Echoes of Summer

by Bastian, Laura D.

  There was five minutes until six, so she wasn’t late, but he still worried that she might change her mind. He pulled his phone out and checked to see if she’d sent a message about not coming. His phone was blank, so he put it back in his pocket and studied the parking lot, willing her car to arrive.

  He scanned the playground, wondering if this was the best bench to sit on. Should he move over to one closer to the bathrooms? Or was it better to stay on the boundary of the bark-filled play area?

  Just as he was about to move over to a different bench, her silver car pulled up. He stood to get a better view of the back seat, hoping to catch a glimpse of Milo, but the booster seat must have been on the other side. As Madison got out of the car and opened the back door for Milo, she searched the playground over the top of her car and seemed to stiffen a little when she saw him.

  He made her nervous, and he hated that. They had been such good friends each summer, falling easily into conversation, even with a school year between visits. They never needed to call or write while apart. Perhaps that was why it hadn’t seemed odd to him that he hadn’t heard from her at first. But after the way their relationship had turned serious at the beginning of that last summer, he should have made a better effort at contacting her.

  Two feet jumped out, and Stephen waited impatiently to see the rest of his boy. As Milo moved away from the car, Madison reached for his hand. She shut the door, revealing his child. Finally.

  Madison looked down and answered some question Milo had asked then led him toward Stephen, gently reminding him that they would play on the slides and things after meeting her friend.

  Milo nodded but looked longingly at the playground. He turned to face Stephen and slowed down just a little. Stephen didn’t know if the boy was nervous or just shy. What had Madison told him? He tried to take his eyes off Milo to look at his mother, but it was hard to pull his focus away from his son.

  When Madison reached the bench, she bent down close to Milo and looked up at Stephen. “Milo, this is my friend, Stephen.”

  Stephen’s heart sank. She hadn’t told him who he was. Just a friend felt like such a slap in the face. He didn’t look at Madison, instead focusing on Milo, and the kid smiled.

  “Hi.” Milo looked at him then back to his mom. “Can I play now?”

  “In a second, sweetie. I wanted us to talk to Stephen for a few minutes, then you can go play.”

  Milo frowned then looked at Stephen. “Do you work with my mom?”

  Stephen nodded. “Yes.”

  “Do you like your job? Mom says it’s hard.”

  Stephen glanced at Madison and smiled. “Yes, I like it, but your mom’s right. It is a hard job, but there are fun things too. And your mom is really good at it.”

  Milo nodded. “Are your kids playing here?” He looked toward the playground at the other children playing, and Stephen sent a panicked look to Madison. She just raised an eyebrow.

  “No, I don’t have kids playing here right now.”

  Madison squatted to get closer to her son’s eye level. “Do you want to tell him some of the things you like to do, Milo?”

  Milo sighed, not taking his eyes off the slide. “I like Legos. Mom wouldn’t let me bring any, though. She said I’d lose them.”

  Stephen smiled. “She’s probably right. Legos are easy to get lost. I lost some at the beach once.”

  “The beach?” Milo asked, turning his face to look up at Stephen. “Which one? I could help you look.”

  Stephen chuckled. “It was a long time ago. I was just a few years older than you, and I was using my Legos to decorate a sandcastle. Then when it was time to leave, I forgot about them. The next day, the waves had washed away my castle and my Legos with it.”

  Milo frowned. “That’s too bad.”

  “Yeah, it was pretty sad, so I’ve been more careful with my Legos ever since then.”

  ”Do you still have Legos?”

  Stephen nodded. “Lots of them. I even have some of them on a shelf in my apartment.”

  “Cool.” Milo let go of his mom’s hand and moved a few steps closer to Stephen then began explaining the different sets he had and asking Stephen about his. The kid was a chatterbox, but his conversations were way more advanced than Stephen had expected.

  “Mom,” Milo said, “can I go play at Stephen’s house so I can see his Legos?”

  Madison smiled but shook her head. “No, probably not. You can go play on the slide now so I can talk to Stephen, but we’ll see him again, and you can talk more later.”

  Milo didn’t even say goodbye but rushed over to the playground, happy to finally be free. Stephen watched him go with a mixture of sadness and relief. He turned to Madison, who was still watching her son. “Sorry about that.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. I really enjoyed that conversation. And I wouldn’t mind letting him play with my Legos. It’s what friends do.” He couldn’t help himself and had to throw that out there.

  “Maybe someday.” Madison glanced at him. “And I didn’t know how to do this. Friend was the easiest.”

  He sat down on the bench and motioned for her to join him. “Probably true. And it took a lot of pressure off me, honestly.”

  “I wasn’t ready to tell him you are his dad. I tried coming up with all kinds of ways to bring it up, but I chickened out.” Madison’s voice went soft.

  Stephen took her hand, relieved that she let him. “It’s okay. We’ll go slow. We’ve got time, and I don’t want to rush things with Milo anyway. I would like to be his friend. Let him get to know me. And when you think the time is right, you can tell him. I’ll let you take the lead since you know him.”

  Madison sighed. “Thank you.” She pulled her hand away and wrapped her hands around her purse sitting on her lap as she watched Milo climbing up the slide. “Milo, use it right, please.”

  Milo stopped climbing and laid on his stomach. He slid down the slide and ran around to the stairs on the opposite side. Stephen was impressed that he followed directions so well without any sort of tantrum. He was a well-mannered child, and Stephen knew his mother had worked hard to teach him that.

  “He’s a good kid, Madison. You’ve done really well with him.”

  Madison glanced at him. “Thanks. I’ve had help. My sister, Karen, and her husband, Jason, are really good for him. Karen’s the one that watches him while I’m at work.”

  “That’s good. It helps to have family support.”

  Madison nodded but didn’t speak.

  Stephen watched Milo play, smiling at the imagination just bursting from the kid as he included the other kids on the playground in his game. He had never been that outgoing as a child.

  Chapter Twelve

  Madison took Milo’s hand in hers as they walked to the car. Stephen walked on his other side, and she could just imagine him holding Milo’s other hand. Instead, they talked about their son’s favorite superhero at length. As they reached the car, Milo pulled on the handle to open the door.

  Stephen looked at her and the boy as if he didn’t want them to leave, but Milo was tired and didn’t want to play anymore. As Milo climbed into the car and got settled into his booster seat, Stephen put his hand on the top of the car.

  “Would you be interested in going to get some ice cream?”

  Madison pressed her lips together to fight the smile that threatened when Milo perked up and started begging. “Please, Mom. Can we go get ice cream?”

  “Sure, Milo, but we can’t stay long. It’s getting late.” She looked at Stephen, not sure how she felt about this impromptu suggestion. “Where did you have in mind?”

  Stephen shrugged. “Do you know of a good place for ice cream?” He glanced around as if expecting something close by. “I’m new here.”

  Madison shook her head slowly. “Silly man.”

  “We could go get a box of Creamsicles,” Stephen suggested.

  Madison’s mouth watered at the thought. She loved those, and her mom had always bought boxes
of them to share during the summers.

  “That would be fun.” She closed Milo’s door. “There is a supermarket a couple blocks away. Would you like to follow me there?”

  “Sure.” Stephen took a step back then opened her door. “Thank you. For this.” He glanced back at the playground then in the back seat at Milo.

  “No problem. He had fun. It was a good first meeting.”

  Stephen nodded but didn’t say anything. Madison gave him directions to the supermarket and slid into her car, feeling awkward about having him help her with the door. She lifted her sandaled feet into the car and hesitated to reach for the door, not sure if he would close it or not. She put her key in the ignition, and Stephen closed it and stepped back. She rolled down the window. “Do you want me to wait for you or meet you there?”

  Stephen smiled. “I think I can find it. I’ll see you there.”

  Madison waved, and Milo hollered from the back seat, “See you there!”

  Stephen waved then turned around to head to his car, and Madison put the car into gear.

  “Did you have fun, Milo?” she asked.

  “Yeah. I love the park.”

  “What did you think of my friend?” Madison asked.

  “He’s really big.”

  Madison smiled. “Yes, he is.”

  “Will I get big like him when I’m grown up?”

  Madison glanced at him in the rear-view mirror. “Yes, you’ll probably get big, just like him.”

  “I’m gonna be a fireman when I grow up. And if I’m tall like him, I can reach the windows and not need a ladder.”

  Madison’s heart swelled with pride as she listened to Milo talk.

  “Would you like to see my friend more?” Madison asked.

  “Can we play Legos?” Milo asked. “’Cause I have some I can show him. And he said I could see his.”

  “I’m sure that could be arranged.”

  “Do you want to play with the Legos too?” Milo asked. “I will share mine with you. But not my Batman one. Or my pirate ship. But you could use the police station. And since I’ll be Batman, I can help you save the city.”

  He carried on, telling Madison about how the game would go, and she just smiled then wondered how the man would play with him. After watching Stephen climb on the slide and try to fit his broad shoulders through the tube slide, she knew he wasn’t afraid to get into a game. He’d been adorable when he acted like the bad guy and had let Milo chase him around the park as the police officer. And though they’d both asked her to join in, she couldn’t bring herself to get too close where she wouldn’t be able to see it all.

  She still wondered if she should have told Milo that Stephen was his father, but she didn’t want to ruin this first interaction with a lot of questions. Milo would have been certain to quiz Stephen on where he’d been, and though she had tried not to bad-mouth Stephen, she hadn’t been very positive about him when Milo had asked questions.

  And now that she understood a little of his reasons for being absent, she felt bad for coloring Milo’s perception of his father as someone who didn’t care.

  For a seven-year-old, he was very intelligent, but she wasn’t sure how much he would understand about the whole thing. She still didn’t know how she felt about it. She no longer felt the same anger she had about being abandoned, but was still resentful that he had never once tried to look her up.

  They’d been each other’s firsts, and he was still her only, though she doubted she was his. And though she had dated on occasion, she’d never felt comfortable getting serious with any of the men because of Milo. She didn’t want to risk him growing to love some man who would leave them. She kept most dating experiences to just a first date, never wanting to move past that. And the few times she’d let it go to a kiss, she pulled back, not willing to let her heart risk the rejection that might come.

  Madison struggled to control her frustration. She had been fine just being Milo’s mom and working at Carlson’s. She was good at her job, and though it kept her busy, it still allowed her time with Milo. Her sister was her best friend, and she didn’t need a man.

  But now that Stephen was back in her life, she remembered how much she had loved him. Their relationship had grown over the years, from good friends to much more, and though they’d only been intimate a few times, she’d felt loved and cherished and had known he was the one for her.

  Having him disappear had been devastating. Now having him show up threw her emotions into turmoil, and she resented him. If it weren’t for Milo, she would do her best to never see the man again, even if it meant finding a different job. Though, if it weren’t for Milo, there would be no issue. And she would never give up her son. So she would deal with this the best she could and help her son have a relationship with his father. Even if she never would.

  ***

  Stephen followed the compact silver car to the supermarket, happy to know he would have a few more minutes with them. Milo was amazing, and he couldn’t believe he was connected to the boy. And his mother was even more amazing. Her beauty had just increased over the years. She had filled out in all the right places, and he longed to hold her close, to even just hold her hand, but he had a feeling she wouldn’t take to that kindly. He wanted her physically and emotionally, and it hurt that she had shut him out so completely.

  Finding her again eight years later had been a fluke, and to have to work with her while trying to sort out how their future might go with Milo in the mix was going to take a lot of work. If only he knew how to go about this whole thing.

  He parked his car next to hers, but she got out before he could open her door. She leaned in to help Milo, who had apparently taken off his shoes in the short five-minute drive.

  “Leave your shoes on next time, kiddo.”

  “I hate these shoes. They hurt my feet,” Milo complained. “I have a blister now.”

  “Well, then let me know before we leave the house so we can get the right size.” Madison slipped his shoes back on him and pressed the Velcro strap down. She stepped back to let him climb out, but he stood inside the car and reached his hands out.

  “Carry me.”

  “You can walk.”

  “I don’t wanna walk. My feet are hurt,” Milo said.

  Before Madison could say no again, Stephen spoke. “I could carry him.”

  Madison turned to him with a surprised look and Milo eagerly squealed. “Yay!”

  He put his arms out, and Stephen stepped forward, brushing his arm against Madison as she moved to the side. He turned around and squatted low so Milo could climb on his back. He put his hands under Milo’s legs and lifted him carefully out of the car, not sure how much force to put in the movement.

  Milo was a solid kid, and though not overly heavy, Stephen knew why Madison had been hesitant to carry him. Milo wrapped his little legs around Stephen’s waist as if he knew exactly where to sit, but Stephen still struggled for a moment before adjusting him to the right place where he could walk without feeling as if he’d drop the kid or have his feet hitting his legs as he moved.

  “Thanks,” Milo said, and Stephen smiled.

  Madison didn’t say anything but lifted her purse higher onto her shoulder then closed the car door and walked to the supermarket. She led the way, heading directly to the frozen section and stopping in front of the ice cream. This store was familiar to her, so he figured she must live close by. He was only five miles away, which was good. It would allow him to see them more often.

  “Which kind?” Madison asked.

  “I vote Creamsicle,” Stephen said.

  “Me too,” Milo agreed then looked at the selection. “What are Creamsicles?”

  Stephen chuckled then pointed at the box with vanilla ice cream coated in orange Popsicle. “Only the best ice cream out there.”

  Milo leaned closer to the glass door and studied the box. “Can I have it?” He looked at his mom, and she nodded. “Okay. I’ll try it.”

  “Good boy,” Stephen
said and held up his fist for a knuckle bump.

  Milo pushed his fist against Stephen’s then pulled it back and wiggled his fingers, making Stephen chuckle again.

  Madison opened the freezer and pulled out the box then headed to the checkout line. Stephen followed closely and pulled out his wallet. He slid his debit card out and, when the cashier rang it up, he stepped forward. “I’ve got this. My treat.”

  Madison seemed to hesitate for a minute then stepped back and let him scan the card. He was glad she hadn’t put up a fight. She pulled the box out of the bag and smiled at the cashier. “We won’t need the bag.”

  Stephen took the receipt and handed it to her so she could walk out with the ice cream.

  Stephen saw a woman struggling to pull a shopping cart free from the train of carts shoved together as she held one small kid on her hip. A car seat rested on the crook of her other arm. He moved over to help her, and when the buckle that was holding the carts together was untangled, he pulled the cart free and helped her lift the car seat onto the cart.

  “Thank you.” She looked at Milo. “You’ve got a good daddy there.”

  Milo looked at Stephen as the lady walked away. “Are you a good daddy?”

  Stephen’s gut tightened. He hadn’t been so far. “I hope so, Milo. I really do.” Madison was too far ahead to have overheard, for which he was thankful.

  He helped Milo get into the car and watched as the kid buckled himself in. “Can I have the ice cream now?” He held his hand out, but Madison shook her head.

  “No ice cream in the car. We can go back to the park and eat it.”

  Milo frowned. “But it will melt. The park is too far away.”

  Madison shook her head. “It will be fine.”

  Stephen wondered why they hadn’t just carpooled if they were returning to the park, but he kept quiet, not wanting to ask. He opened Madison’s door, but when Milo spoke from the back seat for them to hurry so it didn’t melt, he let her close it and moved over to his car. Minutes later, they were sitting under a tree on the grass, and Madison unwrapped the ice cream then handed it to Milo. She passed the box over to Stephen, so he got two out, opened one, and passed it to her stick first.