Shayna heard Tristan and Timothy come in, but it was slow going to pull herself from the warmth of her bed. She had just managed to sit up on the edge of the bed when Timothy appeared in the doorway.
“Hi, Bug,” she said, giving him a smile, even though the motion brought some pain to her face. “Everything go okay?”
He bounced up on the bed beside her then leaned against her arm. “It went fine. We put all the groceries away.”
“Is Tristan still here?”
“Yes. He told me to come check on you.”
“I guess we should go downstairs.” Shayna got to her feet, wincing as her body protested the movement. “Are you hungry?”
“A little. Can I have another pancake?”
“Maybe,” Shayna said. It seemed Timothy was determined to see how it would be to eat only pancakes for a whole day.
As they walked down the stairs, the aroma of coffee greeted them. It was something that had been more frequent when Lisa had lived with them since she had been the coffee drinker. She could drink a whole pot in a day, while tea was Shayna’s hot beverage of choice.
She knew she needed to call Lisa and let her know what had happened. Sooner or later, she’d find out about the accident, and she’d be hurt that Shayna hadn’t told her.
Tristan was leaning back against the counter, legs crossed at the ankle, a mug in one hand, his phone in the other. He looked up as they entered the kitchen, and as his gaze fell on them, Shayna was more acutely aware of what she looked like than she had been at any other time since she’d met Tristan. Though the clothes she wore were clean, the leggings were faded, and the hoodie had frayed along the lower edge of the hem. They were her go-to clothes for comfort, and she had worn them plenty in the years since Lorne’s death, and they showed it.
Tucking her hands up inside the sleeves, Shayna crossed her arms. “Were there any problems?”
Tristan smiled and shook his head as he straightened, slipping his phone into his pocket. “Everything went smoothly. I might have to start getting my own groceries that way.”
“Thank you for doing that,” Shayna said as she moved to where the electric kettle sat on the counter. In front of it was a mug with a tea bag in it. When she realized it had already been boiled, she felt a surge of emotion. “And for everything else too.”
“You’re welcome.”
Pushing her hands out the end of the sleeves, Shayna lifted the kettle and began to pour the water into the mug, holding the tea bag string in her other hand. The familiar soothing warmth wafted up on the steam as she poured.
“So can I have pancakes, Maman?”
“More pancakes, dude?” Tristan said. “You’re going to turn into a pancake.”
“I think that would be pretty cool,” Timothy said, bouncing on his feet next to her. “You’d love me if I were a pancake, right, Maman?”
“Definitely,” Shayna said, playing along with him. “But you’re already pretty sweet. I’m not sure I could handle it if you were any sweeter. I think you’d better stay my little boy.”
Timothy put his arms on the counter and rested his head on them. “So no pancakes?”
“How about I order some pizza?” Tristan suggested. “Do you like pizza?”
Timothy popped up at the suggestion, his gaze meeting hers. “Can we? I love pizza.”
Shayna sighed, hating how dependent she was on Tristan, and yet grateful at the same time. She looked over to find him watching her. At that moment, she knew that if she said no, there would be no hard feelings. He had already done so much for them, she knew she should say no, but the truth was, she couldn’t.
“As long as it’s okay with Tristan, sure.”
“Just tell me what you want me to order,” Tristan said as he set his mug on the counter. “Do you have a preference for where you want the pizza from?”
Shayna decided not to tell him that they rarely ordered pizza, and when they did, it was usually from whatever place had the best deal on that week. “Anywhere is fine.”
“And toppings?” Tristan asked.
“Pepperoni!” Timothy exclaimed. “Lots of pepperoni.”
“Double pepperoni coming up,” Tristan said before looking at her. “And what about you? What do you like on your pizza?”
“Just cheese.”
Tristan arched a brow. “Really? Just cheese?”
She gave a half-hearted shrug. “I’ve always liked just cheese. Ever since I was a kid.”
“Then that’s what you shall have.”
It was early for supper, but it looked like Tristan was going to go ahead and order. Maybe he had plans for the evening, which wouldn’t surprise her. He had spent so much time with them already, so she didn’t doubt that he needed to focus on his own life.
Once the order was placed, Tristan gestured to the table and said, “Can we sit for a minute and talk?”
Shayna nodded even though talking wasn’t something she really wanted to do. She picked up her mug and carried it to the table. Tristan refilled his mug then sat down across from her.
“Can I have some tablet time, Maman?” Timothy asked.
“Sure. Get your headphones too,” she said. “Then you can watch it here at the table with us.”
Shayna observed Tristan as he watched Timothy leave the room before looking back at her. She took a quick breath and held it for a moment before letting it out, hopefully in a way that Tristan didn’t notice.
“How are things pain-wise?” Tristan asked. “Is it still getting worse?”
“No. I think it’s kind of leveled off now.” She hesitated before adding, “I still need a little help with the pain, though.”
Timothy joined them again before they could continue on that subject. Once he was set up with his headphones and the science channel he liked to watch on YouTube, Shayna turned her attention back to Tristan.
“What was it you wanted to talk about?” Part of her didn’t want to bring up whatever it was he wanted to talk to her about, but she also didn’t want to keep talking about how she was feeling.
When Tristan didn’t respond right away, it made Shayna a little more nervous about whatever it was he wanted to talk about. If he was leery of saying it, she was likely even more leery to hear it.
“Listen, I know you’re probably planning to go to work on Monday,” Tristan began then he said, “You are planning that, right?”
She knew that there was no sense in pretending otherwise. “I have no other choice.”
Though she expected Tristan to tell her all the reasons why she shouldn’t, he only nodded and said, “That’s what I figured.”
Shayna looked down at her tea, cupping her hands around the mug’s smooth surface to draw warmth from it.
“So do you have a plan?”
“A plan?” Shayna asked, looking up to meet his gaze.
“I assume you’ve got something in mind for getting Timothy to school and yourself to work?”
“Oh, yeah.” Shayna dropped her gaze as she lifted her tea to take a sip. She did have a plan, but it was going to tax her budget. Taxis weren’t cheap, but that was the only way she could get to everywhere she had to, on time. The bus would be fine if it was just getting her to work or getting Timothy to the babysitter in the morning or from school in the afternoon, but having to do both just wouldn’t work using the bus. So a taxi was her only other option. “I have a plan.”
“Tell me what it is,” Tristan said. His voice was soft, but his tone was firm.
“When I can’t use my car, I take a taxi. It’s the easiest way to get to the school and to work on time.”
“Okay. So I have a proposal for you.” Tristan leaned forward, resting his arms on the table as he held his mug of coffee between his hands. “Will you promise to consider it? Even if your first instinct is to refuse it?”
“Uh…” Shayna wasn’t so sure about offering up a promise without knowing what it was for. “I guess?”
That seemed to be good enough for Tristan because he gave a single nod of his head before he said, “I want to come back here tomorrow afternoon, and I want to leave my car with you.” When Shayna opened her mouth to object, Tristan held up his hand. “Please. I have access to another vehicle, so it won’t be an inconvenience at all for me.”
“I don’t know. I mean, what if I have another accident?”
Tristan shrugged. “I’m not going to tell you that that won’t happen because you clearly know it can. Nor am I going to tell you it’s not a big deal if it does happen, because, to you, it would be a big deal. I get that. What I will say is that I have insurance on my car—just like you do. If you are in another accident, it will all be covered.”
“Still, your car…it’s so expensive.” Shayna gripped her cup of tea more tightly.
“Yes. It was, but it’s still just a car, and that’s what you need right now. A car to get you to Timothy’s school and to work. You’re going to still have to get stuff sorted out with the insurance company. Use my car while you do that.”
She gave him a sidelong glance. “And you really have another car to use?”
“Yep. I have access to a work vehicle, so it’s not going to be an inconvenience to let you use my car.”
Shayna knew it would be foolish to turn down Tristan’s offer. She didn’t want to be indebted to him, but she didn’t get the feeling from Tristan that he would ever take advantage of that. He wanted to help. No strings attached. She wanted to say she accepted for Timothy’s sake, but the reality was that it was for her sake, too.
She had to prioritize things, and at this point, saving money was more important than saving face. “Okay. Thank you.”
Tristan smiled, his blue gaze soft. “You’re welcome.”
Her doorbell went, but when she went to stand, Tristan gestured for her to stay seated. “It’s probably the pizza.”
Timothy slid his headphones off as Tristan got to his feet. “Pizza here?” At Shayna’s nod, a grin transformed his face. “Almost as good as pancakes.”
Shayna thought pizza was better than pancakes, but she wisely kept that piece of information to herself. Instead, she got up and went to the cupboard to get plates and glasses.
When Tristan reappeared, he held a stack of three boxes, and there was a two-liter bottle of soda tucked under his arm. “Hungry?”
“I am!” Timothy announced. “Which one is mine?”
It took a few minutes to get the pizza sorted, then once grace was said for the food, they began to eat. Shayna’s appetite was still not what it usually was, but she thought she could eat more of the pizza than she’d been able to eat of the pancakes.
Timothy and Tristan talked about the science fair as they ate, and from the sounds of it, this wasn’t the first time they’d had a discussion about it. Shayna could see that they spoke a similar language, and it pleased her to see Timothy engaging so well with someone besides her and Lisa.
She hadn’t realized how much he needed people who understood him. Who listened and got what he was talking about. Some days she tried to talk with Timothy about something he’d watched on the science channels or read in a book, but it never felt like it was enough. Never felt like she was giving him the intellectual stimulation he needed.
“Well, I need to head off,” Tristan said once they’d eaten their fill of pizza and cleaned up the dishes.
“Will I see you tomorrow?” Timothy asked. “At Sunday School?”
Before Shayna could respond, Tristan said, “Not at Sunday School. I’ll be back in the afternoon.”
“I guess we’re not going to church,” Timothy said, his shoulders slumping.
“Not tomorrow.” Tristan ruffled Timothy’s hair. “Tomorrow you need to be with your mom. Just like she’d stay with you if you weren’t feeling well. I’ll bring you your lesson papers in the afternoon, okay?”
“Okay.” Timothy smiled at Tristan and then at her. “I’ll take care of you, Maman.”
“Thanks, sweetie.” As Tristan made his way to the stairs, Shayna said, “Did you want your pizza?”
“Why don’t you save it for tomorrow?” Tristan suggested. “Or later tonight if you get hungry.”
After they’d said goodbye and Tristan had left, the two of them went up to her room and curled up on her bed. She let him have the tablet again, even though she didn’t normally let him have it that much. Both of them deserved a break from the norm.
It was around three the next afternoon when Tristan showed up again. He’d texted to let her know that he was on his way, so it wasn’t a surprise when the doorbell rang. Knowing who it was, Shayna sent Timothy down to unlock the door.
When Tristan followed Timothy into the kitchen, Shayna figured that he’d gone home first before coming over. Normally, at church, he wore dress slacks and a long sleeve button down shirt or a sweater. He now wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a University of Manitoba sweatshirt. Something told Shayna that he wore it because he’d once attended there. Not because he’d found it cheap at a thrift store.
“How’s the pain today?” Tristan asked when he spotted her.
“A bit better, but I know I look worse.” She reached up to tuck a few wisps of hair behind her ear. Her hair was still in the braid Sierra had done for her, but it was a little worse for wear.
“You look fine, especially considering what you’ve been through.”
Shayna wasn’t sure any woman wanted to hear that they looked fine, but realistically speaking, that was probably a generous description of how she looked. She’d seen her reflection in the mirror a little while earlier, after all. Still, from the smile on Tristan’s face, she didn’t think he’d meant anything negative by his comment.
“Here’s the papers from the class this morning,” Tristan said as he turned to Timothy.
“Thanks.” Smiling, Timothy took the papers to the table where he’d been coloring and sat down with them.
“Do you need me to drive you somewhere?” Shayna asked. “If you’re planning to leave your car here?”
“No. Danica is coming by in about an hour to pick me up.”
“Can I get you a cup of coffee?” Shayna gestured to the kettle. “I was just going to make myself some tea.”
“You don’t have to go to the trouble,” Tristan said. “I had one on the way over.”
He sat down at the table with Timothy, talking to him about the lesson they’d had that morning. Shayna went to the kitchen to finish making her tea, listening as she did. Church was something she did for Timothy’s sake. At one time, she’d enjoyed going with Lorne, but after losing him and their baby girl, it had been hard to find joy much of anywhere, least of all, at church.
But she knew that Lorne would want her to continue to take Timothy, even in his absence, so she had. And each Sunday, she sat alone, on a pew, singing the same songs she’d sung with Lorne at her side and listening to words meant to encourage and uplift but that in reality did nothing to fill the empty spaces in her heart.
As she took a sip of her tea, her gaze on Timothy and Tristan, Shayna wondered what was going through Tristan’s mind about the whole situation. No doubt when he’d agreed to teach the seven and eight-year-old boys’ Sunday School class, he hadn’t imagined ending up having to deal with a single mom whose life was slowly unraveling.
While Lorne had had a natural inclination to take care of people, Shayna could see Tristan evaluating things when he was with them, as if trying to figure out what he needed to do. He cared for people—she could see that—but taking care of others appeared to be something new for him. Regardless, he was doing a bang-up job where she and Timothy were concerned, presenting her with options when she needed them, giving her room to make her own decisions when she could.
“Shayna, can I talk to you about something?”
Snapping her attention back to the two at the table, Shayna nodded. It wasn’t like she’d say no after all he’d done for them. Pushing away from the counter, she took her mug and joined them at the table. It seemed like a repeat of where they’d been just twenty-four hours earlier.
“With the size of my family, we know quite a few people through business and the church,” Tristan said, a serious look on his face. “I wondered if you’d be okay with me seeing if anyone knew of someone needing a place to stay. You would have final say, of course, and we’d make sure it was someone we could personally vouch for, but maybe it would be easier for you to find a new roommate rather than having to move in the middle of winter.”
Shayna had considered that option, but given her small—non-existent—circle of friends, it hadn’t seemed likely she’d find someone she could trust. Finding someone to share the townhouse with would certainly be preferable to moving. The area where they lived was better than any of the others she’d been seeing in her budget range, so if they could stay, that would be her first choice.
“I guess. I just need to know that any roommate is safe to be around Timothy. That’s the most important thing.”
“Of course,” Tristan said. “I totally agree.”
“I had thought about it when Lisa first told me she had to move.” Shayna twirled her mug slowly. “But I just wasn’t sure how I could determine if someone was safe to live with us.”
“We’ll make sure that you’re both safe,” Tristan said. He seemed about to say something else then just gave her a quick smile.
“I don’t want to have to move, Maman,” Timothy said, his attention drawn from the papers in front of him. “I like it here.”
“I know, Bug.” Shayna laid her hand over his. “I do too. In the end, we might still have to move, but we’ll try this way first.”
“We’ll pray it works,” Timothy said with confidence then he looked at Tristan. “Right?”
“Right. We can have a plan, but sometimes, God has a different plan for us. A better one.”
Shayna inwardly recoiled at his words. Her plan had been to spend the rest of her life with Lorne, Timothy, and their daughter. How on earth had God’s plan to take two of them been a better one? She didn’t know if she could ever accept that.