Chapter 28: Moonlight Moment

Later that night at Tom’s, Roxanne changed into the sweats she called pajamas and sat on the couch next to him with a bowl of ice cream. When she finished eating and put the bowl down on the coffee table, Tom cringed.
“What?” she said
“Can you put that in the dishwasher or on a magazine? It’s going to get the table dirty.”
“Sorry I’m not as fancy as you.” She picked up the bowl and set it in the sink.
“It’s not about being fancy, just, you know, having manners.”
“Oh, so I don’t have manners?” Roxanne blurted at him, as she toddled back to the living room.
“That’s not what I said,” she could see Tom stiffen as he sat up a little straighter. “It’s just – we’re having a baby. We need to teach it things besides how to crack eggs with one hand.”
“Hey, that’s a useful skill,” she protested and sank herself into a chair.
“Are you on edge about something?” he asked, his face placid.
“Uh – yeah – everything,” she said, biting her lip and crossing her arms. “I’m being chased by a loan shark, I was arrested, and now I’m carrying my – my – your baby and I’m hoping it all works out.”
Tom smiled. It made Roxanne even more tense. He didn’t usually smile unless there was a good reason. Nothing she said had been funny, and unlike the first night at the bar, she didn’t see any cats slinking around.
“I hate when you do that,” she said.
“What?”
“Why are you smiling?” she asked.
“Because you didn’t know what to call me.”
“Yeah, I guess I’ve been too busy being kidnapped, handcuffed, and planning a party, I didn’t even think to ask.” Her snarky response didn’t even elicit a reaction from Tom.
“And then at the party, you just left me. After Ruby called me out for not telling my dad first, you chose her over me,” Roxanne continued.
“I chose to stick to the plan.”
“Right,” Roxanne pointed in mid-air, “the plan.” She shook her head. “And you wonder why I didn’t know what to call you. That’s really the only reason I’m here isn’t it? I mean - the baby - the plan.” She stood up to walk away.
“Roxanne,” Tom stood up too, his body unbending like a ruler. “I thought that’s what you wanted. I think Ruby will come around. I’m just trying to keep you safe.”
She looked at Tom and knew he probably meant what he said, but safe wasn’t what she wanted right now. She wanted passion and romance, not manners and a plan that somehow she managed to keep bungling at every turn.
“Yeah, Tom. I know. Safe. But you know me,” she shrugged, “sometimes I like a little fire.”
Tom stared at her. She wasn’t even sure if he heard her. In their intimate moments together, he applied just the right amount of gentleness to spice, but with their other problems piling on, Roxanne found it hard to deal with his lack of emotion.
“I need a breather,” she said and turned toward the door.
“Take Blake,” Tom called after her.
Roxanne decided to start at the beginning. All her problems basically began with Baxter and the day the permit was stolen. After amassing several clues and seeing Baxter at both the building that was supposed to be for sale and during her arrest, she knew he was a key to everything that had been going wrong.
Normally in those kinds of predicaments, Roxanne would head to the bar, talk to her father or maybe even Owen. With her dad upset at her and Owen dead, she didn’t have anyone to be her sounding board.
Blake drove her to her trailer on the construction site like she asked. Since construction had halted, she heard much of the crew had picked up some odd jobs in the meantime. She hoped they could get back on track once she figured out the truth. With Blake waiting in the SUV, she opened the trailer and turned on the lights.
Everything seemed to be in order. She trickled her fingers along the file folder on her desk. She wasn’t sure exactly what brought her there, but being back in her old office where she once felt confident and useful, made her long to get back to work.
If only she’d never left that day, she thought. She could have thrown Baxter out instead of fleeing. Although, for all she knew, someone might have tried to sabotage her another way.
An almost full moon lit up the sky when Roxanne emerged. She indicated to Blake that she was going to walk down to the construction site. She missed the dust and the rumble of heavy machinery, along with the comradery she shared with the guys.
She strode around the foundation, looking at the steel framing. Climbing onto the cab of a backhoe, she used it as a platform to jump onto a steel beam. Straddling it, she sat and watched the moon.
She remembered when her father used to bring her to construction sites and she’d tip-toe along the beam like an Olympic gymnast. Being pregnant, she cautioned herself to sit still and enjoy the cool breeze in the air.
She was glad Tom hadn’t followed her because she needed a moment to herself, a moment without all the pressure. Underneath her, the building felt sturdy and strong. Perched on its ledge, she was like a bird on a wire, resting until it decided on its next destination.
Sitting in the moonlight, she heard a distinctive purring sound. She searched below her amongst the beams and empty shell of a building to find its source. Then she spotted it, a black cat, nearly hidden in the shadows by the corner of the building. Roxanne’s broad smile reached across her face as she remembered Tom watching the cat at the bar.
Its fur looked soft and silky, hiding the sharp angles of its bones. She watched the cat stretch and arch its back, its tail pointed in the air.
Tom wasn’t a lone wolf like Ruby described, Roxanne reasoned. He was more like a lost cat, scared amongst the crowd, making careful movements until he found what he was looking for.
Instead of scaring him off, she needed to coax him to her. She already knew he was willing to claw his way out of tough situations for her. If she wanted a real relationship with Tom, a solid family, she had to make him comfortable with her, while letting him do things his way at times.
With her plan in place, Roxanne was confident she could tame him.