Jacqueline Diamond - Paris or Bust!

“Mama,” she said. She stuck her finger out and touched Roxanne’s nose. “Dirty.”

Roxanne giggled and captured her daughter’s finger in her mouth. “Mmm, tastes good.”

Danny came racing into the kitchen followed by Rachel and Michael, who were still dressed in their pajamas. “Tell them to quit following me,” he shouted.

“Quit following your brother,” Roxanne said.

“When can I go to school?” Rachel asked.

“Next year.”

Danny slid into his spot at the kitchen table, then glanced up at his mother. His spoon froze halfway to his mouth. “What happened to you?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You have a black eye,” Danny said. “Cool.”

Roxanne turned to look at her reflection in the stainless steel refrigerator. When she didn’t like what she saw, she ran to the powder room tucked beneath the stairs and flipped on the light. “Oh, no!” she cried.

The thunder of running feet on the hardwood floors followed her to the bathroom and Michael crawled up on the toilet and peered at her reflection in the mirror. “Wow,” he said, clearly in awe of the swirl of color around her right eye.

“It’s purple,” Rachel said. “Purple is my favorite color.”

The doorbell rang, but the kids were so fascinated by her black eye that none of them ran to answer it. When it rang again, Roxanne cursed silently and told Danny to get his shoes and coat. Before she opened the door, she peeked through the curtains, expecting to find Janelle Verrick, one of the car pool mothers. Another moan slipped from her throat. Kit Lawrence stood on her front porch, holding a huge bouquet of flowers.

Danny ran up with his school bag and his jacket. “Why don’t you let Mrs. Verrick in?”

“It’s not Mrs. Verrick,” she said. “I want you to wait a few seconds while Mommy hides in the bathroom, then I want you to open the door.”

“But you said I should never open the door.”

“You know who is on the other side. Mr. Lawrence is out there.”

“Does he have some puppies and candy?”

“No. Just tell Mr. Lawrence that I’m in the bathroom and I can’t be disturbed. Then close the door and come back and tell me when he goes away. Got that?”

“Does he have balloons?”

“Not that Mr. Lawrence. The other Mr. Lawrence.”

“With the swimming pool?” Danny asked.

“Honey, just answer the door and tell him what I said.”

Roxanne rushed to the powder room then left the door open a crack. Rachel, Michael and Jenna were still inside, playing with the toilet paper. She shushed them, then she tried to hear what was going on at the front door. She heard the familiar squeak of the hinges, then held her breath.

“Hi, Danny.”

“Hi, Mr. Lawrence. My mom says she can’t see you because she’s disturbed. And she has to go to the bathroom. You’re supposed to go away.”

“Is she sick?” Kit asked.

“No. When can we come swimming again?”

“Whenever you want. Would you like to come tonight?”

“Sure. What time?”

Roxanne groaned. This was not going well. She raked her fingers through her tangled hair, then tightened the belt on her tattered chenille robe. The robe made her look like a pink sausage tied in the middle and there was a huge coffee stain on the lapel. Maybe if she stayed far enough away, he wouldn’t notice the black eye.

She stepped out of the bathroom and the kids scooted out around her, running to the door. Rachel leapt into Kit’s arms and gave him a hug, then stuck her face into the flowers he held. Michael clung to his leg.

“Are those flowers for me?” Rachel asked.

“They’re for your mom,” Kit replied. “But reach in my jacket pocket. There’s something in there for you.”

Rachel did as she was told and came back with big red lollipop. She found three more and passed them out to the other kids, then wriggled out of Kit’s arms. “Mommy, look what Mr. Lawrence brought!”

“Sugar,” Roxanne said. “And artificial coloring. And a sharp stick. Very nice.”

“My ride’s here, Mom,” Danny called.

“Leave the lollie. You can save it until after school.” He set the sucker down on the hall table and ran out. Then Michael grabbed it and raced out of the room, the girls hot on his heels. “Don’t you dare eat that,” she shouted. “That’s Danny’s.”

Kit took a step into the house. “Sorry. I probably should have brought them something a little more healthy, like alfalfa sprouts or yogurt.” He took another step closer, then frowned. “What happened to your eye?”

“A closet door,” she said. “And you looking for a lightbulb.”

Kit tossed the flowers aside, crossed the hall in a few long strides, then gently took her face in his hands. He carefully examined her eye, probing at it with his thumb. “Does that hurt?”

Roxanne shook her head. “I put ice on it last night. I don’t think anything is broken. Just a little bruised.”

“Maybe you should see a doctor.”

“That wouldn’t be a great idea. I don’t have health insurance. The kids are covered by a policy I bought, but since the divorce, I let my coverage lapse.”

“You were hurt in the workplace. The station’s insurance would probably cover it.”

“I’m fine,” she said, touched by his concern and warmed by his touch. “What are you doing here?”

He picked up the flowers from the floor and handed them to her. “I wanted to say I was sorry. About the argument we had. About the black eye. And I wanted to take you and the kids out to breakfast.”

Her first impulse was to accept. But then she shook her head. She had vowed not to get caught in the middle again. Carl and Kit were going to have to work out this misunderstanding first. “Have you ever been out to eat with three children under the age of five? I’m telling you, you’ll never be the same again. The jelly, the juice, the syrup. It’s not for amateurs.”

Kit laughed. “I’ve put together multimillion dollar deals. I’ve run a few triathlons. I’ve sailed across the ocean in a forty-foot sailboat. I think I can handle breakfast. Why don’t you and the kids get dressed? I’ll put these flowers in water.”

She nodded. Breakfast with Kit did sound intriguing. And maybe it would give her a chance to improve his opinion of her. “All right. I’ll just be a minute.”

She ran into the living room and retrieved the lollipops from the kids, then herded them upstairs. When she got to Rachel’s room, she pulled out a shirt and pants and laid them on her daughter’s bed. “I want you to go find something for Michael and Jenna to wear and then get them dressed. Then I want you to get dressed. Can you do that for Mommy?”

“I don’t like these,” she said, pointing to the outfit. “I hate that shirt. It makes me scratch. And those pants are green. I hate green.”

“Just pick out anything and get dressed. When I get out of the bathroom, I want to see all of you ready to go. Mr. Lawrence is going to take us out for breakfast.”

Rachel sighed dramatically, then began to rummage through her closet. Satisfied that her daughter could handle the task, Roxanne hurried into the bedroom. She quickly brushed her hair and pulled it back, tying it with a pale blue scarf. Then she found a sweater set that matched and wasn’t stained with spaghetti sauce or colored marker. Corduroy pants and boots finished off the look, along with a quick bit of makeup to cover the black eye.

By the time she got out into the hall, her three children were waiting. Rachel had dressed them in a wild assortment of patterns and colors. “You look-” Like little clowns, she wanted to say. But Rachel was smiling up at her with such pride in her accomplishment. “Fantastic. Good job, Rachel.”

“Thanks, Mommy.”

“Now, I want everyone to be on their best behavior. No crying, no whining and no crawling underneath the table. And if you drop food on the floor, it stays there.” She reached down and picked up Jenna. “Let’s go.”

“I FEEL AS IF I’ve been through a war,” Kit said.

They slowly strolled through one of the small garden squares that surrounded the Washington Monument, a tall white column that served as one of Baltimore’s more impressive landmarks. Kit carried Jenna on his shoulders while Roxanne held on to Michael and Rachel.

Kit playfully placed his hand on Jenna’s knee, then didn’t pull it away. “Jelly,” he said. “I’m stuck.”

“I warned you.” Roxanne laughed. “And they were really well behaved. They didn’t spill anything, which has to be some kind of record.”

Pedestrians passed, greeting them with smiles, and Kit wondered at the impression they created. Did the five of them look like a happy family, a father, a mother and three children? A few weeks ago, he would have cringed at the notion. He’d barely given marriage a thought and children hadn’t even crossed his mind. He’d been happily single and determined to stay that way.

But now, he wanted people to assume that this was his family, that the woman at his side had chosen to spend her life with him, that the children loved him and depended on him. It was a life he suddenly wanted to experience.

Kit turned to stare at the fountain, now drained for the winter. This was crazy. He wasn’t supposed to fall in love with Roxanne Perry. Hell, he wasn’t supposed to fall in love with anyone.

He had always taken a pragmatic approach to passion. Work came first and women, though an enjoyable part of his life, ranked a little further down the list. But today, he’d cancelled four meetings and a trip to New York in the hopes that she’d accept the flowers and an invitation to spend the day with him.

When they reached an open area, Kit set Jenna down and Roxanne let the kids go, allowing them to scamper ahead. “Stay on the sidewalk,” she called. “And no climbing on the fountain. Rachel, you watch Jenna. Don’t let her get all muddy.”