Last Night's Kiss

by Shirley Hailstock

Rosa could see some of Adam in the boy. She knew he wasn’t Adam’s son, but the two were like personalities. By the time Joel was a teenager, he and Adam would clash hard.

  “Why didn’t you ever call me?” Joel asked. Rosa could hear the mixture of hurt and censure in the twelve-year-old’s voice.

  “I did,” Adam replied. “In the beginning. Your aunt told me I would confuse you, hinder your ability to settle into your new life. I saw the wisdom in that.”

  “I don’t.”

  “There are some things you’re too young to understand.”

  “Like being abandoned by the only person I wanted to be with.”

  Adam shifted in his chair. “I didn’t abandon you, Joel. The court awarded custody to your aunt. She was right that you needed time to get used to the idea.”

  “She hated me. I told you she only wanted the money. Once she found out she couldn’t get it, she didn’t want me there, either. And I’m not going back.”

  “We’ll table that for right now,” Adam said.

  “I won’t,” he said, defiantly, staring at the man he’d traveled two thousand miles to see.

  “It’s not that easy, Joel,” Adam shouted.

  “Guys,” Rosa interjected, knowing things were about to get out of control. “None of this has to be addressed now.” She looked at Joel. “It’s going to have to be done sometime,” she said. He started to speak, but Rosa raised her hand to stop him. Then she looked at Adam. “The first thing we need to do is get him checked out by a doctor.”

  “I don’t need a doctor,” Joel protested.

  “It’s not your call,” Adam told him. “You practically walked across the country. Your feet are swollen and cut. You’ve lost so much weight I’m not sure your body isn’t eating itself. The best thing to do is to make sure you’re healthy.”

  “Well, I do have my insurance card.”

  Rosa and Adam looked at each other. She fought the smile that threatened to spread across her face, but lost after a moment. Adam was trying to fight his own. Soon they burst into laughter.

  “What?” Joel asked.

  “You have no clothes, shoes that we threw out, and no money but you have an insurance card.”

  “It’s in my wallet. Mom told me to always carry it.”

  “At least he has priorities,” Rosa commented as she pushed her chair back and got up to clear the table.

  Adam was relieved when the doctor only prescribed megadoses of vitamins, a diet to help Joel gain his weight back, and a topical antibiotic for the boy’s feet. Other than that, Joel would be all right in a couple of weeks.

  Rosa had gone to pick up some things Joel would need and Adam studied the street for her as they left the medical building. She waved to them as she crossed the street. Adam and Joel, sporting crutches, turned to meet her.

  “Clean bill of health?” she addressed Joel when she reached them.

  “Other than these walking sticks”—he indicated the crutches—“I’m fine.”

  “We have a couple of prescriptions to be filled,” Adam added, overriding Joel’s statement that everything was all right. He supposed it was youthful invulnerability. Adam had done some pretty risky things in his own youth, but nothing as crazy as hitchhiking more than halfway across the country with no money and only the clothes on his back at twelve years old.

  He had to admit Joel was resourceful. Despite his weight and his feet, he’d come through the experience virtually unscarred. In later life, being resourceful was an admired trait. But Adam was scared to death when Rosa had explained that he was there and how he got there. Afraid for what could have happened to him.

  “What’s in the bag?” Joel asked.

  Rosa pulled a pair of soft slippers from the bag.

  “Is this all?” Adam asked, seeing only the small bag in her hand.

  “I knew better than to get anything else until he could choose it himself,” she said, looking at Joel. “I know you need clothes, but your tastes are probably different than mine. And now that you have legs”—she indicated his crutches—“you can hobble over to the store with me.”

  Rosa leaned over and put the slippers on the ground. Joel wore only socks. She helped him into them.

  “I look like a dork.” He stared at the brown slippers and then at the two of them.

  “Yeah,” she agreed. “You do.”

  Joel’s mouth opened in surprise. Adam smiled.

  “But you’re our dork.” Rosa reached for his neck and hugged him.

  “Let go.” He wiggled free of her.

  “Sorry, I forgot that twelve-year-olds can’t be hugged. So let’s go and get you something to wear.”

  The three of them began walking.

  “Joel, when you left home, didn’t you think to take any clothes?” Adam asked.

  “Sure I did,” he said. “I left them in a locker at a post office in Missouri. The suitcase was heavy and I couldn’t carry it anymore. I have the key.” He stopped and rooted around in his pocket. The key wasn’t there.

  “I emptied your pockets when I washed your clothes,” Rosa said. “The key is on the shelf in the laundry room.”

  “What were you doing in Missouri?” Adam asked. It wasn’t exactly on a direct route to Montana.

  Joel hesitated. Adam assumed the story wouldn’t be a pretty one.

  “I hitched a ride on a truck and it went to Oklahoma.”

  “Didn’t you ask the driver where he was headed?”

  Joel dropped his head, staring at his new slippers as if they were acceptable footwear.

  “No, he didn’t,” Rosa answered.

  Adam turned to her.

  “He hitched a ride, but the driver didn’t know he was there.” She paused. “Isn’t that right, Joel?”

  After a moment of hesitation, the boy nodded. “I had enough money to buy a bus ticket to Kansas City. I stowed in the back of a truck. It was a furniture truck and there was a sofa all wrapped in plastic. I didn’t think it would hurt if I lay on it. I was tired and I fell asleep. When I woke up the truck had stopped. I jumped off it. I was in a town, and the truck had stopped at a red light. I didn’t know where I was so when I saw the bus station, I went in there.”

  Adam didn’t know whether he should be angry or laugh at the situation. Joel had been through an ordeal to get to Adam, and he was obviously afraid of what Adam thought. Adam chose laughter. Joel stared at him unsure what to do. Slowly a smile lifted the corners of his mouth.

  Adam reached for him and pulled Joel into a hug. The boy let go of the crutches and his small arms went around Adam. Through his mind the years of separation melted. He remembered playing video games that Joel always won. They’d gone camping and to ball games together. When Maureen was away, Adam had been there to care for Joel. He’d been the boy’s surrogate father, a role he’d been willing to continue, but for the court.

  And he knew he’d have to go through the courts again.

  And soon.

  Rosa was silent on the trip back. Joel fell asleep. Even though he’d slept for hours, the short trip to the doctor’s office and shopping had tired him out. Adam knew the ordeal took a greater toll on his young body than he understood. He drove straight to the ranch. As the truck came to a stop in front of the house, Bailey rode up on his horse and dismounted.

  Adam got out of the truck as his father opened the door for Rosa.

  “Bailey, you’re riding,” she said.

  He gave her a tight smile, then glanced at Adam, knowing his son wouldn’t approve. “I didn’t go far,” he explained, getting down. “Only around the building a couple of times. Medea has already lectured me.”

  Joel chose that moment to sit up and look through the window.

  “Ah, this must be the boy,” Bailey said. “Word has it he was asking how to get to the cabin.”

  When Adam opened his door Joel scrambled out, awkward as he tried to get all four of his land legs in a balancing position.

  “I’m Joel,” he volunteered.

/>   “I see. I’m Bailey, Adam’s dad.”

  Adam knew his father was aware of who Joel was. Adam had told him the circumstances involving the custody battle and its outcome.

  Joel looked between the two men. Adam wondered if he was trying to find a resemblance. Adam favored his father more than his mother.

  “Looks like you have a problem with your feet,” Bailey said.

  “Oh, I’ll be all right,” he said. “Is that your horse?” Joel’s eyes were as big as saucers.

  Bailey glanced at the horse. “Yep, this ole guy and I have spent many years together.”

  “Wow! It must be great. I’ve never been on a horse.” He looked at Adam for confirmation.

  “Well,” Bailey, said, “we’ll just have to get you up there.”

  Rosa nudged Adam’s arm. “Put him on the horse,” she whispered.

  “His feet. He can’t put them in the stirrups.”

  “Put him on the horse,” she insisted. “Lift him up.”

  Adam stepped forward. “How about right now, buddy?” He put his hands under Joel’s arms and hoisted him into the air. Joel swung his legs over the animal and settled into the saddle. Rosa grabbed the falling crutches.

  “Wow, this is really high up.”

  The stirrups were set for Bailey, a man with much longer legs than Joel’s. There was no way the boy could slip his feet in them and hurt his soles.

  “Do you think I could ride him?” Joel was already moving back and forth the way he’d probably seen people on television ride. Bailey’s hold on the reins kept the horse steady.

  “In time,” Adam said.

  “How much time?” Medea asked as she joined the small gathering. “Who is this child?”

  “This is Joel,” Adam answered.

  “You the one,” she stated. “I expected you two years ago. Where have you been?” Her smile took out of her words any sting Joel might think was there. “I see you had a hard time getting here. Well, come on in. You can tell me all about it.”

  “I’ll bring him in a moment,” Bailey said. “We’ll let him ride back to the stable.” He reached for the crutches Rosa held and took them from her.

  They all went into the house. Joel and Bailey came in moments later. Without discussion Medea took over the care of Joel. Bailey, Rosa, and Adam went into the great room, where the two of them quickly recounted Joel’s story for Bailey.

  “What now?” Bailey asked when they finished.

  “Now I call his aunt and get her part of the story.”

  Adam left them and went to his office. He dialed the number in his Rolodex for Lillian Reynolds. The recording said it had been disconnected. He dialed it again, sure he’d pressed the right keys, but there was the chance he’d dialed incorrectly. The same recording advised him the number was disconnected.

  Returning to the kitchen where Joel sat talking to Medea and eating cookies and milk, Adam asked him for the phone number of his aunt.

  “I’m not going back there,” he said.

  “I still have to talk to her, Joel. What’s the phone number?”

  Reluctantly, the boy gave him the number. It was different from the phone number Adam had. He tried it when he was alone again and it rang. On the second ring a man answered.

  “This is Adam Osborne. Is Lillian Reynolds there?”

  “You mean Lillian Clegg. This is her husband.”

  “I’m calling about Joel.”

  “He’s not here.”

  Adam heard a second voice in the background and then Lillian came on the line.

  “Hello, this is Lillian.”

  “Lillian, Adam Osborne here.”

  “Adam, it’s been a long time.”

  “Over two years,” he said. “I hear congratulations are in order.” Adam hated small talk. He wanted to get right to the point, but like any good reporter, he wanted to give her the chance to tell him the story.

  “Yes, I’ve married since the last time I saw you.”

  “Congratulations again.”

  “I suppose you’re calling to talk to Joel. He’s not here at the moment.”

  “I know that. He’s here.”

  “There? What’s he doing there?”

  “Apparently, he doesn’t want to live with you any longer. He’s been gone for ten days and you’re telling me he simply isn’t there. Have you reported him missing?” Adam forced himself to keep control of his voice.

  She stammered. “I sent him to camp.”

  “What camp?”

  “It’s a summer camp in…in Virginia. He’s supposed to be there. I drove him myself.”

  “Well, he’s here.”

  “Is he all right?”

  At least she was concerned about him. Adam gave her credit for that. “Only a little worse for wear. He hitchhiked across the country.”

  “Oh my God,” she said. “Send him back.”

  “He doesn’t want to come back. He’s very adamant about that. He says you and your new husband don’t want him around.”

  “That’s not true. We love Joel.”

  Adam didn’t hear the sincerity in her voice that he wanted to know was there. “Then why is he saying he doesn’t want to return?”

  “Adam, you know how boys are at his age.”

  “How are they, Lillian?”

  Ignoring his question, she tried a different tactic. “Adam, I have a court order. You put him on the fastest plane back here.”

  “I don’t think so. You might have a court order, but he’s twelve now and I’m sure the court will be interested in what he has to say about what his life has been like for the past two years.”

  Silence followed his statement. Then Lillian said, “Adam, we don’t need to bring courts into this. I’m sure we can work this out ourselves.”

  “I don’t think so, Lillian. Joel is going to stay here until we work things out. I suggest you get a lawyer because I’m taking you back to court.”

  “Adam—” she started.

  “I don’t think we should discuss this anymore.” He cut her off. “I’ll have my lawyer contact you later this week.”

  Adam said good-bye and broke the connection. He wasn’t a compulsive man, but seeing Joel so thin and worn angered him. Maureen had not intended for her son to be unhappy. Adam had made her a promise and no court was going to keep him from honoring it.

  Rosa’s life changed in the space of time it took Adam to make a single phone call. She’d known what he was going through, the moment she found him sitting vigil over the sleeping child. And now she was back where she’d begun the day, yet it was a different Rosa who entered her house from the one who’d left it seven hours earlier. When Adam returned to the kitchen after making his phone call to Joel’s aunt, he only asked Joel one question. What was the name of his camp?

  The boy clearly looked guilty. He confessed that Lillian had sent him to camp. It was from there that he left to find Adam. And it was possibly why Lillian didn’t know he’d been missing for ten days.

  “Do you think his aunt knew he was gone?” Rosa asked Adam when he closed the door. She needed to fill the air with conversation. The house felt hollow and she was sure their budding relationship had taken a gunshot wound in the last twenty-four hours.

  “I do.” Adam walked to the refrigerator and got a bottle of water. He twisted the top off and drained the bottle as if he hadn’t had anything to drink in days. Tossing the empty container in the recyclables bin, he absently took a second bottle and handed it to Rosa. “After Joel gave me the name of the camp, I called them. I spoke to the director and told them Joel had run away and he was here. He told me Joel was no longer registered at the camp, that his aunt had been notified when he ran away from there the second time.”

  “He’d done it before?”

  “Yes, they found him and returned him to the camp. They’d notified Lillian and she’d told them he would return there.”

  “He’d returned home as far as they knew. The man on the phone suggested I call
Lillian and let her know Joel had run away again.”

  “So she knew. How could she not report him missing? Anything could have happened to him. There has to be another explanation.”

  “I’m sure there is.”

  The finality with which he spoke the words told Rosa he’d made a decision. She knew without asking what it was, but she asked anyway.

  “You’re going to go back to court and fight for custody again,” she stated, holding the unopened bottle of water.

  Adam stared at her for a long moment before nodding.

  “Before you jump to conclusions, why don’t you hire an investigator to check out what’s really going on in Joel’s household? You already know he didn’t tell the whole truth. Maybe there’s some explanation that needs a clearer head and less emotion behind the decision.”

  Adam sat down. “You’re right,” he sighed.

  Rosa went to him. “Stop thinking of what could have happened to him. He’s here. He’s all right.”

  Adam put his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. The day had been tiring. Rosa felt a surge of love for him that she’d never felt before. Her arms went around his neck and she kissed the top of his head.

  Rosa knew Adam was doing the right thing. It was what Maureen had asked him to do. He was honoring her final wish. And she could tell he was attached to Joel more than he wanted anyone to know. She had fallen in love with Adam and now his priorities had changed. He wasn’t in love with her, but she thought he could be—in time. But they didn’t have much of that. She had to return to jobs that took her around the world.

  And Adam now had Joel.

  Chapter 10

  The day was perfect, clear sky, comfortable temperatures. There would be no delay. The camera crew, makeup artists, hair designers, sweepers, and a miscellaneous group of other people were all assembled. Rosa looked at Tommie, who was awed by all the activity. Rosa, Tommie, and Vida sat in director’s chairs—waiting. It was normal for Vida and her, but new for Tommie.

  “Ready,” the photographer called. “Let’s try you first.” Tommie pointed a finger at herself and he nodded. She looked at Vida and Rosa.

  “You’ll be fine,” Rosa said. “He’ll tell you what to do.”