Second Chances (63 page)

“I thought you went to Aruba,” Jessie said suspiciously.

“We did.  Then when we returned to Montreal, Gabriel had the kids waiting for us in a limousine and we flew off later that night to go to Orlando.”

Jessie gasped.  “Did you go to...”  She could barely speak the words, so instead whispered, “Disney?”

“Yeah.”

“And?”

“And I lived.”  She shuddered for a moment.  “We’ll see what happens.  Everything is great right now, but...”

“He really likes you, Isabella.  I mean Aruba and Florida?”  Jessie tried valiantly to comfort her friend.

“Yeah, I know,” she shrugged.  She had too much going on to worry about it.

Jessie changed the subject and instantly sounded more like her old self.  “So, did you sleep with him?”  A devilish tone penetrated the earpiece.

“Yup.  We shared the same bed every night.”  Isabella laughed.

“You know what I mean!”

“No.  We haven’t had sex, or made love, or whatever you want to call it.”

“He takes you to Aruba and Florida and you fail to put out?”  Jessie’s exasperation penetrated the earpiece now.  “Have I taught you nothing?”

“You sound like his father,” Isabella said with a hollow laugh before sobering completely.

The next few days were particularly difficult for Isabella.  She hated having to leave for work knowing that she was missing out on time with Gabriel.  The only thought that pulled her through her day was the knowledge that he would still be there when she returned, at least until he started school, but then what would happen?

The first afternoon she arrived home to find school supplies and groceries, but no clothes.  Gabriel seemed proud of what he had accomplished, and he did put much thought into every item he bought.  He took pride in Rebecca and Kyle as though they were his own.

“Bella, I would have bought clothes, but
...,” he struggled to find the word he wanted.  “All the clothes here were...well, they were ugly.”  He spat out the last phrase. 

Isabella began to smirk.  She had often held the same complaint; that simply not enough good shopping existed for kids in Plattsburgh. “So, what do you recommend?”  She asked laughing.  “The girl needs clothes.”

Gabriel smiled widely.  “I think we should take a little,” he held up his fingers to emphasize the word ‘little,’ “
little
road trip.”

They piled in the car and drove to Burlington, where Children’s Place and Baby Gap awaited.  Isabella spent her allotment on each child then Gabriel added another bag, of what he considered odds and ends.  In reality, these were items that he could not pass up, and therefore he considered must-haves.

On the night before school started officially for Rebecca and Gabriel, the kids were sent to bed early to prepare for the big day.  This left the adults alone to watch a movie upstairs and talk.

“I remember the last time we did this,” Isabella said nostalgically.  “I was so nervous.”

“Me too,” Gabriel admitted, pulling her close.

Isabella pushed back against his chest and looked at him surprised.  “You were nervous?  About what?”

He sat up on the bed, facing her.  He reached out and held both of her hands, brought the right to his lips, and warmly kissed it.  Slowly he trailed kisses up her arm, until he reached her neck.

“Are you trying to avoid the question?”  Isabella asked as he buried his head in her throat.

“No,” Gabriel said quietly.  “I was afraid that you would reject me.”  Isabella inhaled and prepared to speak, but he sat up and covered her lips with one finger.  He opened his mouth to speak again, but only “I...I...” came out.  Isabella wore a stricken
look, afraid of what might follow the word ‘I.’ He saw her face and said simply, “I care about you, very deeply.  I was afraid you wouldn’t let me be close to you.” 

She could tell he wanted to say more, but that he had decided against it because of the potential reaction to what he might say.  Isabella sensed a great deal of turmoil within Gabriel, and while she felt that it related to her, she wasn’t sure she understood it yet.  What could he be torn about?  Was there someone else?  What hadn’t he told her?

He changed the subject.  “Tomorrow morning I leave for Montreal.”

“I know,” Isabella said apprehensively.   What she really wanted to ask was when she would see him again, hear from him even.  He was always good about keeping in touch before, but much had changed since then.

“So, I was thinking...,” he began seriously, “from now on...” 

Isabella waited expectantly.  He seemed to be carefully contemplating his next words, taking an inordinate amount of time to complete his thoughts.  Isabella began to fidget.  She wanted to scream ‘Spit it out,’ but knew that would be rude.  She leaned forward in rapt attention.

Finally, he just inhaled and divulged what he had been considering so deeply for the last couple of minutes.  “What if from now on, every weekend that you have the kids we stay here, and the weekends you don’t we stay in Montreal?”

Isabella paused before responding. 
Was that it?
 
That’s what he labored over?
Suddenly she beamed.  “I would love that.”  It never occurred to her to question why the kids wouldn’t be invited to stay at the Charmant Estate.

So, a new routine evolved.  They spoke on the phone every night, with Gabriel calling to tuck her in before
bed, always saying he wished he were there.  At last Isabella was beginning to believe him.  He was always so attentive on their trips that she missed his presence.  They spent every weekend together, whether in New York or Montreal.

Isabella grew to know Mr. Charmant better, but never met Gabriel’s friends, or his mother.  She would have commented on that, but the opportunity never presented itself, since so much living was packed into such a short period of time.

Before long, Halloween arrived.  Jack had insisted on buying Rebecca and Kyle’s costumes.  He did rather well.  Rebecca had been transformed into the happiest Eeyo
re ever, and Kyle the quietest Dalmatian.  Jack loved Disney, and as the kids still hadn’t stopped talking about their Florida vacation two months later, he decided to indulge them and become a part of it, rather than squelch their passion like the traditional villain would.  He had even asked to take them Trick-or-Treating, but found his schedule would not allow for it.  So, he simply asked that they stop by in costume in order to see them and give them some candy.

“I’ve never been Trick-or-Treating,” Gabriel remarked as they prepared the kids to visit the mall and select friends and family.

Isabella had been putting the finishing touches on Kyle’s puppy nose, but paused with her make-up brush in hand and looked at Gabriel intently.  “You’ve never been?”  She asked in awe.  “You’ve never dressed up and run from door to door terrorizing the neighborhood?”

“No,” he said quietly.  “The nanny was always too old.  My parents were always too busy.  I used to simply come down to dinner and find a bag of candy waiting for me.  I never was able to go out and actually get it on my own.”

Isabella shook her head.  “Your childhood makes me sad,” she said seriously.  Here he sat, affluent, a world traveler, but never able to enjoy a traditional childhood, robbed of all the ordinary little joys.  “Well, you are always welcome to experience all these glorious aspects you missed in your childhood vicariously through my children.” 

“Thank you, Bella,” he said sweetly.  Then his look became excited, more intense.  “You know what I wanted to do with all of you this Halloween.  I can tell you now, since Halloween doesn’t fall on a weekend and we weren’t able to do it.”

“What?”  Isabella asked with interest.

“I wanted to take you to Salem, Massachusetts to experience Halloween there.  Wouldn’t that have been magical?  So much history...”

Laughing, she exclaimed, “Not everything has to be huge.  Watch the kids tonight.  You’ll see.  They are going to be having a simple little celebration and loving every minute of it.”

Isabella should have mentioned that not everything had to be huge in advance.  She quickly discovered that Gabriel does not understand the concept of small intimate celebrations.  He watched eagerly as the kids traipsed through the mall and gathered candy and other treats at various stores.  Then they arrived at their father’s toy store.  He had been watching for them, and seeing them coming, gave them a special treat in addition to the candy.