Ginna Gray - Building Dreams

Mike. Tess sighed, sadness washing over her. As bad as she hated to, she would have to break all ties with the boy. His father obviously did not approve of their friendship. Anyway, the way things stood, she doubted that she could hide her feelings. Certainly she wouldn’t be able to hold her tongue whenever Mike mentioned his father, which was sure to be often. Mike and his dad were close, and the boy clearly adored him. Whatever else he was, Ryan McCall was apparently a good parent.

Tess discovered that she did not have the heart to tell Mike that they could no longer be friends. When faced with those guileless blue eyes and that eager face, she simply could not utter the words. So she tried to discourage him by withdrawing.

Over the next few days she avoided him whenever she could. When he knocked, she didn’t answer her door. She monitored her telephone calls through the answering machine, never picking up when the caller was Mike. When she left her apartment or returned, she did so quietly, tiptoeing in and out like a thief, and feeling as guilty as though she were one. On the few occasions when she did run into him, she pretended to be either in a hurry to get somewhere or terribly busy.

Mike, however, was not one to be put off by evasions. On the evening of the third day after the disastrous telephone conversation, he waylaid Tess in the hallway outside their apartments.

It was late when she climbed the stairs and found him sitting on the floor outside her door. He looked as though he had every intention of staying there all night if he had to.

Tess jerked to a halt at the top of the stairs so suddenly that Amanda nearly barrelled into her.

“Hey! Watch out,” her friend yelped, but Tess didn’t hear her.

“Mike! What are you doing here? It’s late.”

Mike looked up, his expression sullen. “Waiting to see you.”

“Oh.” Tess licked her lips and glanced uneasily at her friend. “We’ve…uh…we’ve been to a Lamaze class. Amanda’s my coach.”

“Hi there, sweetie. How ya doing?” Amanda said, but he merely shrugged and mumbled, “Okay” before returning his attention to Tess.

He climbed to his feet and brushed off the seat of his pants. His gaze never left her.

“I thought you said we were friends.”

“Why…we are, Mike.”

“Then how come you didn’t answer your door this morning when I knocked?” Both his look and his tone accused.

“I…guess I wasn’t here.”

“Your car was in the parking lot. I checked.”

“I see. Well, then…” Tess gestured vaguely. “I must have been in the mail room.”

“Uh-uh. I checked there, too.”

Amanda remained silent. Her shrewd gaze switched back and forth between them.

“I see. Well…I, uh…I suppose we just missed each other somehow,” Tess said lamely.

Mike stared at her in silence. Tess could feel the guilt written all over her face, but there was nothing to do but brazen it out.

“Can I come in?” he asked finally.

“Oh. Well…I’m pretty tired, and it’s getting late. Maybe some other time.”

Hurt flashed in Mike’s eyes. Then pride took over and his young face grew remote. “Yeah. Sure.” He nodded and stuck his hands into his back pockets. “See ya.”

Tess watched him walk away with a lump in her throat.

“Would you mind telling me what that was all about?” Amanda demanded the moment they stepped inside Tess’s apartment. “You were downright cold to that boy.”

“I know.” Emotion threatened to choke her, and her voice wavered. Fighting back tears, she gave her friend a woeful look. “Oh, Amanda,” she whispered wretchedly.

Without a word, Amanda’s demeanor softened, and she gathered Tess close—or as close as her girth would allow—and led her toward the sofa. “All right, now. Tell me what’s happened,” Amanda said in a commanding but gentle voice once they were settled.

Hesitantly, Tess recounted what had transpired between herself and Ryan McCall. During the tale, Amanda’s expression ran the gamut—from a haughtily raised eyebrow to a sagging jaw and finally ending with her beautiful face set in an icy mask of fury. “Do you mean that bastard had the unmitigated gall to accuse you—you of all people—of trying to seduce Mike?” she said, enunciating every word in a tight, dangerous voice. “And of using that sweet boy to get to him?”

Miserable, Tess nodded.

“Why that sorry, no good…And to think, I thought he was the nice one.”

“For some reason, he seems to have taken an intense dislike to me. So you can see that I have to break off my friendship with Mike. I really don’t have any other choice.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Amanda sighed. “It’s a shame though. Mike is bound to be hurt.”

Tess tried not to think about that. “Yes, well…at least his father should be pleased.”

Ryan was delighted. For the past three days Mike had not so much as mentioned Tess Benson. He had been spending more time at home, as well. From his son’s glum mood, Ryan strongly suspected that after their talk Mrs. Benson had realized she was wasting her time buttering up Mike and had dropped him like a hot potato.

He hated to see the boy so depressed, but Ryan figured he would get over it soon. In a day or two he’d be enthused about something else and forget all about their new neighbor.

However, when Ryan entered the apartment on Friday evening, far from improved, Mike’s mood had worsened. Sprawled in a chair with one leg hooked over the arm, he stared morosely at the television screen. In response to his father’s greeting he mumbled something but barely spared him a glance.

“Hey, what is this? Why the long face? Cheer up, son. Things can’t be that bad,” Ryan teased, tweaking the toe of Mike’s sneaker.

“Oh, yeah? That’s what you think.”

“So what’s the problem?” The question brought no response, and Ryan nudged him again. “C’mon, you know you can tell me.”

Mike grimaced, but finally he shot his dad a sulky look. “I don’t think Tess likes me anymore. She doesn’t return my calls. She doesn’t answer her door. I think she’s avoiding me.”

Ryan’s lips thinned. Impatience rippled through him and edged his voice. “It that all? So what? Forget about her.”

He turned away, flipping through the mail. It contained nothing of importance so he tossed it onto his desk and sat down in his easy chair. Picking up the evening newspaper, he glanced at his son, again. To his surprise, Mike was watching him, his eyes narrowed and filled with suspicion.

“Have you eaten?” Ryan asked.

“Yeah. I had some frozen egg rolls.”

“Good.” He snapped open the paper and tried to ignore his son’s penetrating stare.

“Dad, do you know why Tess is acting strange?”

“How the hell would I know?” Ryan barked, his conscience stabbing him.

“You didn’t talk to her or anything?”

“Look, Mike. Why are you making such a big deal about this woman? She’s nothing to us.”

“The change in her was real quick,” Mike mused, ignoring his father’s question. “Like maybe somebody did something to upset her.”

“So? Women get upset easily.” Ryan shifted in the chair and snapped the newspaper again, scowling at the printed page without seeing a word.

Mike sat forward, his eyes widening. “You did talk to her, didn’t you?”

Faced with a direct challenge, Ryan could not lie. He was always honest with his son. But he resented being cornered. Why couldn’t Mike just let the whole thing drop? “All right, yeah, I talked to her,” he replied belligerently. “So what?”

“When? What did you say to her?”

“She called and invited us over for dinner. I turned down the invitation.”