Erin Kern - Along Came Trouble

His only reply had been a soft “No thanks.” Their conversation had been limited since. Soon Tyler slid the thick math book into his backpack and took out a history one. If math was uninteresting, then history was even less interesting. Her father had been an enormous history buff, which was probably one of the reasons he chose to be an investigative reporter. Anything that would give him a little history lesson had always made him giddy. Unfortunately, reporting the world’s news took him away from home for long periods of time. Every once in a while, her mother would fly out with him, leaving Elisa and her little brother to stay with friends. Then eight years ago, they’d flown on their final assignment and never came back…

During her childhood, she’d grown used to her parents’ flightiness. They certainly hadn’t been bad parents. When they were home, they were very loving and involved with both their children. They’d taken many camping trips, road trips, and holidays away. Every once in a while a story too good to pass up would pop up on the other side of the globe and her father would jet away. Elisa had always understood her father’s work was what had paid for their house, the food on the table, and Marcello’s soccer lessons. Would she have liked to have her father around more than he had been? Of course, what little girl wouldn’t? But Elisa had never held anything against him.

Marcello was the one who’d had the issues. Not anything worrisome. Just a small boy who didn’t understand why Daddy wasn’t around more or why he had to go live with his grandparents in South America after their parents died. That wasn’t a decision Elisa had come to easily, but it’d been her only choice. A college student could hardly take care of a twelve-year-old boy by herself.

Five years, six months, and twelve days. That’s how long ago she’d seen Marcello. A round-trip ticket to Rio de Janeiro was enough to put anyone in the poor house. Luckily for her, she’d been there for a fashion show. It was better than nothing, but she’d barely had enough time to see him.

Oh, how she missed him.

“Why do you have a picture of yourself up there?”

The question was unexpected and came out of nowhere. Elisa glanced up from her proof sheet and looked at Tyler. He’d taken his attention off his homework and focused it on a framed picture of her on the wall. That was a good question and one whose answer she was already beginning to regret. Why had she put a picture of herself up there?

Elisa rested her elbows on the table. Would an eleven-year-old understand this?

“That picture was taken about six years ago and was the first time I’d been on the cover of a magazine. I hung it up because it reminded me of a big accomplishment I’d made.” He probably still wouldn’t get it, but that was the best she could do.

Tyler’s eyes remained on the framed cover. “But how’d you get to be on the cover?”

“Because they asked me.”

“Why?” The boy’s eyes flickered back to hers.

An amused laugh bubbled out of her. “You know, that’s a good question.”

The number two pencil in the child’s hand tapped a rapid rhythm on the table. “It’s kind of a funny-looking picture. How come you’re wearing that big dress? It doesn’t look comfortable.”

Okay, maybe he understood a lot better than she gave him credit for. That shot for a famous Italian magazine had been done in South Africa. In the middle of the country’s summer. The magazine had dressed her in that horrible, way-too-heavy period dress. The thing came accented with a full petticoat and had about a thousand billowy layers that had practically swallowed her up. The South African sun had been wicked and unforgiving. In between each shot, the stylist had to blot Elisa off then reapply makeup. Overall, the shoot hadn’t been fun. But she’d done her job, received quite a nice check, and had flown off to her next location. Flying from one country to another was not something she missed.

Elisa realigned her mind to Tyler’s observations. “That dress had been the magazine’s choice. And you’re right. It was really uncomfortable.”

Tyler tilted his head to one side. “You look really pretty in it, though. I bet my mom would like that dress.”

Elisa would bet not if Kelly had to put the thing on.

The boy may have been a quiet, reserved child but he sure was observant. He was probably one of those people who absorbed everything around him like a sponge. Tyler could probably sit in a room full of people, disappear completely, yet be able to tell a story about every person in the room. Marcello was like that. He’d always been a silent observer, even as a child. He could go hours without conversing with a single person and still be able to tell everything everyone around him was feeling: a trait that would no doubt one day make him an excellent doctor—something he was currently going to school for.

“Was that the only magazine cover you were on?”

“No, I did a few others, but that’s the only one I framed.” The other two were in the top of her closet. Elisa didn’t really care much about that stuff anymore. Those days had only been to pay for college after her parents died. After graduating, the excitement and purpose had worn off. She’d continued modeling for one more year, but only to fulfill her contract with her agency. They’d asked her to stay on, saying they’d make her a big star one day—the next Adriana Lima was what her agent called her. But Elisa had always been more interested in what went on behind the camera than in front of it. She would still love to travel the globe, but only if she could explore and take her own pictures. Like in Mongolia with Samuel Harper. Just thinking about it brought an exciting jitter through her midsection. She couldn’t think of any reason not to take the job. Just the fact that Time Magazine would be covering all the expenses was reason enough to accept it. Her passport was up to date, and all she needed were a few immunizations. The details that Samuel had faxed over had been overwhelming but thrilling. Five months trekking through the Mongolian steppes, documenting the life of nomadic shepherds… what more could she ask for? She’d finally struck gold, and nothing would keep her from this trip.

Elisa pursed her lips and pulled a deep breath into her lungs. “You should finish up before your dad gets here,” she said. Thinking about her parents always brought back the old ache. “Do you need some help?” she offered.

He picked up his pencil and tapped on the textbook. “No thanks. I can do it.” The boy lifted his scrawny shoulders. “My dad will probably be late anyway.”

Elisa stared at the top of his blond head. “Your mom said he’d be leaving work early so you can have dinner with him.”

The pencil flew over the worksheet as the boy wrote down answers to questions. “He’s always late.”

Elisa could feel his back-off vibe. Something about Tyler’s father made him shut down. He freely spoke of his mother, talked about how she cried at the death of his grandfather. At the mention of his father, he practically placed a lock over his mouth and threw away the key.

Elisa knew when to let well enough alone. She didn’t like answering questions about her parents either, so she understood the feeling. Kelly once mentioned the divorce had been particularly hard on Tyler, but she hadn’t said anything about him not having a good relationship with his father. None of this was Elisa’s business anyway, however, but curiosity nagged at her.

She left the table to give Tyler a chance to concentrate on his homework. For the next hour, she worked on proposals for stock agents, someone who could represent her and help her nab those higher paying jobs.