Her Perfect Valentine Birthday Surprise (3 page)

   “Sheldon, what am I supposed to tell her about you?”

   “Think of something on the way.”  He opened the door.

   I grabbed my purse from the desk drawer and walked with him to the underground garage.  I don’t remember how I got to the daycare.  I don’t remember stopping for traffic lights or making any turns.  All I could think about was that Sheldon wanted to know his daughter.  What did it all mean?

   Marissa was playing with some other children when I pulled up into the driveway of the afterschool daycare center.  She ran toward me, and I knelt down and wrapped my arms around her.  My heart throbbed with love as I closed my eyes and drank in her sweet innocence, stroked her curly long golden stresses.

   “Hi, Marissa.”

   I startled at the deep voice behind me.  I glanced over my shoulder at Sheldon, still not knowing how to introduce him.

   “You’re a stranger.  I can’t talk to strangers.”

   Sheldon’s smile vanished from his face.  But, Marissa was right.  He was a stranger to her.  I wet my lips at the irony that he’d been a stranger to me the night she was conceived.  If I hadn’t left the bar with him, Marissa wouldn’t be here.  “Honey, you can talk to this man.  I give you permission.”

   “Why come?”  Her brows wrinkled as she gazed up at Sheldon through piercing blue eyes.

   “He’s Mommy’s friend.  He wants to be your friend, too.”

   “Why come?”

   “Why come?  Why come?  Is that all you can say?”  Sheldon stooped down to her eye level, grinning with abandonment.

   I could tell he was smitten by her already.   Marissa was the type of child who everyone fell in love with at first sight.  It was one of the reasons I instilled the fear of talking to strangers in her.  I worried every time I was away from her.

   “I bet you like ice cream,” Sheldon drawled with enticement.

   “Yeah!”  Marissa shouted.  “You got some?”

   “I know the perfect place where we can get some.”  Sheldon stood up and reached his hand toward her.  “Come with me,” he told her, just as he’d told me six years ago on the night she was conceived.

   “Is Mommy coming?” Marissa asked, as she took her father’s hand for the very first time.

   “Of course.  You’ll both ride in my car.”  He looked at me for confirmation.

   I nodded.  “Give me a minute.”  I ran inside to sign out Marissa and get her backpack.  When I came back outside, she and Sheldon were still holding hands.  They looked perfect together.  Again I wondered what his presence in her life meant.  “Ready,” I said, standing beside them.

   “Let’s go get ice cream.”  Marissa pulled on Sheldon’s arm.

   I followed behind them as they walked to his Mercedes.

   “What about Mommy’s car?  I have important stuff in there,” Marissa said, forcing him to a halt.

   He chuckled as he gazed down at her upturned face.  “What kind of important stuff?”

   “My Barbies and my dollies, my coloring books, and my Disney movies.”

   “Wow, those are very important stuff.  I’ll bring you and Mommy back to her car after ice-cream, okay?”

   “Okay?”

   I didn’t say much at the ice cream parlor.  Marissa and Sheldon had a lot of catching up to do.  I sipped lemonade while my daughter took her father on an informational ride into her world.  She named all her friends at school.  She told him about the time she fell on the ice and broke her arm and had to wear a cast for eight weeks.  She told him about little Jacob whom she punched in the nose when he tried to kiss her.

   Sheldon threw back his head and laughed at that one.  “No boy steals kisses from my baby-girl,” he exclaimed.

   “I’m not your baby-girl,” Marissa said adamantly.  “I’m my daddy’s little baby-girl.  I love him.  I’m
his
baby girl!” She crossed her arms and dropped her chin.

   David always used to refer to her as his little baby girl—well until he found out she wasn’t.  She missed that.  She missed him.  Seeing the hurt in Sheldon’s eyes, and the sadness on my daughter’s face, I intervened.  “I think we should call it a day.”

   We rode in silence back to the daycare center.  Marissa’s goodbye to Sheldon was cold.  I buckled her into the back seat of my car then walked Sheldon to his.  “You have to give her time,” I admonished him gently.  “David is the only father she has known.  She misses him.”

   “I know.  I understand.  And it’s driving me crazy to know that I can’t be there for her.  Be a father to her, yet.”  He looked at me thoughtfully then asked,  “Can I come by tonight after she’s asleep?”

   “Why?”

   “I need to talk to you.”

   “About what?”  Did he want custody of Marissa?  He was rich; I was poor.  He was married; I was not.  He could offer her all the luxuries in life when I can barely pay for her afterschool daycare.  The familiar courtroom drama flashed across my mind.  The knots formed in my stomach.  I glanced back at my car and hopped from one foot to another, the fear building inside me at an enormous rate.

   “It’s nothing to worry about,” he assured me, sensing my fears, as he seemed to have a knack to do.  “There are important things we need to discuss.  I promise, Elizabeth.  I just need to talk with you.  I just found out you had my baby.  There’s a lot we need to discuss, don’t you think?  I’m not taking Marissa away from you.  I would never do that.  We just need to talk,” he reiterated, gazing down at me with earnestness in his blue eyes

   I knew I was crazy, but I agreed to let him come by.  “Okay.  She’ll be asleep by nine.”

   “Thank you.  See you at nine, then.”

   I rushed home and cooked a burger and fries for Marissa.  I couldn’t eat.  I put her to bed, then showered and splashed on some perfume.  Sheldon knocked on my door at 9:05.  He was wearing the same suit he’d worn all day.  He hadn’t been home, it seemed.

   “Elizabeth, I love you.  I’ve been in love with you ever since that night we met,” he blurted out as he came through my door.  His eyes shimmered with warmth and passion.

   “Sheldon, you’re married,” I reminded him after the shock wore off.

   He closed the door and gazed down at me.  “That’s the thing, Elizabeth, I’m not.”

   My mouth dropped open.  “You’re not what?”

   He cleared his throat.  “Denise and I don’t love each other.  Hell, we don’t even like each other.  Our parents forced us into that marriage to merge our companies.  It was business, not love.  I love my kids, but that marriage has been slowly choking the life out of me.  After spending two weeks with you and a few hours with Marissa today, I know—”

   I put my hands up to stop him.  “Back up.  I’m still on your, ‘I’m not’.  You’re not what?” I repeated.  I needed to hear the full sentence.  

   “Denise and I have been divorced for six months.”

   My heart leaped against my ribcage.  I took a few steps back from Sheldon.  Being that close to him, knowing he wasn’t married was making me dizzy.  “You’re divorced?”  I asked when I finally found my voice again.  “How come it’s not public knowledge?”

   “We kept it quiet for business, and for the girls.  We still share the master suite to keep up appearances for the nanny and the housekeeper.  I sleep on the couch in the bedroom the few nights Denise has spent at home since the divorce.  But now that you’re back in my life, I don’t see the need to keep our split shrouded in mystery.  You and I have wasted too many years, already.  I don’t want to waste any more, especially not with Marissa.”

   I was speechless.  I couldn’t, didn’t want to believe the words that were coming out of his mouth.  
He loved me!
 
He was divorced!
  I could have him right here and now if I wanted, and I did want him.

   Sensing my shock and inability to respond, he marched right up to me and pulled me into his arms, just as he’d done the night we met.  And when his lips descended on mine, as usual, my common sense took flight, but only for a few brief moments.  
I needed to know
.

   I pushed him away and gazed up into his entrancing eyes.  “Sheldon, were you married that night we made love?  Were you involved or even engaged?”

   His eyes narrowed to slid as if he was hurt I would think so little of him.  But if he’d cheated on his wife back then, how could I be sure he wouldn’t cheat on me.  He could just be telling me he loved me just to get into my panties again.  Nothing was about me anymore.  I had a child to protect now.

   Sheldon dropped his hands to his side.  “The night I walked into that bar was the night my father told me I had to marry Denise to save our company,” he said, with a regretful twist to his lips.  “Denise and I knew each other through our families’ connection, but we weren’t a couple.”  He scoffed.  “I was never even attracted to her.  But when my father explained the trouble our company was in, I had to agree to save it, to save our family from financial ruin.”

   He shook his head as if to shake off the memory of that conversation.  “God, I was so distraught.  I just wanted to drink myself into oblivion, so I went out bar hopping.  Yours was the third I hit, and when I saw you sitting there, looking like a love goddess, I thought how unfair life was.  I only had that one night of freedom left, and I was determined to make every second count.”

   Relief circulated through me, replacing the doubts I’d been harboring about his fidelity.  I reached up and stroked my fingers along his strong jawlines.  “I was lonely that night.  My girlfriend was supposed to celebrate my birthday with me, but she had to cancel,” I said.  “I guess it was the loneliness that drove me into your arms, your car, and your bed.”

   “I don’t care what it was that brought us together.  I’m just happy we did get together.”  Sheldon took my hand and let me over to the couch where we sat holding each other.  He chuckled as he stroked his fingers through my hair.  “I told you I was your Perfect Valentine Birthday Surprise.  It was even more perfect than either of us realized.”

   “Yes, our beautiful daughter was born from that union.”  Suddenly, a different kind of doubt set in again.  I gazed up at him through the dim lamplight.  “Are you sure you want her, me...”

   He took my hand and held it against his chest.  “With all my heart, darling.  I promise we’ll be together soon.  You, Marissa, and my other two daughters are the most important things in my life.  We will be a family, Elizabeth, hopefully by the time your birthday and Valentine’s Day come around again.”

   Remembering how he’d reacted when I told him Marissa didn’t see her father regularly, I asked, “Can you live with the fact that you wouldn’t be there for your daughters everyday, Sheldon?”

   “Angelica and Ruby will be living with us,” he said.  “That is if you don’t mind being a mother to them.  They’re really great kids,” he added with a hint of hope in his eyes.  

   “What about their mother?  What kind of custody do you guys share?”

   “Denise never wanted them.  Her parents forced her into having them, just like they forced her into marrying me.  She hardly spends any time with them.  She’s too busy with her friends, and whatever else keeps her away from home.  At any given moment, she packs her bags and takes off to Paris, London, Las Vegas, or wherever the social wind blows her.  She’s still very immature.  I thought she would grow up after Angelica was born, but she got worse.  Her lack of maternal instinct and nurturing is what hurts worst in all of this.”

   “How could any woman not want her children?  I can’t even imagine my life without Marissa in it.  I hate being away from her all day, but I have to work.”

   “You won’t need to work once we’re married,” Sheldon said with a grin.  “In fact, I’m firing you right now.  Don’t bother coming in tomorrow, Ms. Ryder.  Your services are no longer needed.”

   “None of my services?” I asked, tongue in cheek.  “However will I get by?”

   “Don’t worry.  I have it covered.”

   “I’m sure you do,” I said on a smile as Sheldon’s lips descended on mine once more.  I knew I could trust him.  He was loyal to a woman he didn’t even love.  I would never have to worry about his commitment to Marissa and me, but even though he said his girls never see their mother, I worried about their reaction when they learned that their parents were not together anymore.  It may not have been a happy home, but it was all they knew.

   I knew firsthand how devastating divorce could be, especially for children.  I pulled away from Sheldon.  “As much as I want to start a new life with you, I’m concerned about the emotional impact the changes will have on Angelica and Ruby.  I’m a stranger to them.  Besides, your wife may suddenly decide that she’s ready to be a mother and fight you for custody.  I don’t want to put them or you through that kind of pain.  I’m content in knowing you’ve accepted Marissa and wants to be a father to her one day when the time is right to tell her who you are.”

   “Denise will never do that,” he said with remarkable certainly.

   “How can you be so sure?”

   “She gave me full custody.  She doesn’t even want visitation rights, she told me.”  His voice broke.

   “Oh, Sheldon.”  I knew it must hurt him.  David wasn’t Marissa’s biological father, and it made me sad whenever I see the hurt on her face brought on by his neglect of her.  As bad as it was for me, it had to be more devastating to hear the person you made babies with say they want nothing to do with those babies.