by Cajio, Linda
"Thanks." Callie watched the teenager for any sign that she was aware of what had happened much earlier in the morning between the adults in the house. The girl looked calm, serene almost, a miracle for a teenager. Impossible for a teenager with some personal knowledge about sex between the adults in the house.
"Are there any cocoa crunchies left?" Amanda asked after settling Mark in a chair. "I'm starved."
"I think Jason left a bowlful," Callie said.
"Good, but could you get more today?"
"Sure. Your uncle Richard's home."
Amanda momentarily turned back from her cocoa-| crunchies trek. "Really?"
Callie nodded. "He got in during the night. I guess you didn't hear him."
"No. Wow. He's early. Do we have milk?"
"Yes." Mark climbed onto Callie's lap. His thick wad of night diapers buffered his butt. Training was strictly daytime at this point. She was no fool. Well, not about that. 'What were you up to in your room, Mister Blister?"
"Bed go boom," Mark said.
"I don't know." Amanda shrugged. "It looked fine to me. He was just banging."
"God knows what he means by 'Bed go boom,' but I'm not sure I want to. Are you doing something with Joey today, honey?"
"No." Amanda grinned. "He's got school, but ours is closed because of the state teachers' convention."
"The joys of a public education," Callie said with a grin. "So what are you doing today without my nephew who's probably jealous as all heck?"
"I'm going to the mall with Heather." Amanda paused. "If that's okay."
The girl sounded uncertain rather than sarcastic. Kids did like limits, whether they realized it or not, Callie acknowledged.
She smiled at Amanda. "Sounds good to me."
Amanda nodded, happy. It seemed something of what Callie had said the other day had gotten through, and a truce had been declared. "Joey wants to play soccer at my school rather than his because our team's better, but - "
"I know." Callie sighed. She could understand her sister's insistence on private school if the local public one wasn't good. But Amanda's school was excellent. Ah, the trials and tribulations that went with kids.
Mark leaned back against her and sucked on his thumb, his small being perfectly content and trusting.
More trials and tribulations of kids, she admitted, stroking his hair. The fine strands felt like silk.
Feet suddenly pounded down the stairs. Jason sped into the kitchen. He spotted the open cocoa-crunchies box on the counter. "Hey! They're mine!"
"No, they're not," Amanda said, taking a huge spoonful of cereal from her bowl and shoving it in her mouth. "Mmm-mmm."
"They're mine!" Jason shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Hey. Hey." Callie got his attention. "The box still has more, Jason. And you don't have to shout, remember?"
"But they're mine!"
"Good morning to you, too. Honey, they're everyone's." Callie fixed him with a stern gaze. "Jay, when you're paying for your cereal with your own money, then it will be yours and you won't have to share with anyone if you don't want to. But if your uncle Richard buys for the household, the cereal is for everyone to eat. That's only fair."
"Life's unfair."
Callie looked at him and burst into laughter at having her own words flung back so aptly. Amanda giggled. Jason finally relaxed and grinned. Mark even smiled around his thumb.
"What's all the noise about?"
Callie glanced up at the deep male voice, although her heart already knew who she would see. Richard stood in the kitchen. He wore a plaid bathrobe and a sleepy expression. His hair stood nearly on end, yet it made him look adorable. Callie glanced away, her blood already heating. Adorable. She had it bad.
"Uncle Richard!" Jason ran over and wrapped his arms around Richard's waist, hugging him tightly.
Richard hugged him back. "I missed you guys, so I came home sooner. I even missed your video games."
"Me, too," Jason said, shooting a dark look Callie's way.
Mark scrambled off Callie's lap and went to his uncle. Thumb still in his mouth, the toddler hugged Richard's leg.
Richard lifted Mark up and patted his bottom. Hearing the sound of the plastic night diaper, he said, "Sorry, big guy. Well, we'll try another time."
"He's just daytime trained," Amanda piped up.
Richard frowned. "I think I'll wait on the explanation for that." He went to Amanda, dragging the boys with him, and kissed the top of her head. "Everything go okay, honey?"
The girl nodded, her eyes shining as she looked up at Richard as though he was a god.
Keeping his hand on Amanda's hair, he gazed at Callie for a long telling moment. "Good morning, Callie. You're up early."
Callie stared everywhere but at his face. "Good morning."
She found the situation incredibly awkward and wanted to crawl under the table and die. Yet she wanted to throw herself at him like Jason had - only in a very wrcchildlike way.
Richard frowned at her, then picked up the cocoa-crunchies box. He shook it. "Great, there's some left. I claim it. I'm starved."
Jason yelped in protest. Callie and Amanda looked at each other and started laughing. Callie wiped at the tears of amusement leaking from her eyes.
"What did I do?" Richard asked, aggrieved. "Nothing. You had to be here." Callie chuckled. "All right. I'll make pancakes for everyone." "Yippee!" Jason yelled. "But I already ate," Amanda protested. "Too bad," Jason said.
"Hey, butt-head, I didn't know we would get good stuff. You can have your cruddy cocoa crunchies back."
"Life's unfair," Jason complained.
Amanda snorted, but with amusement, not anger.
"Nailed you, too," Callie said, going to the stove. "Don't worry. I'll make a couple of dollar-size pancakes for you. You won't have to find much room for them."
"Thanks," Amanda said gratefully.
"There's a joke here," Richard said. "Someone can explain it to me later."
Mark removed his thumb from his mouth and shouted, "Potty!"
"I'll take him," Amanda said. "You just cook."
"That's tremendous," Richard remarked when the two vanished on their bathroom mission. "But will they do the trick again?"
Callie shrugged. "They're kids. Be happy for moments like these. Jay, want to mix the batter?"
"Sure."
Jason helped her get the ingredients for the pancakes. Callie was glad to have one buffer against the inevitable discussion. The inevitable painful discussion.
"Regrets?" Richard asked into the silence.
Callie's head snapped up. The buffer hadn't lasted ten seconds.
"I don't have any," he added, gazing at her with piercing eyes. Lord knows, she felt skewered by them.
"What's 'regrets'?" Jason asked, stirring the batter dangerously fast with a wooden spoon.
"It's when you do something you enjoy but feel bad about afterward," Richard replied. "Even if you don't need to."
"That's dumb."
"Out of the mouths of babes," the adult male said just loud enough for Callie to hear.
"Who's a baby?" Jason demanded, glaring at his uncle.
"Your uncle is explaining it wrong," Callie said sweetly, taking the spoon and running it along the sides and bottom of the bowl to catch the last of the loose dry ingredients. "A regret is when you do something you know you shouldn't have."
"Oh." Jason took back the spoon and stirred some more. "Like when I he and I know it's wrong, but I do it, anyway, and then I wish I hadn't done it."
"Out of the mouths of babes," Callie repeated softly with great satisfaction.
"I'm not a baby," Jason said indignantly.
"No, you're not." She noticed his hand poised and pointing down at the bowl. "And if you stick your finger in that batter, mister, I'll have to throw it all out and make a new batch, and you won't get any."
Jason snatched his hand away.
"Smart fellow." Callie patted him on the head.
&
nbsp; "Why do I feel like the bad boy here?" Richard sighed.
"Richard, you're not the bad boy. I'm the bad girl." She certainly didn't want him to feel any regrets. "The regrets are my problem, not yours. You were..." She glanced at Jason and decided what she had to say could be said in front of the boy. "You were wonderful."
Richard smiled bleakly. "I wish I felt that way."
"Well, you should. Just because I'm an idiot isn't a reflection on you, believe me."
"What are you an idiot about?" Jason asked, finally done messing with the batter.
"Everything," Callie replied.
Mark ran into the room and flopped onto Richard's lap.
"Gee, thanks, pal," Richard told Mark in a falsetto voice.
Callie snickered while Jason laughed. If only she could always be a part of this, she thought. But if she let go of her own needs, she would resent Richard and the kids for the rest of her life and theirs.
She couldn't allow that. They all meant too much to her already.
In the bathroom, Richard had a shower then sat down on the toilet seat cover, exhausted. He'd gotten up too early and eaten too much to counter his jet lag.
The seat cover was cold against his nether regions. He should have frozen them off at about four that morning when he'd found Callie in his bed. Better than being frozen out after making love to an earthly angel.
He rubbed his eyes. "Man, talk about screwing things up."
He didn't even grin at his inadvertent double entendre. He'd thought their lovemaking had been a turning point, but it had been a false dawn. How could something so right have so quickly turned wrong?
"Women," he muttered, the thought giving him strength to stand up.
His relationships with women had always been... strange. Never smooth, that was for sure. He should have realized Callie was in the same category the moment he'd awakened to find himself alone in the bed. He should have stayed there and never ventured downstairs to reality.
Not a bad idea, he admitted. In fact, he really should go back to bed for his health. He was very short on sleep. If he did go to bed, Callie would have to stay with the kids....
Richard paused.
He was tired. He'd no doubt collapse at any moment, which was no good with a toddler in the house. Amanda could watch Mark, however. No, he thought. She had a life. And there was Jason. At times the boy was almost uncontrollable, and he could get into anything without adult supervision. Callie had promised to stay until the evening, when he'd originally been expected home. So staying now shouldn't be a hardship to her.
His conscience nudged him, the miserable thing. If he were honest, he could cope with the kids for the rest of the day. If his ego were honest, he'd admit he'd taken a blow to his sexual self-esteem and wanted some revenge. And if he were very honest, he hoped to create a second chance with her before the day was out
Richard brightened. That last was a great reason to indulge his bodily needs today. He pulled on his sleeping shorts and a T-shirt. Stepping out of the master bathroom, he opened the bedroom door and bellowed, "Callie! Come here!"
He raced across the room and leaped into bed. He yanked the covers up to his chin and put a hangdog expression on his face.
"What's wrong, Uncle Richard?" Jason shouted, coming into the room. The boy stopped dead, eyes wide. "You look sick."
Works for me, Richard thought. "Yes, I'm not well. Where's Callie?"
"Right here," she said as she entered. She held Mark on her hip. Amanda followed.
"I'm not feeling well," Richard said, pushing away his pang of guilt about lying to the whole family. Fibs between adults was one thing, but this was something else. He'd have to make it up to the kids in some way.
"It's probably jet lag," Callie said.
"I've had jet lag. This is worse."
She came over to him and put her hand on his forehead. Her fingers were cool against his skin. Mark leaned half-over her, his nose practically in her breast. Lucky Mark.
"You do feel warm," she finally pronounced. "Clammy, too."
He bet. He'd just gotten out of a hot shower. Funny how circumstance could play into one's hands. "I feel sick."
He did in a way. His stomach rumbled queasily, and his head ached. Even his chest felt tight.
Callie straightened. She glanced at the bed as she did. Richard knew she was thinking about their lovemaking. Good. Very good.
"Well," she said, "it's fortunate I'm here today, anyway. Okay, everyone out. Let's leave your sicko uncle in peace."
"He...he won't die, will he?" Jason asked, his chin trembling. Amanda looked worried, too.
Richard cursed under his breath. In his scheming to get to Callie's heart, he never once thought how the kids might react, let alone understandably overreact. He flung back the covers, saying, "I'm fine, Jason. It was just - "
"No." Callie put a hand to his chest and pushed him back in bed. To Jason she said, "Your uncle Richard is not going to die. I promise you. He just had too much airplane ride on too little sleep; Once he has a nap, he'll feel much better.'
"Callie..." Richard began.
She pushed the covers over him and shooed the kids out. "Don't worry about a thing, Richard, You just rest."
"Callie..."
She waved a hand and disappeared into the hall, closing the bedroom door behind her. He was alone.
"Dammit," he muttered, getting out of bed. He opened the door. His crew was about halfway down the steps. "Callie - "
"See Jason? He's perfectly fine, just tired. He only needs some rest." She looked up at Richard and added, "Relax. You sleep. I'll be here."
She started the kids down the stairs again. Mark held her hand and held the railing on his other side as he negotiated the steps one at a time.
"Callie."
"Go to bed, Richard." "Callie!"
She turned. "Richard, don't go all macho man on me and try to tough it out. You look like something the cat coughed up on the carpet. Jay's fine now. He knows you're just tired. Amanda's okay and Mark understands the need for naps better than anyone. Now get back in that bed and quit giving me a bunch of grief!"
Richard muttered a curse and followed her orders.
As he crawled back into bed, he wished he'd thought through his little plan. Little it was, because even a pea-brain could have seen what was coming. But no, not him. He should have thought of the kids, but no, his libido had been turned on full force.
He propped up pillows and laid back on them. Staring out the window at nothing, he thought for about five minutes.
"Callie!"
He called again, more loudly when he got no response, then heard feet pounding up the stairs. His door was flung open to reveal Jason.
"What's the matter?" the boy asked, looking untroubled.
Perfect, Richard thought, realizing he could make amends with his nephew. "Jay, I didn't mean to scare you earlier. I'm not sick at all."
"Oh, I know that now." Jason smiled happily. "Callie explained it to me some more. You're only feeling a little bad, like from a cold."
"I don't have a cold or anything wrong, Jay," Richard said firmly.
"Oh. That's real good." Jay came over and hugged him. "I gotta go. I'm playing Race the Waves. Callie brought it over and I wanna beat it before she takes it home with her."
Jason ran out, shutting the door after him.
Richard flopped back against the pillows, disgusted that he hadn't been able to make his nephew listen. "Callie. Please, will you come here!"
Eventually he heard footsteps again in the hallway. The bedroom door opened. Amanda peeked in. "Callie's busy, Uncle Richard, and she says you should be busy sleeping. You okay?"
"Perfectly. I'm not sick."
His niece frowned. "You look funny around the eyes. Callie's right. You need some sleep. Don't worry about us. We know you're not going to die. Even Jay knows it."
She left, shutting the door against his frustrations.
Richard reached behind him and thre
w a pillow across the room. It bounced quietly off the wall and onto the floor. He stared at it.
"Callie!"
It took nearly five minutes of calling, but his bedroom door finally opened a third time. The object of his demands stood on the threshold. "What is your problem?"
"I was afraid you'd send Mark this time," he complained.
"Is that all you called me here for?" She began to close the door. "I've got things to do and you need to rest."
"I'm not sick!"
"I know. It's only jet lag. You're worse than Mark."
"It isn't jet lag. I said I was sick to get attention. From you. So you wouldn't leave." There, he thought. He'd come clean in a thorough show of humiliation.
"Of course I'm not leaving. You're wiped out. Anyone can see that. You don't need to get my attention, and I have no clue why you would think I was leaving."
His expression hardened. "This morning you weren't happy that we had sex."
Her expression hardened. "Is that all it was to you? Just sex?"
"No, of course not. We...made love."
"Richard, be honest and admit it was far more just sex than making love." She grimaced. "It's okay. I know I shouldn't expect more and I don't. I truly don't."
"No. It was more. Much more."
"Richard, it really is okay. You don't have to spare my feelings."
"I'm not sparing your feelings!" Once again she wasn't listening to him.
"Shhh. The kids. Look, we'll talk about this later."
"I only said I was ill to get your attention. I'm not ill."
"Richard, you are exhausted," she replied. "And you're half out of it. Now, unless you actually want a drink of water or something, I have to go."
The words hung in the air. "No."
"Get some sleep. You really will feel better."
Richard gave up. He'd tried to do the honest thing, but nobody believed him. He and the boy who cried wolf could cry in their beer together. Soda, in the boy's case.
Maybe it really was jet lag, he thought, closing his eyes. Maybe he was still on the plane coming home, and he'd dreamed the entire thing from the moment he'd walked into the house. He would wake up at any moment and the pilot would be announcing that they were about to land in Philadelphia.