When was the last time she bought something for herself?
I wish Sam could see me in these, she finds herself thinking as she turns and looks over her shoulder to survey her behind in the mirror.
What? Sam?
You’re not allowed to think about Sam.
Remember?
“Let’s see, Mom,” Cosette calls from out in the store.
Meg ventures from the dressing room.
“Wow. You look great,” Cosette says approvingly.
“You do look great,” a male voice echoes.
Meg swivels her head to find Sam Rooney looking appreciatively at her from across a clothing rack, as though she’d made a wish and he just materialized in a puff of magical blue genie smoke.
“What are you doing here?” Meg asks Sam, wide-eyed, before he can inquire the same thing of her.
“Shopping,” he says, and gestures with his head. “Ben and Katie are in here someplace. I was just going to find a chair and sit.”
He sees Meg’s daughter—who didn’t look the least bit surprised when Sam turned up in the Gap just now—turn slightly to seek out Ben.
Spotting him, Cosette slips away in that direction, but only after sneaking a peek at herself in the nearby mirror and patting her hair into place.
He can’t believe what he just said to her about looking great in those jeans. He saw her, and it just slipped out. But she really does look great in them. They’re snug but not tight, gently hugging her curves in all the right places.
I wish I could do that.
For God’s sake, get your mind off that. You’re a grown man, not a teenaged boy.
On that note, he looks over to see his son ducking his head and pushing his hair back from his forehead the way Sam’s noticed he does when he’s trying to impress a girl.
And that girl is Cosette.
“I didn’t know you were coming here today.”
He turns his attention back to Meg, who looks vaguely embarrassed. Or is it defensive?
“I didn’t know you were, either,” he replies, and tries hard not to allow his eyes to slip down past her neck again.
“Well, I have a feeling somebody knew,” Meg says, and he sees her gazing across the store at Ben and Cosette, who are chatting over a stack of sweaters.
“You think they orchestrated this accidental meeting?”
“I was already planning on going shopping somewhere today.”
“So was I, and we always come to this mall,” Ben tells Meg. “The Cheesecake Factory is near here. Remember I told you…?”
“Right. Your family tradition. I remember.”
“Why are you here?” Of all places. Why not some other mall? There are so many others in relatively the same distance of Glenhaven Park: Jefferson Valley, Danbury, Woodbury Common, Stamford, the White Plains Galleria…
Why here?
Why now?
“It was Cosette’s idea to come to The Westchester,” she admits. “So you really think they planned on hooking up here?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. But Ben says they’re just friends. Anyway, they were going out for a run together this morning when I came back from walking the dog.”
“In the rain?”
He shrugs. “It wasn’t raining that hard. And there are worse things they could have been doing. Running is healthy. Wholesome.” He flashes her a grin and tries not to think unwholesome thoughts about what he could be doing with her.
“I know. Running is fine. But… well, have they done anything else? I mean, did they see each other last night, or yesterday?”
“Not that I know of. Not that I would know, though. Ben is alone in his room a lot, on the computer.”
“So is Cosette.”
“You know, things are different these days than they were when we were young. Kids carry on entire relationships over the Internet.”
“That’s what scares me,” Meg says, shaking her head.
“Ben is a good kid,” he assures her.
“So is Cosette. I guess I’m just surprised.”
“He’s not her type, right?”
“I don’t know if she has a type. I don’t even know if she is a type. Until the last day or two, I thought I had her pegged. Brooding rebel. But now all of a sudden—”
“Dad, there you are. I can’t decide on these jackets, so can I get all—” Appearing around the rack, Katie stops short. “Meg! What are you doing here? Hey, great jeans!”
“Hi, Katie. Thanks.”
“Are you getting them?”
“I don’t know,” she says, looking self-conscious.
“You definitely should.”
Yes. You definitely should, Sam thinks, and reluctantly hauls his errant eyes up to Meg’s face again.
“Meg, I need your help,” Katie tells her. “I like all three of these jackets, but unless my dad says I can buy all of them…” Her gaze slips hopefully to Sam.
He shakes his head. “Nice try, but no.”
“So I can only get two. But which two?”
“You can only get one,” Sam amends.
“But Dad, I can’t pick just one. Look, this one is waterproof, so it would be good if it rains, and this one has the zip-in lining for cold nights.”
He shrugs. “They’re both great. Just choose one.”
“But which one?” Sam notices that Katie is asking Meg, not him.
“Get the waterproof one.” Meg is as decisive as Sheryl would have been, he can’t help but notice. Maybe it’s a female thing, because she and his late wife don’t seem to have much in common, otherwise.
“Are you sure?” Katie asks.
“I’m positive.”
To Sam’s surprise, he finds himself grateful, rather than resentful, about Meg’s input.
“What about cold nights?”
“Dress in layers underneath.”
“That’s a great idea!” Katie sounds as though she’s congratulating Marconi on inventing the wireless.
Warning bells are going off in Sam’s brain as he sees his daughter’s blatant admiration for Meg, but what is he supposed to do about it?
You have two options.
You can grab Katie and drag her out of here and tell her never to speak to Meg Addams again…
Or you can let her get attached to Meg the way she got attached to the kids who have moved in next door in the past—only worse this time, because Meg is a mother figure—and then you can watch her heart get broken when Meg leaves.
The answer should probably be obvious. So why isn’t it?
“Meg, can you come look at something back here with me?” Katie asks. “I’m trying to decide about something else.”
Meg has the courtesy to hesitate and look to Sam for guidance.
“I’ll come look at it with you,” he says firmly.
“No, I really want Meg.”
“Katie, I’m your dad. Just let me see it.”
“Dad—”
“Katie—”
“It’s a bra, okay, Dad?” she says, looking mortified. “I need help figuring out if I need to get one.”
“Oh.”
Boy, is my face red.
Sam doesn’t dare look at Meg as he asks her, “Would you mind…?”
“Not at all. Let’s go, Katie.”
As they head to the Gap Body section, Sam sinks into the man-chair.
Maybe the choice—about allowing his daughter to treat Meg as a confidante—will be easier to make than he thought.
There are certain things a girl needs to talk about with a woman. Certain things that prove Sam is decidedly out of his element when it comes to raising a teenaged daughter.
Maybe having someone around close by—someone for Katie to turn to—will turn out to be a good thing.
As long as Meg doesn’t move away, and Katie doesn’t feel abandoned all over again…
And as long as Sam himself remains detached from Meg…
Well, this might not have to be disastrous.
It would be a different story if he and Meg were dating…
Which we aren’t.
And we won’t.
That would be disastrous, for sure. In Sam’s world, after all, relationships either end in marriage or in breakups. There is no in-between.
And since he has no intention of getting married again, of tempting fate with stagnant restlessness again—it would have to be a breakup. A breakup that would ultimately hurt him, and could destroy vulnerable Katie. Especially if she were entertaining fantasies about having Meg as a stepmother.
So, no go as far as he and Meg are concerned.
But it’s not as though she’s beating down his door, trying to seduce him, either. If she were interested in pursuing something, he’d know it.
Maybe we can just be neighborly friends, he tells himself, relieved to have drawn that obvious conclusion.
What happened the other night was an aberration.
It won’t be happening again.
Feeling a little dazed by all that’s transpired today, Meg settles into her seat in the Cheesecake Factory.
It’s as jam-packed as the mall, of course. They had to wait over an hour for a table for five.
The five being Meg and Cosette, plus Sam and Ben and Katie.
The path that led from the mall to the restaurant is a muddy, twisted one.
They could have parted ways with the Rooneys right there in the Gap, if Sam hadn’t said something about having to buy Ben some new sneakers. Katie immediately asked her father if she could branch off with Meg and Cosette. She said she still needed to buy a bra; they didn’t have her size in the Gap. And she wanted to get some panty hose instead of the tights she always used to wear.
Meg expected Sam to turn down Katie’s request.
To her surprise, he didn’t.
“Would it be all right if you helped her get that stuff?” he asked, quite possibly a little chagrined by the phrases “bra” and “panty hose.”
“I’d be happy to.”
“Can I get some outfits, too, Dad?”
“I guess you might as well get everything you need.” He handed Meg a wad of cash and warned Katie, “When that’s gone, it’s gone.”
It was gone quickly in this mall, where Meg observed plenty of people dropping thousands of dollars in single purchases on most cash register lines while they waited.
She helped Katie learn how to look for sales, though, and with Cosette’s help, talked her out of several purchases that would have been either too babyish or too mature for her.
Meanwhile, Katie talked Cosette into buying an aqua-colored sweater by casually holding it up, and saying, “This is Ben’s favorite color. He says it reminds him of the Caribbean Sea. We went there once with my parents, before my mom got killed.”
Meg’s heart sank for Katie at those words, and again for Cosette when she bought the sweater.
Is she trying to conform to impress Ben?
Is that any more preferable to being a vehement nonconformist?
Between her daughter’s newfound, obvious infatuation and Katie’s constant questions and chatter, Meg’s head was spinning by the time they met up with Sam and Ben.
Ben mentioned that he was starved, Cosette chimed in that she was, too, Katie suggested that they all go together to the Cheesecake Factory, and here they are in a booth, like one big happy nonfamily.
Katie wanted to sit by Meg, so she finds herself sandwiched between her and Cosette on one side. Ben positions himself directly across from Cosette. The two of them might as well be at another table for all their awareness of the others. They seem to be carrying on a private conversation without saying much of anything at all. At least, little that Meg can overhear, and what she does hear sounds fairly innocuous, about Sam’s new sneakers, the food, and the menu choices.
As for Meg, she doesn’t have to worry about making conversation with Sam. Katie talks enough for all five of them.
“What are you ordering, Meg? You should try the avocado egg rolls. They’re so amazing. Do you want to share some with me? Dad and Ben hate them and there’s such a big order…”
“Sure.”
“Do you like pasta? Because the angel hair with shrimp is really good.”
Before Meg can answer, Katie adds, “They have the best burgers, too, if you like burgers. My dad and Ben love burgers. Hey! Dad, we should have a cookout so you can make Meg one of your famous bacon double cheeseburgers. Let’s do that tomorrow.”
“We can’t tomorrow. We’re taking Grandpa Anderson to the air show, remember?”
Grandpa Anderson… that must be the kids’ maternal grandfather, Meg realizes. Clearly, he’s still a part of their lives.
The stark reminder that Sam had a wife, a wife he loved and lost, is enough to make her wish she and Cosette had just gone home. They have no business being here with Sam and his family. He has a life, she has her own life.
Why are we even here?
“Then we can have the barbecue on Monday, for Labor Day,” Katie goes on excitedly. “Are you around Monday, Meg?”
“I… I think I have an appointment.” Yes, she realizes, she really does. It’s Sophie Flickinger’s first voice lesson.
“What time? Because we could do the cookout later, after that.”
“I’m not sure…” Meg sneaks a peek at Sam, to gauge his reaction to his daughter’s enthusiastic invitation. “I have a lot of unpacking to do around the house, too, and I still need to find a handyman who can come sooner than next weekend…”
“What do you need done?” Sam asks.
“Basically, everything… but the thing I’m really worried about is the wiring. I can’t find a good electrician—or any electrician, really. You wouldn’t happen to have one, would you?”
“What’s wrong with the wiring? Is it knob and tube?”
“I’m not sure… it’s old. I think there must be a short or something.”
“That could be dangerous. I’ll take a look at it for you.”
“You know about electrical stuff?”
“I’ve learned, living in that house for the last few years. I bought a good circuit tester, and, believe me, I’ve put it to good use.”
“My dad is really handy around the house,” Katie pipes up. “He can be your handyman.”
“That’s okay,” Meg says quickly, not wanting Sam to think she was hinting around. “I’ve got someone coming.”
“But you said not until next weekend,” Sam points out. “If you need something done in the meantime, I’ll help you out.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“You didn’t have to help me out today, either.” He motions his head toward Katie. “I appreciate it. Let me do you a favor in return.”
She can’t help but smile. “Okay. If you can take a look at the wiring, that would be good.”
“Great. As soon as we get back later, then, I’ll check it out.”
“Oh, we’re not going straight home,” she finds herself protesting.
“You’re not?”
“No, we’ve got… a couple of other stops to make.”
Cosette’s ears magically tune into the conversation at that. “Where are we going?”
“I’ve got a few more things to pick up.”
“What?”
“Just some things for the house.”
“Like what?” Cosette persists.
“Do you need a list?”
“Yes.”
Meg gives her a warning look.
To her relief, Cosette heeds it for once, probably reluctant to make a scene in front of Ben. She folds her arms and scowls, grumbling about wanting to go straight home.
Trust me, I’m ready to go home, too, Meg thinks.
She just isn’t ready to have Sam in her house at night again. The first time that happened, they wound up kissing.
The second time, she wound up at his place, making love.
There won’t be a third time.
Chances are there won’t be, if
Meg limits her contact with him to broad daylight.
Not that she isn’t just as drawn to him by day…
But the thought of Sam coming over on a rainy night…
Well, something tells her the old wiring wouldn’t be the only thing sizzling with electricity.
Chapter
13
Luckily for Sam, the storm on Saturday felled a tremendous maple tree on the end of the street and knocked out electricity for the entire block.
Even better, it wasn’t restored until early this morning.
The kids, not used to being unplugged for even a short time, were beside themselves with irritation. No TV, no music, no computer, no PlayStation.
Nothing to do, they complained.
“Enjoy the peace and quiet,” Sam instructed them.
The three of them wound up playing board games by candlelight Saturday night. Old board games he found in the attic that used to belong to him and Jack: Sorry, Monopoly, Life. Then on Sunday morning, he picked up his widowed father-in-law as they had planned, and they all drove up to Rhinebeck to see the air show.
A retired pilot, Sheryl’s dad was thrilled to see the show, and of course, his grandchildren. He invited them to come back home with him to spend the rest of the weekend.
Ordinarily, the kids don’t jump at the chance to hang out with their elderly grandfather, but this time, they welcomed the invitation. Ben wanted to watch the Yankee game, Katie wanted to listen to the new CD she bought at the mall, and they were both eager to check their e-mail.
Ordinarily, Sam doesn’t jump at the chance to send the kids away overnight, either. But this time, he welcomed the opportunity for some solitude.
Yes, he enjoyed the uninterrupted time with his kids all weekend due to the power outage. But he was also tired of thinking of ways to entertain them. And there was no telling how long it would be before the power came back on. After swinging home to pick up their clothes and assorted electrical devices the kids wanted to plug in at their grandfather’s, he dropped them all off in Larchmont. He would be picking them up first thing Tuesday morning.
He spent last night alone, getting organized for the start of school and reading by candlelight.
A few times, he wondered what Meg was doing next door, in the dark.
But he told himself the outage was, if not a sign that he should stay away from Meg, then at least a godsend. It saved him from facing temptation, once again.