Underestimated Too(60)
“What do you want it for?”
“I found a key to a deposit box. That’s where I went when Drew called you that day. They wouldn’t give me access without identification.”
“What do you think is in the box? Why not just give the key to Drew and tell him?”
“I don’t know. I want to see it before he does. I think he forgot about it.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because he was here a couple weeks ago, tearing the office apart, looking for a key.”
“He was? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know it was important, and I didn’t know you had it. You should probably just give it to him.”
“I can’t now. He’d be furious because I didn’t tell him.”
“Tell him you found it today, cleaning or something.”
“No, just don’t say anything to Celeste about it. I’ll wait. I need to get in his office, do some investigating.”
“Like that’s going to happen. You’re watched in every room of your house. You can’t even get out of the man’s sight.”
“He just worries about, uh, Nicky,” I said, pulling the bristles from Nicholas’s mouth for the tenth time. He squealed, kicked his little legs, and resumed the drumming to the tin pan. “This house is full of cameras too, by the way,” I reminded Alicia.
“Oh no, it’s not. I had them all taken out except for the ones needed for security.”
“Drew just worries, it’s who he is.”
“He does more than that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. It’s none of my business and my wifey has already warned me to keep my big mouth shut. It’s your life.”
“You think he controls me too much,” I stated more than asked.
“No. I think he’s a dictator.”
“He is not. I make my own decisions,” I argued, telling a complete lie.
“Sure you do. Just like the other night when I wanted to help you set up a Facebook page. I thought he was going to have heart failure.”
“Why do I need that? I didn’t want that anyway.”
“Because everyone has a Facebook account. Because you should be posting baby pics of Nicholas growing up and bragging your ass off at how cute he is. Because it’s a social networking site. You know how many book recommendations you can get from there?”
“You give me plenty of those. Have you finished reading Plentiful yet?” I asked changing the subject.
“No, Celeste had other things on her mind last night. I didn’t read and don’t tell me. I’ll finish it tonight. Did it have a happy ever after?”
“I’m not telling you, but the killer is going to surprise the hell out of you.”
***
“Happy Birthday to you,” I softly sang to my big boy, happily waiting for someone to come and get him out of his crib. Pulling himself up by the rail, he bounced up and down, happy to see me.
“He can’t be one yet,” Drew protested, wrapping his arms around me and taking Nicky from his crib. I’m not sure how this baby thing works. Maybe it was a male bonding thing. I don’t know, but when I entered the room I got a happy smile, which by the way I loved, I just didn’t understand it. Drew walked into the room and got a crazy excited baby that couldn’t get to his daddy fast enough. I was the one that did everything for him. I spent the hours playing and reading with him while his daddy stayed locked in his office with Celeste, graphs, charts, conference calls, and figures. Why didn’t I get that response?
Squeezing from between my two boys, I picked up Nicky’s new outfit. “Drew, look isn’t this adorable?”
“Um, no. What’s that for?”
“His party on Saturday. What do you think it’s for, and what do you mean no?” I pouted. I loved his new outfit.
“It looks like something a gay baby would wear. Powder blue? Really, Morgan? He’s not wearing that.”
“Yes, he is. How can you not love this?”
I smiled at my hands-on husband, tossing Nicholas in the air and dropping him to the changing table for a diaper change. “Gay baby? You’re so stupid sometimes. He’s wearing this for his party.”
“Oh, no, I’m not, Mommy,” Drew said, coming after me with a squealing Nicholas. He laughed loudly, screeching with excitement as Drew tossed him to me. “I’ll get him something while I’m out of town.”
“Out of town? You never told me you were going out of town,” I accused, taking Nicky only to have him turn and reach for his daddy again. What the hell?