by Adam Rock
“Okay, out with it.”
“Guess why Shawn looked so tired.”
“How should I know? He worked a double shift?”
“Nope. He had this afternoon off.”
“Umm… he has a second job cleaning toilets in the park?”
Jasper laughed. “Yuk. No.”
“Oh come on, just tell me.”
“Alright, alright,” he put his hands up and then leaned in close. “He just drove five hours each way to get lucky!”
“What? With who?”
“Someone he met on the internet. She lives in Albury. He got off work this morning and drove straight there. No doubt, they did the business since he was grinning. Then he drove all the way back in time to get some sleep and be back at work at six in the morning.”
“Wow. She must have been offering something special. Is it serious?”
“I guess. We had to drag it out of him. He was excited all morning at work.”
“Poor Shawn. I can just imagine you guys needling him.”
Jasper shrugged. “It’s his turn. I had to put up with their ribbing over you. He can take his medicine.”
***
“Umm… Chris, can you come here?” Jeff’s voice wafted from the kitchen and as he made sure the front door was locked, he could have sworn his cook sounded like he might cry.
“Sure, what’s up?” As he rounded the corner he immediately saw what the problem was. Jeff was holding his hand above his head, clutching the wrist with his other hand as blood dripped down his arm and onto the floor. “Oh, shit. What happened?” He moved to the first aid kit, pulling packets of bandages out and scattering them on the floor in his haste.
“I was putting the clean dishes away and the knife slipped and cut me. It’s a lot deeper than I would have expected.”
“Do you need to go to the hospital?”
“I think I do.”
Chris ran his hand through his hair and took a second to assess. “You don’t need an ambulance?”
“No, but I do need the hospital.”
“Okay. Sit out here and let’s bandage it up. Then I’ll drive you.” He pulled Jeff’s hand down and opened the bandage, ready to wrap it around the injury. “Sorry, this will be pretty basic. I never got around to doing that first aid course.” He applied gauze and then wrapped the wound as firmly as Jeff would let him. Then he retrieved his car from the garage and they headed for the hospital.
When Chris pulled into the emergency entrance Jeff refused to get out of the car. “I’m not dying. Just park in the normal area and we’ll go in together.”
“If you get out here you won’t have to walk.”
“Yeah, well, as I said, I’m not dying. Park normally.”
They were soon standing at the nurse’s station waiting to be seen. Chris turned to survey the room and his insides jolted when he saw Becca sitting on one of the seats. He waved but she didn’t see him, so he walked over to her. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
The look she gave him almost made him step back. He’d expected her to be pleased to see him, but she was anything but pleased. “Uhh… I’m here with family.”
“Is this why you had to leave today?”
“Mama, is it our turn yet?” A sweet girl in pink pyjamas printed with ice creams slipped around Chris and crawled up onto Becca’s lap. “I’m bored,” she said, as Becca looked up to meet his wide eyes.
“It will be our turn soon sweetie. Though you seem like you’re fine now. I thought you were sick.”
“I just puked in the toilet with Grandma,” she cheerfully announced.
“That she did,” an older woman said as she sat down beside them. “It’s perked her up just fine, though.”
“Sometimes being sick can get all the germs out of your tummy,” Becca said to the little girl as she smoothed back her hair. “I hope you washed your hands.”
“I did. Who’s this?” she asked, looking at Chris, who stood like a deer caught in the headlights.
“This is my friend Chris,” Becca said as the older woman’s eyebrow rose beside her. “Emma say hello.”
Emma slipped off her knee and shyly walked toward Chris with her hand outstretched. “Hello,” she said, hiding behind her long blond hair, which perfectly matched her mother’s. “Are you Chris that makes the fancy-ass cakes?”
Chris choked on his laughter and glanced at Becca before answering. “I do like to make cakes sometimes.” He squatted down so they were on the same level. “Do you like cake?”
“Yup. Mama says cake is as sweet as me.” She grinned and tilted her head to the side. “Will you make me a cake for my birthday?”
“I would be honoured to make you a birthday cake. What kind would you like?”
“A pink one. I’ll be turning four so it needs a big number four on it, please.”
“You got it. When is your birthday?”
“No idea,” she said, losing interest and climbing back onto Becca’s lap. “Mama knows.”
Chris stood up and watched Becca squirm in her seat. Before he could say something to relieve the awkwardness the woman next to her stuck out her hand. “I’m Edith, Emma’s grandmother. Nice to meet you, Chris, we’ve heard a lot about you.” She grinned, putting extra meaning into her words, and Becca’s face turned pink.
“It’s clichéd, but I hope it was all good.” He grinned as he shook her hand.
“Oh, better than you could imagine,” she gushed as Becca squeezed her eyes shut.
“Anyway Chris, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be home eating leftovers?”
“Ooh, mean, Becca.” He smiled at her as she stared at him. “I almost forgot. I’m with Jeff.” He looked behind him to where Jeff had taken a seat. “He cut himself in the kitchen and it looks like he’ll need stitches.”
Becca’s face immediately softened. “Oh, no. I didn’t realise. I’m sorry for being bitchy.”
“Mama said a bad word,” Emma sang out as Becca shushed her.
“No problem. People do tend to come to the hospital emergency room when there’s an emergency. Anyway,” he reached his hand out to Edith and then to Emma. “It was nice meeting you both. Becca, I’ll see you tomorrow if all goes well here?”
“I’ll be there.”
Fighting the urge to sit down and stay with them, Chris returned to Jeff’s side and the long wait they had ahead of them.
Chapter Eleven
Chris lingered around the back door the next morning, waiting to pounce on Becca and pull an explanation out of her. He expected her to show up right on eight so there would be no time to talk but she surprised him by tapping on the door just after seven fifteen. He pulled the door wide and she stepped past him.
“Okay, hurry up and say it.”
“Say what? I’m pleased to see you today?” He followed her to the counter.
“No.” She dropped her bag and turned to face him, crossing her arms and meeting his gaze. “That I shouldn’t have tricked you and kept my child a secret.”
“I have no intention of saying any such thing.”
“Why did you look so shocked at the hospital then? I could have knocked you over with a strong breeze when you realised she was mine.”
“I’m sorry, it just never occurred to me. When I think of you and your blue hair I don’t think of you having children.” He grinned but immediately knew she’d taken it the wrong way. Her face darkened and her lips drew into a thin line.
“I can’t have a kid because I have blue hair? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Responsible mothers don’t have blue hair, is that what you meant? I suppose they don’t go to strip clubs or hang out with bikers-turned-tattoo-artists either? Maybe they have better jobs than just waitressing? What kind of a sheltered life have you led Chris, if you think a mother can’t still have a life?”
“Wait, wait.” He held up his hands. “I’ve never once said any of that. It’s just such a surpris
e after working alongside you almost every day for four months.” He frowned as he watched her calm down just a little. “How did you go all this time without mentioning her once? We slept together for Christ’s sake and you didn’t think to mention it?”
“You slept together?” Kenneth said from the doorway. “What happened to the no fraternising rule?”
“Oh Christ, how long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to know things just got interesting between you two.” He smirked and headed for the kitchen, where he pulled the sliding door closed behind him. Not before sticking his lips through the small gap and saying sweetly, “Don’t let my arrival stop you. Sounds like there’s a damn lot more for you to say.” The door banged shut and Chris and Becca stood silently staring at each other.
“I don’t have anything else to say.” Becca grabbed her bag and slipped it over her shoulder. She moved toward the hallway without a backwards glance at Chris.
It took a moment before he realised she was leaving but before he could move, the sliding door to the kitchen opened again and Kenneth growled at him, “You’re the boss, man. Stop dicking around and go after her. Fire her, if you have to. We can get a new waitress any day of the week, but if you let that woman slip through your fingers you’ll always regret it.”
“Wait, Becca. Don’t go.” He followed her down the hall.
“Leave me alone. I quit.”
“You can’t quit. I need you and you need a job.”
“I told you that first day that I don’t need anything. Certainly not a job here, working near you every day, especially when you think I’m an unfit mother!”
“Oh for fuck’s sake.” He shouted, startling her as she slid to a halt, her hand on the door handle. “Just stop, would you?” She turned to face him, her chin jutting out, showing her defiance. The sight of her all fired up didn’t deter him; all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and kiss her. “Please don’t leave here angry or pick a fight to avoid talking about this. We have things to discuss.”
“We don’t really.” She said in a quiet voice. “You promised me this wouldn’t get weird. You said no strings.”
“I did, but I lied.” His hand reached up to cup her cheek. “Have you met yourself? How could anyone want a no-strings relationship with you?” A tear formed in the corner of her eye and he brushed it away. She was silent as he searched for the words that would make her stay. The words to bind her to him. “Don’t sabotage this by making out I’m worried by your past. The last thing I want is for you to get away. I want more Becca.” She stood silently before him so he tried a new tactic. “At least I know why you needed specific time off now.”
“What did you think I needed those days off for?”
“How should I know? It’s not my right as an employer to know why you need certain days off. You could have had an elderly aunt that needed caring for. You could have had a medical condition—how do I know you don’t need dialysis or something every second week? It’s your right to keep all of that private. It never occurred to me to wonder what you were doing on your days off.” He stopped and looked at her, wide-eyed. “Well, that’s not entirely true. I’ve wondered a lot about that actually, but only since you seduced me.”
“I seduced you?” she snickered. “I don’t remember you being an unwilling participant.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t like it.” He grinned and moved closer. “In fact, I’d like to do it again.”
“Even now that you know I have obligations?”
“Of course. Why should that change my feelings about you?”
“I thought… why would a man want to take on a child who wasn’t theirs?”
He smiled and pulled her toward him. “Any child of yours would be irresistible to someone who really loved you.” Her sharp intake of breath made him smile again. “I don’t want a tiny part of your life, Becca. I want all of it. All of you.”
A tapping on the front door pulled her attention away from his face. “You need to open. I’m sorry, I’m keeping you from work.”
“If you don’t come back and put your apron on, I’m not opening. Mike can get his shot of caramel somewhere else.”
Her lips twitched as she leaned her cheek into his hand. “You’d really ruin Mike’s day for me?”
“I’d ruin Mike’s year for you. Hell, I’d ruin my whole business just to keep you close. You and Emma.”
At the mention of her daughter’s name her eyes clouded over again. “We need to take it slow, Chris. This sounds awful but if she doesn’t warm to you, I can’t continue,” she paused, “whatever this is.”
“I understand that. You forget that I already hold the trump card where Emma is concerned.”
“What do you mean?” Another tap sounded on the front door. “You’ve only met her once.”
“Yes and that was enough for her to elicit the promise of a pink birthday cake from me. She’s going to get the best cake for a four year old anyone has ever seen. My future happiness depends on it!”
Chapter Twelve
“Emma, stay inside the gate, okay?” Becca waved to her daughter as she ran toward the slide, “and don’t go down the big slide!” She sat down beside Chris and he slipped his arm around her shoulders.
“Should we go over there with her?”
“I try to let her be a bit independent. As long as she stays off the biggest slide she should be fine. Why do they make those things so high?”
“To freak parents out. Remember how tall the slides were when you were a kid?”
“Yes, and I remember my neighbour Jack broke his arm when he fell off one.”
He laughed and squeezed her tight. “Let’s hope we don’t have any broken bones today. Did you talk to Ed?”
“I did. It seems I’m in the clear. I showed the investigators my bank records and they’re satisfied that I never received any money from Rodney. His mother is pissed though.”
“His mother?”
“Oh, I should tell you the whole sordid story, but let me just give you the highlights.” She smiled at him and then laid her head against his shoulder. “I was married to Hamish, who is Rodney’s brother. Edith, who you met at the hospital, is their mother. Rodney always hung around our house and Hamish eventually banned him from visiting once we realised the kind of people he associated with. He got really drunk one night and made threats about taking Emma. Edith and Rodney had an argument and haven’t spoken since.” Emma waved to them from the small slide and they both waved back. “That day outside your door was the first time I’d seen Rodney in months. He seemed to think I’d just fall in with his plans to start working for him. I hadn’t had a job since Hamish died.”
“How did he die?”
She raised her head and let out a sigh as she watched Emma. “He was hit by a car riding his bike to work. He was a real fitness freak and just the week before he’d had a seat fitted on his bike for Emma. I wasn’t happy about it but he assured me it was safe. Just a few days later he was gone.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. It could have been much worse, I guess.” She bit her lip as the memories swirled across her face. “What Rodney doesn’t know is that Hamish had a life insurance policy. A big one.” She turned on the seat to face him. “When I told you I didn’t need a job, I really meant it. I’ve invested wisely and I don’t need to work.”
Chris’s eyes widened. “Why have you been putting up with us at the cafe all this time, then? You could have been home relaxing.”
“You know why.” She pushed him on the leg. “At first it was really to get rid of Rodney, but I enjoyed the day I spent with you. Kenneth was a real character and when I went home to discuss it with Edith, she encouraged me to give it a go. I’d been hiding away for two years when I met you.”
“Does Edith look after Emma?”
“No, she goes to day care, but we’ve lived with Edith for two years now and she insists I have a break every second weekend. We’ve supported each other ove
r the years. I don’t know what I would have done without her.”
“You were on your own with a child early.”
“Yes. Hamish died just after my twenty first birthday. I couldn’t believe I was widowed and had a baby.” She shook her head. “I had to sort out where we would live, what I’d do with the money. I was so grateful to have it, but I felt so guilty, too. Have you ever wondered why some people have a life filled with drama? It doesn’t seem to be spread evenly across the population. Some people lead charmed lives and others have a new disaster or challenge every other month. I’m bloody sick of it and I’m only twenty three!”
He tweaked her chin between his fingers. “I’m sure your days of drama are over.”
“Maybe not. I suspect I’ve created a new one and you’re not going to be happy with me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you decided what you’ll do about the business?” She bit her lip as she waited for his response.
“Yep. I’m going to take your advice and keep trying to get the finances to expand. I’m excited about it again, which is nice.”
“How would you feel if I bought the cafe and the laundromat and you rented them off me?”
“What?” He shook his head, confused at the change in their conversation.
“I’d still work for you, of course. I have the money, though Chris, and it would make your life easier and give me a really solid investment.”
He watched her for a moment, clarity dawning in his eyes. “Did you already buy them?”
“No. I signed a contract that gives me a 30-day cooling off period. Robert wasn’t that keen to sell but business is business, I guess. If you don’t want me to own them, I’ll pull out.”
“Why did you say it would make my life easier?”
“Because,” she said, as she rose and deposited herself in his lap, “if I own the buildings I can give you a discount on the rent.”
“Hmm… would management approve of that, do you think?”
“I think I could swing it by them. Especially once they know it’s for Mr November.” She laughed as he grinned at her.