Waves of Desire (5 page)

“I will,” he said, but she had already hung up.

Derek sighed. He’d give anything for a nice, cold beer, or that crisp, dry Cabernet he’d mentioned earlier. Instead he cleaned up the kitchen and settled in for a long, lonely night.

Sage

“You finished that already?”

Sage looked up from her cup of coffee to find Archie, tugging at her skirt hem. “Any more books?” he asked, looking up at her sweetly with those soft, green eyes.

She chuckled, kneeling to squeeze his chubby little cheeks. “Sure, Archie. This is a bookstore, remember?”

He tapped her coffee cup and said, smartly, “Then how come there’s food?”

She laughed and said, “Good question.”

With anyone else, that would be it. But Archie was waiting, patiently, not giving up. “He wants an answer,” said Colby, Sage’s manager at Sequels, her bookstore-slash-café.

“What, a real one?” Sage asked.

Colby winked and nodded, crouching next to the little guy. “Archie, we serve books and food here.”

“Oh,” he said, looking from one woman to the next. “Okay. More books, please?”

They chuckled and stood. “I’ll find him a few,” Colby said as the door opened and more customers came in. It was the morning, one of the busiest times of the day, half the customers wanting their special book orders and the other half wanting fresh coffee and baked treats to start their day.

After she’d satisfied both and returned to the café counter for a much-needed sip out of her own mug, she smiled to find Colby reading to Archie in the Kids’ Corner of the store. It was where Sage kept the picture books, stacked on low, colorful shelves just the right height for little hands to grab. There was a little table in the corner, and little chairs, and soft plush toys in three little wicker baskets situated here and there. A mobile hung in the storefront window, boxy planes and helicopters flying in lazy circles all day long.

At the moment, Archie looked cozy and content, nestled in his fuzzy red chair while, across from him, Colby sat, low to the ground, legs crossed primly in her khaki work skirt, reading aloud from a new picture book about a boy who loved to climb trees named “Terry Treetop” and his adventures with a lost little dolphin. The little tyke looked enthralled, and handsome to boot, wearing one of the several new outfits Sage had picked out for him at the local Kids Mart.

Rather than feel put out, despite his mother’s antics, Sage had enjoyed the outing to the kid’s only superstore. She’d stocked up on all the essentials – socks and underwear, shoes and cute little ball caps, shirts and pants – but plenty of cute little extra’s as well. There were the nightlights, the toys, the teddy bears and tiny toothbrushes, all the things a single woman who’d lived alone for most of her life had no idea what kids needed.

She still had a lot to learn about having a four-year-old for a roommate, but so far she hadn’t poisoned, dropped or forgotten little Archie, so she felt at least ahead of the curve.

Then again, she had caffeine to thank for that! While pouring herself a new cup, Sage heard the bell over the door and looked up, at once thrilled to see Derek – who she’d been missing terribly – and just as quickly disappointed to see Dana, trailing behind him.

She looked tired but glowing, skin kissed by the sun, hair pulled back, breezily, into a ponytail sticking out behind a faded orange ball cap. She wore a silk tank top, no bra, breasts full and ripe and youthful. A crinkle skirt, breezy and soft, caressed her long, coltish legs as she approached, bypassing Sage without a word to approach Archie.

The little tyke looked up, cautiously, then brightened to see his mother. They embraced, awkwardly, as Colby sat the book on her lap. While they chatted, Sage clung to Derek desperately, and he to her.

It felt good to feel his body against hers. “It feels like I haven’t seen you in forever,” she groaned, pushing him away if only to see his smiling face.

“Forever and a day,” he said, just as miserably. “This sucks.”

“Big time!” she agreed, pouring him some coffee.

“Can I get one to go?” he asked, cautiously, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at Dana, settled into a chair next to Archie and listening as Colby continued to read to them. “I’m taking Dana to the Copy Shop to work on her resume, and she’s dragging after last night, so…”

“Anything to get her off her ass and out into the job market,” Sage huffed, filling a jumbo Styrofoam cup with the strongest brew of the day.

Derek chuckled, looking handsome in a crisp grey and black striped tank top and a pair of flat-front black shorts. “Trust me, it took a whole pot of coffee at home just to get her this far.”

“This is going to be harder than I thought, Derek.”

“I know, Sage, I just… I’m trying my best here.”

“We both are,” she assured him, covering Derek’s hand with her own. “If only she were trying half as hard.”

They both turned, just then, watching Dana yawn and slump, half-asleep, as Colby continued to read to little Archie, who looked upset at his mother’s antics. “I mean look at that,” Sage said. “She should be reading to her son, not letting my manager read to him.”

“It’s like she has no maternal instincts,” Derek agreed. “I told her Archie would be here this morning, thinking she’d be excited to see him after last night, and I had to twist her arm just to come.”

Sage sighed, feeling many things: Angry, jealous, bitter, frustrated, disappointed, but mostly just… sad. She was no mother, she wasn’t even married, but she’d hated spending a single night away from her boyfriend, let alone her own son. She couldn’t imagine how that might feel.

“Maybe it’ll be better when she’s sober a little longer,” she said.

“I hope,” Derek sighed. “Listen, we better go. I want to get her home before happy hour, if you know what I mean?”

She smiled, squeezing his forearm. “Let’s do dinner at your place, huh?” she suggested. “That way Archie and I can come and go, I get to see you a little more but Dana won’t have the opportunity to pass out in my living room.”

“It won’t always be like this, Sage.”

They shared a soft, tender kiss. “Promise?” she asked. Even as he nodded, emphatically, Sage found it hard to believe him. Derek was young and naïve, and wanted to believe that Dana could change. As they sat and watched her let yet another caregiver read to her own child, Sage knew in her heart that Dana was foul, all the way to the core.

She just didn’t know what to do about it. Yet…

Derek

“Great job, Archie!”

Archie giggled, precious in his new pint-size wetsuit, sunscreen dotting his pug little nose. “Again?” He asked.

“Sure thing, buddy!” Derek said, grabbing his pint-size board.

As they were about to shuffle off back into the surf, a woman cleared her throat and said, “Excuse me?”

Derek stood, holding Archie’s hand as a mother squinted back at him, doing the same with her own little boy. “I was wondering, you’re so good with him…” Her voice trailed off, nodding toward Archie. “Do you think, I know it’s a terrible imposition, but… could you take little Mikey here out?”

Derek winked and knelt to one knee, so he’d be eye to eye with her son. “What do you say, Mikey? You want to surf with me and Archie?”

The little boy looked up at his mother, then back at them. Saying nothing, he merely bit his little lip. “Come on,” said Archie, grabbing Mikey’s free hand. “It’s fun!”

Without looking back, Archie and Mikey walked into the frothy surf! “Wait up!” Derek chuckled, calling after them.

One by one, he helped them surf. When it was Mikey’s turn, he held Archie in his free arm. When it was Archie’s turn, Derek held Mikey in the same arm. They got along well together, behaving and sharing until he paused to look back and found Mikey’s mother, waving playfully from the shore.

They must have been at it for awhile, for she’d unfolded her beach towel from her wicker purse and laid it out, sitting to watch them. Now she sat, cross-legged, waving them in.

He willingly obliged, letting little Mikey run into his mother’s arms, wet and salty from the sea. “It was fun, Mommy!” he said, dancing around her on the towel. Instant friends, Archie joined him. “Can we do it again tomorrow?!?”

Mikey’s mother looked up at Derek and made a kind of “Well, can we?” face. He smirked and sank to his knees next to her on the towel.

“Actually, I was thinking of starting up another surf school session this week,” he said, Archie leaning against him familiarly, an affectionate display he wasn’t prone to. At least, not yet. “I’ve never done a Pre-K session before, but now that my son’s here for a visit…”

“This is your son?” The mother asked. “I’m Karla, by the way. I thought you two looked familiar!”

Derek blushed, looking at Archie more closely. There was nothing about the little redhead that looked like Derek, but then again… he was only four, going on five. Maybe by ten or fifteen, the resemblance would show up. For now, he felt only fatherly pride as the little tyke clung tightly to his neck.

“Well, anyway, let’s meet here around the same time tomorrow and I’ll bring some boards for the kids to share. If you know anyone else who might like to join, it’s $20 per week, and I’ll run the session as long as you moms have the energy!”

“Sounds great,” Karla said, shaking Derek’s hand as if they’d just finished some master negotiations or something. He stood and gripped Archie’s board under his arm, taking his junior self with the other hand.

“Say goodbye to Mikey,” Derek said and, dutifully, as if he was clay to be molded, Archie waved and said, “Bye Mikey!”

“Bye Archie!” said Mikey, watching them both walk away.

Derek leaned Archie’s miniature board against the railing and tugged off his little wetsuit, rinsing off the salt water at the showers before drying him off and tugging on the new “Surf Shark” T-shirt over his damp baggies.

“Did you have fun today, big guy?” he asked as they waited to cross the street and head for home.

“Sure did!” he said. “Are you really my Dad?”

Derek paused, turned and bent to one knee, heart suddenly pounding. It was midday in Seaside, Florida, traffic was light, foot traffic was even lighter, the sun was bright after their day in the surf. He looked into Archie’s soft, green eyes and said, “I sure am, why do you ask?”

Archie shrugged. “I’ve never had a real one before,” he said, clutching Derek’s hand as they waited for the crossing sign to turn. “I think I like it!”

Sage

“It was a group of dolphins jumping, playing and making noises together.”

Making a funny face, Sage slid the open book onto her lap and pretended to make screeching, chattering dolphin noises, just the way Archie liked so much. Now it was his turn to laugh and laugh and laugh.

“Do the starfish now,” Archie giggled, squirming in his little chair as the afternoon light bathed the Kiddy Corner in golden hues.

“Scronk, scronk,” Sage said, holding up five fingers in each hand and squeezing them tight before releasing them.

“No,” Archie laughed, slapping his chubby little knee. “That’s not how starfish sound.”

“No?” Sage asked, just like she did every time she read Archie’s favorite book,
Terry Treetop Saves the Dolphin
. “How do starfish sound?”

Archie waved his own chubby little fingers and went “zoink, zoink, zoink,” laughing in his favorite, fuzzy red chair.

“That’s not how starfish sound!”

The voice was slurred and sultry, Dana appearing out of nowhere, tall and slender in a little black dress, face made up garishly, hair teased atop her head.

“Mommy!” Archie said but, as Dana teetered on glittery hooker heels, he recoiled. “You’re acting funny again!”

“Dana!” Sage said, standing abruptly and putting herself, protectively, between mother and child. “How good to see you!”

Dana’s eyes were glassy, Colby racing up behind her, a panicked look on her face. “I tried to tell her you and Archie were busy,” she said, looking desperately apologetic.

“A boy is never too busy for his mother!” Dana said, brushing past Sage to scoop little Archie up. Or, at least, to try to. She tumbled instead, landing in a display of building blocks and toppling them noisily. Archie’s face crumpled, growing pink, before he began to cry.

“Jesus,” Sage muttered, turning to Colby. “Can you… can you watch him until Derek shows up?”

Colby nodded, emphatically, reaching for the little tyke. “Come on, Archie,” she said, thinking quickly. “Would you like a lemon scone?”

Archie brightened. Like Sage, Colby already knew all the little boy’s favorites. And why not? After two weeks in town, he spent nearly as much time in Sequels, Sage’s bookstore, as he did in her loft apartment above the store or in the waves with his father.

While Colby occupied Archie, Sage yanked Dana to her feet. “Hey!” Dana said and, to quell the anger in her own heart and the defiance in the young mother’s eyes, Sage slapped her – hard – across the face.

“You and me,” Sage said, dragging her out of the store. “We’re going to go someplace nice and safe for you.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” Dana muttered, but the way she clung to Sage every step of the way to her car, she clearly wasn’t going anywhere
without
her, either.

It was just as well. Sage could smell the alcohol wafting from her young, pale skin and, as soon as she got Dana situated in the passenger seat of her car, the young mother passed out. Cold.

Sage was backing out, driving carefully so Dana wouldn’t wake up, when her cell rang. She synched it through the steering wheel blue tooth when she saw it was Derek. “I thought you were in charge of your baby mama,” she huffed, steering through town.

“I had to get the new boards for the surf camp,” he said, sounding panicked. “She was fine when I left.”

“Yeah, well, she’s passed out in my car right now.”

His voice was incredulous. “
What
?”

Sage ignored his surprised tone. “Did you give her any money, perchance?”

He paused, and she knew he had. “Just a twenty,” he confessed. “She said she was going to get a toy for Archie, and I was happy because that’s the first time she’s done that.”

Sage clucked a remorseless tongue. “Yeah, well, she’s dressed up like the den mother at a hooker convention and more loaded than a soldier on shore leave, so… guess Archie’s gonna have to wait twenty eight-days for his toy.”

“Twenty-eight…” He started confused, then wised up fast. “Sage, where are you right now?”

“I’m headed to the Sunnyside Rehabilitation Center, Derek,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Where the hell is that?”

“Twenty miles out of town,” she said. “They buy books from me every month, half-price stuff for their residents. Said if I ever needed a favor, I should drop by. Well, I need a favor… so I’m dropping by. And while I’m at it, I’m dropping your sorry ass baby mama off as well!”

Derek chuckled joylessly. “I’ve never heard you talk like this before.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve never found out my boyfriend had a child, whose mother is an alcoholic, and nearly passed out on top of her son today, so… forgive me if I’m a little blunt at the moment, Derek.”

“When did this all happen?”

“Five minutes ago,” she huffed, taking the exit that would lead her to nearby Sunnyside. “I’m sorry, Derek, but… it’s the best thing for her. Am I wrong?”

“No, baby, I just… I should be there with you.”

“No, baby,” she grunted. “You should be doing this
for
me. I shouldn’t be involved. At all.” Sage felt a great rush of emotion, gazing at Dana, slumped in the passenger seat, dead to the world as she cruised up US 1 alongside the breezy Atlantic Ocean. Outside her car windows, the sky was blue and softly dotted with clouds. Inside, her boyfriend’s baby mama snored, oozing vodka – or worse – from her young veins. God forbid a cop should pull them over!

“Ever since Dana showed up,” Sage said, unloading on poor Derek as the words, and emotions, kept gushing out. “I’ve tried my best to be understanding, to be kind, to be generous and thoughtful. And all this witch has done was to play you until she could get you to trust her and, the first time you do? This is what happens. So yeah, she’s going someplace nice, safe and dry for a month and hopefully when she comes out, she’ll be the mother Archie deserves.”

Derek sighed and, wherever he was, Sage could picture him nodding. “Thank you,” he said. “For everything. Will you… be coming home tonight?”

“That depends on your girlfriend here,” she huffed, feeling slightly better after her tirade. “Listen, do me a favor? Archie’s with Colby at the store. Can you grab him when you get a chance? Keep him with you until I get home?”
“Already on my way,” he said. “Listen, be careful, okay? And if you need me…”

Sage hung up, not too eager to hear Derek’s empty promises at the moment. She loved him, desperately, but since Dana had shown up he’d been about as helpful, and half as charming, as little Archie!

She calmed slightly during the last few minutes before the rehab appeared in front of her, looking more sterile – and less bucolic – than she had imagined. She parked in front of the building; Dana slumped and zonked in the passenger seat.

Inside the front office, Marigold, the receptionist recognized her right away. “Sage?” she asked. “Are you... okay?”

Sage realized she hadn’t even brought a free book to pave her way! “Sorry to barge in on you like this, Marigold, but… I’ve got somebody that needs your help.”

“Oh dear,” she said, standing. “I’m not sure…” She picked up the phone, dialing quickly. “Let me see if we have a vacancy.”

Sage bit her lower lip. “I know I’m showing up unannounced,” she muttered, as if to herself.

While on hold, Marigold smiled and, placing her hand over the receiver, said, “It’s never a good time for rehab, Sage.” Just then a voice barked and Marigold put the phone up to her ear. Sage couldn’t hear the voice on the other end but saw the look on Marigold’s face. “Oh thank goodness,” she said, hanging up the phone. “We’ve got one bed left on the unit, so…”

Sage sat, trying to fill out paperwork the best she could. While an orderly helped an incoherent Dana into a wheelchair, Sage snagged her purse and filled out the rest. “As for payment,” Marigold said, “it’s not cheap, but… you’ve been so good to us. Let me crunch some numbers with my boss and get back to you in a few days, okay?”

Sage sagged with relief, trying to figure out how much was left on her total of three credit cards. She had plenty for shoes and purses and teddy bears and apple juice, but nowhere near enough for a month’s stay in rehab.

“Thank you,” she said to Marigold, tears finally falling as they wheeled Dana into the reception area. “I just… I didn’t know where else to go. We’ve tried everything we know.”

“Is she… related?” Marigold asked.

“It’s… a long story.”

Marigold nodded, standing and joining the orderly near the doorway to the medical wing. “We… need to get a few things ready,” she said. “If you want a few last minutes before she’s ours for the month?”

Sage nodded, sitting in the chair facing Dana. When the door shut, Dana’s eyes fluttered open then shut. Sage would have been perfectly content to spend the last few moments in peace, but she didn’t want them to part that way. “Dana!” she said, loudly, the young mother returning to consciousness suddenly.

“What?” she asked.

Sage ignored her wide eyes and the desperate, feral look inside them. “Goodbye,” Sage said, gripping the arms of her handlebar. “For now, goodbye.”

“Where are you going?” Dana’s breath reeked of alcohol, eyes growing drowsy again.

Sage felt sadness in her heart as she stood, watching Marigold and the orderly return. “Not me, honey,” she said as they turned her around and began to wheel her away. “We’ll see you in a month!” she said to the door, swinging closed as Dana slid down the hall on the other side.

Marigold walked Sage out to the car, the sky golden and blue. “She’ll be able to make calls by next week,” the young woman explained.

“Not until then?”

Marigold shook her head sternly. “This is serious business, Sage,” she said, gripping her forearm. “We need time to assess her and make her feel welcome. We can’t do that if she keeps reaching out for home.”

“Sure,” Sage said, giving the girl a brief, brisk hug. “I understand.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t pop into the store in a few days and give you an update myself!”

Sage brightened, suddenly realizing how much she cared about Dana and her fate. “I’ll make sure to have a stack of books ready,” she said, surprised by how much she was looking forward to Marigold’s visit even as she drove away from Sunnyside.