Authors: Elisabeth Rose
"Steffie, we brought our water bottles. We don't need to bother
Chloe." Alex grinned at Chloe with a quick lift of the eyebrows as if
to say, Isn't she a cute little thing?
"I want a Coke." The familiar whine entered her voice.
"We don't have any soft drinks in the house." And even if they
did, this kid would need to improve her attitude dramatically to get
any.
"Mummy always has Coke at home."
Alex cut in swiftly. "Steffie, you can drink water." At last a firm tone
that she must have recognized as final, because Stephanie began rummaging in the bag, strewing a cloth hat, a plastic bottle of sunblock,
and a second towel over the immediate vicinity.
"I'm sorry," Alex said over her head. He grimaced. "Lucy and I
have different ideas on most things."
"Must make it difficult." For everyone, Stephanie included. Tough to be six and shunted between two people you love, not quite sure
where you fit. No wonder she demanded attention from her dad. Sympathy overcame annoyance as Chloe watched the little girl find her
water and gulp down several mouthfuls.
Alex sighed. "Sure does."
He took off his shirt, revealing a broad, tanned chest covered in
tightly curled dark hair. Chloe looked away quickly. Stephanie, standing in the midst of the mess, was eyeing her curiously. That child
would be sure to make some sort of comment if she thought Chloe was
taking an inordinate interest in her father's body. Alex shoved the fallout from her search back into the bag along with his clothes.
"Where's the girl?" asked Stephanie suddenly. "You said there
was a girl here for me to play with."
"Katy's visiting her gran, but she'll be home very soon. Have you
got brothers or sisters?"
"A brother. Mark's a baby, and he needs lots of attention. He cries
all the time. He gets sick a lot. I have to be very quiet."
Chloe smiled and nodded in understanding but was met with another of Steffie's trademark stares.
Alex said with cheerful enthusiasm, "C'mon, Steffie. Get your
clothes off."
The scowl returned. "Don't want to."
"Come on, hon." He squatted to look into the sullen face. "You'll
enjoy it. It's so hot today."
"It's not."
"But that's why we came." He stood up, clearly at a loss and embarrassed with it.
"You go in with the boys, Alex," Chloe said hastily, keeping
her eyes and her mind away from the way the muscles rippled in
the tanned thighs as he straightened. "Steffie and I can watch for a
bit. They're too rowdy, aren't they?"
Steffie stared. When she did that, she had the blankest, most expressionless face Chloe had ever seen. And she did it often. In between
whines. The burst of sympathy faltered slightly under that puddingfaced gaze.
"All right. Thanks, Chloe. But then it's your turn, Steffie." Alex
gave her a stern frown before dashing across the lawn to the pool gate
to be greeted by cries of delight from the inmates.
Chloe sat down on the lounger. She indicated the second one. "Sit
down"
Stephanie scrambled onto it with a surprising turn of speed and
lay back like a Hollywood starlet with one knee bent and an arm
draped over her head.
"What do you like to do best?" Chloe asked.
"I like TV."
"Do you read books?
"Sometimes."
"Do you play sports?"
"No, I don't like sports. I hate swimming. I didn't want to come."
Even if she hadn't so blatantly stated the fact, no one could possibly
be left in any doubt. Stephanie wasn't one to suffer in silence.
"It's important to learn how to swim, though"
"That's what Mummy and Daddy say. And Derek"
"They're right."
"I hate it. I hate the swimming teacher. She gets cross when I
won't put my head under the water. She's a pooey-poo"
Chloe bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from grinning.
"Maybe you'd like it better with a different teacher"
"No"
"Do you like music?"
"I don't know. Daddy plays music in his house, but Derek doesn't."
"None at all?" Inconceivable to live a life devoid of music.
"Only sometimes. Mummy says she likes quiet. Except Mark
cries, and she gets upset."
"Must be fun having a baby brother."
"A bit. I'm hungry."
"Would you like an apple?"
"Apples are pooey. I want an ice cream."
"We only have ice cream in a tub. Would your daddy let you have
a bowl of ice cream?"
Stephanie nodded enthusiastically. "He said I could have ice cream
if I came swimming."
Chloe hesitated. Was this a delicate subject? "Maybe you should
have a swim first."
"I don't want to go in with those big boys. They're too rowdy." She glanced at Chloe with an ingratiating little smile. "I could have
ice cream first and then go into the pool."
"All right. Come inside."
While Chloe spooned two scoops of vanilla ice cream into a bowl,
Stephanie prowled about the kitchen. She pulled a leaf off the poinsettia that one of Chloe's students had given her for Christmas, then
spilled some of the dirt by tilting the pot. Having exhausted the possibilities of the countertop, her attention moved to the fridge, where she
peered and poked at the postcards and notes stuck to the surface with
magnets. When Chloe said the ice cream was ready, Steffie knocked
several pieces of paper and postcards to the floor in her haste to eat,
treading on two as she stepped forward with hands outstretched.
"Would you pick those up, please, Stephanie?" Chloe said casually, replacing the lid on the tub.
"After I have my ice cream."
Chloe's eyes widened. The cheeky little so-and-so! "I don't think
so," she said firmly. "Pick them up, please."
Stephanie glowered. Chloe slid the bowl farther back on the
counter behind her and folded her arms.
"I don't want to pick them up."
Chloe waited silently.
"I hate you. You're a pooey-poo, and I won't do anything for you.
Pooey-pooey-poo."
Chloe removed the lid of the ice cream, scraped the contents of the
bowl back into the tub, strode to the fridge, and replaced the whole
thing in the freezer.
Stephanie stamped both her feet. "You said I could have ice cream.
You're a liar, and I hate you. I hate you!" she yelled.
"I think you should go outside if you're going to speak like that."
Stephanie darted for the sliding screen door. Chloe hurried after
and dragged it open in case she jammed her fingers and caused even
more of a scene. Or, in her rage, punched a hole in the mesh. The
red tornado barreled outside and raced across the verandah, yelling.
"Daddy, Daddy, I want to go home. I hate her. I hate it here."
Three startled faces turned their way from the pool. Alex wiped
both palms over his hair, flicking water from his eyes with a blink
and shake of his head. He waded to the edge and pulled himself out to meet Stephanie as she fumbled with the childproof catch on the
gate.
"What's the matter?"
The wail doubled in intensity when she discovered she couldn't
open the gate, and the words fell out between deep gasps and sobs of
rage. "I hate it here. She's mean to me."
Alex flung the gate open and cradled her in his arms, hugging and
soothing and murmuring in her ear. She clung to his neck and sobbed
bitterly. Chloe stood on the verandah and watched the performance
with her arms folded. Seb and Julian climbed out of the pool and
stared in amazement. Julian's face had the intense, tight look it wore
when he was trying hard not to laugh.
Seb called to Chloe, "What did you do to her?"
"I didn't do anything!"
"Why's she crying, then?"
"Goodness me! What's going on here?" Simone's amused voice
cut through the wails. "World War Three's broken out, Katy."
The shrieks of outrage ceased for a moment as Stephanie paused
to assess the newcomers. Katy, wide-eyed, stood next to Simone,
clutching her overnight bag. Both had their eyes fixed on the pair by
the pool gate.
Alex released his hold on Stephanie and stood up. She clutched
his hand with both of hers, still sobbing in chest-heaving gasps, face
now as tomato red as her clothes.
Chloe stepped down from the verandah and approached them.
"Simone, this is Alex Bergman and his daughter, Stephanie. Katy and
Simone, Alex."
"Hello." Alex held out his hand.
Simone shook it firmly, a multitude of silver bangles jingling on her
arm. "Very nice to meet you," she said, giving his bare body a comprehensive stare. "I've heard quite a lot about you. Hello, Stephanie."
Stephanie didn't deign to acknowledge the greeting, keeping her
head averted and her reddened eyes on the ground. The sobs decreased in volume and number, but shuddery intakes of air erupted
noisily like the toxic gas from bubbling mud.
"Hello, Katy. Stephanie's been looking forward to meeting you."
Alex smiled and shook hands with Katy.
"Hello." Katy stepped closer to Stephanie, bending to peer up at
her hidden face. "Would you like to come and see my room?"
The dark head shook twice.
"Steffie's a bit upset at the moment. Thanks, Katy. I think perhaps
we should go home."
"You don't have to go because of a little tantrum." Simone flapped
one hand airily. "She'll be over it in five minutes. Children that age
are very fickle."
"It's a bit more than a tantrum," said Alex with a tight smile.
"Something upset her very badly." He glanced at Chloe. Unblinking,
Chloe returned his gaze. No way was she apologizing for her part in
that obnoxious child's behavior. If he couldn't see what a problem
daughter he was raising, then tough.
"What did you do to her?" The belligerence in Seb's tone was unmistakable. Chloe glared at him. He knew the child even less than
she did.
All eyes except Stephanie's turned to Chloe. She kept her tone
even, nonjudgmental. Stick to the facts. Don't get emotionally involved. She'd had plenty of experience dealing with the overprotective, irrational parents of the world's next musical geniuses.
"She said she was hungry. I offered her an apple. But Stephanie
doesn't like apples. She wanted ice cream." Chloe looked at Alex.
"We don't have ice cream during the day usually, only after dinner.
She said you'd let her have it because she came swimming."
"But then you lied-you said I couldn't!" came a sulphuric burst
from Stephanie. "She said I could, then she put it back in the freezer."
"It's important to keep your promises with children, Chloe," said
Alex. "I don't like Steffie eating ice cream instead of an apple either,
but if you'd said she could have some, you can't then say no. It confuses her."
From the corner of her eye Chloe could see the round face staring
up at her from the protection of her father's side. If she looked directly at that child, the expression of smug satisfaction she was positive would be there would completely blow her self-control. She
kept her eyes on Alex. He, at least, should understand the situation if
she explained exactly what had happened. He wouldn't think she
was a liar. He must know how spoiled and demanding the kid was.
"I can if she's rude."
"Were you rude to Chloe?" Alex asked.
"No."
"Did you say please and thank you?"
"Yes. I always do. It's rude not to." The gray eyes opened, wide
and innocent.
"That's right. Good girl" Alex's chilly gaze returned to Chloe.
"What was the problem, then?"
Chloe's mouth opened and closed in amazement. The stern man
from the police station had suddenly reappeared, studying her as if
she were some slimy subspecies of pond life. Any sense of intimacy
between them, real or imagined in the darkness of her sleepless night,
had been rapidly dispelled. Alex and his daughter were on one side
of a chasm, and she was on the other.
She shook her head with a wry smile. "I'm not getting into an `I
said, you said' with a six-year-old. If you don't trust my judgment as
to what constitutes rudeness from a child, then there's absolutely no
point saying anything else."
"Chloe." Alex's frown darkened.
Simone said to Katy, "Take your bag inside, sweetheart." Katy
didn't need a second prompting.
"I believe you, Chloe," she whispered as she passed. Chloe flashed
her a smile. What a sweet six-year-old Katy had been. She'd no
sooner act the way this red monster did than fly to the moon.
Alex turned to the twins, who were leaning on the pool fence
watching the proceedings with casually amused interest. They had
no idea of the trials of parenting yet. "Thanks for the swim, guys."
Simone was watching him with her violently plucked eyebrows
raised almost to the level of that improbably blond stack of hair. Dolly
Parton sprang irrelevantly to mind-minus the curves and face-lifts.
He managed a tight smile. "Nice to meet you, Simone and Katy."
He strode toward the verandah and his bag. What on earth had
happened in there? Sure, Steffie could be difficult, but all kids were,
and Chloe, with her experience, should be able to handle a child better than that. He was no expert, but he'd never seen his baby so upset. His heart broke to hear her cry that way. The sooner he got her
home and calmed down, the better.
"Let's go, hon. Good-bye, Chloe." He took Steffie's hot, sticky
palm in his. The little fingers clung tightly.
Chloe observed him through blank eyes. She didn't say a word.
She didn't need to. Her whole demeanor told him exactly what she
thought. Impotent rage welled again, surprising him with its intensity. This was his child! She needed him. Rarely before had he experienced such a surge of parental emotion. It was a rage fueled by
disappointment. In the situation. In Chloe. What did she expect?
That he'd take her side against his daughter? A defenseless six-yearold? She, of all people, should understand the overwhelming urge to
protect. Witness her leap to defend Seb against his anger in the police station that morning.