Susan Crosby - I'm Your Man

“Chocolate milk and chocolate chip cookies, please,” Riley said.

“Plain milk will have to do, okay?” If I’d known you were coming…

“Okay.”

She opened the cabinet where she kept toys for Riley’s rare visits. He raced over and pulled out a basket of Hot Wheels, grabbing the three unopened packages on top. “Awesome! Mommy, look! Fire engines.”

“Cool.” Jess knelt to help him open the packages.

Maureen watched them for a few seconds. Something was up. Tension beyond the normal mother/daughter strain crackled in the air. Jess barely made eye contact, unusual for her. “In your face” was a term coined with Jess in mind.

“How about you, Jess?”

“Cookies and milk would be great, Mom. Thanks.”

Maureen retreated to her cozy kitchen, her thoughts spinning. She glanced at the refrigerator, decorated with photos and crayon drawings. She touched a fingertip to last year’s Christmas photo and the grins on their faces. Why had Jess come? What was happening? Since Jess had spirited Riley off to Seattle when he was just a few months old, she rarely initiated contact. Maureen had been the one to make plans to visit, to make ninety-five percent of the phone calls. She’d even bought them a computer with a video camera so that she and Riley could keep in touch more intimately than through phone calls.

Why are you here, Jess?

Maureen got her cookie plate down from her cupboard and took out a bakery box of the big, chewy, chocolate chip cookies she kept to satisfy Ted’s sweet tooth, then poured two glasses of milk.

“I could use a little help,” she called out, hoping to get a minute alone with her daughter, but it was Riley who popped into the kitchen.

“Those cookies are big,” he said.

“Hmm. I think you’re right. Maybe I should break them into smaller pieces and put some back?”

“No way.” He grinned.

She handed him the plate, then picked up the glasses and followed him. They sat on the floor among a city of cars already in place.

“This is the dish that Mommy painted, huh, Grandma? I can read it now. It says, ‘I love you, Mom.’”

“That’s right. She made it for me when she was twelve years old, for Mother’s Day.” When I was still a cool mom to her.

Jess slid her fingers around the circle of multicolored hearts painted around the edge. “Aunt Cherie took me to a do-it-yourself ceramics shop. We had a blast.”

“I wanna do that,” Riley mumbled, cookie crumbs spraying.

“Swallow before you talk, bud.”

Maureen took advantage of the opportunity. “Maybe the shop is still in business. How long are you staying?”

“I’m not sure yet, Mom.”

“No idea? A day? A week? A month?” she added in a teasing tone.

“I really don’t know.”

An open-ended visit? Now Maureen was really worried.

A long silence followed, until Riley finished his cookie and yawned. “Mommy, I’m tired.”

“Of course you are, bud. Let’s get you to bed.”

Maureen opened the sleeper-sofa in the guest room while Jess supervised Riley’s bedtime preparations. Hugs and kisses followed. His stuffed tiger, Stripe, was tucked in with him. He was almost asleep before the light was turned out.

“I’m going to bed, too,” Jess said outside the guest room door. “I’m wiped.”

She headed toward the bathroom, but Maureen stopped her. “What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you drive all the way down here without calling first. What if I’d been gone?”

“You’re never gone.”

Maureen had no response to that. Jess was right. It was a bone of contention with Ted, too. Which was why she’d finally given in and scheduled a vacation.

“Jess—”

“Really, Mom, I’m exhausted. Can we talk later?”

“I guess so.” What else could she say?

Jess slipped into the bathroom and shut the door.

Maybe it would be good to wait until tomorrow anyway. Since they pushed each other’s buttons easily, having a full night’s sleep first could only help.

By the time Maureen cleaned up the kitchen it was a little after ten o’clock. She climbed into bed and dialed Ted’s number.

“Guess what I came home to?” she said when he answered.

“An empty house with no one to rub your feet.”

She smiled. “That’s true. And in retrospect…”

“I can be there in ten minutes.” When she didn’t encourage him, he said, “I give up. What did you come home to?”

“My daughter and grandson.” She filled him in.

“It’s hard to imagine someone coming that far without checking to see if it was okay.”

“It’s also so Jess. She’s always been impulsive. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn she got up early this morning and decided on a whim to come.” But what does she want? Because there has to be a catch….

“She knows we’re leaving for Europe in two weeks, right?”

“We really didn’t get to talk.” A long silence ensued. “Maybe we all could go on a picnic tomorrow. It would be a great way for you to get to know each other, in a casual situation like that.”

“Sure. I’ll come around noon.”

“Good. Gives me time to shop first.”

“How come you got home so early from your girls’ night?” he asked.

“Cherie and I ended up staying at Bonnie’s place a lot longer. She needed quite a bit done. I came home to change my clothes and go back out, but then Jess and Riley were here.”

“Lucky timing.”

“It sure was.”

After they hung up she lay in bed, too keyed up, too curious and too, well, happy. She shouldn’t question why Jess had come but just be grateful. Maybe Jess was reaching out. Maybe at twenty-three she was finally maturing.

Maybe second chances could happen, after all.

Then again, maybe it was just something to add to her list of fantasies.

As much as Maureen wanted to sleep in, her internal alarm woke her at 6:00 a.m. Frustrated, she pulled the blanket higher and rolled over—and came almost nose to nose with Riley, who stood beside her bed, solemn-faced, staring at her. Her heart thumped at the surprise, but she calmly said good morning.

“Here.” He shoved an envelope at her.

Dread slammed into Maureen. She sat up and patted the spot beside her, inviting Riley to join her. He didn’t budge, except to tighten his hold on his tiger. His eyes brightened with tears.

She opened the letter.

Dear Mom,

I’m sorry to just take off like this, but I couldn’t let you talk me out of leaving. I’m going to be on True Grit! It’s a reality TV show, and the winner gets a million dollars. I’m going to win. I just know it.

The filming takes about six weeks. You won’t be able to get in touch with me unless it’s an emergency. I attached a sheet of instructions from the show’s producers and the legal forms you need if you have to authorize medical care for Riley. I won’t be allowed to call home. I have no idea where I’ll be.

I know you don’t think I’m responsible, Mom, but I can do this. I can win it. Then I’ll have enough money to be independent and take care of Riley by myself. It’s for him, Mom. He’ll also need money for college, and this is the best chance I have of getting it. And it’s time for me to go out on my own, not rely on Daniel anymore.

So I’m leaving Riley with you. You’ve always said you’ve been cheated out of knowing him because I took him to live at Daniel’s. Now’s your chance.

Have fun with my baby.

Love, Jess

P. S. I’ve enclosed a blank journal. I’d appreciate it if you would jot things down, you know, the Rileyisms he’s famous for, so that I don’t feel like I’ve missed so much time with him. Thanks!

“She went away,” Riley said, his lower lip quivering. “She’s not coming back for a long, long time. Forever!”

Against his protests, Maureen lifted him into bed and tucked him close. Jess, Jess, Jess. What have you done? And why me instead of Daniel? “Did Mommy tell you where she’s going, honey?”

He nodded, his face rubbing her chest. “She’s going to win a bazillion dollars.”

And what were the chances of her being the last one standing and winning the prize?

“I want my mommy.”

“I know, sweetie.” She searched for the right words to help him. It was the first time he’d been away from Jess, and she’d apparently surprised Riley as much as Maureen. “Did she tell you she’s going to be on television? On True Grit? Do you watch True Grit?”

“Yeah, with Mommy. It’s kinda weird.”

She would have to take his word for it, since she’d never seen an episode. But it had become a pop-culture icon, and she knew enough about it to wonder if Jess could compete. Was she strong enough, physically and mentally, to withstand the intense challenges?

“Won’t it be fun to see Mommy on TV?”

“I guess.”

“And I’m happy because I get you all to myself.” What was she going to do with him? She couldn’t stay home from work. And what about her vacation with Ted? He wasn’t going to understand. Oh, no, he wasn’t going to understand at all.

“Are you hungry? Would you like some of my super-duper chocolate-chip waffles?”

“Can I have maple syrup, too?”

Maureen refrained from shuddering at the double dose of sweetness. “Of course you can.” Her mind was whirling. Why hadn’t Jess left Riley with Daniel? It made no sense to bring Riley all the way down here, to take him from the only home he’d known.

But he’s mine. Happiness overshadowed her questions. For just a little while she would enjoy the gift Jess had given her.

“SOMEONE’S HERE,” Riley said, standing at Maureen’s front window.

“A tall man with short gray hair?”

“Yeah. He’s skinny.”

Maureen preferred to think of Ted as lanky. He was fifty, eleven years older than she, and very handsome, turning heads everywhere they went. “That’s Ted. He’s my boyfriend,” she said, getting up off the floor and heading toward the hallway.

“You have a boyfriend?” he asked, as if shocked.

Yeah. A stunner, isn’t it? She laughed quietly as she went to the front door, opening it before Ted could knock. “Hi.”

He was nine inches taller than her five foot six, so he had to stoop a little to kiss her, even as she went up on tiptoe. She moved in for a hug, more for herself than him. She dreaded telling him—

“You must be Riley,” Ted said, stepping back and looking over Maureen’s shoulder.

She turned. Her grandson was peeking around the doorway. “I’m Riley Joshua Cregg,” he said.

“Ted Montague. Good to meet you.” They shook hands like gentlemen, which made Maureen smile.

They all moved into the living room. Ted stopped and stared. “You opened a toy store.”

Not exactly, but she’d dug out Jess’s old toys, and Riley had brought a lot with him. They were scattered and piled throughout the room. “We couldn’t decide what we wanted to play with.”

“I see.” He looked around. “And your daughter?”

Without comment, Maureen picked up the envelope and passed it to Ted. Halfway through reading Jess’s letter, he sat in the overstuffed chair he’d claimed as his over the past few months. She looked around the room as he poured through the documents. The place really was a mess, and she generally hated mess, but she didn’t mind this one, the scattering of toys and the noise of one small boy.

Her furnishings suited the Italianate Victorian facade of the building, with its pretty blue-with-white trim. The eleven-foot ceilings made the house seem bigger than its actual square footage. It was roomy enough for her—two bedrooms, a full basement with lots of storage space, a bright, cozy kitchen and big, sunny backyard. She’d bought it fifteen years ago, before the area had started to gentrify, and it was now worth a small fortune, at least to her.