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“Get your hands off that boy!” Nova said angrily.
“Who the hell do you think you are? You have no right to tell me what to do!” Lindy said angrily.
“Let go of his arm or I swear I’ll slap you so hard you’ll need a new nose job,” Nova said.
I could hear them arguing in my bedroom and I threw the door open to find Lindy holding onto Wynter’s arm tightly with Nova trying to come in between them. “What the hell is going on in here?”
“Daddy,” Wynter said.
“Let go of my son and get the hell out of my house,” I said as I glared at Lindy.
“He was trying to take my ring,” Lindy whined as she let go of his arm.
“Come on Wynter, let’s go downstairs,” Nova said and placed her arm around his shoulder as she led him out of the room.
“I don’t care, you don’t put your hands on my children,” I said and my eye caught the ring on her finger.
“How can you be so …”
“Take that fucking ring off now! You went through my safe?” I asked seeing red instantly.
“You were acting all weird so yeah I went through your stuff and then I found the ring and now I’m so happy because you were planning on proposing,” she said in a sweeter voice.
“Lindy, I’ll break your hand to get that ring off your finger, it’s not yours and I wasn’t planning on proposing, I was planning on ending things with you,” I said.
“Why do you have a pink diamond ring in your safe then?”
“It’s my wife’s ring, forget my name, lose my number and get the hell out of my house before I throw you out,” I said.
“You’ll regret treating me like this,” she said angrily as she took the ring off and threw it down on the floor.
“Women like you don’t threaten me. If you even so much as look at my family, I’ll make sure you have no more clients left in this town. I know every mom from elementary to middle school. You’ll have no clients left when I’m done with you. Don’t push me,” I said.
Lindy left without a word and I closed my bedroom door softly and looked into Nova’s eyes as I entered the kitchen. She had a small smile on her lips and for some reason I knew that she’d heard most of what I’d said to Lindy.
“Do you want coffee?” Nova asked me as I sat at the kitchen counter.
“Yeah, but I’ll make it,” I said.
“No, sit, I’ve got it,” she said and switched the kettle on.
I checked on the girls who were sleeping side by side on one couch. The boys were upstairs in their room and Mary-Joe and Simon had left for the night. Nova placed the coffee cup down in front of me and I smiled my thanks.
“You know every mom in town?” Nova asked with a smile.
“No,” I laughed.
“I’m sorry if I overstepped earlier but I heard them argue …”
“You didn’t overstep. I’m actually thankful that you did,” I said.
“Where is your wife?” she asked me gently.
“She died in childbirth, five years ago today,” I said.
“I’m so sorry,” she said and looked down.
“I kept her wedding ring for Abby one day,” I said.
“Lindy shouldn’t have assumed but I think when that day comes Abby will feel blessed to have it,” she said.
“What about you? How did you end up being a single mom?” I asked her.
“Not counting being young and making stupid decisions, I’m not sorry I kept Alexis,” she said.
“She’s a good kid, I watched her today, she was having the time of her life,” I said.
“Yeah, she is, she acts out sometimes because of everything,” she said.
“Everything?”
“It’s not a secret that we’re not as well off as other people, but I try my best,” she said.
“Where’s her father?” I asked.
“When I found out I was pregnant with her, he gave me some money, told me to get an abortion and that he never wanted to see me again,” she said.
“What an asshole,” I said and she smiled sadly.
“Life happens right, I think you should take us home now, it’s getting late,” she said.
“Of course, I’ll grab Alexis,” I said.
The drive back to their house was quiet but comfortable. The streets were quiet too as I parked in her driveway. I opened the back door and picked Alexis up. “I can take her,” Nova said.
“You can’t unlock the front door and carry her,” I said and started walking to the front door.
“Fine,” she said and unlocked the door.
I stepped inside and followed Nova up the stairs to Alexis’s bedroom. It was comfortably furnished, nothing fancy and no theme, but it was clean and artistic. The rest of the house, what I could see, was the same, clean, artistic touches and comfortable.
“Thank you for everything,” she said looking uncomfortable.
“You’re an artist?” I asked her as I walked over to the easel in the dining room.
“Yes, it’s not finished though,” she said and slammed a sketch book closed.
“Wait, is that me?” I asked her and grabbed the book from her hand.
“No!” she yelled but I was already paging through it.
“These are really good,” I said mostly to myself as I looked at the images she had sketched.
The one of me was serious, I was frowning as I leaned against my car, arms folded across my chest as I watched the school. She had captured me perfectly, I could remember that day too. I had just spoken to Chase and they were struggling with rogue wolves trying to infiltrate Aurora. I had offered to come and help and he’d told me to mind my own business.
“You weren’t ever supposed to see that,” she said.
“Because you like me?”
“No, yes, you should go,” she said.
“Should I?” I asked her.
“Yes!”
“So what’s happening on Monday?” I asked her.
“Monday? Why?”
“It’s Alexis’s birthday on Monday,” I said.
“You remembered that?”
“Yes.”
“Nothing’s happening on Monday, we’ll celebrate her birthday like we do every year, at home, me and her,” she said and walked towards the front door.
“Okay, have a good night Nova,” I said and walked to my car.
I drove home and thought about what it meant that Nova had sketched me before we’d officially met. I liked her as a person and I could see that she was a good mom. Most people just assumed that she wasn’t because Alexis was acting out. Today though, she’d been perfect, happy and I could see the potential if people just accepted her at face value.
“It was a good day,” Abeloth said.
“Yeah it was,” I replied.
“You like her,” he said.
“Don’t you?”
“She’s human, you’d have to tell her about us,” he said.
“I don’t like her like that moron,” I said.
“Uh huh, is that why you’re planning what you’re planning?” he asked me.
“I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do,” I said.
“If you say so,” he said.
On Sunday morning I started my preparations in lieu of Monday afternoon and I was quite pleased with myself. We spent a quiet day at home as Abigail opened her presents. The day passed by too quickly and Monday was upon us in the blink of an eye.
At four pm I parked the car in Nova’s driveway and left the kids to wait. I knocked on her door and smiled when she opened it. “What are you doing here?” she asked me.
“Picking you and Alexis up, we’ve got reservations, come on,” I said as the boys waved from the car.
“Ryder, what are you doing?”
“Celebrating Alexis’s birthday in style,” I said. “Come on.”
I drove back to our house and Nova gasped as I parked the car and she saw the transformation that had appeared. Bouncy houses and water slides were set up everywhere with an obstacle course that the kids could play on.
“Is this for me?” Alexis asked with wide eyes.
“Yes and there’s cake too,” I said as we climbed out and the four kids ran towards the bouncy houses and started to play.
“Why would you do all this for us?” she asked me.
“Because I feel bad about the way everybody’s been treating you and I actually like both of you,” I said.
“I don’t know what to say,” she said.
“You can start thinking of ways to pay me back,” I said and the moment I did I realized how it must’ve sounded as the shock appeared on her face.
“Excuse me?” she asked and mentally I slapped myself.
“I meant we could be friends,” I said quickly.
“Really? Friends?”
“Yeah like Alexis could come over for a playdate, we could have a drink, go do family stuff together like go to the fair, you know, things that friends do,” I said as she started to laugh.
“Sure, we can be friends,” she said.
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