Song of Solomon (6 page)

“So what time should I tell the pastor to call you?” Margaret followed Neil around his office with pad and pen in hand while he gathered his belongings.

Neil paused long enough to face her. “Well, I understand that the kids have sack lunches and will be eating at the end of their tour, which will be around noon. That should be a good time for him to call. Let's say twelve-thirty just to be on the safe side.” He scurried to his desk and pulled out a folder he would need to have for his scheduled conversation with Pastor Loather.

“What are
you
going to do about lunch?”

Neil chuckled at Margaret's maternal-like concern. “Don't worry about me, Ms. Dasher. I'll eat. I always do. I'm sure there is an eatery somewhere in the area where I can pick up something quick.” Slipping on his Ray Bans and his suit jacket, and then scooping up his briefcase, Neil walked into the school lobby and stopped at the front door with Margaret still behind him. “Call me if you need me,” he concluded, and then pushed through the door that delivered him outside. The heat index prompted him to remove his suit jacket during the short walk to the bus, and as he stepped onboard, the cheers of the children were deafening. Knowing he'd made them happy gave him a sense of pride.

Miss Berkshire offered him a front seat, but he declined. Immediately upon boarding, Neil noticed Shaylynn sitting in the rear of the bus and answered the calls for several high fives on his way to join her. It wasn't until he'd placed his jacket over the back of the seat and laid his briefcase on the space beside him that Neil realized Shaylynn's distracted demeanor. She looked straight ahead, closely watching her son, who sat four seats in front of her, sharing the row with two of his classmates.

“You're very protective of him, aren't you?” Neil watched Shaylynn's eyes redirect after her stare had been broken by his words. Seeing her bewilderment, he offered clarification. “Chase. I've noticed that you keep a pretty watchful eye on him.”

“I'm his mother. Isn't that what mothers do?” Her reply wasn't quite a snap, but it was definitely guarded.

“You'd be surprised,” Neil said. “He's a good kid, and I applaud you for being an involved parent. It's not as common as you may believe.”

She seemed to relax a bit. “Thanks.”

Although the forty-five minute ride to the Georgia Aquarium was noisy with the chatter of overzealous children, the back rows were silent during the first half of the trip. Periodically, Neil would steal a glance in Shaylynn's direction, but she never looked in his. If her eyes weren't observing her son's interactions, they were staring, almost robotically, out of the window beside her. Neil couldn't recall the last time a woman that he knew so little about had intrigued him more. Shaylynn's disposition almost perplexed him. She was quite pleasing to look at, but even on the few occasions that he'd seen her smile, her eyes carried a shadow of sorrow.

“Has Chase ever been to the aquarium?” Neil tried to make small talk to ease what felt like an unsubstantiated mounting tension.

Shaylynn hinted a smile and shook her head from side to side. “No. He's really excited about the visit. It's just about all he's talked about for the last two weeks. I hope it lives up to his expectations.”

“I'm certain that it will. The Georgia Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the world. It's like a sporting event in Atlanta; draws a lot of fans . . . and children are always captivated when they see the displays.” Neil chuckled. “Heck, if most grown folks are honest, they'll admit that they're pretty impressed on their first visit too.”

“A sporting event, huh? So should I expect to be awed by the little fishes too?”

Neil turned to look at Shaylynn and saw the blatant sarcasm on her face. He couldn't help but appreciate knowing that beneath the surface, there lay a sense of humor. It was an unexpected pleasure upon which he felt a strong desire to build.

“You think I'm overstating the facts, do you?”

Shaylynn shrugged and smoothed out the soft wrinkles in her grey silk slacks. “Since I've not been there, I probably don't have the right to make that call,” she replied. “But one thing that I've learned about Atlantans and sports in the little time that I've been here is that you all really love your city and your teams. Personally, I think they're both overrated.”

Shifting his body in his seat, Neil turned so that his legs were in the aisle, and he faced Shaylynn. “How so?”

“Are you going to get defensive, Dr. Taylor? I mean, I don't want to offend you.”

Neil flashed a toothy grin and adjusted his sunglasses. He searched Shaylynn's youthful face and wondered how old she was. With a six-year-old, he guessed that she was probably at least twenty-six, and then calculated the years that separated her age from his.
Nineteen
. It sounded like too large a number to Neil, but it didn't erase his growing intrigue.

“Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, Mrs. Ford. Now, I can't promise you that I won't defend my hometown or the teams that represent it, but I don't think you can say anything that I would take as a personal offense.”

Shaylynn looked toward Chase for a moment, and then for the first time since their conversation began, she gave Neil her undivided attention. “Well, Atlanta itself is overcrowded and riddled with crime. And once . . . just
once
, I'd like to go to my neighborhood post office without having an able-bodied man wearing a G-Unit shirt, FUBU jeans, and a pair of Air Force Ones standing out front begging for money, and then copping an attitude when I refuse to give him any.”

“That's not just in Atlanta,” Neil rebutted. “That's everywhere and always has been. Even the Bible tells us that the poor will be with us always.”

“The Bible also says that if a man doesn't work, he shouldn't eat. I know there are some who have not because they cannot, but since I've been in Atlanta, I've seen countless people who have not because they
do
not.”

She knew the Bible, and to Neil, that was a good sign
.
He nodded slowly and decided to move on. “And why do you dislike our sports teams?”

“I didn't say I disliked them. I said that they're overrated.”

“In what way?”

“Let's take your baseball team for instance.” She didn't miss a beat.

“The Braves.”

“Uh-huh.” Shaylynn nodded and removed the clip that held her neatly woven braids in a ponytail, and then replaced it after freeing some of the braids and allowing them to fall to the sides of her face. Then she threw him a brief side look. “They've only won one national championship, but if I recall correctly, just a few years ago, Atlanta wanted to make a very public stink about the fact that the Braves weren't chosen as the baseball team of the century.”

“Well, they had valid grounds to feel slighted, don't you think? I mean, they'd won more consecutive pennants than any other team in baseball history.”

“But they'd won only one World Series, whereas New York had won several.”

Neil's right eyebrow arched. He was impressed by how well-informed this woman was. She must have had some northern ties. “A New York fan, are you?”

She grimaced. “No. Not at all. Not of the city or the team, but like 'em or not, they earned the title of team of the century.”

The left corner of Neil's lips curled up into a half smile. Shaylynn's knowledge of sports statistics charmed him even more. “Perhaps,” he said. “But according to who's doing the judging, the definition of a champion may not be so much defined by the team who wins, but rather the team that shows the most integrity during the battle.”

“Is that so?”

Both of Neil's eyebrows rose this time. He realized immediately that he'd set himself up for a new challenge. “You don't agree?”

“Oh, no. Quite the opposite. I fully agree. I just think that it's funny that you should cite that when speaking of Atlanta.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Falcons have only made it to the finals of one Super Bowl, right?”

Neil's grin returned and expanded, and he quietly accepted defeat even before Shaylynn made her point. He already knew where she was headed with this one, and the impression that she'd already made on him was getting deeper by the minute. When he didn't respond, she continued.

“The one time that they made it to the Super Bowl, not only did they lose the game by two touchdowns, but they showed very little integrity, even going so far as getting in legal troubles while they were there in Miami to play the Broncos.” Then curling her upper lip, she added, “And the Hawks, well . . .”

Neil leaned back and broke into a hearty laugh that caused the children in the seats nearest them to briefly turn and look before resuming their own conversations. He was probably getting too much pleasure from the exchange between Shaylynn and him. Although her words were straightforward and her facial expressions matched them to perfection, Neil felt a twinge of toying in Shaylynn's interaction. He knew that it was most likely all wishful thinking, but he enjoyed it anyway.

“Come on, Mrs. Ford. Cut us a break. Besides, the Hawks are playing a whole lot better now than they've played in recent history. You have to give us that much.”

“And I will.” She returned his smile. “Yes, they are doing better. Their games don't get blacked out on the cable networks like they used to. They've been impressive in a couple of playoff challenges in recent years. There's hope of a championship for them yet.”

Neil laughed again, and then said, “Your knowledge of sports is commendable.” His eyes followed her hands as they reached into her purse and pulled out a pair of sunglasses of her own. The studded Baby Phat emblem showed on the frame. “Not many women that I know are sports fans. Where did you get your love for the game?”

“The words
fan
and
love
are far too strong, Dr. Taylor. I assure you that.” She paused as she blew her warm breath on the lenses of her glasses and wiped them with the end of her multi-colored silk blouse. “I don't have a love for sports, and I can't say that I'm a fan of any particular team. I just got into the habit of watching the games with Emmett, and occasionally, I still watch with Chase.”

Although she looked directly ahead and not at him, Neil could see the sadness gradually return to Shaylynn's eyes. “Emmett?” He had little doubt that he didn't already know the answer, but Neil fished for assurance.

Shaylynn took a moment to slip the sunglasses on her face, and then she relaxed her head against the back of the seat. “My husband.”

Shaylynn's voice that had once been strong was barely audible when she spoke the two words, but they were loud and clear to Neil's ears. Not her former husband, not her deceased husband, not her late husband . . . but her husband. Neil bitterly took note of that. Shaylynn's body language clearly stated that she didn't want the conversation to continue, but as Neil caught a new sparkle from her wedding set, he knew he had to keep talking. Not necessarily about Emmett. As a matter of fact, he didn't even want to talk about Emmett. But he needed to talk about
something
. He needed to establish a level of trust between them so that he could get to know her better. Neil's fascination was too strong to let go now.

“So is there anything about Atlanta that you like?” He thought he'd take it back to their original conversation, and when Shaylynn turned in his direction and delivered to him a faint smile, Neil figured he'd made a good decision.

“Have I led you to believe that I hate the city?”

“You don't?”

Shaylynn sat up straight. “Of course not. I wouldn't live here if I hated it. I do have options, you know.”

“I don't doubt that one bit. I'd guess that you have more choices than most.” Neil tried to mask his allusive tone, but from the look Shaylynn tossed him, he knew he'd failed. Quickly moving on, he asked, “So what do you like about Atlanta?”

After a thoughtful pause, she replied, “Well, for starters, I like Kingdom Builders Academy.”

Neil couldn't have withheld his pleasure if he'd tried. “That's good to know. I take that as a personal compliment. Whenever the school gets a high mark from a parent, it makes me feel like I'm doing something right.”

Shaylynn looked toward Chase, and then back at Neil. “When my son is happy, I'm happy.”

Agreeably, Neil nodded. “Anything else about Atlanta that you find . . . attractive?” Now he was just plain flirting, but from Shaylynn's reply, Neil doubted that she'd picked up on it.

“I like the potential for success that a new business like mine has.”

Neil leaned forward. “What business is that?”

“I'm an interior decorator.”

“Oh?” He never would have guessed, but as meticulously dressed as Shaylynn always appeared to be, a job that involved beautifying and coordinating was a perfect fit for her. “Is it a sole proprietorship?”

“Yes. Now that we've been here a few months, and Chase has adjusted to our new surroundings, I'm laying the groundwork for my company.”

“Will it be home based?”

“For starters, yes. Cuts down on the overhead.”

“Definitely,” Neil agreed.

“I may branch out into a separate workspace later.”

“That's economically smart. Have you chosen a name yet?” The more Neil talked to Shaylynn, the more he wanted to talk to her.

“I had the business about a year ago when we lived in Louisiana. It was called Ford's Home Interior and Designs then, so I plan to stick with that name as I restart it.”