Down Too Deep

by J. Daniels

  Oliver finished up and stepped out of the bathroom as I thought on this plan, showing the same amount of excitement his sister had about the carnival, his voice carrying through the restaurant animatedly. And evidently, a little on the loud side.

  Just as I was about to head toward the office, the door latched shut.

  Okay. Someone didn’t want to be bothered.

  “How many tickets can we get, Mom?” Oliver asked. “Please say enough to do all the games. The games look so cool. They got a ring toss and the one where you gotta knock over the cans. I better warm up my arm.”

  I smiled, fixing his glasses for him when the windmill motion he did nearly knocked them off his nose. His excitement prompted a better idea. I’d show my support for Whitecaps while giving my kids a day packed full of memories. A face-to-face with the owner could wait for another time.

  Chapter Three

  JENNA

  Two Weeks Later

  Looking forward to tonight. Are you sure I can’t pick you up?

  Me too! I’ll meet you there. I need to drop off my kids at my brother’s house. He’s watching them for me.

  Oh.

  I didn’t know you had kids.

  I frowned reading the texts. Did this guy not read my profile? I’d mentioned being a mom. Should I have bolded that information?

  Forcing myself to stay positive, I typed my response. Maybe this guy still had potential. That Oh didn’t necessarily mean anything.

  Yep. Two of them. Is 6:30 still a good time?

  I’m really not looking for anything serious.

  Translation: The thought of getting tied down to someone with kids disinterests me. This will only be a one-time fuck.

  Disappointment came on swift, even though I should’ve known better. Every other guy I’d interacted with on CupidMatch.com had been a letdown, and seemingly only after sex. Nothing real or sustainable. It was my own fault for having any expectations here. But I was beginning to realize hope was a difficult emotion to turn off.

  I believed in love. Why wouldn’t I have faith in it?

  Not that I had any personal experience with it in terms of a relationship. I hadn’t been in love yet. Not real love. Crush-love, yes. The two voices booming from the living room were a testament to that. They were also the reason why I wasn’t as practiced in dating as other twenty-seven-year-olds. Being a mom took priority. But I tried to grab a date as often as I could. And even though the men of Dogwood Beach were turning out to be more frustrating than anything, I still put myself out there.

  I was, however, beginning to regret the dating app route. That really wasn’t working out for me. And unless I became a different person, one who was looking for a meaningless hookup and nothing more, it wouldn’t work out for me.

  I finished applying my mascara, then stood from my vanity stool as I typed out my response to this guy. A response that might not have been necessary, but just in case, I needed him knowing—I was no longer interested.

  I’m going to have to cancel tonight. Thanks anyway.

  By the time I walked down the short hallway that opened up to the living room, that app had been deleted off my phone.

  “Uno out!” Olivia shrieked. She threw her playing cards down on the coffee table and pumped her fists into the air. “Whoop, whoop!”

  “Aw, man! I was so close to winning.” Oliver collapsed sideways onto the sofa and punched the cushion. “I want a rematch, Livvy! You always win.”

  “We can play tonight at Uncle Brian’s. I’ll pack the cards in my bag.”

  “Good idea.”

  “What if we did something else besides going over to Uncle Brian’s tonight?” I asked, stopping behind the sofa.

  Olivia peered up at me. “But what about your date?”

  “I don’t have a date anymore.”

  “Why not?”

  “I just don’t. I decided to cancel.”

  “But you were really excited, Mama.”

  “I know, baby, but sometimes things just don’t work out the way we want them to.”

  Olivia glowered, reaching into the back pocket of her shorts. She pulled out a pen and a small notepad, flipped it open to a page, and violently crossed something out.

  “What’s that? What are you doing?” I tried to see what Olivia had marked off, but she closed the pad before I caught sight of it.

  “I had high hopes for him,” she mumbled. She tucked her notepad away after sliding the pen through the rings. Then she took a seat on the coffee table and pouted.

  I fought a smile. My daughter was a hopeless romantic as well. I wondered if she was becoming a little too invested in my personal life.

  “What are we gonna do if we don’t go over to Uncle Brian’s?” Oliver asked, rolling to his back so he could see me above him.

  “Well, I thought since today is your first official day of summer break, we should probably celebrate somehow.” I paused for dramatic effect, looking between the two of them. “And I am pretty hungry…”

  “Can we go out to eat?” Olivia sprang to a standing position and held her breath. Her eyes doubled in size.

  “Mom, can we?” Oliver asked, scrambling to his knees. “Please? Please!”

  I knew this would make up for the change of plans. Even though my children loved going over to my brother’s house almost more than anything, they were practically addicts when it came to restaurant food. There was something about ordering off a menu. And because I kept us on a strict budget—a necessity since I was a single parent of two very active children who were always involved in some sort of extracurricular activity—I didn’t allow meals out very often.

  “Get your shoes on,” I gave as my answer.

  “Whoop!” Olivia punched the air. She fell into a fit of laughter when her brother stood up and shook his butt. The two of them high-fived, then raced each other for the front door, where their shoes were stacked against the wall.

  “Can we go to Whitecaps?” Oliver asked.

  “Sure. Wherever you guys want to go.”

  “I want a burger. They got the best burgers.” He pushed his heel into his shoe and stomped the floor. “You know I’m right, Mom.”

  “I want a burger too,” Olivia said, tying her laces.

  I quickly shot a text to my brother, letting him know he was off the hook in terms of babysitting duty, and then I grabbed my keys and purse off the small table by the door. A large antique mirror hung above it on the wall. I checked my reflection while the kids finished getting ready.

  I hadn’t changed for my date yet, so I wasn’t wearing anything fancy. Just a favorite pair of jean shorts and a soft yellow flowy top that had the shoulders cut out and billowed at my waist. But my hair and makeup looked more done up than usual. My long brown locks were loosely curled, making the caramel highlights my friend Shay had given me a few weeks ago stand out a bit more. I was wearing foundation instead of my typical tinted moisturizer, but kept my skin looking dewy since I’d skipped the powder. My eyes were lined black. Lips shiny with gloss.

  “You would’ve looked real pretty for your date, Mama,” Olivia announced, coming to stand beside me.

  I smiled down at her and cupped her cheek, which was flushed from exertion. “Not as pretty as you.”

  “Are you sad?”

  “Not one bit. I get to go on a date with you two now.” I winked at her when she grinned big, and then I ruffled Oliver’s dark hair when he got beside his sister. “And have the best burgers in Dogwood Beach.”

  “Oh yeah!” Oliver hollered, adjusting his glasses when they slid down his nose. “Let’s go. I’m starving.”

  The kids rushed outside when I opened the door. I followed, grinning as I watched them sprint to the car and pile inside it. Their unrestrained excitement was infectious, and I realized halfway to the restaurant how much truth had been in the answer I’d given Olivia.

  My children always made the best dates.

  * * *

  The oceanfront restaurant was busy,
typical for a Saturday night, I was sure. The kids didn’t mind the thirty-five-minute wait though, and spent it playing I Spy on the wraparound porch while I stared out at the ocean.

  I braced my elbows on the railing and watched the waves crash through a break in the dunes. The June air warmed my shoulders.

  I loved the beach. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere but here now.

  Olivia chose our car for the second time in a row and stumped Oliver, who called her a cheat and demanded a rematch. When it was her turn to guess, Oliver started with the same description—I spy with my little eye something silver—and I had to bite my cheek to stop myself from laughing.

  It was precious, how well they got along. I had a feeling even if they weren’t twins they would’ve been this close.

  Kali, one of the waitresses I was friends with, stepped outside and called our name, then led us to an open booth by the window. The kids sat across from me, both up on their knees, and immediately got started on the children’s menu coloring activity.

  “Can we get soda, Mom? You know, since we’re celebrating.”

  “I think we can do that.”

  Oliver’s grin took up his entire face. He leaned closer to his sister, who remained focused on her drawing. “You hear that? I’m getting a Dr Pepper.”

  “Me too.”

  “No. You get something else. Then we’ll swap and get double the soda.”

  “Okay. Good idea.”

  I studied the menu, humming along to the Twenty-One Pilots song playing overhead.

  “Hey, it’s my favorite Savages.” Tori walked up to our booth, flashing a smile at the kids. Our last name was Savage. She shot me a questioning look. Date? she mouthed.

  I gave her a thumbs-down.

  Tori shook her head in disapproval and mouthed, Seriously?

  I’d become good friends with Tori after my brother got together with Sydney a little over a year ago. Tori and Syd were best friends. And now Tori was engaged to Brian’s friend Jamie, whom I’d known most of my life.

  “Oh well. On to the next guy,” Tori mumbled, giving me a cheeky smile.

  She knew how hard I was looking.

  “We’re here celebrating,” Olivia shared, her crayon stilling so she could lift her head and look up at Tori. “School’s out!”

  “Oh yeah, that’s right.” Tori turned to me. “Don’t you get off for the summer too?”

  “Yep. Three months with my babies.”

  I was eternally grateful for that job perk.

  The attorneys at Price & Price LLC, the law firm where I worked as a paralegal, had offered me the option to work from home three years ago when I was first hired. I’d expressed concern about summer hours and affordable childcare, anticipating the worst and hoping for nothing. I’d thought for sure I’d be stuck working forty-hour weeks in the office and shelling out my entire paycheck to cover daycare. But they were impressed with my résumé and willing to work something out.

  Unless I could somehow get paid to stay at home with my kids full-time, I was never leaving that job.

  “Mom.” Oliver groaned. “We’re eight now. We’re not babies.”

  “You’ll always be my babies, no matter how old you are.” I reached across the table and pinched his cheek.

  “That’s weird.” He huffed, shaking his head.

  Tori giggled, poising her pen to write on the ticket book in her hand. “Do you guys know what you want, or do you need a minute?” She looked from me to the twins.

  “We’re ready,” Olivia answered.

  I perused the menu while the kids rattled off their orders, thinking I wanted a burger but making sure of it. Everything listed looked delicious. It was hard to pick just one thing. I knew Stitch, the cook and Shay’s man, killed it in the kitchen. Everything he brought over to Sunday dinners at Syd and Brian’s house tasted amazing.

  Movement near the back of the restaurant caught my attention. I leaned to the side to watch a little girl—a tiny thing, barely two years old if I were to guess—walk between the booths lining the window and the tables spread out in the middle of the room.

  She was seriously adorable. Big blue eyes looking all around her. A head full of blond ringlet curls. With the cutest little summer dress stopping at her knees. She was also barefoot.

  Huh. That was a little odd.

  “Hi.” I cooed, smiling and waving as she stumbled closer.

  Her mouth stretched into a toothy grin.

  “Mo Mo, you’re killing me, babe.” Tori set her pen and ticket book on the table and scooped up the little cutie, propping her on her hip. “What did I tell you? You can’t be coming out here.”

  “Oh, do you know her?” I asked, grinning at the girl. “Hi! Yeah, I’m talking about you, sweetheart.” I gave her little knee a gentle squeeze, and she giggled.

  God. Seriously cute.

  “She’s Nate’s,” Tori answered.

  I followed her gaze to the manager’s office door, which was open just enough for a tiny body to slip through.

  “His parents can’t watch her anymore or something, so he’s been bringing her here with him, and that is not working out, let me tell you,” Tori said. “The other day, she made it all the way into the kitchen before anyone saw her. Thank God Stitch grabbed her before she could put her hand on the grill.”

  I gasped. “Oh my God. You’re not kidding.” I pictured the worst happening and felt my stomach tighten and twist.

  “I don’t know what he’s doing,” Tori mumbled with sadness shining in her eyes.

  I remembered hearing that Nate was widowed, and pain pulsed inside my heart. For him and his daughter. I glanced at the office door again.

  “Excuse me? Can we get the check over here?”

  “Shoot.” Tori looked behind her and smiled politely at the man who’d spoken. “I’ll be right there, sir.” Then she met my eyes again. “Let me take her back to Nate and get that guy’s check, and then I’ll be back over to take your order, Jenna.”

  “Here, I’ll do it.” I reached for the little girl as I slid out of the booth. “I can take her to him.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely.” I had an apology to deliver anyway. What better time than now? “What’s her name? Mo?”

  “It’s Marley. I just call her Mo.” Tori passed her off to me and gave my forearm a squeeze. “Thanks, Jenna.”

  “No problem.” I put my attention on the little peanut I was holding, and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. “Hi, pretty girl. Hi, Marley.” I spoke softly to her, trailing my fingertips down her arm to her hand. She squeezed my thumb.

  “Hi,” she said, her voice husky and soft.

  Holy Lord. I could eat this girl up.

  “Mama, she’s so cute!” Olivia tickled her feet and Marley giggled.

  “She’s breathtaking.” I tucked a bundle of blond curls behind her ear while Marley plucked at the chain I wore around my neck. “I’m going to take her back to her daddy. You two stay here, okay? I’ll just be a couple minutes.”

  “Okay,” Olivia answered. Oliver leaned over his drawing and kept coloring.

  “Oliver?”

  “Yeah, Mom. Got it.”

  I made my way to the back of the restaurant.

  “Where are your shoes?” I asked Marley as I walked between tables, dropping my head close to hers. Her soft hair tickled my nose. “You need shoes. The floor is dirty.”

  “No, no shush. No shush.”

  “Mm. Does somebody like the word ‘no’?”

  “No, no, no. No!” Her voice grew louder and broke with a giggle.

  “You’re cute even when you’re talking back. How’s that possible?” I asked her, shifting Marley to my right side when I reached the manager’s door. I knocked on it even though it was partially open already and peered inside the office.

  Toys littered the floor. Blankets. A crib mattress. It looked more like a nursery than a workspace. There was even one of those round gated play yards in the corner of the
room with one of the sides unlatched and open.

  I guessed that was how Marley had made her great escape.

  “Hi. Remember me?”

  Nate was seated at his desk, concentrating hard on one of the papers in front of him. He lifted his head when I spoke. Recognition narrowed his gaze. “Men’s room, right?”

  “Good memory.”

  “You’re hard to forget.”

  My back straightened. Whoa. What? Is Tori’s boss hitting on me?

  Not that I would object. This guy was crazy attractive. I’d be thrilled if he was hitting on me. I’d be surprised too. I didn’t think I’d made a good first impression that day.

  Nate cocked his brow, as if to read my confusion. “I’ve never been asked what I’m doing while I’m in there.”

  Ah, right. Now that comment made more sense. “Well, now if it happens again, it won’t be weird,” I joked, smiling.

  His gaze lowered to my mouth, held for a breath, then fell away. “Did you need something?” he asked, putting his attention back on the paper.

  He was busy. That was clear. I should probably get to the reason why I was bothering him so he could get back to work.

  “A couple of things,” I said, pushing the door open further and moving inside the room. I sidestepped a few stuffed animals. “First, I believe this belongs to you.”

  Nate looked up again, saw Marley in my arms, and cursed, rushing to his feet. “God, how do you keep getting out?” He rounded the desk and took her from me.

  “They’re like little escape artists at this age.”

  Marley pushed against Nate’s chest and squirmed in his arms, fighting his hold immediately. When she started whining and going red in the face, he sat her in the play yard, closing the latch so she couldn’t walk out. He dropped a handful of alphabet blocks in her lap to occupy her.

  “Sorry if she bothered you,” he said, returning to his seat.

  “She didn’t bother me. She’s adorable. I miss that age.”