Wrong Turn, Right Direction

  The doorbell rings, waking me from a fitful sleep. I sit up straight and wonder if I should be worried about a visitor showing up at Thibault’s house this early in the morning. The alarm clock next to the bed says it’s eight a.m. As the sleep-fog lifts from my brain, I decide it doesn’t make sense to freak out; if Pavel were coming for me gangster style, he wouldn’t bother with the bell.

  I yawn, swinging my legs over the side of the bed to put my feet on the floor. Tee was up four times last night, giving me very little rest between feedings. At least I was able to take a shower before midnight. I feel ten times better than I did yesterday. Toni’s sweat pants are too small, but I don’t care. I’ve got a mama-booty now, and I choose to be proud of it. The zippered jacket fits just fine, as does the nursing shirt she gave me to wear underneath.

  As I run a brush through my hair and put it up in a ponytail, I hear Thibault making his way down the hall below me. I crack the door when he makes it to the foyer so I can listen in and spy on who’s there without exposing myself. Just in case it’s Pavel.

  Thibault is shirtless, wearing jeans that hang low off his waist. His back is broad and well-muscled. It sends my pulse racing to see him standing there in bare feet with his hair all mussed up. In another life, I could picture him being a pretty good boyfriend. I mean, he’s bossy, but who wouldn’t want Superman in her bed, right? He looks through the peephole, punches a code into a keypad, and pulls the door open.

  “Good morning, Mary Sunshine!” I can’t see the person speaking, but I recognize her voice. Her name is . . . May. She was at the hospital visiting Thibault with her sister and Toni. The girl who had the parrot hallucination. She steps into the house as Thibault backs out of her way. Her smile is nothing short of radiant.

  “You forgot to put a shirt on,” the second woman through the door says, pointing at his bare chest—Jenny.

  “Nice abs,” May adds. She looks at her sister. “Dev’s training is really paying off.”

  He rubs his stomach absently and then scratches at his head. “What?”

  “You can say that again,” Jenny says, wiggling her eyebrows.

  He sighs. “I’m feeling sexually harassed right now.” I can tell from his voice he doesn’t mean it, but he doesn’t sound like he’s really enjoying their compliments, either.

  “I think a shirt would solve your problem,” Jenny says, sighing and smiling. She holds up a plate. “Homemade muffins. Guaranteed to cure your sleepless-night-induced aches and pains.”

  He looks down at his knee. “Is it guaranteed to fix a torn meniscus by any chance?”

  “I’m afraid not. I believe surgery is your only hope.”

  May tries to see over his shoulder as he slips a T-shirt over his head. “Where’s the baby? I need to get my hands on him, stat. I’ve got baby fever, and if someone doesn’t give me an infant to cuddle soon, I’m going to have to make another one of my own.”

  He holds up his hand like a stop sign. “Not so fast with those grabby hands of yours. We need to keep it down. She’s sleeping.”

  “I’m up now.” They all turn as one to look up at me. I’m standing at the top of the stairs with Tee in my arms. Spying on them any more than I already have doesn’t seem right.

  Thibault sighs. “Mika, this is May and Jenny.” He gestures at the women in turn. “May and Jenny, Mika.”

  “Now that is what a motherly glow looks like,” May says. She holds out her arms. “You don’t know me yet, but you and I are going to be really good friends. Can I hold your baby? I have one of my own, so I know what I’m doing. He’s in day care. Oh, and I disinfected my hands and arms before I came in, so you don’t have to worry about me giving your little guy any cooties.”

  I walk slowly down the stairs, hanging on to the railing. When I glance at Thibault, I can see he’s chomping at the bit to come up and help me, but he doesn’t. I nod at him to let him know I appreciate him giving me my space.

  “Thank you,” I say, trying to relax, even though May’s approach is a little strong. “I’m happy to have somebody else hold him for a change. Last night was really rough.”

  “You didn’t help her?” May turns her ire on Thibault. “What were you doing? Sleeping like a log the whole time?”

  “For your information, no . . . I didn’t sleep like a log. I was up most of the night too.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I say, losing my smile. “Were we too loud?” Now that I’m closer, I can see Thibault does look a little rough. He needs a shave and more REM time for the bags under his eyes to go away. I should probably find this look unattractive, but I can’t. Even rough, he’s something to see.

  “No, not at all,” Thibault assures me. “I was just hearing every little sound because I was on alert or something.” He shakes his head like he’s still trying to wake up. “I’m a light sleeper.”

  May takes Tee into her arms and moves the blanket away from his face. “Oh my god, he is so adorable.” She bends down to sniff his forehead. “And oh my word, he smells like a teeny tiny newborn baby . . . Oh my goodness, my goodness, my goodnesssss . . .” She inhales deeply with her eyes closed.

  Jenny leans over her sister to see him better. “Easy there, Looney Tunes. We can’t have you overdosing on baby scent.”

  “Better get used to it, sister,” May says, winking at her.

  Jenny glares at her for a second and then goes back to adoring the baby. They both ooh and ahh over his sleepy little face. I have to agree; he is pretty damn cute with those puffy cheeks he’s got.

  A slight moment of dizziness hits me. I hold the banister and blink hard a few times. I haven’t eaten or drunk anything since nine last night. I think I’m dehydrated.

  “Are you okay?” Thibault asks softly.

  Jenny looks at me. “Cramping? I had it bad after my last child.”

  The dizziness passes as quickly as it came. “I’m fine.” I yawn. “I have a little of that, but more than anything, I’m just really tired and thirsty.”

  Thibault rubs my upper arm. “Jenny’s got muffins and I’ve got coffee and juice. Come on.”

  Jenny and May both notice him touching me and share a quick look filled with meaning, but they say nothing. I want to tell them that it’s no big deal, that Thibault and I have let each other know in no uncertain terms that nothing could ever happen between us, but that would be silly. They’d see that as a sign I was just trying to convince myself of something I didn’t believe. I’ll just let them imagine things that aren’t there; when I’m gone they’ll realize it was all just Thibault being friendly.

  May and Jenny wait for me to go ahead and follow behind with Tee between them. They’re baby talking, saying the silliest things. It’s kind of cute, actually. I always found that stuff annoying before, but when someone’s doing it at my baby, it’s different.

  Thibault puts a pot of coffee on as we settle around the table. Talk turns to the labor I went through, and he puts his back to us. He’s acting like he doesn’t care about what I’m saying, but he pauses his motions whenever I answer a question. He’s listening to everything.

  “So, he literally walked right out in front of your car?” May asks. She’s leaning in, eating up every detail of my story. I find myself warming to her and her easy enthusiasm. Jenny carefully takes Tee from her sister’s arms, and her expression goes sappy as she stares down at his sleeping face. Pride wells up in me.

  “He sure did,” I say, pulling myself away from the happy scene of Jenny loving my child. “And then he came around to my window, all hot under the collar. But boy was he surprised to find me trying to breathe through labor pains.” At the time it was seriously stressful, but looking back at it now, I can see the humor in it.

  “That is insane that you didn’t know you were having a baby,” May says.

  “I’ve read it happens more than you’d expect,” Jenny says.

  “Yes, well, I was in denial. I should have known what was going on. There were signs, but I just kept explaining them
away. Thibault knew right away what my problem was, though. He pulled me out of the car and carried me into that nail salon.”

  “He carried you?” May looks over at him, her voice going dreamy. “Aww, how romantic.”

  I frown. “No, not romantic. It was disgusting, actually. My water had broken and it was everywhere.”

  May shakes her head, her chin resting on her hand as she leans her elbows on the table. “That just makes it more romantic, if you ask me.”

  Jenny nudges her. “Nobody’s asking you.” She gestures at me with her chin. “Continue.”

  “There’s not much more to it. He put me in a massage chair and it happened.”

  Thibault turns around, putting mugs down for each of us. “Bada bing, bada boom, the baby was born. End of story.”

  May frowns at him. “Don’t ruin it, party pooper. Let her tell it.” She turns her attention on me, smiling again. “Was it awesome? Was he, like, all bossy and stuff?”

  “May . . .” Jenny frowns at her.

  “What?” May looks at Jenny and Thibault. “You all know he’s bossy, right? That’s not news to anyone at this table, I hope.”

  I can’t help but laugh at that.

  Jenny shrugs, a small smile trying to break free.

  “Hey. Why do I feel like I’m being ganged up on here?” Thibault asks. He doesn’t wait for an answer, turning back to the counter to fetch the sugar and milk.

  “So he was the one who delivered the baby?” Jenny asks.

  I nod. “Yep.”

  “Man, he was all up in your business,” May says.

  “Yeah, he sure was.” My ears are getting a little hot with the embarrassing memory. “A perfect stranger seeing parts of my body I haven’t even seen.”

  They all laugh, even Thibault.

  The room goes quiet until May comes up with her next question. “So . . . what’s your situation? Are you seeing someone? Or are you married? Or single, maybe? I don’t see a ring, but these days that doesn’t matter much.”

  It seems like a strange question to ask, but I don’t want to be rude and ignore it. Besides, May is really easy to talk to. She seems completely harmless, which isn’t a brand of human I’m used to seeing very often. “I’m single but not looking for any kind of relationship. Not right now, anyway.”

  “I think you’re going to be a little busy for a while,” Jenny says, laughing.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” May says, sounding mischievous. “Speaking from experience, I can tell you that it’s a lot easier to raise a baby with help.”

  “True,” Jenny says. “I can vouch for that. Even after my husband left, I had May to help me out.”

  I nod, not wanting to comment and share my private business with them. They’re lucky; they have partners, but not everyone has that luxury. Would I rather be doing this with a man who loves me? Sure. The midnight feedings might not change, but the rest of it would. Having someone next to me to support me would be nice . . . and someone to pay the electricity bill until I can find another job . . .

  “Oh, but don’t worry. You have us now,” May says. “We can help you out, can’t we, Jenny?”

  I open my mouth to protest, to explain that I’m leaving as soon as they walk out the door, but Jenny speaks first.

  “Absolutely. And so can Thibault. He’s great with kids.”

  “He seriously is,” May says. She looks at Thibault’s back as he stands at the sink. “A real softy. Melanie and Victor have him wrapped around their tiny little fingers.”

  I get the distinct impression that they’re trying to sell me on the idea of Thibault as a father figure. Too bad it’s not in the cards for us.

  “I’m standing right here, you know,” he says. “I can hear you.”

  “Where’s that coffee?” May asks. “I can’t eat this muffin without liquid refreshment.”

  “Do you have decaf?” Jenny asks. “Mika should have decaf.”

  “I’m already on it,” Thibault says. “I’m having a cup too. I need to try to catch up on my sleep this afternoon.”

  “Aw, isn’t that sweet?” May says, winking at me. “Sharing a pot of decaf after a sleepless night together.”

  The room goes silent. Thibault turns around and looks at me, making my face go aflame.

  “It wasn’t like that,” I say. For a moment, I picture Thibault and me losing sleep together. It makes me tremendously sad to know that’ll never happen, which is crazy, because I should be really happy that I’ll never be in a relationship with a guy like him. Bossy, bullheaded . . . bossy . . .

  “You both lost sleep, right?” May looks at her sister. “They did say that, right?”

  Jenny nudges her. “You made it sound like they were together, together. But they’re not. They’re just . . .” She looks at us. “Roommates?”

  Thibault points at her. “Exactly. Roommates. Very temporary roommates.”

  I know if I say I’m leaving in an hour, it’ll make everything awkward, so I keep my mouth shut. My future will be here fast enough; I don’t need to hurry it along by turning it into a conversation killer.

  May leans over the baby, who’s still in her sister’s arms. “Hello there, pudgy wudgkins. Hello there. What’s your name, eh? Is it pudgy wudgkins?”

  “His nickname is Tee. Short for Thibault.”

  The sisters share a look and then May sighs. “So perfect . . . You took a wrong turn and ended up almost running over the man who helped you give birth to your baby. Of course you used his name.” She pauses for a moment, still staring at the baby. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the whole thing was destiny. And maybe even a little romantic.”

  “But you know better,” Thibault says, bringing the pot over and pouring a cup of coffee for me. “Caffeinated version is coming up next.”

  Jenny points to her mug. “Hit me with the decaf, too.”

  Thibault stops in midturn and fills her mug.

  “You said you don’t have any family in the area,” Jenny says to me. “How about friends? Is there anyone we can call for you or anything we can pick up for you? Toni mentioned you didn’t have any clothes over here.” She sips her coffee and removes the top of a muffin as she waits for my answer.

  I guess she didn’t get the memo about Pavel. I go ahead and play along, hoping the conversation will be over soon. “No, not really. I . . . recently moved out of my apartment, so Thibault was nice enough to offer me a place to stay before I . . . find a new place.” In another town far, far away.

  “But you must have clothes somewhere,” May says. “Where are all your things? Are they in storage?”

  I start to answer, but Thibault cuts me off. “Who’s got a muffin for me?” He leans over toward the plate. “Keeping these all to yourself, May?” He looks at her, not smiling.

  She looks up at him and blinks a few times. Then she takes a muffin from the plate and hands it to him slowly. “Here’s a muffin for ya, Thibault.”

  He takes it from her and bites the whole top off. “Good stuff,” he says with his mouth full. He points at her mug. “You ready for some coffee?”

  She nods and hands him the mug. Where she was completely talkative before, now she’s acting like she’s mute. The atmosphere is very tense.

  “So how long are you staying here with Thibault?” Jenny asks.

  When I don’t answer right away and Thibault glares at her, she adds, “Or do you not know yet?”

  I shake my head, glad for the easy out. “No, not yet. We’re still trying to figure that out. I have some things I need to get and some loose ends I need to tie up before I make any serious plans.”

  “Yeah,” Thibault says. “She’s welcome here as long as she likes, but we may need to head out to another location.”

  “What do you mean?” May says, her mood more subdued.

  Thibault pours himself a cup of coffee and sits down at the table. He looks at me, his gaze intense. “Jenny and May are both part of my team. We all work at Bourbon Street Boys security,
and we’re all trained to deal with . . . situations.”

  May rubs the crumbs off her hands onto her napkin. “Ooooh, we have a situation? Cool. What is it?”

  The fact that she’s acting so excited gives me little faith in her ability to handle the problems I’m having. “I wouldn’t look that happy about it if I were you,” I say, wishing it were the fun adventure she seems to think it is.

  Thibault nods. “This is serious.”

  “Does Ozzie know about this yet?” May asks. “I’m asking because he didn’t mention it to me and he normally does.” She looks at me. “He’s my husband. He owns the company. Bourbon Street Boys security.”

  “Oh.”

  “We all own the company,” Thibault says. “We’re all shareholders. But that’s irrelevant. What matters is that Mika needs to stay on the down-low for a little bit while some other things fall into place for her.” He looks at me. “Do I have your permission to share what you’ve told me about your employer?”

  My face drops. I can’t believe he wants to talk to them about things I shared with him in confidence. “No.”

  “You can trust them,” he says, glancing at the girls before looking at me again. “I know them inside and out, and I can promise you they’re good people. They’ve had my back many times, and they’ve never let me down.”

  He’s being pushy again. Taking over my life. Thinking he knows better for me than I do for myself. “I understand and I appreciate what you’re saying, but no. I prefer to keep my business private.” I stand, no longer in the mood for muffins or coffee. “Can I have Tee back, please? I need to go feed him.”

  Jenny hands him over and I walk out of the kitchen, heading toward the stairs. I hate that I’m being rude to them, but I can’t let this man railroad me into doing something I don’t want to do. In a few hours he’ll be gone from my life, and letting him think he has any say in that is a mistake. I am the captain of this ship. I decide how it runs and where it goes. I don’t care how nice he is or how good he looks in the morning, he is not going to push me in a direction I don’t want to go in.

  I’m halfway up the stairs when I hear May’s voice. “What in the heck is going on?” she says, whispering a lot louder than she thinks she is.