“Who are those cute kids?” she asked.
“That’s Michelle and Eric,” he said proudly, “...my kids.”
For some reason, Angela was surprised. She had wondered if he had a girlfriend but had assumed he wasn’t married and had no kids. She suddenly wondered where his wife and kids were.
“They’ll be here Saturday,” he said, beaming. She walked over to take a closer look and squeezed herself behind his desk where he joined her.
“These pictures are a little outdated.” They were standing in the confined space between the bookcase and his chair, soclose to each other, she could smell his aftershave. She swore to herself, she had not purposely put herself in this position.
“Michelle was eight in this picture, and Eric was six.”
“They’re cute, dark complexion.”
“Yep, they look like their mom, thankfully.”
“Oh, they’ve got a lot of you too,” she said, looking at him. “Look at the dimples,” she teased.
He smiled and they made their appearance.
“See, there they are!” she teased again.
He couldn’t keep from smiling. “Michelle is ten now and Eric is eight. They live with their mother, north of Montréal.”
“Do you see them often? It’s weird… Dot never mentioned them.”
“Well, she’s not close to them. We don’t get to see them often.”
“That’s too bad,” she offered.
He sat on the edge of his desk. “Right now they’re in school and I can’t fly them over. My ex-wife doesn’t like them to miss too much school.”
“Do you go visit them often?”
“Well, not as much as I should,” he hesitated. “To be honest, I don’t know what to say... we have communication issues.” He looked away.
“They moved to Québec when Michelle was four and Eric was two. They don’t speak much English.”
“How does that happen? Doesn’t your ex-wife speak English?”
“Yes. But she’s French and I guess she’s never made an effort,” he told her. “I’d like to speak more French but it’s so hard.”
“You should. I think it would be worth the effort. I speak a little.”
“Really? How’d you learn?”
“I did a few years in French immersion.”
“Good for you,” he said, envious. “Actually, they’re coming in for Dot’s birthday.”
“So I’ll get to meet them. That’s great.”
“And of course...you can bring a guest,” he offered and looked at her for a second or two. “You’re engaged right?”
He had noticed.
“Um... yes. Yes, I’ll talk to Robert. I’m sure he’d love to come.”
“It will be around four o’clock. It’s a surprise party so don’t mention it. She’ll get there around four-thirty or five. I have it all worked out with her new guy,” he explained.
