The Second Family

Nick trudged toward the exit. As Tess was about to follow, Molly reached for her hand, slipping it casually into Tess’s. When they reached the upper level, Nick was slouched against a wall waiting for them, looking as if he were the most bored kid on earth. Still, Tess noted how his eyes flickered with interest from left to right as they exited the station and walked along the street.

As usual, the neighborhood was bustling on a Friday afternoon. Rush hour had already begun and Tess knew the expressways would be packed. She’d decided long ago to save herself the expense of a car in the city, especially since most of her waking hours were devoted to work.

They walked north along the lake and the outer edge of Lincoln Park. Tess glanced down at Molly, still clutching her hand, and saw her eyes grow bigger and bigger at each new sight. The park and zoo might be an option for tomorrow morning, she thought. Unless they slept in, though from what Tess had gathered about kids from the parents in her department, that wasn’t a likely occurrence.

The appearance of the six-story building where Tess lived elicited another gasp from Molly and, though Nick remained silent, Tess saw that his eyes widened, too. It had been renovated by a well-known architect when the area was undergoing a transformation from its more humble origins.

“You live here?”

Tess almost smiled at the wobble in Nick’s voice. She guessed what he was thinking. “Yes, but don’t worry. It’s not really a factory—just looks a bit like one from the outside.”

She unlocked the exterior door and led them into a foyer festooned with thick, multicolored tubular pipes that ran back and forth along the ceiling.

“I feel like I’m in Legoland,” Molly gasped.

“Yeah, right,” Nick scoffed. Still, his eyes gleamed as they scanned the foyer.

“Neat, isn’t it?” Tess remarked.

“Neat?”

There was a hint of disdain in his voice. “Well, whatever kids say these days,” she said.

“Yeah, whatever,” he mumbled.

When they were on the elevator going up to Tess’s sixth-floor loft, Molly unexpectedly asked, “Do you have any other brothers or sisters?”

“God,” muttered Nick. “She didn’t even know she had us.”

“That’s not her fault,” Molly put in. “Anyway, we didn’t know about her either, until after the…”

Her unspoken word—accident—boomed in the silence. Tess struggled to find something to say, but was saved by the elevator reaching her floor. She stepped out first, noticing that now both kids were pale-faced and red-eyed. If Mavis were here, she thought, she’d feed them and send them to bed.

They didn’t utter a word when she unlocked her door, but Nick’s jaw dropped slightly and Molly gasped. The ten-foot ceiling-to-floor windows facing east afforded an impressive view of Lake Michigan. Since Tess spent most of her time at the office, she’d devoted little effort to furnishings. The sparseness of the condo added to the effect of space and light created by the unadorned windows.

The children stood in the doorway until Tess herded them inside. “The kitchen’s at the end of this main room and the bathroom’s off that hall there,” she said, pointing to her right, “just before the bedroom.”

“Is there a door on the bathroom?” Molly asked.

Tess smiled. “For sure. And on my bedroom, too.”

“Where will we sleep?”

“We’ll work that out. Just put your stuff anywhere. Are you two hungry? I know you just ate something but I can order pizza.”

“We just had french fries,” Molly said. “But by the time the pizza comes, I know I’ll be ready for it.”

Tess smiled. “What about you, Nick? Pizza?”

He shrugged. “Sure.”

Tess hesitated. Did he want her to persuade him some more? Or was he really so indifferent?

“I only like pepperoni on mine,” said Molly, advancing farther into the living room.

“Oh?” Tess paused. She hadn’t given a thought to preferences. “And what about you, Nick?”

“Same,” he mumbled, letting his pack fall to the floor.

“Okay,” Tess murmured, mentally bidding goodbye to her usual feta, spinach and roasted red peppers. She headed for the galley kitchen at the opposite end of the room and used the telephone on the counter there to order. When she finished, she opened the refrigerator and took out the half bottle of Chardonnay she’d been sipping on that week. She’d just finished pouring a glass when she glanced up to see Molly watching her from the other side of the counter. “Uh, thirsty?”

Molly nodded. “But I don’t drink wine,” she said.

“I’ve got some cranberry juice and mineral water.”

Molly’s face screwed up in thought. “No milk?”

“Sorry. I drink my coffee black.”

“Apple juice?”

“Only cranberry. But if you want, I can call the pizza place back and get them to bring some pop with the order.”

The face brightened. “Okay! Coke, please.”

Tess reached for the phone. “Nick?” she asked.

He was standing in front of one of the windows, staring out. There was something about the slump of his shoulders. Maybe he wasn’t as tough as he was trying to be. “Sure,” he finally said.

“What kind?” Tess asked, impatience edging her voice.

Molly whispered, “He likes Coke, too.”

That settled it as far as Tess was concerned and she quickly made the phone call before there could be any more changes. Once the pizza arrived and had been devoured in what Tess considered an alarmingly short time, the two kids were sagging into the pillows on the sofa, mesmerized by a television show Tess had never seen before in her life. She glanced across the room at the clock in the kitchen nook. Not quite seven o’clock. Normally she wouldn’t be home for another hour. Perhaps she could do some work after they went to bed. The problem was, where was bed going to be?

“Does this couch pull out?” Nick asked some time later. “Molly’s fallen asleep.”

Tess glanced up from the newspaper she was reading. Molly was slumped over in a corner of the sofa. “No, it doesn’t pull out, but one of you can sleep there.”

“Then it’ll have to be me,” he said, “so Molly can sleep with you.”

Tess wasn’t sure whether to marvel at the way he took charge of the situation or his omission at seeking her approval of the plan. Without waiting for a reply, Nick shook Molly awake. Tess headed for the bedroom, followed by Nick dragging Molly behind him. As soon as Tess drew back the bedcover, Molly flopped onto the bed.

“She can sleep in her underwear,” Nick said. “You take off her clothes while I set up the couch.”

Tess watched him leave the room. Obviously, he’d had plenty of experience at looking after Molly. In spite of his constant bickering with her on the way home, Nick really cared for his sister. Tess figured that, except for providing a place to stay and paying for dinner, the two didn’t really need her at all.

Which was good, she thought, considering that after tomorrow they’d be gone and she could get on with her life. Encouraged by that, she tucked Molly under the covers and headed for the linen closet to get some bedding for Nick.

He’d changed into a T-shirt and sweatpants and was watching a baseball game on television. He hurriedly flicked off the set when she entered the room.

“Go ahead and watch it if you want. I’ve some work to do anyway. I can set up my laptop on the kitchen counter,” she said, setting a comforter and pillow on the sofa next to him.

He mumbled something inaudible, but turned the set back on as he sank farther into the cushions. His hair was spiked up from pulling the T-shirt over his head and, against the bulky frame of the couch, he appeared much younger than his thirteen years. Tess suddenly recalled what Alec Malone had said about the kids reaching Chicago all on their own, despite never having been outside Boulder.

“How did you manage to get all the way to Chicago?”

His answer was nonchalant, as if he’d made the journey many times. “Bus to Denver and airplane here. We took a taxi from the airport to your office ’cause I couldn’t figure out the transit map.”

Welcome to the club, she was thinking. “And how did you pay for the tickets?”

The look he gave her was a blend of embarrassment and pride. He hesitated for a moment, then admitted, “I used my dad’s credit card for the airfare. I was at our house getting some things with Alec. There was a stack of mail and Alec asked me to go through it to separate out the junk. One of the envelopes was my dad’s new credit card and when Alec wasn’t looking, I…well, I kinda kept it in case I might need it.”

“Some airline clerk let you use a credit card?”

“I bought the tickets over the Internet. It wasn’t hard.”

Tess let that register a moment. “So when you took the credit card, you obviously were planning to run away.”

His head turned sharply away from her gaze.

“Weren’t you?”

The face that swung back to her was red, contorted with anger. “They were gonna separate us, put us in different foster homes. And then Molly’d probably be adopted because she’s little and cute and I’m a teenager. No one wants teenagers.” Nick swiped a hand across his eyes. “And I’d lose my sister.”

Tess tried to think of something to say but found she couldn’t speak at all. When she finally managed to, she knew she had blundered the instant the words came out. “Well, I’m sure you’ll still be able to see one another.”

She didn’t know when she’d last felt so intimidated by a look. He flicked off the television, tossed the remote aside, got up from the couch and headed for the bathroom. She noted the square set of his adolescent shoulders, somehow more adultlike from behind, and oddly familiar.

Tess closed her eyes, forcing herself to stay calm when the bathroom door slammed shut. She began cleaning up plates, glasses and leftover pizza crusts and was just setting up her laptop on the diner-style eating counter at the kitchen end of the room when Nick returned. Without a word, he placed some of the couch cushions onto the coffee table, turned off the lamp next to it and lay down, his back to Tess.

She watched him for a bit, then slipped her disk into the computer and logged into her file. After a long silence, she said, “I’m sorry, Nick, I didn’t mean to sound so unfeeling. But really…this Alec Malone sounds like he has your best interests at heart. I’m sure he’d see that you and Molly would keep in touch.” Her voice trailed off into the room.

Nick didn’t say a word. He was either asleep, she decided, or pretending to be. She turned her attention back to her work but after ten minutes, gave it up. On her way into her bedroom, she pulled the comforter over him and quietly said good-night.

Molly was sprawled in the middle of the bed. Tess stared down at her small face, flushed with sleep, then gently rolled her over until there was enough room for herself. She took her nightwear—designer T-shirt and boxer shorts—out of a drawer and went to the bathroom to change. The silent and shapeless lump that was Nick didn’t move as Tess walked back and forth to the bathroom and the kitchen for her nightly glass of water.

By the time Tess got back to the bedroom, Molly had reclaimed the bed’s center. She repeated the rollover, climbed in and automatically reached for her bedside reading, the latest literary prize winner. But after several attempts at the first paragraph of a new chapter, Tess set the book aside, extinguished the light and sat, propped against her pillows to think. Snippets of unrelated and varied events whose only connecting strand was her father overwhelmed her.

English Leather aftershave and the patch of toilet paper on his cheek or neck. Battle wounds, he’d tease. You’ll have them someday, but on your legs. Tess never understood what he’d meant until she was a teenager and by then, she’d made herself stop thinking about her father anyway. She recalled how he’d swing her up into the air or let her climb onto his back while he rode her around their tiny living room. And last of all, the way he’d marched down the sidewalk that day, his shoulders ramrod straight.

Like Nick’s, Tess thought. She expelled a mouthful of the day’s emotion, held in check the way she’d taught herself so many years ago, and sank under the covers. Eventually, she fell asleep until cries in the night shook her awake.

“I want my mommy,” wailed Molly, over and over.

Tess turned over to find the girl sitting upright, in the middle of the bed again. Using her elbows to push herself up, Tess wrapped her arm across Molly’s trembling shoulders and drew her closer.

“Shhh! It’s okay, Molly.”

Molly tucked herself into the crook of Tess’s arm and sobbed for a few more minutes before dropping off to sleep once more. Wide-eyed and soggy from Molly’s tears, Tess lay perfectly still and awake until the break of day.

BY THE TIME the taxi pulled up in front of her condo building, Tess was ready to call it a day. The problem was, it was barely past one o’clock. She’d gotten out of bed at six-thirty when a pert and lively Molly, unscathed by the night’s tearful episode, insisted on watching the Saturday morning cartoon shows. Tess had reluctantly joined her, offering her now empty bed to Nick whose adolescent sleep patterns demanded extra time.

Two hours later, when Nick finally arose, Tess staggered zombielike to the street below in search of supplies for breakfast and lunch.

“I said I wanted Corn Pops,” Molly had whined at her return.

Nick had merely eyed the health food store granola that Tess was holding and had grumbled, “Even Cheerios would’ve been better.”

The trip to Lincoln Park Zoo had been more successful. Molly seemed enchanted by everything she saw while Nick’s mood grudgingly improved at the familiar presence of junk food. But Tess quickly realized that the delights of the zoo and the warm, sunny day couldn’t compensate for lack of sleep or the strain of strangers being thrust together. She found herself checking her watch at frequent intervals, all the while wondering exactly when Alec Malone would arrive. At one point, after breaking up a noisy exchange between brother and sister, Tess had an alarming thought— What if he doesn’t even come?

When the taxi rounded the corner of her street, Tess almost swooned in relief at the sight of her building. She longed for her weekly routine of reading the Saturday papers ensconced in the downy comfort of her new armchair, a cup of freshly brewed coffee at hand and the latest Dave Matthews CD pulsing softly in the background.

Then Molly dug her elbow into Nick’s ribs because he’d accidentally stepped on her foot and Tess’s mental replay of her typical Saturday morning unspooled. Tess thrust a handful of bills at the taxi driver and marched around the front of the cab to yank open the rear passenger door.

“Enough already!” she cried, her voice a notch louder than she’d intended.

As a pinch-faced Molly struggled out, her foot caught on part of the released seat belt and she tumbled out of the cab. Tess rushed to catch her before she hit the pavement, but, frightened by the near accident, Molly began to sob.

Nick slid from the car and, realizing his sister hadn’t been hurt, berated her for being such a baby. That set off another round of sobs. Tess stood helplessly beside them and, aware that her morning fantasy was never going to happen, raised her palms to her face.

“Long morning?” a deep, male voice drawled from behind.

Lowering her hands, Tess whirled around, registering Nick’s grin and Molly’s shriek of delight all in the same instant. They rushed to the man’s side, Molly wrapping herself around a solid frame well over Tess’s own height of five-eight and standing, legs astride a canvas duffel bag, a few feet away. Nick gave him a friendly tap on the shoulder.

“Alec! Alec!” cried Molly, her tumble completely forgotten as she danced around the man and his luggage. Nick, now the image of benign tolerance, moved farther apart so she could squeeze in closer, latching on to Malone mid-thigh.

“Hey, hey. Let me say hello to your sister,” he said, laughing as he pried his leg loose from Molly’s clutch and gently clasped her hand in his. Then, taking a big step forward, he extended his free hand to Tess and said, “Miss Wheaton, I presume?” at which Molly giggled and Nick snorted.

Tess, still tuning in to the fact that the word sister had meant her, merely stared dumbly. His big hand touched hers briefly, then let go. He took off the baseball cap he was wearing, releasing a shock of thick, sandy-red hair. His hazel eyes, swirled with bits of green and amber, swept over Tess from head to toe. When they returned to her face, their expression shifted ever so slightly, she thought.

“Looks like everyone—including you—is ready to call it a day,” he said.

On cue, Molly complained, “I’m hungry and Tess doesn’t have any good food.”

Nick, however, got straight to the point. “When are you taking us back, Alec?”

Without taking his eyes off Tess, Malone replied, “Guess that’s up to Miss Wheaton here, Nick. How about if we go inside and talk things over?”

Knowing she was being put on the spot, Tess felt a rush of annoyance. She glanced at the children, their faces turned expectantly toward hers. As if she would be announcing a decision about their future that very instant, she thought. She decided the man was as impossible in real life as he’d been on the telephone.

“Of course,” she mumbled and made for the front door of her building.

“What about lunch?” cried Molly.

Her back to them, Tess paused long enough to hear Alec Malone say, “There’s a submarine sandwich place just around the corner. I’ll go get some while you go inside with your sister.”

“I’m coming with you,” Nick quickly said.

“Me, too,” added Molly.

Tess half turned to catch an expression of helpless amusement from Malone. “Do you mind?” he asked her.

“Why should I?”

His smile vanished. “Just asking. Would you like a sandwich?”

“No, thank you. I’m in number 601,” she murmured and turned her back again to insert her key into the front door. She heard them chatting happily as they walked away and, stepping into the foyer, had the distinct sensation of being cut right out of the picture. Though why that bothered her, she couldn’t explain.

CHAPTER THREE

TESS PRETENDED to be engrossed in the laptop screen when they returned, bustling into her living space as if they’d been part of it forever. A sudden resentment at their noisy intrusion flared up. She wondered how long it would take to sort out this situation and get on with her life.

“We brought you one, too, Tess. In case you changed your mind.” Molly’s voice was pitched high with excitement.

Tess glanced up from her computer and organized her face into a passable smile. Oblivious to the fact that she was trying to work, Alec Malone and Nick began to open paper bags and pull the tabs on soda cans. Tess bit down on her lip when Malone asked where she kept the plates. Before she could answer, Nick pointed to a cupboard above the sink. Tess rolled her eyes in exasperation. A full-blown invasion was taking place right beneath her nose and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it.

She didn’t realize Molly was standing in front of her until she detected a slight movement. The little girl’s smile was less enthusiastic now.

“Aren’t you hungry, Tess?” she asked. “We got you one with roasted vegetables and fatty cheese.” She held a paper bag in her small hand.

“Feta cheese,” corrected Nick.

“Whatever. Alec said you’d probably choose that one if you were there.”

And what’s that supposed to mean? That he’s got me all figured out? Or worse—that in his eyes I represent some kind of yuppy stereotype? The fact that his choice had been right on the mark made it even more galling.

Tess knew Molly was waiting for a response. The problem was, the only one she felt like making would be quite inappropriate. Like telling them all to leave.

“Maybe we should let Tess finish up there first, Molly. Why don’t you put her sandwich in the fridge for now? The three of us can take ours over to the couch,” Alec suggested.

Heat rose into Tess’s face. Now he was answering for her! She clicked out of her program and pushed the laptop aside. “It’s okay, Molly. I’d like that sandwich now, after all. We can eat here at the counter.”

Alec paused midway from the counter to the couch area. The look he flashed Tess told her he saw right through her effort to gain control. Still, he turned and headed for a stool at the counter.

Nick was less accommodating. “I wanted to watch TV,” he complained.

“Later, fella,” Alec said. “We can talk—get to know each other.”

Nick snorted. “What’s the point? We already know you, and she’s not going to be in our lives much longer anyway.”

“She has a name, so use it. As for the other point, we haven’t made any decisions yet.”

Silenced, Nick sullenly picked up his sandwich and began to eat.

Tess stared at the wrapped sandwich on the countertop in front of her. Her appetite took a nosedive. Nick’s retort stung, though she couldn’t explain why. It was true that she wasn’t going to be in their lives much longer and intellectually, she understood why he rejected the idea of getting to know her better. She herself felt much the same. What she couldn’t fathom was the niggling doubt in the back of her mind. The sense that, somehow, she’d made two children unhappy and now it was up to her to make things better. But how?

“Not hungry?”

She looked up to find Alec Malone staring at her. The expression in his eyes was softer now. Tess shook her head.

“Want a coffee?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Sure. I can make some.”

“No. I meant, would you like to go out for one? I noticed a place just around the corner.”

“But the kids—”

“Will be fine. Right, guys?”

Nick and Molly nodded, glancing at the same time from one to the other.

“Maybe Tess won’t mind if you eat at the couch—long as you’re careful.” He wrapped up the rest of his sandwich and got off the bar stool.

“What about your lunch?” Tess asked.

“Later. Right now, we need to talk.” He watched Nick and Molly settle themselves a few feet away on the couch. “Alone,” he added.

Although Tess knew he was taking charge again, she also knew he was right. And the talk had to be done away from the kids. “They won’t—”

“Run away again? Nah. But just to be sure…” He headed for the couch and leaned over to whisper something to Nick, then walked toward the door to wait for Tess.

She put her sandwich in the fridge and went to the bedroom to get her keys and wallet. Nick and Molly were both engrossed in the TV when she joined Alec at the door. She paused. “There’s frozen yogurt if you two want any dessert.”

Nick glanced up. “Any ice cream?”

“No, but…it’s strawberry yogurt.”

He gave a half shrug, as if that was better than nothing, then turned his attention to the television again.

“I like frozen yogurt,” Molly piped up. “Thanks, Tess.” She waved her fingers and resumed eating her sandwich.

Tess locked the door behind them and followed Alec to the elevator. His stiff, broad back looked ready for inspection. If it weren’t for his hair, thick and fringing slightly at the nape of his neck, she’d have pegged him for a military man. He didn’t say a word as they waited for the elevator. Either small talk wasn’t his style, or he was ticked off at her. His demeanor suggested the latter.

But as the elevator slid to the ground floor, he finally murmured, “The kids have been through a lot.”

“I can see that,” Tess said.

“Can you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, offended by the tone of his question.

“Just that from your manner, it seems you can only see how their unexpected appearance has impacted on you.”

Tess felt her blood pressure skyrocket. Or perhaps it was the elevator, lurching to a stop at the condo lobby. Speechless, she tagged behind him out the main door and onto the sidewalk.