by Rikki Dyson
Diane was engaged in conversation with an anthropologist from London College. This gave Miles a chance to join his mother and Stacey. They had the good sense to find a seat instead of milling around. He had attended so many of these functions, that now they were a bore to be endured. The only reason he was here tonight was because he knew Stacey would be here. He noticed his mother chair was vacant, so he made his way to occupy Molly’s seat.
As he sat down in the empty chair across from Stacey, he said, “I see you found a place away from the madding crowd.”
“Yes, I did. I always enjoy talking with your mother.”
“I’m so glad you came tonight. I was concerned you might not because of Miranda.”
“Miles, I assure you, the chance of running into Miranda doesn’t dictate my social life.”
Miles smiled and said, “I’m very pleased to hear that. You will come to my New Years party, I hope.” Miles leaned toward Stacey and said, “I understand you and Mrs. Graham have become friends in spite of her betrayal. Mother and Donald invited them tonight, but I don’t believe they’re here.”
“No, they’re not, their little son, Andy was running a fever and they thought it best not to leave him. And yes, Rachael and I are friends now. She has worked very hard to bring herself back from the brink of a very dark place.”
“You know Stacey, you amaze me. It’s very magnanimous of you to forgive such treachery.”
“Well, we all have something inside us that might not survive in the light of day.”
“Yes, you may be right about some of us, but I doubt that you have any shady corners. I feel your husband would agree.”
Miles’ heart flipped flopped as Stacey laughed and said, “Don’t praise me too high. I can be very worrisome at times.” Stacey saw Shane wending his way toward them. “Here Shane comes now. He can verify my feet of clay.”
The time was pushing twelve a.m. and Shane said, “We’re sorry to part with such agreeable company, but we must be getting on home. We don’t want to abuse our babysitters. We did tell them we wouldn’t be late.”
As Miles laughed and shook Shane’s hand, he said, “I would have bet money a few years ago that I would never hear those words come from the mouth of debonair, man about town, Doctor Shane McLeod”
Shane smiled at him as if he had a secret no one else was privy too. Miles took Diane’s hand as they walked to the door to say, goodnight to Stacey and Shane and remind them about the New Years party to be held at Miles’ penthouse flat.
Chapter-61
Mr. Chen arrives
A week before Christmas, Mr. Chen arrived unexpectedly. Stacey was surprised and pleased. She had talked with him on the phone a week or so ago and he had not mentioned a word about coming to visit.
“Well, little daughter, I hope you are happy to see me as I am you and your little family. Speaking of them, where are they?”
“Aunt Lora and Richard have them today. They’re having a puppet show at the library, but they’ll be back before you know it.”
Stacey made coffee and sandwiches as she and Mr. Chen caught up on news from Hong Kong, Austin and the family. “Amanda and Ashley were both engaged, but neither has set a wedding date as of yet. Dylan and Dusty are graduating from the Air Force Academy next month. We are all very much afraid that they will be sent to Iraq.
This is a much-hated war. You would think mankind would learn to stay out of the affairs of other countries, when and where they are not invited”
They both sat quietly for a few minutes, then Mr. Chen took Stacey’s hand and said, “I hope you and Doctor Shane don’t mind my just dropping in without calling first, but I was at the ranch and I thought about the holidays and I felt sure you and Doctor Shane have functions to attend, so here I am. I feel sure you can use a night out now and again. If the truth be told; I don’t want the little ones to forget their old Papa Chen.”
They were just finishing their conversation when they heard little voices as they came through the door. The twins stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Mr. Chen. Mr. Chen went down on his knees and said, “Have you forgotten me already? You don’t remember your old Papa Chen.”
Jackie whispered to Jessie, then they both ran and hugged him and cried, “Papa Chen, Papa Chen.”
As Mr. Chen shook hands with Aunt Lora and Richard, Stacey was remembering back in September when he came for a month to help out after Nicky was born. She had introduced him to the twins as Grandpa Chen. When they tried to say his name, it came out as Papa Chen. So now, he was Papa Chen.
Shane arrived home early to find welcome visitors. Aunt Lora and Richard stayed for supper and helped put the children to bed. The next morning, Mr. Chen was up and had breakfast ready as Stacey came downstairs. “Mr. Chen, I can do this. I want to take care of you, you have always taken care of me.”
“Yes, little daughter, and that’s precisely why I am here. I want to take care of you and your little family. But I will go if you tell me too,” he said with a knowing smile.
Stacey hugged him and said, “You don’t play fair, you know I would never tell you that.”
“Yes, I know, now what can I do to help?”
Shane was overjoyed to have Mr. Chen there. With his schedule at the medical center and Stacey’s with the children and on-line studies, there wasn’t much together time. Aunt Lora and Richard helped as often as possible, but they had a life too, therefore Stacey tried not to impose on them even though they were more than willing. Stacey did her best, but Shane wanted some alone time with his wife. Now with Mr. Chen there, he was looking forward to the New Years party.
A couple of weeks later, on their way to the party, Stacey asked, “Have you been to Miles apartment before tonight?”
Puzzled by her question he answered, “Yes, I have. Why do you ask?”
“No special reason, Diane mentioned it was spacious and modern and located across the river.”
Shane was relieved, he had not told Stacey that Miranda’s flat was directly below Miles penthouse. He hoped she would not be at the party tonight. He hadn’t seen Miranda since that awful night last winter when Stacey returned home from Texas and found him and Miranda together. Well, yes he had seen her once when he took those bloody photos to her flat looking for answers.
Shane was looking forward to tonight. It had been some time since he and Stacey had had a night out with no restrictions. As they stepped from the private lift into Miles flat they were met by George, Miles trusted butler, valet, and chauffeur. “Good evening, Doctor McLeod, so nice to see you again.”
“Good evening, George and happy New Year,” Shane said as he handed over his and Stacey’s coats. “George I’d like for you to meet my wife Stacey.”
Stacey reached out her hand to shake his and said, “How do you do sir, it’s nice to meet you.”
George was taken aback. The women that frequented his bosses flat had never greeted him as ‘sir’ or even acknowledged him as a person, but more as a fixture. He smiled and said, “I do very well, Madame. Thank you for asking.”
Miles and Diane walked up to greet them and escort them to the large living room. Hugh and Annie were already there along with Ian and Rachael, Nigel and Megan and a few other couples that Stacey didn’t know. Shane seemed to know most of them and introduced her. She received inquiring looks from some of them.
Sometime, later in the evening Shane was standing by the stair rail watching Stacey and Rachael as they talked and looked at the lighted vista below. Miles joined Shane and remarked, “It’s magnanimous of your wife to forgive Mrs. Graham of her treachery. I’m not sure I could have been that generous.”
Shane took the drink that Miles offered and said, “Yes, Stacey is a compassionate person. Sometimes I think too much so. Of course, like Stacey said Rachael was going through a psychosomatic state at the time.”
Stacey had been enjoying herself immensely dancing with Shane. She especially enjoyed the Latin dancing. She and Shane joined Miles and Diane at
the hors d’oeuvre table where Miles offered Stacey some very expensive caviar. Stacey turned up her nose and said, “Sorry Miles, but where I come from we call that bait.” Shane smiled but Miles had a hearty laugh. God, how much he would love to take her away and show her the world.
A little before midnight, Stacey slipped away and was sitting on a comfortable brown leather couch in Miles library. The doors were open and she could hear the music from the balcony above the living room. The penthouse was spacious and modern; however, the library was more peaceful and refined.
“Will I disturb you if I join you?”
Stacey smiled at Miles, she had not heard him enter, “No, of course not. It is your library. I find it quite a contrast to your living room. I can imagine you here, but not out there.”
Miles smiled at Stacey and sat down across from her. He had watched her for a few minutes before entering the room. His heart was pounding. The fact that she had imagined him at all took his breathe away. She was sitting with her beautiful long legs crossed and comfortable.
“That’s very astute of you Mrs. McLeod, you have found me out. Miranda hired a decorator to do the flat, but I arrived in time to oversee the library and my study. I wasn’t too interested in the rest of the flat, as it serves its purpose and the view is spectacular.”
“Yes, I’m sure it is. I would love to see it in the daylight sometime.”
From any other woman, Miles would have taken that remark as an invitation. He was befuddled by her beguile. Her eyes told him she was not flirting with him, but saw him as a friend. Miles smiled at her and said, “I do enjoy your Texas drawl. Shane told me you were a pleasure to listen to and I agree.”
“Oh, you cut me to the quick sir, and here I was thinking I could mingle with the natives.”
Miles was laughing, but at the same time, he was thinking how much he wanted to crush her lips with his and savor her sweet tongue. He knew he had to get a hold on himself before he ruined everything and lost her trust. Just in time, Diane walked in and said, “So this is where you two disappeared too. Shane is looking for you Stacey.”
“Is he? Well, he’s not looking too hard or he would have found me.”
Shane walked in about that time, sat down by Stacey and took her hand as the bells started ringing in the New Year. The revelers in the living room were blowing whistles, hooting, hollering and kissing in the New Year. As Shane kissed Stacey, Miles pulled Diane into his lap and kissed her and then they joined the others at the large windows in the spacious living room watching the fireworks across the river. An hour or so, later as Shane and Stacey were leaving, Miles and Diane walked them to the elevator. Miles shook hands and said, “Anytime you fancy to take the view of the river from here, you are most welcome.”
“Why, I do thank you sir,” Stacey said in her exaggerated southern drawl. “I do declare, I will take you up on your invitation someday.”
As the elevator took them down to the lobby, Shane asked, “What was that all about?”
Stacey told him about wanting to see the view from Miles flat in the daylight and then asked if he had seen it. Shane felt they were getting into sticky territory as Miranda’s flat was right below Miles.
“Yes, I’ve see it a time or two, it’s a nice view, but not one I could afford. When I put money into a home I want a place with a garden so the children will have a place to play.” That got him a smile and a squeeze of his hand from Stacey.
For the next few months, life was busy for the McLeod’s. Shane at the hospital and Stacey with the children and classes. She was able to attend hands on classes now that Mr. Chen was there to help. In early April, Mr. Chen left to participate in the opening of a new Blue Lagoon restaurant in Sydney, Australia. Stacey fell back into her old routine without missing a step. Everyone marveled at her ability to adapt so easily.
Miles and Diane were still seeing each other. They were about to go out to dinner when her mobile rang. She had an emergency and had to go to the hospital. Miles told her he would wait for her. He was sitting on her very comfortable sofa, skimming through a medical journal, when he decided to call Shane and chat for a bit. Shane invited him down as Stacey was grocery shopping and he was minding the wee ones.
As Miles rang the doorbell, Shane was in the middle of changing Nicky’s nappy. Nicky was now eight months old and quite a squirmier. Shane answered the door with Nicky in one hand and a nappy in the other. To see this side of Shane never failed to amuse Miles. As Shane attempted to re-apply Nicky’s nappy, Jackie came to the living room with a trail of bath tissue behind her.
Shane saw the tissue and said, “No, lass, we mustn’t do that.” About the same time, Jessie swooped through and grabbed Shane’s watch from the coffee table and ran down the hall. “Jessie, bring back daddy’s watch,” Shane said as he heard the toilet flush. Shane sat Nicky on the floor and ran to the loo. “Good gracious lass what have you done?” Shane asked as the water flowed over the rim of the toilet.
Jessie said, “Uh-oh.” with her hands behind her as she stood looking at her daddy with big brown innocent eyes.
Miles was now standing at the bathroom door and asked was there anything he could do to help. As the water flowed, he suggested that perhaps Shane should shut off the water valve.
“If I knew where the bloody thing was located, don’t you think I would have done so by now,” Shane replied.
This was the scene, Stacey encountered as she entered the flat with two bags of groceries. Nicky crawled towards her saying, “Mama, Mama.”
The twins came running saying, “Water Mommy, mucho water.”
Stacey picked up Nicky and went to the bathroom. Shane and Miles were trying to mop up the water as it flowed onto the floor. “What happened here and why don’t you turn off the water?” Stacey asked as she sat Nicky down and tipped toed through the water, moved a small cabinet that covered the bidet’ and turned off the water valve.
“Hello, Miles,” Stacey said and then asked, “What happened Shane?”
“Jackie made a run with the bath tissue, Jessie flushed my watch down the toilet and trying to put a nappy on Nicky is much the same as dressing a slippery eel.”
About then a crash from the living room grabbed their attention. The twins came running, “Nicky spill Mommy, Nicky spill.”
Stacey hurried to the living room where Nicky was standing by the coffee table splashing in coffee he had spilled after breaking one of the fragile cups from which Miles and Shane were drinking coffee. Each time he would slap the spillage he would blink his eyes and laugh. Stacey sat down on the floor laughing at the mess the flat had become in such a short time. The girls piled in her lap laughing too.
She turned to Shane and Miles and said, “If you two will bring up the rest of the groceries I will clean up my children as well as this mess and get supper ready.”
After washing the children’s face and hands and putting fresh clothes on them, she called the plumber and the super. She deposited Nicky with his father and the girls at their play table. By the time supper was ready the flat was clean and in order once again.
Diane had not returned yet, so Stacey invited Miles to supper. She had put Swiss steak in the slow cooker and made a salad before going grocery shopping. All she needed to do was cream the potatoes and cook the snow peas.
The plumber came and retrieved Shane’s watch as well as a menagerie of toys and an odd sock or two. Stacey thanked him as she set supper on the table. When everyone was at the table, they all held hands while Shane said the blessing.
Miles sat on the same side of the table as the twins were. When the blessing was finished, Miles kissed Jackie’s little hand. Jackie smiled at her mommy and held her hand next to her chest. Jessie watched and said as she reached across in front of Jackie, “Me too, Miser Miles.”
They all laughed at Stacey and Shane’s precocious little daughters.
After supper, Stacey was tidying up the kitchen when Diane called. “Ask her if she has eaten,” Stacey said.
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She had not, so Stacey made a plate for her. Shortly after, Miles thanked Stacey for a wonderful meal and took Diane’s plate upstairs. As Diane ate, Miles was telling her about the chaos at the McLeod’s. “I am in awe of that marriage,” he said. “Shane is a brilliant doctor, but Stacey is the hub of that family and the director of the smooth running of their existence.” Miles was quiet and thoughtful for a few minutes then said, “Stacey is young, but wise beyond her years. I wonder if Shane knows how fortunate he is.”
“Yes, I believe he does.” Diane said, as she remembered back to the day when she first met Stacey in the lift with Shane and how shocked she was when Shane introduced her as his fiancée and how she accused him of robbing the cradle. “I swear to you Miles, at the time she looked about sixteen. Just looking at her youth, I felt dreadfully old. I saw her again in November and made my amends. She was very gracious and accepted my apology. Of course, I had no way of knowing that they had already married in Scotland.”
Miles chortled at Diane’s recount of meeting Stacey. A bit suspicious, he asked, “Why am I getting the feeling that you and Shane were more than merely neighbors.”
“Hum, well, we almost were. We went out to dinner a couple of times. The last time, we were having an after dinner drink here in my flat. We were about to kiss when my mobile put a stop to everything. There was an emergency at the hospital, so I had to run. The coming weekend Shane went on holiday and returned with Stacey in tow. Therefore, that was the end of that. I am now their friend and their children’s pediatrician.