The Pick Up

by Allison Tempe

  “If you’d asked me an hour ago, I could have, but now we have to go, so you’re going to have to wear your hair—” He didn’t bother to finish because Caroline’s face crumpled, and fat tears began to roll down her cheeks. “Caroline—”

  “No!” She stomped her foot. “I wanna be a princess!” Kyle reached for her but she stepped back, so he stood up straight and grabbed for her again, only to have the slippery purple fabric slide from his grasp. She wailed. They were seconds from a full-on meltdown, and he really didn’t have time for this today. He bent to pick her up, and fumbled a bit as she went rigid and arched away from him.

  “Caroline, we’re getting you changed one way or the other, but if you keep this up, then you can stay here with Grandpa and you won’t get to see Haley and Lily at all.” It was a bluff. Kyle’s dad had worked overnight and was working the late shift tonight. He’d been asleep since he’d gotten home at nine, and while he was undoubtedly awake now with the noise Caroline was making, Kyle knew he’d go back to sleep as soon as they left.

  Caroline shrieked as they got to the top of the steps. It echoed through Kyle’s left ear and made his teeth ache. He pulled her closer to muffle her as they passed his dad’s closed bedroom door and hurried down the hall to her room. He deposited her on the bed, next to the clothes he’d left out for her that morning.

  “Get changed now!” His nerves were on edge. He was anxious to see Adam and try to make sense of what he felt, and that was enough to deal with without adding a six-year-old’s temper tantrum to the agenda.

  “No!” She hopped off the bed and darted for the door. Kyle’s arm snaked out to grab at her, and amidst the chaos, the hiss of tearing fabric soared to the top of the register, and the flimsy sleeve of Caroline’s dress pulled away from the rest of it.

  Her eyes widened, and Kyle felt his own expression mirror her horror. Her arm wrenched free, and she stumbled.

  There was silence for a moment as they both gaped at the purple fabric in Kyle’s hand. He dropped to the ground and reached for her, still clutching the torn sleeve.

  “Oh my god, Bean!” he breathed. She gaped at her now bare arm and back at him. “I am so sorry.”

  Caroline’s face collapsed again, and she flung herself onto the floor, sobbing.

  And that was how Kyle’s dad found them a moment later, when he shuffled down the hall to investigate the crisis. Kyle imagined it was quite the picture, with Caroline wailing into the carpet like a mother who had lost her son to war, and Kyle kneeling by her side, clutching a piece of shiny fabric like an offering. Practically Shakespearean.

  “Everything okay in here?” his dad said. Kyle’s emotions must have been written on his face, because his father picked Caroline up and sat with her on the bed. He rocked her a little and stroked her hair.

  Kyle uselessly smoothed the torn sleeve onto the comforter and stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind him. He closed his eyes and listened to the rumbling sounds of his father’s voice, and the softer higher sounds of Caroline as her crying quieted.

  He was a horrible father. It was a dress. A cheap, made-in-China costume. Would it have mattered if she’d worn it? He choked out a watery cough, allowed himself ten seconds to wallow, and then stumbled down the hall to phone Ben.

  “Hey, buddy, where are you?” Ben said.

  “We’re . . .” Kyle searched for the right words and took a deep breath to calm himself. “We’re a bit off course? We had to delay for an impromptu costume change and . . .”

  “Oh man, did Caroline try to wear her princess costume?”

  “How’d you know?”

  “Haley tried to do it too. Kirsten laid down the law on that one pretty quick though.”

  “She’ll have to give me some pointers.”

  “I’ll remember that. So you’re on your way?”

  Kyle glanced back up the steps. He could still hear his father talking.

  “Not . . .” He cleared his throat. “Not yet. Soon. I think. I don’t know. You guys should go without us. I’ll drive us over later.”

  “Why don’t we come pick you up? Save you the trip?”

  “But you’re on my way to Rebecca’s,” Kyle said. “It doesn’t make sense for you to come here first.”

  “It’s not far. We’ll get the girls loaded up and head out soon. See you in twenty minutes?”

  “Yeah,” he said, grateful that Ben knew what to do. “Yeah, we’ll be ready.”

  Ten minutes later, his dad walked into the kitchen and stood at attention in the doorway.

  “Presenting Her Highness, Princess Caroline of Fentonia,” he said, then stepped to the side. Caroline came into the room. She was wearing the T-shirt and shorts Kyle had pulled out, with her hair braided neatly into two pigtails over her shoulders. Kyle wondered where his father had learned to do that. He stood and bowed toward Caroline.

  “Your Highness,” he said. She twisted her hands into the hem of her shirt.

  “Her Highness has something she’d like to say,” his dad said. Caroline glanced up at him, then back toward Kyle with wide brown eyes.

  “I’m sorry for making us late.” She said it so quietly Kyle had to lean forward to hear her.

  “Oh Bean,” he said. “Thank you for your apology. I’m sorry too. For getting mad and for ripping your dress. I shouldn’t have done that.” Her eyes got teary again, and Kyle hoped they weren’t going back down to the waterworks, but then she smiled and ran across the kitchen floor and into his arms. He hugged her and breathed in the shampoo smell of her hair. After a minute, Kyle looked up and found his dad still standing by the doorway.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “Anytime,” his dad said, then shuffled out.

  Rebecca’s party was in full swing. Adam had been assigned to the grill, which seemed like poor decision-making on his sister’s part, but it kept him from having to make small talk.

  “Hi, Mr. Hathaway!”

  Speaking of small . . .

  A body wrapped itself around Adam’s leg. Brown Fenton eyes sparkled up at him.

  “Hi, Caroline,” he said. “Nice to see you’re feeling better.”

  “Bean! Let go of Mr. Hathaway!”

  Kyle came across the backyard. Adam smiled, but Kyle didn’t acknowledge him.

  “But, Daddy!”

  “Caroline, that barbecue is very hot. Please take a step back,” he said. Caroline unwrapped herself and stepped away. Kyle settled one hand on her shoulder. “Hi, Adam,” he said. The use of his first name made Adam tense.

  “Daddy, can we go swimming?” Caroline pointed toward the pool in the backyard. Rebecca’s boys were racing each other across the deep end.

  “In a second, Bean, let me say hi to Mr. Hathaway.”

  “Please?” Caroline pouted.

  Kyle scowled. “Seriously, Bean, you can wait five minutes.”

  “Hi, Adam,” Ben said. Adam hadn’t seen Ben and his wife approaching him, along with their two girls. He shook Ben’s hand and gave Kirsten a hug.

  “Come on!” Caroline tugged on Kyle’s hand, her body angled toward the pool.

  “In a minute, Bean!”

  “That’s quite the spread you’ve got going there,” Ben said.

  Adam glanced down at the grill where a dozen burgers and four racks of ribs sizzled. “Rebecca doesn’t do anything by halves.”

  “It’s really great of her to have everyone over,” Kirsten said.

  “Daddy!” Caroline wailed.

  “Just a second!” Kyle said. Adam’s attention was torn between chatting with Ben and Kirsten, and worrying about the grim set of Kyle’s mouth.

  “Come on, Caroline,” Kirsten said, “let’s go put on your bathing suit.”

  “It’s okay.” Kyle shook his head. “I was going to go do it in a minute. I just wanted to—”

  “It’s no problem. I’m going to go get the girls changed too.”

  Kyle’s lips pursed, but he nodded. “Sure.” His face was still tight. Ad
am could see Kyle’s jaw clench between his words. “Thanks.”

  “Okay, let’s go!” Kirsten clapped her hands. “Haley, Lily, come on! Come get your swimsuits on!” Ben’s two girls tumbled after their mother, and Caroline followed.

  “I’m going to go say hi to Ryan.” Ben clapped Kyle on the shoulder and walked away. Adam was left with Kyle, who stared at the grill like it had said something unkind about his mother.

  “How’s it going?” Adam flipped a burger.

  “Oh, you know,” Kyle said. “Working on my father-of-the year-nomination clip package. The usual.”

  “Tough day?”

  Kyle let out a short angry laugh. “We may have needed the intervention of a security professional to get out of the house.”

  Adam’s eyes widened, and he was about to ask what Kyle meant when Rebecca bounded up.

  “Kyle,” she said, all smiles, “you’re here! Where’s your daughter?”

  “Inside getting changed with Kirsten.”

  “Are you going swimming?” Rebecca asked.

  “Yeah. I just need to—”

  “Well, before you do, come meet Tom Kiehl. He’s on the town council. I told him about the anniversary idea, and he had some good suggestions.” She grabbed his wrist and pulled him along, in almost the same way Caroline had tried to minutes before. At the last second, Kyle turned back to Adam.

  “I’ll see you later,” he said.

  But the next time Adam saw Kyle, he was in the pool. He was standing in the shallow end, while Caroline stood at the edge of the pool with pink inflatable water wings over her arms.

  “Catch me!” She launched herself at Kyle, who did as he was instructed. Caroline shrieked with laughter, and Kyle helped her paddle back to the pool’s steps. She climbed up and ran around to her starting position to repeat the whole exercise.

  At first, Kyle seemed distracted, catching Caroline mechanically. Eventually though, his full attention turned to her, and Adam could see him relax. His smile grew, and his body took on the infectious energy that seemed to radiate from him whenever he played with his daughter. Caroline was fearless. She splashed and paddled around the pool. She churned up water in Kyle’s face that made him blink and jerk his head back, even while he smiled. He was beautiful when he smiled.

  “Want me to take over?” Rebecca asked behind Adam. He jumped. He hadn’t heard her approach. The spatula he held clattered onto the barbecue. He reached to snatch it up, but instead managed to catch his wrist on the edge of the grill.

  “Shit.” He hissed as he yanked his arm back.

  “Oh!” Rebecca pushed past him and retrieved the spatula. “Are you okay?”

  “Fine.” An angry red mark was slashed across his wrist. It had already blistered on one end.

  “Let me see.” Rebecca reached for his arm, and he pulled it away.

  “It’s fine, Rebecca.”

  “It’s not fine,” she said. Adam pulled away again. Behind him, he heard Caroline shriek. When he turned, Kyle was sloshing through the water, making monster noises.

  “I’ll go run it under some cold water.”

  He let himself into the bathroom near the garage and turned on the sink. The water wasn’t too cold, but it still made him bite back another curse as it hit his burned wrist. He watched, dazed, as the water ran over his palm and down the drain. The mark puckered a little around the edges, but didn’t seem too bad.

  Down the hall, there was the sound of running feet coming toward him.

  “Slow down, Bean!”

  Then Caroline swung around the corner and skidded to a halt in the doorway. Her eyes widened, and her mouth made a small O as she saw him. Kyle followed behind her. They were both still in their swimsuits, and Kyle’s shorts sat almost indecently low on his slim body. Adam’s eyes stuttered as they moved across the ridge of Kyle’s hip bones, and then for a moment longer as Kyle’s long fingers slipped inside the shorts and pulled them up so they sat in a more appropriate place.

  “Hi, Mr. Hathaway,” Caroline said. Adam’s focus snapped back to reality, away from the finer points of Kyle’s anatomy. They were all crowded into the doorway and small space of Rebecca’s powder room.

  “I was looking for some ibuprofen,” Adam said at the same time as Kyle said, “We were going to change back into our clothes.” There was a pause in which no one said anything. Even Caroline stared wordlessly between her father and her teacher.

  “What happened there?” Kyle motioned toward Adam’s arm, still clutched against his chest.

  “Nothing.” Adam held out his wrist and flexed his fingers, but the movement pulled at the skin and tugged at the burn. He winced.

  “Daddy, I have to pee.” Caroline had her knees clenched together as she bobbed up and down.

  “Here.” Adam stepped around her. “I’m done here.”

  Caroline entered the bathroom and closed the door, leaving Adam to stand in the hall. He was very near Kyle.

  “There’s . . .” His throat tightened as he took in Kyle’s naked torso. The board shorts were losing their battle with gravity again, sliding down below Kyle’s hips, exposing his navel and the dark trail of hair that ran down from there. That was a dangerous direction to go in, so Adam worked his way up. The space between Kyle’s neck and shoulders stretched tight as he cocked his head to one side. Adam had to bite down on his lip as his brain flashed images in his head of what it would be like to kiss that space. He wanted to bury his face in Kyle’s neck and breathe him in.

  He jumped when Kyle’s long fingers wrapped around Adam’s injured wrist and pulled it away so Kyle could examine the burn.

  “Mr. Hathaway.” His thumb brushed over the sensitive spot at the base of Adam’s hand. “You have to be careful.”

  The hall was dim, but despite the low light, Adam could see Kyle’s lips were parted, his eyes dark as his pupils widened. Adam’s heart stopped at the sensation of Kyle’s skin on his. He should say something. He heard Kyle’s intake of breath as if he were trying to find the words too.

  And then Kyle’s face was bathed in harsh fluorescent light as the bathroom door opened. He blinked and his mouth shut. Whatever Adam thought he had seen was gone.

  “All done,” Caroline said. Adam took his wrist back and stepped to the side. Kyle’s face creased into a frown.

  “Did you wash your hands?” he asked.

  Caroline rolled her eyes. “Yes.”

  Kyle arched an eyebrow. “Uh-huh. Come on, Bean, let’s get changed, and then we can go back outside and have some dinner okay?” He herded Caroline back toward the bathroom and shut the door, leaving Adam in semidarkness again.

  Adam stood in the hallway for a second. His thumb traced the path Kyle’s fingers had taken over his injured wrist. He could hear Caroline chattering on the other side of the door. For a minute, he contemplated waiting for them, but he couldn’t think of what he would say.

  He stumbled as he returned to the sunlit backyard. People milled around in small groups. A few turned as he tripped, and suddenly, Adam was back in the quad at Newcastle. The people staring were colleagues and students, who watched him pass and then whispered. He’d made a mistake there. He had been too stupidly in love to see the risk in getting involved with someone else on staff. When it had ended, Adam had been alone in the tiny insular community. He had made a fool of himself over Daniel, and he had paid for it.

  He shook his head, clearing the thoughts, and considered the people around him who made up his new community.

  He was making a fool of himself over Kyle, and anyone and everyone around him was going to find out about it, sooner or later.

  Before he could dwell on that for too long though, Ryan appeared. He slung an arm around Adam’s shoulders and dragged him around to the front of the house. “Shirts versus skins!”

  Adam put his frustration into the basketball game, and if the opposing team took his aggression personally, well, his own team appreciated it. They had agreed to play to thirty points. When Adam clea
red that within the first ten minutes, they played until Adam’s team passed fifty.

  He put all his energy into the game, and tried not to think about how much he wanted to go find Kyle.

  The last few weeks with Kyle had been a distraction, an infatuation based on Rebecca’s encouragement and his own loneliness. It had been hopeless from the start, and he had maybe let it go as far as he had because of that. Kyle was a safe bet, someone he could fantasize about without there being any risk, but now the fantasy was going to stop.

  If he looked for Kyle when he rejoined the party, it was out of habit. When Adam found him, what he saw solidified his resolve. Kyle sat at a patio table with Ben and Kirsten and the three girls. Kyle had a burger in his hand and a big smile on his face. He laughed with Ben, and wiped away a smear of ketchup that spread from Caroline’s chin to her nose. Kyle was in full-blown Super Dad mode, and that was how it should be.

  “Everything okay?” Rebecca came to stand next to him. She followed his gaze until she saw Kyle. She smiled up at Adam and nudged him with her elbow.

  “No problem,” he said.

  Kyle did his best to stay focused on Caroline and make sure she didn’t choke on a hot dog or pick up a splinter on Rebecca’s deck or drown in the pool, or one of the million other things his dad brain reminded him could go wrong. It was hard, though, when half his brain was consumed with Adam and Adam’s whereabouts and the coolness of Adam’s skin under Kyle’s thumb in that stolen moment in the dark hall.

  The worst part of it all was that he had no plan, not so much as a smart opening line. He’d hoped it would be easy, that he could walk up to Adam like he had every other time they’d seen each other, open his mouth, and something clever would come out. But he’d barely had the chance, since every time Kyle managed to get close to Adam, he was distracted by Caroline, or Rebecca, or Ben.

  He had no idea what to do, and all the uncertainty was making him twitchy.

  “Daddy, can we go swimming again?” Caroline asked. There was a smear of purple around the corner of her mouth from what was at least her third popsicle of the day, along with at least two hot dogs, and half a family-sized bag of BBQ chips that she’d managed to eat before Kyle had succeeded in getting the bag away from her.