Two by Two(20)

"I'm sorry about being late," I began. "London's mom started work today and I couldn't find her dance outfit."

"I see," Hamshaw interrupted, staring up at me. She said nothing else,  simply telegraphed her disapproval before finally putting a hand on  London's back. "You may proceed onto the floor."

London shuffled through the door and into the studio, her eyes downcast.

Hamshaw watched her proceed before turning her attention on me again.  "Please don't let it happen again. Late arrivals disrupt the class, and  it's already hard enough to keep my students focused."

Stepping outside, I called my receptionist only to learn there were no  messages, then spent the rest of the hour watching London and the other  girls as they did their best to please Ms. Hamshaw, who seemed pretty  much unpleasable. More than once, I saw London gnawing on her  fingernails.

When class was over, London trailed a few steps behind as we made our  way to the car, her shoulders curled inward. She said nothing at all  until we pulled out of the parking lot.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Can I have Lucky Charms when we get home?"

"That's not dinner. That's breakfast. And you know your mom doesn't like you having sugary cereals."

"Bodhi's mom lets him have Lucky Charms as a snack sometimes. And I'm hungry. Please, Daddy?"

Please, Daddy spoken in that most plaintive of voices. As a father, how could I say no?

I hit the grocery store and grabbed the box of cereal, arriving home three minutes later than I otherwise would have.

I poured her a bowl, shot Vivian a text asking when she'd be home, and  squeezed in some more work, feeling as though I'd been whipsawed since  the moment I crawled out of bed. I must have lost track of time; when  Vivian finally pulled in the drive, I noticed it was coming up on eight  o'clock.

Eight?

London beat me to the door and I watched as Vivian scooped her up and kissed her before putting her back down.

"Sorry I'm late. There was an emergency at work."

"I thought you were doing orientation."

"I did. Pretty much all day. And then at four o'clock, we found out that  a journalist from the Raleigh News & Observer is planning an  alleged ‘exposé' of one of Walter's developments. All at once, we were  in crisis mode. Including me."

"Why you? It's your first day?"

"That's why they hired me," she said. "And I have a lot of experience in  crisis management. My boss in New York was always in trouble with the  press. So anyway, we had to meet and come up with a plan and I had to  touch base with Spannerman's outside publicists. It was one thing after  another. I hope you saved me some dinner. I'm starved. I don't care what  you made."

Oops.

She must have seen the expression on my face because her shoulders dropped slightly. "You didn't make dinner?"

"No. I got caught up with my work … "

"So London hasn't eaten?"

"Dad let me have Lucky Charms," my daughter volunteered with a smile.

"Lucky Charms?"

"It was just a snack," I said, hearing the defensiveness in my tone.         

     



 

But by then, Vivian was barely listening. "How about we see what we can scrounge up for dinner, okay? Something healthy."

"Okay, Mommy."

"How did dance class go?"

"We were late," London answered, "and the teacher was really, really mad  at Daddy." Vivian's face was tight, her displeasure as evident as  Hamshaw's had been.





"Other than the emergency, how was your first day at work?" I asked her  later, when we were lying in bed. I could tell she was still aggravated  with me.

"It was fine. Just meetings and getting acclimatized to the place."

"And your lunch with Spannerman?"

"I think it went well," she said. She didn't add anything else.

"Do you feel like you can work for him?"

"I don't think I'll have any problems with him at all. Most of the executives have been there for years."

Only if they're females, I thought. "Let me know if he ever hits on you, okay?"

She sighed. "It's just a job, Russ."





I rose at dawn and crammed in a couple of hours of work on the computer  before Vivian woke; in the kitchen, her conversation with me felt less  personal than purpose driven. She handed me a grocery list and reminded  me that London had a piano lesson; she also asked me to find out whether  the piano teacher would be willing to work with London on Tuesday and  Thursday afternoons or evenings, once school began. On her way out the  door, she turned to face me.

"Could you please try to be more conscientious today when it comes to  London? Get her to her activities on time and make sure she eats right?  It's not like I'm asking you to do anything I haven't been doing for  years."

Her comment stung, but before I could respond, she was closing the door behind her.





London came padding down the steps a few minutes later and asked if she could have Lucky Charms for breakfast.

"Of course you can," I said. Still replaying Vivian's words, there was  something definitely passive-aggressive in my ready agreement. "Do you  want some chocolate milk, too?"

"Yes!"

"I thought you might," I said, wondering what Vivian would think about that.

London ate and then played with her Barbies; I detangled her hair, made  sure she was dressed for the day, and brought her to her piano lesson. I  remembered to ask the teacher about changing her lesson schedule, and  afterward, I raced to my parents' house.

"Oh," my mom said as soon as I stepped in the door of my boyhood home,  "you're back." When she gave London a kiss, I noticed my mom wasn't  wearing an apron. Instead, she was wearing a purple dress.

"Of course I'm here," I said. "But I can only stay a few minutes because I don't want to be late."

She patted London on the back. "London, sweetheart? Would you like to  try one of the cookies we made yesterday? They're in the cookie jar by  the toaster."

"I know where they are," London said. My daughter practically skipped to  the kitchen, as if the sugary cereal hadn't been enough.

"I really appreciate you helping me out with London," I said.

"Well, see, that's the thing."

"What's the thing?"

"I have a lunch today with the Red Hat Society." She pointed to her hat,  which sat on the table next door; it was the color of clown lipstick  and adorned with feathers that I guessed had been plucked from peacocks.

"But I told you that I had meetings all week."

"I remember. But you only asked if I could watch London on Monday."

"I just assumed you knew that's what I meant. And London loves spending time with you."

She put a hand on my arm. "Now, Russ …  You know how much I love her, too,  but I can't watch London every day until she starts school," she said.  "Like you, I have things to do."

"It's just temporary," I protested. "By next week, I'm hoping you won't have to."

"Tomorrow, I won't be here. My gardening club is hosting a tulip and  daffodil workshop, and they have some exotic bulbs we can buy. I'm  hoping to surprise your father next spring. You know he's never had  great luck with tulips. And I volunteer on Thursdays and Fridays."

"Oh," I said, my head suddenly spinning. I heard my mom let out a sigh.

"As for today, though, and since London is already here …  what time will you be finished with your meeting?"

"A quarter to twelve, maybe?"

"My lunch is at noon, so why don't you plan on coming to the restaurant  to pick her up. London can sit with me and my friends until you get  there."         

     



 

"That would great," I said, feeling a surge of relief. "Where is it?"

She mentioned a place that I happened to know, though I'd never been there before.

"What time is your meeting again?"

The meeting. Oh crap.

"I've got to go, Mom. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this."





"Seriously?" Marge asked. "You're upset with Mom because she happens to have her own life?"

I was zipping along the highway, talking through my Bluetooth. "Weren't  you listening? I have meetings all week. What am I going to do?"

"Hello? Day care? Hire a babysitter for a couple of hours? Ask one of the neighbors? Set up a playdate, and then ditch the kid?"

"I haven't had a spare minute to explore anything like that."

"You have time to talk to me right now."

Because I'm hoping you'll watch London tomorrow for a couple of hours tomorrow.

"Vivian and I talked about it. London's already having a hard enough time with Vivian going off to work."

"Is she?"

Aside from an apparent dislike of dance class, not that I've noticed. But …

"Anyway, I called because I was hoping that-"

"Don't even go there," Marge warned, cutting me off.