Jay Walking (18 page)

Amber gives me a thumbs up and backs up from the table. "That's my girl. Want me to stick around?"

A couple booths down I notice an older woman and someone who may be her daughter. The young girl keeps eyeing up my booth, and I suspect they are headed down my way soon. "No. Thanks, though. I can handle it." I'll work better, too, if Amber isn't watching over my shoulder. I'll only be more nervous and stumble over my words if she is here.

"Sounds good. Good luck." She starts to walk away and then stops and twirls back around. "Like you need it."

I sure hope she's right.

•••

The craft fair is going well, and so far I managed to sell eight kits and about fifteen people took my information. I'm most excited about the girl and her mom who were the first to stop by my booth. The daughter is graduating from high school and may want me to help create a scrapbook for her big party next year. I never thought about making a full book for someone, but it's an avenue I'll consider pursuing.

I check my messages, and I missed a text from Daniel asking when I'll be home. I roll my eyes at the fact he either doesn't remember me giving him a time or that he flat out chose to ignore it. My bets are on the latter. I should get home soon because my mom already doesn't like I left Daniel alone in my place to babysit James.
There's another thirty minutes and I have to pack up. Maybe another hour or so.
He can last another hour.
 

Out of all the things I brought with me, I completely forgot a snack. I'm starving and can't wait to eat something. Before the event, my nerves prevented me from eating a thing. Now I'm weakening and even starting to shake a little. On the way home, I'll run into the Kwik Trip and grab a banana.

People are leaving, and a few vendors even packed up and took off already. I plan to utilize every minute of the fair to gain potential customers and buzz about my scrapbook kits. However, only a couple people remain, so I open Facebook on my phone. I might as well browse around to keep myself busy for the next half hour.

"Ahem, Chelsea?"

The voice startles me, and I toss my phone down. "Sorry," I begin to apologize. When I look up at the person, I realize it's not a customer at all. I'm face to face with Lauren.

My breath catches in my throat as my body shakes. What do I do here? Do I call her by name? Do I treat her like any other fair goer? Should I quickly scan my booth for a weapon? I need a handbook for meeting your current boyfriend's wife. Do they publish those? Maybe I'll write one. My mouth is open much too long, and my stare lingers.

"Don't act like you have no idea who I am."

She's standing in front of me, towering over me, with her hands flat on the table. I want to stand, but at this moment I'm transported back to high school when Lindsay Reese tried to pick a fight with me at lunch over a rumor she thought I spread (I didn't. Not my style). Seeing Lauren at the ice cream shop didn't intimidate me like this. That was from a distance. Now, she's even
more
human. Before I saw her flawless body and perfect smile, her long, flowing hair. Now I see a woman whose life I helped tear apart. I see tired eyes and a shaking voice. I see regret.

She picks up one of my kits. "Not bad," she says as she places it back. "I'm not here to yell at you or start anything."

I swallow. Hard. "You're not?"

"No. We're both hard-working mothers. We may have horrible taste in men, but we're above the drama. I hope."
 

She raises her eyebrows as she waits for a response from me. I'm still unable to formulate a full sentence.

"This is my church, and your name is on the roster of vendors. My friends told me to stay away, but I couldn't. I wanted to see who you are."

In an attempt to strengthen my presence, I sit up straighter and further back on the chair. "Okay. You saw."

She laughs. "Are you afraid of me? Because you don't have to be. I came here with good intentions."

What good intentions can be behind this? I may or may not be responsible for the breakup of her marriage, and she stands before me. In every Lifetime movie I've seen (and I've seen a lot), this never ends well. I imagine in thirty seconds we will be in the center of the room, tearing each other's hair out. For what though?
Daniel?

"He's always been a sweet talker. I don't doubt you fell for his convincing words. He lied to me for a long time, and when I initially found out about you, I hated you. Daniel said he broke things off, and I believed him. Throughout the first year of our marriage, there were others. None of them stuck like you did, though."

She pauses as though I am supposed to say something. Why is she telling me all this?

"I checked you out on Facebook and saw the pictures of you and your son."

My heart drops to the floor, and I immediately want to call James to be sure he is okay. Is she going to do something to me? To him? I'm finding it difficult to breathe, and my pulse is caught in my throat.

"His name is James."
 

"He has a brother and sister, you know."

My temperature is increasing, and I'm positive I'm sweating through the arms of my shirt.

"I'm not here to win him back; I don't want him. But, I do expect him to be involved in Natalie and Nathan's lives."

This is the first time I'm learning his other kid's names. Of course, I never asked him to tell me either, and I'm clueless as to why. I simply nod, because I'm not sure what to say.

She opens her purse, a tiny clutch bag I would have gone crazy over before I had James, and pulls out a small card. "Here's my number," she says as she hands it to me. My heavy, shaking hand takes it. "I want our kids to know each other. They're siblings and deserve that much."

Wow. I blink a few times to make sure she truly is standing before me, and this is what she's saying. I thought about her and Daniel's kids before and what it meant for James, but I never considered this.

"Um, yeah, definitely." I sound like a doofus, but I'm trying to grasp the fact that Lauren is here, talking to me, and not challenging me to a physical fight. Her maturity of the situation shocks me, and I'm surprised even more that I think I like her. "Thank you, Lauren, and I'm sorry for everything."

She clutches her purse closer to her body. "Me, too." Her eyes linger on mine for a moment. "Anyway, call, text, or email sometime. Please."

"I will." She walks away, and I press her card to my chest, no intention of telling Daniel about this conversation.

The balloons fill the backyard, held down by Mickey Mouse weights, a little something I requested for James. Two picnic tables are arranged on either side of the yard with a multi-colored tablecloth over them and floral patterned place settings at each spot. I can't believe my parents are throwing me a birthday party. I'm turning twenty-nine, not thirty, or some other big milestone like forty or fifty. They insisted, though, no matter how many times I declined, and held off until mid-July, even though my birthday is in June.

"I just love this cake! The bakery did a spectacular job!" My mom squeals.
 

They did create an incredible piece. The bright yellow fondant frosting covers the two-tiers, separated by an abundance of leaves. The caked is topped with huge pink, white, and purple flowers, which are also carefully placed throughout the rest of the open area, though slightly smaller versions. I can't wait to dig in.
 

"Do you like the cake, James?"

"Yes!" He yells and gives me one of the biggest hugs ever. Though we're celebrating my birthday, he's excited about the party and all the people coming over.

I tell him to go on the slide while I chat with my mom. I'm happy she and my dad decided to get him a little play set this summer. He still loves the park but going in the backyard now to release some energy instead of having to pack up to go somewhere is so much more convenient.

"Thank you so much the party. You didn't have to do this."

She spins the cake multiple ways trying to determine the best way to display the masterpiece. "And where is Daniel?" She puts her hands on her hips and steps back to gain another vantage point of the setup.

"He'll be here soon." The truth is I don't know when he'll be here. Or even if he will at all. Over a month into our arrangement, and he has yet to impress me with his fatherly duties. He claims he's so swamped at work, and he's too exhausted to help out. When James wants to do something like play hide and seek he participates, but the second he needs a bath or something to eat or even a bedtime story read to him, Daniel is suddenly too busy or too tired. When he desires time with me, though, he's front and center.

"Are you sure? I don't want James to be disappointed."

She says this like
I
do. Of course, I want James' father to be here celebrating with us. I want nothing more than for us to enjoy today as a family. But I don't keep Daniel on a leash or in a chokehold. He has two other kids, and he's free to come and go as he pleases. Today, though, is different. "He's had these plans for a few months now so I couldn't ask him to break them."

"Going paintballing with his friends?"

"He's standing up in a wedding. It's a bachelor party, so he has to go."

My dad comes out with a fresh fruit platter and places it next to the cake. "If he wants to step up and be a father, he can try his best to be an all-around good guy. He should have canceled his plans to be here."
 

My dad still hasn't warmed up to him, and I'm not sure he will. I hope, but right now that's all I have.
 

"Let's just drop it, okay?" I straighten out the already crisp tablecloth. "The party doesn't end until we say so. He has time."

"He's had plenty of time."

I grunt at him before joining James at the playset. My dad and I are on slightly better speaking terms than before, but we could use improvement. I wish I could make everyone in my life happy. James likes having his dad around, and if my dad can't appreciate that, then I can't help him. Daniel may not be perfect, but, then again, who is? Sure, things are rocky at best between me and Daniel, but they're working. I'm disappointed he isn't at the party, but it's only beginning. He'll show up.

"Come on, James, you can do it!" My hand is under his butt as he works his way up the fake rocks on the side of the playset. The little guy is determined to climb on his own, but I'm too afraid of him falling and hitting his head. I let my hand hover so he can't feel me touching him, and he thinks he's doing it by himself. I clap when he reaches the top and crawls into the playhouse area.

"Bravo, James!" Amber calls from the street as she crosses over onto the lawn. "You're a pro!"

"Hey, Amber!" I scoop James off the play set into my arms. He's getting so heavy, and I don't want to think of the day my baby will be too much to carry. I want to be able to pick him up forever.

She's carrying a small gift bag and a tiny box. "How's my buddy James doing? Are you behaving for your mom?"

He nods and gives her a big smile.

Her brown hair is now lighter, and she's added streaks of gold making her green eyes pop against the color. "You look amazing, Amber! Why the hair color change?"

She hands the gifts to me and snags James. "I thought maybe a change was in order."

"Hm. Okay," I say with slight sarcasm because I'm well aware this is somehow an attempt to get Ryan's attention. "Well, I love what you did."

I guide her to the table my mom spent so much time setting up. "You didn't have to get me anything." And she didn't. It's enough my mom wanted to throw me this party.

"I wanted, too," she says and takes the gift bag from my hand, giving it to James. "This is for you, though!"

I love she brings him gifts. I'm sure he loves it, too! He runs off with the bag to my parents.
 

"It's another Mickey Mouse plush."
 

Of course. We have tons of those, and he always wants more. If it makes him smile and brightens his day, I don't care how many we have. We'll hoard Mickey Mouse if necessary.

"Okay, open yours," she urges me.

"Should I wait for the party to start?"

"I'm here, girl. The party's started!" She tosses a thumbs up sign. "I want you to open it."

The box is tiny, wrapped in plain red paper. I rip it open and recognize the item right away. "A fitness tracker? Aren't those a little expensive?" The band is thin and black.

"Don't worry about the price. I'm proud of all the work you're doing. You deserve this."

I'm reading the features on the back of the package. The little device can monitor my heart, track my sleep patterns, and register all my activity. "This is great, Amber. Thank you so much."

She wraps her arms around me in a tight hug, and I can't help but think there is more to this hug than the present.

•••

Three hours later, the party is going well. Some of my relatives joined us, as well as Ryan. Amber must have invited him, and that's fine. He's a fun guy, and James seems to like him. After we eat and enjoy cake, I get James down for a nap and head back to my guests, and Daniel still hasn't made an appearance.

"Why don't you text him?" Amber suggests as if the thought never crossed my mind.

We're sitting at the now cleaned off table playing cards. Poker isn't one of my favorite games. I'd much rather play a few rounds of Go Fish like I do with James, but I'm sure I'm the only one.

I check with my straight, confident in my ability to win the round. My mom folds while Amber studies her hand. I never noticed before how she chews her bottom lip. I wish I played with her enough to recognize if this is one of her tells, even though we aren't playing for money, just bragging rights.

Amber glances up at me, raising her eyebrows a bit. She's teasing me, trying to make me nervous. "I'm not going to text him. He can show up when and if he damn well pleases."

"I can't believe he missed this," my mom jumps in and pops a potato chip in her mouth. "He needs to make a better effort."