Bedroom Diplomacy(20)
“He hit his head, but he is fine,” she told him.
“And Colin?” her father asked.
She feigned confusion. “What about him?”
“They said he came back to the house with you.”
“Dylan wanted Colin to tuck him in.”
“And?”
“And…he did.”
“Why was he even at the day-care center?”
“He was jogging past and stopped when he heard Dylan crying. He thought he could help. He said something about being a medic in the navy.”
“Royal army,” the senator corrected her.
She shrugged, as if it made no difference to her one way or the other. “He fixed Dylan up, then walked us home.”
“Where is he now?”
“I don’t know. As soon as Dylan was down for his nap, Colin left.” She paused and asked, “Why? Were you expecting me to entertain him for the rest of the afternoon?”
“Of course not.”
“Did you want me to call you when Dylan wakes up?”
“I’ll be out for the evening. I’ll see him tomorrow at breakfast.”
Which meant he was less concerned about his grandson than if Colin was in her room. Great to know.
She walked him to the door.
“Did you fill out an accident report?” he asked.
“Are you worried that I’m going to sue you?”
He gave her the look. Maybe he was worried. Maybe he should be.
“I’ll fill one out tomorrow.”
He left and she shut the door, leaning against it. She waited another minute or so, then said, “Coast is clear.”
Colin stepped out of her bedroom.
“Sorry about that.”
“That’s all right. I kept myself busy going through your things.”
She shot him a look.
“I was actually listening at the door. Very nice save when he asked why I was at the day care, by the way.”
She collapsed on the couch, suddenly exhausted. “I thought it was more plausible than you getting a glass of water.”
Colin sat down beside her, a good foot away. “He sounded suspicious.”
“Yeah, well, he pretty much always sounds like that. With me, anyway. If he really thought you were here, he would have searched the entire apartment. I’d say you have nothing to worry about.”
“That’s a relief.”
She looked over at the clock. “Dylan should be waking up soon.”
He nodded. “So I guess that’s it.”
“I guess so. This is probably going to sound juvenile, but thank you for this. It really meant a lot to me. And not just in a sexual way. For a really long time, I haven’t felt like myself. The truth is, I completely lost track of who I even am. But now, after this…I kinda feel a little bit like my old self again. I’ve needed to make some changes in my life, and now, I think I’m ready.”
“I’m not sure what I did, but I’m glad I could help.”
She walked to the door and he followed her. “I guess I’ll probably see you around.”
“I’m sure you will.”
She pushed up on her toes to kiss his cheek, because if she kissed his lips, even for a second, she wouldn’t want to stop. Then she opened the door and he walked out. Simple, uncomplicated and dignified. If every break-up could be so easy. But after two days and a little bit of passionate kissing, what did she expect? That sort of thing probably happened to Colin all the time.
She grabbed her laptop from the kitchen on her way back to the sofa, and sat with her legs curled beneath her.
Feeling truly brave for the first time in ages, she opened her computer, clicked on the browser and typed in the address for the Los Angeles Department of Health Services.
This, she decided, would be the official first day of her new life.
*
The following Monday, Rowena welcomed a new addition to the day-care family. Matt was an adorable blond-haired, blue-eyed six-week-old whose mother had just finished her maternity leave. It was always exciting to have a new baby around, especially one so young, and for the first hour he was a total angel. Then he began to scream, and hadn’t stopped for more than five minutes all day. Everyone took turns rocking, changing, feeding and burping him, but no matter what they tried, he wouldn’t settle.
It wasn’t uncommon for a baby to be upset his first day away from his mommy, so Rowena figured the next day would be easier. It wasn’t. The poor little guy was inconsolable, and by afternoon everyone had reached the limit of their patience. At quiet time, when the bigger kids did their homework and the smaller ones napped, Rowena locked herself in her office with Matt so the near-constant howling wouldn’t agitate the other children.
Quiet time was only half over when Tricia knocked on her office door and poked her head in. “Hey, you’ve got a guest.”