Destiny and a Bottle of Merlot (24 page)

“Is that legally possible?”

“We’ll find out. I’m going to call my attorney back today. I’m sure Candy’s already heard the news. Before I call him, I want your honest opinion.”

“I love you, and I’d support you whether little Josh is your biological son, or not. If you were raising him, he would be your son.”

“What about him being our son? I’m not sure if you’re aware of this or not, Martha Destiny, but I intend to be with you forever.”

“Oh really?” she said, smiling. “If that’s the case, then I say go for it.”

Josh wrapped his arms around Sasha and hugged her. He kissed her forehead, cheeks and lips. “We’ll make this right, honey. We’re going to have a wonderful life. It might be a rocky few months, but we’ll get through it, I promise.”

It was Valentine’s Day when she showed up on his doorstep, again. Her timing was impeccable, as usual. They had a number of phone conversations up to this point. Candy insisted the paternity test results were wrong. They had to be. Josh was little Josh’s father, she hadn’t been with anyone else. Josh had the test taken again, and here she was once more, ringing his doorbell.

He answered it. “Candy, I’m not doing this dance with you. If you plan to stay in Tarrytown until the second set of results are back, you’re going to stay at a hotel, not here. You aren’t going to guilt me, or my family into anything.”

“Josh, say hi to your dad.”

“Hi, Dad.”

“Hi, Josh. How are you?”

“Okay. Mom says you don’t want us around.”

Josh shot the shit eye at Candy. She smiled.

“Come inside. Where’s your bag, Josh?”

“It’s in the car. I need the keys, Mom. I have to get my tablet too.”

“Make sure you lock it up. Can you carry both bags, honey?”

“Your bag is staying in the car. Josh, grab your stuff and bring it in. Leave your mom’s things there. Like I said, Candy, we aren’t doing this. As soon as the second set of results re-confirm what I already know, we’re done. You’ll get one offer from me and that’s it.”

“What would that be, Josh?” she asked, raising her right eyebrow.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Josh can stay here for now. I’d like to get better acquainted with him anyway, alone.”

“I’ll be checking on him every day.”

“Only through phone calls. I don’t want you banging on my door. Take it, or leave it. Josh, put your bag in the spare room and say goodbye to your mom. You can talk to her on the phone tomorrow.”

“Cool. I get to stay with you, Dad?”

“Yes, for now. We’re going to hang out, okay?”

“Yeah… sure. Bye, Mom, talk to you tomorrow.”

“It’s Valentine’s Day, Josh. You should buy your son a gift.”

“I’m well aware of what day it is. I’ll make sure Josh calls you tomorrow.” The door slammed in her face while she was in mid-sentence.

Josh called Sasha to see what she was up to. The three of them could spend the day together if she was available. He planned to take Sasha out for a romantic dinner since it was Valentine’s Day, but now, a family restaurant might be in order. Josh stepped into his bedroom to talk privately. “Hi, honey. I have little Josh with me. No, I sent Candy away. Oh yeah, she intended to stay here, but I set her straight. It sounds like she’s going to stick around until the second set of test results are in. Sure, lunch sounds good. We’ll be there in a half hour. After that, we can decide what to do with the day. I love you. See you in a bit.”

Little Josh met Sasha before, but had never been to her house. He was awe-struck at the size of the Victorian and how different it was than the apartment he and his mom lived in. The staircase amazed him. With his energy, it took four times running up and down it before he was out of steam.

“Okay, kiddo. That’s enough monkeying around. It’s time for lunch.”

Sasha was intuitive enough to prepare a kid friendly lunch of hot dogs, mac and cheese, and pork and beans. Josh appreciated her thoughtfulness.

“So, Josh, what kind of things do you enjoy doing?” Sasha asked.

“Playing games on my tablet,” he responded.

Josh rolled his eyes at Sasha. “Well, that’s going to be limited from now on. How about the Bronx Zoo?”

“It’s winter, Dad. People don’t go to the zoo in winter.”

“Oh yes they do. Animals live in all kinds of climates. Some will be outside and others will be in the indoor enclosures. Besides that, there’s other things to do at the zoo like the train ride and special exhibits. It isn’t very cold out today. You have a hat and mittens don’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, then. We’re off to the zoo and the tablet stays here. After the zoo we can go out for pizza.”

“Doesn’t that sound like fun, Josh?” Sasha asked, trying to encourage the child.

“Sort of. Mom and I don’t ever do anything. She just watches TV on weekends. Can I pick what goes on the pizza?”

“Sure, within reason,” Josh said, laughing. “Alright, let’s go have fun.”

The half hour ride to the zoo went fast, thanks to Sasha. Josh Jr. didn’t have his tablet to occupy him during the ride, so Sasha made up games to play along the route. The boy seemed to enjoy himself, and forgot about the tablet in the process.

“I like you, Sasha. You’re fun and pretty,” he said.

“Thank you, Josh. I like you too. We’re going to have a great day, that’s if you can actually handle all the fun we’ll have. I don’t know if you’re up to it though,” she said.

“I can handle it,” he answered, excitedly.

“I don’t know. Having fun is a lot of work,” Sasha teased.

“You’re funny, Sasha. Isn’t she Dad?”

“She sure is,” Josh said, as he held Sasha’s hand across the console.

She smiled at Josh. He gave her a relieved wink.

They spent three hours at the zoo seeing all the exhibits and every animal in the facility. Josh ran ahead many times from sheer excitement. Josh and Sasha walked hand in hand laughing at his antics.

“So it looks like today is turning out to be a success. What do you think, honey?”

“I think Josh is going to come around. He needs guidance and discipline. He might buck the rules for a while, but deep down all kids want boundaries. They need them.”

“Not only are you beautiful, you’re pretty smart too, Ms. Destiny.”

“My parents taught me well. I was a good kid. It’s when I grew up that I turned into a self-indulgent brat,” she said, laughing.

“Well, thankfully that was short lived. You’ll be a great mom someday, Sasha. It seems to come naturally for you. Should we head out and find a pizza joint for dinner?”

“That sounds good. I am getting tired.”

“Okay, babe, you got it. Hey Josh, let’s go. It’s time for pizza.”

Dinner didn’t set well with Sasha. They returned to her house, and she said good night.

“Are you okay, honey? Do you want me to get you something from the pharmacy?”

“No, I’ll be fine. Nothing a good night’s sleep won’t fix. I could be coming down with the flu or something. I didn’t get a flu shot this year. Go ahead, you two, and have a fun night. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Well, no matter what, I had a great Valentine’s Day. I hope you did too, even though it was more of a family outing.”

“It was nice. I hope you had fun today, Josh,” Sasha said, with a tired expression written across her face.

“I did. Thanks Dad. Thanks Sasha.”

“Okay, I’ll call you in the morning. Good night, honey.”

“Good night, guys.”

The call from Josh’s attorney came in the third week of February. It wasn’t a surprised to hear the results were the same as before. Little Josh’s biological father was unknown.

“The documents are drawn up and ready to present to Candy, right?” Josh asked. Today was a hot mess. He had four showings scattered throughout the day and his mind was going in a million directions. Little Josh was spending the day with Sasha and Kismet.

“That’s right. When do you want to come in?”

“As soon as possible, Stuart. To be honest, I’ve grown fond of the boy. I’ve talked this over with Sasha, and she’s on board too. I want to adopt Josh as long as Candy agrees that I’m not her meal ticket. Anything I save, spend, or give to Josh is between him and me. She has no say in it. She either moves to Tarrytown and I’ll help raise the boy, or she leaves me alone and goes back to Omaha.”

“Yep. That’s pretty much how the papers are drawn up. I can fit you in on Wednesday at ten a.m. Give Candy a call. She has to sign the papers too, or it’s going to be null and void.”

“I’ll make sure she’s there,” Josh said. He hung up from the call with his attorney, relieved again.
She agrees to my plan, or she hits the road. It wouldn’t be a good life for Josh to go back to Omaha, but I’m not his dad. I can’t call the shots unless she lets me adopt him.

Sasha’s bouts with nausea came and went. Every time she thought about making a doctor’s appointment, she would gradually feel better throughout the day. She blew it off as a late winter cold or flu bug. Sasha was determined to finish the library, but the paint smell made her sick. The woodwork needed to be sanded and varnished too.

I’ll do the sanding. Josh can paint and varnish. Mia can lend a hand if she has time. The library has already taken way too long with the holidays. Now Candy has inserted herself in the mix again.
“Hey Joshie, can you help me with some of this sanding? We can work for an hour, then take a long lunch break. We can even take Kismet for a little walk.”

“Okay, but you have to show me how.”

“No problem, honey, just watch what I do.”

Josh’s phone call to Candy was tense, to say the least. He hated the drama, and the vibe she put out there, was toxic. She wasn’t looking for what was in little Josh’s best interest, only her own.

“Well?” she asked, with a snippy attitude. The hotel room TV blared Judge Judy in the background.

“Meet me at my attorney’s office Wednesday morning at ten o’clock. Don’t be late.”

“What did he tell you?”

“You’ll find out everything on Wednesday. Do you want to take little Josh out for lunch or dinner today?”

“Are you coming along?”

“No, I’m swamped. You haven’t seen him in three days. Do you want him today, or not?”

“I’m good. I’ll take him Wednesday after the meeting with your attorney. Where’s Joshie now?

“He’s at Sasha’s house. They enjoy each other’s company.”

“Oh, isn’t that nice? I think you should pick me up on Wednesday.”

“Fine, I’ll be at your hotel by nine forty-five. Goodbye.” Josh knew the only way to be absolutely sure Candy would show up was to take her there himself.

It was eight o’clock by the time Josh arrived at Sasha’s house. He found the three of them curled up, lying on the couch together, Kismet nestled beneath Josh’s chin. A new episode of Planet Earth played on TV. Two glasses of apple juice and a half eaten bowl of popcorn sat on the coffee table in front of them.

Josh stood beneath the carved, maple archway that led to the living room and watched how peaceful they were.
This is how life should be. They’re relaxed and happy. No drama, no stupid tablets, or Judge Judy.
“Hey guys, it looks like you’re enjoying yourselves.”

“Hi, Dad. We had the best day. Sasha and I worked on the house together. This place is so cool. It’s like a mansion, and Sasha even showed me the basement. I pretended it was a dungeon. It was neat, but scary. Now we’re watching Planet Earth. This one is about the Rocky Mountains and the animals that live there.”

Sasha and Josh burst out laughing. Kismet yawned and walked to the end of the couch. She spun a few times, pawed at the cushion, and found a new spot to snooze on.

“Sounds like you had quite a day helping Sasha.” Josh looked at her with a grin.

“We had a wonderful day together. Josh even picked out his own bedroom for the nights he stays over. He helped me sand the woodwork in the library and we walked Kismet together. We had a lot of fun, didn’t we, Josh?”

“For sure. Can I spend the night, Dad?”

“Only if it’s okay with Sasha.”

“Hmmm… you can on one condition. You have to bring me a glass of milk.”

Josh bolted for the kitchen and carefully filled a glass of milk for Sasha.

“Thank you, Josh.”

“Does that mean I can stay?”

“Yes, you can. Bedtime is nine o’clock though.”

“Thanks, Sasha. Can I have a cookie? I saw some in the kitchen.”

“Yes you may, but only one. You have to put it on a plate and eat it at the table.”

Little Josh ran for the kitchen again.

“Sasha, you’re wonderful with him. He’s really taken with you,” Josh said, as he sat next to her on the couch and gave her a kiss.

“I like little Josh a lot. Who would have thought? I’ve never been around kids before. It seems to come naturally for some reason. I’m really enjoying his company, and the little lessons and manners? It’s something he needs to help him grow into a proper, polite young man.” Sasha grabbed a handful of popcorn as she spoke. “Do you think you’ll actually get joint custody of him?”

“I don’t know, honey. It’s sad to say, but it isn’t up to me.”

“I hope you do. This family thing really feels good. When the time comes, I’ll enjoy being a mom. Even being Josh’s step-mom would make me happy.”

“Sasha, when we have kids, you’re going to be the best mom in the world.”

The Wednesday morning sky was about as gray as Josh’s attitude. He sat in his car with Candy’s hotel room right in front of him. He honked the horn the second time, holding it down even longer now, just for emphasis. She pushed the curtain to the side and peered out. Josh threw up his hands as if to say “let’s go.”

She finally came out smoking a cigarette, and opened the passenger side door.

“You aren’t smoking that thing in my car. Either finish it outside, or toss it and get in,” he growled.

She tossed it in the bucket of sand near the curb, got in, and slammed the door. “A little grumpy, are we?”

“You do know how to tell time, don’t you? I said nine forty-five. It’s almost ten o’clock already, and I have to drive back downtown to Stuart’s office.”

“Take a chill pill and lighten up. Are you taking me out to lunch after this?”