The Better Man (Chicago Sisters)

by Amy Vastine

  “Any luck?”

  “Nah, he’s gone. Must have grabbed a cab. Poor guy,” Owen said. He wasn’t helping her not think about Max and his feelings. “Why don’t we meet for an early lunch since I’m out.”

  “Fine, but no talk about anything or anyone from Sato’s.”

  She got up and grabbed her coat. If anything, Max’s firing meant there was even less chance they’d ever see each other again. That had to be a good thing. He didn’t stick it out when things didn’t go his way. He certainly wasn’t someone she could trust to be there when things got rough, and all relationships went through rough spots. She had done the right thing by severing their ties.

  Hadn’t she?

  * * *

  HALLOWEEN WAS THANKFULLY sunny and not too chilly. When Simon was four, no one saw his costume because Kendall had him bundled up in a heavy winter jacket, hat and gloves. Today he’d be fine in his heavy sweatshirt and pants. They’d trick-or-treat after school before it got dark. She only had a couple of hours of work to do.

  With no real reason to hide anymore, she had shown up at Sato’s to finish the mural. There was a tiny part of her that hoped Max would come in so she could see if he was okay. The rest of her was relieved when he didn’t.

  Jin was there and slightly frantic. Supplies were being delivered and he wasn’t sure what to do with everything. Kendall kept out of the way and to herself. She finished the mural shortly after lunch. That gave her time to stop at the office and make a few calls before heading to school to pick up Simon.

  He had brought his costume to school for a Halloween parade. The kids walked the halls, showing off their costumes to the other classes. She wondered if he managed all right with a big box strapped to him. He was all smiles when she met him at the classroom door.

  Mrs. Taylor reported that he had a great day. He had even volunteered to write some numbers on the board during math. Kendall was thankful for the positive feedback. The meeting to discuss his placement was looming heavily, like a dark storm cloud. She wanted Simon to give the school a million reasons between now and then to let him stay.

  “Don’t forget your picture, Simon,” Mrs. Taylor reminded him on their way out. Simon ran back to his desk and grabbed the drawing. “Have fun trick-or-treating.”

  “Oh, we will,” Kendall replied for him. She carried the red race-car costume down the hall as Simon tried to show her his picture. He had drawn a row of houses, and the one in the middle had a bright red door. On the sidewalk was a little boy in a race-car costume flanked by a man and a woman. It didn’t take much to figure out who they were supposed to be.

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. “You’ll have to show that to Nana. She loves your drawings as much as I do.”

  Once they were away from the other walkers, Simon let go of her hand and bounced ahead of her. “Can we go to Max’s house first?”

  The dreaded question was, of course, the first thing to come out of his mouth. She was hoping to get home to the family before he had a chance to think about Max, but apparently he’d been thinking about Max all day long.

  “I’m not sure Max is home, honey.”

  His eyebrows pinched together. “Is he at our house already? We have to hurry, Mom! Come on!” He grabbed her hand and pulled.

  “He’s not at our house,” she said, halting his moving feet before he could cross the street without looking both ways first. With the crosswalk clear, they resumed their walk home. “But Nana and Papa are coming over. Aunt Lucy and Aunt Emma, too. Even Grandpa Montgomery is stopping by to see you.”

  “Uh-oh,” Simon said.

  “Uh-oh, what?” Kendall knew Paul could be overwhelming at times, but she’d figured it wouldn’t be so bad with all the other family members around. Simon’s attention was stolen by a squirrel that scurried up one of the trees lining the street. He bent down and picked up a large, yellow maple leaf. The edges were browning and beginning to curl.

  “We better tell Grandpa that Max looks like Daddy so he doesn’t get sad.”

  All of Kendall’s emotion lodged in her throat. Her caring, compassionate boy was bound to be disappointed when she told him Max wasn’t coming. Now she feared what would happen when he learned he would never be coming by again.

  She waited until they were home, dropping his cardboard-box costume on the porch and opening the front door. Simon ditched his backpack and ran for the kitchen—to get his after-school snack, most likely.

  Kendall followed him back there and sat at the kitchen table. This was the place for sharing news, good or bad.

  “Come sit by me,” she said, patting the chair next to her.

  Simon sat and looked up at his mom with those eyes, Trevor’s eyes. “Why are you sad, Mommy?”

  “Well, I’m a little worried you’re going to be sad. I know you’re excited about Max coming over, but he’s not going to make it.”

  Simon’s bottom lip jutted out, and he shifted his gaze to his feet. “Doesn’t he want to see me be a race-car driver?”

  “I’m sure he wishes he could see you be a race-car driver.”

  “Then why isn’t he coming?” His eyes came back to hers. “Does he have to go trick-or-treating with Aidan?”

  She took a deep breath. “I don’t know what he’s doing. I asked him not to come, honey.”

  “Why?”

  It was a fair question with a complicated answer. One she wasn’t sure she could explain to a six-year-old. “Max and Mommy decided it was best if we didn’t hang out anymore.”

  “Why? Don’t you like him anymore?”

  “Liking him or not liking him isn’t the issue, honey.”

  “He’s not Daddy.” It wasn’t what he said that made her pause, it was how he said it. Like he was trying to reassure her with tears in his eyes.

  “I know he’s not Daddy, Simon.” She pressed her hand to his soft, little cheek. “Max is very nice, and I know you like him, but we decided that we can’t be friends. That’s all.”

  Simon thought about that for a moment, then stood up. “That’s mean, Mommy. That’s so mean!”

  His footsteps sounded through the house as he ran up the stairs. His bedroom door slammed shut and Kendall let her head fall to the table. How far would this set him back? How quiet would he get? Trick-or-treating seemed pointless. She should probably call everyone and tell them not to bother coming over.

  “Trick or treat!” Lucy’s voice and a knock on the door kept Kendall from grabbing the phone.

  “In here,” she called out, lifting her head. Lucy might be able to rally him.

  “Where’s the little guy? I saw his race car parked out front.” She laughed until she noticed the look on Kendall’s face. “You told him Mr. Look-alike wasn’t coming, didn’t you?”

  “And I am now, officially, the meanest mommy. Ever.”

  Lucy put a hand on her sister’s head. “Oh boy. Just remember every mom has felt like that at one point in time. I know I crowned Mom the meanest when I was little. She was a repeat winner of the title for years.”

  Kendall let out a breathy laugh. “I remember you being much meaner to her than she ever was to you.”

  “Of course I was. I’m meaner than everyone,” Lucy said, unashamed.

  “I still love you, though.” Kendall got up and grabbed a large bowl off the top of the refrigerator. From the pantry, she pulled out three bags of Halloween candy and tossed them on the kitchen table.

  “You really shouldn’t give out candy. I could have brought over a whole bushel of organic apples.”

  “We are not going to be that house.” The two sisters opened and emptied the bags into the bowl. Lucy offered to help with dinner. Kendall had bought the ingredients for chili and no one chopped vegetables better than Lucy. Kendall set her up on the cutting board with an onion and some p
eppers.

  “It’s better that you rip the Max Band-Aid off now rather than later,” Lucy said while they cooked. “Simon will get over it. So will you. It’s always better to be the one who walked away instead of the one left behind.”

  “Which one were you again?” Kendall asked, recognizing that Lucy’s guard was down.

  “Ha-ha. I’ve been both. At the same time,” she added. “Now, stop making this about me.”

  “You love when things are about you,” Emma said, joining the conversation. Dressed in her nursing scrubs and a purple witch’s hat on her head, she sat down at the table next to Lucy with a bag of cheese puffs.

  Kendall held a hand over her heart. “Maybe knock next time and give a girl some warning. Isn’t it against your nurse’s training to give people heart attacks?”

  “And isn’t it against your nurse’s training to put processed poison into your body?” Lucy added. She snatched the cheese puffs out of her sister’s hands and walked them over to the garbage.

  “Hey!” Emma sprung to her feet. “I was eating those! I haven’t eaten all day.”

  “Another reason you shouldn’t eat them. Your body needs fuel, not intestine-destroying acids.”

  “Uh-oh, who’s eating junk food in front of Lucy?” Kendall’s mom popped her head into the kitchen. “Girls, don’t fight over food.” She took the bag away from Lucy and handed it back to Emma, who scrunched up her face and pursed her lips at her sister.

  “It’s your body,” Lucy relented. “Sorry for trying to protect it.”

  Their dad followed behind their mom and gave Lucy a hug. “You’re a good big sister, but never throw away someone’s cheese puffs.”

  “I’m coming over tomorrow and helping Mom throw away all your junk food. We’re putting you on a diet.”

  “What?” He looked at his wife for confirmation.

  Maureen’s shoulders slumped and she glared at Lucy. “I wasn’t going to tell him what we were doing. If you don’t tell him, he doesn’t miss it. When you tell him, he gets all worked up.”

  “We’re headed into holiday season. How can I go on a diet before Thanksgiving and Christmas? You go on a diet after the holidays. It’s a rule or something.”

  “Mom said your cholesterol was up again,” Emma chimed in. “She’s got to do something, Daddy.”

  “Says the girl licking fake powdered cheese off her fingers,” Lucy said with a sneer.

  “At least I don’t have to color my hair,” Emma said in retaliation. “How can you bear using all those horrible chemicals on your head?”

  “I do not color my hair!”

  “Yeah, right.”

  Kendall let them all fight it out. Her mom explained she’d be packing her dad’s lunches from now on, which sent him into a tizzy. Emma and Lucy continued to exchange gibes. Even as they roared, Kendall smiled. They were a loud and obnoxious bunch. They might not agree on everything, but they loved one another and she loved them.

  “Where’s Simon?” her dad finally asked.

  “Probably hiding from Aunt Lulu, Chief of the Food Police,” Emma teased.

  “Don’t call me that,” Lucy said, her tone threatening.

  “He’s upstairs,” Kendall said. Maybe she found their argument so entertaining because it distracted her from her own problems. “I’m not sure he’s going to want to go trick-or-treating now that he knows Max isn’t coming.”

  “He didn’t take it well?” her mom asked.

  Kendall shook her head.

  “You want me to go talk to him?” her dad offered.

  “You can try. Don’t be surprised if he doesn’t respond.”

  “I’ll come, too,” Lucy said. “He likes me best.” She stuck her tongue out at Emma.

  “Real mature!” Emma shouted after her. “Seriously, she should have been born last. I have way more firstborn traits than she does.”

  “Give me some of those cheese puffs,” Kendall said, holding out her hand.

  Emma shook a few onto it. “You waited until she left. You are such a chicken.”

  “I call it being smart.” Kendall popped a cheese curl in her mouth and chewed it up. “No one can throw away your junk food if you don’t tell them you have it.”

  “Don’t tell your father that,” her mother said.

  Lucy ran into the kitchen, looking panicked. “He’s not up there.”

  Confused, Kendall shook her head. “Of course he’s up there.”

  “We checked everywhere. He’s not in his room or your room. He’s not in the bathroom.”

  Everyone moved at the same time and spread out in different directions. “Simon! Where are you?” Kendall shouted as she climbed the stairs two at a time.

  Her dad came out of Simon’s bedroom and shrugged. “He’s not in any of the closets or under the beds. Maybe he’s hiding downstairs.”

  Kendall flew back down the stairs, nearly knocking over Emma. “Simon!”

  She scoured every room on the main level to no avail. He was nowhere to be found. Her heart raced as she ran outside. Families and costumed kids were beginning to fill the sidewalk on either side of the street. There were superheroes and princesses, but no Simon.

  He wouldn’t leave, she told herself. They must not have looked everywhere upstairs. Kendall went back inside and up to Simon’s room. The sound of her family calling his name made her want to cry.

  “Simon, you need to come out, honey. This isn’t funny. Mommy is worried,” she said, getting on her hands and knees and peering under his bed.

  His cars weren’t under there. On the other side of his bed, they were all spread out like he had been playing with them. Kendall knelt down and picked up the red Corvette. It was the only one he hadn’t taken out of the container. That’s when she noticed the picture. The one Simon had drawn at school. It was ripped down the middle.

  She held the two pieces together and stared at the red door. Simon wasn’t here. He was right where he wanted to be.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  MAX BURIED HIS head under his pillow, hoping to block out the sound of his door buzzer. If those trick-or-treaters thought he’d throw candy out the window if they annoyed him enough, they were wrong. He was pouting. Life had kicked him when he was down and he wanted one day to pout about it.

  Jin’s audacity yesterday was beyond belief. He really thought Max would tell him everything and turn over the restaurant on a silver platter? The man was insane. If Max was being handed his walking papers, then he was walking out. He wouldn’t graciously explain the entire operation. Let Jin figure it out for himself.

  The door buzzer would not stop. Max threw his pillow across the room and marched to the intercom. “I have no candy. Go away.” He headed back to his bedroom when the buzzing started again. Max growled in frustration. He pressed the intercom. “What part of no candy are you not understanding?” He pressed the other button to listen.

  “Maxwell, open the gosh darn door!”

  What in the world was his mother doing here? He buzzed her in and opened his door to the stairway. “Mom?”

  Joanna raced up the steps. “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home,” she said as she climbed the last few stairs to his landing. “Happy Halloween, honey.”

  Joanna was dressed in a blue-and-white-checked dress with her hair in braids and ruby-red shoes on her feet. Her appearance in Chicago was surprising to say the least. He opened the door wider to let her in. “Welcome to Oz,” he said. “I must have slept through the tornado.”

  She kissed his cheek and stepped into his condo, setting her bag down inside. Her hair was a new color, sort of a strawberry blond. If it weren’t for the shoes, she might be mistaken for Pippi Longstocking or the face of Wendy’s. She looked healthy, though. All that clean living in the Land of Granola was doin
g her some good.

  “Why do you look like you just woke up? I thought you were working days until the restaurant opens.”

  “Unexpected day off,” he replied, locking the door. He decided he wasn’t going to refer to what happened yesterday as being fired. Until he heard it from Mr. Sato, he was considering this an unpaid vacation.

  “I was worried about you. The last time we talked, you were acting weird. I felt like I needed to check on you.”

  Max sank into his couch. “It’s been a pretty brutal week. But you know me, I can take care of myself.”

  She frowned. “I know you like to think you can take care of everything by yourself.”

  “I’ve been doing it long enough.”

  His mom sat down next to him. “Oh boy, I didn’t realize I invited myself to a pity party. Come on, kiddo, what’s going on with you?”

  He had no idea where to even begin. Nothing made sense and probably never would. He was fighting for custody of a child who already had two loving parents, and as much as he wanted to hate Jason Michaels, he couldn’t. On top of that, his boss’s son wanted his job, and for all intents and purposes, he’d fired him yesterday. Then, there was this woman and her son. A woman he couldn’t stop thinking about and a little boy who made him feel like maybe he wasn’t the bad guy everyone thought he was.

  Max was a fool for thinking Kendall could be interested in a relationship with him. She’d had the perfect husband. Max wouldn’t automatically replace Trevor in her heart just because Max looked like Trevor. Trevor Montgomery fought for his country, and that was the only reason he would have been separated from his wife and child. Max’s reasons were notably less noble. Kendall didn’t want someone like that in her life, and Max couldn’t blame her.

  “Do you think people can change?”

  Joanna stared at him for a second before falling into a fit of laughter. “Are you really asking me if people can change?”

  Max rolled his eyes. It was kind of a ridiculous question to pose to someone who redefined herself all the time. “I mean really change. You might be infatuated with something different every time I see you, but you’re still you. At the core, you’re the mom I’ve always known. The one who dresses up in crazy Halloween costumes and shows up at my door without so much as a phone call.”