Authors: Meg Gray
Brayden was in the backseat
lost in his video game. They had just left the therapist’s office where Brayden
had his first session. Marcus went in for the initial intake last week,
escaping the office behind his father’s back. The psychologist, a
forty-something woman with a pleasant face and short curly brown hair called
herself Miss Linda. Dave had faxed Brayden’s file to her, but Marcus still had
to answer the same slew of questions he’d been asked before. Miss Linda scrawled
out notes of her own, pressing her lips together and nodding as Marcus
recounted the day of the fire and all the days that followed.
Today, Brayden went with
Miss Linda into a room where Marcus could observe from behind a one-way mirror.
Brayden sat motionless at the circular table with his arms crossed and was
unresponsive to Miss Linda. After about fifteen minutes of the stalemate, Miss
Linda moved around the room. She pulled a box of blocks, a box of books and a
box of cars from a shelf and set them on the table. Marcus was about to give up
hope on this whole therapy idea when Brayden reached for the blocks and began
to build a tower. When Miss Linda spoke to him, he ignored her, but kept
building until the appointment was over. Marcus met them at the door and Miss
Linda told him she’d schedule Brayden for her Tuesday group. It met once a week
for forty-five minutes and then handed him a schedule with all the dates marked
for the summer.
Marcus glanced in the backseat
wondering again if any of this therapy would do any good. He wanted to ask
Brayden so badly about his session. Why had he just sat there for so long? What
was Miss Linda saying to him? Once again, he let the silence win.
By the time, they turned off
the interstate he wasn’t thinking about the therapy session anymore and was
ready to break the silence within the car.
“There’s going to be someone
staying with you during the day this summer while I’m at work. She’ll be at the
house when we get there,” Marcus said and saw his son lift his eyes from the
video game through the rearview mirror. Brayden didn’t look excited and rolled
his eyes before concentrating again on the game in front of him.
“Did you hear me?”
“Yeah,” Brayden said with
little enthusiasm.
“So, remember to be on your
best behavior when we meet her. We don’t want to scare this one off. She’s the
best there is. I got her on a great recommendation. I really think you’ll like
her.” Marcus smiled. He was anxious about surprising Brayden and seeing Emma.
He hoped she’d settled into her room and wondered if she noticed the red roses
he’d asked Maricella to put out for her.
Marcus parked in the
circular driveway, leaving the keys in the ignition. He’d be heading into the
office right after lunch. The drone of a lawn mower sounded from behind the
house as Marcus and Brayden walked to the house.
“Why can’t you stay with
me?” Brayden whined as they stepped inside.
“Because I have work to do
at the office.”
“But you could work here and
I’ll be real good and quiet, I promise.” Marcus felt torn inside. He knew
Brayden hated it here in Seattle. He’d spent last week under the scrutinizing
eyes of his grandmother. They’d both felt under fire for seven days, but his
parents were gone now, off on their European tour.
“I wish I could, Bray, but
there are some things I can’t do from here and I need to go into the office.”
Maricella was in the dining
room, setting the silverware at the table. She didn’t look up when they walked
in.
“Maricella, did our guest
arrive?” Marcus asked. Still wrapped in her task she merely nodded in reply.
“And will she be joining us
for lunch?” Again, he was answered with a nod as she set the last place.
Smoothing the front of her house apron, she looked the table over one more time
before heading to the kitchen.
He and Brayden took their
seats at the antique cherry wood table. In the absence of his father, Marcus sat
at the head of the table with Brayden on his left. The sound of soft footsteps
came from the doorway and Marcus felt his breath catch when Emma walked in
wearing a short soft pink dress.
Brayden’s head snapped up
and his eyes bulged in recognition of his beloved teacher. He turned his eyes
back to his father and then to Ms. Hewitt and back again as if he was watching
a table tennis match.
“Brayden,” Marcus said. “Ms.
Hewitt has agreed to stay with us this summer and will be working with you
while I’m at the office.”
Brayden jumped from his seat
and ran to Emma. “Ms. Hewitt are you? Are you really staying with us this
summer?” Brayden wrapped his arms around her waist in a strong embrace and she
looked like she might fall over from the force.
“Yes, Brayden I am.” She
gently pulled his arms loose and stooped down for a more proper hug. He grabbed
her hand and brought her around to his side of the table. Marcus stood in
greeting, but before he could say anything, Brayden was asking her to sit next
to him.
Maricella’s eyes jumped to
Marcus. He nodded at the housekeeper who moved quickly to pull the place
setting from the other side of the table and set it next to Brayden’s. They all
took their seats and Marcus nodded again to Maricella who disappeared into the
kitchen.
“Hello Ms. Hewitt,” he said
and smiled at her. “How was your flight?”
“It was just fine,” she said,
shifting in her chair. “Thank you for asking.”
“Did Maricella show you your
room?”
“Yes, she did, thank you.”
“I hope you will be
comfortable there. Please let us know if there is anything else you will be
requiring while you are here.” Did he just say
requiring
as if he was a
concierge at some hotel addressing a stranger? He was about to rephrase when
Maricella pushed through the swinging door balancing three white plates.
“I do need to iron some of
my clothes,” Emma said, leaning forward to peer around Brayden. “Is there an
iron I could use?”
Maricella set Marcus’s plate
in front of him, then Brayden’s and finally Emma’s.
“Anything you need ironed
you can leave out for Maricella and she’ll take care of it for you,” he said
and flipped his napkin onto his lap. The turkey and pesto croissant sandwiches,
the scoop of potato salad and fresh sliced fruit were flawlessly placed on each
plate and he picked up his fork ready to break into the potatoes.
“Oh, no I can iron my own
clothes. I just need an iron,” Emma insisted.
“It’s Maricella’s job. She
does
all
the ironing around here.”
Shit.
That just came out wrong
too, now he sounded like he was patronizing her, like she wasn’t capable of
ironing.
Emma stared at her plate,
biting her lower lip. He was sure he must have offended her. Here he’d been so
excited to see Emma and now he was making a pompous fool of himself.
He dropped his fork on his
plate, “I’m sorry,” he said. “What I meant was the ironing station is out in
Maricella’s quarters. She does most of her ironing in the morning when you will
likely be working with Brayden, but if you two would like to make arrangements
for you to use the iron at another time then please feel free.”
Emma looked at the housekeeper,
standing her position outside the kitchen door. Maricella wouldn’t look at
Emma.
“I’ll leave my clothes out
in the morning Maricella. Thank you.” Emma’s voice was soft but genuine and
Maricella barely nodded in response.
Brayden happily chewed away
at his lunch still reveling in the arrival of his teacher. The rest of lunch
passed quickly and Marcus scarcely made conversation afraid he’d trample all
over his words again.
The grandfather clock chimed
from the corner behind him, alerting him to the passage of time. It was already
noon and he needed to get to the office. Setting his silverware across his
plate, Maricella stepped in and removed it from the table.
“I’ll be at the office this
afternoon. Maricella has the number if you need anything, but you still have my
cell phone number don’t you?” he asked Emma.
“Yes, I do,” she said, then
sipped her water.
“Very well, I’ll be going.
Brayden knows the downstairs is off limits to him as well as the boathouse and
Maricella and Guillermo’s home. The rest of the rules around here are pretty
standard and he can fill you in.” Marcus looked at his son who nodded. “Do you
think you’ll be okay here with Ms. Hewitt?”
Brayden turned to his
teacher and grinned, adding a fervent nod.
There was no doubt in
Marcus’s mind that his son would be more than content for the rest of the
afternoon. And for the first time ever when Marcus walked out the door to go to
work, leaving his son behind, he too felt content. He’d gotten lucky, very
lucky, that Ms. Hewitt had agreed to join them for the summer.
* * *
Emma basked in the warmth of
morning sunlight that flooded in from the patio’s French doors. It was
Saturday, her day off, and she contemplated what to do on her own as she bathed
in the luminous rays.
Maybe she would catch up
with her family and friends, but then again that really wasn’t very appealing.
Talking with Stacy was like talking to a three year old. She had the attention
span of a gnat and talked about only two things. Marcus and sex. Ever since she
learned, Emma was going to be working for the “hottie-single-dad” who rescued
her back in November she was relentless.
“I told you,” she’d said. “I
knew you had a thing for this guy and now you’re running off to spend the
entire summer with him in Seattle.”
Emma didn’t waste her breath
trying to tell Stacy she was going to Seattle for the job and not Marcus. When
Emma failed to provide any tantalizing details about Marcus, Stacy would jump
topics, giving reports about who she was having sex with and how good or bad it
was. That was hardly what Emma was in the mood for today.
Emma pulled open the patio
doors and breathed in the fresh scent of the outdoors. Stepping from her warm
carpeted suite to the smooth, cool stones of her private patio, she looked out
at the rose garden. A new batch of red, yellow, pink and white blossoms greeted
her each morning.
She thought about calling
her sister as she let her gaze travel to the sparkling waters of Lake
Washington, but quickly changed her mind. When Emma last spoke to Audrey, she told
her about the job in Seattle. Audrey’s reaction was not what she’d expected.
“Really?” her sister said,
jumping all over her two days before she left. “But I thought you were going to
spend time with us. The girls are looking forward to picnics in the park and
shopping trips with their Auntie Em. I could use you to babysit some days. I
said I’d pay you Emma.”
“I know,” Emma replied, feeling
guilty she wouldn’t be fulfilling the plans Audrey had for the summer, but Emma
didn’t have a choice. She needed this job and the extra money. “And I’ll miss
you guys, but this is a great opportunity for me. I’ll be back before you know
it and we’ll still have a couple weeks in August before school starts again.”
“Yeah, sure,” Audrey had
responded flatly and then there was crying in the background. “Gotta go,”
Audrey said before hanging up. Emma hadn’t talked to her sister since.
She called her parents the
day she arrived in Seattle. They’d talked about the weather and upcoming peach harvest,
but thinking of home still brought the empty feeling of homesickness.
She always enjoyed talking
to Seth, but he was visiting Kelly this weekend and Emma decided not to bother
him either. He was scheduled for a project in the Seattle area in August and
Emma was counting the days until she would see him.
A boat sailed by out on the
lake, viciously bobbing across the choppy waters. Guillermo came around the
corner of the house carrying a bucket and pruning shears. Emma waved to the
gardener/driver she had befriended this week when he drove her and Brayden into
the city for the therapy appointment. Guillermo was the only one who came
around to this side of the house to tend the roses and landscape—meaning this
little slice of paradise was all her own.
Her basement level suite was
a private oasis. The space was easily the size of her apartment in Portland.
Once she descended the stairs in the evening she was all alone, completely
unaware of the goings on of Brayden and Marcus above her.
While she appreciated the
privacy of her suite, it also made her feel very lonely. The days were full of
activity as she worked with Brayden and played basketball and tennis outside on
the court, but the nights were uneventful and kind of boring.
So, what was she going to do
with a whole day to herself? While she struggled with that question, she decided
to spend at least some time outside. The day was shaping up to be gorgeous. She
closed the patio doors behind her as she stepped back inside.
In the shower, Emma let the
water wash away her loneliness. When she went upstairs, and found Marcus and
Brayden already eating breakfast in the dining room. Maricella disappeared into
the kitchen and returned with a pile of stuffed French toast, fresh
strawberries and a cup of coffee for Emma, already doctored with cream and
sugar.