“I don’t believe you.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stuck his lip out.
“Well, believe, Levi. Now, get your socks on so we can leave. I can’t be late for work.”
He stomped down the hallway to his room and slammed the door shut. I couldn’t tell if I was a raising a four-year-old or a teenager anymore.
Just as I slipped on my shoes, there was a knock at the door, and I hung my head. We hadn’t outrun Mitch. I opened the door, fully expecting to see Mitch standing there in all his handsome glory but was surprised when I was face to face with a balding, beer-bellied man in his fifties. “You Scarlett James?”
“Um, yes. Is there a problem?” He looked down at his clipboard, scribbled something on the bottom, tore the sheet off and handed it to me.
“Keep the door open. We’ll bring the car up first.” I grabbed the paper out of his hand trying to read what it was. He lumbered down the stairs before I could put two thoughts together and ask him what the hell he meant. “Shit,” I mumbled when it dawned on me that he was here to deliver the beds.
The paper was ripped from my hands, and I looked up. Mitch was standing in front of me, a smirk on his face. “Good, I made it in time. I’ll make sure they get the beds set up and then Levi and I will head over to the shop.”
“What are you doing here?” I pushed him out in the hallway, partially closing the door behind us. “I thought I told you I needed to figure out how to do this on my own.” I peeked in the door, making sure Levi was still in his room.
“And I thought I told you I would be here at eight to watch Levi.”
“You did, but I don’t want you to.”
“We’re not going through this again, Scar. I get that you want to do whatever the hell you think you need to do alone, but I’m still watching Levi for you. Like I said, you need daycare, just call me Daycare from now on.” He pushed past me, opening the door.
“Mitch, stop.” I grabbed his arm, and we both looked down at my hand.
“Touching me is not the thing you should be doing right now, Scar. I’m two seconds away from slamming you against that wall and fucking this attitude out of you.”
I dropped his arm like it was on fire and took a step back. “I can’t do this, Mitch.” Just being near him made me want to say fuck it to everything I had told him last night, but I knew I shouldn’t. I needed to do this on my own. At least for a little bit.
He leaned close, his lips next to my ear. “I’m not going anywhere.” He sauntered down the hallway, and I heard Levi shout when Mitch opened the door.
“Look out, coming through.” The door banged open, and pot belly and one other guy walked through the door. They both stopped in the living room and looked at me. “Where you want it?”
“Down here,” Mitch called. They moved down the hall, the box banging on the walls and I sunk to my knees.
“What in the hell is going on?” I whispered. All I wanted to do was live in my quiet little world with Levi, but Mitch was basically kicking the door in, telling me he wasn’t going to leave, and now I had two strange men in my apartment setting up beds that I needed but didn’t want because Mitch had bought them. I glanced at the clock on the stove and groaned. “Shit.” I was going to be late to work if I didn’t get my ass going.
I stood up, brushed my hair out of my face and decided I needed a game plan. Mitch was right, I needed daycare. Except, Mitch wasn’t going to be my daycare. Well, he probably would be this week, but I definitely needed to find someone else. Once I got someone else to watch Levi, Mitch wouldn’t come around as much. I think.
I also needed to start paying Mitch back for not only the car but now for the beds, too. I had no idea how I was going to be able to afford that, but knew I needed to.
“Scar, don’t you need to go to work?” Mitch walked down the hallway with Levi on his heels.
“Mama! My bed is a car, and Mitch said he’s watching me today. Can he, please?” Levi jumped up and down and threw his arms around me. I looked down at him, his face glowing with the fact he had a new bed and he got to spend the day with Mitch.
“I know, bud. It’s exciting getting a new bed.”
“Can I stay with Mitch, please?”
I glanced at Mitch, his arms crossed over his chest and a small smile on his lips. I figured he would look a lot smugger than he did. He was, after all, getting exactly what he wanted. “Just for a couple of days until I can figure something else out, alright?”
“Yes! I’m gonna go help put my bed together.” He took off down the hallway and dashed into his room.
“You’re not playing fair again, Mitch.”
“You better go, or you’re going to be late for work. I’ll drop Levi off at 6.”
“I get off at four. I’ll swing by the shop and grab him.”
“I’ll drop him off at 6. That’ll give you some time to yourself. Luke and Violet wanted to go out for pizza. Levi and I will tag along, and I’ll drop him off after.”
He headed down the hallway. “Mitch, what the hell am I supposed to do for two hours until Levi comes home?”
He turned around and looked me up and down. “I don’t know, but you’ll figure it out. Maybe try writing.”
“That’s ridiculous. Just bring him home at four.” I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my foot.
“No. He’ll be home at six.” He walked to Levi’s room but turned around at the door. “You better go, Scarlett, you’re going to be late.” He ducked into the room and shut the door behind him.
I glanced at the clock on the stove and sighed. “Dammit.” He was right, I was going to be late. But he was also crazy. He was going to keep Levi two hours longer than I needed him to? I took two steps towards Levi’s room to tell Mitch that I would pick Levi up but instead grabbed my purse, hitched it over my shoulder and grabbed my keys off of the table.
I didn’t know what the hell to do. Mitch was right, but he was wrong too.
I did the only thing I knew for sure I needed to do. I went to work.
Mitch and his pushy ways would have to wait till later.
______________
Mitch
“What are we going to do today, Mitch?” Levi asked as I strapped him into his seat. The furniture guys had left about an hour ago, and we were finally on the way back to the shop. Levi had bounced around on his bed for an hour, talking non-stop like he had eaten a pound of sugar.
“Well, since it’s Sunday and the shop isn’t open, I thought we’d check over the ‘Vette, make sure she’s running good and then the rest of the day is up to you.”
“Awesome! Is Frank going to be around?” It seemed that Levi had taken quite a liking to Frankie. Which was a good thing since I hoped after Scarlett and I got back together that she would be babysitting every once in a while for us.
“I’m sure she’ll be there.” I shut his door, rounded around the truck and hopped in the driver’s seat.
“Is Kurt going to be there?” Levi asked as we headed out of the neighborhood.
“I don’t think so.”
“Good. He scared mama and me last night.”
I glanced in the rearview mirror and frowned. “He scared you?”
“Yeah. He yelled like my dad always used to. I didn’t like it when he yelled at Mama or hurt her.”
“But Kurt is nothing like your dad, Levi. He would never hurt you or your mama. He was just upset but not at you.” Fucking Kurt. He had to fly off the handle in front of Levi. The kid had been through enough; he didn’t need this too. “Kurt went on vacation for a while anyway, bud. He won’t be back for a bit.”
“Good. Did he take Bumblebee with him?”
I couldn’t help but laugh that Levi called Kurt’s car Bumblebee. “Yeah, he took it with him.”
“Darn. You think Kurt will give me a ride in it when he comes back?” I guess Levi wasn’t as afraid of Kurt as he said he was if he still wanted to go for a ride with him.
“I’m sure he will.”
“Cool. Can we get donuts?”
I chuckled under my breath and put on my blinker to head into town to get donuts. “I guess we could stop and get some, but we’d have to get donuts for everyone.”
“OK. I want the biggest donut they have with a ton of sprinkles,” he declared, holding his hands up.
Levi yammered on and on about the donut he was going to get, and I couldn’t help but think if this was how each of my mornings was going to start from now on, I was down with that. The only thing that would have made it better is if Scarlett would have been with us.
But I figured that would change soon, and I knew as soon as I put my plan in motion, Scarlett would be mine again. All I needed was a little help from Levi.
“Hey, bud. Do you know what your mama’s favorite color is?”
“Orange. She always paints her toes that color.”
Perfect. I know Scarlett said I didn’t play fair when I had Levi on my side, but I wasn’t playing to be fair, I was playing for keeps.
______________
Scarlett
It was four fifteen, and I was home.
Alone. With nothing to do.
I couldn’t even watch TV because, well, I didn’t have one. I had thought about reading a book, something that I hadn’t done since Levi was born, but, I also didn’t have a book either. I was coming to realize that I was lacking in anything entertaining for myself.
There was always the possibility of taking a nap, but now that I had the option to nap, I was wide awake.
So, I did the one thing I didn’t want to do because Mitch had suggested it, which was try to write.
I plugged my phone up to the tiny Bluetooth speaker I had and turned on my favorite singer, P!nk. I often never got to listen to music I liked because Levi was always my little DJ listening to Radio Disney all of the time.
As P!nk crooned about trying and not giving up, I stared at a blank piece of paper. Thinking about writing was much easier than actually writing. I had written when I was in high school, but that was when I was young, and naive, thinking that true love was real.
So, instead, I wrote about what I knew now.
By the time, there was a knock on the door I had over four pages written, and my hand was cramping up. I glanced at the clock on the stove and saw that it was already five after six. I hadn’t even started dinner for Levi and me.
“Coming,” I mumbled when there was another knock on the door. I pulled open the door to Mitch and Levi standing there, both holding an orange Gerber daisy.
“Mama!” Levi launched himself at me, wrapping his arm around my leg and held up the flower to me. “We got you your favorite color flower.”
“I see that, baby.” I took the flower out of his hand and held it up to my nose, smelling it. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. It was Mitch’s idea. He said you deserved flowers as pretty as you are.”
I leaned down, pressed a kiss to Levi’s cheek which he promptly wiped off and ran down the hall to his room.
“He’s wrong. I wanted to find flowers as pretty as you, but I couldn’t. I don’t think they exist.” He held out the flower in his hand, and I hesitantly grabbed it.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“No need to thank me, Sparky. Just the truth.” I knew I should invite him in, but I couldn’t get the words out. “You work at ten tomorrow, right?” I nodded my head yes dumbly. “I’ll pick Levi up at nine then. ‘Night, Scar.” He disappeared down the stairs, and I heard the door shut behind him.
I closed the door, leaned against it and held the flower he had given me to my chest. That was not at all how I had thought Mitch dropping off Levi would have gone. I had fully expected Mitch to insist on staying and trying to convince me to change my mind.
“Mama, you need to put your flowers in water. That’s what the lady at the flower shop said.” Levi jumped up, trying to reach the cabinet the glasses were in.
“OK, I’m coming, bud.”
After I had put the flowers in a makeshift vase, I cooked a dinner of grilled cheese and tomato soup for Levi and I while he told me everything he had done with Mitch today. He finally passed out curled up in his bed with a goofy smile on his face.
Levi had one of the best days of his life, and I had Mitch to thank for it. Every day would be that way for him if I would let Mitch stay.
I guess it all came down to if I let Mitch in all of the way, would he stay? I knew I needed to know I could live on my own, but I was also afraid that Levi and I wouldn’t be enough for Mitch.
Now, I just had to figure that out and then maybe I could let Mitch in.
Maybe.
______________
Chapter 31
Mitch
“You know what your mama’s favorite type of ice cream is?” Levi and I were in my truck, headed back to the shop and I was planning day two of getting Scarlett back.
“Hmm,” Levi tapped his chin thinking. “The one with the road in it.”
“What?”
“Something with a road. I can’t remember what it’s called. Mama loves that stuff. Me, I love the blue ice cream.”
“Oh, you mean Rocky Road, bud?”
“Yup. Rocky Road. Are we getting mama ice cream today?”
“Yup. I figure on the way back to your place this afternoon, we’d stop and get dessert for you guys tonight.”
“You think we could get some of that blue ice cream for me, too?”
“Well, I guess since you’re helping me out we could get you some of that, too.”
“Yes.” Levi pumped his fist in the air and did a little dance in his seat. “You think tomorrow we could get Mama a puppy?”
I busted out laughing. “I think we need to work our way up to a puppy.”
“OK. We’ll get her a puppy Friday.”
By Friday, I had hoped that Scarlett would be begging me to stay, but I wasn’t quite sure of that yet. Although, I still had a few surprises up my sleeve.
______________
Scarlett
I was in heaven, and I had Mitch to thank for it. Levi was in his bedroom winding down watching one of his Transformer movies, and I was in the kitchen, leaning against the counter while I ate a huge bowl of Rocky Road ice cream.
When Mitch had handed me the plastic grocery bag, I couldn’t help but be a little excited to see what was inside. He gave it to me saying it was something I loved, and he was gone before I could even thank him.
He was trying to worm his way into my heart while still keeping his distance and I had to say he was doing a damn good job. He had even included a pint of Blue Moon for Levi to have after dinner.
Mitch Jensen was giving me the distance I needed but wasn’t letting me forget about him.
Smart man.
---
Tuesday
“Hi, Mama. Bye Mama.” Levi ran past me and headed straight to his room without a backward glance at me.
“I got him a new Transformer movie, and he’s been dying to watch it,” Mitch explained. He was standing in front of me balancing a pizza box in one hand and holding a two-liter of soda in the other. “We stopped and got dinner for you, too.” He held up the pizza, and I grabbed it from him. “I figured Levi would be glued to his TV all night and thought you might like a break from cooking.”
“Um, thank you.” This was actually perfect. Before Mitch and Levi had shown up, I had stared in the fridge for ten minutes trying to figure out what to make for dinner. “Did you want to stay and eat with us?”
“No, I actually have plans tonight, and I need to get going.”
“Oh. Um, sorry to keep you.” I grabbed the soda from his hand and set it on the floor.
“I’ll be by same time tomorrow, OK?” I nodded my head, suddenly unable to talk. He gave me one last look and then he disappeared down the stairs.
I closed the door, pressed my back a
gainst it and closed my eyes. “This is what you wanted, Scarlett,” I said out loud. At least I thought it was.
---
Wednesday
“No. Take it back.”
“I can’t.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because I can’t remember where I bought it from.” Mitch was standing at my kitchen counter, hunched over a laptop.
“How do you not remember where you bought a computer from?”
“Because I bought it five years ago. This is my old computer. I thought you could use it to write on. It has all of the basic writing programs you need. You don’t have the internet so it’s only good for writing.”
“Mitch, you can’t give me a computer.”
“I’m not. I’m just loaning you this one until you can afford to buy a new one.”
“That would be never.” This was crazy. Beyond crazy. “I’ve been writing on paper, Mitch. That’s been working just fine.”
“So, you’ve been writing. How’s it going?”
“It’s fine.” I crossed my arms over my chest. Mitch hit a couple keys on the computer then turned it around to me. “You’re good to go. Like I said, it’s nothing fancy, but it’ll help you with your writing.”
“I’m not going to use it, Mitch.”
Mitch shrugged his shoulders and headed to the door. “Do what you want, Scar. It’s yours if you want it.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket and twirled them around his finger. “I’ll be here same time tomorrow.” He slipped out the door just like he had the past four days and I was left alone again.
I was alone just like I had wanted, but now I wasn’t sure I liked it as much. What the hell was wrong with me?
---
Thursday
Chocolate. My favorite.
At this point I knew Mitch had to be talking to Levi, trying to figure out everything I loved.
PowerShift: Skid Row Kings Series, #2 Page 17