Nicholas Sparks - Two by Two

“Lucky Charms?”

“It was just a snack,” I said, hearing the defensiveness in my tone.

But by then, Vivian was barely listening. “How about we see what we can scrounge up for dinner, okay? Something healthy.”

“Okay, Mommy.”

“How did dance class go?”

“We were late,” London answered, “and the teacher was really, really mad at Daddy.” Vivian’s face was tight, her displeasure as evident as Hamshaw’s had been.

“Other than the emergency, how was your first day at work?” I asked her later, when we were lying in bed. I could tell she was still aggravated with me.

“It was fine. Just meetings and getting acclimatized to the place.”

“And your lunch with Spannerman?”

“I think it went well,” she said. She didn’t add anything else.

“Do you feel like you can work for him?”

“I don’t think I’ll have any problems with him at all. Most of the executives have been there for years.”

Only if they’re females, I thought. “Let me know if he ever hits on you, okay?”

She sighed. “It’s just a job, Russ.”

I rose at dawn and crammed in a couple of hours of work on the computer before Vivian woke; in the kitchen, her conversation with me felt less personal than purpose driven. She handed me a grocery list and reminded me that London had a piano lesson; she also asked me to find out whether the piano teacher would be willing to work with London on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons or evenings, once school began. On her way out the door, she turned to face me.

“Could you please try to be more conscientious today when it comes to London? Get her to her activities on time and make sure she eats right? It’s not like I’m asking you to do anything I haven’t been doing for years.”

Her comment stung, but before I could respond, she was closing the door behind her.

London came padding down the steps a few minutes later and asked if she could have Lucky Charms for breakfast.

“Of course you can,” I said. Still replaying Vivian’s words, there was something definitely passive-aggressive in my ready agreement. “Do you want some chocolate milk, too?”

“Yes!”

“I thought you might,” I said, wondering what Vivian would think about that .

London ate and then played with her Barbies; I detangled her hair, made sure she was dressed for the day, and brought her to her piano lesson. I remembered to ask the teacher about changing her lesson schedule, and afterward, I raced to my parents’ house.

“Oh,” my mom said as soon as I stepped in the door of my boyhood home, “you’re back.” When she gave London a kiss, I noticed my mom wasn’t wearing an apron. Instead, she was wearing a purple dress.

“Of course I’m here,” I said. “But I can only stay a few minutes because I don’t want to be late.”

She patted London on the back. “London, sweetheart? Would you like to try one of the cookies we made yesterday? They’re in the cookie jar by the toaster.”

“I know where they are,” London said. My daughter practically skipped to the kitchen, as if the sugary cereal hadn’t been enough.

“I really appreciate you helping me out with London,” I said.

“Well, see, that’s the thing.”

“What’s the thing?”

“I have a lunch today with the Red Hat Society.” She pointed to her hat, which sat on the table next door; it was the color of clown lipstick and adorned with feathers that I guessed had been plucked from peacocks.

“But I told you that I had meetings all week.”

“I remember. But you only asked if I could watch London on Monday.”

“I just assumed you knew that’s what I meant. And London loves spending time with you.”

She put a hand on my arm. “Now, Russ… You know how much I love her, too, but I can’t watch London every day until she starts school,” she said. “Like you, I have things to do.”

“It’s just temporary,” I protested. “By next week, I’m hoping you won’t have to.”

“Tomorrow, I won’t be here. My gardening club is hosting a tulip and daffodil workshop, and they have some exotic bulbs we can buy. I’m hoping to surprise your father next spring. You know he’s never had great luck with tulips. And I volunteer on Thursdays and Fridays.”

“Oh,” I said, my head suddenly spinning. I heard my mom let out a sigh.

“As for today, though, and since London is already here… what time will you be finished with your meeting?”

“A quarter to twelve, maybe?”

“My lunch is at noon, so why don’t you plan on coming to the restaurant to pick her up. London can sit with me and my friends until you get there.”

“That would great,” I said, feeling a surge of relief. “Where is it?”

She mentioned a place that I happened to know, though I’d never been there before.

“What time is your meeting again?”

The meeting. Oh crap.

“I’ve got to go, Mom. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”

“Seriously?” Marge asked. “You’re upset with Mom because she happens to have her own life?”

I was zipping along the highway, talking through my Bluetooth. “Weren’t you listening? I have meetings all week. What am I going to do?”

“Hello? Day care? Hire a babysitter for a couple of hours? Ask one of the neighbors? Set up a playdate, and then ditch the kid?”

“I haven’t had a spare minute to explore anything like that.”

“You have time to talk to me right now.”

Because I’m hoping you’ll watch London tomorrow for a couple of hours tomorrow.

“Vivian and I talked about it. London’s already having a hard enough time with Vivian going off to work.”

“Is she?”

Aside from an apparent dislike of dance class, not that I’ve noticed. But…

“Anyway, I called because I was hoping that-”

“Don’t even go there,” Marge warned, cutting me off.

“Go where?”

“You’re going to ask me if I can watch London tomorrow, since Mom closed that door. Or Thursday or Friday. Or all three.”

Like I said, Marge is wise. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I could practically hear my sister rolling her eyes. “Don’t play dumb and don’t bother denying it, either. Why else would you be calling? Do you know how many times in the past five years you’ve called me at work?”

“Not offhand,” I admitted.

“Zero.”

“That’s not true.”

“You’re right. I’m lying to you. You call me every day. We chat and giggle like middle-school girls for hours while I’m doodling. Hold on for a second.”

I heard my sister cough, the sound deep and harsh. “You okay?” I asked.

“I think I picked up a virus.”

“In the summer?”

“I had to bring Dad to the doctor yesterday and the waiting room was filled with sickness and disease. It’s a wonder I didn’t leave on a stretcher.”

“How’s Dad?”

“It’ll take a few days for the labs to come in, but the stress test and EKG showed his heart was fine. Lungs, too. The doctor seemed pretty amazed, despite how surly Dad was.”

“Sounds like him,” I agreed. My mind circled back to London again. “What am I supposed to do with London if I can’t find anyone to watch her?”

“You’re smart. You’ll figure it out.”