Second Chances (18 page)

“She’s my best friend since grade school,” Hannah began in explanation.  “Amy Pendergast.  She’s a big shot lawyer.  I’m just lucky she’s representing me for free.”  Hannah continued to prattle on about the nature of their relationship, but Gavin had gone strangely silent once he recognized his lawyer’s name.  Suddenly, realizing that he was no longer paying attention, she paused.  “Are you okay?”  Her face was truly concerned.  And without thinking, the back of her hand skimmed his forehead as she wiped at the cold sweat that had broken out. 

“Hmm.  No fever,” she murmured as she moved to reach behind him and feel the back of his neck.

Instead, Gavin caught her wrist.  “I think I just need to lie down.”  He tried to shrug off the incident.  “Having you around is clearly too much excitement for my weak constitution.”  He gave a half-hearted smirk and rose from the couch.

“It’s only nine o’clock,” Hannah protested.  She studied him for a moment and saw that he wasn’t relenting.  “Well, if you really don’t feel well…”  She glanced about the room.  “I’ll shut down the house, but do you mind if I stay here and read for a bit?”

“That’s fine, Hannah,” he said as he ruffled her hair on his way to the door.

She rose, scowled at him, and moved to her seat in front of his desk.  By the time he closed the door behind him, she was already engrossed in her book with the phone on the desk within arm’s reach.  He smiled ever so slightly and headed down the hall.

The girls had been taken to preschool, the dry cleaning had been picked up, the mail had been sorted, and Hannah couldn’t stop fidgeting.  She was restless as she watched the demolition take place.  She was restless as the men loaded the truck to take the items selected to the Habitat for Humanity store.  Now, with nothing to do for the next several hours, she was even more restless.

Finally, Madge could stand it no longer.  “Why don’t you just go work in the studio?”  She watched Hannah pretend to mull the idea over.  “You know that’s what you’ve been thinking about for the last several hours anyway,” she said smugly.

Turning a lovely shade of salmon, Hannah shrugged.  “I can’t help it.  I like staying busy.  Would you mind terribly if I just went down to the studio for a couple of hours?”  She glanced at the clock.  It was only one thirty and she wouldn’t be able to pick up the girls until four so as not to upset their routine.  She could work for a few hours and still have plenty of time to clean up before heading out.

Slowly she made her way to the studio.  It weighed heavy on her heart that she was doing this behind Gavin’s back.  She didn’t like lying, and though some would suggest that this wasn’t technically a lie, it still felt that way to her.  She frowned.  On top of that, her work would never be comparable to that of India.  Though Hannah didn’t like the pieces she had seen scattered about the house, she could recognize the imagination and ability that had produced them.  No, she was nothing like India.

Leaving the doors to the studio flung wide open, Hannah invited the sun and fresh air inside.  The room had smelled stale when it was first unlocked.  After her thorough cleaning it smelled almost medicinal.  Smiling, she nodded.  She knew how to remedy that.  Rushing from the room, she bounded up the steps and headed straight to the enormous closet in her bedroom.  She grabbed the boxes from the shelves and remembering that last time she over did, sighed, opting to take them to the studio one at a time. 

Several more trips and she was ready to get down to business.  At one time, before the twins, she had been popular on the arts and crafts circuit.  Her candles were much admired for their scent, their hand painted containers, and their longevity.  Smiling to herself, she imagined what she could accomplish in this amazing room.  Snapping out of her reverie, she smirked.   Nothing would get accomplished if all she did was stand around dreaming about it.

Slowly she unwrapped the packing from some glass containers she had already prepared.  Examining them, she heaved a sigh of relief that the designs were still intact.  She could actually have candles ready to go in a few hours. 

Before long, Hannah was humming to herself.  So engrossed was she in the process that she didn’t see Madge peeking around the corner.  She stepped in closer, unwilling to startle the woman as she poured the hot fragrant wax.  Once she saw that Hannah was done, she cleared her throat.  “Sorry to disturb you, but it’s about that time,” Madge warned, pointing to the clock hung over the back counter.

Nodding, Hannah pulled off the apron and hung it on a nail she found in the wall.  She was more relaxed than she had been in ages.  And she knew it wasn’t just the studio, it was everything.  Her life finally felt settled, finally made sense.  Just then, an unfamiliar chime interrupted her thoughts.

“Oh,” she giggled.  “My first call.”  The screen showed that it was Gavin calling from the office phone.  “Are you calling to place your dinner order?”  She asked with a laugh.

“Alas, no,” he said seriously.  For hours he had procrastinated about contacting her.  “I have a meeting tonight after work.  I won’t be home until later.  Please don’t wait dinner for me.”  He was eager to hang up, eager to get this meeting over with.  If he was being truly honest, he was torn about going home as well.  Seeing Hannah had somehow become the best times of his day.  Finding her smiling face and easy demeanor every morning in the keeping room while he drank coffee and she sipped tea before facing the rest of his dreary day was an experience that was only rivaled by his evenings spent with her in the study. 

Leaning back in his chair, he sighed as he realized how important it was to him that she was there, waiting on him when he returned from the office.  Her face would brighten when he entered the room, and soon they would be swapping stories about their day.  He liked sneaking up the stairs and listening to her read to the girls.  And then, he had come to count on her sitting across from his desk reading at night.  It was so comfortable.  In such a short period of time, Hannah had succeeded in turning his house into a home.  He gulped.  He actually liked having her and the girls around.  So much for his revenge, but maybe he had a chance at something even better. 

“Well, what do you think?”  Hannah asked on the other end of the phone.  There was an edge to her voice that told him she had asked a question and he had completely missed it while he was lost in thought.

“I’m sorry, Hannah,” he apologized sincerely.  “I was distracted.”

Sighing loudly, she repeated the questions, “What if I feed the girls and continue their routine and I just wait to eat with you?”  She asked as if this were the most natural question in the world.

“You would wait to eat with me?”  His voice was incredulous.  With India, he was lucky to have a plate in the oven.  He’d hunt around and eventually find her every time in her studio. 

“I offered, didn’t I?”  She responded, seriously.

“I was just going to hit a drive-thru on the way home, but if you’re willing to wait, I’ll grab us something different so it’s fresh and hot.”  His mind was already spinning with the possibilities. 

“Nothing too extravagant,” she warned.  “I hate when you spend money on me.”

“Fine,” he scowled.  And the Ruth’s Chris take-out dream fizzled.  Instead…Long Horn?  Now he had something to look forward to, as long as his meeting went well.

Half an hour after leaving the office, Gavin found himself sitting across from none other than Amy Pendergast.  She looked particularly uptight this evening in her navy blue dress suit.  This was a woman to be taken seriously.

“I was surprised to hear from you,” Ms. Pendergast began.  “The divorce is final.  I expected our dealings would be done.”  She folded her hands on the desk and waited for him to reveal the nature of their scheduled encounter.

Choosing his words carefully, Gavin finally spoke.  “Well, it has come to my attention that we have someone in common.”  He waited for her reaction.

An eyebrow rose sharply.  “Someone?”  She asked.  “Not something?”

“Oh, most definitely someone.”  He leaned forward and watched as she slowly leaned back in her chair. 

“Don’t keep me in suspense,” she said.  “Do tell.”

Swallowing, he said, “Hannah and the girls are living with me.”  And then he waited.

Amy stood abruptly and leaned over the desk.  She could keep her cool in court, around a mediation table, and in meetings, but Hannah was her weakness.  They were more like sisters than friends.  She was fiercely protective of her.  “How is it that Hannah is living with you?”  She asked angrily.  She racked her brain for a reason that Gavin might be punishing her.  The settlement didn’t go precisely the way he had hoped, but still it was more than fair.  She had always taken his calls.  They were in constant contact during the process.  Why must Hannah suffer for whatever imagined injustice he had endured?

This reaction was exactly what Gavin was trying to avoid.  “Please sit,” he said warily.  He could sense her hesitancy.  “I said ‘please,’” he reminded her.  Suddenly that word had taken residence in his vocabulary.  It was becoming so commonplace that he had very nearly used it when speaking to an employee at the office.

Amy sat with a thud.  “How have I wronged you?”  She asked weakly.

“Wronged me?”  Gavin asked.  And suddenly his face lit up.  She thought that he was using Hannah to punish her.  It was almost laughable.  Then a small voice in his head piped in.  Nope it’s not about her; Hannah was supposed to be punished for being a greedy self-serving bitch.  His face darkened just as quickly.  “You never wronged me, Ms. Pendergast.”  He shook his head.  “This isn’t about you.”  He struggled with the explanation he had contrived to spout out during their discourse. 

He began slowly, with great concentration, “My mother was nagging me about finding a woman.  She wanted grandchildren.  And there was Hannah, already with children, needing a place to stay.”  He looked her in the eyes.  “Everyone wins.”  He shrugged.  If that was the truth, why did he feel so lousy?  But he knew.  It was because that wasn’t his intent when he moved Hannah in.  Well, according to the law, it wasn’t intent; it was actions that people were held accountable for.  He straightened some.  And he’d never hurt Hannah. 

“You’re not here just to tell me that,” she said as she leaned forward to assess him with those angry eyes.

Gavin cleared his throat, feeling the weight of her stare.  “No.  I just want everything to continue as it has been.  As you know, I don’t do well with change.”

Amy eyed him suspiciously for a moment as she gave his explanation some thought.  She was a shrewd woman, and if anyone could see through him, it would be her.  Hannah was too trusting.  “So, you’re not going to hurt Hannah.”

He sighed.  “No, that clumsy woman does enough damage to herself; she certainly doesn’t need my help.”

Amy laughed at the truth of his statement.  “She does have a way of getting herself into trouble,” she mused.  “I’m surprised you feel comfortable leaving her unattended in your house.”

“Well, I leased her a new car and bought her a cell phone,” he began.  “And short of baby proofing the place, there’s not much more I can do.”  He smiled slightly.

Glancing at her watch, Amy stood and motioned that she was walking him to the door.  “I have another appointment,” she explained sheepishly.  Then she looked at him and heaved a visible sigh of relief.  “At least I know where she is and that she’s being well taken care of.”  She shook Gavin’s hand and then paused.  “For a moment I was afraid you had taken my advice.”