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At school the next day, she dropped by his office with coffee. She needed to make sure he was taking care of himself, even if he couldn’t take the time to call. The door was ajar as she approached, and she knocked lightly, then pushed it open. Deputy Principal Hollister occupied the chair opposite Michael, and she hesitated, not wanting to intrude.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was in here,” she said.
“We’ll be another twenty minutes,” Hollister replied with a smile.
“But then I have a meeting with the admin team,” Michael said with an apologetic smile.
Bex tried to communicate the fact she missed him with her eyes, but she felt silly and wasn’t about to say anything workplace inappropriate in front of Hollister. “I brought you coffee. I’ll just leave it here.” She placed it on his desk, and as she left, she couldn’t fight the feeling that he was pushing her away. Clearly, he was busy, but it seemed like something more was going on.
That night, he came over late, after Izzy was in bed, and foiled her attempts to find out what was on his mind by seducing her with slow, drugging kisses. They made love without speaking and fell asleep before she remembered to persist with her questions.
He slipped out before breakfast the next day, and she didn’t even bother trying to see him or speak to him later. In fact, she was mad. If he wanted to play silly games, she didn’t have the time. She was too busy working three jobs and raising a daughter.
In the early afternoon, Wesley called.
“Can I take you and Izzy out to dinner tonight?” he asked.
Bex laid her paintbrush down and looked out the window to where the sea crashed against the sand. It was rough today, and few people were out and about.
“Why don’t you swing by here for dinner?” she suggested.
“I’ll do that.” He sounded pleased by the prospect.
“You could bring Michael too.”
“Uh, yeah.” His enthusiasm flagged. “If he’s free, I will, but he’s hardly been here in the last couple of days.”
“Ask him anyway. We’ll eat at 7 p.m. See you later, Wes.”
“Goodbye.”
She ended the call. For the rest of the afternoon, she found solace in painting. When she finished, she prepared one of Lita’s recipes for dinner. Wesley arrived five minutes early, and Izzy sprinted to the door and threw it open without hesitation. Bex sighed. One of these days, her daughter was going to get herself into trouble. She followed Izzy and was disappointed to see Wesley had come alone.
“Good evening.” Was it her imagination, or did sympathy flicker in his eyes? He held up a bottle. “I brought wine.”
“Exactly what I need.”
Izzy reached up, demanding a hug, and he handed the wine over, then swept their daughter into his arms. She could see the hesitancy in his expression, but it was mixed with delight. He may not know exactly how to behave around Izzy, but he adored her already.
Bex served dinner, and while they ate, Izzy regaled them with her adventures in school. Wesley listened patiently, and asked a lot of questions. He wanted to know what her favorites were, what she hated, how she’d spent her last birthday, and a million other things. Izzy gladly answered all his questions, but as she did, guilt ate away at Bex. He was her father, he should know these things firsthand, but she’d deprived him of that opportunity. Had she done the right thing? There had always been a question in her mind, and now, seeing the budding relationship between them, she wondered even more.
She shouldn’t think about it.
She’d done the best she could in the circumstances, and that had to be enough.
While they washed the dishes, Izzy told Wesley he ought to stay for a movie.
“Excuse me,” Bex said sternly. “Remember to ask politely, and to check with me first.”
Izzy harrumphed. “Mummy, can Wesley stay to watch a movie?” Her eyelashes fluttered. “Pretty please.”
Bex looked at Wesley and shrugged. “Up to you.”
He smiled. “I’d love to.”
“Great.” Bex started drying plates and turned back to Izzy. “Why don’t you go pick one while we finish up here?”
“Yay!” She skipped away.
