Lost (13 page)

“You told them?” Karie asked when Sam
answered the door. She had come to our house first.

“Well, hello to
you too!” Sam said.

“No, nope, no
way. You aren’t charming your way out of this one, Sam Klevan,” Karie said from
the porch.

Oh yeah. This
was serious.

“I’m not trying
to. I’m sorry—”

“No! You know I
wanted to be there. Mom and Dad, your mom... they deserved that. Now, I look
like some little bitch...” She trailed off.

Sam shook his
head and attempted to hug her. She let him put his arms around her, but didn’t
return the gesture.

“No, Karie. You
don’t. I told our moms that we meant to do this together. I just thought since
I had the chance, maybe we wanted to tell them before we told your dad.”

“Did they seem
okay with it?” she asked.

I had overheard
enough and stuck my head outside. “Hey, guys. Come on in.”

Sam opened the
door, and Karie walked in. She was a tall, beautiful young woman. She had her
mother’s looks and her father’s height. She was almost as tall as Sam. Her
thick black hair hung in glossy waves down her back, and her light almond eyes
searched mine for signs of disapproval. She had on denim shorts and a T-shirt,
and she still looked like a model.

“Hi, Jule.” She
had called me Jule almost from the get-go. Not Julie or Jules—just Jule. “How
are you?”

I gave her a
hug, and I felt her relax. “I’m good, sweetie. It’s nice to see you.”

“You know this
isn’t how I wanted to tell you. Sam told you that, right?”

I assured her
that he did. “Sweetie, it’s okay. If you two are sure about this, we’ll figure
it out. But let’s wait until we get to your parents’ house. That way you don’t
have to hear this conversation twice, okay?”

She nodded, but
still looked worried.

I tried to calm
her fears. “Karie, relax. I’m hoping the two of you thought this through
before
coming to us, right?”

“We did,” she
said in a small voice.

“Well, okay
then. It’s going to be fine.” I gave her another quick hug and went upstairs to
grab my shoes.

Carey was at
work, but Jimmy and the girls were coming with us.

I popped my
head into the girls’ room. “Hey. You guys have your suits?”

Both girls
pulled up their shirts to show me that they did indeed have their bathing suits
on. I gave them a thumbs up and told them it was time to go.

I could hear
Jimmy downstairs talking to Sam and Karie, so I just went into my room to grab
my shoes. On my dresser, I saw a picture that I had taken of Brian with Anthony
and Ben. Three years ago, we all decided to do a group vacation. We ended up
settling on a cruise. The kids loved it! But one night we decided to dine in
the adults-only steakhouse, and I snapped a picture of the guys at the bar.
They each had a tumbler of Scotch in their hand.

I touched the
photo, tracing an outline of Brian’s face with my finger..

“Sam is dating
Karie.” I smiled. “I didn’t see that one coming! But, Brian... oh, they look
good together. They fit. You know? Like us. When you stood next to me, I felt
like I fit right into you. Sam and Karie fit.”

I wished Brian
could see his son and Karie. I shook it off and grabbed my flip-flops. I
debated whether or not I wanted to bring my bathing suit but figured I could
send Jimmy home for it if need be.

“Okay, let’s do this!” I said to the
kids that were assembled in my family room.

They all nodded
and filed out of the house. I was the last out and locked up. The three younger
kids were already well on their way to Bee’s house. Karie and Sam waited for
me.

“Sam told me
about the... well, he said it was a cat,” Karie said to me when I had caught up
with them.

“Honestly, I
don’t know what it was. It might have been a cat.”

“That’s crazy.
I don’t remember hearing about any other instances like that. Gotta keep an ear
out,” Karie said.

“My boss agrees
with Mom,” Sam noted. “Said that wild dogs have been known to come into
people’s yards—especially if they’re thirsty.”

“Well, we don’t
have Homer anymore, so there’s no water bowl out back, but who knows?” I
shrugged. “What else could it be, right?”

Karie nodded
her agreement. “I’m sure you’re right. As weird as it sounds, this wouldn’t be
the first time something like this happened.”

“My thoughts
exactly,” I told the kids as we finished the short walk. “And we’re here! You
ready?”

Sam and Karie
looked ill. I think the idea of telling her father scared her, but I think
Anthony would be okay with it, just as Bee and I were. That is, if the kids
could convince him that they had actually put some thought into what they were
doing.

“Mom? Dad?
We’re here!” Karie called out as she opened the door.

“Back here!”
Came the booming reply. “Kitchen!”

We wound our
way to the back. Jimmy and the girls had bypassed the house altogether and had
opted to just go through the gate to the backyard. I could see them playing in
the backyard with Ant. The kids were already soaking wet, having hit the pool
as soon as they could.

“Hey, lady.”
Anthony said to me, and I gave him a quick hug. “Hi, Sam.”

Sam shook
Anthony’s hand. Though I don’t think Anthony realized it yet, Sam was now
shaking the hand of his girlfriend’s father as opposed to his Dad’s friend.

“Hey, Daddy.”
Karie waited for her turn, and when Sam took a step back, she hugged her father
and planted a kiss on his cheek.

“Hey, baby
girl. How’s work going?” Anthony asked. Things had been tense between Karie and
her father, but lately it seemed as if things were returning to normal. There
seemed to be an easiness between the two of them that hadn’t been there for the
last two or three years. I’m sure her going back to school had something to do
with it.

“Work’s good! I
got a promotion.”

“You did?” Bee
jumped in. “To what?”

“Assistant
Manager.”

“You’re still
at Applebee’s, right?” I asked.

“Yep. Almost
three years now. It isn’t so bad. Tips have always been good, and the GM is
great. She really treats her employees well. So when the Assistant Manager
announced she was leaving, they asked if I wanted the job.”

“That’s great,”
Anthony said to his daughter. “Better hours?”

“Much! I’m
basically the day manager—from open until about 5. No more late nights, which
makes taking classes
much
easier... or it will.”

“Well. Good
job, Karie. I’m proud of you,” Anthony praised her.

I caught the
smile on Karie’s pretty face.

“So what do we
owe this visit?” Anthony said as he grabbed a beer out of the fridge. “J, you
want one?”

I shook my
head. “I’m good. Thanks.”

“Well, Dad.”
Karie sounded uncertain, and Sam took her hand. “There’s something we want to
tell you.”

The fact that
Sam was standing so close to his daughter and that he took her hand for moral
support wasn’t lost on Anthony, but he said nothing and just nodded at her to
continue.

“I told you I
was going back to school, right?”

Anthony nodded,
and she continued, “Well, one night I ran into Sam, and we just started
talking, and well... we just sort of—”

She was at a loss,
so Sam filled in the blanks, “We just clicked, sir. We started talking, and
before we knew it, we were calling each other and spending more time together.”

“Okay. And?”
Anthony seemed to want more.

“Well,” Karie
said as she looked up at Sam, “we just wanted you all to know that we feel
strongly enough about one another to make it official. We’re dating, and we
hope we have your blessing.”

“That’s it?”
Anthony seemed braced for impact.

“Umm... Yes,
sir.” Karie was confused.

Anthony was
silent for a minute. The two kids started to squirm under his gaze, and then
Anthony just burst out laughing.

“Are you
kidding me?” Bee scrutinized her husband. “What’s your problem?”

Anthony took a
deep breath. “Oh, please! You’ve been acting like someone shot your mutt. Jules,
you come over all somber,” he fired off, and then pointed to the two kids. “And
the two of you... The way you came in here, I thought you were about to tell me
you were pregnant or something. You’re dating! Pshh.”

He grabbed the
platter full of burgers and went outside, still chuckling to himself. I looked
at Bee, who stared back at me. Then we both turned to the kids.

I was the first
to start laughing, but soon the three of them joined in.

“Yeah, maybe we
did make that into a big deal,” I said.

“No!” Karie
said, suddenly serious again. “We just wanted to be sure you were all okay with
it! We didn’t want this to affect your friendship.”

“Honey,”—I gave
her a hug—“we’re good. You guys just be smart, and everything will work out in
the end, okay?”

She hugged me
back and said they would be careful. Sam took the salad bowl from Bee, and
Karie got the dressing and ketchup from the fridge.

The rest of the
night was great.

Though Ant did
push his sister in the pool. That caused a bit of a damper when she threatened
to squash him “like the little bug he was.” We laughed, ate, and had a blast.
The only thing missing was my husband.

1995

“Umm, excuse me? This is the daycare,
right?” I heard a very unsure voice ask me, and I looked up from my paperwork.

I looked around
the room. Toys filled every corner, and there were miniature tables and chairs
spaced throughout the room. The walls were brightly colored and had posters of
literary characters on them. And let’s not forget the sign that said “DAYCARE”
on the door.

“It is.” I
tried not to laugh or point out the obvious. “Can I help you?”

A young man
stood in front of me. I guessed him to be about my age. He had on a baby
carrier—the kind that sit on your shoulders so the baby rides comfortably
against your chest. I could see that the baby was awake, his head moving around
trying to see what was going on around him.

“Is that thing
comfortable?” I asked him.

He shrugged and
patted the baby on the butt. “It isn’t too bad. Sam likes riding around in it.”

“You should
turn him around.”

He looked
confused. “Like carry him on my back?”

I laughed. “No,
the baby. Put the little guy in the carrier so he’s facing out. Look at him. He
just wants to see what’s going on.”

I leaned over
and looked at the tiny little boy. I couldn’t resist the urge to rub those
chubby little cheeks, and when I did, he gave me a big grin and kicked his
little legs happily.

“You’re such a
big boy! Look at all those teeth!” I said, still talking to Sam.

“Well, I do try
to brush at least twice a day,” the young man joked.

I stood up and
blushed. I think he was flirting with me!

“I’m sorry. I
couldn’t resist.” He grinned back at me. “I’m Brian Klevan, and this is my son,
Sam.”

I held out my
hand. “Julie, nice to meet you.”

Brian stood
there looking unsure, so I went ahead. “Did you want to sign Sam up for
daycare?”

“I guess so. Is
that what’s supposed to happen
here
?” He looked so lost and confused. I
had to laugh.

“Sure,” I
replied. “Unless your wife or girlfriend already filled out the paperwork—”

“No. Oh no.
It’s just me and Sam. Well, we live with my parents. They help out a lot. My
mom usually watches him, but I thought it might be good for Sam to be around
other kids. You know, to socialize.”

He babbled a
bit more, but I let him talk. I sensed he needed some reassurance. He needed to
know that what he was doing was right. When he was finished, he took a deep
breath.

“You done?” I
asked him, though not unkindly.

He started
laughing. “Sorry, that was bad. I know. I’m just so lost.”

“No problem. Okay.
First things first. I need your student ID.” The daycare was only available to
students and faculty at the university.

He fished it
out of his wallet and handed it to me. “Here you go.”

“Brian Klevan.”
I punched everything into the computer. “Okay. Active. That’s good to go.”

I gathered up
some paperwork and handed it to him. “Do you have Sam’s birth certificate and
shot record?”

“Oh, shit.” As
soon as he said it, he blushed. “Sorry. Umm, I have his shot record, but I
didn’t bring his birth certificate with me.”

I held up my
hand. “Not a problem. You have 30 days from the time you turn in the paperwork
to get it to me. Just don’t forget, okay?”

He nodded, and
I continued, “Fill out all the forms, front and back. Make sure you have an
emergency contact. Someone that Sam knows and is comfortable with would be
best. And then we just need a copy of your schedule.”

“And that’s
it?” He asked.

“That’s it.” I
told him, searching for a pen for him to use. “There is a small fee, but that’s
because of Sam’s age.”

“How small?”

“It’s $45 a
month for children under two,” I told him. “It’s mostly because infants and
toddlers require more work, licensing fees, that kind of thing.”

“Oh! Okay. $45?
I can handle that! Do I pay you?”

“No.” I handed
him the two additional forms. “You will need to make the first month’s payment
at the registrar’s office, and then each payment will be due on the first of
the month.”

“Excellent.
Thanks for your help.” He smiled at me, blue eyes twinkling. “I think we’re
really going to like it here.”