Two by Two(67)

     



 

"Hey Emily," I heard Liam shout. "Russ needs help getting dressed!"

"Nice to see you, too, Liam," she said sardonically. "And yes, thank you. I appreciate the compliment."

"You look great, by the way," Liam added.

"Too late," she muttered under her breath as she glided toward me.

"He's always been clueless," she observed, almost to herself. "I take it you're Russ?"

I nodded, trying not to ogle.

"I'm Emily," she said. "Technically, I'm Liam's date, but not really. He's more like a self-absorbed younger brother to me."

"I heard that!" Liam shouted.

"Of course you did. But only because I was talking about you."

Their easy familiarity made me feel like a bystander, despite the fact that our faces were now only inches apart.

"What have we got here?" she said, wrestling the bowtie free before  draping it around my neck again. I noticed that she was only a little  bit shorter than I and was wearing a heady floral scent.

"I appreciate this," I said. "How do you know how to do this?"

"I had to help my dad when I was growing up," she said. "He never quite got the hang of it either. It always ended up crooked."

She tugged and adjusted the bowtie, her long fingers doing secret things  out of eyesight. Our faces were so close it made me feel as though I  was about to kiss her, and I thought again how beautiful she was. My  eyes were drawn to her lips, then to the line of her neck. Her dress was  cut low in the front, revealing a tiny lace bow at the front of her  bra.

"Like what you see?" she teased.

I felt myself flush as I hastened to stare straight ahead, like a cadet at the Citadel. She smiled.

"Men," she said. "You're all the same."

I continued to stand at attention, silent as she finished. Then, with a  gentle tap to my chest with both hands and a wink, she went on. "But  since you're kind of cute, I'll forgive you."





When I pulled into Emily's driveway the following morning, I immediately spotted her loading a small cooler into her SUV.

Getting out of the car, London scampered toward her and gave her a hug.

"Where's Bodhi?" I heard my daughter ask.

"He's in his room," Emily said. "He's picking a couple of movies to watch on the way. Do you want to go up and help him?'

"Yes ma'am," London said, racing toward the front door before vanishing inside.

Emily watched her go before turning toward me. She was dressed in shorts  and a sleeveless top, and she'd tamed her hair into a ponytail. Despite  the casual mom-at-the-park wardrobe, she seemed to glow with health and  vitality. I couldn't stop staring at her thick hair and unblemished  skin.

"Ma'am?" she asked, referring to London, when I was close.

"She's very polite," I said, hoping my scrutiny wasn't too obvious.

"I like it," she said. "I've tried that with Bodhi, but it's never  seemed to take." With the kids in the house, she seemed as youthful as  the girl I once knew, giving rise to an internally disorienting sense of  time warp.

"It should be fun today," I commented. "London's been excited about it."

"Bodhi, too," she said. "He wants London to ride with us."

"That's fine," I said. "I can follow."

"You'll ride with us, too, dingbat. There's no reason for both of us to  have to drive, and there's no way I want to be trapped with those two  without assistance. Besides, it'll take us two hours to get there, and  this baby," she said, nodding at the SUV, "can play DVDs for the kids."

Her playful ribbing transported me back to the first time I'd ever spoken to her, and how nervous I'd been.

"You want me to drive?" I offered.

"Unless you'd rather be in charge of the snacks. Of course, that means  bending and twisting and unwrapping food every few minutes."

I remembered my dad's comment about family trips.

"No, I'm good," I said. "It's probably better if I drive."





Before we had even left the neighborhood, Bodhi asked if they could watch Madagascar 3.

"Let's wait until we get on the highway," Emily said over her shoulder.

"Can I have a snack?" Bodhi asked.

"You just had breakfast."

"But I'm hungry."

"What do you want to eat?"

"Goldfish," he demanded.

Vivian had never allowed that particular treat into our home, but it was a staple of my own childhood.         

     



 

"What's a Goldfish?" London asked.

"It's a cheesy cracker shaped like a fish," Emily said. "It's really good."

"Can I have one, Daddy?"

My eyes flicked to the rearview mirror and I wondered what London was  thinking about the fact that I was up front with Emily and not her mom,  or whether it mattered to her at all.

"Of course you can."





The drive to the zoo passed quickly. In the backseat, the kids were  happily engrossed in the movie, but since they were within earshot, we  didn't mention Vivian or David. Nor did Emily and I touch on our shared  past. Instead, I told her what I'd been doing at work, and she talked  about her paintings and the fact that she had a show coming up in  mid-November, which meant she'd be busier than usual until then; we also  caught up on our respective families, the conversation and laughter  flowing easily, as though we'd never lost contact with each other.

Yet despite our familiarity, the outing still felt new and a little  strange. It wasn't a date, but it wasn't something I could have  envisioned even a month ago. I was on a road trip with Emily, kids in  tow, and though I initially expected to feel a vague sense of guilt, I  didn't. Instead, I found myself glancing at her in quiet moments and  wondering how David could have been so stupid.

And, of course, why I'd been so stupid, so long ago.





"They're going to be exhausted," Emily predicted, shortly after we  arrived at the zoo. Since we parked, they'd raced each other from the  parking lot to the ticket booth, and once inside, to the water fountain  and back, then ricocheted back to the gift shop. London, I was proud to  note, must have inherited some of those track-and-field genes because to  my eyes they ran neck and neck. London and Bodhi were studying the gift  shop racks as we ambled toward them.

"I'm already exhausted, just watching them."

"Did you get your run in this morning?"

"Just a short one. Four miles or so."

"Better than me. Hoofing it around here will be my exercise for the day."

"How do you stay so fit?"

"Pole dancing," she said. At my startled expression, she laughed.

"You'd probably like that, wouldn't you?" She nudged my shoulder. "I'm  kidding, you dork. But you should have seen your expression! It was  priceless. I do try to make it to the gym a few times a week, but  mainly, I was blessed with good genes and I watch what I eat. It's  easier than having to exercise all the time."

"For you, maybe. I like eating."

London skipped toward me as we entered the shop.

"Daddy, look! Butterfly wings!" she cried, holding up a pair of lacy, semi-translucent wings, large enough for her to wear.

"Very pretty," I said.

"Can we get them? In case I get to be the butterfly at the dance?"

For Ms. Hamshaw, with the kids who didn't make the cut for the  competition. The performance in which London was supposed to be a tree.

"I don't know, sweetie … ," I said.

"Please? They're so pretty. And even if I'm not the butterfly, I can  wear them today and make the animals happy. And I can show them to Mr.  and Mrs. Sprinkles when I get home."

I wasn't so sure about that, but I checked the price, relieved that they  weren't exorbitant. "You really want to wear these today?"

"Yes!" she pleaded, bouncing up and down. "And Bodhi wants the dragonfly wings."

I felt Emily's gaze on me and I turned toward her. "It might make them easier to spot if they run off," she pointed out.

"All right," I said, "but just the wings, okay?"

"And only if you put on sunscreen," Emily added.

Unlike me, she'd remembered to bring some. Oops.

After paying, I helped London slip the wings on. Emily did the same with  Bodhi. Spreading enough lotion on their skin to enable them to slither  through tiny pipes, we watched as they ran off again, with their arms  outstretched.

The zoo was divided into two major areas: North America and Africa. We  visited North America first, wandering through various exhibits and  marveling at everything from harbor seals and peregrine falcons, to  alligators, muskrats, beavers, a cougar and even a black bear. In each  case, the kids reached the exhibit before we did and by the time Emily  and I arrived, they were usually anxious to move on. Fortunately the  crowds were light, despite the glorious weather. The temperature was  mild, and for the first time in months, the humidity didn't feel  oppressive. Which didn't, however, stop the kids from asking for  Popsicles and sodas.