Star Bright (15 page)

“
How do you
know that?” Dave felt embarrassed that she knew that. He had grown
not to care about who knew how his wife was like, but with Paula,
he felt self conscience.

“
Carol.” She
said, noticing his embarrassment. But he had nothing to be
embarrassed about, his ex-wife did, for cheating, and losing a guy
like Dave.

“
She told
you?”

She placed her elbow on
the arm of the chair and rested her head in her hand and closed her
eyes, “No, it’s what she didn’t say rather than what she said. She
was pretty happy when she thought I was your girlfriend, but I
think I ruined her day when I said I wasn’t.”

“
Don’t worry,
she’ll get over it.” Dave found himself staring at her intimately
again. He liked the way her jet black hair flowed to the side,
completely hiding her arm, “What are the words to the
blessing?”

“
May God bless
and protect you as you sleep, and guide you in all the days of your
life, and may He shower you with His immense love, in your times of
peace and trials.” Edna used to whisper it to her when she was
young, it was something Miguel’s mother used to say to
him.

That was one part of her
father that Maria accepted, she found it comforting in her
difficult life. She hoped it would come true for Michael since it
didn’t for her, “It sounds better in Spanish.” She opened her eyes
to meet Dave’s. It didn’t make her uncomfortable or angry, but she
wasn’t sure what it made her feel.

“
I figured as
much, I’ve always thought children of mixed race were more
beautiful and wealthier.” He spoke quietly, sinking into her green
eyes.

Maria sat up straight,
shifting her eyes away from him, “What do you mean?”

Dave noticed the change
in her. He cleared his voice and softened his gaze, “Wealthier
because they have more than one culture and ancestry, more
beautiful because they get the best out of both sides.”

“
But I didn’t
tell you I was half Latino?” she smiled, grateful the cooing in his
voice was gone.

“
Paula
Michaels, and you’re beauty gave you away.” he said gentler than he
had intended.

Warning bells
rang in Maria’s head as her smile faded again. She felt
uncomfortable with his last remark and she wished he hadn’t said
it. It always started the same, the stares, the compliments, the
intimate get-to-know-each other moments. Then everything would move
to stage two, where the dates begin and she would grow to like him
even more, and ultimately love him. Then the final stage, when they
hook up and probably live together, and then finally his
true
colors
would come out, and she would end up suffering for
it.

She’d read the script,
played the part, and as much as she was sure Dave was nothing like
Ricky, she had no intentions of finding out she was
wrong.

She stood up and walked
to Izzy’s pen, “It’s time for us to go.” she gently lifted her coat
and replaced it with the pink blanket, “could you please ask Carol
to bring Miguel back?” She gave Izzy a final kiss before she turned
to face Dave.

Dave was on his feet, he
hadn’t seen her reaction coming, and he was too distracted ogling
her. He should have known compliments would make her uncomfortable
as much as the stares did, “It’s going to be difficult telling you
my theory if you keep doing that.” He spoke softly, his eyes stuck
on his shoes.

“
What do you
mean?” Maria asked, jittery. She was afraid Dave had noticed more
about her than she was comfortable with.

Dave looked at her,
gauging whether or not she would be able to take his observation
without running out the door, never looking back, and he didn’t
want to risk it, “Jane doesn’t like you because you are the new
attraction in the sand box.” he spoke, his lips curved up in a
gentle smile, “I think she would be more pissed if she found out
Miguel was attracting his own share of female attention. She just
can’t compete with that.”

“
His looks may
have something to do with it, but it’s his charm and mature
sensibility.” she spoke with a smile, idolizing her son, “My mom
says he gets that from his grandfather.” It wasn’t unintentional,
she just didn’t want Dave to suggest Michael took after his father,
He was more of a man than Ricky could ever be.

Dave laughed, remembering
their manly talk earlier, “Let me take a wild guess.” Dave sat on
his desk, “Your dad is Latino and your mom is
Caucasian?”

Maria laughed,
relaxing a bit, “She’s in love with Mexican soaps.” she moved
closer to Dave, “Especially their accent, godly bodies and
charisma,
amo
mucho.
” she said with an accent, “I
think that’s the main reason she fell for that man.”

Dave laughed, relieved
she had come out of her shell. He was glad she was getting
comfortable enough with him to talk about her parents. He had
anticipated he would have to work hard to get her to open up about
her family, but he got the distinct feeling he had nothing to do
with it. She noticeably matched her son to his grandfather and not
his father.

He was sure
now more than ever she was running away from Miguel’s father, but
what he didn’t understand was why her father wasn’t helping her. He
would have gone to Elizabeth’s rescue and would have gone as far as
killing the ass hole, but he was sure there was more to it when she
said grandfather and not father, and referred to him as
that man,
purposely
separating herself from him.

“
I just pray
Izzy takes after my mother and not her own.” he shifted his gaze to
the pen.

Maria saw the dread in
his eyes and for once she felt they were at par. He always seemed
like he could fix everything, no matter his emotions for the
problem, but with his daughter, he looked completely lost, “Well it
depends on her and you. I’m not an advocate for taking children
away from their parents, but if there is more harm than good being
brought by the contact, there is no other choice.”

Dave looked at her,
admiring her courage for safe guarding her son’s future, although
he knew it wasn’t the legal and right way. He wished he could come
out and say what he knew, and offer to help, but he was sure she
would only run from him and he didn’t want that.

Michael came running into
the room, Carol behind him. He ran to where Maria and Dave were and
stood between them giving them both a suspicious look before his
lips parted in a smile, “What were you guys talking
about?”

“
None of your
biz wax.” Maria said, pulling him to her.

“
Dave, what
were you talking about?” Michael asked bluntly, the smile
gone.

Dave looked down at him,
still very amused by how threatening the two feet tall boy could
come across when he felt the need to protect his mother, “I was
just about to ask your mom if you two would like to join us on
Saturday?”

“
Where?” Maria
asked guarded, this was what she was dreading, a date.

“
Where?”
Miguel repeated.

Dave kept his gaze on
Miguel, he didn’t want to look up at Paula, he was sure she was
retreating into her shell again, “To the zoo, it will be Izzy’s
first trip.”

“
Mama, can we
go? I’ve never been to the zoo.” Michael asked excitedly. Maria
wanted to say no, but she couldn’t, she promised herself that
Michael would have a normal childhood, and the zoo was a part of a
normal childhood. She was just hoping Dave didn’t have any hidden
intentions with his offer. She was beginning to trust, and feel at
ease with him, but not enough to let her guard down.

“
Sure, why
not. Go kiss Izzy goodbye.” she pushed Michael forward, “Dave, I’ll
be seeing you around.” walking backwards, away from him.

Dave leaned down and
hugged the boy before he looked at her, taking in his fill of her
before she disappeared out the door, “Tomorrow, at lunch to be more
specific. I’ll bring the kids again.”

“
Thanks, don’t
forget to bring Izzy.” she teased.

Dave laughed, “Make sure
to hold Miguel’s hand, we don’t want him wondering off.” He teased
back. Maria laughed and took Michael’s hand. She gave Dave a short
wave before she disappeared through the door.

Carol looked at them both
as they said their goodbyes, then stared long and hard at Dave
after Paula left and smiled to herself. She saw the gleam in Dave’s
eye and knew he would be going out for lunch every day. She liked
Paula, she seemed sweet and her son was fantastic, speaking volumes
of her. Dave did deserve a decent woman after the train wreck,
Amy.

She walked up to Dave,
held his arms and shook him hard, “Take it slow, she’s a keeper if
you play your cards right. Don’t mess it up!”

The day at the
zoo went smoother than Maria had anticipated. She expected Dave to
hit on her, maybe ask her out, without the kids, but he didn’t.
Instead he kept the conversation general, about himself and away
from her personal life. He told her about Amy and how they had
started so very in love and ended despising each other because of
Elizabeth. Maria could understand why a father wouldn’t want his
own child, she’d seen it with Ricky and Miguel, but what she
couldn’t understand was how a mother, after nine uncomfortable
months of pregnancy, hours in
labor
and finally child birth, not
love her baby.

Maria watched Michael and
Dave, watching and imitating the animals. Dave would read and
explain the information on each animal’s cages. They both looked so
excited and it made Maria feel a pang of guilt, because Ricky would
never be with him like this. Dave went everywhere with him, as they
watched the animals and talked about the most ridiculous things
Maria had ever heard. She didn’t expect Dave to indulge in such
conversations, but his air of arrogance, which she found very
appealing sometimes, had taken a back seat with Michael.

She strolled behind them
with Izzy in her arms, watching what seemed like a father-son
moment, if only Dave was Michael’s father. When Dave put him on his
shoulders, she saw the most heart breaking smile on Michael’s face
that made her tear up. All she hoped for was Michael wouldn’t get
too attached to Dave only to be let down, or having to run again
when Ricky caught up with them. She had to protect him from that
pain, but she couldn’t bring herself to detach Dave and Michael
from each other.

Dave watched Paula for a
while, watching her face change in deep thought. He wondered what
was bugging her now, if she constantly worried about her husband or
hopefully her boyfriend, he was hoping she wasn’t tied to the
monster, or she was probably wondering his end game for inviting
them to the zoo. He wanted to find out more about her, without
resorting to his normal way of getting to know someone, and besides
he had already done the search and found a number of Paula
Michaels, none that were her. He knew she was using an alias, which
spiked his curiosity about her life even more. He thought of
getting the information from Miguel, but he was too clever to get
debriefed without going on the defensive and Dave didn’t want to
end up alienating his new best friend. Paula was the safest bet,
but it was better to have her trust him enough to tell him and not
try to confront her about it.

He shifted in the seat
next to her, under the umbrella table and slowly pulled a sleeping
Izzy out of her arms. At first she got startled and held Izzy
tighter to her, but when she saw it was Dave she let go with a
smile and came back to her immediate surroundings.

“
You were gone
for a while there, I got lonely.” Dave spoke softly, cradling Izzy
in his arms.

“
Sorry.” Maria
pulled her hair tie out and let her hair fall over her shoulders.
She stretched her arms, and then tossed her hair to loosen the
tangles, “I always end up in my head, but I’m here now.” She turned
to him with a gentle smile.

Dave looked at her, she
still looked worried. He wanted to help her ease the load she was
carrying, just to give her a few moments of relief. For the first
time since Izzy was born, he felt what it was like to be a family
and he knew Paula felt the same way too. Carol was right, she was a
keeper, but only when she let go of her demons, or better yet got
rid of them, which he intends to do himself. “If you don’t mind my
asking, what were you thinking about?”

Maria looked at him, her
guard up. She wasn’t fond of sharing her thoughts or her feelings,
they were private, no go zones for her, “About Miguel’s school,
it’s almost time for him to start and I have no idea where to take
him.” It was a good thing she learned to think quickly on her feet,
she just hoped Dave would buy it.

Dave stared at her keenly
for a while before he turned away with a patient smile. He knew
that wasn’t what she was thinking about and she had no intentions
of telling him, so instead of saying none of your business she came
up with something else for his benefit, “Don’t worry about that,
I’ll do that for you.” He said coolly.

Maria noticed the change
in him and knew that he knew she was lying and she worried if he
was going to call her out on it, “You don’t have to do that.” she
said nervously.