The beef stroganoff needed to simmer just a bit longer. I turned down the flame and sent Alex a text. Please don’t mention the tires in front of the kids. The children don’t know anything about my tires being slashed and I want to keep it that way.
Dane came into the kitchen, a dinosaur in each hand. “When’s dinner, Mom? I’m a t-rex and I’m hungry!”
Determined to put what had happened behind me, I kissed the top of his head. “Soon. Go wash up, okay? And tell Caleigh to come down. Alex will be here soon.”
Dane skipped out of the room, his jeans an inch too short again and called, “Caaaaleigh …”
The ensuing argument drifted down the stairs. “Tell Mom I’m not coming down!”
“Mommmmy! Caleigh says she’s not coming down,” Dane hollered from the top of the stairs.
I threw down the dishtowel and marched upstairs. “Listen to me, young lady, we’re having a guest for dinner and you are to be washed and presentable. Wash that eyeliner off your face. And take off the black nail polish.”
“And what if I don’t want to, Mom? What’re you gonna do then?” The defiance in her eyes sliced at me. Caleigh had never spoken to me like this before.
Dane stood at the door, all ears.
“Come on, honey. Do it for me. As soon as dinner is over, excuse yourself and come back up to your room. Would it kill you to do that?”
“Yeah, Caleigh, would it kill you to be nice to Mom for once?” Dane parroted.
My daughter thundered into the bathroom and my anger simmered. At least she’ll come down without the black eyeliner. Oh, Alex, you don’t know what you’re in for with a thirteen-year-old girl in the house, I thought.
The doorbell sounded through the house. Shit. I wasn’t even ready yet. This was not the ideal first meeting I had envisioned between Alex and the kids. “Dane, would you get it, honey?” I called down the stairs. “I’ll be right there.”
I stepped into my room, shut the door, and stood with my head against the wall. I hoped the meeting between Dane and Alex wouldn’t be too awkward. The bathroom mirror showed there was flour in my hair and the eye makeup I had applied earlier in the morning had long since worn away. I tossed my jeans and tee shirt into the laundry basket and pulled several outfits from the closet. After three changes of clothes, I finally settled on a pair of pressed black jeans and an emerald cashmere sweater. I tugged a brush through my hair and slicked the frizz down with a squirt of gel. A smear of lip-gloss and I was as ready as I was ever going to be.
The smile I presented when I entered the living room was as fake as the potted plant on the shelf, but within minutes, the grin was real. Dane had not wasted any time in getting out his dinosaur collection. Alex sat cross-legged next to him on the floor doing his best imitation of a tyrannosaurus rex. There was a new addition to Dane’s collection.
“Mom! Look what Alex brought me!” Dane beamed as he held up a lifelike dinosaur. “It’s a triceratops! Alex says he’s the biggest and heaviest horned dinosaur ever!”
“I see that.” I looked at Alex and tried to thank him with my smile.
“And, he has batteries and walks and his eyes light up and he makes noise! Wanna see?”
“I sure do!” Alex and Dane seemed to have hit it off well. Caleigh sat in the reclining chair with a sketchpad propped up against her knees. “What’re you doing, honey?” I asked.
“Alex brought her an art kit!” Dane exclaimed. “With tubes of paint and charcoal pencils and brushes and everything! And flowers for you, Mom!”
Alex shrugged, clearly pleased that his gifts had been well received. I winked at him before going to the stove to boil water for the noodles and putting the spring bouquet in water.
“Dinner’s almost ready. Caleigh, will you set the dining room table?” Prepared for complaints, I was pleasantly surprised when Caleigh got up without a word and pulled four dinner plates, glasses, silverware and napkins out of the cabinets.
Alex came into the kitchen and squeezed my arm. “Is it okay if you and I have wine? Where’s your corkscrew?”
“I’d love some. Corkscrew’s in the top drawer on the left.” My choice of sweater and jeans had been a poor one in the overheated kitchen. I felt as soggy as overcooked noodles.
Alex uncorked a bottle of what appeared to be very expensive red wine, set it on the table and said, “I didn’t know if you’d have time to make dessert so I stopped and bought a blueberry cheesecake on my way over.”
“Cheesecake?!” Dane yelled from across the room. “That’s my favorite!”
“You’re a hit,” I whispered and then kissed him before pouring the stroganoff into a serving dish. The noodles were done. A tossed salad and homemade dressing and we were all set. I wiped my brow with the back of my hand and called everyone in to eat, pleased the evening might turn out all right after all.
“Can I light the candles, Mom? Please, Mom!” Dane jumped up and down. “I’ll get the lighter!”
“Just be careful, okay?”
Dane flicked the lighter on. “Ouch!”
“Let me do it!” Caleigh muttered.
“No! Mommy said I could do it!” Dane said defiantly.
“Here, buddy, how about if I help?” Alex asked holding the candle close to Dane’s quivering thumb. They finally lit the long white taper candles as I spooned fresh spinach and mushrooms and sliced kiwi onto his salad plate. “Ranch or blue cheese?” I asked, flashing Alex a smile.
“Ranch!” Dane said, a little too loudly.
“Me, too, Mom.” Caleigh reached for the water pitcher.
“Make that three. Everything looks delicious.” The candlelight flared showing Alex’s smile. His compliments sent a shiver of pleasure through me. The stroganoff simmered on the stove and filled the kitchen with a homey smell. Just like a home should smell, taste and feel. I’d been so focused on making this evening perfect I was glad for an opportunity to step into the kitchen to savor the moment. “Be right there,” I called, before adding mushrooms and a dash of red wine to the stroganoff.
“So what do you guys like to do?” Alex asked the children.
He didn’t have to ask Dane twice. “I play basketball and football and baseball and I like dinosaurs and movies and Harry Potter.” Dane pulled the dinosaur Alex had given him from his lap and put it on the table. Thank God, they were on their best behavior. When I returned to the table, even Caleigh had a hint of sparkle in her eyes.
“I like roller blading and drawing and reading and I love horses. May I be excused, Mom?” she asked unexpectedly.
“Sure, hon. Are you sure you’re done?”
“Yeah, I’m not hungry anymore.”
After dinner, as we cleared the table, Alex asked, “Did I say something wrong?”
“No! Sweetheart, she’s an adolescent. This is par for the course.”
We brought our glasses to the living room to find Caleigh sitting in her favorite chair by the window. “Can I see what you’ve drawn?” Alex asked, standing next to her.
It was as though I were watching a play unfold. I crossed my fingers, and prayed Caleigh would be civil. She opened the sketchpad and spoke in barely audible sentences. “Sure, I’m not very good. You can look if you want.” Quiet fell over the living room.
“This is beautiful. Where’d you learn to draw like this?” he asked.
“My dad taught me,” Caleigh said after a moment’s hesitation. “He was really good at drawing.” Caleigh blushed. The sun’s last rays streamed through the slatted bamboo blinds, and filtered the spring light through the living room.
“You’re really talented. You said you like horses? Do you ride much?”
“I love horses. I’ve been dying to get one forever, but I don’t get much of a chance to ride. My dad always promised we’d get a horse when I was old enough to take care of it.” She looked pointedly in my direction with a look that said, I’m still waiting.
“You really got the musculature down and the shading is perfect. I imagine you miss your dad, huh?”
Caleigh nodded and I cringed, hoping the defiant and angry adolescent wouldn’t return. The phone shrilled sharply, further jangling my nerves. I rose and glanced at the Caller ID. unknown caller, it read.
“Do they have art at school?” I heard Alex ask Caleigh.
“Hello?” I said. The line went dead.
Caleigh’s laughter floated across the room. “Art’s an elective for half the year. It’s better than FACS!”
That’s odd. I hung up the phone and went into the living room. I sat down next to Alex, thankful my qualms about the children meeting him seemed to be for nothing.
“I’m really behind the times,” Alex laughed. “FACS? Anything important?” he turned to me and asked.
“Family and Consumer Science,” Caleigh continued. “You know, cooking and sewing. Everybody takes it. It’s the pits!” She rolled her eyes as she spoke.
“No. It was nothing.” I was determined not to let anything stop me from enjoying the evening. “I still remember the awful peasant blouse I made when I was in middle school. I loved it and made at least four more! One for every day …”
“Mom! You didn’t.” Caleigh laughed.
“You’ll find this hard to believe but a hundred years ago when I was in seventh grade, girls took what was then called Home Economics and boys took Industrial Tech. Now, that was fun. I made a lamp out of a bottle. I still have it somewhere,” Alex said.
Matt had made the same wobbly lamp and had it in his first apartment when we met.
“I used to ride when I was a kid. Maybe we could all go out to the stables some weekend and go on a trail ride,” Alex continued.
“I’d love that!” Caleigh was more animated than I had seen her in weeks. It looked like he had made strides with both kids. Caleigh was actually laughing.
Dane climbed into my lap and closed his eyes. I smoothed his hair away from his face before he jumped up and asked if Alex wanted to see the rest of his dinosaur collection.
“Sure, I do! But, call me Alex, okay, buddy?”
“And then it’s bed time for you, young man,” I told him. Dane would soon collapse and have to be carried up to bed.
“Mom! No! Alex just got here.”
“Come on, kiddo. I’ll go up with you and look at your dinosaur collection,” Alex said. “I bet it’s a good one.”
Nothing had felt so right in a very long time. I was humming a popular song from the radio when Alex’s phone vibrated on the kitchen counter. He had already gone upstairs with Dane. I glanced at the caller ID, thinking it might be the hospital and wondered if I should answer. ANGELA SAWYER. Angela Sawyer? Wasn’t that Alex’s ex-wife’s name?
A few minutes later, he came into the kitchen. “He’s all tucked in. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was out like a light. You should’ve waited, I would’ve helped you clean up. I guess Caleigh went to bed too, huh?”
I turned on the dishwasher and ran a sponge over the countertop. “Hmmm. What?”
“I asked if Caleigh went to bed. I think it went pretty well. How about you? Dinner was delicious, by the way.”
“Uhm. Yeah. Thanks. They seemed to like you. It was huge for Caleigh to sit around after dinner with us.”
Alex picked up his phone and looked at his missed calls.
“Is something wrong?” I stood facing him, tugging at my earlobe. What is that look that flickered across his face? I wondered. Guilt? Irritation?
Alex was silent. His left eye twitched. Apparently, he didn’t intend to tell me Angela had called. “I hope whatever it is this hasn’t ruined your evening. By the looks of it, something has,” I said pointedly.
“No, it’s been a wonderful evening.” He poured himself another glass of wine and asked if I wanted more. “What makes you think anything is wrong?”
I suddenly felt sick. “Alex, you were upstairs when I heard your phone and I picked it up thinking it might be the hospital. I’m sorry. I know it’s none of my business, but why is your ex-wife calling you? You’re in my house, you met my kids. I wouldn’t have brought you into their lives if I knew you had this ‘unresolved’ thing going on with Angela.”
“Grace, sweetheart, is that what you’re worried about? Come here.” Alex put his arms around me. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Do you remember I told you Angela was having trouble accepting the end of our relationship? It’s been over two years, and I guess she still hasn’t given up. She wouldn’t agree to the divorce and I was only able to get it after moving out and being separated for a year. She still calls and texts.”
I suddenly felt terrifyingly vulnerable. “Why don’t you change your phone number?”
“I have. Twice! Now I just try to ignore her and hope she’ll eventually get the message and move on with her life. Let’s forget about it. I know you have to get up early, but let’s sit and relax for a while, okay? Angela is ancient history.”
I pulled away. “You think if you ignore her she’ll get the message? It’s been two years! If she hasn’t gotten the message by now …”
“What do you want me to do?” He flushed.
It was the first time I’d seen him angry. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just on edge after everything that’s happened.” I hadn’t slept well since the tire incident. I knew I had shadows the color of the spring flowers Alex had brought under my eyes. “Get her to stop.”
“I told you I’ve tried. Short of getting a restraining order against her, I really don’t know what to do.”
“I don’t know. Is she mentally unbalanced or what?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “She wasn’t when we first got married, but then she did become pretty obsessed with the idea of having a baby.”
“Well, I hope she gets some help. You don’t think she’s dangerous, do you?”
“No,” he said slowly. “I’ll have a talk with her, okay?” He kissed the tip of my nose and I couldn’t resist being a little petulant. “What’s she look like?”
“Who, Angela? Well, let’s see, she has horns growing out of her head, and warts on her nose, and she wears black capes. Believe me, baby, she’s got nothing on you.” He laughed almost bitterly. “I know what happened last week is upsetting you …”
“Alex! Seriously, how old is she? This is kind of frightening.”
“Why is it that women always want to know what their lover’s ex looked like?” Alex shook his head. “Okay, she’s a few years older than I am. That would make her about thirty-eight. She’s got, WANT TO GET MARRIED AND HAVE A BABY written all over her forehead. Does that answer your question?”