Blocked

by Lisa N. Paul

  “Wait,” April interrupted, “you’re Mexican.”

  “Why, yes, I am, April. Thank you for pointing that out.”

  Uh oh, when sarcastic Rori comes out to play, no one is safe. April bit the insides of her cheeks so as not to interrupt her friend’s story again.

  “When I nicely explained that same thing to Larry, he said, ‘Isn’t it all essentially the same? Let’s eat.’”

  “Oh my fucking God! Rori, did you slap him? Kick him? What did you do?”

  “What did I do?” Rori huffed. “I went against every instinct that my gut shouted, begging me to leave, but I stayed. I figured it wasn’t right for me to judge the man based on his job any more than for him to assume all Latinos were the same. So I calmly gave a simple explanation on the huge difference between Cubans and Mexicans while we waited for our food.”

  “Okay,” April asked, infusing as much hope as she could in the next question, “how was the conversation once you cleared that up?”

  “Ha, the conversation turned to shit. Literally. I sat there and listened to him talk about his poop-scooping business for twenty minutes, April.” Exacerbation ebbed from Rori’s tone. “No joke, he got into detail about the different smells, textures, and colors of doodie. He even told me some story of how he saved a dog’s life by telling its owner that the canine’s poop smelled strange. Ended up the pooch had cancer, and now Larry thinks he’s the high priest of poo.” When April couldn’t hold the laughter back another minute, Rori joined in. “You know I couldn’t make this stuff up, right?”

  “Oh my God,” April gasped. Thankfully she’d just pulled into the parking lot of Elijah’s day care center, because her eyes were filled with tears as the hilarity consumed her. “Okay, wait…” She pulled in a breath. “What did any of that have to do with your puking your guts up for ten hours?”

  “Oh, please. Whoever gave that restaurant one star was being generous,” Rori said flatly. “It didn’t matter if I was Mexican, Cuban, or Martian, that food was disgusting. It tasted like shit… come to think of it, Larry loved it. Go figure. It looked the same coming up as it did going down, you know?”

  April swallowed hard, doing her best not to picture what her friend was describing. “Oh, honey. I’m really sorry you had such a bad night. But I’m glad you aren’t sick-sick, because I’d hate for you to miss Thursday.”

  “April Maddox, it wouldn’t matter if I needed to come to Danny’s on Main with a barf bucket and an intravenous line, I wouldn’t miss meeting Super-Hot-Gym-Guy for the world.”

  April grinned at the memory of Rori’s reaction when she’d informed her that Decker would be joining the celebration on Thursday night. Ecstatic didn’t begin to cover it. “Aww,” April teased, “you’re the best friend a girl could ever want. That said, I gotta hang up with you and go get my boy. It’s Tuesday, remember?”

  “Ahh, IHOP night,” Rori confirmed, having joined in a time or two on the weekly tradition April and Elijah had started when Eli was only a year old.

  April nodded, and a kernel of warmth spread through her chest. She loved IHOP night; there weren’t many things better than fluffy pancakes, sticky syrup, and her little boy. Well, maybe she could come up with a couple of things—Decker’s sexy face flashed through her mind. He hadn’t made it to the gym that day, but from their earlier texts, she’d known it was a possibility. Still, she missed him, and that was just as scary as it was exciting. But it had nothing to do with pancakes, and that was where her focus needed to be.

  “All right, Ror. I’ll try to call you later, but if not, I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Eat a pancake and give my boy a sticky kiss for me. Love you.”

  “You got it, and back atcha.”

  * * *

  “HEY, MOM, THANK you so much for picking Charlie up from the after-school program for me.” Decker’s phone was clutched between his shoulder and his ear as he scrubbed the day’s grime from his hands. “This job is just one cluster-fuck after another.” He swiped the horse-hair brush over his fingernails in an effort to remove the stubborn black gunk that refused to rinse off with soap and water alone. “It would help if the person writing the checks and the two guys showing up every damn day to ‘oversee’ the work being done were on the same fucking page. Or better yet, if the ‘helpers’ didn’t come at all, being as though they do nothing but get in the way.”

  Every so often, Decker came across clients who were fellow tradesmen. While he respected their opinions, it never failed that those clients were unable to step back and let Decker and his men do the job they were hired to do. Nearly one hundred percent of the time, that led to more harm than good. The person footing the bill was the one who had gone through the entire process with Ford and the architects. That same person had also met with Decker to discuss various options and issues. Often times, once the papers were signed, the “money man” stepped back and the job began, but there were occasions when the financer sent in his own person/people to “keep an eye” on the progress. The current job fell into that category, making the past three weeks not just a challenge but semi-unproductive. He’d already asked the men kindly to leave the property, but they’d returned. Now it was time to discuss with Ford about having the two men permanently banned from the site until the work was completed.

  “Your father used to say the same thing, honey. But he usually found a way to handle things without alienating the clients, if he could avoid it. Be patient, you’ll figure it out. In the meantime, you never need to thank me for playing with my granddaughter. It’s my pleasure, you know that.”

  Even if the loving tone wasn’t evident in her voice, Decker would, in fact, know that his mother loved spending time with his daughter. She’d always made it clear that she cherished every minute she spent with Charlie. Did it have something to do with the fact that her time had been quite limited when Olivia was alive? Maybe, yet even with finite time between them, Decker always saw the love that flowed between his mom and his little girl. More than not, her calming presence in his and Charlie’s life is what kept him going, especially after Olivia’s death.

  “Thanks, Mom. Let me disconnect with you, finish cleaning up here, and I’ll swing by and grab my girl.” He peered at the clock that hung over the rinse basin in the trailer. “Shit, it’s almost five thirty. I’ll bet she’s hungry.” I missed the gym, he thought disappointedly to himself. I’ll text April after I get Charlie.

  “She is hungry, honey, but there’s no need for you to stress. I’ve already promised her pancakes for dinner.”

  “Cool, you make the best pancakes.” His stomach growled, as if agreeing with his statement.

  “You always were a breakfast-for-dinner kind of boy,” Robyn said, her voice warm with affection, “but I’m not making the pancakes, Decker. Your daughter informed me that she’s never had IHOP’s strawberry syrup before. Is that true?”

  “Of course it’s true, Mom. Why the hell would I ever bring her to IHOP when you make the best pancakes? Didn’t we just discuss this?”

  Robyn hummed. “Well, my sweet son, there are some things one just can’t get in my house. One of those things is IHOP’s strawberry syrup.”

  “And the other?” Decker asked, curiosity piqued.

  “Meet us at the restaurant, and maybe you’ll find out.”

  “I’ll see you girls in fifteen minutes. Drive carefully, Mom.”

  “Will do, honey.”

  He disconnected the call and finished drying his hands. Taking a quick glimpse of himself in the battered old mirror that hung by the coat hook, Decker grimaced at his appearance: torn flannel shirt, mud-caked shit-kickers, ripped jeans, and a shadow of scruff covering his jaw. It wasn’t great, but it was the best he had to offer. What did it matter? He was going for pancakes with his mom and his daughter, not like he was going on a date. Thoughts of April filled his mind as he reached for his cell and tapped out a text as he headed for his dirt caked Ford F-450.

  Decker: Sorry about toda
y. Got held up on the site… again. Going for dinner with my mom and Charlie. Will call you later. XX

  He shoved the phone in the console and headed to the International House of Pancakes.

  * * *

  APRIL PARKED THE car in front of the restaurant, but left the engine running while Elijah finished singing Pharrell’s “Happy” song. It was a sin punishable by silent treatment to turn off the radio mid-favorite song. Thank goodness her son’s cherished tune changed frequently.

  “All right, sweetheart, you ready to go inside?”

  “Yeppers,” came the high-pitched voice from the backseat.

  Smiling, she killed the ignition, hopped out of her car, and opened Elijah’s door. “It looks like we may have a bit of a wait, sweetie. The parking lot is getting full.”

  Her son shrugged as if the news didn’t bother him in the least. Hand-in-hand, they strolled from the car to the restaurant.

  The normal Kids-Eat-Free Tuesday night crowd was already drifting in when April and Eli entered the restaurant. In another half hour, the place would be packed with families who had older children and later dinner times. After three years of trial and error, April had Tuesday night dinner down to a science.

  “Hi, Sarah,” April greeted the hostess. “We’d like our table for two, please.”

  “Sure, April, it’s going to be about ten minutes.” The hostess grimaced. “Sorry, we had a large party come in about an hour ago, and they’re just getting ready to leave.”

  “It’s okay. We’ll wait.”

  “Hi, Eli! Hi! Eli… over here, Elijah!”

  Stunned, April scanned the dining room for the body that belonged to the squeaky voice calling her son’s name. Before she could ask Eli if he knew where the sound was coming from, he dropped her hand and took off like a shot down the aisle to a small table.

  “Lee,” Elijah squealed as he wrapped his tiny arms around the bright-eyed little girl.

  Trying to squelch the panic she felt when Eli ran away from her, April breathed in deeply before slowly releasing the air. “Elijah, sweetheart, who is this?”

  “Mommy, this is Lee,” Elijah explained proudly.

  The little girl covered her mouth and giggled. “My name is actually Charlie, but he calls me Lee, and I think it’s cute.”

  Charlie. The name rippled through April’s head before she shook it off. No way, it couldn’t be. Crouching down, April looked at the two kids standing before her, smiling like the best of friends. “It’s nice to meet you, Charlie.” She looked between the two kids once again. Clearly there was an age difference between them, so they were not in the same class at preschool. In fact, the girl had to be in elementary school. “How do you two know each other?”

  “Now that’s an answer I’d love to hear as well.”

  The smooth voice that came from behind her sent shivers up her spine.

  “Daddy, you’re here.”

  April watched as Charlie edged around her and leaped into her father’s arms, hugging him as if he’d hung the moon and polished each star just for her. Yep, she totally understood the feeling.

  “Hi, son.”

  The greeting came from the table they were standing next to. Shit, she’d been so caught up with Charlie she hadn’t even noticed the woman sitting at the table. Responsible, April, real responsible.

  “Umm, hey, Mom.” Decker placed his daughter down and kissed his mother on her cheek.

  Judging by the way his brows drew together and the fact that he kept looking between Eli and April as if they were going to vanish, reality hit like a two-by-four directly to the back of her head. There, in the middle of the International House of Pancakes, her son was face-to-face with not only her boyfriend but his family. Bile churned in her stomach as the enormity of the situation revealed itself.

  April assumed he played no role in the coincidental meet-and-greet. While that knowledge provided immeasurable comfort, her son was still meeting her boyfriend and already had a relationship with her boyfriend’s daughter, not to mention having just met Decker’s mother… April’s heart slammed into her chest. It was way too close and way too fast.

  “April, your table is ready.” The hostess must have been doing double-time as an angel, because she’d just saved April’s sanity.

  April pivoted to face the hostess. “Thank you, Sarah. We’ll be just a second.” She hadn’t even turned back before she heard two little voices requesting if they could have dinner together.

  “Please, Mommy,” Eli begged, “can we sit with Lee and her family, please?”

  “Daddy, can they sit with us? We can pull up an extra chair.”

  Other than her bright blue eyes, Charlie looked just like her father, and the way she seemed to adore Elijah… well, that was just another reason for April to like the little girl. But it did absolutely nothing to settle the trapeze performers that had started spinning in her belly.

  “There’s no reason to pull up an extra chair, princess,” Decker’s mom announced. “I have a bridge game at the community center in less than a half hour, so I really must get going.” The dark-haired, spit-fire of a woman then turned her attention to April. “By the way, I’m Robyn Brand, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, April.”

  April nervously shook Robyn’s outstretched hand. “It’s nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Brand. Umm, I think my mom plays bridge at the community center on Tuesday evenings as well.” April felt like an idiot trying to reach for something to say to Decker’s mom, but it had been many years since she’d done the meet-the-parent thing. To have it thrown at her, and without preparation, was painful.

  Robyn’s lips turned up, a knowing look, kind but not a full-fledged smile, and patted April’s hand. “Hmm, first, there’s no need for formalities, so just call me Robyn, okay?”

  April nodded.

  “Second…” She looked at her watch. “Ooh, it really is getting late.” She glanced at Decker and Charlie. “I’ll chat with you both tomorrow.” Robyn moved around the table and kissed Charlie before going up on tiptoe to kiss her son.

  “I’ll walk you out, Mom.” Decker then leveled his sexy stare at her. “April, please, will you and Eli join Charlie and me for dinner? Apparently we are missing out on the great miracles of strawberry syrup.” He lowered his mouth to her ear. “I promise you, honey, everything will be fine. Believe in me.”

  “No way,” Elijah called out. “You’ve never had stwababbery syrwp? You’re gonna love it, Lee.”

  Seeing the sublime happiness in her little boy’s face at the same time she got to see Decker’s sexy smile made her inside warm like the sticky confection they were discussing. There was no way she could turn down that kind of invitation. “Okay. We’ll join you guys.”

  “I’ll tell the hostess you won’t need your table.” Decker leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Breathe, beautiful, everything is gonna be fine.” He then wrapped his arm around his mom and led her to the door while April got the kids settled in their chairs with plenty of crayons and paper to keep them occupied.

  * * *

  “YOU SET THIS up, didn’t you?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Robyn denied through pursed lips.

  “Mom, I inherited my shit-eating grin from you.” Decker stood just inches away from his mother in the tight lobby of the restaurant. “I know you’re lying. I just want to know how you knew to do this.” With work being such a disaster, Decker could barely remember what day of the week it was, let alone that April took her son to IHOP on Tuesdays.

  “Okay, fine, I’ll tell you. But not tonight. Go have fun with your girls and that adorable little boy. You deserve it. We’ll chat tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Mom.” He wrapped his arms around his mother and tried to convey how much he appreciated her through his hug. He hoped she understood that she meant the world to him.

  “You are so very welcome, my sweet boy.”

  He arrived back at the table to see April assisting the children with th
e menus. Despite the entire situation being sprung upon her, she seemed at ease while giving an animated description of the foods on the menu to two very interested kids.

  “Daddy,” Charlie beamed, “I’m gonna have a pancake that looks like a happy face. Eli says it’s his favorite thing on the menu.”

  “Then you’ve gotta try it,” Decker informed his daughter before sitting on the empty chair next to April.

  Charlie and the adorable little boy who he now knew as Elijah immediately got lost in their own little world of crayons and chatter as soon as the orders were placed. They were so cute together, almost like brother and sister, doing the activities on the kids’ placemats, such as tic-tac-toe and search-n-find.

  “I didn’t plan any of this,” he stated quietly to April. “I mean, to be honest, I’m thrilled that we’re all together and out in the open, but I would have never sprung it on you.”

  He followed April’s eyes as they darted across the table to the distracted kids before they returned to his. Pressing her glossed lips together, her shoulders rose and fell with one respiration before she spoke. “I’m happy that you didn’t set this up, because it would have upset me to know that you went behind my back. However…” She sipped from the glass of water that the waitress must have brought when he walked his mom to the lobby. “I’m scared, Decker.” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “I’ve just wanted to protect his heart and… maybe my own.” Her gaze shifted across the table to the children before reconnecting with his. “That said, I’m kind of relieved that it happened as well.” The bridge of her nose crinkled the way it did when she knew she was wrong about something. “It was beyond time.”

  Relief washed over him as he savored her words. They could finally spend time together, all of them.

  Charlie’s peal of laughter grabbed his attention as the food was placed on the table, “Oh, you were right, Eli. If I move the banana slices on the pancake, the mouth goes from happy to sad.”