FIGHT FOR ME

by AJ Crowe

“Can anyone tell me what letters make up this word?”

  A few kids raised their hands, jumping in their seats. Emma was one of them. Ivy called on a boy with dreadlocks next to Emma.

  “T, H, E,” he said proudly.

  “Great job! And can anyone else tell me what T, H, E spells?”

  A few kids yelled out “the!”

  “Can anyone raise their hand and tell me?”

  This time, Ivy called on Emma. “T, H, E spells ‘the.’”

  “Great job. What sound do the T and H make together?” Ivy asked a little girl with long braids sitting in the front of the class who hadn’t raised her hand yet.

  “Um,” she said. “Th?”

  “Very good.” Ivy turned to the board again and wrote “THE CAT.” “Can anyone tell me what this says?”

  The lesson went on like this for a few more minutes. When the kindergartener’s attention started to fade, they broke up into groups and read together with volunteers from the older grades.

  Ivy sat down next to Lucas behind his desk. He took her hand under the table and smiled at her. “You did great. You could be a teacher.”

  “Reading happens to be something I’m good at,” she said, laughing. “I’d probably have trouble teaching math.”

  “I hope not. Kindergarten math is pretty easy.”

  They grinned at each other.

  When they had finished reading their easy reader books, it was the end of the day –at least the end of the kindergarten day.

  Lucas walked up to the front of the class.

  “Everyone, thank your reading buddies.”

  “Thank you,” cried a chorus of kindergarten voices.

  “Now go see if your parents are outside.” He smiled.

  The kids jumped up and gathered up their jackets, lunches, and tiny kindergartener-sized backpacks.

  Lucas stood by door and said goodbye to each student.

  “Bye, Ms. Robins,” a few of the kindergarteners said. Each time Ivy was surprised they remembered her name.

  Initially when Lucas had invited her to teach a short English lesson to his kindergarten students, Ivy had been terrified. But it had turned out to be pretty straightforward. The kids were easy to work with and treated anyone at the front of the classroom like a revered deity, enraptured by every word.

  When Emma walked by, Ivy stopped her. “Hey Em, I’ll be out in a second, okay? You can play until I’m ready.”

  “Okay!” Emma ran out with a friend.

  A minute later, the classroom was empty. Lucas let the door swing shut.

  As soon as it did, he pushed her against the door and kissed her full force. One hand pinned her wrist against the door and the other caressed her cheek and hair. Ivy’s heart beat faster and the delicious feel of butterflies intensified her enjoyment of the kiss.

  Even after another month of regular kisses from Lucas, they still made her tingle all over.

  Well, even his gaze did that.

  Giggling, she let a hand brush between his legs.

  “Ivy,” he said, half serious. “Not now.”

  “What do you mean not now?” She brushed her lips over his neck and nipped at his collar bone. He shut his eyes and let out a deep breath.

  “I have a staff meeting in a few minutes,” he nearly moaned as she moved her hand against him.

  “Oh, all right, then.” She stepped away and started to open the door.

  “No,” he said, smiling sheepishly. “Come back.”

  He gave her a deep kiss that gave her an idea that she would have a wonderful night.

  * * * *

  She had been spending most nights at Lucas’s for the past few weeks.

  Every weekday morning she Skyped with her office in the city and they talked about what was going to be done that day. She would edit any new material and the cycle continued.

  It wasn’t quite as in depth as her job while she was in the office, but her editor in chief liked her and understood the situation –or at least part of it. She had been very sympathetic when Ivy had explained that her sister wanted her to stay until the anniversary of her husband’s death. Of course, she hadn’t mentioned Lucas as her primary reason to stay in Paisley.

  She was making part-time wage but it wasn’t like she needed a lot of money anyhow. Most of it was going to her sister to cover her meal and board. The rest went into savings.

  When Lucas went off to his staff meeting, Ivy went to walk Emma home. When she got home she worked on the latest issue of the real estate magazine while Emma played with little plastic ponies on the living room floor.

  Jess got home early. She gave her daughter a hug and then poured herself a glass of water from the sink before sitting down next to Ivy on the couch.

  “I had a good day at work,” she said.

  “Good to hear,” Ivy said, shutting her laptop and putting it aside. “There hasn’t been much for me to do at work today.”

  “I can’t believe they’re paying you to spend an hour or two a day to proofread on your laptop.”

  “Hey, I do so much more than that,” Ivy said, laughing.

  “I know. You work two jobs,” she said, looking meaningfully at her daughter.

  “That’s true.”

  A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. “You want to get it?” Jess called from her bedroom where she was watching a movie.

  “Got it.”

  Ivy opened the door.

  There was Lucas, a huge bunch of flowers in his hand, his smile just visible above the blossoms that he held out to her.

  “Oh my gosh!” She took them. “What are these for?”

  “Mr. Lucas!” Emma left her horses on the ground and joined them in the doorway.

  “I saw them in the grocery store and thought of you. They’re the same color as your hair and eyes.” Ivy looked at the flowers and saw that they were a mix of big golden blossoms and delicate blue ones.

  “Thank you so much.” She leaned over the flowers and kissed him quickly on the lips. “I’m going to go put these in water.”

  She set the bouquet on the counter in a jar filled with tap water temporarily. She went on a hunt for a vase.

  When she peeked her head into her Jess’s room, her sister looked away from the movie screen. “Who was at the door?”

  “It was Lucas with some flowers. He’s in the living room with Emma now.”

  Jess crinkled her nose.

  “Why do you always do that every time he does something nice?”

  Jess rolled her eyes. “You know how I feel about you guys. I’ll admit, it’s kind of sweet, though. What did you want from me?”

  “Do you have any vases?”

  “Um, let me think. Check under the bathroom sink.”

  “’Kay.”

  Ivy shut the door to her sister’s room and walked down the hall toward the bathroom. As she did, she caught a glimpse of Lucas sitting on the carpet playing horses with Emma. It made Ivy smile.

  She suddenly realized that Lucas was impeccable father material –at least, if she knew more about him. But based on what she did know… he was perfect.

  He was someone she could spend more than just a few months with. Hell, she would spend the rest of her life with him if she had the chance.

  The realization almost brought tears to her eyes.

  As she knelt down on the bathroom’s tile floor and looked in the cabinet under the bathroom sink, she foolishly imagined spending the rest of her life with Lucas. Was it even a possibility? She really had no idea.

  She tried to choose between a tall, skinny vase and a low, wide vase.

  She would have to face going home again in about a week. The year anniversary of Nikolai’s death was in a three or four days. Ivy and Jess’s mother was visiting and would stay a day or two after that.

  But once her mother was gone and the anniversary had passed, she would have to make the choice again. Go back to the city and try to make some kind of long distance relationship work with Lucas,
or… Well, she wasn’t quite sure what her other options were.

  Choosing the wider vase so the flowers could spread out more, Ivy stood and took a refreshing breath. She would think about that choice when she was immediately forced to. She didn’t have to right now.

  She walked back into the hallway and toward the living room. However, a question from Emma made Ivy stop before she was in view of the two in the living room.

  “Are you going to marry Auntie Ivy?”

  Ivy held onto the vase tightly while she waited for the answer. She knew it was really unfair to expect anything from his answer, but she still did.

  “I don’t know,” he said with barely a pause. “Do you want me to?”

  “Yes!”

  Lucas laughed. “Why?”

  “So you can teach me all the time.”

  Ivy had to smile at that even though she was out of view in the hallway. When they didn’t keep talking, Ivy started to walk into the room again. But again she was stopped by a question, this time from Lucas. And this time it was a little more interesting.

  “Do you miss your daddy?”

  Why would he ask that? It was understandable that he would wonder how Emma was doing, but to actually ask her and risk an extremely negative reaction? That didn’t seem very responsible to Ivy. She had never even brought up Emma’s father with her out of caution.

  “My daddy?” Emma asked, like she didn’t understand the question.

  “Yeah.”

  “My papa is dead,” Emma said in a matter of fact tone, like it was common knowledge and not that big of a deal.

  “I know,” Lucas said softly. “And you’re okay not having a papa?”

  Ivy almost wanted to come in and change the subject. She could almost hear Emma shrug the topic off. The next thing she heard Emma say was something like “oh no, your horsie is too close to the hot lava!”

  Ivy finally walked into the living room, feeling a little guilty about eavesdropping but also glad she did. The exchange between Emma and Lucas had been… strange, to say the least.

  She walked to the counter and put the flowers in the vase without saying anything to Lucas or Emma. She tipped a dash of baking soda into the water and walked into the living room to put the flowers on the coffee table.

  “They look so nice,” she said half to herself.

  “You like them?” Lucas stood up.

  “I do. I really do.”

  Ivy gave Lucas a hug. Emma jumped up and hugged the both of them. Ivy ruffled her hair.

  Lucas gave her a soft kiss on the cheek and headed for the door. “You going to stay with me tonight?”

  Ivy grinned. “Of course. I’ll text you after we have dinner so you can come get me.”

  He nodded and left.

  Later, while Jess was making dinner –warming up some instant food in the microwave –Ivy pulled a stool over to the kitchen counter partition and decided to bring up the conversation she had overhead with Jess.

  “I overheard Lucas asking about Nikolai when he stopped by earlier,” she said. “Asking Emma if she was okay not having a dad.”

  Jess looked away from the microwave. “That’s a little weird.”

  “I thought so.”

  “What did she say?”

  “Nothing, really. She kind of deflected the subject.”

  “That’s what she does with me.” Jess leaned on the counter. “Ivy, I told you there was something weird about him. Something off.”

  “Jess—”

  “I’m not saying he’s a bad guy! I’m just saying… You know what I’m saying. I’ve said it enough.” Jess paused. “He was probably just being concerned. Asking Emma, I mean. He’s been really sensitive and concerned about… it… since he met us.”

  Ivy nodded. “Yeah. I just wasn’t sure what to think. He’s been really nice lately. These last few weeks have been nothing but kisses behind doorways, sweet words, and, um, amazing sex.”

  “I can imagine,” Jess laughed. “He looks like he’s in great shape.”

  “He is!” Ivy blushed a little. “It’s intense, but I can’t get enough of him.”

  “Is he still not talking about his past?”

  Ivy looked down. Her mood instantly started to drift downwards. “No. He really won’t tell me anything, except what I told you. Some barebones stuff in his childhood. He won’t talk about what happened between high school and now.”

  “Red flag,” Jess said.

  “I know.”

  “It sounds like he’s trying to prove to you that he’s not a bad guy even though he won’t talk about his past.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. He’s trying to win you over.”

  Ivy stretched her arms up and yawned. “He’ll be here soon,” she said. “I should go get ready for some winning over.”

  The sisters laughed.

  Chapter Thirteen

  On the drive over to his house, Lucas got a call on his cell phone.

  “Huh, I don’t recognize the number.” He answered it as he pulled into his driveway. “Hello?”

  Ivy opened her car door and walked up the driveway, thinking little of the phone call. It was probably a wrong number or someone trying to sell him something. However, when Lucas lowered his voice and seemed to shrink back into the driver’s seat, Ivy started to pay attention.

  “How did you get my number?” Lucas hissed, using a tight and barely controlled voice Ivy had never heard from him before.

  “Who is it?” she called.

  “No one,” he said, leaning out of the car. “You can go on inside without me.”

  Ivy gave him a long look, waiting for him to say something else on the phone, but he didn’t begin to speak again until she opened his door –he had given her a key three weeks ago –and stepped inside. She only heard a fraction of his next sentence.

  “Do you know … I am?”

  As the door swung shut, Ivy felt a little scared. Like something was happening that she didn’t fully understand and probably didn’t want to understand.

  She let Kimbo in from the backyard. The dog ran in happy circles around her. She sat on Lucas’s couch and cuddled with Kimbo. She could hear his voice outside, but couldn’t make out any words.

  After a few moments he walked inside, his expression tight. He shut and locked the door behind him. Ivy was shocked to see that his hands were shaking, just the tiniest bit. She wondered if he even knew himself.

  “Who was that?” she asked again.

  He paced back and forth in the living room. Kimbo jumped off the couch and chased at his heels. He stopped walking and looked at Ivy, like he was noticing her there for the first time.

  “I have to go,” he said. He took his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. “You can stay here. Watch Kimbo. I’ll be… back.”

  “What? When?” Ivy stood from the couch, shocked.

  “No later than the morning.” He started to leave, then turned and looked at her. “If I’m not back by then…” He trailed off. His expression started to relax. “Never mind. I’ll be back. Don’t worry about me. It’s an… emergency.”

  “Okay. Let me know what’s going on as soon as you can,” Ivy said, trying to figure out what could possibly be happening.

  Lucas nodded and left, locking the door behind him from the outside.

  Kimbo sat by the door and barked lazily a few times. Then, he wandered over to Ivy and pawed at her foot, wagging his tail.

  Ivy knelt down and scratched him behind the ears. “What was that, Kimbo?” she asked no one. “What the hell was that?”

  Kimbo made a pleased sound as she scratched his tummy.

  If only she could be as forgiving and easygoing as the dog when it came to Lucas.

  * * * *

  She didn’t want to stay at Lucas’s on her own and worry about him all night, so she took Kimbo and walked him to Jess’s apartment.

  When she explained what had happened to her sister, Jess tried to convince her to call the police
right away.

  “He said it was an emergency. Someone could be in real trouble!”

  “I’m sure that he’s taking care of it. That’s why he left in such a hurry.”

  Jess stared at Kimbo. “Is this dog going to pee on our carpet?”

  “No! Jess, no. He’s housetrained. I’ll take him out often enough that he won’t pee on anything.”

  “Okay,” Jess said. “Have I mentioned that I don’t approve of this pairing? This guy is bad news. He has some kind of terrible emergency that is so bad he leaves you at his house with his dog and no explanation—and he might need police assistance if he’s not back in the morning? I don’t know, Ivy, please just think about this. Are you ready to deal with whatever he’s hiding from you?”

  Ivy swallowed. “Yeah. But Jess, it’s probably a death in the family or something. I’m sure it’s not anything so out of the ordinary.” She remembered what he had said as soon as whoever was on the other line started talking. “How did you get this number?”

  Emma wandered in from her room.

  “What’s going on?” She was holding her favorite stuffed animal, a floppy white unicorn about as big as she was. “Why is there a puppy?”

  “This is Mr. Fray’s dog,” Jess said simply. “We’re taking care of him for the night. Go back to your bed. I’ll be there in a minute to read you a story.”

  Ivy made her pull out couch bed for the first time in a long time and lay down. She kept her phone by her hand and checked it every few moments even though it was set to vibrate.

  What was Lucas doing? Why wouldn’t he tell her what it was?

  Though she was worried about Lucas’s honesty, mostly she was just worried about him.

  She hoped desperately that he would give her a call and let her know that things were all right and he’d be back within the hour.

  This night wasn’t turning out at all like she had thought it would.

  * * * *

  Ivy had just drifted off to sleep when she heard someone walk into the living room. This wasn’t a rare occurrence. Usually it was just Jess or Emma getting a snack or something similarly ordinary. Ivy rolled onto her side, facing the couch, and tried to go back to sleep.

  She felt a hand on her shoulder.

  “Ivy, can you please wake up?”