple neighbors whipping out their cell phones to take videos. Couldn’t say I blamed them. Levi Miller’s muscles were a hell of a lot more interesting than a fire. When he returned, he had a Broncos blanket in his hands.
“No jacket, but this should work.” He wrapped it around my shoulders.
“Let me give you back your shirt. Just hold up the blanket to shield me so I can slip it off.”
“Keep it on. You’re safer with two layers.”
“I don’t think the cameras are going to see through a blanket.”
Levi caught my eye. “It’s not the cameras I’m worried about.”
My brows furrowed for a second, but the intense look in his eyes gave all the unspoken explanation I needed. I felt a flurry of excitement in my belly that Levi thought I needed to be safeguarded from him—while the house is currently on fire. I really, really needed my head examined.
Luckily, Captain Morales walked over again, which helped refocus my attention. He put his hands on his hips. “So it looks like wires were indeed the culprit. You’re very lucky you were home to catch it when it first started. Sometimes old wiring can act almost like a fuse and facilitate travel behind the walls. Next thing you know, the entire house is up in flames. We had to tear down the wall you just put up, and the room is pretty wet, but at least the damage is contained to the one area.”