The Common Thread (31 page)

“What’s AJ stand for?” Chloe asked.

“It’s an acronym. A for Aunt, J is for my middle name, Jeanne. AJ. Sound good?” Nic’s suddenly thought about Jeannie and had a clearer understanding of her mom’s loyalty to her dear friend. There was certainly a good story behind her middle name. Too bad it’d taken thirty years for her to hear it.

“Yeah, and I can be AF,” Andre said conspiratorially, bringing Nic’s thoughts back to the table.

“What can I be?” Chloe asked. “I want an acronym, too.”

“Okay, you can be CF. How’s that?”

“I don’t like it.” She frowned and shook her head, then bit into her cheeseburger.

“Why don’t we think about it for a little while, okay?”

Nic could tell by the frown on her face that Chloe wasn’t thrilled to be cheated out of an acceptable nickname. Nic looked at the toy in her food box, then reached in and handed it to her. A smile instantly replaced the frown. All was blissful for exactly half a second.

“Hey, how come she gets two toys and I only get one?”

Nic wasn’t prepared for this parenting psychology and frowned in frustration. She’d warned both Jet and Rae that they shouldn’t trust her with small children, but they’d insisted anyway. She looked at her watch. It was approaching one o’clock. She’d had custody of them for less than an hour and already faced her first conflict. But if she could just hold out for seven more hours, Jet would come to the rescue. She sat taller, fortifying her conviction. She could do this.

Nic looked at his adorable face and tried not to laugh. “Well, I’m sorry about that, Andre. Would you like a Twinkle Toes toy, too?”

“Ewww!”

“Well, then why are you complaining?”

He had no answer, but Chloe seemed to like the way Nic had handled that and was a little friendlier as they headed to the store.

“I don’t like shopping,” Andre whined as they unbuckled their seat belts.

Nic turned in her seat and faced him. “Okay, you can stay in the car while we shop. When you need a clean shirt, you can wear one of your sister’s.”

“Ewww! I’m not wearing
girl
clothes.”

“Well, then I guess you have to shop with us.”

To keep their interest, they stopped first in the toy department, where Andre picked out a dozen things. Nic made him narrow it down to two, and he held his Legos triumphantly while Chloe browsed the aisles slowly and carefully. Finally, she settled on a board game and shyly asked if she could get a book instead of another toy.

Her hesitancy nearly melted Nic. “Of course you can,” she said as she patted her shoulder. Nic picked out her own toys—a Frisbee and a plastic ball and bat. They had a lot of time to kill, and she figured they’d stop at the park next.

They picked up the necessary toiletries to sustain them and then made good time through the clothing sections, picking out a variety of items in a sufficient quantity to allow Nic to avoid washing laundry for at least a few days. Andre found superheroes and Chloe found princesses and Hello Kitty, and when they left the store several hundred dollars later, both children wore broad smiles on their beautiful faces.

Nic looked at the clock on her dashboard as she buckled her seat belt. It was 2:15. What the hell could she do for another six hours? Counting perhaps another hour for dinner, she still had almost five hours to fill with fun and exciting activity. She didn’t possess the endurance to throw a Frisbee for that long. Then she had an idea. She could take them to see a movie. Whipping out her smartphone, she searched for movies playing locally. To her dismay, she found none with a rating appropriate for her niece and nephew, who she’d learned were eight and six years old. Then another idea occurred to her. She was just around the corner from the zoo, and she knew they could easily spend the afternoon there. She zigzagged through gardens and ghettos and finally found her way to Girard Avenue. From their backseat views they recognized the zoo’s entrance as they approached. “Did you ever go to the zoo, AJ?” Andre asked as she rounded the corner toward the parking area.

“Oh, once or twice. How about you? Did you ever go?”

“We went last year. But they didn’t have an elephant.” His voice was heavy with disappointment.

“Oh, that’s too bad. I guess we shouldn’t go today then, if they don’t have an elephant.”

“It was still fun,” Chloe exclaimed.

“Yeah, they still have snakes and giraffes.” Now Andre was excited, too, and as she pulled the car into a parking space, he shrieked. “Are we really going to the zoo?”

Nic turned in her seat to face them, trying hard not to smile at his enthusiasm. “If we go to the zoo, we need rules. Are you guys okay with that?” They both nodded. “First, no running. Second, you always have to keep me in sight. If you can see me, I can see you, right? That way, we won’t get lost. Third, Andre, you have to pee in the girl’s bathroom.”

“Ewww, why?”

“I think they have a family bathroom, AJ. We can go together,” Chloe informed Nic, her excitement overriding the hesitancy she’d displayed earlier.

“Okay, that’s fair. So do you guys agree to my terms?”

“Your what?” Chloe asked.

“The rules.”

They both nodded, and Nic smiled as they reached the sidewalk and Chloe took her brother’s hand. It surprised her that Andre allowed it; he was rather feisty. Yet he seemed to like the attention she paid him—at McDonald’s she’d wiped the ketchup from his face, and at the store she’d helped him to pick out a toothbrush and found the right size clothes for him. Her affection for him was obvious, and as Nic took a closer look, it was just as obvious that he loved her, too.

They reached the gate and Nic pulled out her credit card as she requested the tickets. The attendant informed her it was only a few dollars more for a season pass, good for an entire year from the date of purchase. Nic calculated the math in her head and reasoned that they only needed to make one return trip to the zoo to make it a worthwhile investment. As far as she was concerned, they could come to the zoo every day if it kept them occupied.

“You mean we can come here all the time?” Chloe asked, seeming bewildered.

“Whenever you want.”

“AJ, this is the best present ever. Thank you!” Before she knew what was happening, Chloe’s arms were wrapped around her waist, and then Andre joined her.

The sudden display of affection surprised her, and she had to admit that these children had as well. Although she’d never met them, she’d pre-formed her opinions of them based on what she’d learned about their mother, and Katie didn’t sound like the kind of person capable of caring for herself, let alone her kids. She’d truly anticipated meeting juvenile delinquents and had been fully prepared to tell Jet and Rae to go to hell. Then the look of delight on Andre’s face when he first saw her had melted her heart, and the hug he’d given her weakened her knees. She was smitten.

In the two hours they’d been together, Nic had seen that Chloe and Andre were two intelligent, well-mannered kids. The unsavory details Detective Young had shared and the news accounts she’d heard about Katie just didn’t jibe with what she was seeing. Something was off here, and knowing that made Nic even more confused about her feelings for their mother. It would be easy to walk away and avoid Katie if she were truly the woman who’d been described to her. Could Jet and Jeannie’s version be closer to the truth than she wanted to admit?

It was all so overwhelming Nic was truly grateful that Katie was in the SICU and she didn’t have to worry about it just yet. Things had a way of sorting themselves out, and she hoped that with time they would.

“You’re welcome, guys,” she said, clearing her throat of the tears forming there.

Their first stop was at the snake habitat, followed by polar bears, giraffes, monkeys, and a variety of big cats. They saw the city from a hundred feet up in a replica hot-air balloon and then ate ice cream in the shade of a giant oak tree. They saw a lemur exploring the new Treetop Trail, a walkway for animals suspended above them, winding its way around the entire zoo. Nic was exhausted by the time they left and wondered, not for the first time, how parents kept up with their children. But they had been polite and well behaved, inquisitive and enthusiastic. In spite of her fatigue, Nic knew as they walked through the gate on the way to the car that she would bring them back to the zoo anytime.

After making sure everyone was buckled in, Nic leaned back and took a deep breath. She was fucking exhausted. The dashboard clock now read 5:05. How could it be only 5:05? “Are you guys hungry?” she asked. It had only been a few hours since lunch, but they’d hopped around the zoo like kangaroos and certainly worked up an appetite.

They answered yes and no simultaneously, and Nic was amazed at how many times they’d wanted to go in separate directions in their short time together. Keeping them on the same page was a challenge.

“Well, we’re going to have to eat tonight. How’s pizza sound?”

When they agreed, she pulled out of the zoo parking lot and into the rush-hour traffic. The roads were crowded even heading into the city, and it was forty minutes before they were seated at the restaurant. She’d texted Louis and asked him to join them, but he was understandably tired after his night on call and asked only that Nic be kind enough to bring leftovers for his dinner, because he wasn’t up to the challenge of cooking.

Chloe and Andre showed no signs that the eventful forty-eight hours was affecting them. Chloe continued to mother him, and they remained pleasant in spite of the occasional flash of sibling rivalry. Andre tended to whine, and Chloe’s tactic of ignoring him seemed to be the perfect remedy.

“Do you ever make pizza?” Nic asked as they sat waiting for theirs, playing with straw wrappers to see who could create the best design out of the long strip of thin paper.

“I’m a great pizza chef,” Andre said. “And I don’t make a mess.”

“That’s probably the most important thing,” Nic replied. “What do you like to put on your pizza?”

“My favorite thing is chicken,” Chloe said.

“I like meatballs,” Andre added.

“Get out. You guys are really creative. I usually just do pepperoni.”

“Boring,” Chloe commented.

“Tell me about the chicken pizza.”

“Well, you cook the chicken in the oven, cut it in little pieces, sprinkle it on the pizza, and then put cheese and sauce on top.”

“Oh,” Nic said, “so it’s kind of like chicken Parmesan.”

“Yeah, that’s what my mom calls it. Chicken-Parmesan pizza.”

“And I guess Andre’s is called spaghetti-and-meatball pizza.”

He giggled at her clear display of ignorance, shaking his head. “No, there’s no spaghetti, just meatballs. It’s meatball pizza.”

“And you’re telling me that tastes good?”

“Really good,” Chloe said.

“Great,” Andre added.

“Well, guys, I hope you aren’t too disappointed with this plain old cheese-and-pepperoni pizza I ordered for us.”

“Pizza is still good, even without meatballs.”

Just a little while later, the server brought their pizza to the table and Andre’s prediction proved accurate; the pizza was good, even without meatballs. The busy day had stimulated all of their appetites, and Nic was worried there wouldn’t be any left over for Louis. There was, though, and when she paid the check and walked back to her car, she was happy to see it was close to seven. The finish line was in sight, and she was going to cross it in one piece.

With full bellies and tired legs they crossed the threshold into Nic’s apartment, each of them hauling bags filled with the treasures they’d collected at the store. They were greeted by Louis, who, in spite of the fatigue Nic knew he must be feeling, jumped from the couch to help with their load of packages. “Where were you in the parking lot?” Nic teased him.

“Just hand over the food and be quiet,” he ordered, then turned his attention to Chloe and Andre, whose ceaseless chattering suddenly halted. “Hi, guys. I’m Louis,” he said, and shook their hands. “And you must be Chloe,” he said as he pointed to Andre.

This drew a smile as Andre shook his head. “I’m Andre. That’s Chloe,” he said, and pointed toward his sister.

“Well, I’ve heard all about you guys and it’s nice to meet you. Did you buy me anything?” he asked as he pointed to the shopping bags.

Both children shook their heads apologetically.

“Yes, we did,” Nic replied. “Close your eyes.”

As Louis closed his eyes, Nic removed a tube of toothpaste and a can of air freshener from one of the bags and gave them to the children, who began giggling at the absurd gifts they were about to present. “Okay, you can open them now.”

His laughter was as genuine as theirs as he accepted his presents. “I really needed these. Thanks. Do you want to show me what you guys bought?”

As the kids began pulling things out of bags, Nic looked at Louis. “How is she?” She silently mouthed the words so Chloe and Andre wouldn’t hear.

“Extubated.”

Nic didn’t know why she felt such relief to know that someone she’d never even met was breathing on her own, but she was. Removing the ventilator was a great sign that Katie was stabilized and would survive. He didn’t need to tell her anything else, and she simply nodded, but inside, her heart was pounding at the news.

He smiled and winked at Nic. “Why don’t you get a shower or something? I can handle them for a little while.”

Nic raised both hands to her lips and blew him a kiss. “I love you so, so much,” she said as she ran the other way, not giving him the opportunity to change his mind.

As the warm water spread over her, Nic didn’t feel revived but exhausted. A million questions raced through her mind. How could she do this again tomorrow? Or the next day? How did Katie do this every day? How long would Katie be in the hospital? Who was Katie, really—the drug addict, dealer, and murderer the news had described or the woman who was raising two delightful children? What would Nic do about work? She worked part-time, twenty hours a week, which in her ER schedule equated to five shifts every two weeks. She wasn’t due back until Monday, for an evening shift. It would be a royal pain in the ass to switch, so in the next few days she had to figure out a plan.