Jake didn't hesitate, but brought the ball to his chest and tossed it straight at David, and he immediately started bouncing it as soon as he caught it. Without words, they settled into a game of H.O.R.S.E with David making the first basket. Jake was a tall kid for his age, and destined to bypass his mother in height probably in the next few months, but he was all knees and elbows. Actually, a decent build for basketball, and he gave David a challenge for each point.
After several baskets, David took a minute to hunch over and bounce the ball with one hand, wiping his forehead with the back of his other hand. "Looking forward to the party?" he asked.
Jake shrugged. "I was."
David went for the basket, and Jake sidestepped him, snagging the ball from his hand. He then started up the bouncing.
Thump-thump-thump.
"You're not now?" Jake shook his head and shot for the basket. It was the first time he'd missed and David retrieved it, circling under the basket before coming back into the makeshift court. "Is that why you're mom is upset?"
Jake's attention shifted for a split second from the ball to David. He nodded and hunched again, ready to play.
"She won't like it that you noticed."
"What's really going on?"
Jake looked down and scuffed the toe of his shoe into the concrete. "My father is coming later today. He's taking me until Thursday."
David circled to Jake's right, but his attention wasn't really on the game anymore. "When did this happen?"
"Friday night, I guess. She told me yesterday."
David made his shot, but he didn't care anymore if it went in. It circled the rim before falling off without going through the ring. Jake caught it, tossing it between his hands before bouncing it off the back wall of the garage. David stopped playing, standing straight to put his hands at his waist. If Andi heard from her ex husband on Friday night after their date, it helped explain why he hadn't been able to reach her on Saturday. Every call had gone to voicemail.
She hadn't provided details, but David had picked up enough from what she did say to figure out what she didn't say.
"She doesn't want you to go." It wasn't a question.
"I don't want to go," Jake added. He bounced the ball harder, the ball coming up nearly to his shoulders before he palmed it to slam it back down again. "I hate him. He's a jerk."
Well, that was one thing David could empathize with.
He watched Jake bounce the ball, watched the tight expression that nearly perfectly mirrored Andi's. The two of them were trying to put on faces for each other. David knew Jake was only eleven, but in the boy's face, he saw someone a lot older. And that was something he also understood. All too well.
"I know what it's like."
Jake pulled a 'yeah, right' face and softened the bounces so the ball only reached his waist. He had great control.
"No, it's true. My dad left us when I was ten. I probably saw him three or four times before I turned eighteen. And my first step-father was a jerk, too."
"I don't care if I ever see him again." He turned sharply and threw the basketball at the stucco garage wall with such force that David was surprised the plaster didn't crumble away. Jake caught the ball on the rebound, working it between his palms in front of his chest. His lips pulled tight and he only glanced at David before staring down at the textured surface of the ball. "He makes my mom cry every time he calls. Every time he shows up. She cried all the time before we left."
"You were pretty young, weren't--"
"I remember," Jake cut him off. He tossed the ball into the corner of the court and started for the gate, but David caught up with him, gripping his elbow.
"Jake, does he hurt you and your mom?" David asked, doing his damndest to keep the snap out of his voice.
Jake stopped and stared at him, his lips pulled tight. "Like hit us?" He shook his head. "No." His eyes pinched and his lips pulled together. "But he still makes her cry, and I hate him."
David laid his hand on the boy's boney shoulder, patting it. He didn't know what he could offer the kid that would help. It sucked. All of it sucked, but the idea that this ass made Andi -- and her son -- this upset, pissed him off and he hadn't even met the jerk yet.
"Are you the guy?" Jake asked.
David shook his head, not following Jake's switch in conversation. "What guy?"
Jake shifted his weight back and forth between his feet, licking his lips as he glanced toward the gate, and David wondered if he was worried now that they'd be heard. "Maggie said that there was a guy who thought my mom was pretty, but Mom was too chicken to believe him. You that guy?"
David drew in a slow breath through his nostrils, letting himself smile just a little bit. "Jake, I have no doubt that a lot of men think your mom is pretty. But, yeah, I'm fairly positive I'm the guy Maggie was talking about." He leaned in closer to Jake. "But, I don't think your mom is pretty. I know she's beautiful. Don't you?"
Jake nodded, the tenseness around his mouth still holding his expression. "You're not going to make her cry."
It wasn't a question, wasn't an inquiry of any kind. It was a statement. Maybe even a demand. David squeezed Jake's shoulder. "No. I promise. I won't make your mom cry."
Jake nodded, accepting his answer, and stepped free of his hand to head for the gate. "It's kind of cool that you're here," he tossed off with the best nonchalance an eleven-year-old can manage -- which wasn't much. "A lot of my friends like you. You know, your movies and stuff."
"Yeah? So, it's cool with you that I'm at your party?'
Jake shrugged and went into the backyard. Andi was back outside, and she stood at the patio table setting out bowls of chips. She looked up and saw them both, and smiled. It was far more genuine than any of the other half-attempted smiles he'd seen that day, but it was far from perfect.
"Yeah, it's cool." Jake looked up at him, a crooked smile on his face. "You think any photographers are gonna jump out of the bushes or anything?"
David grinned. "It could happen."
"Cooool," Jake said with a nod.
Maggie opened the slider from the house to the backyard, and led a couple kids about Jake's age into the yard with their parents in tow. "Jake, Juan and Eric are here."
"Hey!" Jake called out, raising his hand in a wave.
Both boys, and their parents, turned in his direction with their hands raised in waves. Then their expressions shifted to shock and then shouts of "Holy crap! Jake's got David Bishop at his party!"
"Cool," Jake said again, lower this time so only David heard.
He laughed and laid his hand against the back of Jake's neck, walking with him toward the first guests.
*****
Andi looked out the slider to the backyard, and warmth like hot honey spread through her chest. David and Jake were still in the backyard, sitting on the grass with handheld computer games that battled each other. They both swayed and twisted as if their bodies could somehow affect the game, their shouts and laughter at whatever had happened on their screens loud enough to carry through the closed glass door.
Jake shouted, "Yes!" and held his game high over his head. David simultaneously groaned and slapped his hand to his forehead, falling back on the grass. "Oh! You killed me," he moaned, and Jake laughed louder.
Her heart was confused, that was the only way she could categorize the battle of emotions that threatened to have her crying one second and laughing the next. Seeing her son being so at ease with David settled a pleasant kind of ache in her chest, and if she let herself turn completely whimsical and self-indulgent, she imagined days like today lasting for a long time. At the same time, tears burned in her eyes because Jake had never had something so simple -- something so many of his friends took for granted. Even in divided homes, her friends had their fathers in their lives. Interested in their lives. She was terrified of the day that he lost even this short glimpse of a normal life.
Andi blinked back the tears, refusing to let anyone see them. Later, alone, she'd indulge in the breakdow
n that had threatened to knock her down since Lawrence called. He had never asked to take Jake overnight, let alone for several days. What if he wanted to share custody? What if he wanted to take Jake to Chicago? What if... what if...
It was the 'what ifs' that had kept her up all the night before, and what had remained of the night after David brought her home. And it was the 'what ifs' that had her stomach twisted into tight knots and her head hurting so bad she could barely stand the sunlight. It had been over a year since a migraine had crimpled her into hiding in bed for two days, and Maggie would say it was no surprise that Lawrence had been around then, too.
Maggie set a prescription bottle of prescription migraine pain reliever on the counter near her hand. "Take them before you can't walk straight."
Andi shook her head, and the simple action made her head split and her stomach roll. "No. They knock me out. I can't until after Lawrence gets here."
Maggie snorted and looked at the microwave clock. "How many times did he call today to make sure you would have Jake ready on time? And the bastard is half an hour late."
It was a fine line Andi walked between being thankful that he hadn't come yet, and wishing he would just get there and get it over with. But that would mean Jake would be gone.
Her throat tightened and she pressed her hand to her stomach, mentally demanding her body to not be ill. Not now. Not with Lawrence arriving any minute. Not with David here to see how her ex husband had the ability to tie her in knots even now... six years after leaving him.
She drew in a slow breath as the nausea backed off, and looked out the sliding door again. David and Jake now sat on one of the lounges, side-by-side, with David hunched forward resting his elbows on his knees. They were talking, but she couldn't hear them or see their faces to gauge what kind of conversation they had. Then David patted Jake's shoulder and jerked his head in the direction of the backyard, and Jake nodded. They stood and disappeared from her line of vision, heading toward the basketball court behind the garage.
The knock at the door made her jump, and she gripped the edge of the counter to keep from tipping over.
"Oh, joy," Maggie mumbled, crossing the space to the front door. "Bonehead is here."
Andi sucked in several sharp breaths, panic pounding in her chest, which just made her mad. He was nothing. He was her past. He had no control over her life!
Except that he was the father of her son, and for that reason alone she'd never be free of him.
Maggie opened the door with a flourish. "Larry," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she used the name she knew he detested. Which is exactly why she used it. "About damn time."
Lawrence said nothing, pushing past Maggie into the foyer with a deep scowl.
"I've been great, thanks for asking, Larry," Maggie continued as she let the door shut with a bang slightly softer than a full-on slam. "How's the little lady?"
"Once again, your lack of propriety amazes me, Margaret."
Maggie tipped her head back and laughed. "I think that's the best compliment you've ever given me, Larry."
Andi stayed behind the counter, using the edge as support while she categorized her ex husband. He hadn't changed in the year or so since she'd seen him last, hadn't even changed much since they divorced. Lawrence was average in height, not even hitting five-eleven, but most women would probably say that was where 'average' ended for Lawrence Bonherre. Dark blonde hair that never seemed out of place and striking blue eyes that had caught her attention across the University of Illinois' on-campus library. They had looked warm then, attractive and inviting. But just a few years later, the same blue was cold and distant. Like ice.
"Andrea..." he said in way of greeting, and he actually smiled. His gaze shifted over her, not even attempting to hide his assessment, and settled on her face. "You look... good. I liked your hair longer."
"Wow, Andi. Don't let all that sweet talk go to your head. Larry is really making an effort."
Andi blinked and swallowed, disconcerted by his display of pleasantries, as limited as it was. But, it was exceptional for Lawrence. Especially in the last few years.
"I'll get Jake," she forced from her restricted throat, and pushed away from the counter edge.
"No. Wait. I want to talk to you for a minute."
The migraine edged tighter into her line of vision, twisting her equilibrium, and she rubbed her forehead with her fingertips to attempt to ward it off. "Do we have to do this tonight, Lawrence? I know where you're staying and how to reach you, what else is there?"
Lawrence looked over his shoulder at Maggie, who stood near the door with her arms crossed. She arched her eyebrows and shrugged.
"What?"
"As much as you've infiltrated Andrea's life, this has nothing to do with you."
Maggie looked to Andi, and she gave a small nod letting her friend know it was fine to leave them alone. Maggie huffed and flipped her hand in the air, walking to the living room area on the other side of the open space. She dropped into her favorite chair and picked up a magazine from the coffee table, flipping randomly through the pages.
"What is it you want?"
He walked toward her and laid his hand on the edge of the countertop furthest from her. Regardless, her skin crawled just having him that close. It amazed her that at one time she let this man touch her and now, the idea of being within ten feet of him made her squirm. Whenever he even came close to contact, she thought of all the women he'd been with while still married to her. Women he'd had sex with and came home to her, sometimes taking her to bed, too. The idea made her twitch and greased her stomach.
"I'd hoped we could have a civil conversation. We were married for nine years, after all."
"Bringing up the disaster that was our marriage isn't the wisest thing if you want to have a civil conversation, Lawrence." She had to force the words through clenched teeth and tight lips to keep from getting sick.
"But our marriage is what I need to talk about. Andrea, I've been thinking about some things. I've decided I need to make some changes in my life. Which is why I asked to spend some time with Jacob. I've been too absent from his life--"
"That's just fine with us."
His smile slipped, but he swallowed and the unsettling expression returned. "A boy needs his father. I want to make sure he has one. Especially as he grows older. He needs to learn how to be a man."
Maggie snorted from the living room.
Cold terror hit her veins as every fear that had kept her up all night collided in one staggering slam to the center of her chest. "What are you saying?"
He rounded the corner of the counter and moved toward her, and she fought the urge to scramble over the counter to the other side. But she refused to let him see her shaken. She refused to let him know he had any kind of power over her. So, she crossed her arms and clenched her teeth, glaring at him so he never saw her look away. Never saw her flinch.
"I made a mistake letting you leave so easily, Andrea. I shouldn't have let you go six years ago. I should have made you stay."
Maggie barked a laugh from the other room.
Lawrence scowled again, looking across the living room where Maggie still sat shaking her head. By the time he looked at Andi again the forced smile had returned. "My mistake was not fighting the divorce."
"No. Your mistake was sleeping with any slut who could stand you long enough to get her skirt up."
Maggie snickered, and the sound gave Andi a small modicum of strength. She wasn't alone in this. The day she'd found out about Lawrence's affairs, she'd felt totally isolated. Her parents lived three hundred miles away, and she had no friends to speak of because everything was about appearance rather than companionship. She had no one but her son.
Until Maggie opened her home to them. Gave them a place to be, a place to recover and gather strength. It wasn't a typical home, but she and Jake had a home with Maggie O'Connell. She could be abrasive, sometimes even crass, but Maggie was Maggie and Andi loved her for it.<
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"I understand now why it hurt you so much when you found out," Lawrence went on, ignoring the peanut gallery. "I should have been kinder."
"You shouldn't have slept around," Andi snapped.
"This is all the past, we've talked about this. The reasons--"
"Don't you dare try to put it on me again."
"I'm not," he said, raising his hands in a pathetic symbol for surrender. "I'm saying I understand now." Lawrence sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Leslie--"
"Oh, please God tell me she cheated," Maggie roared from the other room, and followed it up with loud laughter, throwing her hands up in a victory cheer as she stomped her feet. "Yes! There is a god and he's got a great sense of humor."
Some small part of her wanted to automatically say "I'm sorry", just like she would for anyone who told her they knew the feeling of betrayal she knew. But it was a very small part, and the angry ex-wife beat her down until she shut up without even a whimper.
"Are you getting to some kind of point, Lawrence?" Andi made sure her annoyance was more than obvious in her tone.
He took another step toward her, and despite herself, she pushed back against the edge of the counter until it cut into her lower back.
"I know now, Andrea. I know that I made a mistake, and I understand that you were the best thing that ever happened to me. My life was good when we were together."
"Your life, not mine."
"We were good together, Andrea." He reached for her hand, pulling it free of where she had it tucked in the bend of her arms. "I want to talk about being a family again. You. Me. And Jacob."
"You have got to be friggin' kidding!" Maggie declared from the other room, practically leaping from her chair.
Andi yanked her hand free of Lawrence's hold and sidestepped him, taking a deep breath when she found air he hadn't tainted with his expensive aftershave. The room tipped and vice grips grabbed the back of her head, squeezing so tight she wondered if her eyes would pop out. She used the edge of the counter to get around to the other side and spun around to face him again.
"Who the hell do you think you are to even comment on any of this?" Lawrence shouted at Maggie, jabbing his finger viciously in the air. "This has nothing to do with you. If it weren't for you, Andrea wouldn't have left me at all!"
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