Chapter 8
Calida
The clock on my dash showed the time to be 11:20, I may have been running late, but I was still probably here before Macy. After getting Shawn strapped into his stroller, we headed toward the ticket booth at Zoo Atlanta and sure enough, Macy was nowhere to be found. I’d wanted to make this trip a little earlier in the day to beat the heat, these late July days were brutal with the humidity, but Macy thought it would be better to wait for the animals to “wake up.” Whatever that meant. The real translation was getting her and London up and out of the house prior to ten would be next to impossible, so we settled on eleven, which apparently didn’t work for either of us.
“You’re a time thief,” I said with a smile. I handed Shawn his cup, and got a toothy grin in return.
One would think that after a year and a half I would’ve learned to better manage my time, but Shawn had a talent for throwing a kink in my best laid plans. Checking my watch, I hoped Macy would arrive soon. The humidity was even worse since it had rained yesterday. I could already feel my T-shirt sticking to my back.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Macy said as she strolled toward me a few minutes later. “Blame Mal.” She gave me a quick hug.
“Mal? What did he do?” I asked as we walked toward the ticket booth.
“Well,” she said after she’d paid for her tickets, “since that no good friend of his is in town he crashed at my place.”
“Why would he do that?”
Macy shot me a look of confusion. “He didn’t tell you? Oh, I’m gonna cuss his ass out more. Gerald showed up out of the fucking blue yesterday, and they went out clubbing. I thought you knew.”
“Um…no,” I replied, shaking my head as we headed toward the flamingo exhibit. “I…we actually didn’t talk at all yesterday.”
As we moved on to the next exhibit, Macy filled me in on why Malcolm ended up at her house in the middle of the night. I didn’t say much as she talked, choosing instead to respond to Shawn’s random words when he would recognize an animal. I hadn’t really thought much about not talking to him yesterday, but now I found myself with mixed feelings about the apparent reason as to why.
“Gerald’s not still using, is he?” I asked as we continued walking.
“Mal says he isn’t, but I still don’t like it. I mean, I don’t think Mal would do that again, but he doesn’t need that ass around him regardless.”
The first time I’d ever seen Macy upset was when Malcolm ended up in the hospital. Those two fought all the time, but they were very close. The thought of losing him had really scared her; it had scared all of us.
“That’s not his life anymore, Macy, you know that.”
She needed to have more faith in her brother. Mal was never an addict. He’d been more a party user, so even being around Gerald or whoever wouldn’t be a threat. I was a little annoyed that Macy would even think Malcolm would put his family through that again. He was stronger than that, and she needed to recognize that fact.
“I know…I know, but I just don’t like that man,” she replied with a frown.
“I know you don't, Mace, but they're friends. Mal’s like you. He won’t abandon his friend simply for bad decision making.”
She let out a sigh before the frown on her face softened. She gave my hand a squeeze, both of us understanding the meaning behind my statement.
“So, what did you do yesterday if you weren’t hanging with Malcolm?”
“Dorian,” I answered. “She showed up wanting a job. Apparently, she’s looking to move here since our parents are here.”
“That woman has some nerve!”
“Yeah, she does, and I told her as much…then after she left, I sent an email to the guy over the HR department to see what the process would be to hire her.”
Macy scrunched her nose. “Why?”
“Because…I know how she’s feeling right now, and as much as I hate her at times, she’s still my sister. Being cheated on never feels good.”
“You’re too damn nice, Lee,” Macy said. She stopped to get London from her stroller because she’d started crying. “I think she’s hungry.”
“K, let’s head to the reptile house. It’s cooled and has benches.”
We made our way into the reptile building. It was probably my least favorite exhibit, but it was the perfect place to get out of the heat for a little while. Macy and I settled onto one of the benches in the middle of the building. As she mixed up a bottle for London, I let Shawn out of his stroller so he could walk around.
“Does it bother you?”
“Does what bother me?” I asked as I tried to keep Shawn out of the diaper bag.
“Mal going out last night. I mean, you said you two didn’t talk all day and—”
“And it’s not a big deal.”
She gave me that look, the one that told me she was about to start in on a conversation I most likely didn’t want to have.
She repositioned London in hers for easier feeding. “Look, I promised him I wouldn’t meddle.”
“But…”
“But I’m…we’ve been friends for a long time…”
“Yes we have.” I got up to chase down Shawn, who’d started to wander away.
“I don’t want to have to pick sides,” she continued when I got back.
“Why would you have to?”
“I wanted to talk to you before, but Malcolm told me to stay out of it. I just—”
“You’re worried about what happens if we don’t work out,” I answered, sensing her hesitation.
She nodded in response.
“You won’t have to pick sides, Macy.”
“How can you say that? He’s my brother. You’re like a sister to me. There will be tension. And with you moving in with him, someone would have to leave—”
“Whoa…what? I’m not moving in with him.”
Macy gave me a frown. “What do you mean? That’s why he bought that house. That was the whole point.”
Shawn started squirming in my arms trying to get free again. I buckled him back into the stroller. “Mal and I have talked, and we agreed to take things slow. I need it that way. Besides, he doesn’t even know if he got the house yet.” I pulled out the to-go container of cereal and poured a few on the tray of Shawn’s stroller.
“Yeah, he does. He found out yesterday, but since you two didn’t talk guess you wouldn’t have known.”
There was a bit of edge in her voice. I wasn’t sure if it was directed at me or at Malcolm. Either way, I chose to ignore it.
“Almost done?” I looked over at London whose eyes were closing as she sucked on her bottle.
“Yeah, she’ll be out in a few.”
“You wanna just go?”
“No. Shawn is still up, and we haven’t let him feed the giraffes yet.”
She buckled London back into her stroller, and we headed out. We talked about random things on the way, I could tell she wasn’t completely satisfied with the end of our conversation, but I was glad she wasn’t pushing.
Shawn was excited to get up close to the giraffes. Macy took a cute picture of us that I sent to my parents. By the time we finished, it was almost two, and I realized I’d still not heard from Malcolm. Not even a text. My thoughts were at odds over that fact. It wasn’t like I needed him to call me every day, but part of me worried his lack of communication stemmed from guilt. Yes, he went to Macy’s last night, but what went on before then?
“I’m hungry and rather not eat here. Let’s go get some lunch,” Macy said.
I put my phone away and shook off those wandering thoughts. “Sounds good.”
“Do me a favor,” she said as we walked toward the front gate.
“Sure thing.”
“Don’t talk about the sex. The idea of my brother is too…ew. I don’t think I could handle it.”
My first reaction was to say there wouldn’t be any sex to talk about, but stopped myself. It was easier to play along.
“But Macy,” I replied, forcing a laugh, “you’ve always wanted to know about my sex life. I will have to share. I mean, what if he knows cool tricks from those fancy French women or something.”
She made a gagging motion that made me laugh hysterically. Shawn joined in on the laughter. As she walked toward her car, I thought about what she’d said. I’d not even thought about the ramifications when things didn’t work out with Mal and me. I didn’t want to lose my friend over this, nor did I want to be the cause of another rift in their family.
∞∞∞
When we got home, I entered the house as quietly as possible, careful not to wake Shawn. Once I got him settled in his crib, I headed back downstairs to retrieve my purse and the diaper bag. I was hot and tired after being out longer with Macy than I’d planned. A shower then a nap sounded good, but before that could be done, I needed to call Malcolm back. He’d finally called while Macy and I were out, and had apologized for not calling sooner. Digging through my bag, I found my phone, and then dialed his number. He answered on the second ring.
“I was starting to think you forgot about me,” he said, and I could hear the humor in his voice.
“You know how time has no meaning to your sister,” I replied with a laugh as I headed to the sofa.
“That’s true. So whatcha up to?”
“Nothing. Um…Shawn’s napping, and I’m thinking about joining him.” I kicked off my shoes and propped my feet up on the coffee table.
“A nap…I was hoping to come see you.”
There was a hint of disappointment in his voice, and I chewed on the corner of my bottom lip as I thought of a reply. Having visitors at my house was not something I enjoyed. The eventual “when would I move” topic always came up, and I knew that since he’d gotten the house I’d be faced with it again. However, it didn’t matter whether he came over or not, that conversation was inevitable. Macy had said as much today.
“No…you can come. I’m sure Shawn will be happy to see you.”
“Only Shawn?” he asked, with an edge to his voice.
“No…I guess I wouldn’t mind seeing you.” I tried to sound playful.
Mal laughed, which was a good sign. After we hung up, I headed to take a shower. Being able to take a nice, long, leisurely shower was one of the things I missed since becoming a mom. Nowadays, they were quick five-minute events because I was too nervous Shawn would get hurt while I wasn’t watching.
Stepping out of the bathroom, I heard Shawn calling for me on the baby monitor. I dressed quickly in a pair of blue shorts and gray T-shirt before going to retrieve him from his crib. When I stepped into the room, his deep blue eyes sparkled, and his face lit up. With each passing day, he looked more and more like Seth. He haunted me through our son.
Shawn’s arms stretched out toward me. “Ma-Ma!”
Pushing away my negative thoughts, I gave him a warm smile as I picked him up. I’d just finished getting his diaper changed when I heard Mal’s voice come over the intercom.
After buzzing him in, Shawn and I headed downstairs. Malcolm had a huge grin on his face when he saw us standing in the doorway. Shawn squirmed in my arms when Mal climbed out of his truck, so I put him down. Malcolm scooped Shawn up and swung him around in the air, and he erupted in a fit of bubbly giggles.
Malcolm looked over in my direction. His hazel eyes shone with amusement as he walked to me. The smile on his face was contagious, and I returned it freely.