Abithica (6 page)

I pawed at her arm, frowning. “Faith, shhhh!”

“Don’t worry, honey, my words had nothing to do with you. She was wearing Birkenstocks.”

Birkenstocks? Cork-soled sandals? Like that explained everything? Mommy ignored the taunt. I took a long shaky breath.

Faith smiled and patted my arm. “You meet all kinds in places like this. That little girl probably knows she’ll get attention by misbehaving.”

That seemed to close the incident, and we were almost past the play area when I saw another young girl, one with non-stop blonde curls and a smile to match. She was a little older than the leg-grabber, maybe six. For some reason, our eyes locked. Why did that particular girl seem so familiar? Had I seen her before? Another switch, maybe? There was no telling, but I suddenly felt strange, almost stunned. This couldn’t be happening right on top of the first one, unless….

We met in the middle. Her dazzling “Shirley Temple” smile was made all the more enchanting by the smudges of chocolate on her nose and chin. She took my free hand with her sticky one.

“And who might
you
belong to?” I ventured. Faith stood scanning the area for danger, like some alert alley cat, while the girl licked the chocolate off her lips and gave my leg—yes, the same one—an enthusiastic hug. She scrunched down a bit to do it. The image of a koala bear climbing a eucalyptus tree flashed across my mind. What was it with children and my leg today? I had a perfectly good waist if she wanted something to hug.

Faith’s concern turned out to be on the money. There were indeed hostiles in the vicinity, all staring my way. It was amazing how quickly the play area cleared as parents, mostly women, collected their kids and vanished. Poor Faith! Not one was wearing Birkenstocks. She’d have no explanation for what she was seeing. I heard her berating one of the women for looking at me. The whole thing was too much. I had to get rid of my latest leech, even though I didn’t want to. Where was her mom, anyway?

I knelt so we were eye level. “You need to go back, honey. Somebody is probably worried about you.” But she wouldn’t budge. Then I heard a baritone voice directly behind me.

“What are you doing, Shae?”

It took me a few seconds to realize that he and Shae belonged together,
and
that he was friendly. I couldn’t believe that part after what had just taken place. When I looked up, he was wearing a smile that lit up his eyes and filled his entire face, the kind of glow only a really confident guy could wear, someone who’d never experienced rejection in his entire life.

And his smile was aimed at me!

Not two hours earlier I’d stood in front of Faith’s mirror and decided there
was
something salvageable in Sydney’s appearance, but I first needed to find the right hairstyle and makeup. For now, everything the mirror screamed back at me said, “Danger, Stay Away.” The last thing I expected from any man about then was a favorable reaction.

Unless… unless all this was in some way part of the new assignment. If I was to reconcile Sydney with Faith, given such a horrible starting point,
anything
might become part of the solution. Even Max.

“I’m so sorry,” the dazzling teeth said, trying to peel the girl off my leg. “I don’t know what’s gotten into her. Believe it or not, she’s painfully shy. You certainly have a way with kids.”

He must have seen that nasty scene earlier.
“Me? I don’t understand. I didn’t do anything.”

“Well, considering Shae doesn’t usually interact… with anybody… and she’s decided to make herself your leg warmer… and since you don’t seem to mind….”

I really liked the way he was looking at me, as if I was… special, even normal. There! Another smile, every bit as warm as the first. Was he flirting with me? He definitely was. I was sure of it. I needed to say something witty, but I was afraid to ruin the moment. Within a heartbeat I’d sensed eyes that matched his denim shirt with the top three buttons left undone, showing off his delicious bronze skin. It was Faith who came to my rescue—again—announcing that we’d have to hurry or she’d be late for work.

“Come on, Shae,” the man urged, speaking gently. “You heard the lady. They have to go.” But the girl didn’t budge. She burrowed her chocolate-smeared face into my skirt instead, gripping the material tight enough to turn her knuckles white. I urged Faith to go, saying I’d catch up to her later. I could find Dillard’s shoe department on my own. She nodded, but shot me a strange look before hurrying away. Whatever she might be thinking, it was nothing compared to my own sudden turmoil. I was now on my own, in a borrowed body belonging to a young adult rebel, wearing her mother’s clothes and even her shoes, and the only things I’d learned about her ranged from bad to horrible. Even so,
something
about me was attracting this man’s attention. I guessed his flirting had everything to do with his daughter’s antics, and the rest was just all my imagination, except for the fact that he looked several years too young to have a six-year-old.

“Shae, this is getting a little embarrassing,” he said, still looking directly at me. “How about you cut the nice lady some slack and give back her leg?”

When she still didn’t move, he shrugged, then offered me his hand, looking every bit as uncomfortable as he claimed to be.

“Guess I’d better introduce myself. I’m Lane, and I have no idea what to do now. Any suggestions?”

I shook my head, touching her curls the way I might have petted a puppy, then leaned down a bit. “Shae, honey, I really do have to go now.”

“I know.” She heaved a great, big sad sigh that was almost bigger than she was. “Will you promise me something first?”

“Okay, sure, if I can. What would you like me to promise?”

“Say ‘hi’ to my mom for me.”

What? Was I somehow supposed to meet the girl’s mother? I glanced at Lane, but he appeared stunned for some reason. “Of course,” I said, hoping “mom” turned out better than the previous one. My leg-hugger was searching my face, looking for assurance, so I smiled. That seemed to be what she was waiting for.

“I believe you,” she said, releasing my leg. Without another word, she slipped her hand into Lane’s and curled up against him. He gave her a gentle, reassuring squeeze which made him both beautiful and kind in my mind.

“Goodbye, Shae,” I said, trying to look happy. “It was a pleasure to meet you.”

“Tell Mom we miss her, but we’re doing okay.”

“I definitely will.”

Thank you
, daddy mouthed to me. That was when I should have turned and walked away, leaving him to wonder about the mysterious girl he’d met in the mall and myself curious about why he was thanking me. Instead I stood there, thunderstruck by a thought that had just hit me without warning. Was this whole thing to be part of my assignment, that kids should run over and wrap themselves around me, making it look like there was something strange in my makeup? Was it all to impress Faith in some way? She’d certainly looked at me in an odd way, and she’d also taken her sweet time sizing up Lane. Maybe
he
was supposed to play some role in the picture. Or his daughter. Or both.

Or maybe it would be Lane’s wife, Shae’s mom. If anything was mysterious, it was the way Shae had asked for my promise. In fact, everything began to seem like a puzzle coming together, but I couldn’t for the life of me see any pattern yet.

Here I stood swooning over the one pair of eyes holding mine much too long, when I should have been heading for Faith’s shoe department. If he kissed me right now, how would he do it? Would he keep his eyes open to see if anyone was taking in the show, or would he close them and completely surrender to the moment? Was there something wrong with Shae’s mom that he was attracted to short-haired brunettes with tiny holes in their lower lips?

I deliberately puckered my mouth a bit so he couldn’t see where the lip ring had been, even though I knew the pinhole was practically invisible. Where were these thoughts coming from? Why was I doing this to myself? Wanting what I could never have—someone for
me—
yet there he was, not running, not looking away. A part of my assignment?

It wasn’t until I flicked my gaze to a much lower spot on his anatomy that he finally broke his silence. His words were a little bit shaky and a whole lot breathless. “Go ahead to the play area, Shae. I’ll be there in a minute. I… uh…need to talk to this lady alone for a second.”

But he didn’t say a word after she left. Me? My head was swimming with possibilities. I couldn’t have talked if my life depended on it. With one final glance at those blue eyes, I turned and forced my feet to move in the direction of the nearest exit. Fortunately, the playground area was right next to one of the aisles that led to the outside doors.

I didn’t dare turn around to see if he’d followed. Hoped he had, hoped he hadn’t. Walking hurriedly past the remaining small shops with a purpose I didn’t feel, I slid through one of the four doors, made it to the parking area and hid between a couple of minivans where I waited for my wildly beating heart to quiet down.

Nothing made sense. Even if Lane and Shae were to be part of this reconciliation thing between Sydney and Faith, there was no explaining why I’d reacted in such a… a lustful way, not when I’d been so determined to follow my Don’t Get Attached rule. Given another few moments of wishful thinking, I’d… well, I
might
have let him unbutton his shirt the rest of the way instead of ripping it off his amazing body. As for his pants? I felt my heart rate jump at the thought.

A weak moment, that’s what I’m having. Could happen to anyone. Your imagination is a little undisciplined, that’s all
.
Just calm down and let it pass.

No, I decided, suddenly feeling a lot better, that wasn’t even me. Another joke, that’s what it was. A little something to let me know I was no longer in charge of this switch, a heavenly cattle prod if you will. My best move now would be to find Dillard’s, and then Faith’s shoe department. After that, I could find someplace quiet where I could figure out my next moves.

Just to be safe, I walked halfway around the outside of the mall, weaving through the cars and using an entrance on the far side. No way could I afford a second meeting with Lane, not if I wanted to keep my wits about me.

* * *

I heard Faith before I saw her—she was on her cell phone—but my nerves weren’t as steady as I’d thought. I quickly ducked behind a rack of purses not more than ten feet away, and snuck a peek. I half-expected to see her standing there, tapping a toe while she pondered my reasons for becoming one with the purses, but she was totally absorbed, gesturing wildly in that Shakespearean way of hers.

“I’m telling you, Steven, that wasn’t the Sydney I thought I knew. Her reaction was all wrong.” She listened briefly, nodding, before her free hand started up again. “Something like that, yes, or worse. That’s why I got involved. The Sydney I thought I knew would have popped the ridiculous woman in the nose, but she didn’t. She just stood there and calmly took it. If anything, she looked confused, as if she’d actually done something wrong. That’s why I got so angry.” She laughed. “Oh, darling, you should have
seen
me. I was having an honest-to-goodness mom moment where I felt protective over my daughter, and the best part was… are you ready for this… I wasn’t faking. I was really
into
it.”

I couldn’t help but smile. I made a mental note: Faith often fakes it. That might come in handy in some way.

“Yeah. Yeah, I thought so, too, but neither one of them acted like they knew each other, and that wouldn’t explain the kids. Steven, you should have seen it. They were on her like flies to honey. Never seen anything like it.”

There was a long pause. I began to wonder if Steven hadn’t gone off to do something, but he must have just been talking. Faith stopped examining her nails.

“True, but Sydney hates kids and they’re not particularly fond of her.” She checked her watch. “Steven, honey, sorry to interrupt, but I need to go. She’s going to be here any minute.” She blew kisses into the air. “Love you, too. We’ll see you in about an hour.”

Flipping her phone closed, she quickly checked her realm, noted her assistant salesperson dealing with a customer, then disappeared through an “Employees Only” door. I was relieved. I still wasn’t ready to face her.
Turn around. Leave before she sees you
.
You need more time to think by yourself.

But no, Faith reappeared before I could take a step. “Oh, there you are!” she beamed.

“Yup, here I am. Can’t seem to get rid of me, can you?”
So much for time to think!

“Why do you look so harried, Sydney?” She looked me up and down as if I’d been caught doing something suspicious. “What on Earth have you been up to?”

“Oh, nothing much. Why?”

“What happened after I left? With that guy.”

“Who? Oh, the one with the little girl? I have no idea. They left right after you did.”

“I wonder what made those children
do
that.”

“Yes, it was ultra weird, wasn’t it? So this is your department, huh? Pretty big. I’m impressed.”