Echoes of Summer

by Bastian, Laura D.

  She met his eyes, smiled, and reached for it. When her fingers brushed his, she looked down at his hands then kept her eyes on the ice cream, not looking at him again.

  It was probably a good thing, because the simple brush of her hand against his had sent shivers up his arm and straight into his chest, making it slightly difficult to breathe. He unwrapped his Creamsicle then took a bite and watched Milo as he tried the ice cream. He started licking it, but Stephen shook his head.

  “You should bite it. The ice cream is underneath.”

  Milo looked at his mom, and she nodded, so Milo took a bite, shivered, then smiled. “This is good.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Madison watched as Milo and Stephen talked and talked. Stephen told him about the things he’d done as a kid in Hawaii, and Milo asked about the ocean and if it was the same as the one at his beach.

  “The water is a lot like here. But there’s one beach I used to go to that had black sand.”

  “Black?” Milo asked. “Was it dirty?”

  Stephen chuckled. “No, it was because of a volcano. The sand is made of little pieces of broken lava.”

  “Is it hot?” Milo asked.

  “Not from the volcano, since it’s really old. But sometimes if the sun shines on it too much, it gets hot.” Stephen leaned back, using his arms to brace himself. “Hawaii has a lot of really neat beaches.”

  Milo turned to Madison. “Will we ever go to Hawaii?”

  “Maybe someday,” she said.

  Milo looked at Stephen. “My dad lives in Hawaii. Mom said I look like him.”

  Madison’s heart stopped for a moment. She had told him that once, when he had asked over a year ago, and she hadn’t realized he’d remembered it. She looked at Stephen who was silent but staring at her. She took a slow breath and scooted closer to Milo, which in turn put her closer to Stephen, making her more nervous than she liked.

  “Milo, sweetie, I need to tell you something.”

  Milo looked at her, and she saw the sticky remains of his second ice cream around his lips. She reached in her bag for a wet wipe, needing just a moment to prepare herself. Milo rolled his eyes but allowed her to clean him up. She leaned closer and stared into his deep brown eyes that looked so much like the brown eyes she felt boring into her back.

  “Milo, my friend Stephen is your daddy.”

  Milo looked at Stephen with wide eyes then a huge grin spread across his face. “You’re my dad?”

  Stephen nodded slowly then glanced at Madison then back to Milo. “Yes. I’m sorry I haven’t been here before.”

  “Are you going to start living at our house like Uncle Jason lives at Aunt Karen’s house?”

  Madison’s face flamed, and she refused to look at Stephen. “No, sweetie, he won’t be living with us. But I want you guys to know each other, so you’ll see him a lot.”

  “Okay,” Milo said. “And will you let me play with your Legos?” The seriousness of his question made Madison almost giggle.

  “Sure, Milo. We could play with them,” Stephen said. He looked at Madison and she met his eyes, not sure how he would feel about her sudden revelation to Milo. He just looked at her then turned his attention back to Milo as the boy asked question after question about Hawaii, then more questions about when they could see the Legos.

  She listened again, relieved to know Milo accepted the news without any stress or awkward questions about where he’d been and why he hadn’t been with them before. Of course, to a seven-year-old, those things wouldn’t really matter much.

  Her emotions warred with each other. No one else had been as important in Milo’s life as she had been, even Karen and Jason had been second fiddle to her. But Milo seemed to be opening his little soul to this stranger he had only just met and was already considering him important, just because he had the title of father.

  Guilt pricked at her as she wished Stephen had stayed absent, but as she saw how much Milo enjoyed asking questions about his father to his actual father, the anger and betrayal at Stephen’s absence began to wash away. He could be a part of Milo’s life without taking away from her.

  Madison played with the sticks from the Creamsicles and watched the two as they caught up. When she glanced at her watch, she reluctantly interrupted.

  “It’s about time to head home, buddy.”

  “Just ten more minutes?” Milo asked.

  Stephen smiled and Madison joined him.

  “How about five? Then we need to go so you can have a bath tonight.”

  Milo moaned. “I hate baths.” He turned to look at Stephen. “Want to slide with me for five minutes?”

  Madison shook her head. “I need to talk to him for a few minutes. How about you run slide while we figure out a time for you to meet again?”

  “Okay,” Milo said and ran off to the playground, his blister completely forgotten.

  “Sorry about that,” Madison said.

  “I didn’t want to slide anyway,” Stephen said then winked.

  “No, I mean for dumping it like that, and then for him going nonstop. I guess I should have prepared him for this better.”

  Stephen shook his head. “No, it was fine. I enjoyed it. It felt kinda natural, and he had a right to ask lots of questions.”

  Madison nodded thoughtfully as she watched Milo climb the ladder. She glanced at Stephen from the corner of her eye to see him watching their son as well. “How are we going to go about this?”

  “Well, apparently you’re not ready for me to move in.”

  Madison whipped her head around to gawk at him.

  “I’m joking.” He grinned, and she eased a little. “I think we should go slow. But I’d like to see him as often as you’ll let me. I’d like to try to be a good dad for him.”

  Madison nodded. Of course he’d want to be a part of Milo’s life. And though she didn’t want him as a lover or anything, it still hurt that he didn’t seem to be interested in her now, just in their son. Of course, that was how it should be. It had been too long ago to try to go back to the connection they’d had. And she’d grown up since then and knew that it had just been a teenage infatuation. There was nothing lasting about their time together. Why should she hope there would be something now?

  “I don’t want to come to the park every day,” Madison said. “And I’m not ready for him to go with you alone. But we could meet here a couple times a week then maybe go for a walk or out to McDonald’s or something once in a while.”

  “That sounds good,” Stephen said. “Can I pick you two up for dinner tomorrow?”

  Madison turned to him. “How about we meet you there?”

  He hesitated for a minute, and she wondered if he knew she didn’t want to let him know where she lived. She wasn’t ready for him to show up at her door. But why she was so hesitant, she didn’t know. She hated feeling so conflicted with him. She used to be so in control of everything, but after seeing him in Mr. Carlson’s office, things had been so out of whack, and she hated it.

  They made plans for where to meet, and Madison called Milo to join her. They left the park together, and Stephen once again opened her door and helped her in. He leaned down to wave to Milo. “See you tomorrow.”

  “Bye, Dad.”

  Madison’s heart froze. Milo had taken to him immediately and, without any prompting or hesitance whatsoever, had completely accepted him as his father.

  She glanced at Stephen to see if he’d been affected by it at all and frowned to see the shock and surprise in his face.

  Oh, Milo would sure make this interesting. Question was, could she survive it?

  Chapter Fourteen

  Madison opened the door to her office, surprised to see a bouquet of flowers on her desk. She smiled at the variety of colors, all of the same flower. Snapdragons. Her favorite growing up. Her mother had a huge flower garden reserved just for snapdragons, and Madison and her sisters had always pulled off the petals and pinched the corners to make the mouth open.

  She lo
oked for a card and wasn’t surprised to see it was from Stephen. It only said a simple Thank You, but she smiled anyway. Nothing romantic, which was good, but the flowers were a sweet reminder of their childhood. They had had some good times each summer, and she let herself remember them for a moment. She rubbed her fingers across the soft lips of one flower, then not even hesitating, she pulled it from the stem and pinched the corners just like she used to do at home.

  As the mouth opened, she smiled as she thought of what the flowers would have to say. She squeezed it a couple times making the mouth open and close. Just before she began speaking for it, a knock on her door made her turn around. Stephen stood there, a soft smile on his face. She lifted the flower petal up and pressed the lips. “Thank you.”

  He smiled wider and stepped inside. “You’re welcome. Thanks for letting me meet Milo. Would it be okay if I gave him something today?” He took another step toward her but stopped and fidgeted with his hands. “Something to make up for all the birthdays I missed.”

  Madison raised her eyebrow. “Like what?”

  “A Lego set?” Stephen smiled. “I found one he said he didn’t have and wanted to save up for.”

  Madison thought for a moment, wondering if that would give Milo the wrong impression, that he would be getting gifts from Stephen all the time. Or did Stephen think he needed to buy his way into Milo’s affections? “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.”

  Stephen’s smile disappeared. “Do you mind telling me why?”

  Madison rubbed her finger across the petal of the snapdragon she still held. “Well, because you just met, and I don’t want him to think you’ll be bringing him toys all the time. It’s not his birthday and I’ve tried to be careful to not make him think he can have whatever he wants. He’s been saving his money for that, and if you just give it to him, he won’t learn anything. Besides, Lego sets are huge and expensive, and I don’t think that will set a good precedent for your interactions with each other.”

  Stephen nodded slowly, but she could tell he didn’t agree with her. “What about a smaller set then? I can save this one for his birthday later.” He tilted his head to the side. “When is his birthday anyway?”

  “May 4th.”

  Stephen grinned. “He’s a Star Wars baby?”

  Madison furrowed her brow. “A what?”

  “Star Wars. May the fourth. May the fourth be with you?”

  Madison chuckled. “I’ve never heard of that.”

  “You’ve seen Star Wars. I know you have. We watched it together.”

  Stephen smiled, and Madison nodded. From what she could remember, they’d made out a lot during those movies though, so was it any wonder she hadn’t paid much attention to the show?

  “I think saving the big set for a birthday would be better, if you don’t mind. The smaller one would be fine, but I don’t want you to buy him stuff all the time. He has lots of toys, and he doesn’t need you to buy your way into his life.”

  Stephen frowned. “I wasn’t trying to buy my way in. I just wanted to do something nice for him.”

  Madison nodded. “I know. This is just really new to me, and I’m not sure how to deal with it all.”

  Stephen glanced at the clock on her wall. “Are we still planning on meeting at three to go over the proposal?”

  “Yes.” Madison was glad he’d changed the subject. Trying to keep their personal life — or whatever this was — between them and their professional life separate was hard. “I’ve just about finished the presentation from the notes you gave me. I think I can get them done before then.” She dropped the flower petal into the trash on her way around her desk. Then looked back at Stephen. “I’ll see you at three then.”

  He nodded and left her alone in the office with his flowers and too many memories of that last summer echoing in her mind. She picked another petal, fresher and squeezable again. “May the fourth,” she whispered as she moved the flower’s lips. “Too funny.”

  ***

  Stephen left her office more confused than ever. She seemed to like the flowers, and he was glad, but why couldn’t he give his child a present? It wasn’t as if he planned to spoil the kid. He had missed seven years of his life and felt like he owed Milo something for that. But he supposed she was right. And Madison knew him best. If he wanted to be a part of Milo’s life, he’d have to do it on her terms.

  He probably had some sort of parental rights, but if he tried fighting for them, she would dig in her heels, and he’d ruin any chance of having her support him in the relationship with his child. Besides, a part of him wanted to see if he could possibly pursue a relationship with Madison.

  The more he saw her, the more he wanted to get to know her again. They had been such good friends, and though having sex had changed things between them, in a bigger way than just becoming parents, he’d been gone so soon after they reached that stage that he was sure she had lost all feelings for him. And getting her to give him a chance now would be much harder than starting a relationship with a stranger.

  He had their past mistakes to overcome as well as navigating this new parental aspect. He vowed to do his best to make things right with them, and if he could make her fall in love with him again, that would be the best option out there. Going about it too strong would backfire. He would have to work at it through his relationship with Milo and keep things professional here at work.

  He squared his shoulders as he walked back to his office. He could do this.

  When three o’clock rolled around, he knocked on Madison’s office door. She waved him in while still talking on the phone. He brought his chair around to the other side of her desk as she continued her conversation, and he opened his laptop to get things ready.

  Her small dish with chocolates was empty, and he frowned. He didn’t really need the candy, but it had become a habit, and he missed it. He knew there had been a bunch earlier. He’d seen them when he’d talked to her that morning. Had she eaten them all?

  He pushed the thought out of his mind when she finished her call and turned to him. As they talked about the presentation and the upcoming schedule, he reflected on how good she was at her job. It was a pleasure to work with her, but the more he watched her and the closer they worked together, the more he longed to reach out and take her hand.

  She wouldn’t appreciate that though, so he turned his attention back to the project, and they finished it in record time.

  “I think the pitch will go really well. Mr. Carlson will have another client signed soon,” Stephen said.

  “I hope so,” Madison said as she closed the program down. She yawned and wiped her eyes. “Sorry. Didn’t sleep much last night.”

  “Too much on your mind?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, and Milo couldn’t stop talking. I think he had a great time yesterday. Thank you for that. You handled it really well.”

  Stephen smiled. “I enjoyed it. He’s a good kid.” He reached for her hand and was relieved she let him take it. “Thank you for doing such a good job with him. He’s lucky to have you as his mother.”

  Madison nodded and didn’t speak. He released her hand, not wanting to force himself on her or make her pull away from him because she felt pressured. “Are we still meeting tonight for dinner?” he asked.

  “Yes, Milo’s excited.”

  Well, at least that was a start. Of course, Madison probably wasn’t all that excited about going to eat at a fast food restaurant with an indoor playland. He would have to ask her out to dinner, just the two of them. If she’d accept.

  He hoped she would.

  “I’ll see you there, then.” Stephen stood and walked toward the door of her office.

  ***

  Madison watched him leave and opened her top drawer to get out her stash of chocolates she’d hidden. It had been silly, but she’d loved seeing him search the bowl for a treat to steal and find nothing there. She’d make sure the bowl was full again tomorrow, but having that little bit of control again helped her
feel at peace. She peeled the wrapper of the Butterfinger and popped it in her mouth as she prepared to leave for the day.

  Though work was over, she wished she could stay there since leaving meant she had to take Milo and herself to eat with Stephen. Milo was excited because they rarely went out for dinner as it was much cheaper to cook at home. And for them to go to one with a playland was even better. It felt like such a splurge, and she worried Milo would think Stephen was cool just because he could buy him things.

  But would Stephen be an actual parent and set rules and consequences, or would he be all for the fun and bend the rules? He’d been that way as a kid, getting into trouble and sweet-talking his way out. It was no surprise he was so good in marketing. He could sell anything and convince you to see his way.

  She would have to be firm and make sure he understood his role with Milo wouldn’t be all fun and games. He needed a father figure, not just a big boy at a playdate.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The next few days moved smoothly. Milo and Madison had seen him each day, and Stephen thought he was making progress in the fatherhood department. But he couldn’t crack Madison’s shell at work.

  She was very professional, and they worked well together, bringing in two more accounts with a couple more being very likely to sign within the next few weeks. They had met for lunch once, and when he’d tried to offer to buy her meal, she’d refused. But they had discussed Milo more than business, so she wouldn’t let him write it off as a business lunch either.

  He’d learned so much about Milo over the last few days that he felt he was beginning to know the kid. And Milo had expressed interest in coming to Stephen’s home more than once, but Madison had said no. Yet she still refused to let him come to her house. They always met in public areas in separate vehicles where she could leave on her own terms.