I'm Your Man

The front door burst open then, and Daniel breezed in as if he were welcome.

“Hey, bud,” he said, crouching down as Riley ran to him. “How was the nap?”

“I rested, Papa. I didn’t nap.”

Right. He didn’t nap for two whole hours, Maureen thought with a smile. He’d been so soundly asleep that he hadn’t even flinched when she’d checked on him and had bumped into a chair that skittered a few inches across the hardwood floor.

Daniel looked up at Maureen. His hair was wind-tossed, his face surprisingly tanned for a man who lived in rainy Seattle. He looked years younger than the fifty he was.

“What’s the verdict?” he asked, standing. Riley looked at Maureen, too, as he leaned against his grandfather’s legs, Daniel’s hands on his shoulders. The two Cregg men made an indomitable force.

Where have you been all this time? “We’re going to do what Jess asked.”

“Okay.”

Okay? O-kay? Now what game was he playing, to give in without a fight? “I’m glad you agree,” she said, aware of how still Riley was, and how he’d reached up with both hands to grab Daniel’s.

“Didn’t say I agree, but I understand your position.”

“Do you need a ride to the airport?” She figured that was the least she could do.

“No, thanks. In fact, I’m not going anywhere for, oh, I figure about six weeks.”

“What?” She plunked her fists on her hips.

“I found myself a place to live—one of the kids who works at the health food store offered his spare bedroom. Seems his roommate is gone for the summer, so he’s in need of the cash.”

“Why would you do that?”

“I’ve never been to San Francisco. I’m off for the summer. And I figure you need someone to watch Riley during the day while you work. I’m your man.”

All the things Maureen wanted to say stuck in her throat when she saw how happy Riley was. The arrogant Daniel Cregg. He’d given her no choice. He’d set his course without discussing it with her, then presented it to her in front of Riley. If she told Daniel he wasn’t welcome, she would be the bad guy. Then what chance would she have of forging a new bond with Riley, one she hoped would seal things between them for life?

“I already have day care lined up,” she said tightly.

“Hey, I’m free—in both senses of the word. It’s a win-win situation. There’s a lot to see and do in this city. Riley and I will explore. It’ll be fun, and educational.”

“I have plans to show him things, too, you know.”

“Look, Maureen, which do you want? Day care, where he sits around and plays video games and watches television? Or an adventure every day—fresh air and new experiences? You’ll have him every night and every weekend, the same as you would if I weren’t here. There’s plenty of time for both of us.”

She didn’t know how much Riley was understanding of their conversation, but he seemed anxious.

“What kind of apartment will you be living in?”

“The kind college kids can afford. Two small bedrooms, a kitchen sink piled with dirty dishes. Pizza boxes jammed into overflowing trash cans.”

“And the kid works in a health-food store?”

“I’m sure they were vegetarian pizzas.”

She refused to smile at that. “It doesn’t sound like a healthy environment to me.” For Riley, she added mentally, assuming Daniel would pick up on that.

“We’ll use your house as our home base, if that’s okay with you. You walk in the door at night, I walk out.”

Like she really had a choice? She couldn’t stop him from renting a room. She couldn’t keep him away from Riley without being the mean ol’ grandma. And having Daniel instead of some stranger care for Riley was a good thing.

“Do you have to go back to Seattle and pick up clothes and whatever?”

“Nope. I asked a friend to pack up my whatevers, including my laptop, and airfreight them. So, how about I take you two to dinner, then I’ll show you where I’ll be living.”

She should call Ted and let him know what was happening, but decided to wait until after Riley went to bed, so she could have a private conversation. She didn’t know whether the new plan would make Ted happy or not. He’d seemed not to like Daniel very much—until Daniel had become a solution to a problem that directly affected Ted.

“Dinner sounds good to me,” she said finally. “As long as the restaurant serves normal food. And meat.”

“What’s normal?” He grinned. “I don’t force my convictions on others, Mo.”

“Don’t call me that. Please,” she added, softening the order for Riley’s sake. Daniel’s calling her Mo reminded her of her father, and he was the last person she wanted to be reminded of. Well, him and Jess’s father. “Would you mind if I ask my aunt to join us? She hasn’t seen Riley since last year.” And Ted couldn’t get irritated with another adult along.

“Sure. I’ve never met the old gal. Do we need to pick her up?”

“She’ll walk. She doesn’t live far from Cortland. And she wouldn’t appreciate you calling her ‘the old gal.’ You remember Auntie Cherie, don’t you, Riley?”

He nodded several times. “She’s fun.”

“Exactly. Let me give her a call and see if she’s free. The woman has a busy calendar.” Maureen went into her bedroom and shut the door. She leaned against it for a few seconds, forcing herself to relax. It wasn’t a matter of coming out the winner over Daniel, although that was a nice side benefit, but of her not backing down from what she wanted. She’d stood up for herself. She didn’t consider herself a weak woman, but, with the exception of at her job, she tended to go along with what anyone else wanted to do, in order to keep peace. She liked peace. She liked order. The one time she hadn’t been the model of responsibility had resulted in her becoming pregnant and a single mother at seventeen.

But this time the stakes were too high to give in to Ted or Daniel. She needed Riley and Jess in her life. So, she’d stood up for herself.

And it felt pretty darn good.

MAUREEN SAW RILEY spot Cherie coming into the PeaceLove Café. He was kneeling on a chair at the table and started waving both arms to get her attention. They had seen each other several times through the years, and occasionally Cherie would talk with him over the computer camera. Now Riley would have a chance to really get to know her well, too. Thank you, Jess.

“There you are!” Cherie called, waving off the hostess, then heading toward them. She greeted at least a half-dozen guests as she made her way through the funky restaurant, a throwback to the old flower-power days complete with psychedelic art on the walls and the servers wearing beads, headbands and long, flowing outfits.

Daniel stood and held a chair for Cherie, but first she went around the table, giving hugs and kisses. She included Daniel before she sat down, as if they were old friends.

“You don’t quite fit the picture I had of you in my head,” she said to Daniel after ordering a glass of white zinfandel.

“Which was?”

“I was thinking, Dr. Cregg, professor of English. Tweed jackets and a pipe. A bow tie, maybe, receding hair line. And a certain tone.”

“What kind of tone?”

“A sort of lofty use of language, with a Bostonian accent, even if he came from Baton Rouge.”

He laughed. “I’ve met those professors. They were my inspirations to be the opposite.”

“A worthy goal.” She leaned toward Maureen. “So, adorable girl, what’s going on?”

Maureen summed up the events in an upbeat manner as Riley used the restaurant-supplied crayons to draw on their butcher-paper tablecloth.

“Will you take me to the ’ramics place, Auntie Cherie? I want to make my mom an I-Love-You plate for when she comes back to get me,” he said, lifting his head finally.

“That’s a date, young man.”

His smile lit up his entire face and got even wider somehow when she picked up a crayon and started drawing with him. Forehead to forehead, they chattered like old friends.

Daniel was uncharacteristically quiet.

“You must be tired,” Maureen said to him.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. A little. How is it you can get jet lag without leaving the time zone?”

“It’s just your body letting down from the stress of travel,” Cherie said. “A good night’s sleep and you’ll be right as rain.”

“I wonder how good my nights are going to be,” he said. “My new roomie, Ty, gets off work at nine. I think his night is just beginning at that point. Should be interesting. Think I’ll be bunkin’ with you, Master Riley, when you na—rest in the afternoon.”

Riley frowned. “Grandma doesn’t have bunk beds, Papa.”

Daniel grinned. “It’s an expression, bud. It means lying down to rest.”

“Maybe you’d like to help me one day when I deliver meals,” Cherie said.

“Do you have a motorcycle? Our pizza guy has a motorcycle.”

“Wouldn’t that be fun? Alas, I don’t even have a driver’s license, so they give me a driver. He waits in the car while I take the dinners inside to people who can’t fix a meal for themselves.”

“Why can’t they?” He’d abandoned his artwork to listen to her.

“Mostly because they’re old. Like me.”

He giggled. “You’re not old.”

“Well. Isn’t that nice?” She beamed. “Do you think you’d like to help me out sometime? Your grandma helps on Saturdays. They’d love to see that sweet smile of yours, I can tell you that.”

“Sure. I can, can’t I, Papa?”

Maureen took a quick swig of her wine, hiding her hurt that Riley had asked Daniel for permission instead of her. He was staying with her.

“That’s up to your grandma,” Daniel said. “She’s the boss now.”

“Can I, Grandma?”

“Of course.” She caught Cherie looking intently at her.

“I hafta go to the bathroom.”

“Okay, bud.” Daniel stood. “Let’s go.”

“What’s got your knickers in a twist?” Cherie asked the second they were alone.

“I wish Daniel weren’t here. Frankly, I want Riley to myself.”

“Well, I can see your jealousy, Maureen, and Riley’s going to pick up on that, too. You’ve got Riley. Let go of the old hurt, and everyone will be happier.”

“I’m trying.”

“Building a relationship takes time.”

“I know.” Maureen rubbed her forehead. “I do know. He calls Daniel Papa.” She put a hand to her mouth. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, to sound belligerent about it.

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Daniel has a nickname, Papa. Riley calls me Grandma. Nothing special.”

Cherie sat back, holding her wineglass, swirling the contents. “Papa is probably the most common variation on Grandpa. It’s those double-repeat syllables that babies learn so much easier—mama, dada, papa. He was there every day with Riley. Aren’t you being overly sensitive?”

“Maybe.” Probably. “It’s just been a long, trying day dealing with everything.”

Cherie sipped her wine, then set down the glass gently. “How’s Ted taking it all?”

Maureen summed it up, adding, “He’s being amazingly patient.”

“Hmm.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’ve been wondering how he would handle it if you ever didn’t go along with what he wanted.”

“I don’t know what that means, Cherie.”

“Just what I said. You defer to him, that’s all. Today you didn’t. I’m glad he’s being patient.”

Even if Maureen had wanted to explore the point further, Daniel and Riley returned then.

“Grandma, that bathroom is crazy!”

Since Maureen was a regular customer at the restaurant, she knew what Riley had discovered. “How is it crazy?”

“There’s no reg’lar lights but there’s colors all over the walls and they…glow. What’s it called, Papa?”

“Day-Glo paint and black lights.”

“Black lights. Isn’t that funny? Papa says that’s what the hippers liked.”

“Hippies,” Cherie said. She touched her peace-symbol necklace. “I was a hippie.”

“You were?” His eyes went round. “Did you glow?”

Cherie laughed. “Oh, honey, did I ever. I glowed like a neon sign.”

“I’ll show you pictures,” Maureen said. “She was beautiful.”

“She’s still beautiful,” Daniel said, lifting his glass in a toast.

“Well. Flattery will get you everywhere.” Cherie clinked glasses with him, then Riley wanted to join in. After much toasting and clinking, their meals were brought and everyone dug in as if they hadn’t eaten in days.

After dinner they walked to Daniel’s apartment. Ty wasn’t there.

“This isn’t too bad,” Maureen said, looking around. Nothing was new but it wasn’t too cluttered or dirty.

“I decided to clean the place up a little before I went back to your house. It reminded me too much of dorm life.” Daniel led them into his bedroom. He turned to Maureen. “Any chance you’ve got an extra set of sheets you can loan me? I don’t think even bleach will help these.” He lifted the ratty quilt to unearth equally ratty sheets.

Maureen pictured his house in Seattle, a three-bedroom craftsman with wood-shingle siding on a quiet, tree-lined street, a far cry from this tiny, street-noisy place. She caught Cherie’s pointed look.

“I’d be glad to loan you some bedding,” Maureen said. “Anything else you need?”

“Nope, thanks.”

Cherie glanced at her watch. “I’m supposed to meet some friends in a few minutes, so I’ll leave you. Thank you for dinner, Daniel.” She hugged Riley. “We’ll make a date soon, okay?”

“Okay. Auntie Cherie? You know my mom, right?”

“I know your mom very well. Your mom and grandma lived with me until your mom was six, just like you.”

“Really?”

“That’s right.”

“She’ll come back, right?” he said, almost whispering.

Maureen’s throat ached. Why did he have so little faith in his mother returning? Why was he so insecure? Jess had never once left him.

“She’ll be back just as soon as she’s done with the TV show.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.” Cherie looked at Maureen then Daniel. “In the meantime, you’ve got two doting grandparents and one doting great-aunt to spoil you rotten.”

“I don’t want to be rotten. I—”

“It’s an expression,” Daniel interrupted. “It’s an okay thing, bud. She means you’re going to have a whole lot of fun.”

“Oh. Okay.” He grinned finally.

“May I escort you where you’re headed?” Daniel asked Cherie.

“Wouldn’t that shock and delight my girlfriends, me walking into the club with a young stud on my arm.” She laughed. “Maybe another time. But thanks.”

They all left the apartment, Cherie heading in the opposite direction. Back at her house, Maureen loaded bedding and a fresh pillow into a shopping bag and brought it to Daniel where he was sitting with Riley, playing Go Fish.

“I added a can of air freshener,” she said.

Daniel grinned, and for the first time Maureen saw Riley in him. She’d never noticed before, maybe because she and Daniel hadn’t smiled at each other much.

“It did have a hint of unwashed student about it, didn’t it?” Daniel said.

“More than a hint.”

“All part of the adventure. Go Fish,” he said to Riley.

Maureen sat next to her grandson but addressed Daniel. “This is an adventure to you?”

“Isn’t it? Something unexpected. A chance to explore a part of the country I never have before—and not just for a weekend but for enough time to really get to know a place.”

“Is there a girlfriend at home who’s not too happy about this?” Almost instantly she folded her hands in her lap and tried not to fidget. She didn’t know how to take the nosy question back.

“Do you have any sixes, bud?” His eyes sparkled at her discomfort. “Not one in particular.”

“Go Fish. Papa has lots of girlfriends,” Riley said matter of factly. “Do you have any Ks?”

“What are Ks?”

“Kings?”

“Right. Yep. Here you go.”

Papa has lots of girlfriends. He’d played a wide field for as long as she’d known him, never committing to any one woman, and most of them substantially younger. She studied him now, playing the card game animatedly with Riley, making him giggle. She wondered what he was like in the classroom. It was hard to picture him in the role of English professor, as Cherie had pointed out. He didn’t fit any stereotypical mold. She bet his students loved him—

“You beat me again,” Daniel said, ruffling Riley’s hair, most of the gel having worn off during the course of the day. “I’ll hit the road.” He stood.

Riley threw himself against him. “I don’t want you to leave.”

“Hey, bud. You saw where I’m living. I won’t be far away.”

“Sleep in my bed. You’ll fit.”

A part of Maureen understood Riley’s fear. A different part was hurt that Riley didn’t want to be alone with her. It wasn’t as if they were strangers, after all.

“I’ll be seeing you lots. So much that you’ll get sick of me and wish I’d go away.” Daniel lifted him and rocked him side to side, Riley’s legs dangling and flying, making him giggle again. “You sleep tight.”

“Don’t let the bedbugs bite,” Riley finished. “Will you be here when I wake up in the morning?”

“I will. Or before your grandma heads out, anyway.”

Maureen followed him down the hall to the front door. “Thank you, Daniel.”

“No reason why we can’t work together on this. Give him some great memories.”

“I agree.”

“I know you hate me,” he said. “But this can be our chance for a new start, too. For Riley’s and Jess’s sake. And our own.”

“I don’t hate you.”

He lifted his brows.

“I resent you,” she said, then added, “with reason.”

“That sounds so much better.”

“And I’ve been really pissed off at you. And stuck pins in a voodoo doll that happens to look like you.” She smiled, taking the edge off the words.

“And if that doesn’t add up to hate…”

“I can see where you might think that.”

He grinned. “Your aunt’s quite a woman.”

“She is, indeed. I don’t know where I would be today without her.”

“I’d like to hear more about that sometime.”

“I’d like to tell you. Sometime.”

“Good night, Maureen. Sweet dreams.”

He walked away, and Maureen went off to tuck her sweet grandson in bed. How much had changed in just a day—Riley was hers for now, and Daniel? Well, there might be more to him than she’d thought. Time would tell.

But for now life didn’t get much better than this.

CHAPTER 5

Rileyism #3: “I have everything under control.”

The following morning Maureen paced her living room in front of the window. Back and forth, stop to look outside, back and forth again. Why hadn’t she asked for Daniel’s cell phone number? He was always late. She should’ve told him fifteen minutes earlier than she actually needed him to arrive. If she was late to work because of him…

She spotted him jogging up the street and hurried to the front door to fling it open.

“Good morning,” he said, as if nothing were wrong.

“You’re late.”

He merely raised his brows.

His hair was wet, either from a shower or the jog, which might have started an hour ago, for all she knew. He was annoyingly faithful about anything related to physical fitness, but not about everything else in life.

“I’m going to be late to work,” she said, arms crossed.

“You look…official,” he said of her gray pantsuit and crisp white blouse.

She didn’t think he was complimenting her. He wore not-new shorts he must’ve packed in his carry-on bag, and a Golden Gate Bridge T-shirt he must’ve bought since his arrival.

“If this is going to work for us, Daniel, you need to be on time. I don’t like starting my day frazzled.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, succeeding in making her feel like a shrew, when all she wanted was to catch her bus at the normal time and get to work at her normal time. The distance between Bernal Heights, where she lived, and the Mission District, where she worked, was short, but too far to walk in less than fifteen minutes.

“How’d you sleep?” she asked, forcing the harsh edge off her tone as they walked down her hallway, aware that Riley was within hearing range.

“Dead to the world.” He held up the shopping bag she’d sent him home with the night before. “Mind if I use your washer? My stuff could be delivered this afternoon, but maybe not until tomorrow.”

“Be my guest.” She passed him a business card. “Here’s my work information. Please call if you have any questions.”

Riley pounced on him then and she was off to work. She did miss her usual bus, but still arrived at work just at eight o’clock. She didn’t stop to chitchat with her coworkers, instead heading straight to her boss’s office. It was empty, a rarity. Maureen left a note on the desk, then settled into her own office. Only one voice mail awaited her—

“Hi, Mom. I just wanted to let you know that I got here okay. I hope you forgive me. I really am doing this for my son, the same way you sacrificed a lot for me. I just don’t have your patience to take it year by year. I kind of want it now. I know, I know. Gee, what a surprise.” Maureen could hear the smile in Jess’s voice. “But you’ll see. It’ll be a good thing. I’ll talk to you as soon as I’m allowed to. Tell Riley I love him. Bye.”

The time stamp at the end of the message indicated Jess had called the day before, Sunday, apparently not willing to talk in person, probably not wanting to get an earful from Maureen. Smart girl.

Maureen might have surprised Jess, however, by not arguing with her, except to challenge her daughter about why she didn’t feel she could’ve just asked if she could leave Riley instead of simply taking off as she did.

It was probably best for Riley, too, not talking to his mom. That way he could settle in. Maybe Jess was being responsible in that, too. If it was true that she really was pursuing this dream of hers to give herself and Riley a shot at independence and a good future, then Maureen couldn’t fault her for it, just as Maureen had left Cherie’s house and made her own way in the world.

The manner in which Maureen and Jess sought independence may be different, opposite really, but the goal was the same.

“Good morning, good morning.” The cheerful greeting accompanied the arrival of Esperanza Ochoa, Maureen’s coworker and friend, one of two full-time proofreader/editor/ researchers with the company. She breezed into Maureen’s office, looking gorgeous and rested, and landed in the chair opposite Maureen’s desk, a bright smile on her face.

“Same to you, sunshine.”

Anza leaned closer and singsonged in a whisper, “I’ve got a secret.”

“One you’re going to tease me about or share?”

“Share. But only with you. No one else can know, okay?”

“Do you really have to ask?” Maureen could guess the secret but waited for confirmation.

“I’m pregnant. Six weeks.”

Maureen flashed back to when she’d found out she was pregnant—just turned seventeen and scared to death. There’d been no happy glow on her face, like Anza’s now. No ecstatic husband, which Gabe undoubtedly was.

“That’s wonderful news! Congratulations,” Maureen said, coming around her desk to hug her friend and feeling a sudden rush of envy. “I’m so happy for you both,” she said, meaning it, but struggling past her own surprising emotions.

“Thank you.” Anza’s voice quavered and she hugged Maureen tighter. “It took a year, but finally I will be a mom. Finally.”

They moved apart as they heard someone walking nearby.

“How was your weekend?” Anza asked.

“Eventful. Can we have lunch today? I’ll tell you then.”

“It’s a date.”

“What’s a date?” Bernadette Martinez, the president and owner of Primero Publishing, strolled in. She was the most stylish woman Maureen knew, although the past five months since her husband had passed away had taken their toll. Until recently Bernadette looked ten years younger than the forty-eight she really was. But who wouldn’t look worn-out after losing her husband and inheriting the job of running a rapidly expanding company?