The Better Man (Chicago Sisters)

by Amy Vastine

  “Sure.” She’d made it this far. Talking to him was the logical next step. Of course, in the back of a cab, there wasn’t much to say. Max thanked her again for taking time out of her day to come support him. She relayed the story of talking to his mother instead of him when she had finally mustered up the courage to call.

  It was a quick drive to Sato’s. Max held the door open and they stood in the dining room, once again at a loss for words. Kendall had thought about what she wanted to say for days. Max was Trevor’s brother, Simon’s uncle. She wanted to see how he felt about that. How would that change things between them?

  Kendall got the impression on Halloween that Max did not want to have any part in Paul’s life. Her fear was that that would extend to the whole Montgomery family.

  “Simon has lots of new questions.”

  Max let out a puff of laughter. “I bet. Something tells me they all have to do with our newly discovered blood ties.” He pointed to a booth by the window and they both sat down.

  “Good guess. I’m pretty sure I’ve answered more questions about how people are related than I ever thought possible.”

  “This is crazy, right? I’m not the only one who thinks this is a little nuts?”

  Kendall found it more than a little strange. “What’s weird is that I never really considered the possibility you could be related to Trevor, even though there aren’t too many brothers out there who look more alike than you two.” She took a deep breath, fearful of what kind of reaction bringing up Max’s father would elicit. “I never imagined Paul as the kind of man who would—”

  “Cheat on his wife? Lie to everyone? Abandon his child?” His hurt was still very raw.

  “All of those things,” she said softly.

  “I don’t want to talk about Paul Montgomery. Not now, maybe not ever.”

  “He’s Simon’s grandfather. I’m not sure how to not talk about him.”

  Max ran a hand over his hair, smoothing it down unnecessarily. “Let’s talk about why you showed up for me today. A few days ago, you didn’t want me to have anything to do with Simon. Or you, for that matter. I’m still the same guy I was back then. What changed?”

  “I showed up because you deserved it. You’ve never been anything but good to me and Simon,” Kendall explained. “You are the man who rescued my son from a tunnel slide and always helped me with my coat. You’re also Simon’s uncle.”

  “So because Simon and I are related, all is forgiven? You aren’t afraid my life is too complicated?”

  “Oh, I’m scared to death.” There were still no guarantees. Kendall was as convinced as Katie that Max meant what he said today. He wanted to stick around and make a life here. That was great news for his son’s life, but what did it mean for Kendall’s? “You could choose not to be a part of our lives because of Paul.”

  “I want to be in your life,” Max said. His hand reached across the table and rested on top of hers. Those words made her heart soar.

  “That makes me happy. The truth is, you make us happy. Me and Simon. It’s been so long since I’ve felt that way, I didn’t know what to do with it.” The tears began to well up in her eyes. She had promised herself she wasn’t going to cry when she talked to him.

  “Simon told me about the fight you and Trevor had when he told you he was leaving. The poor kid thinks he could have done something to make his dad stay.”

  The tears spilled over. Her sweet boy. “That’s what he told you on Halloween?”

  “He came to tell me he would be a good boy if I would still be his friend.”

  Kendall covered her face with her hands and sobbed. She had no idea how badly Simon was hurting. Max slid out of his side of the booth and into hers. He put his arm around her and pulled her into his chest.

  “I brought him back home with every intention of telling you that it doesn’t matter if you’re afraid, I’m not going anywhere. And now that Simon is my family, you can’t get rid of me, Kendall. I’m here for both of you.”

  His declaration made her cry harder. She wanted to believe that, but things were so much more complicated. He held her close and consoled her until she regained her composure.

  Wiping her wet cheeks, she looked up into those eyes that made her feel safe. Eyes that she’d trusted from the very start. “We want you. I want you.”

  Max’s gaze fell from her eyes to her lips. They were so close, they were breathing each other in. As wrong as Max should have been for her, Kendall couldn’t help feeling like he was the most right thing in her life. He wet his bottom lip with his tongue and she was sure he was going to kiss her when there was a crash from the kitchen.

  Max jumped up and Kendall followed. A string of Japanese words accompanied the loud crash. Chef Yamaguchi was in the kitchen along with two of his sous chefs. There was a plate of food on the floor and several things cooking. Chef continued to chastise the underlings.

  Kendall let Max sort things out. There was more to discuss, and work wasn’t the place to do it. Paul Montgomery couldn’t be a forbidden topic forever. Not if what Max said was true. For their lives to meld together, Max had to come to terms with who his father was.

  * * *

  “SO, I SAW Max today.” Kendall dished out some peas onto Simon’s dinner plate.

  “You did? Was he taller?”

  Kendall laughed lightly. “I don’t think so. He looked the same to me.” Smelled the same, too. So good.

  Simon pushed the peas to the far side of the plate. Something told her he wasn’t going to eat those. “Does he still want to be friends?”

  “He does. But he’s more than a friend, he’s your family.”

  “He’s your family, too,” Simon said before shoveling in a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

  “Well, he’s not really my family. He’s Daddy’s family like Aunt Emma and Aunt Lucy are my family. Max is Mommy’s friend. How do you feel about Max being Mommy’s friend?”

  “I like him being your friend. I want him to always be your friend, like Ava and Riley.”

  “Who’s Ava and Riley?”

  “In my class. They’re best friends. They always play together.” He set his fork down and rested his cheek on his hand. “Nobody wants to be my friend at school. They think I can’t talk and I’m a baby. But I’m not a baby and I can talk. You can hear me. The yucks just steal my sounds at school.”

  It was the first time Simon had ever spoken about the other kids at school. It broke her heart. “What if you pretended the kids at school were like Max? Maybe you could pick someone to try to talk to.”

  Simon’s head shook back and forth so fast she had to stop him before he made himself sick. “What if it wasn’t in the classroom? Maybe at recess where no one else would hear.”

  “The yucks hate school.”

  “What about you? Do you hate school?”

  His little shoulders lifted up and fell down.

  “Why do you think you hate school?”

  He shrugged again.

  “Can you think about it? Think about what makes the yucks really mad about school.”

  Simon finished his dinner, except for the peas. Kendall let him be quiet and hoped he was truly thinking about it. When she took his plate to the sink, he finally had an answer. “There’s so many kids at school. It makes the yucks go crazy. Mrs. Taylor can’t help me when I need her. Everybody wants her. Grant is always raising his hand and making her come by him and Gianna always says, ‘Mrs. Taylor! Mrs. Taylor! Look! Look!’” Simon waved his arms around and raised his voice in imitation.

  “Mommy has a meeting at school this week to talk about how Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. Warner and even Mrs. Nigel can make things easier for you, so talking will be no big deal someday.”

  “I like Mrs. Warner. She has funny toys in her room.”

  “Would you
like it if you could see her more? She’s really nice like Max. Maybe you could start by talking to Mrs. Warner.”

  Simon shook his head. Kendall was grasping at straws. Nothing about Wilder made Simon feel safe enough to talk to someone there. How was she going to prove to the school that he belonged there when he didn’t even feel like he did?

  “Can Max come to school? I’ll talk to Max at school.”

  “Max can’t be there with you every day.” But he could come with him the day of the meeting. Maybe if Simon spoke to Max at school, he’d start talking to other people there like he did with Kendall’s family now. It was a plan. Not a very good plan, but still more than she had a few hours ago.

  * * *

  ASKING MAX TO come was easier than she thought. Getting him to school at eight in the morning was the hard part. Kendall and Simon stood in his living room, waiting while he threw on a shirt and tie. The couch was currently occupied by a pile of blankets and a pillow. He’d overslept. Mornings weren’t his “thing,” evidently.

  “I swear I set my alarm,” he said, coming out of his room with his shirt half-buttoned. “I should have warned you I tend to be useless before ten.”

  “It’s fine,” Kendall said, resisting the urge to check her watch. Maybe with Max there, Simon wouldn’t freak out about not being the first person in the classroom.

  His mom came out of the bedroom, pulling her hair up in a ponytail. “I would have gotten him up, but I think I’m still on West Coast time.”

  “Yeah, I’ve used that excuse before,” Max said as he slipped on his shoes.

  “You have funny hair,” Simon said, pointing at Max’s head. His hair was sticking up in all directions.

  Kendall gave Simon a stern look. “Manners,” she whispered.

  “It’s true,” he mumbled back.

  Max smoothed his hair down and flashed them both a toothy grin. “He’s just looking out for me. Right, Simon?”

  “Right.”

  Kendall found herself unable to do anything but smile back. They headed down the stairs of his three-flat while Max tied his tie and asked Simon the names of all the cute girls in his class.

  To Kendall’s surprise, Simon didn’t blush or fuss that he didn’t like girls. He rattled off two names.

  “Cute girls were the only thing that got me through school, buddy,” Max said. “Whenever I was having a bad day or felt nervous, I’d look at the prettiest girl in class and all the bad thoughts went away.”

  “That works?” Simon was skeptical.

  “Sure it does! As a matter of fact, I had a big meeting this week with lawyers and a judge. I was really nervous. So, I looked at your mom and boom, I felt better.” One corner of Max’s mouth curled up as Kendall glanced at him over Simon’s head. Her face quickly heated.

  “You think Mom is pretty?”

  “Yeah, I do,” Max said like that was the craziest question ever. She could feel his eyes on her now, and it was doing the complete opposite of calming her nerves.

  “Are you encouraging my son to ogle girls in his class? That could cause more problems than it would solve.”

  Max laughed as they stepped outside. “I didn’t say he should ogle anyone.” He put a hand on Simon’s head. “Remember, it’s not a staring contest. You gotta be subtle, dude.”

  “What’s subtle?” Simon asked innocently.

  “Be cool about it. It’s quicker than a look. Like this.” Max demonstrated the art of being subtle. His warm, brown eyes stole a glance in Kendall’s direction, meeting hers just long enough to cause her heart to skip a beat.

  “Got it.” Simon grabbed his mom’s hand. “I’m going to be subtle at Lauren.”

  Kendall was still a little worried this strategy would backfire. But if it worked, she’d let Max subtly ogle her anytime he needed to feel better.

  The trees outside Wilder Elementary were almost bare, their leaves blanketing the ground underneath them. Buses filled with sleepy-eyed children pulled into a circle drive on the side of the building. Simon stopped talking as soon as the school came into view.

  Kendall and Max checked into the main office before walking Simon to his classroom. Max held his backpack for him while Simon took off his jacket and hung it on the hook by his name. Mrs. Taylor welcomed them warmly. Kendall introduced Max as Simon’s uncle. It sounded better than anything else she could call him.

  “He’s nervous about recess but excited to show his uncle around today,” Kendall told Mrs. Taylor so she’d have the usual heads-up.

  Simon gave Max a silent tour of his classroom. They looked through his desk and Simon showed off the class pet, a fat black-and-white hamster named Oreo.

  The hallway began to fill with students. As the sound of their chatter and laughter got louder, Kendall could see Simon begin to stiffen. The yucks were in full effect.

  Mrs. Taylor was attending their meeting, so she was there only to prepare the substitute. Kendall watched her hand the gray-haired sub some notes and wondered what they said about Simon. She noticed Mrs. Taylor nod in his direction, and the sub’s eyes followed him around for a minute.

  Simon was one of those kids. The one about whom the teacher had to make special notes. The one the substitute had to know about ahead of time...or else. As much as she knew he needed it to be that way, she wished her son could be like everyone else, not in need of any extra attention.

  “Have a good day, buddy,” she said to him as other kids began to trickle in. “Nana will pick you up from school, okay?”

  He nodded and Max held a hand up for a high-five. A trio of girls walked in and ran up to Mrs. Taylor for a hug. Max leaned down and whispered to Simon, “Which one is Lauren?”

  Simon whispered something back that Kendall couldn’t hear. Max looked up at the girls by Mrs. Taylor, then gave Simon a thumbs-up. Kendall was used to being Simon’s only confidante. Jealous about not being in on the secret, she nudged Max.

  “Which one?”

  “Pink flower.”

  Lauren was an adorable blonde with dimples and a huge flower barrette in her hair. Simon had chosen wisely. Kendall wanted to pull Lauren aside and beg her to be Simon’s friend. Max pulled Kendall out of the room.

  “Leave Lauren alone. Let’s get you to your meeting.”

  Sometimes Kendall wondered if Simon would have developed the same issues even if Trevor had lived. She had her own issues with anxiety. Maybe he was this way because of her, not because of what happened to his father. Her stomach ached as they walked back to the main office.

  Max didn’t say anything. He made no promises that everything would be fine. He didn’t try to convince her not to worry. He simply grabbed her hand, interlocking their fingers. It was exactly what she needed.

  Lisa met them in the office and brought them back to the conference room. Several people were already seated around the table. Kendall recognized most of them—the speech and language pathologist, the principal, one of the special-education teachers. The woman at the head of the table introduced herself as a special-education coordinator and the man next to her said he was from the alternative day school.

  Kendall was overwhelmed and felt outnumbered. It was her against all of them. Max’s presence helped, but she kicked herself for not asking Lucy to come. Lucy had a law degree, and even though it wasn’t in educational law, it was better than nothing.

  Kendall tried to stay calm and focus on what was being said. They went over Simon’s current performance in the classroom. Mrs. Taylor talked about his excellent handwriting and artistic ability. She often let Simon communicate through his drawings. His reading level was difficult to assess because he would not read aloud. Kendall assured them he was reading age-appropriate books at home.

  Lisa was up next. She discussed Simon’s difficulties with socializing and making friends. Simon’s anx
iety was a huge concern for the school, and he was not making any significant progress in developing coping strategies during his social-work sessions. Kendall knew this all to be true, but it hurt to hear it all laid out this way.

  Kendall shared that Simon was making progress at home. He was speaking in front of more family members. He spoke in public as long as no one around them was paying him any attention. The school might not see a change, but she did.

  Regardless, the team was recommending a new placement. They felt Simon would better be served in a therapeutic setting. Smaller class size, more than one adult per classroom and more intensive counseling services. Transportation would be provided and Kendall would get weekly feedback.

  This was it. They wanted to kick him out. Kendall felt her shoulders tense and the pain in her stomach returned. “Why couldn’t he get more counseling here? Or what if I took him back to one of the psychologists we’ve gone to outside of school? Maybe we could build off the gains he’s been making at home.”

  The special-education coordinator was the only one doing the talking for the rest of the group. “Having him see Mrs. Warner more is a possibility, but Simon really requires more attention than she can give him. At the therapeutic school, he’d have group sessions every day and the social workers stop by the classrooms all the time.”

  “What if changing schools causes him to regress? He likes Mrs. Taylor and seems to be connecting to her. What if he doesn’t get along with the new teacher? That could do more damage, right?”

  The man from the therapeutic school took over. “Our teachers are all very good at working with students like Simon. He wouldn’t be the only selective mute we’ve had. We have had a lot of success in working with this and other anxiety disorders.”

  Kendall felt like the room was shrinking. The table seemed too big for the space. Everyone was sitting too close. The air was thick and too hard to breathe. It felt like nothing she said was going to change their minds.

  Max spoke for the first time since he’d introduced himself. “Can I have a minute to talk to Kendall privately?”

  Lisa jumped up. “You can use my office.”