by Marci Bolden
“Hey,” Mallory said, bringing him back from his reflection. “Come on. You can’t be that bored. We’ve been here for like ten minutes.”
Instead of confessing that he was perplexed by his lack of enjoyment, he nodded toward a table where a mermaid was selling food. “I was wondering what kind of goodies we might find over there.”
Mallory followed his gaze. “Food. I like food.”
He led them to the table and let Jessica pick out three cookies, making her promise not to eat them until after lunch, which he suspected would be soon—and expensive, based on the cost of the baked goods. He swallowed down the complaint, though. This was their fun time. Their family time. A much-needed good time. He wasn’t going to allow a price tag to take away from that. Not today.
As he handed over far more cash than the cookies were worth, he promised himself that he’d take his overwhelming-responsibility hat off and have fun. Real fun. Even if it killed him.
“The most important thing to remember when you wear makeup,” Mallory said while wiping a cloth over Jessica’s face, “is to take it off. Never, ever sleep in makeup.”
“Because you ruin your pillows.”
“And your skin,” Mallory added. She went through three washrags but finally got all the face paint and most of the glitter from Jessica’s skin. Smiling at the rosy-pink cheeks, she had to stop herself from giving the girl a big kiss on the head. That was probably crossing the line, but man, she just wanted to scoop her up and hug her. “Did you have a good day?” she whispered instead.
“I had the best day,” Jess said just as softly, as if they were conspiring.
“I’m going to put the best pictures together and make a poster for you, okay?”
Her eyes went wide. “Awesome.”
While Mallory had hesitated in squeezing Jessica, the girl didn’t. She lurched forward and wrapped her arms around Mal’s neck, hugging her like she’d never let go. Mallory hugged back, and maybe they wouldn’t have ever let go, but Phil called from across the hall.
“Come on, Jess. It’s getting late.”
Leaning back, Mallory tapped Jess on the tip of the nose. “Thank you for being my best convention partner ever.”
“Thank you for being my best convention partner ever.”
“I can’t wait to go again.”
“Me either. Night, Mal.”
“Night, Jess.” Once the girl left the room, Mallory closed the door and wriggled out of her costume back into regular clothes. The hard part, however, was peeling the fake muttonchops off her cheeks. She ground her teeth and hissed as the glue ripped out strands of her hair and stuck to her skin. Finally, she was free of the fake hair and most of the adhesive, though her cheeks were even pinker than Jessica’s had been after scrubbing away all her glitter.
She eased the door open and tiptoed down the hallway so she didn’t disturb Jessica and Phil’s routine. She could hear his voice traveling down the hall as he talked to his little girl. She thought maybe he was reading her a story, but Jessica seemed too big for that. Whatever they were doing, Mallory had the urge to peek in and see if she could take part. She resisted, however, and focused on gathering her things so she could head out once she said goodbye to Phil.
“She’s out,” he said, coming into his living room several minutes later. Phil, dressed in his jeans and Superman T-shirt again, strolled in looking far more relaxed than she could remember seeing him. Ever. “She’s pretty proud of her new comic books. Looks like I’ll be getting a second job to keep her in supply.”
“Whoops.” She wasn’t sorry, though. She was thrilled she and Jessica would continue to have something to bond over. “I’m surprised she made it as long as she did. It’s been a long day. I’m surprised at you, too.”
“Me?”
“We spent almost six hours at that convention, and you looked like you were enjoying yourself.”
He started to object—she could tell by the raised brows—but then he laughed. “I had a really good time, Mal. So did Jessica. Thanks for inviting us.”
“Thank you for dressing up as Batman. I think that made her day even better.”
“I don’t want to see any of those photos on social media.”
She smiled wide and batted her eyes innocently. “It may be too late for that.”
“Great.”
He laughed softly then reached out and ran his finger over her cheek. Adhesive from where she’d attached the fake hair to her face balled and rolled along her skin until he pulled it off. It was a very paternal move, something he’d probably do to Jessica, except that when he met Mallory’s eyes again, his smile faded, confirming in her mind that he’d also felt that strange little electrical jolt that rushed through her skin when he’d touched her.
She hoped there was more glue or glitter. Hell, she’d even take a bit of dried nacho cheese from one of the many trips to the snack bar she’d made. Anything to get him to run his fingers along her flesh again. He didn’t but instead balled up the glue as an eternity seemed to pass before she could think again. Clearing her throat, she returned her focus to her bag, overflowing from the loot she’d snatched up at the convention.
“Um… Your mom was very impressed that we got you to dress up. I told her you did it for Jess.”
“Oh, man,” he moaned. “She saw the pictures?”
“On Facebook.”
“You’re Facebook friends with my mom?”
She held up her hand, fingers crossed. “We’ve been like this ever since she saw us at breakfast two weeks ago.”
He exhaled loudly. “You’re kidding me.”
“Nope. After seeing Jessica’s getup today, she asked if I can help her with the next school play. Apparently she does the costumes to help out.”
“She does, but her reasoning isn’t quite that generous. She wants an excuse to keep an eye on Jessica and make sure she’s being included. Mom still doesn’t think Jess can fend for herself. I’m sorry she roped you in.”
“Don’t be. It’ll be fun. Your mom is sweet.”
“And nosy.”
“And nosy. But I can tell she’s just worried about Jessica.”
“Yes. That’s the only reason I haven’t completely lost my cool with her yet. However, you realize she’ll never let me live this down, right?”
Her heart lifted as she imagined all the Batman jokes she was going to get out of this day, too. “Yeah. I know. That’s okay. I put pictures of Wolverine out there, too. Jessica was there, so use her as an excuse. You did it for the kiddo.”
He narrowed his eyes playfully. “Are you confessing to using my daughter as a means to justify dressing up as a comic book hero?”
“Oh, no. I was going to go with or without you guys. I never need an excuse to dress up as a comic book hero. Take that as a warning. If you ever show up unannounced, who knows what I’ll be wearing.”
His eyes lit with a bit of mischievousness. “Sounds dangerous.”
For a moment she thought he might be flirting. Phil flirting? With her? The idea made her heart race, but she also felt a huge rush of uncertainty. She’d never been good at reading or responding to flirtatious behavior. Instead of making a fool of herself and responding incorrectly, she reached into her bag and pulled out a surprise for him. “I found this today. My way of saying thank you for wearing pointy ears and a mask.”
Phil hesitated before taking the brown paper bag from her. Peering inside, his smile widened as he pulled out the comic book. “Are you kidding me?”
“Don’t—” Before she could get the words out, he had the plastic torn from around the comic book and had started flipping through the pages of Captain America: Heroes Reunited, part four. Maybe she should have reminded him of the rules of comic book collecting. Jessica had them down pat, but Phil seemed unaware of the distress his fingers on the pages was causing. So much for it being a collector’s edition someday.
She shrugged. Not everyone wanted to stash the books on a shelf. Some people wanted t
o enjoy the masterpieces they owned. “You said it was your favorite when you were a kid, so when I saw it, I thought you should have it.”
“You remembered that?”
“Sure. Why wouldn’t I?”
“I don’t know.”
He flipped through the pages again, wearing a smile bigger than she’d ever seen on him. He always seemed so serious, but she was confident he had a spunky side just waiting to come out. Somehow he had convinced himself he wasn’t supposed to have fun, but she’d seen his serious exterior crack over the course of the convention. She’d made progress today. If she kept pushing the fun button, maybe someday it would take and he’d realize he could be a grown-up and have a good time. At least as far as Mallory was concerned.
“Thanks,” he said genuinely, his smile still bright. “Thank you. This is very cool. And thanks for taking us with you today. Jessica really did have a good time.”
“Yes, she did. So did I.” She bit her lip, suddenly at a loss for things to say.
He was still grinning like a kid at…well, a kid at a comic book convention. Her chest felt a little tingly at the knowledge that she was the one who had made him so happy.
The tingles were replaced by another awkward silence when he looked up and their gazes locked. She was saved when her phone rang. Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled it out and looked at the screen, even though she knew by the ringtone it was her mother. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hey. What are you doing?” Annie asked, speaking slowly and enunciating her words as she tended to do on the phone. She’d learned that the little speaker blended her words if she talked too fast.
“Just getting ready to head home from Phil’s. We took Jessica to the comic book convention.”
“I saw the pictures. You looked so cute.”
“Cute? Mom, I was dressed like Wolverine. He’s brutal.”
“Well, you didn’t look brutal. You looked adorable.”
Mallory rolled her eyes and grinned at Phil. “I did not look adorable.”
He whispered, “Yes, you did.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I looked ferocious.”
He shook his head, and she gently shoved his shoulder.
“So you’re still at Phil’s?” Annie asked.
“For a few more minutes.”
“Well. I should let you go. Will you come over tomorrow? I want to hear all about today.”
Mallory’s smile changed from amused to a smirk. She should have seen this coming a mile away. “There’s not a lot to tell, Mom. We dressed up like goofballs and hung out with other goofballs.”
“I bet Jessica thought it was great,” Annie said.
“She did think it was great.”
“And it looked like you were having fun.”
Mallory sighed as she actually felt her mother luring her into a trap. “We did have fun.”
“Good. So come over and tell me all about it.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Mom.” She ended the call and slid the phone back into her jeans pocket. “Do you feel like you’re drowning yet?”
Phil chuckled. “Yes, I imagine my mom will be cornering me as well. Maybe you’ll think twice before posting our outings on social media.”
She grabbed her bag and tossed it over her shoulder. “Unlike you, I have the nerve to tell my mom we’re just friends.”
“Hey, I’ve told my mom that. She doesn’t listen. And let me remind you, your mom is about ten times more stubborn than my mom, so good luck convincing her otherwise.”
“Only ten times?” she deadpanned before heading for the door. “I think you underestimate my mother.”
Chapter Six
From the moment Jessica woke up, she’d begged Phil to take her to show her grandparents her new comic books. She’d gotten three of them. One from the money Annie gave her, one as a gift from Mallory, and one that Phil agreed to buy. Not to mention all the other expensive knickknacks she’d convinced him to purchase. Now he sat at his mother’s table with her smirking like a know-it-all.
Phil didn’t think it was possible, but Jessica finally got tired of talking about Mallory and ran off to show Grandpa her comic books once again. Kara didn’t say a word as she pretended to focus on Mira, but that damned smile of hers said more than enough.
“Stop it,” Phil warned his mother.
She batted bright blue doe eyes at him. “What?”
“Thinking what you’re thinking.”
She opened her mouth wide, faking shock, but a smirk twitched at her lips. “What was I thinking?”
“Whatever it is that you’ve been thinking since the first time you saw me and Jessica sitting with Mallory at the café.” He shook his head, mainly out of frustration that he’d been thinking it too much lately, too. Not thinking about them seriously, but the idea that Mallory was pretty and really was good for Jessica had danced around his mind for a minute or two after their day at the convention.
After she’d left the night before and the house was quiet, he had that strange sense of loneliness he was determined to deny had been happening more and more often. He’d crawled into his bed, and it seemed far too large. Much too empty. He’d been tempted to call Mallory and invite her back over. But for what reason? To have a late-night snack and movie so he didn’t have to be alone? Oh, that would have been rich. She never would have let him live that down.
He couldn’t help but wonder if he would have wanted to live it down. The idea of her crashing on one side of the bed, probably eating chips or some other crumbly thing that would have left a mess in her wake, would have been worth whatever teasing mockery she tossed at him. He didn’t think having her munching on a snack and talking faster than he could register as they stretched out in bed was such a bad idea. Actually, that seemed like a great idea. A perfect idea. The perfect end to what had been the perfect day.
“Looks like you guys had a good time,” Kara said, pulling his attention back to her.
“We did.”
She continued to focus on Mira. “You dressed up as Batman.”
“For Jessica,” he clarified.
Kara finally looked at him. “Oh, I know. You wouldn’t do anything just for the fun of it, would you?”
He toasted her with his cup of fresh-squeezed orange juice. “Thanks for reminding me I’m lame.”
“Well, your main goal as a teenager was to rain on my parade.”
“I wasn’t raining on your parade, Mom. One of us had to act like an adult.”
She wrinkled her nose at him, but there was a happy twinkle in her eyes. “Oh, look at that. The old resentments still burn.”
Some of his defensiveness faded—most of it, if Phil were being honest. “You brought it up. And, no, they don’t. I know I’ve always given you crap, but I’m over it. That’s all done. I just don’t want to hear this.”
She pulled the near-empty bottle from Mira’s little mouth. Phil braced himself, but the babe puckered a few times before drifting off to sleep. He didn’t think she’d ever looked that peaceful before.
“You don’t want to hear what?” she asked.
“How you think Mallory O’Connell is so good for me.”
Kara lifted her gaze as she gently rested Mira against her shoulder. Phil thought he actually saw her maternal gears working. “You seem to be spending quite a bit of time with her lately. Am I not supposed to notice that?”
“Yes, we are spending a lot of time with her. Jessica likes her. But that doesn’t mean what you’re thinking.”
Patting the baby’s back, she grinned. “And what am I thinking?”
“That I should keep Mallory. Like a pet.”
“Well, she is beautiful, funny, and kind. And having her around would stop you from flirting with Jessica’s teacher.”
Phil closed his eyes and sighed. “Mom.”
Kara chuckled, but then her smile softened as she burped Mira. “I’m just teasing you. Mallory is wonderful, and she’s great with Jessica. I can see how much they’v
e connected. I’d like to see her stick around. That’s all.”
“That doesn’t mean I have to adopt her.”
“No, you don’t.” Kara heaved a breath, and Phil prepared himself for whatever button she intended to push next. “Speaking of adoption,” she said, clearly changing the topic.
Phil moaned as he realized what she was getting at. “Oh, Mom.”
“Lynn told us last night she wants us to keep Mira. Not that we were surprised.”
Looking at her, the bloodshot eyes, the dark circles that now seemed permanent, and the way her hair was always swept up and out of the way, tugged at his heart. “You cannot adopt this baby. Look at you. You’re exhausted.”
“I’m exhausted because your father and I were up half the night talking about this.”
“You’re exhausted because for the last six months you’ve been responsible for caring for that kid day in and day out.”
“Well, somebody has to be responsible for her.” Though her voice was soft, gentle as to not upset the little one on her shoulder, her eyes and words spoke volumes. There was no debating this. She had the same fire in her eyes talking about Mira as she’d always had for Jessica. And before that, for Phil. She was a fierce protector, a mama bear in every sense of the term, and nothing Phil said would make her see that Mira was too much for them to handle. Even so, he had to try to talk some sense into her.
“Mom, there are plenty of families out there, good families, who would adopt her. It doesn’t have to be you and Dad.”
Kara nodded. “Yeah, and until one of those families is vetted and comes along, she’ll be dropped into a foster home. You are perfectly aware how broken her little soul is already, Phil. That would cause her so much damage, damage that can be avoided. She has a home here. With us. Where she’s been for the entirety of her very short life. This will just make it official.”