Billie gave in first.She looked away.“Then I guess it’s okay.”
“Thank you.”
Billie looked at her.“I’m thirsty.”
“There’s a soda machine in the lunch room,” Adam said, before she could respond.“It’s at the end of that hallway.Go pick out what you’d like.”He shrugged.“If it’s all right with your mother.”
“Fine.Thank you.”Jane reached for her purse.
“No charge,” he said.“The bank gives them to the employees.”
“Cool.”Billie turned to race away.
“No running in here,” Jane cautioned.
“Mo-om.”
“You heard me.”
“Okay.”
Billie moved off at a pace too slow for a run, but too fast for a walk.By the end of the teller line, she was skipping, and when she reached the hallway, she whooped loudly and raced down the slick floor.
Jane stared after her.“Sometimes I think I’ve failed completely with her.”
“Billie’s her own person.”
“She is that.”
She looked back at Adam, then wished she hadn’t.Someone somewhere had turned a switch.The friendly man from her past had disappeared and in his place sat the cool, controlled stranger.She couldn’t see the wall between them, but she felt its thickness.When she offered a tentative smile, he simply stared.
“You must be very busy,” she said, clutching her purse to her chest.“I don’t want to keep you.”
He blinked and looked at the application form in his hands.Was he wondering about her maiden name or the existence of an ex-husband somewhere?Did she flatter herself with the question?
“You’re doing a good job,” he said.
“What?”
“With Billie.I can imagine how hard it is to raise a child alone.”
He surprised her.She set her purse on the floor and folded her hands together on her lap.“I wanted to be self-sufficient.My parents…” She sighed.“The first couple of years, I couldn’t have made it without them.Then I began to realize that I was becoming dependent.I started returning the money they sent, got a better paying job and went back to school.”
“All this with a baby?”
“By then, Billie was around two.”She laughed.“You can imagine what the terrible twos were like with her.”
One corner of his firm mouth tilted up slightly.“I would have liked to have seen that.”
His words hit her like a blow to the midsection.What wouldhe think when he found out the truth?“Let’s just say, I went through a lot of baby-sitters,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t tremble.
“She’s a wonderful girl.”
“I know.”
“She reminds me of Dani at that age.”
“I hadn’t thought about that, but you’re right.”Did she look like his sister at that age, as well?Don’t panic, she told herself.He wouldn’t figure out the truth on his own.She still had time; just not as much as she’d thought.She collected her purse and stood up.“Thanks for everything, Adam.I appreciate the personal attention.”
