C.J. Carmichael - Love and the Single Mum

Her ex had been busy.

And in all that time, she hadn’t gone on a single date.

Days Unemployed: 4

“DID YOU GET MY RÉSUMÉ? I faxed it to your office yesterday.” As Robert Brookman spoke into his BlackBerry, he kept his eyes on the pretty blonde behind the counter.

He’d heard the older woman who served the coffee, and several of the other customers, refer to her as Margo. Which meant she must be the bistro owner.

Shifting his gaze to the notebook in front of him, he focused his attention back on his call.

“Great. Well, let me know as soon as you hear something.” He said goodbye to his headhunter, then frowned. Finding a new job was going to take some time, he knew. He just wished Donald Macleod was a little more bullish about the job market in San Francisco right now.

He checked out the blonde again.

Margo. He liked the sound of the name. Just as he liked the woman it belonged to. She greeted all her customers as if she was glad to see them. And he didn’t think it was an act. She was just one of those naturally warm, sincere sort of people who enjoyed the company of others.

She was also a terrific cook.

He forced his gaze to the career section of the San Francisco Chronicle. He circled a few possibilities, then sent an e-mail to Donald. What Donald didn’t understand was that Robert hadn’t been unemployed since he’d graduated from college over ten years ago.

Though he’d lost his job through no fault of his own, and had received a nice compensation package in exchange, Robert didn’t like the feeling of being out of work. He needed to get back behind a desk as soon as possible.

Robert finished his cup of coffee and considered requesting a refill. But at that moment, Margo disappeared into the kitchen. A moment later she reemerged, without her apron, and left the restaurant with a wave and a smile to the older woman behind the counter.

He checked the time. It was quarter past three. She’d left the bistro at this time yesterday, too. He sighed, then snapped shut his briefcase and pocketed the BlackBerry.

Tomorrow he’d just have to get here earlier.

It had been eight months since his breakup with Belinda and he was ready to move on. He’d tried dating a few women he’d met through work, but none of them had inspired much interest. Margo was the first to really capture his attention…and she didn’t wear a wedding ring, so she seemed like a good candidate.

The only thing holding him back was the niggling feeling that he’d met her before. He wished he could recall where and when. Might save him some potential embarrassment when he finally worked up the nerve to ask her out.

USUALLY MARGO looked forward to seeing her children at the end of their day. Not today.

How unfair of Tom to leave the telling of his news to her. She was very afraid that the kids were going to be badly shocked. She could imagine Ellie stalking off in anger and Peter crying uncontrollably, the way he had when his father had first moved out of the family home.

Tell Daddy not to go.

He’d fallen to the floor with his sobs and Margo had picked him up. Hugged him and soothed him. Fortunately, with counseling, her children had recovered from that rough patch. But it was still a time Margo couldn’t bear to think back on.

It was amazing to her that Tom was serious about marrying someone she had never even heard the kids mention. Though, to be fair, the kids didn’t talk much to her about what they did when they were at Tom’s house. It was as if Ellie and Peter lived in two separate worlds, with no points of intersection between them.

Did other children of divorced parents act that way? Margo wished she had someone to ask. But the only single mom she knew—Nora—was widowed, not divorced.

Margo stopped on the corner next to the playground. Several other parents and caregivers were congregated here and she smiled at the father of one of her daughter’s friends.

“Beautiful day, isn’t it?”

“Can’t beat spring time in San Francisco.” Allan White was a stay-at-home dad. His wife happened to also be a lawyer. “Did Ellie get her book report done on time? Stephanie and I were up until eleven last night.”

“Oh?” Ellie was such a responsible student that Margo rarely asked her about her homework. She was about to question Allan more about the project, when the school buzzer sounded. Soon kids were streaming out the doors, and Peter was one of the first.

A towhead like she had been at his age, he wasn’t as keen on his studies as his sister. He spotted her, grinned, then ran in her direction.

After a big hello hug, he asked if he could play while they waited for Ellie.

“Sure, honey.” Margo watched as he raced toward the monkey bars, then swung his way toward his favorite slide. Ellie didn’t show up for another ten minutes. As a fifth grade student, she felt she was too old to be walking home from school with her mother and baby brother. Privately Margo sympathized with her, but Tom was nervous about the South of Market neighborhood and so she continued to accompany the kids.

“Did you hand in your book report?” Margo asked her daughter when she finally showed up.

Ellie gave her a withering look that reminded Margo painfully of Tom. “Of course.” Ellie took a brisk pace toward home, and Margo had to hustle Peter to follow her.

“Please slow down a little, Ellie. Your brother’s legs aren’t as long as yours.”

Ellie said nothing to that, but she did reduce her speed marginally.

“So…” Margo still hadn’t come up with a great way to tell them their father’s news. Feeling awkward, she said, “I guess you guys know that your father has found someone that he really cares about.”

Peter looked at her blankly.

“She means Catherine,” Ellie explained over her shoulder.

“That’s right. Catherine. Your father says you’ve had a chance to get to know her?”

Ellie shrugged. “Sort of.”

“Well. Is she nice?”

“Sure,” Peter said.

“She’s okay.”

“I’m glad you both like her.”

Ellie stopped walking and eyed her suspiciously. “Why?”

Margo swallowed, but her mouth remained dry. “Your dad called me today and wanted me to tell you something.”

Spit it out, Margo.

“Your father and Catherine have decided to get married.” Margo swallowed again. “This weekend.”

She waited for the fallout, but nothing happened.

“Cool,” Ellie said, then resumed walking.

“Cool,” Peter echoed, his eyes on his sister, as if he needed to gauge her reaction in order to determine his own.

“So you’re okay with this?” Margo asked her daughter.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

Indeed. “Good.”

That had been so much easier than she’d expected. And yet Margo didn’t feel entirely satisfied with the children’s reactions. Could it be she didn’t want Catherine to be a nice person? That she would have been happier to have her children kick up a fuss?

Bitterness curdled on her tongue and she had the urge to lash out. To say something shallow and mean-spirited about Tom and the speed with which he’d replaced her. To disparage a woman she’d never even met.

Why…I’m jealous.

Margo was disappointed in herself, but she couldn’t deny her own feelings. The truth was, she felt a little usurped by Catherine and she would have preferred it if her kids had said something even just a little negative about her.

Ellie and Peter were hers. She’d given birth to them and raised them and loved them. Just because Tom wanted another woman in his life didn’t mean she and the kids did.

Only…maybe her kids did want Catherine in their lives. They hadn’t given any sign that they didn’t.