“That’s okay,” Mark said. “I just want to thank her.”
“Me, too,” Sarah chimed in, “and tell her I’m sorry I didn’t buy her a gift and that I will next year.”
“I’m sure Shay didn’t expect us to buy her gifts, Sarah,” I said, hoping to ease her guilt. If anyone should feel bad, it should be me. “Besides, we’re going to take her to dinner, remember?”
“But that’s only because we didn’t think of doing anything sooner,” Mark said.
Mark caught on quickly. He surprised me.
“I’m going to write her a story. One just for her,” Sarah announced.
“That’s a wonderful idea.” I headed in the direction where Shay lived. It wasn’t in the greatest neighborhood, but I knew it was the best option for her. She was proud that she was able to pay rent and live on her own. That had been important to her.
When I parked outside of Shay’s little house, I had the kids wait in the car while I went to the front door. It didn’t look like there were any lights on inside. After knocking and waiting a couple minutes I could only surmise that she wasn’t home. I assumed the children would have been happy to know she wasn’t home alone for Christmas.
I was wrong.
“Where would she go?” Sarah cried. “She should be with us.”
“Like I said earlier, I’m sure Shay is with friends.”
“You don’t know that for sure,” Mark commented.
“No,” I was forced to admit.
The rest of the ride home was spent in silence. While eager to get back to the house, both children went to bed early. I set the alarm determined to get up in time for breakfast at The Corner Café and to see Shay.
—
I expected complaints when I woke up the children the following morning. Mark grumbled until I reminded him we had a breakfast date. That was all it took to get him out of bed and dressed.
“Can I order waffles?” Sarah asked as we climbed into the car.
“If that’s what you want.” Although the café was a short six blocks away, the weather was too cold to walk.
“What are you going to order, buddy?” I asked Mark. Eating out was a rare treat for the children and me.
“Blueberry pancakes,” he said, “with a side of bacon.”
“You two are going to bankrupt me,” I teased.
“What are you going to have, Daddy?” Sarah wanted to know.
“Probably hash and eggs.” That was a favorite of mine, but I couldn’t be certain it was on the menu.
As soon as we arrived, Sarah hurried into the café and looked around until she spotted Shay, who stood at the counter, taking an order. I had to grab hold of my daughter’s shoulders to keep her from racing over to Shay’s side.
“She’s busy with customers now,” I whispered as I led the children to an open booth. Actually, we were fortunate to find one available. The little café did a good business. It had been packed when I’d stopped by the other day for lunch.
After speaking to another one of the servers, Shay made her way to our booth. By this time we’d already read through the menu. Both Sarah and Mark had changed their minds a dozen times. As soon as Mark and Sarah saw Shay, they thanked her again and again for their gifts. Sarah stood up on the booth and hugged her and Mark politely shook her hand.
“Good morning, Shay,” I said, smiling at her when the children had finished their greeting.
She returned the smile with a shy one of her own.
“We came to your house,” Sarah told her, “but you weren’t home and we wanted to thank you for our presents.”
“I’m happy you liked them.”
“I’ve already solved three pages of puzzles,” Mark told her.
“You’ve got a great brain,” she said, smiling at my son. “Now, what can I get you for breakfast?”
“Daddy,” Sarah said pointedly. “Aren’t you going to ask Sarah to dinner?”
“Ah, yes.” I cleared my throat. “The children and I wanted to take you out to dinner,” I said, feeling more than a little foolish.
“You can choose any place you want,” Sarah added, “but Mark and I like Chinese.”
“Sarah!”
“Mexican is okay, too.”
Shay grinned. “You don’t need to take me out.”
“We want to,” Mark said. “To thank you for our gifts. They were awesome.”
Shay looked to me for confirmation. “Would you consider having dinner with us?” I asked.
She nodded, took our order, and then left the table.
Another one of the servers approached us, an older woman who wore a name tag that said SADIE. She glared at me with what I would call an evil eye, as if looking straight through me.
“That girl is a gem. Don’t you be leading her on, you hear?”
“No way,” I promised, amused by the older woman’s censure.
“Good,” she said, and nodded before she left the table.
“What did she mean, Daddy?” Sarah asked, cuddling close to my side.
“Nothing, pumpkin. She’s just a friend of Shay’s, too.”
The thing was, I’d done a lot of thinking about Shay since our little shopping expedition. I’d enjoyed being with her and been impressed by her thoughtfulness, buying gloves for her homeless friend.
I wasn’t sure I was ready for a relationship, but I liked Shay and was comfortable with her. Perhaps it was time to consider dating.
This dinner with Drew and the children wasn’t a date.
I was forced to remind myself of that a dozen times as I dressed for this evening six days after Drew had shown up at the café with the children. I’d hesitated before buying the children Christmas gifts, afraid Drew would feel bad because he hadn’t gotten me anything. My gut had been right. The only reason he’d asked me to dinner was out of a misconstrued obligation to reciprocate. Even knowing that, I’d eagerly accepted.
I’m sure if I’d have mentioned my feelings about this dinner to Lilly she would have been all over me. This was that little girl inside me who sought love and acceptance, popping her head out and seeking attention. I’d done my fair share of beating her down in the last year, but every now and again she’d escape me and I’d give in to her whims.
Tonight was one of those times. Here I was doubting myself. Doubting Drew’s intentions. Struggling with my insecurities.
Drew let me know he’d be by to pick me up at about six. I was ready an hour before that, fussing with my hair and makeup and then berating myself for worrying about how I looked. Repeatedly I had to remind myself, This is not a date.
Watching out the window, I saw him pull up to the house and automatically reached for my coat and purse. I had the door locked before he reached the porch.
“You didn’t need to come out. I would have come to the door,” he said.
“That’s all right. I was ready and waiting.”
The gentleman that he was, he opened the passenger door for me and I slid into the front seat.
“You smell good,” Sarah said, leaning over from the back, where she sat with Mark.
“Thank you,” I returned. “It’s a new perfume.”
“Was it a gift from a boyfriend?” Sarah asked.
“No, but a friend gave it to me. It’s from Lilly Palmer. She was my counselor at Hope Center. I was with her family for Christmas.”
“You weren’t alone,” Sarah said with a relieved sigh. “I was afraid you were. I wanted to invite you to come with us to the Kincaids’, but Daddy said you couldn’t because it wasn’t our place. I wish we had, though. It would have been a whole lot more fun if you’d been there.”
“Thank you, Sarah. That’s a sweet thing to say.”
“It’s true,” Mark added.
Looking over my shoulder, I smiled at both children.
“Do you have a boyfriend?” Sarah asked.
I mulled over my answer, thinking about Richard, who had become a real friend. “Sort of.”
“What’s his name?”