by Natalie Ann
Sidney looked up at him and laughed. “Did you crack another joke, Mac?”
“My attempt at one,” he said dryly. “But obviously not good enough since you had to get it verified.”
“I’m just teasing.”
“Anyway, my mother asked me to dinner tomorrow. She doesn’t get too many days when all three of us boys are off.”
“Oh. Well, whatever we have planned we can work around it and then I’ll go home.”
“No,” he said. “If I’m going you are. She wants to meet you.”
This time he laughed when her jaw opened. “What?”
“Do you have wax in your ears like the goobers in your eyes you had to rub out?”
She spit the coffee out and started to cough. “Damn. I don’t know why you held this part of yourself back so much. Now when you say shit like that it catches me off guard. Wax and goobers. That’s funny.”
He ignored her comment. “Well?” he asked. “So you’re going with me.”
“Do I have a choice? I’m not sure I want your mom mad at me if I say no and you won’t go because I’m not. Then you might be mad at me too. I feel like it’s a no-win situation.”
That hadn’t been his intention. “If you are uncomfortable we don’t have to.”
“It’s not that. Hmm. I’ve only met one other guy’s parents and that was a few years ago.”
“I thought you didn’t have too many relationships,” he said, hoping that didn’t come off as jealousy.
“I haven’t. I hadn’t been dating him long,” she said looking away from him but then turned back, “but he had a party for his brother’s birthday and I helped him with it. It wasn’t anything formal.”
“Like going to his parents’ house for a sit down dinner?”
“Exactly. But what the hell, I’d love to meet your parents.”
“I have a feeling you are lying, but I’m going to pretend otherwise. I could meet yours if they were local.”
The last set of parents he’d met were Colleen’s years ago too. He just hadn’t gotten to the point of wanting to meet anyone’s family with any of the women he was dating. Not that he dated much.
“They aren’t, but they do want to visit. I haven’t seen them in years.”
“Why?” he asked. “Or is that too personal?”
Maybe it was a money thing. Or a time thing. He really didn’t know much about her family at all. They never talked about it.
“It’s a long complicated story that we don’t have enough time for. I told my mother that I’d think about it and get back to her.”
Sounded serious to him, but he knew if she wasn’t ready to talk about it, asking wasn’t going to change that. Sidney talked when she wanted to and didn’t hesitate to say what was on her mind.
“Okay. When we have more time, I’d like to hear it.”
She angled her head. “I might even want to tell you and I don’t tell many people. But for now, why don’t we go to my place so I can change my clothes and then get more to leave here for work tonight. We can figure out what we want to do with the rest of the day too.”
“Finish your coffee, and we’ll head out.”
“I spit most of it out when you cracked that joke.” She put the cup to her lips and drained the rest. “All set and ready to go.”
It didn’t take long for them to go to Sidney’s. There weren’t any cars in the driveway. “Looks like no one is home.”
“Nope. Amanda was spending the weekend with Drew and Bri doesn’t like to be alone, so she said she was going to visit her mom off the island today and would be back tomorrow afternoon sometime.”
“Then we’ve got the house to ourselves,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.
“We do, but my bed is much smaller than yours. And it’s only had me in it. But we can do a quickie if you want. If you think it’d add excitement to it. I even went out and bought condoms when I never do. I just figured you shouldn’t always have them and have a few in my purse...in case we got somewhere and wanted to spontaneously combust together.”
“Talk about someone making jokes,” he said, getting out of his SUV and following her to the side of the door.
When they were in the house, he followed her up the stairs to her room. The house was much bigger than his, but it did seem to be laid out somewhat similar.
“Your room is a decent size,” he said as he looked around it. This actually gave him a better idea of what she was like.
Her room was a soft yellow. She had a plain aqua comforter on her bed with a bunch of throw pillows. White, yellows, and different shades of aqua.
“I’ll move the pillows if you want,” she said, reaching for them, but he grabbed her by the waist and fell on her on top of them.
“It might be fun on these. It’s like balancing on a cloud.”
She started to giggle. “They aren’t as fluffy as a cloud. Not for this. I like them all plumped up behind me when I’m drawing.”
“So you do draw?” he asked. She’d never talked much about her art or anything other than it was a minor in college. He’d wanted to ask more but always held back.
“I do. I always have,” she said.
“Can I see something you’ve done?” he asked.
“You are ruining the mood here, Mac,” she said, her hands moving under his shirt. “I thought you wanted to try out my bed. We might not get too many more chances to do this.”
“Well then, we better take advantage of it,” he said rolling her over.
“That’s more like it.”
26
A New Thing
The next afternoon Sidney was trying not to stress over this dinner with Mac’s family.
It seemed like in the past twenty-four hours the two of them talked about their lives and just had a lot of fun together relaxing and watching TV.
She’d tried to change the subject and get his mind off of her art and, like most men, he fell for it. But once they were getting dressed in her room, he asked again, “So are you going to show me something you’ve drawn?”
There was no reason not to. If she didn’t then she’d have to ask herself if she was ashamed and she really wasn’t. Just because she wanted to be successful shouldn’t be a reason she couldn’t share one of her loves. It wasn’t as if she was going to show him any of her books or her coloring book idea.
Unfortunately, when she was pulling the sketch pad out from the bin, trying to find one that had more landscapes in it, he saw the coloring page she’d started a few nights ago. It was half done.
“I didn’t picture you as someone that did adult coloring. Is it really relaxing like many say?”
If she’d thought he was going to make fun of her, she’d been proven wrong once again. “I find it that way. Who else do you know that does it?”
“My mother. She said sometimes at night when my father is watching TV she pulls out markers and these books you can buy and just spends hours doing it while she half watches TV. My mother said lots of the teachers at the school do it too. I thought she was joking, but I’ve heard of others too. Guess it’s a new thing.”
“Something like that,” she said and stored that in the back of her head. She was going to focus on this as her priority now and see how it turned out and what sales might be like for it.
She’d taken the piece of paper out of his hand and showed him a sketchbook. He flipped through page after page not saying much and she didn’t know what to make of it.
At the last page he said, “You’ve got a real talent. Why don’t you show anyone? Why not sign your name or have pictures hanging on the walls here?”
“I’m not sure,” she said. “I guess it’s one of those private things I’ve got.”
“Some are black and white, some color. Why the differences?”
“I just do what comes to me. Most times I just sketch it out and then move on. Rarely do I take the time to put color to it. Can I tell you something?”
“Of course.”
“A
manda didn’t even know I drew. I’d never told her. After I told you, I felt bad my best friend wasn’t privy. I told her and she was so funny. She wanted me to draw something fast to show her. I almost did a stick figure to see her reaction, but I couldn’t. I showed her a different sketchbook. She recognized a picture of the beach from when she and I walked last summer. I gave it to her and she had me sign it.”
“I wouldn’t mind one,” he said. He flipped through the book and it landed on a picture of the Juliet port on the south end of the island. “This one.”
“You want a picture of Juliet?” she said, laughing. “I’ve got Romeo too in another sketchbook. You could have a matching set. They shouldn’t be kept apart.”
He shook his head. “I know it’s all part of the lore of the island and the romance of it. Ports named Romeo and Juliet. But I find it funny.”
“Yet you wanted one of those pictures.” She pulled another book out and then a third, found Romeo’s sketch and gave him both. “There you go.”
“Sign them,” he said. “Then I’ll get some frames for them.”
She’d shaken her head but did it and handed them over.
And after they’d left her house, her clothes in a bag in the backseat, they’d gotten some lunch and were on their way for a drive when he’d gotten a call for work.
It was the first time that had happened, but then she had to remind herself their time together was pretty much limited to a few hours at night when most were sleeping.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Why don’t you go back to my place until you go to work. Don’t worry about locking up if I’m not back. Not the way I wanted this day to be, but I’ve got to go.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “I can go home.”
He gave her a kiss, drove her back to his house, and said, “No. I shouldn’t be too long. I hope.”
She’d stayed at his house and watched a movie on TV. He’d come back at four when she was looking for something to eat for dinner. “I’m just going to make grilled cheese. Do you want one?”
“Sure,” he said. “Sorry I ruined our afternoon together and now you’ve got to go to work.”
“Not a problem. I watched a chick flick that you wouldn’t want to see. It’s all good. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, high speed chase which we really don’t get often. And by high speed he was going like seventy, but that is fast on some of these roads. Asshole ended up crashing and I had to go to the scene and complete a lot of paperwork.”
“Oh man. Why was he running or can’t you say?”
“It was a roadblock. We have them now and again just checking registration and insurance. Crap like that. This guy just took off. He wasn’t from the island. Let’s say he had more than the recreational usage of drugs in his car so the State Police came in as they’ve got an investigation going on.”
“You don’t hear much about those things on the island.”
“Nope, but it’s there.”
They’d eaten their dinner. She’d gone to work and then came back and he was up waiting for her. Then the two of them made use of her after-work energy until she fell back to sleep.
This morning she’d cooked him a nice breakfast and made coffee for him like she’d said she would do.
They watched two movies and relaxed. It was like a Sunday she’d have on her own, only she got to share it with someone. The only thing she was glad about was that he didn’t ask about the riff with her parents.
Did she have work she could have been doing and would have loved to? Yeah, but she wouldn’t say that to him because they very rarely had time like this together. She’d make it up later that night and the next few days.
And now they were getting ready to go to dinner at his parents’ house.
“You aren’t nervous, are you?”
“I’m not sure what I am,” she said. “What if your mom doesn’t like me?”
“I doubt that will happen. My mother likes everyone. She’s an elementary school teacher. Which of course means she has more patience than most.”
“Good to know.”
It didn’t take them long to get to his parents. They lived in the center of the island not far from Mac. Nothing was really that far, but she was on the south end just a few miles from the ferry and The Retreat. McKay’s was more downtown where a lot of businesses were on this end of the island.
The police station not far either. She suspected having it more centrally located was on purpose.
“Did you grow up here?” she asked of the white-sided house. She was expecting another gray weathered saltbox house like so many on the island. But she knew there was more and more growth over the years.
“I did. Had to share a room with Jarrett for a few years, then Jarrett and Alex shared and I had my own again.”
“Sharing a room isn’t that bad,” she said before she could stop herself.
“What? You’ve got siblings? You’ve never said. I guess I just assumed you were an only child.”
Damn it. Now what was she going to say? Especially now. “This is part of the long story. Now isn’t the time, but I promise to tell you when we are alone.”
He looked at her and she couldn’t read what was on his mind, but he nodded his head and they went inside.
“Why are you always the last one here?” Alex asked. “Sidney, good to see you again. Not sure if you remember me.”
“I remember you,” she said to Alex. “You hit on me and I turned you down.”
Mac rolled his eyes and Alex laughed. “I’ve been the runner up to Mac most of my life, but never with women.”
“Don’t start,” Jarrett said. “Mom will hear you in the kitchen and come out with the wooden spoon and chase you both. Then Sidney is going to be all embarrassed. I’m Jarrett, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said, shaking his hand. “And I’m not sure I’d be as embarrassed as Mac would be if he was being chased with a wooden spoon. A plastic spatula was my mother’s weapon of choice when she’d yell at us to get out from under her feet.”
Damn it, she’d done it again. Thankfully Mac’s mom came walking into the living room with his father and introductions were made.
They had dinner, and they all talked about the island and the history of it. If she thought Mac’s brothers were going to be wiseasses she thought wrong. Just that first comment by Alex and nothing else.
After a few hours, they were getting ready to leave. “Thank you again for dinner, Alice. It was wonderful. I’d ask for the recipe but the truth is, I’m not much of a cook. That would be my roommate Amanda.”
“Drew’s fiancée?” Alice asked.
“Yes. She takes care of us. Loves to cook and bake.”
“How come I haven’t gotten any cookies yet?” Mac asked. “I’ve heard from Coy and Bode that they call her the cookie lady. She doesn’t give them to her roommates?”
“She does. She normally bakes on Mondays as it’s her day off. I’ll see if I can sneak some for the chief of police for his good work in protecting the community.”
His brothers and parents started to laugh. “Sidney, you might be exactly what my too serious son needs,” Bill said.
“She might be,” Mac said, shutting her right up.
27
Stand Up Tall
One week later, Sidney still hadn’t told Mac about Anne. They hadn’t really had time.
She’d brought him cookies on Tuesday during his lunch, but he’d been busy or working both Monday and Tuesday nights. Part of her wondered if the dinner with his parents might have been too much for him and he was pulling away, but they did talk every day at least for a few minutes.
It worked out as she got to spend more time on her coloring book idea and with any luck she’d be ready to get it uploaded by next week for a preorder. She just wanted to do some more research, but once she got the hang of it, she was able to upload her drawings and get them in patterns and outlined in a mixture of thick and thin lines.
S
he was already thinking of doing another one right after it before she finished her policeman book. One thing she learned was to have another book out relatively fast and keep the interest there. She wasn’t sure if that worked the same with coloring books, but she was going to find out.
Tomorrow night, Friday, she was going to Mac’s after work and then staying for most of the weekend. But for now, she was going to finish her shift and get some sleep.
There hadn’t been anything else from Rod. Not that she thought there would be.
Kayla was home and doing well and she went to visit and spend some time with the new mother and baby on Tuesday, but she could tell they both needed naps and didn’t overstay her welcome.
After the end of her shift Sidney was home and in bed, coloring to tire her eyes and clear her mind.
Again, it didn’t take long and she was falling asleep, so she shut the light and lay down.
“Are you embarrassed by me?”
“What?” Sidney asked, looking up. There was her sister, Anne, standing there. No, this couldn’t be real. It had to be another dream. Anne never came to her as an adult. Always as kids. Not older than the last time Sidney had seen her.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Anne said. “Don’t worry. I’m just a dream and you know it. There are no such things as ghosts. What’s the matter? We were identical twins. Why is looking at me so shocking when it should be like looking in the mirror.”
“Maybe that is where my problem lies. There aren’t two of us anymore.”
“I think that is why you stay away from Mom and Dad too. You are afraid that when they look at you they see me. They don’t see you. You always were the one that wanted to stand out on your own.”
She didn’t realize her sister knew that about her. “It’s not that,” she said.
“I think it is. We were close. We will always be close in our hearts. But we were different personalities even if we looked alike. You wanted to be known for who you were.”
“You did too,” she said back. “We both did.”
“We did,” Anne said. “Just like your art. You were so talented. Are so talented. Yet you hide that too. Again, like you are embarrassed. Why?”