Hide and Seek (17 page)

Some days, Maddie thought about never going back to work and leaving Sam. Financially, it was not an option, unless perhaps they moved back to Hartford. Maddie knew the bad would outweigh the good in that scenario, and let it escape quickly from her mind. Once, during a bout of homesickness or loneliness or whatever the name was for what she was feeling, Maddie mailed a picture of herself and Sam to her parents. It was a particularly good photo that Sandy had taken. Maddie's hair looked good, that day, full and flippy. Sam had a little smile on his face, as much of a smile as a month old baby could. Maddie had several copies of the picture made and framed one for her dresser. She wrote on the back of the one she sent to her parents:

This is Sam, born April ninth. Sorry I didn't stick to the M-name thing, but I guess you're used to me being contrary. Maddie

She mailed it using her P.O. Box address, knowing Lapham was big enough her parents couldn't just show up and find her. But if they did, maybe she wouldn't really mind. She was lonely, even with Sam in her life, and tired of being alone.

Sam turned six weeks old, and Maddie went back to work. The people in the infant room were great with him, and everyone in the center liked to hold and cuddle the new baby. Maddie slipped away on breaks and lunch to nurse him, and felt a little happier being back amongst people.

She bought a stroller that worked in tandem with Sam's car seat. She could snap the seat in and use it as a stroller, or snap the seat out and fold the legs of the stroller into an umbrella-sized roll. This worked especially well for Maddie to walk to work, but in the evening if she was tired they could catch a ride home with Sandy.

The morning walk invigorated Maddie, and put her in a good mood. She was in a particularly good mood one morning in early June when Suzie came into her room.

"Sandy, I'd like you to meet a prospective new family—"

Before she got the sentence out a child's voice called out, "Maddie!"

Maddie looked up from the book she'd been reading aloud, in time to see Sophie hurtling toward her legs. "Sophie!" She scooped the child up into a hug, set her book down, and stood up with Sophie still clinging to her neck. She looked toward Suzie and saw Rob standing by the door with a smile on his face. Maddie tamped down her shock and walked toward him. She couldn't believe how wonderful he looked. Almost the same, his hair was longer and still in his face. The scruffy beard was back. She looked into his eyes and smiled. "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, he walks into mine."

He shook his head. "I hate to disappoint you, but I think you look fantastic. Sophisticated." His eyes ran over her body quickly again and he added, "Beautiful."

Maddie blushed for the first time in a long time, and looked down. Suzie said, "I guess you two know each other. Maddie, would you like to give Mr. Cooper the tour, and see if he has any questions?"

Sandy stood close by and her eyes popped open when she heard, "Mr. Cooper." She glanced at Maddie, who looked and felt like a nervous school girl.

Maddie's heart soared up out of her chest and flew a couple of laps around the room. She smiled again. She couldn't stop smiling. "I have time."

Maddie slipped down the hall and told them to give Sam a bottle of expressed milk because she wouldn't be in for lunch. She hurried back to Rob and Sophie. "Let's go."

He grinned as he started the engine. "Soph finally hit the weight limit, so we could get rid of the car seat and just use a seat belt."

Maddie smiled at Sophie and rubbed her hair. "How have you been, Sophie? Good?"

The child nodded. "We opened the pool for the summer! The water's still cold, but daddy says it'll warm up soon."

They pulled into the parking lot of McDonald's, and got out of the truck. As they walked to the restaurant Maddie commented, "Lapham would be quite a commute for childcare if you're living in Meridan again."

Rob grinned and held the door open for her and Sophie. He didn't answer, just started talking about what they wanted to eat, and they all ordered. They took their lunches to an outside table where Sophie inhaled hers then ran to play in the big plastic ball pit and climbing monstrosity.

She smiled. "Very happy. Things are good." She was happy that he was sitting across from her.
Maybe I should clarify that.
She didn't know how, so she changed the subject. "So what happened with Dionne?"

Rob shook his head. "I was remembering things the way they were when Soph was a baby. We were happy back then. But now, Dionne's got this whole law practice built up. She works all the time and when she's not at the office, she brings work home. There are social occasions every other night. She loves that stuff, but damn it, I don't. I hate wearing a suit."

He looked at Maddie, and let his thoughts tumble out. "It wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be. She drives around in this little BMW car that cost about as much as my house. She loves her condo, and I felt boxed in. She's changed, or maybe I've changed. I don't know. But we don't want the same things anymore."

"And does Dionne agree with this assessment?"

"Oh yeah. A couple of months with me and she was packing my bags to get me out. She hated my house and the pool. I got her to go there for a couple of weekends, but she brought this mountain of paperwork and ended up working all the time. It just wasn't what I thought it would be," he repeated.

"Doesn't sound like much fun." Maddie shook her head. Their eyes met.
We had fun together, and we both know it.
She smiled. "Of course, I could never be with a guy who didn't like to cuddle up on Saturday nights and watch movies."

Rob smiled. "Is that what you do now, for fun?"

"Every weekend." Maddie brushed her hair back from her eyes and reflexively searched for Sophie in the ball pit. The child, who was taller but still looked exactly the same, played contentedly. Maddie looked back at Rob.

He looked at her. "It's too late. Damn it, I should have tried to find you sooner. It's too late." He stood up and shoved their trash into the trash can. "Sophie, let's go."

Maddie followed him, confused by his sudden change of temperament. "Rob!" she tried to talk to him, but he opened the door to the truck and didn't look at her.

He finally nodded and helped Sophie out. They walked to Maddie's room and she greeted Sandy. "Hey, could you keep Sophie here for a couple of minutes? Rob and I need to talk."

Maddie took him by the hand and led him to the lounge. Fortunately, there was no one there. She shut the door for privacy and turned to face him. "What was that all about? Your mood went from sixty to zero in about ten seconds."

He reached for her left hand and rubbed his thumb over her wedding ring. "It's too late. I can't believe I let you slip away from me a second time. I am so stupid!"

Maddie looked at her hand and realized he thought she was married. A big smile crossed her face. She pulled him to her and kissed him gently.

He resisted for a moment, before returning the kiss.

Maddie pressed her body against his.

Rob caught himself and pushed away. "I can't do this. I
won't
do this to some other guy. You said you were happy. I can't come in here and mess that up for you."

"It's okay." She rubbed her hand over his face. "It's really okay."

"But—"

Maddie smiled. "I do have someone new in my life. He's the most wonderful guy in the world, and he makes me very happy. Come on, I want you to meet him." She pulled Rob by the hand into the hall.

"He's here?" Rob got a horrified expression on his face.

"Yeah." Maddie smiled as she pulled Rob along. "He's right in here." She opened the door to the infant room and saw Raul standing there talking to another worker.

"No." Maddie led Rob to a crib and stopped by the side. "This is him." She scooped the baby up. "Robert Cooper, I'd like you to meet Samuel Robert Cooper. Sam was born April ninth."

Rob's eyes widened and he looked from Maddie to the baby and back again. "What? How? When?"

Maddie smiled as she rocked the sleeping baby back and forth in her arms. She looked up at Rob. "The when part is easy. Do you remember the night of Sophie's birthday party?"

"
We
have a son," she corrected, and placed Sam gently into Rob's arms. "I named him Sam. I hope you like it."

"Like it?" he whispered in disbelief, and studied the baby's face. "I love it. I love him! Look at him! He's beautiful!"

Maddie leaned on Rob's arm and looked at Sam. "Yeah, he is. I think he looks a lot like you, and Sophie too."

"And you." Rob looked at her, and a look of anger mixed with anguish crossed his face. "Were you ever going to tell me?"

"Of course." She continued to smile, still leaning against him. "I gave him your name, didn't I? But I couldn't decide the right time to do it. I found out I was pregnant the day you told me you were going back to Dionne. The timing didn't seem quite right. I've been debating ever since, when I should tell you. Frankly, I was afraid to get into a confrontation with you and Dionne on one side and me on the other. I didn't think I was strong enough for that, her being a lawyer and all. I wasn't sure what would happen. I barely survived losing you. Losing Sam would kill me."