Learning to Love

by Sheryl Browne

  ‘Your wish is my command, madam.’ David dipped his head reverently. ‘How could a man resist such a beautiful woman?’

  ‘He could try taking his eyes off her for two seconds,’ Sophie suggested, obviously noting David’s gaze had now drifted towards Andrea. ‘And I’m not coming unless I get veggie thin ’n crispy,’ she said, walking between them, ‘because there is no way I’m eating deep pan barbequed dead pig.’

  ‘Right.’ David raised an eyebrow as Sophie huffed on out the door, then felt his cheeks heat up as Sophie imparted, ‘Mum quite likes you, too,’ over her shoulder.

  ‘That went well,’ David commented casually as they all strolled back from The Leaning Tower of Pizza.

  ‘Ye-es, if you discount Sophie’s delightful little retching noises on sight of Ryan’s Mighty Meaty pizza and her equally delightful comment afterwards.’ Andrea peered despairingly over Chloe, who was nestled sleepily against her shoulder, to where her still-warring teenagers were now hotly debating the animal fat content of cheesy garlic bread, ergo how many dead animals Sophie had eaten. ‘Honestly, I didn’t know where to look. Jonathan would have had apoplexy.’

  David laughed, recalling Sophie’s rather inappropriate observation as Ryan had cut into his hotdog stuffed crust. ‘Urrgh, ’s totally disgusting.’ She’d curled a lip in obvious repulsion. ‘Looks like a penis.’

  ‘It’s a wonder the family on the adjoining table didn’t leave.’ Andrea blew out a sigh, puffing up her fringe, and hoisted Chloe higher in her arms.

  ‘Er, I think they actually did,’ David pointed out, ‘right about the time Jake decided to wear two pepperoni slices for eyes.’ He glanced at his own reprobate son, who was also walking ahead all but super-glued to Ryan’s side.

  The kids had been a little over-exuberant – a lot, actually, but David had been more relieved than annoyed at Jake’s behaviour. He’d smirked when he’d reprimanded him, but David had let it go, reminding himself that was what kids did. Backchat, cheek, teenage angst; normal childhood behaviour David felt he could cope with. Being cut dead by his son, as he had been up until recently; looked at by Jake as if he really did wish him dead, he honestly hadn’t known how much longer he could have coped with.

  Glancing sideways at Andrea, whose infinitely kissable lips were curved into a smile despite her annoyance, David wondered how he would cope with siblings at war on a permanent basis, but Eden apparently had. Must have, David supposed. He doubted Andrea would have stayed with him for more than two seconds otherwise, given how family orientated she was.

  Deliberating a second longer, David took a breath then asked, ‘They get on okay with Jonathan, though? Generally, I mean.’

  Andrea thought about it. ‘Yes,’ she said, at length. ‘At least they did until recently.’ Furrowing her brow thoughtfully, she dropped a soft kiss on top of Chloe’s head.

  ‘Oh?’ David tried to keep it casual lest it seem too obvious he was fishing for information.

  ‘Ryan’s not majorly impressed by the arguments we’ve had lately,’ Andrea admitted, glancing at him cautiously. ‘And Sophie’s at her not majorly impressed with anything stage, as you may have gathered.’

  They exchanged amused glances as, bang on cue, Sophie’s familiar moody tones drifted back, ‘Urgh, you two are so juvenile.’ With which she folded her arms and stropped on ahead of her obviously embarrassing companions.

  David shook his head, though he couldn’t help but smile. ‘They do get caught in the crossfire sometimes, don’t they?’

  ‘We weren’t coming to blows or anything,’ Andrea assured him, easing a now stirring Chloe higher in her arms.

  ‘Here, let me,’ David offered. ‘She looks like a lead weight.’

  ‘She is.’ Andrea smiled gratefully and stopped to allow him to take her.

  ‘Come on, little one.’ David reached for the malleable toddler, who had her thumb still firmly planted in her mouth, the fingers of her other hand caught up in Andrea’s hair, he realised, just in time.

  Taking Chloe’s weight, David carefully disentwined tresses and fingers, noticing again how, even in the fading evening light, Andrea’s loose curls seemed to reflect a thousand iridescent flecks of red and gold. Did she have any inkling, he wondered, of how much he wanted to weave his own hands through her hair as she lay in his arms, in his bed; though preferably when Dee and the rest of her family had vacated it?

  Couldn’t happen, David reminded himself, soberly. Jake was his priority, and Andrea had priorities of her own. She didn’t need, probably didn’t want, him complicating her life further. Suppressing a wistful sigh nevertheless, he gathered Chloe securely in his arms. ‘So, you were saying, no body blows?’

  ‘No,’ Andrea said, strolling beside him. ‘Not even proper arguments really, just … differences of opinion, I suppose.’

  ‘About?’ As Andrea was confiding, David pushed it a little, hoping to glean more information about Eden’s dealings with Eva. ‘Financial issues, presumably?’ He hedged a guess. ‘It can’t be easy with three children.’

  ‘It’s not, but no, not financial, not really. More to do with time, or lack of. You know, how to fit everything in around ceaseless family demands? Me wanting to fit a little me time into the equation.’

  David nodded. ‘You’re talking about your business idea, I assume?’

  ‘My pipedream, yes.’ Andrea sighed despondently. ‘I do wonder now, in light of all that’s happened, whether I might have been a bit selfish, wanting to throw something else into the pot.’

  David hesitated, then, ‘And keep your mother at home,’ he tacked on.

  Andrea’s step faltered. ‘Sorry?’

  David faced her. ‘Tell me to mind my own business, Andrea, and I will, but … if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that being in a relationship with someone doesn’t give you a right to stifle them or dictate what they do.’

  Andrea studied him for a second, her head cocked to one side, her pretty green eyes troubled. ‘It’s also about compromise,’ she said quietly, after a moment.

  ‘True,’ David agreed. ‘But it’s a two-way street, Andrea. Surely it needs both parties to compromise.’

  Andrea nodded, her long eyelashes fluttering briefly over her eyes. ‘I know,’ she said. Then, smiling that smile that seemed to lift his spirits somehow, she reached out to brush first Chloe’s cheek, and then his with her hand.

  Sally’s eyes almost fell out. What were they doing? She watched the intimate exchange through the slatted blinds at her window barely able to breathe. Outside her house! Right outside her bloody house! They might as well come in and copulate on her bloody Italian leather art deco sofa!

  The absolute … total shit! He’d turned her down. She’d been naked, standing right in front of him, offering herself to him – all of herself, body and emotions laid bare, and he’d turned his back and walked away. And now she knew why. Not satisfied with one man in her life and three children – by different fathers, her green-eyed monster stopped hissing long enough to remind her – effortless beauty Andrea, with her bouncy hair and bubbly, totally bloody infuriating nature, had decided she was going to have two!

  Had they gone beyond intimate touching? Had David already made love to Andrea in that same urgent, sensual, sweetly agonising way he had to her? A knot of panic settled in Sally’s chest. She couldn’t bear this. She really couldn’t. She continued to watch as David and her best friend … hah! … peeled their lovey-dovey eyes away from each other and walked on.

  Ambled on, more like, like lovers. Man and wife, with content toddler to complete the picture. This wasn’t fair and it was not on. He was rubbing salt in her wounds and Sally was not about to stand by and let him. Let another man use and abuse her. She was going to do something about it. Right now! Just as soon as she’d checked her make-up and hair.

  As for Andrea’s feelings … Blow her. If the woman had any feelings, she wouldn’t be two-timing Jonathan, confusing the hell out of her children by changing her men
as often as her knickers, and sinking her talons into the man Sally had prior claim on. Andrea didn’t know that, of course, Sally admitted as she headed for the stairs to make ready for her show-stopping performance. But she would know. Oh, yes, once Sally had shown him in his true colours, Andrea would have nothing to do with the not-so-good Doctor Adams ever again. She’d actually be doing the woman a huge favour. No doubt his only interest in Andrea was chalking her up as another notch on his bedpost. He wouldn’t even have to go to the trouble of picking her up in a hotel bar either, would he, Andrea being readily available for whenever she took his fancy? Sally humphed furiously on up the stairs, conveniently forgetting who’d been picking who up that night in the hotel bar.

  ‘I hope we weren’t supposed to bring pizza back?’ David nodded towards Eden’s car parked on his drive.

  ‘The wanderer returns.’ Andrea glanced at David. ‘Are you okay with him coming in?’ she asked, no doubt apprehensive now David had made it known he was suspicious of the guy.

  He nodded and smiled. Not a lot else he could do, he supposed. Eden was, after all, Andrea’s … whatever he was.

  Jonathan climbed out of his driver’s door, looking not very happy, as they approached. ‘Playing happy families again, I see,’ he said pointedly.

  ‘In your absence, yes,’ Andrea replied, also pointedly.

  At which Eden looked most definitely pissed, David noted.

  ‘Why are you sitting outside, anyway?’ Andrea asked, walking past Jonathan to the door. ‘Didn’t you knock?’

  ‘Yes, obviously.’ Jonathan shook his head despairingly as he followed her. ‘Your mother decided she wasn’t letting me in.’

  Andrea glanced back at him, confused.

  ‘Said she’d call the police if I didn’t go away.’ Jonathan rolled his eyes skywards. ‘She really is confused, you know, Andy. You really ought to consider—’

  ‘Making arrangements?’ Andrea stopped to eye Jonathan angrily. ‘Yes, Jonathan, you said. The answer is still no.’

  Chloe still sleeping in his arms, David coughed, rather than barging between them. ‘I’ll just open up, shall I?’ He indicated the door.

  Eden sighed heavily, as David glanced at him, noting he did indeed look like a worried man. Reminding himself he would be, David tried very hard not to judge him. He was hardly wearing a shining halo himself, was he?

  ‘I won’t come in,’ Jonathan said as Andrea stepped inside.

  Andrea turned back. ‘Oh?’

  ‘I just wanted to check that you were okay. As you obviously are …’ Jonathan looked past Andrea to David ‘… I’ll go and do a couple of extra hours at the office and leave you to it.’

  On a scale of one to ten that look was definitely sub-zero. If Eden had an idea of how he felt about Andrea, David certainly couldn’t blame him for that.

  ‘Come on, you lot,’ he urged the dawdling kids. ‘Let’s give your mum a little space, shall we?’

  Jake glanced ruefully back at him as he walked inside behind Sophie and Ryan.

  Oh, well done. You bloody idiot. David cursed his crassness. ‘Jake,’ he said, stepping towards him, ‘I …’

  ‘It’s okay.’ Jake turned back. ‘I’m good,’ he said, mustering up a small smile.

  ‘The best,’ David assured him throatily, holding onto Chloe with one arm and wrapping his other around his son’s shoulders.

  ‘She’s nice, isn’t she, Andrea?’ Jake said, after a second.

  Which brought home sharply to David how careful he had to be. He’d love nothing more than for Jake to form an attachment to Andrea, if the circumstances and timing were different, and assuming Andrea might think there was a way forward. She hadn’t hinted as much. Jake forming an attachment to another woman who might disappear from his life, though, David couldn’t bear to imagine what detrimental effect that might have on his son.

  ‘Very. That’s why we’re helping her out, Jake, until she can find a place of her own,’ he said carefully.

  Jake nodded thoughtfully. ‘And Ryan, he’s cool. We’re going to stay mates when he moves.’

  ‘Yep, most definitely,’ David agreed, breathing a sigh of relief. At least Jake hadn’t got it into his head they’d be staying around, pity though it was. In moving in, Andrea and her family had given him his son back.

  ‘And Sophie,’ Sophie picked up with a roll of her eyes. ‘She’s, like, totally awesome.’

  ‘Totally.’ David laughed. ‘Cheers.’ He allowed awesome Sophie to relieve him of Chloe and went back to nudge the door closed to allow Andrea some privacy.

  ‘Well, where else do you expect me to stay other than my mother’s?’ he heard Jonathan ask tersely as he did.

  ‘I don’t know, Jonathan,’ Andrea replied, equally tersely. ‘A hotel, with your family possibly?’

  ‘Do you think there’s any point?’ was Jonathan’s acerbic reply.

  David hadn’t reached the kitchen before Andrea followed him in, closing the front door firmly behind her.

  ‘Has he gone?’ Dee asked from the top of the stairs.

  ‘He’s gone. Again,’ Andrea replied resignedly, walking past David to follow the children into the kitchen.

  ‘Good.’ Dee nodded satisfied and glanced down at David. ‘I’m relying on you,’ she said, giving him a meaningful glance, before turning back to the bedroom.

  ‘Looks like we all are, for a while,’ Andrea said, heaving out a sigh as David came in behind her. ‘Thanks,’ she said, dragging her hair from her face and giving him a grateful smile.

  ‘No problem,’ David assured her, reaching for a tendril she’d missed, then running his thumb and finger the length of it, before smoothing it behind her ear.

  Chapter Twenty

  Ten minutes later, Sophie, Ryan, Jake and Dee were parked in front of the TV all eyes on Wreck-It Ralph, an animated film guaranteed to please the whole family, according to Ryan. It seemed to be set in a video arcade, David noted, placing a cup of tea down on the coffee table for Dee, so it would score high with the boys. It might even keep the arguments at bay for a while.

  ‘Wow! Pac-Man! Look!’ Ryan enthused, while Jake gazed from the screen to Ryan and back, in obvious awe of the in-house gaming expert.

  ‘Shhhh.’ Sophie glanced at Ryan miffed from where she sat curled up in the armchair, Dougal tucked comfortably in her lap.

  ‘And Blinky, Pinky and Inky,’ Ryan went on. ‘Cool!’

  At which Sophie rolled her eyes. ‘Boys and their toys.’ She sighed.

  ‘It’s directed by Rich Moore,’ Ryan ignored her in favour of talking to Jake. ‘You know the guy who does Futurama and The Simpsons?’

  ‘Would you just stop with the voiceover?’ Sophie craned her neck to eyeball Ryan agitatedly now. ‘You know, so we can hear it?’

  ‘Chocolate digestives,’ Dee said out of nowhere.

  ‘Sorry?’ David tried to keep up with the conversation.

  ‘I prefer those with my tea. HobNobs get stuck in my teeth.’

  ‘Oh, right.’ David eyed the offending HobNob he’d perched on her saucer apologetically. ‘We’re all out of digestives. I’ll—’

  ‘Shhhhhh!’

  ‘—get some in,’ he finished on a whisper.

  ‘Good.’ Dee nodded. ‘I’m relying on you, Doctor Adams.’

  Sensing it wasn’t restocking the biscuit barrel the old woman was relying on him to do, David gave her a firm nod back – and then made himself scarce as Sophie turned her agitated gaze his way.

  Aware that Andrea was putting Chloe to bed, he went quietly upstairs, intending to check that the boys had in fact cleared up the mess caused by Dougal’s well-aimed football, then … Jesus! … stopped dead on the landing. Gulping hard, David dragged his hand through his hair, debating whether to cough and make his presence known, or step back and risk squeaking floorboards, which would definitely make his dubious presence known.

  Andrea was in the bathroom – half undressed in the bathroom. He should go. Turn around. Now. Dav
id’s pulse kicked up a notch, his eyes disobeying his brain’s instruction to do the decent thing and look away.

  Oblivious, Andrea continued to pile her hair on top of her head, fiddling with it, trying to get it to stay there. She was wearing his shirt, little else underneath. Very little. David’s eyes travelled the length of her, from the creamy fullness of her breasts, which were visible where the open shirt parted, down over the soft round of her tummy, finally coming to rest on the thin wisp of lace stretched across her hips, the tiny v in the middle of which only added to his uncomfortable predicament.

  Pulling in a deep breath, David hardly dared breathe out. His heart ached, physically. His gut ached, his groin ached. He wanted her. There was no mistaking that. But he wanted all of her, he realised. Truculent teenagers, challenging mother, toddler; he wanted Andrea – and the whole frustrating, noisy, laughter-inducing, depression-lifting package that came with her. He wanted this woman permanently, in his home, in his life.

  David knew it could never be, not in reality, but he couldn’t help nurturing a tiny hope that it might. Somehow. Someday. Whatever the future held though, one thing was certain, there was no way he should be standing here spying on her like some sad, perverted peeping Tom.

  Annoyed with himself, David averted his gaze, took a step back, and then snapped his attention back to the door as Andrea moved towards it. Clutching her shirt together, she reached to push the door closed – and locked wide, surprised eyes with his.

  Shit! David scrunched his eyes closed.

  ‘Oh,’ she said, clutching the shirt tighter to her.

  ‘Sorry,’ he mumbled, wishing he could drop through the damn squeaky floorboards. ‘I, er, came up to, er …’ He glanced hopelessly towards Jake’s bedroom door, and then dropped his gaze guiltily to the floor.

  ‘No, no, I am,’ Andrea said quickly. ‘I should have closed the, um …’

  David looked back at her, drinking in the natural beauty of her, her tousled hair, several tendrils of which had already escaped her efforts to tame it, her amazing green eyes, which communicated her every emotion, her lips, full and moist, and so agonisingly sweet against his. ‘I’m glad you didn’t,’ he said hoarsely.