“There will be time for that,” he said with a soft smile. “This is just a bump in the road. Soon enough, you’ll be dancing together at your wedding.”
Somehow when Mr. Carter said it, I believed him. It occurred to me then that my two biggest supporters happened to be men that had lost their wives too soon. If they could keep hope that things would work out, so could I.
“Do you need to check on the kids?” I asked Jake, reminding myself that life was still happening out in the world.
“Julia said she’s got it under control.” Jake moved over to the wall and leaned against the windowsill.
“Kate offered to keep Jack for me. Is it weird that I accepted the offer?” I was surprised when Mr. Carter answered.
“Kate is a sweet girl. If she’s offering to be part of your life, you should accept the gift.” He looked down at his son. “I know that John did the right thing ending his relationship with her. He was meant to be with you. But I always felt bad for Kate. She deserves to be happy.”
Despite the circumstances, I felt myself wanting to smile. “You might be interested to know that our boy Jake here has a big crush on Kate.”
My smile grew as Jake blushed all the way to the tips of his ears.
“Is that so?” Mr. Carter said thoughtfully. He added, “She could do worse.”
“Yeah, she could,” I agreed.
The nurse came in to check Johnny’s vitals and mentioned that it would be at least a day or more before he woke up. We were welcome to stay, but we might want to consider taking breaks to get food and to sleep. I appreciated her concern, but there was no way I was leaving Johnny’s side.
Jake reluctantly left to check on his kids at dinnertime. He had some concerns that they hadn’t eaten anything all day except chips and candy. He was right to be worried. Julia was pretty good at keeping the kids from killing each other, but a chef she was not.
An hour after Jake left, I convinced Mr. Carter to go home as well. His own health wasn’t great and he needed to take care of himself. I promised to call him if anything changed, but we both knew this was likely to be the status quo for a while. Alone with Johnny, I moved my chair even closer to the bed. With the tips of my fingers, I traced his cheek softly.
“Hey, lover boy. It’s just you and me now.” Emotion caught in my throat and I forced it down. I was going to be strong. “I know you need to rest right now, but just don’t make me wait too long, okay? I miss your beautiful blue eyes and your sexy smile.”
I lay my head on the pillow next to him and whispered right into his ear. “I love you, Johnny. I can’t do this without you. Come back to me.”
The next few days passed in a blur. I spent the days in the hospital with Johnny while Jack went to daycare. Then I picked him up in the afternoon and spent a couple of hours with him while showering and eating whatever I could find in the house. Jake stayed at the hospital while I was gone. Then we met in the hospital parking lot and traded off duties. Jake took Jack home with him for the night and I slept in the chair next to Johnny’s hospital bed.
The first couple of days I was able to stay optimistic. The doctors expected him to stay in a coma for at least 36 hours until the swelling in his brain subsided. But mid-week I started to worry. He was breathing on his own after they removed the breathing tube. That was supposed to be a good sign, but no matter how much I talked to him or squeezed his hand, he showed no sign of awareness. The doctors said I just needed to give it more time. He had been through severe trauma and his body was still recovering.
By the end of the week, I was running on empty. I was exhausted and worried. Jake had volunteered to pick up Jack from daycare, hoping to give me a little relief. While I appreciated his help, I also missed my little boy. No matter how bad things were in the hospital, a smile from Jack always made me feel better.
“Knock, knock.”
I turned toward the door, expecting to find one of Johnny’s friends from the shop. When I saw Jake holding my son, I nearly burst into tears. Somehow Jake had known exactly what I needed.
“Hey there,” I said, instantly smiling as Jack held out his arms to me. To Jake, I asked, “How did you know I needed to see my boy?”
“Because I’m a parent,” he said, handing him over. “I thought maybe John would like to see him, too.”
I didn’t bother pointing out that Johnny couldn’t see anything right now. His injuries were slowly healing, but he hadn’t opened his eyes. While I kissed and cuddled Jack, he giggled and looked around the room.
“Da da,” he said, looking right at Johnny’s prone body.
They had removed the white bandage from his head, exposing a shaved scalp covered in staples. The dark bruises on his face were fading to yellow and he had been dressed in a white hospital gown. As bad as he still looked, he was starting to look like Johnny again. So much so that our son, barely a year old, was able to recognize him.
“Yes, Jack. That’s daddy.” I carried him over to the bed. “He’s sick.”
Jack reached out a chubby hand pat Johnny’s arm. “Da da.”
Because of the tears in my eyes, I thought I might be seeing things when it looked like Johnny’s eyelids fluttered.
“Did you-” I turned to ask Jake if he had noticed anything, but he was already leaning over the bed.
“John? Can you hear me?” he said.
I grabbed Johnny’s hand and squeezed hard. “Johnny, can you hear us?”
“Da da,” Jack said, happily patting his father.
“There!” I saw it clearly this time. His eyes were fluttering wildly. “Open your eyes, love. Please, open your eyes.”
Johnny’s hand had been limp inside of mine all week, but now he returned my squeeze ever so gently. His lips moved faintly, forming silent words. At last, his eyes opened into thin slits. The icy blue beneath the lids was foggy from the pain medication.
“Glor.”
I stood and set Jack in my chair so that I could lean over the bed and look right into his eyes. Running my hand over his cheek, I said, “I’m right here, Johnny.”
“I’ll get the doctor.” Jake smiled at me before hurrying from the room.
“Glory.” Johnny’s lips move upward in a stiff smile.
“You came back to me.” I kissed him softly on the lips.
His eyes opened wider and he said, “Always.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Kate
It was a hard week. Denton’s suspension ended and he was back in school, but his attitude was still less than desirable. I was hopeful that spending the weekend with his father might help, but Brad called me Friday morning with some bad news.
“I won’t be able to take Denny this weekend,” he said unapologetically. “I have a lot of things I need to take care of around the house.”
“So what?” I was sure he expected me to be sympathetic and not put up a fight. “This is your weekend with him, Brad. He looks forward to it all week. I know you have a new baby to worry about, but you can’t just forget about your son.”
I expected him to snap back at me about how I always assumed the worst about him and how he would never forget about Denton. Instead, he said the exact opposite.
“We’re moving.”
I was sure that I had misunderstood him. “What?”
“Mindy wants to raise the baby closer to her family. She’s from the St. Louis area.” He was speaking quietly and I wondered if his girlfriend was sitting right there.
“That’s a four hour drive, Brad.” I knew where this was headed and my heart broke for my son. “You can’t do this to Denton. He already thinks you are going to abandon him because of the baby.”
“I’m not abandoning him! Damnit, Kate. You always have to be so dramatic about everything.” He sighed loudly.
I took several deep breaths to keep from losing my cool. It was just so typical of him to drop such big news and then give me shit for making a big deal out of it.
“What does this mean for our custody ar
rangement? You are supposed to have him every other weekend. Now you’ll be living eight hours away round-trip.” I started to think about whether there was a place I could meet him halfway between the two towns.
“I was thinking we could change it. Maybe one weekend a month, or so. We’ll have to figure it out.” He said something that I couldn’t understand, presumable speaking to Mindy. “Look, I’ve gotta go. Can you let Denton know that I’m sorry about this weekend?”
“He’ll be home after school. You can call then and let him know yourself.” I was done biting my tongue, so I hung up.
More snow was falling outside and I knew I wouldn’t be getting many customers. The winter months were always slow months for the boutique shops around the square. For once, I was glad for that. I didn’t have to feel guilty as I flipped the sign to “Closed” and locked the door. In order to keep my mind off the conversation I’d had with Brad, I needed to keep myself preoccupied.
It made sense to start crossing off the list of errands I had been planning to run over the weekend. Since Denton wouldn’t be going away, my weekend plans had just been changed. Grocery store, dry cleaners, and post office – my list was becoming shorter and shorter. Denton had basketball practice after school, so I had even more time to myself. I decided to stop by the hospital to see how John was doing.
I knew that it was still a little strange to be so involved in my ex’s life, but at one time I had loved the man. I really did want him to be okay. I also wanted to make sure that Glory was doing alright. The last week had to have been torture for her.
“Kate?”
I had just stepped through the main entrance and was looking for the information desk. I hadn’t expected to run into someone that I knew.
“Jake? What are you doing down here?” I looked around to see if he was with Glory. He was pushing Jack in a stroller and he looked frazzled. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything is great.” Now that he was standing right in front of me I could see that he wasn’t frazzled, he was excited. “John just woke up.”
“He did?” A feeling of relief washed over me. “That’s wonderful, Jake. I’m sure this means he’s going to be just fine.”
Jake nodded. “I think so. I had just brought Jack by so that Glory could spend a little time with him and maybe not be so sad. The next thing I know, John is opening his eyes. I brought Jack down here so Glory can have some time alone with John and the doctors.”
“I’m so glad. I just stopped by to see how he was doing.” I wasn’t sure what to do now. I certainly couldn’t go visit right at that moment. “Will you tell Glory I came by?”
“Of course.” Jake hesitated before asking, “Do you want to get a coffee with me? I still need to kill some time and a little caffeine sounds good right about now. There’s a little café right down the hall.”
“Coffee?” I pondered that word like it was the first time I had ever heard it.
“Or tea, if you prefer.” He smiled warmly. “My treat.”
“Well, I can’t say no to an offer like that.” I realized I was grinning like a goof, but I didn’t care. Being around Jake made me happy.
The café was small, but that didn’t matter since we were the only customers. Jack had dozed off in his stroller, giving me Jake’s undivided attention.
“I’m not sure I’m prepared with witty conversation topics,” he admitted with a sheepish smile. “I thought I had one more day to prepare for this.”
“I don’t need you to be witty, I’m just glad to have conversation with someone other than a teenage boy that only responds with grunts and sighs.” I frowned when I remembered that Denton was about to hear news that would make him even more surly than usual.
“Rough week?” Jake guessed with a sympathetic smile.
When I thought about what he had been dealing with all week, my day had been a breeze. But I found myself telling him about Brad anyway.
“Just like that, he’s taking off?” Jake frowned. “I can’t believe he would do that.”
“I don’t think he understands just how it’s going to affect Denton. Brad thinks there isn’t a difference between him seeing his son every other weekend or every other month.” A knot began to form in my stomach. “Denton’s at such an impressionable age and he really needs a reliable male figure in his life.”
“You shouldn’t worry so much about Denton. He’s a good boy and growing into an even better young man. You’ve done a good job with him.” Jake’s smile reached his eyes, creating warm wrinkles in the corners that made him even more attractive than usual.
I blushed and glanced down at my coffee. “You should know better than to tell a parent not to worry about their child.”
“Fair point.” He chuckled softly. “Sometimes I feel like I’m the designated worrier in my family.”
“Maybe we need more fun in our lives.” I knew that I certainly could stand to have a little more fun.
He nodded. “That should be our primary goal tomorrow night.”
Of course. I had almost forgotten about our date. Now my heart fluttered like I was a schoolgirl with a crush. “You still want to do that? I understand if you have other things to take care of now.”
“I’ve already got a sitter lined up. You can’t back out on me now!” He pretended to be offended. “You aren’t having second thoughts are you?”
“Of course not. I’ve been looking forward to it all week.” Again, I blushed. “I suppose we’ve spoiled it a bit with this pre-date.”
“Nonsense. I’m grateful for every second we get to spend together.” His playful smile was gone, replaced by a look of seriousness that was rare for Jake.
Sometimes I forgot just how damaged he was. He did a good job of hiding his tortured side. But every now and then a moment would come along, one like this moment, and I would be reminded of just how much he had lost. My own problems were trivial in comparison.
Jake and I stayed in that hospital café for over an hour. We chatted long after our coffee cups were empty. Despite having known each other for years, we didn’t run out of things to say. In fact, the more I talked to Jake the more I wanted to know about him. When Jack began to stir, I glanced at the time and was surprised.
“Oh wow. I didn’t realize we’ve been in here so long. I need to pick up Denton from school,” I said reluctantly.
Jake sighed. “I’ve got some kiddos of my own to wrangle. Thanks for passing the time with me.”
“I can’t imagine a better way to spend the afternoon.” My heart was doing its happy flutter again. “The exhibit opens at 8:00 tomorrow night. Shall I pick you up around 7:30?”
“Please.” He chuckled. “I’m an old fashioned boy, Kate. I’ll pick up you. And maybe we can get some dinner beforehand?”
I smiled. “That would be nice.”
I was still smiling twenty minutes later as I waited in the school parking lot. Denton was hanging out with friends, throwing snowballs at each other. It was nice to see him so happy. I knew once he got into the car his usual pout would return. Sometimes I wondered what had happened to my smiling, bubbly child.
Surprisingly, Denton was still in a good mood when he slipped into the passenger’s seat. He immediately launched into a story about a runaway frog in science class that had us both laughing. It wasn’t until I had parked the car in the driveway that he asked the question I had been dreading.
“What time is Dad coming tonight?”
“Something came up and your dad wants to talk to you about it. He’s going to call later.” I gripped the steering wheel harder and waited for the explosion.
It didn’t come. When I glanced over, Denton was staring hard out the window with his jaw clenched. Looking at my son, I was conflicted. I still saw the little boy I used to hold on my hip while dancing around the house. But I also saw a heart-broken teen who was looking more and more like his father every day. In fact, he was only a couple of years younger than Brad had been when we first met.
&n
bsp; I knew my son well enough to know that nothing I could say would take away his disappointment. It wasn’t all that long ago that I had experienced my own disappointment in that same man. Brad had always been terrible at understanding the impact of his decisions on the people who loved him.
“We should order pizza tonight. It’s been ages since we’ve done that.” I tried to sound upbeat though it was clear that Denton’s mind was focused on other things.
We were only home for a few minutes when Brad called. After a short conversation, Denton hung up the phone and stormed into his room. A second later, his door slammed shut and I flinched. Realistically, I knew that he was behaving like a typical teenager. But that didn’t stop me from worrying about him. Not for the first time, I wished that Brad would be more like Jake or even Johnny. I knew that it wasn’t fair to expect him to be the father I wanted Denton to have, but I couldn’t stop the thought from entering my head. I couldn’t help but blame myself for not giving my son a better father.
Denton stayed in his room the rest of the night, only coming out for five minutes to eat three pieces of pepperoni pizza before disappearing again. He didn’t speak a word to me until lunchtime the next day when he asked if he could sleepover at a friend’s house.
“If it’s okay with Alex’s parents, it’s fine with me. I have plans this evening anyway.” I wasn’t sure why I told him that. I hadn’t been planning to tell Denton about my date with Jake. It wasn’t that I expected him to care much since I had already dated Johnny and it had never seemed to bother him. I just didn’t want to get him involved until it became something more serious.
“Plans? What, like a date?” he asked with a teasing smile. It felt good to see him smiling again.
“Actually, yes.” I set a turkey sandwich in front of him. “Jake and I are going to an art exhibit.”
“Jake?” Denton’s eyes narrowed. “As in, my best friend’s dad?”
I nodded. “Jake Delroy, yes.”
“Why?” he demanded. “Do you love torturing me?”
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