Age Before Beauty (16 page)

Eric put a hand on the boy’s shoulder as they walked side by side up the stairs. At the top, Mikey ran ahead and brushed by his mother. Molly turned a soft smile on Eric as he approached the door.

“Thank you for letting him help. It means a lot.” She looked into his eyes. “To both of us.”

Eric straightened. A few minutes of his time was nothing to him, but it obviously meant the world to a little boy and his mother. He returned Molly’s smile. “It really was my pleasure.”

That evening Eric sat on the living room floor playing with Joanie. One day she would be old enough to play catch like Mikey and Josh. Dolls and girlie stuff were okay, but sports taught important life lessons, like teamwork and working toward a goal and achieving your best. He intended to help his daughter learn those lessons.

ESPN was recapping a motorcycle race over in Germany, and he half watched while he kept Joanie interested in the toys dangling from the bar on her baby gym. Mother sat in the chair nearest the kitchen with a book, but he noticed she spent more time watching him and Joanie than reading.

“Your father called today.”

Eric glanced up. She looked neat, as she always did, with every hair in order and her gray skirt smoothed over her knees. Her expression held no hint of her feelings.

“That’s good,” Eric said. “What did he have to say?”

“He wanted to know if I’ve paid the gas bill. There was no hot water for his shower this morning.”

“You pay the bills?”

Her eyes widened almost imperceptibly. “I always have. He didn’t even know where I keep the checkbook.”

Eric remembered Mother sitting at the kitchen table when he was a boy, a stack of bills in front of her, writing checks in her even script. He must have been young, not in school yet. He’d forgotten about that. “Did you forget to pay the gas bill?”

The shadow of a smile touched her lips. “I didn’t forget.”

He couldn’t help it. He laughed. “Mother, did you have the gas disconnected on purpose?”

She closed the book and rested her hands on top of the cover. “Certainly not. I left the bills and the checkbook where I always keep them, in the third kitchen drawer beside the refrigerator. Don needs to learn to take care of those things himself now.”

Joanie’s waving hands hit a dangling toy and it chimed. She cooed in response. Eric leaned over her and smiled into her eyes, mostly so he could look away from Mother’s.

“Aren’t you planning to go home at all?” he asked.

“I haven’t decided, but I don’t think so.”

Eric chewed the inside of his lip. Though he’d begun to suspect this problem between his parents was more than a simple misunderstanding, he’d never considered the possibility that their separation might be permanent. Could Mother seriously be thinking of divorce?

He tapped the toy on the baby gym so it swung tantalizingly above his daughter and spoke in a careful voice. “Thirty-five years of marriage is a long time to throw away.”

Whatever reply she might have made was interrupted. The door opened and Allie came in, her arms full.

“Sorry I’m late.” She sounded tired. “Those women were the chattiest bunch I’ve ever seen.”

She pushed the door closed by collapsing against it. Eric jumped up from the floor and took the biggest bag, a canvas thing that weighed a ton, from her shoulder. Gratitude flickered in her eyes as she set the briefcase she carried in her other hand on the floor beside the door. He didn’t remember seeing it before.

“Is that new?” he asked.

She flashed him a look. “I needed something to carry my paperwork in.”

Eric raised an eyebrow at the defensive response. “Okay. I was just asking.”

A sigh escaped her lips and she laid a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry. I’m really tired tonight.” She looked down at Joanie and a smile softened her lips. She tossed her ugly, expensive purse beside the briefcase and dropped to the floor beside the baby mat. “There’s Mommy’s precious sweetheart.”

Joanie’s face lit when she caught sight of Allie, and she let out a delighted gurgling coo. Her little hands waved excitedly and both legs kicked the air.

The eyes Allie turned upward to him gleamed with delight. “She’s happy to see me! Did you hear her?”

Eric nodded. “She’s been vocal like that all night.”

A hurt frown creased her forehead. Eric wanted to kick himself. Allie was so defensive lately, and sure Joanie didn’t miss her at all. What was wrong in letting her think her daughter was glad to see her? Sometimes he didn’t think before he spoke. “Look at those legs kicking. She knows her mama’s home.”

“Yes she does!” Allie scooped the baby up and buried kisses in her neck.

Eric dropped to the floor beside his wife and daughter and planted a kiss on Allie’s cheek. “I’m glad to see you too.”

Allie beamed at him, her smile restored. She sat back against the couch, positioned Joanie in the crease of her bent legs and grabbed both little hands. “Thanks, Betty, for watching her until Eric got home. I hope she wasn’t any trouble.”

“None at all.”

Eric glanced at Mother, whose sedate position had not changed. She watched Allie and Joanie through an expression as unreadable as ever. And she didn’t meet Eric’s gaze. A tacit signal that she hoped he wouldn’t resume their conversation in front of Allie? Probably. But Eric intended to pin her down later.

“Actually, Mother had her until after seven tonight,” he said. He watched Joanie plant her feet on Allie’s stomach and straighten.

Allie lifted her up to a standing position, her hands holding Joanie’s rib cage and supporting the back of her head with her fingers. “Did you have to work late?”

“No, I stopped by Molly’s to tighten a few loose boards on her deck.”

Allie’s head snapped sideways, her eyes wide. “You went to Molly’s again?”

He didn’t look up, but watched Joanie’s attempt to stand and hold her neck steady at the same time. “Just for a couple of hours. That deck was unsafe. I noticed it Saturday.”

“Doesn’t Molly have somebody else to do things like that for her? Her father, maybe?”

Eric shook his head. “Her father’s dead, and her mother is elderly. No brothers. And of course she doesn’t have a husband.”

“Well, lately she doesn’t seem to need one. She has mine.” Allie’s mouth closed so fast he heard her teeth snap.

“I’m just helping out a friend.” Anger flickered at the edge of his mind. Why did he need to defend himself for doing a good deed?

Mother rose silently from the chair and left the room. A second later he heard the soft click of the bedroom door shutting. A tactful exit. Eric didn’t look in that direction but studied Allie’s profile through narrowed eyes.

“Did you eat supper there?” Her words came out clipped.

“She ordered pizza.” From the flush that stained her cheeks, Eric knew she didn’t like the answer. “I spent most of the time with her oldest boy, Mikey. The kid is seven years old and obviously starved for male attention.”

Allie refused to look at him. “So you spent your evening playing with someone else’s child while yours was at home without a parent.”

“She had a
grand
parent,” he shot back. “Which is a good thing, since her mother wasn’t here.”

Allie’s head snapped sideways, and fury sparked in her eyes. She spoke through gritted teeth. “I was working, Eric.”

“I understand that, but I don’t see why you have to be gone every night.”

Joanie whimpered, and Allie laid her back down on her lap. He saw Allie swallow, and when she spoke it was with obvious effort to keep her tone even. “It takes a lot of work to start up a business. I thought you understood that.”

“I do.” Eric paused to gather the thoughts that had plagued him at odd times lately. “I guess I just see you throwing yourself into this, and I don’t get it.”

“You don’t get me wanting to be successful?”

He looked over her head at the curtains, choosing his words with care. “I don’t get why you’re doing it to begin with. You don’t have to work. You could stay home with Joanie. I told you that.”

“And I told you—”

He held up a hand. “I know you want to earn money so you can pay your share of the bills. I just don’t see why you have to do something that takes so much of your time away from Joanie.” He looked down at her. “And from me.”

Emotions flickered across her face. Her jaw relaxed and then tensed again. What was she thinking? This conversation had taken an unexpected, and uncomfortable, turn. He didn’t want her to think he resented her work with this Varie Cose thing. He really didn’t. It’s just that Allie was one of those women who threw herself into everything. She was one of the smartest people he’d ever met, and she had three times more energy than anyone else he knew. Whatever she focused that energy on was bound to be a success. But she was also single-minded at times, and lately he was beginning to feel, well, a little ignored.

Her eyelids narrowed and she sucked in a breath. “You changed the subject. We were talking about you spending time at Molly’s, and you turned it to attack my job. Almost as though you’re hiding something.”

So much for communication. Disgust blasted through his lips. “That’s ridiculous. I’m not going to listen to this.”

He got to his feet and left the room, shaking his head. Women defied understanding. Sure, he got the fact that she needed to work hard if she was determined to do this sales business. But apparently she thought he had to sit at home waiting for her like a good little househusband. Allie might be smart, but if that’s what she thought, she had another thing coming.

14

Allie stood over the changing table and fastened the plastic snaps on Joanie’s one-piece jumpsuit. She was growing so fast! Her feet finally filled out the footies on this outfit. They waved in the air as Joanie kicked with energy, cooing, and Allie grabbed them and planted a kiss on each sole. Her baby was nearly eight weeks old! She could hardly believe it. If she hadn’t decided to do Varie Cose, she would be going back to work on Monday, in just five days.

Her boss Gina wasn’t very happy with Allie’s decision not to return, but she understood. She refused to accept Allie’s final resignation, though, and said she was going to change Allie’s employment status to Unpaid Leave of Absence, so if she changed her mind and wanted to come back, she could.

“I hate to tell her, but there’s no way.” Allie tickled her daughter’s bulging belly, which made Joanie gurgle and kick.

“Anybody home?” Joan’s voice called from the front door.

“Your aunt Joan is here,” Allie told her daughter. She raised her head and called, “In the nursery.”

Joan appeared a moment later and, as Allie expected, scooped Joanie into her arms. “Look at you, little one. You’re all dressed and ready for the day.” Joan glanced at Allie and went on in a drier tone. “Unlike your mama.”

Allie looked down at her flannel pajamas and fluffy bedroom slippers. “Hey, I’m dressed for the day. This is how people who work at home dress.”

“Must be nice.” Joan wore a navy blue jacket and slacks, appropriate attire for her job as manager of a furniture rental store. “Hey, I stopped by on the way to work to trade that lipstick. You said I could return it if I wanted to, and I don’t like the color.”

“Sure, no problem. C’mon in here.” Allie led the way to her bedroom/office, Joan following along with Joanie.

“Good morning, Betty,” Joan called into the kitchen as they passed the doorway.

Allie heard Betty’s quiet reply but couldn’t make out the words. She had been seated at the kitchen table since breakfast, sipping coffee and looking through an issue of
Cooking Light
. Probably planning another low-fat, low-cal meal for supper. Actually, that suited Allie just fine. She’d be home for dinner this evening because it was Halloween and nobody wanted to book a party on trick-or-treat night. Her diet was going pretty well, and her clothes felt a tiny bit looser. Now that she’d gotten past the initial hurt feelings over Eric’s gift, she’d been meaning to go by the gym to activate her membership and check the place out, but there never seemed to be any time. At least with Betty’s focus on healthy meals, she was eating sensibly.

“Wow, would you look at that?” Joan stopped just inside the bedroom door and stared open-mouthed at the far end of the room.

Allie let her gaze sweep over the well-stocked shelves with a feeling of satisfaction. Her shipment from Varie Cose arrived yesterday. Though she didn’t even come close to Sally Jo’s inventory, she had a respectable amount of product on hand. She turned to respond to Joan and saw her sister’s eyes weren’t on the shelves.

“I’ve never seen such a mess.” Joan shook her head. “How do you find anything?”

Allie followed her sister’s gaze to the desk. Papers littered the surface amid piles of catalogs and file folders and packing slips from yesterday’s shipment. She’d dumped the contents of her briefcase there last night, intending to spend today sorting everything out.

“I haven’t exactly settled on a filing system yet. But I know exactly where everything is.” She rounded the bed and grabbed a catalog. “Here, look through the lip colors and let me know which one you want to trade for.”

While Joan, perched on the mattress edge, went through the catalog to the lipstick pages, Allie sifted through the papers on the desk to find her order folder. She dumped the contents onto the bedspread and flipped through them with an index finger to find Joan’s original sales slip.

Watching her, Joan cringed. “Allie, you’ve got to be more organized. You can’t run a business by dumping things in a file.”

“I know, I know.” She spied one from the date of Mom’s party and thumbed through the papers until she found Joan’s. She held it up triumphantly. “See, I told you I knew where everything was.”

“You’re so good at computer stuff I’m surprised you haven’t developed some sort of computer system to help you get organized.”

Joan had always been Miss Organization, but she wasn’t very good with computers beyond the basics. Allie loved computers and had even built a couple of databases at work to help keep track of her home visits and clients. She looked at the mess on the bed. Actually, Joan’s idea wasn’t a bad one. The Varie Cose website had an ordering system, but not much else.