The Happiest Season (6 page)

John met Maggie’s eyes and gave a shrug.  “It’s fine with
me.  He’s so little, it isn’t as if it’ll be a problem to carry him around the
store.”

He could read the concern in Maggie’s eyes.  He could see
she feared they were imposing on him, but he couldn’t very well tell her he was
actually eager to spend time with them.  He hadn’t spent much time around
people, other than coworkers, for some time. 

Maggie appeared to relent, though he could still read in her
eyes that she was worried.

“Yay!  We all get to go, Pocomo,” Rickey said eagerly, as he
took the tiny dog from John and ran out the front door and to the truck.

Maggie glanced outside.  “Hopefully he won’t run into the
street,” she muttered.

“I’ll go with him,” John said.

“Thank you.  I’ll be just a minute.”

She hurried to assure the house was buckled down and then
locked the front door behind her.  She found Rickey was already in John’s
truck.  “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, frowning.  “I should have remembered that
Rickey needs a booster seat.”

“I should have remembered too,” John said.  As a cop, he was
well aware that children were required to be in a booster seat until they
reached a certain height and weight.

“I’ll be right back,” Maggie said.  She hurried over to the
garage door and to the keypad beside it.  She tapped in her password and the
door rose with a groan.  She dashed inside and returned a few seconds later
with Rickey’s booster seat.

Soon he was settled in the truck between John and Maggie. 
“I can see everything from here,” he said eagerly.  “Mama, can we get a truck?”

Maggie laughed.  “Not likely,” she told him honestly.

“Maybe when you’re older, you can get one,” John said.

Rickey beamed.  “Yeah, maybe when I’m older.”

John started the ignition and drove away from the neighborhood. 
The home improvement store wasn’t more than a few miles away and he pulled into
the lot.  He climbed out of the truck and noted that Maggie, being petite, was
having difficulty climbing out of the truck.

She made a rueful face when he rounded the hood and joined
her beside the open passenger door.  He raised a hand to her and she took it. 
He helped her down, careful not to release her hand until she was steady on her
feet. 

Rickey scrambled over and he lifted him out of the truck. 
Pocomo toddled over and he scooped up the obviously excited Chihuahua.  The
little dog promptly settled into his arms for the trip inside the store.

Rickey bounced with enthusiasm as John closed and locked the
truck door.  “John, can we look at the tools too?  I think I need a bigger
hammer.”

John glanced at Maggie and chuckled.  “If it’s all right
with your mom.”

“Honey, we’ll see,” she said, smoothing a hand over her
son’s tousled hair.  “We can’t keep John too long.  I’m sure he didn’t bank on
spending the day with us today.”  She sent him a hesitant glance, but he only
smiled in return.  If he was feeling put out, he wasn’t showing it.  Maybe he
was simply a Good Samaritan who helped others while on the job and in his
personal life too.

When it appeared Rickey was going to dash away from them,
Maggie hurriedly called him back.  “Son,” she said sternly, “remember your parking
lot rules.”

“Sorry, Mama,” he murmured and dashed back to them.  She
reached for his hand, since her rules dictated that he always hold her hand
while in a parking lot or crossing the street.  To her surprise, he reached for
John’s hand instead.

John readily accepted the little boy’s hand, and held it as
they crossed the parking lot and entered the store.  Rickey continued holding
onto John and chattered eagerly about tools. 

“Where are we going first?” he asked, his eyes glittering
with excitement.

“We’re going to pick out the siding first,” John told him
patiently.

“What kind are we getting?”

“We’re going to buy the same lap siding that’s on your
house,” he told him.  “That way, we can easily match it up.”

“And then we’ll have to paint it, huh?”

John nodded with approval.  “That’s right.”  He sent a look
at Maggie and smiled.  She returned his smile, impressed by his level of
patience with her son.  Rickey could be a handful at only five, since he was
forever asking questions.  If John was bothered, she couldn’t tell.

They quickly located the siding, which was a standard
variety wood.  John glanced around.  “I should have gotten a cart,” he mused,
looking around.  “I’ll be right back.”

Rickey chased after him and took his hand again.  “I’m going
with you.”

John glanced back at Maggie, who nodded her permission. 
Clearly Rickey was enamored with John, who was one of few males in his life at
present.  Rickey adored both of his granddads, but unfortunately, neither lived
nearby.  It was apparent he was craving attention from a male, and was enjoying
the opportunity to spend time with John.

Maggie felt a pang when she saw Rickey trotting happily
beside John, his eager face upturned and animated with conversation.  That
should be Shane, she thought, holding his son’s hand as they walked together
through the store.  It should have been Shane watching his little boy grow up.

Unfortunately no amount of wishing could change that Shane
was gone.

***

John smiled down at the little boy currently clutching his
hand.  Rickey hadn’t stopped talking since they’d left Maggie briefly to locate
a cart.  The little fellow was intrigued by nearly every item they passed, from
tools to roofing materials to painting supplies. 

He fired question after question, prompting John to stop on
several occasions to give a brief tutorial on an item when he was able.  Rickey
listened intently to his explanations of items and how they worked, his little
face tipped, his eyes narrowed, and his mouth set in a serious line.  John
found he actually enjoyed the little guy’s interest in all things home
improvement.

“You know,” he said, “you may grow up to be a carpenter, or
maybe a contractor of some type.”

Rickey shook his head.  “I’m going to be a police officer,”
he said resolutely. 

John came to a stop.  “You are?”

“Yeah.  I’m going to be a policeman so I can help people
like you do.”

Oddly, John felt his heart swelling with pride.  He wasn’t
certain why, or even if it was appropriate to feel proud that the little boy
had been affected by meeting him, but he felt the emotion none the less. 
“Well, I know you’ll make a great police officer when you grow up,” he said. 

Rickey nodded solemnly.  “I will.”

“We’d better get that cart and get back to your mom,” John
told him, still smiling.  “She’s going to think we got lost.”

“Yeah.  She worries a lot,” Rickey mused, and then pointed
in the directions of the carts.  “We need the big kind, huh?”

“Yes, we do,” John said.  He retrieved one of the carts
meant for carrying lumber supplies, and pushed it back to Rickey, who stood
waiting patiently.  They started back to Maggie, when someone inadvertently
stepped into their path.  John pulled the cart to a stop.

A man and a woman were intently studying light fixtures and
didn’t realize they’d blocked their way, until the woman happened to glance
over.  “Oh, sorry,” she murmured.  Her eyes suddenly widened in recognition.  “
John
?”

He hadn’t paid much attention to the couple, but suddenly
froze in surprise.  The woman was his ex, Kim.  He briefly lost the power of
speech, but finally managed a nod.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

He was taken aback.  It wasn’t any of her business.

“I mean…”  She gave a slight, condescending smile.  “It’s
not as if you have to worry about home repair or improvement, living in that
tiny…”

“Let’s go, Rickey,” he said brusquely.

The little boy seemed to sense something was amiss.  He gave
the woman an assessing glance, and for reasons he couldn’t fathom, he found he
didn’t like her.  Not one bit.  He sensed John was … upset?  Hurt?  His new
friend’s manner had definitely shifted.

“Yeah, let’s go,” he repeated, in John’s same brusque tone. 
John gave him a quick look, and sure enough, noted the little boy was watching
his ex with a hostile expression on his little face. 

The woman suddenly realized that Rickey and John were
together.  Her eyes widened in surprise and she gasped.  “Is he…?”  She shook
her head, but couldn’t miss the resemblance between her ex and the little boy. 
“Oh, I mean, of course not.  That’s not … possible.  Or… is … it?” she queried
suspiciously.

Her husband, Alex, stood by, unspeaking, but giving John a
speculative glance. 

John understood the implication of his ex’s words, but chose
not to respond.  Besides, how dare she even suspect he’d been unfaithful or
dishonest in their relationship, when he had been anything but?  Had she
forgotten it was her who had cheated on him? 

He began pushing the cart away from the couple.  He could
feel them staring at him and Rickey as they walked away.

He slowed some when he felt a small hand on his arm.  “I
didn’t like them,” Rickey whispered to him, and then gave an apologetic
glance.  “Sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” John assured him,
smiling at the earnest little boy.  Suddenly, his smile widened, lighting his
whole face.  For the past year, he’d been devastated by the loss of his wife. 
It had torn him up that his dreams for a future with her had gone up in smoke. 
He’d been alone for months now, isolating himself and feeling sorry for
himself.  He’d felt as if he had no one on his side.

He hadn’t confided in friends about the pain he was feeling,
nor had he told his parents or siblings.  He’d always been close-mouthed and
stalwart, but he suddenly realized his stubborn resolve to handle his own
problems had only served to isolate him and intensify the pain.

For whatever reason, having the little boy in his corner,
even for a brief moment, had given him a glimpse of what his future could still
hold.  He wasn’t old by any means.  Thirty-four was relatively young by most
standards.  His life wasn’t over because his wife had betrayed him. 

He had to concede he wasn’t ready to dive into a relationship
and would probably remain cautious about any quick moves, but seeing Kim with
her new husband had shown him that he had given her far too much power over
him—his emotions and his life.  From the smug look on her face, he garnered
that she recognized she still held sway over him and he resolved here and now
to stop allowing her to.  She had chosen to end their marriage.  She had called
the shots.  No more.  She no longer had power over him in any way, shape, or
form.  Now, if only he could stick to that resolution.

“Are you okay, John?” Rickey asked, watching him with
concern.

He shook his head to clear it and turned to the little boy. 
“I’m fine,” he answered, smiling reassuringly.

“Oh, I see Mama!”

John glanced ahead and spied Maggie watching them, her face
lit with a wistful smile.  He could see she was watching Rickey bouncing
alongside him. 

He wondered, was she remembering her husband?  Was she
seeing him walking alongside their little boy?  He couldn’t begin to imagine
the pain she must have endured.  While divorce was painful too, it couldn’t
compare to a death.  Death was final.  There was no undoing death.

Not that he wanted to undo his divorce.  That reality struck
him like a mallet upside his head.  He wanted nothing more to do with Kim.  It
was time he put her squarely in his past.

He gave a small smile.  Who knew a trip to the home
improvement store would end up ‘improving’ him.

“I see you found a cart,” Maggie noted, struggling to hold
onto an exuberant Pocomo.

“Yep.  We got one of the big ones,” Rickey told her.  He
gave a sly grin.  “We almost ran over a mean lady with it.”

“Rickey!” Maggie scolded.

John bit back a chuckle.  “It’s okay,” he assured her, and
then glanced at Rickey. 

“She
was
mean,” the little boy added.  “Really mean.”

“We’re done putting the siding on, Mama!” Rickey called
through the open back door.  “John wants to know if we have any of the ex… 
Ix…”  He frowned and gave a shrug.  “Some kind of paint.”

“Exterior paint,” she said, enunciating carefully.

He repeated the word and then said, “Yeah, that.”

“I think we have a couple cans in the garage.  Will you tell
John that I’ll check and be right out?”

“Okay, Mama!”

Maggie reached for a kitchen towel and wiped her hands,
before she dashed to the door to the garage.  She flipped on a switch, bathing
the small garage in light, and then began a visual search of the space.  She
finally spotted the paint cans in a far corner.