A Love of Her Own (20 page)

Chapter
16

I
t was after nine when Hilton and Max returned. He could tell just by looking at Janelle’s body language that she was annoyed. She sat on the sofa with her arms folded across her chest.

She relaxed her stance a little in order to return Max
’s hug. “I missed you, Maxie,” she told him.

“
I had fun.”

“
Well…good.” She looked at Hilton expectantly.

“
There was another boy over there, a friend of my client’s family,” Hilton explained. He suppressed a smile. Janelle looked a little taken aback, probably because Max hadn’t said he missed her, too.

“
His name’s Marcus. He’s Daddy’s helper,” Max added. “And we’re gonna go bowling tomorrow.”

“
But I leave tomorrow. You guys have to bring me to the airport.” Janelle shot Hilton a questioning look.

“
Your flight’s at one-thirty. We’re going bowling later,” Hilton said. This time he didn’t bother to conceal his smile. Thinking about her being out of the picture and it just being he and Max made him smile, and the stricken look on her face at learning they planned to go out and have a good time instead of mourning her departure didn’t hurt, either.

“
Max, you go on up to bed now,” she said. “It’s late. You can have your bath in the morning. I’ll be up to tuck you in.”

“
Okay.” Max kissed both his parents, then ran up the stairs.

“
I think he’s going to be just fine,” Hilton said confidently. “He’s spent enough time with me to feel comfortable.”

“
I wouldn’t be too sure of that. He might have a problem or two getting adjusted once it’s just the two of you.”

“
If that’s the case I’ll let him call you.”

“
So what’s this about a boy who’s your helper?”

Hilton had wondered when she would bring the conversation around to where he
and Max had spent the afternoon. “Marcus is his name. He’s a kid who used to hang around downtown. We got him off the streets, and between us we manage to keep him busy. He comes with me on jobs afternoons after he gets out of school.” He noticed her brows shoot up, and too late he realized it stemmed from his unconscious use of the plural, ‘we’ and ‘us.’ He knew Janelle would want to know the identity of the other person, and while he certainly wasn’t trying to keep Ava’s existence or their relationship a secret, he didn’t want Janelle in his business. He decided not to offer any explanations unless she came out and asked, at which time he’d politely tell her it wasn’t her concern.

“
So what is this kid, homeless or something?” she asked.

“
No, but he lives with an extended family and their place is very small, so he started doing petty crime for a drug dealer just to get away from all the people at home. I know it sounds He’s really a good kid. He was looking forward to meeting Max.”

Janelle made a disapproving face.
“A petty criminal, Hilton? What are you thinking? He’s probably going to be a bad influence on Max! It’s bad enough Max will be going to public school.”

Hilton bristled
. “You saw how well the school was equipped. It has an excellent reputation. He’ll be there for just one semester. And Marcus is a sweet-natured kid, even if he’s been around the streets. Personally, I think everyone should have a degree of street smarts, even children. It can help prevent them from becoming victims one day. I’m not about to let Max associate with kids who are bad influences.”

“
All right. So is your job from this afternoon is all done?”

“
All done. Looks pretty good, too, if I say so myself.”

“
I have to say I thought the three of us would have done something special this evening, maybe go out to dinner, since it’s my last night.”

He did nothing to hide his amusement.
“Did you really? It seems to me that’s the type of thing happy families do when they’re about to be separated. I’m sure neither one of us thinks our relationship is on that level, Janelle, even though we’ve done pretty well, considering we’ve been staying in the same house for five days.”

“
In other words, you’ve been counting the days until I leave.”

“
Those are your words, not mine.”

“
I’m going up to see Max,” she said, abruptly getting to her feet.

*****

The next morning Hilton suggested they go to a restaurant in Nile Beach well known for its breakfast buffet. It was the least he could do, he reasoned. Technically, Janelle was his guest, regardless of the friction between them that would probably continue as long as they had reason to be in contact with each other. He even found himself wishing he could have been a bit more diplomatic last night instead of so brutally honest. She’d hurt him, yes, but that was a long time ago. It was really inexcusable for him to be deliberately cruel to her. He vowed to apologize to her before she left and to make this last half day together pleasant. It should be easy enough. A few more hours and she’d be out of his hair, leaving him to finally get to know the son he loved so much.

*****

The three of them had sat down with their plates after visiting the buffet and were eating when Max exclaimed, “Daddy, there’s Marcus!”

Hilton was startled, so much that he forgot to tell Max not to point
. It was indeed Marcus on the buffet line, helping himself to bacon, and plenty of it. Hilton watched as he carried his plate toward the seating area in the rear corner of the restaurant.

“
Can I go say hi?”

“
Relax, Max. He’ll have to pass this way when he leaves. We’ll say hello then.” Hilton felt a bit uneasy. Surely Marcus was here with Ava, who would be less than thrilled with seeing him having breakfast with Janelle, even in the presence of Max. She’d looked so unhappy last night when she told him about seeing them at the supermarket Friday night. He remembered how it had been as they went inside, with he and Janelle flanking Max, each of them holding one of his hands. They’d been swinging his hands playfully and laughing at something he’d said. A perfectly innocent scene, but one he suspected had torn at Ava’s heart and left her with that left-out feeling, like a child with empty pockets standing with their nose pressed against the window of a candy store.

“
He’s prob’ly with Miss Ava,” Max said.

“
Who’s that?” Janelle asked, as Hilton figured she would.

“
Daddy’s girlfriend,” Max replied innocently.

“
Oh?” Janelle looked at Hilton at she spoke.

“Oh?” he repeated, with a curious look Max’s way. Then he nodded.
“I’ll bet Marcus told you that.”

“
How’d you know that, Daddy?”

*****

“I’m so proud of you, Linda,” Ava said. With Marcus at the buffet she could speak freely. “I can only imagine how difficult this is for you.”

“
I feel a lot better since I wrote Neil that letter,” Linda admitted. “I’m too chicken to call him, but I did need to pour out my heart. Maybe if I’d done that in the first place…” she didn’t complete the thought, but there was no need to. “Anyway, I can’t stand this waiting for him to make a move and not knowing what he’s planning to do.”

Marcus returned, placed a plate covered entirely with bacon on the table, then said, “Shoot! I forget to get some of those
French toast sticks!”

“
Marcus! You’re eating yourself right into a stomachache.”

“
I can eat them easy. They’re not even filling.”

“He probably needs something to
go with all that bacon,” Linda said.

Ava sighed.
“All right; go ahead. We’ll stop on the way home and pick up some Pepto-Bismol. You’re bound to need it.”

Marcus made a dash for the buffet.

“I tell you,” Ava said to Linda, “that kid’s got one heck of an appetite.”

“
He’s adorable. I think it’s wonderful that he spends so much time with you. I’ll bet you think of him as your own.”

Ava
allowed herself a quick smile, but it faded into wistfulness. “I caught myself once or twice, but I’m too much of a realist to get off track. Especially where kids are concerned. I know any kid who’s around me will always belong to someone else.”

“
Still, I’ve never seen you look happier, Ava. Might it have something to do with Hilton?”

This time her smile lingered.
“Yes, it does.”

“
Well, I think that’s great!” Linda lowered her voice. “Does he know… ?”

Ava knew what she meant
. “Yes. He has a six-year-old son, and even though he did say he wants more children, now that he knows about me he says it doesn’t matter.”

“
Well, that’s wonderful. That means he’s thinking of a future with you. But you sound like you don’t believe him.”

“
I do believe him. It’s something else.”

“
What’s the problem?”

Ava sighed.
“His son’s mother. She’s here in town. She brought their son—” the phrase stuck uncomfortably on her tongue—“down for an extended visit with Hilton, possible even permanent custody. I saw them the other night, the two of them and the kid. I can still see the three of them holding hands, laughing and talking.” She shut her eyes momentarily to block out the mental image, then opened them, realizing it was fruitless. “I’ve never felt so alone as I did standing there watching them.”

Marcus returned with his
French toast sticks drowned in syrup, and Ava caught Linda’s eye and shook her head, silently communicating that they would have to change the subject.

*****

“You didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend, Hilton,” Janelle said coyly as she cut her ham slice.

He glared at her
. Hadn’t she gotten it yet? “Why would I?”

She shrugged
. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s not like you’re engaged or something. I can’t expect you to tell me about every woman you sleep with.”

His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared
. “Janelle, don’t—”

Max interrupted his warning.
“I’m glad Daddy has a girlfriend.”

“
You are? Why?”

“
Because Mommy has Daddy…”

Hilton knew Max meant Donald
. Janelle’s insistence that their son call both him and her husband “Daddy” just caused confusion.

“
…and I think Daddy should have somebody, too,” Max concluded.

“
That’s my boy,” Hilton said as Janelle glowered.

*****

“Are you about done?” Ava asked Marcus in a playful tone. She had taken a few bills from her wallet and held them along with the check so she wouldn’t have to fumble once she got to the register up front.

He scooped up the last pale green grapes on his plate
. “Now I am.”

“
All right, let’s go.”

“
I’m so full I don’t think I’ll eat again all day,” Linda was saying as they headed for the register at the front.

“
I never eat dinner when I have breakfast here,” Ava agreed. She came to an abrupt stop when she spotted Hilton’s large frame sitting in a booth.

“
Something wrong?” Linda asked.

“
There’s Hilton. With his son and his son’s mother.”

Max had seen them, too, and called out to Marcus, who immediately headed in their direction
. Ava reluctantly followed, even though her legs felt unsteady and her full stomach was bouncing like a dribbling basketball, giving her the sensation that she was going to be ill.

“
Good morning,” she said when she stood at the edge of their booth.

Hilton slid out of the booth and stood
. “Hi. We knew you were here. Max saw Marcus getting food at the buffet. I figured I’d see you on the way out.” He glanced to Ava’s companion. “Hi, uh, Linda, isn’t it?” At her smiling nod he said, “Good to see you again.”

“
Same here, Hilton.”

“
Ava, Linda…this is Janelle. Janelle, this is Ava, Linda and Marcus.”

Hellos were exchanged, and Hilton said he would walk them out
. “Excuse me a minute,” he said to Janelle and Max.

Ava felt his hand at her elbow as he escorted them to the front of the restaurant
. “Here, I’ll take care of that for you,” Linda offered. Ava handed her the check and money, then said, “You come with me, Marcus.” She practically pulled the boy’s arm from his shoulder joint before he could object.

“
I hope that wasn’t too awkward for you,” Hilton said when they were outside waiting.

“
Awkward? Why ever would it be awkward?” she repeated icily.