Chapter Nine
Darcy looked at her phone. Sara had a sore throat and a fever. She sent a text back, assuring Sara that she should stay home and get better. Darcy went to the kitchen, where Liam was having a bowl of cereal and reading a book. “Sara’s sick.”
Liam looked up at her and frowned. “That sucks.”
“Hopefully, she’ll feel better soon. But it means she isn’t coming today, so you’ve got two options.”
Liam closed his book. The seriousness with which he took decisions like this made her smile. “You can go to Nana and Pop’s or you can come to work with me.”
He nodded slowly, weighing his options. He loved his grandparents, but it wasn’t very often that he got to go to the café. In addition to seeing Lia and Alex, he’d eat really well. “I’ll go with you.”
“Okay. Can you get dressed and then put together your backpack with things to do?”
“Yep.” He finished his cereal, then tore off down the hall.
Normally, she’d make him come back to put his bowl in the sink, but since he was following other instructions, she didn’t want to nitpick. She tidied the kitchen, then went to her room to finish getting ready for work and text Alex. Ten minutes later, Liam was back in the kitchen stuffing things into his bag. “I’ve got two library books, math homework, and my science project.”
Darcy smiled. “Do you want the iPad?”
His eyes lit up. “Yeah! I can use it for research.”
She grabbed it from the coffee table and handed it to him. “Are you ready?”
He zipped up the bag and slung it over his shoulder. “Ready.”
On the drive into P-town, they reviewed the ground rules of a day at the café. Mostly, it entailed not going outside alone and not asking too many questions of Alex and Jeff while they worked. “If Lia is there, that goes for her, too.”
Liam nodded. “Got it, Mom. Don’t worry, I can occupy myself.”
Darcy might be tempted to laugh at such an assertion, but it was true. “I know you can. And you can always come into the kitchen if you need something.”
“Like mac and cheese.”
“Like mac and cheese.”
When they got to the café, Alex was pulling bread from the oven. “Morning, Darcy.”
“Morning, Alex. I don’t know if you got my message, but I’ve got Liam with me today. I hope that’s okay.”
Alex slid the pan onto the cooling rack and turned. “Of course. Morning, Liam.”
Liam grinned. “Morning, Alex.”
“I’m just going to set him up at a table. He’ll keep himself busy.”
“I have no doubt. Lia’s already out there. I’m sure she’d love company at her table.”
Darcy smiled, relieved. She didn’t expect Alex to give her a hard time. Alex had always been flexible when it came to Liam and, in return, Darcy had done her best through the years not to take advantage. But it still amazed her that Alex never hesitated, never even implied that it was an inconvenience. Alex might not think of it as a big deal, but Darcy knew better. “You’re the best.”
Alex smiled. “You’re the best. And I have a vested interest in keeping you happy.”
“Trust me, I am.” Because she was on the verge of getting sentimental, she focused her attention on Liam. “Let’s go say hi to Lia.”
As promised, Lia sat at one of the tables near the window, laptop open. She glanced up and smiled. “Hey, you two.”
“I’m working with you today,” Liam announced.
“Are you? That sounds like fun.”
Darcy smiled. “Do you mind if he joins you? He has plenty to keep him occupied.”
“I’d love it. Come on over, sir, and pull up a chair.”
Liam raced over and took the seat opposite Lia, hefting his backpack onto the table with a thump. Darcy shook her head, amused by his enthusiasm. “I know you had cereal, but do you want anything to eat?”
“Well…” Liam lifted a shoulder and looked at her hopefully. “A muffin would be nice.”
He was such a good sport about it all, Darcy didn’t hesitate. “Chocolate chip?”
Liam nodded eagerly. “Yes, please.”
“Lia, can I get you anything?”
Lia glanced into her coffee cup, which looked almost full. “You know, I think I’ll have a muffin, too.”
Jeff, who’d been helping a customer, turned his attention to them. “Two chocolate chip muffins, coming up. Milk?”
“Yes, please.”
Darcy brought the muffins and a paper cup of milk over to the table. “Okay, I’ll come and check on you. You know where the bathrooms are. If you need anything, I’ll be in the kitchen.”
“Okay,” Liam said through a mouthful of muffin.
“We’ll be fine,” Lia said. “I love having company.”
Jeff nodded. “Agreed. And if he gets too wild, we’ll put him to work.”
“If he gets too wild, please come and get me.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Jeff offered a salute.
Darcy returned to the kitchen, wondering when exactly the staff of The Flour Pot had become her extended family. It went way beyond flexibility, she realized. She could count on these people just as readily as she could her parents. In danger of getting sentimental for the second time that morning, she shook her head at herself and turned her attention to work.
*****
Emerson walked into the café, thinking about Darcy and trying to come up with a reason to poke her head into the kitchen to say hi. Even for a Saturday, the morning crowd had mostly cleared out and she found Jeff standing next to one of the tables, talking to Lia and a kid she didn’t recognize. Jeff saw her first and waved. Lia followed suit and the kid looked up at her and smiled.
“Good morning,” she said to Jeff as he headed back to the register.
“Good morning. Long time no see.”
“I was here two days ago.”
Jeff shrugged. “Exactly. We missed you yesterday. Coffee?”
“You know it.”
Jeff started her coffee and Emerson headed over to where Lia and the little boy sat. “Hey, Emerson. Have you met Liam yet?”
“I have not.” Even without the name, she would have picked up on the resemblance. He had his mother’s eyes. She stuck out her hand. “I’m Emerson.”
He took her hand and shook it, all business. “I’m Liam. It’s nice to meet you.”
Knowing it was Darcy’s son, Emerson would have tried to be friendly no matter what. Something about his earnest expression, though, combined with the pile of books in front of him, won her over. “What are you working on?”
The way his eyes lit up, Emerson would have thought he’d just been told he was going to Disneyland. “It’s a science project for school. We had to pick a species of animal that lives on Cape Cod or in the water around it.”
Lia angled her head. “I didn’t know that’s what you were working on.”
Liam shrugged. “Mom said I wasn’t supposed to disturb you.”
Lia chuckled, so Emerson figured it was safe to do so as well. “So, what did you pick?”
“Snapping turtles.”
Emerson guessed sharks, whales, and seals got most of the attention. She wondered why he would pick something with a rather boring reputation. “Why them?”
“Turtles are so cool. I think sea turtles are the best, but I already know a lot about them, so I picked one that’s more land-based.”
Emerson couldn’t figure out which part of his explanation was the most charming. Probably that he picked something specifically because it wasn’t the easiest, or most obvious. “Well, I don’t know too much about turtles, but I did major in biology in college. I’d love to see what you have so far.”
“Me, too,” Lia said.
“You would?”
Jeff walked over with her coffee. Emerson set it on the table and pulled out one of the empty chairs. “Definitely. I love to learn new stuff.”
Lia nodded “Agreed.”
Liam launched into a laundry list of turtle facts, including habitat, diet, breeding habits, and more. She figured he must be in third or fourth grade and, based on that, he’d done an impressive amount of research. “You’ve done a lot of work.”
He shrugged. “I want a few more things for my report, but I’m not sure what. And then I have to figure out what my display is going to be.”
“Hmm.” He’d covered most of the bases she could think of. “What about taxonomy?”
His eyes narrowed. “What’s taxonomy?”
Emerson grinned. “Taxonomy is how we classify and organize all living things.”
She enjoyed watching his eyes get big. “Really?”
“Yep. You know the scientific name of your turtle, right?”
He flipped through a notebook. “Chelydra serpentina.”
“Every plant, animal, and so on has a unique scientific name.”
“I knew that.”
Of course he did. “Well, that scientific name is made up to two parts—the genus and the species. The genus is the fact that it’s a turtle, and the species is the kind.”
Liam nodded. “I get it.”
“But it’s a reptile, too. And an animal.” Emerson glanced at Lia, who had a look of amusement on her face.
“Right.”
“Taxonomy is each category. There are seven of them. Each category gets smaller and smaller and the things in them have more and more things in common. Animal is at the top. It’s one of the kingdoms. Then there’s phylum, class, order, and family. Last are genus and species.”
“Wow.”
“Cool, right? So, we can look up all the classifications of your,” she peered at the notebook, “Chelydra serpentina.”
Liam frowned. “I didn’t find that in any of my books. I think we’ll have to look it up online.”
Emerson took out her phone and pulled up a browser. “No problem.”
*****
Darcy glanced at her watch, a little surprised that Liam hadn’t come in to bug her about lunch yet. She decided to take advantage of a lull in the flow of orders to go out and check on him. She walked out of the kitchen and her heart stopped. Or, at least that’s what it felt like. Liam was not where she’d left him—sitting at a table with Lia and working on his science project. He’d moved to a different table, spread out all his things. He also appeared to be engrossed in a conversation with Emerson.
Not wanting to come across as angry, or make Liam think he’d done something wrong, she plastered a smile on her face and walked over. “Hey, guys. What’s up?”
Liam looked up at her, beaming. “Mom, this is Emerson. She’s Lia and Alex’s friend.”
“Is that right?” Darcy shot Emerson a look and was met with a casual smile.
“Yeah, and she is so cool. Is she your friend, too?”
At least Emerson had the decency to let Darcy decide how much to share. “We are friends, but we’ve only known each other for a little while.”
“Did you know Emerson went to medical school? She took gross anatomy and got to dissect a whole person.”
Darcy returned her gaze to Emerson. “I did not know that.”
“I was only there for a year. I didn’t finish.”
“She went to college and was a biology major, for four years. I didn’t know you could pick one thing to study all the time. I want to go to college.”
Darcy pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to process the plethora of information that had just been dumped on her. Combined with the shock of seeing Liam and Emerson chumming it up, she was struggling. “It’s a ways off, but I’m glad to hear it.”
“Emerson was telling me all about how King Phillip came over for…”
He trailed off and Emerson chimed in, “good soup.”
Darcy looked at Liam with suspicion. “I thought you were working on your science project.”
“I am!” His reply was equal parts excitement and exasperation.
“It’s a trick for remembering the way all living things are categorized. Kingdom, phylum, class—”
“Order, family, genus, and species.” Liam finished the sentence, referring to a list he’d written in his notebook.
“Ah.”
“He was telling me about his report on snapping turtles and I asked if he planned to include all the classifications.”
“And I wasn’t going to, because I didn’t even know about them, but I am now.”
As was so often the case with Liam, Darcy found herself so caught up in his enthusiasm, she’d forgotten she started the conversation angry. Mostly forgotten. “That’s really cool. I’m glad she gave you that idea.”
“I hope that’s okay,” Emerson said.
“Of course. Actually, can I talk to you for a minute? In the kitchen?”
“Sure.” Emerson stood. Despite Darcy’s upbeat tone, Emerson got the distinct impression that it wasn’t okay. What she couldn’t figure out was why.
“Thanks for your help,” Liam said.
“Anytime. I hope I get to see it when it’s finished.”
“If it’s good enough, it’s going to be put on display at the library.”
Emerson stood. “Well, you better work hard, then.”
“I will. Maybe if mine gets picked, you can come and see it.”
“I would love to.”
“Cool.”
Emerson turned her attention to Darcy, who seemed to be glaring at her. When Emerson made eye contact, Darcy turned on her heel and stalked back to the kitchen. Emerson followed, bracing herself for whatever bee had flown into Darcy’s bonnet.
In the kitchen, Alex had a large pastry bag and was frosting cupcakes. Emerson thought for a second that Darcy might ask her to leave, but instead she said, “Let’s go out back.”
Emerson followed her through another door and found herself behind the café. She realized it was the same door she used the few times she’d been to Alex and Lia’s apartment. “Is something wrong?”
“We didn’t discuss you meeting my son.”
Emerson didn’t appreciate the accusing tone in Darcy’s voice. “It just happened. It’s not like I was going behind your back.”
“I didn’t say you did, but it’s also not something I’m blasé about.”
Confused more than irritated, Emerson wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. “What exactly are you saying?”
Darcy took a deep breath and Emerson wondered if she was going to regret asking. “I keep my son and my dating life separate.”
That wasn’t an unreasonable thing. Even without children of her own, Emerson could appreciate that there were some things kids didn’t need to know. “I didn’t tell him we’re dating, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Darcy closed her eyes. “It’s more complicated than that.”
“Does he not know you’re a lesbian?”
“No. I mean, no, it’s not that. He knows.”
“What is it, then? I’m not challenging you, I’m trying to understand.”
“Liam gets attached very easily.”
“Attached?” Even if she understood the general sentiment, Emerson didn’t understand what it had to do with her half-hour interaction with Liam.
“Yes. He’s an introvert, but he connects with people, becomes invested in them. When he really likes someone, and that someone disappears, he takes it really hard.”
If Emerson thought Darcy was overreacting, she knew better than to say so. “It was a casual, chance meeting. Until you came out, he didn’t even know that you and I knew each other.”
“Yes, but then you said you’d go to see his project.”
“I would. His project is cool. And he’s so excited about it.”
“I don’t want to set him up for disappointment.”
Emerson had a flash of planning Darcy, the Darcy of a dozen texts. “Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself?”
Darcy rolled her eyes. “That’s easy for you to say.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means we’ve been on exactly two dates. We haven’t even slept together. You saying that implies that we’re going to be together, that you’re sticking around.”
Emerson didn’t know which bothered her more—the fact that Darcy seemed convinced they wouldn’t be together or the implication that, if they weren’t, Emerson couldn’t be bothered to do something nice for Liam. “I’m not sure all that has to be negotiated now.”
“As far as Liam is concerned, it does. I refuse to let my relationship choices spill over onto him.”
As much as it bristled, Emerson could see where Darcy was coming from. She could hardly begrudge her being protective. She took a deep breath. “Let me start over.”
Darcy narrowed her eyes, but said slowly, “Okay.”
“I came into the café today and met Liam by accident. I hope you can believe I didn’t—or wouldn’t—try to do that behind your back or against your wishes.”
Darcy’s features softened. “I do.”
“That said, I’m glad I did. He reminds me of me at that age. Nerd bird, as my sister would say.” When Darcy made a face, Emerson added, “That’s what she called me, I mean. I loved learning, especially science. Liam seems the same.”
Darcy smiled then. “Fair enough.”
“I’d like to spend more time with him, completely separate from my desire to spend more time with you.”
“What exactly are you saying?”
“I’m saying I want to respect your boundaries, but I don’t think that means he and I should never cross paths. Can’t I just be his friend and your friend, too?”
Darcy took a deep breath. She didn’t have that many points of reference, but she’d never dated a woman who specifically tried to negotiate spending time with Liam. She’d certainly never dated anyone who wanted to get to know Liam in his own right. She couldn’t decide what to make of it. “Are you super into kids? Is that it?”
Emerson chuckled. “I wouldn’t use the term ‘super.’ I do like kids, though, and I don’t have much opportunity to hang out with them. I’m not trying to swoop in and play family or anything. But Liam’s great, and if we do things all together, I’ll probably get to see more of you.”
Shelly had said something similar when she and Darcy began dating. Well, minus the part about liking kids. She’d realized that offering to spend time with Liam meant spending more time with Darcy. Which went fine until she decided she didn’t actually like kids at all. The breakup was abrupt and came without warning. And as hurt as she’d been by the whole thing, her disappointment had nothing on Liam’s. He’d only been four, but he felt the sudden absence and was convinced he’d done something to make Shelly not like him anymore.
That had been Darcy’s line in the sand. She hadn’t stopped dating, but she went out of her way to keep that part of her life separate from the family side. It had been surprisingly easy. No one she dated really pressed the matter, and none of those relationships ever got serious enough for it to be an issue. Until now.
Her first instinct was to deflect. At the very least, that might put Emerson off long enough to see if it was worth the risk to go there. Darcy hesitated, though. Emerson seemed completely at ease with Liam. That wasn’t the sort of thing a person could fake. Like Shelly, who always seemed a little detached. And Liam certainly seemed taken with her. Not knowing she and Emerson were dating might be enough.
“Darcy?” Emerson’s voice snapped her back to the moment.
“Sorry, my mind wandered for a minute.”
“Should I ask where it went?”
The playful tone cut through the fog of Darcy’s worry about what ifs. It couldn’t hurt, especially if she went in with her eyes open and some very clear boundaries. “Just a brief detour. To answer your question, yes, I think it would be fun to do something together.”
“Good. I happen to be both a responsible adult and a science nerd. I’m right up Liam’s alley.”
Darcy looked Emerson up and down. She wore paint-splattered clothes and her hair stood out at odd angles. “A responsible adult, huh?”
Emerson laughed, but folded her arms. “I can tell you one thing. You don’t get into medical school by being irresponsible.”
Darcy angled her head. “Right. I think I need to hear more about that.”
“What? You don’t think I have it in me?”
“I think you’ve got all sorts of things in you that I’m just starting to discover.”
Emerson took a step toward her. “Does that mean you want to?”
What a loaded question. Darcy didn’t give herself the chance to think out her response, or the implications. “You know, I think it does.”
“Glad to hear it. And you won’t flip out if I check in with Liam on how his science project is going?”
“I didn’t flip out.”
Emerson raised a brow. “You kind of did.”
“Maybe a little. Either way, I won’t flip out. You’re friends. I can handle that. Although I’d probably feel more comfortable if you didn’t become best friends.”
“I can work with that.”
“Good. Now let’s go back inside before Lia starts to worry we’ve run away.”
They did and Darcy looked on as Emerson asked Liam questions, offered a couple of suggestions. They discussed the merits of pyramid diagrams versus flow charts to display taxonomy. She got lulled into their back and forth, only half paying attention to the specifics that seemed to excite them both.
“Hey, Mom?”
Now what? “Yes?”
“Is it lunch time yet?”
Darcy laughed. “It is. Mac and cheese?” He nodded excitedly. “Emerson, can I get you something?”
Emerson offered her a wink. “I’ll have what he’s having.”