Longing to Belong - Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Birch Creek, February 2001
“Nice weekend?” Sam asked his friend and partner that Monday morning as he stood over his desk.
Teaspoon shifted his eyes from the computer monitor, folded his arms, and leaned back in his chair. “Not bad. Not bad,” he replied. “Lou wanted to go to the movies. I couldn’t get ticket on Saturday, and on Sunday the theatre was still packed with kids, but I managed to wangle a couple of seats.”
Sam nodded. “I imagine that’s what is ahead for us when Frank grows a little.”
“Oh yeah, my friend. Maudlin Disney movies; trips to the zoo or the park, waiving your right to the remote control…”
“Okay, okay, I get the idea,” Sam cut him off as Teaspoon smirked at his rueful expression. He paused for a beat, kept thoughtful, and then in a hesitant tone, he added, “Uh… Teaspoon, can I ask you a personal question?”
“Sure. What is it?”
Sam perched on the desk as he asked, “When did you last do something intended for people over 18 or enjoy the company of adults for a change?”
“Sam, I hang out with you and your lovely wife all the time.”
“And a toddler and a nine-year-old girl. Teaspoon, you know what I mean.”
“And you already know the answer.”
Sam nodded. “Teaspoon, you know I’m not one to beat about the bush, so let me go right to the point.” He took a deep breath, and said, “Emma is acquainted with a nice woman, Millie, and we think you two could get along.”
“Sam, are you trying to play matchmaker on me?”
“I just think it’d do you good to enjoy some time for yourself. It’s almost two years Mary passed away.”
“And I think of her every single day,” Teaspoon muttered in a wistful tone.
“What I mean, my friend, is that no one would begrudge you for wanting some time for yourself. You’re a great dad, but there’s nothing wrong in having a social life as well. Millie is really a lovely woman, and I’m only suggesting you could meet and befriend her. Anything wrong with that?”
Teaspoon shook his head. “I really don’t know, Sam.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Even though Teaspoon had been totally against the blind date Sam had put forward earlier, he had ended up relenting. It was true that he focused all his energies on Lou. She was his number one priority, and that wouldn’t change However, Teaspoon was aware growing up and with time she would need him less and less. The day she started to live her own independent life, what would be left in his? Teaspoon didn’t feel he had to find a partner necessarily. His history with women had given him more problems than joy in most cases, and bachelorhood suited his needs. That, though, didn’t mean he had to make do with a lonely existence. Maybe Sam was right, and he needed to socialize more.
That was why he had finally asked for the woman’s telephone number and called her. Millie sounded quite friendly and nice, and they had agreed to go out on Saturday. Teaspoon imagined he could have a good time, and even though he hadn’t admitted it before, he was really forward to some less childlike form of entertainment. The problem now was that he would have to tell Lou she’d have to stay at the Cains’ on Saturday and the reason behind it, and she’d surely have questions.
It was after dinner that he decided to tackle the matter. He hemmed and hawed for a while before he could actually call her name. “Yes, daddy?” the girl responded, lifting her eyes from the notebook she was scribbling her homework in.
“Uh… how would you like to spend the night with Mrs. Cain and your new friend little Frank?” he finally said, trying to make his suggestion sound alluring.
“Do you mean like a sleep-over?”
“Uh, yes… suppose so.”
“Why?” the girl asked, knitting her eyebrows together into a frown.
“Why?” Teaspoon echoed, not sure what the girl meant.
“Why would I want to sleep there when I have my own bed here?”
“Uh… because… because on Saturday I’m meeting a friend, and I’m not sure what time I’ll be coming home.”
Lou rose from her chair and walked closer to Teaspoon, who was sitting on the sofa. “A friend? Do you mean Mr. Cain?”
“No, it’s not Sam. Another friend.”
“What friend? What’s his name?”
“Her name,” Teaspoon corrected, feeling his cheeks hot. “You don’t know her, sweetheart.” And neither do I, he mused, but didn’t voice the thought.
“But what’s her name?”
“Millie.”
“Only Millie?”
“Uh… I don’t think she’s ever told me her family name.”
“And where does she work?”
“I don’t know, Lou.”
“Where does she live?”
“Here in the city… but I’m not sure where exactly.”
“And does she have children?”
“I don’t know that either, honey.”
“And she’s your friend?” Lou asked in a tone that showed her obvious skepticism.
For a moment Teaspoon felt being moved back to the time when he was barely sixteen and went on his first date with a girl from her school called Ursula. Her father had grilled him with dozens of questions, and only when the man had been satisfied with Teaspoon’s answers had he allowed his daughter go out with him. Oddly, Lou had taken the part of the querulous father, and Teaspoon was as worried about her approval as he had been about Ursula’s father’s so many years ago.
“Lou, Millie is a good friend of Mrs. Cain’s, and well, I’m just meeting her for a little natter… like when you see your friends outside school.”
Lou folded her arms and looked at him in an almost unfriendly manner. “But she’s not really your friend. You only know her first name, dad!”
“Well, that may be true, but Emma and Sam think we can friends, and you know what I always say, a friend is more valuable than gold.”
Lou scowled as she exclaimed, “Dad, I know about dates, and about men and women! I’m not stupid! I’m almost ten!”
“Hey, hey!” Teaspoon reached for her, and made her sit next to him on the sofa. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he drew her towards him. “I know you aren’t stupid… quite the opposite, actually. And this isn’t a date, honey. Millie seems like a good woman, and I simply want to enjoy her company for a bit. That’s all.”
“If you say so,” Lou muttered, not convinced at all by Teaspoon’s arguments, and feeling a strange sick sensation at the pit of her stomach.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“What are you moping about?”
“Nothing,” Louise replied curtly from her secluded position on a lonely ledge in the farthest end of the schoolyard. She wasn’t in the mood for company of games, so she had hoped she’d be left alone during recess if she made herself scarce. However, Emily and Jenny had found her, and to her dismay when she lifted her eyes and saw Samantha Edgars with them.
“Don’t lie,” Jenny rebuked, sitting next to her. “You haven’t spoken a word to us all morning. Something’s not right, is it, Lou?”
Louise shrugged her shoulders and sighed. “What is it?” Emily asked in a sweeter tone.
“I…” Lou reluctantly started, but was at a loss how to put in words what was happening. In the end, she simply recounted what Teaspoon had told her the day before. “And I don’t like this. I don’t like it at all.”
For a moment nobody spoke, but then Emily started. “Your father might be telling you the truth. He must want to meet other people and make new friends.”
“And what if he fell in love? That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?”
“I… I don’t know,” Lou replied honestly.
“Lou, you know my parents divorced around the time your mother passed away. Now mom and I are living with her new husband. He’s nice… my, he’s even nicer than my father. You know what my dad is like, and Bart is so easy-going. Mom is now much happier.”
Louise listened to her friends with rapt attention, wondering if maybe she was worrying about nothing. Then, Samantha’s sharp voice rose in her usual authoritarian manner. “Friendship, love… oh, for goodness’ sake! Don’t listen to these two saps! Your father is a man, and my mom says all men just want one thing: sex. That’s why I’m sure your stepfather is so eager to meet this woman he doesn’t know from Adam because he wants sex!”
Lou stared at Samantha aghast. Her dad always said that he shouldn’t pay much heed to what Samantha said. However, she couldn’t turn a deaf ear to what she said. Samantha seemed to know more about the facts of life, as she tended to call them, than all the girls in her grade. There was nothing Samantha had a problem talking about, but there were some things Lou felt too embarrassed to ask her dad.
“Uh… isn’t sex what people have to do to have babies?” Emily asked.
“Oh not always, you silly! There are different kinds. One for babies, and one for… one for other things,” Samantha explained, her voice faltering as she trod over terrain she was very unsure about.
“But why do men want it?” Lou asked, unwilling to believe what Samantha was saying this time.
“Because it’s in their nature. That’s what mm says. They can’t help it, and that’s what they care most in life. So, Lou, if this woman has what your father really likes, and she doesn’t want you… well, I’d also be worried if I were you.”
Lou stared at Samantha with big eyes, and then two fat tears trickled down her cheeks. When sobs suddenly erupted from her throat, she jumped to her feet and fled, and no matter how many times her friends called her name, Louise wouldn’t stop.
“I hope you’re proud of what you’ve done!” Jennifer recriminated, her hands placed on her hips cockily.
“That was really mean of you,” Emily agreed.
Samantha snorted in indifference. “I only told her the truth, and if she’s such a crybaby, that’s nothing to do with me.”
The girl tilted up her head haughtily and then left her two other friends, shaking their heads and worried about their friend.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Aren’t you hungry, honey?” Emma asked as she noticed the nine-year-old moving the fork around the plate but not picking a single bite.
Louise simply shook her head, and kept her head low. Whenever she came over to Mrs. Cain’s, she had fun. Mrs. Cain was one of the nicest and kindest women she knew, and Lou felt very happy to have her as a teacher. On top of it all, it was nice to spend time with her and her cute little son when her father had his shift in the afternoon or evening. However, tonight things were different, and she had no reasons to smile or be happy. Papa Teaspoon had left her at the Cains’ a while ago because he was going out with that woman.
“We have fruit salad for dessert, which I know you love. Why don’t you have a few bits of chicken and mashed potatoes, and then I’ll bring the fruit in.”
This time Lou raised her eyes to the woman. “I’m not really hungry.”
“But you know you have to eat something, Louise,” Sam added, sharing a concerned look with his wife. “You don’t want to get sick, do you.”
Lou shook her head and forced herself to swallow forkful after forkful of chicken even though it was making her queasy. When she finished, she asked, “I’m done, Mrs. Cain. May I be excused? I’m sorry, but I don’t want fruit.”
Emma nodded her head in permission, and after picking up her plate, glass, and cutlery and leaving them in the kitchen, Lou moved to stand before window overlooking the road. From there she could see if Papa Teaspoon would arrive. Lou was supposed to spend the night at the Cains’, but she hoped that in the end her dad would have had second thoughts and realized he didn’t want to date that woman. Lou didn’t know this person her father was meeting tonight, but she knew that if she were to become Papa Teaspoon’s girlfriend, things would change for the worse.
Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Louise looked up to find Emma by her side. “Lullabelle, you know your dad isn’t coming tonight, but you’ll see him tomorrow morning.” Lou nodded miserably. “Honey, come here and talk to me.” Emma took the girl’s hand and steered her away from the window to the sofa where they sat side by side. “Would you like to tell me why you look so sad today? Is it because your father has gone out?” Lou reluctantly nodded, and Emma added, “Why does that bother you so much?”
Lou kept quiet, and as Emma thought she wouldn’t get the girl to open up to her, Louise said, “I just don’t understand why he had to go. Doesn’t he love me anymore?”
“Oh sweetheart, of course he loves you! He loves you more than anything in this world. The fact that your dad is meeting a friend in town…”
“She’s not ‘his’ friend, “ Lou cut her Emma, wanting to set things right, and a bit miffed to realize that her teacher could also take her for a fool.
Emma smiled. “Yes, I guess you’re right. But you know, it’s nice for us grownups to get to know new people and have the chance to relax and enjoy some good conversation. It’s fun.”
“Dad and I also have fun together. We also talk a lot.”
“Of course you do, but… but this is a bit different,” Emma continued, striving to explain herself. This was more difficult than she had counted on. Lou wasn’t the kind of girl who would settle for a simple explanation; she clearly had firm believes and wanted to understand everything she was told.
“Why? Because of that thing?”
“What thing?” Emma asked, her brows rising into a frown.
Lou lowered her voice and added, “The sex thing.”
“Louise!!!” Emma exclaimed aghast. “What… what on earth do you know about that?”
“Only what Sa… what some girl told me. She said that’s what men want when they date women.”
“Oh Lou, you shouldn’t trust everything you hear, and this is exactly one example of things you shouldn’t pay any heed to. As I’ve already told you, your dad is now having dinner and a nice chat with this lovely lady. That’s all, love. And when you grow up, you’ll understand what I’m trying to tell you just now. One day you’ll also go out with nice boys.” And then Teaspoon will have a heart attack, Emma amusingly thought.
Lou shook her head. “I won’t, Mrs. Cain. I’ll never have a boyfriend or marry. I’ll always be with my dad. Always.”
Emma smiled at the girl’s naiveté. “All right then.” She paused and added, “Why don’t you get ready for bed now? The sooner you fall asleep, the sooner morning will come, and so will your dad.”
Louise nodded. Emma hugged and kissed her, and as the girl rushed to the bedroom, the woman couldn’t help but smile. Louise was a charming little girl, but Emma suspected she’d be a handful as she grew up. It couldn’t be easy for Teaspoon to raise her without a woman, and Emma knew Lou missed her mother more than she was aware of. And as time passed, that absence and gap in her life would become more and more pronounced and painful. Emma tried to help Teaspoon as much as she could, but she was aware that however wholesome her intentions were, she wasn’t Louise’s mother and would never fill that vacuum. If Teaspoon were to find a nice woman and marry again, Emma knew that the girl could have a woman to turn to at all times. That was why she had talked Sam into persuading Teaspoon to ask Millie out, and Emma was convinced that the two of them could make a lovely couple. Lou might find the idea of her stepfather with another woman upsetting, but it would be beneficial in the long term.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell. “Who could be at this time?” Sam asked as he stopped clearing the dinner table and go to the door. He looked through the peephole and sent a perplexing look at his wife. “Who is it, Sam?” Emma asked, but he didn’t answer and instead opened the door.
“What on earth are you doing here, man?” he asked as soon as he came face to face with his friend.
Teaspoon shook his head and as he stepped into the apartment, he started unbuttoning his coat.
“What happened, Mr. Spoon?” Emma asked, rising to her feet and taking a few steps closer.
Teaspoon spun around after leaving his coat on a peg next to the door. “The date was… a total disaster.”
“You and Millie didn’t get on?” Emma asked, disappointed and surprised she had got it so wrong.
“It wasn’t your friend Millie. Apparently, she was indisposed and sent an acquaintance of hers in her place… a woman called Gladys.”
“Oh…” Emma gasped, at once feeling miffed with her friend. “What was she thinking? If she couldn’t make it, she should have cancelled instead of sending a… a replacement!”
“So you and this… uh… Gladys didn’t hit it off?” Sam asked, amused rather than annoyed.
Teaspoon rolled his eyes. “It’s not my custom to speak of women. Still… well, this time it’s more than I can’t stand. I patiently endured this woman’s loud, opinionated views, her rude comments to the restaurant staff, and her very lewd sense of humor… but… but when she started to badmouth her two young children, I just couldn’t stay put. I realized this was going nowhere, so I picked up the tab, bid her goodnight, and left. She wasn’t too happy, but I just didn’t care.”
Emma and Sam both silently looked at him regretfully, and as Sam was about to open his mouth to voice an apology, the pitter patter of feet was followed by a rushing draft in the form of Louise. The girl, already in pajamas, lunged against Teaspoon, hugging him tightly. “You’re back! You’re back!” Lou kept repeating over and over again.
“Of course I’m back! What did you think? That I’d leave you forever?” Teaspoon asked, framing her face between his hands.
“No, but…” Lou muttered, but couldn’t continue.
“Why are you trembling, Lou? Are you cold?” Teaspoon asked, rubbing his hands over the girl’s arms.
Louise looked up, and unshed tears glistened in her eyes. “I… just don’t like it when you leave me.”
“I didn’t leave me, love. I was gone for just a little while. That’s all.”
“But I wanted you here with me. And instead, you were with that… that friend.”
Teaspoon sighed. “And it was a bad idea, honey. Very bad indeed. I’m sorry I upset you for nothing.”
“So you won’t go with her again?” Lou asked, her mouth curving into a hopeful smile.
Teaspoon shook his head. “I won’t. I’d rather be with my little girl. I promise,” he whispered, lifting his right hand as if taking an oath. He really meant it, and he had no intention to go on another date again. All the time he’d been out, he had been unable to push Lou out of his thoughts, especially with the way the date had gone. Now seeing his girl so distraught, he reckoned it wasn’t worth it, and he had no intention to have a repeat of it. Lou was his priority, and his social life had no importance in comparison. Louise was everything for him, and he didn’t need to go chasing some idealistic romantic dream. After all, he had already known what love was with Mary, and that was enough for him. There will be nobody else, and he’ll be content with seeing Lou grow up and become the wonderful woman he knew she would be one day.
Birch Creek, February 2001
“Nice weekend?” Sam asked his friend and partner that Monday morning as he stood over his desk.
Teaspoon shifted his eyes from the computer monitor, folded his arms, and leaned back in his chair. “Not bad. Not bad,” he replied. “Lou wanted to go to the movies. I couldn’t get ticket on Saturday, and on Sunday the theatre was still packed with kids, but I managed to wangle a couple of seats.”
Sam nodded. “I imagine that’s what is ahead for us when Frank grows a little.”
“Oh yeah, my friend. Maudlin Disney movies; trips to the zoo or the park, waiving your right to the remote control…”
“Okay, okay, I get the idea,” Sam cut him off as Teaspoon smirked at his rueful expression. He paused for a beat, kept thoughtful, and then in a hesitant tone, he added, “Uh… Teaspoon, can I ask you a personal question?”
“Sure. What is it?”
Sam perched on the desk as he asked, “When did you last do something intended for people over 18 or enjoy the company of adults for a change?”
“Sam, I hang out with you and your lovely wife all the time.”
“And a toddler and a nine-year-old girl. Teaspoon, you know what I mean.”
“And you already know the answer.”
Sam nodded. “Teaspoon, you know I’m not one to beat about the bush, so let me go right to the point.” He took a deep breath, and said, “Emma is acquainted with a nice woman, Millie, and we think you two could get along.”
“Sam, are you trying to play matchmaker on me?”
“I just think it’d do you good to enjoy some time for yourself. It’s almost two years Mary passed away.”
“And I think of her every single day,” Teaspoon muttered in a wistful tone.
“What I mean, my friend, is that no one would begrudge you for wanting some time for yourself. You’re a great dad, but there’s nothing wrong in having a social life as well. Millie is really a lovely woman, and I’m only suggesting you could meet and befriend her. Anything wrong with that?”
Teaspoon shook his head. “I really don’t know, Sam.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Even though Teaspoon had been totally against the blind date Sam had put forward earlier, he had ended up relenting. It was true that he focused all his energies on Lou. She was his number one priority, and that wouldn’t change However, Teaspoon was aware growing up and with time she would need him less and less. The day she started to live her own independent life, what would be left in his? Teaspoon didn’t feel he had to find a partner necessarily. His history with women had given him more problems than joy in most cases, and bachelorhood suited his needs. That, though, didn’t mean he had to make do with a lonely existence. Maybe Sam was right, and he needed to socialize more.
That was why he had finally asked for the woman’s telephone number and called her. Millie sounded quite friendly and nice, and they had agreed to go out on Saturday. Teaspoon imagined he could have a good time, and even though he hadn’t admitted it before, he was really forward to some less childlike form of entertainment. The problem now was that he would have to tell Lou she’d have to stay at the Cains’ on Saturday and the reason behind it, and she’d surely have questions.
It was after dinner that he decided to tackle the matter. He hemmed and hawed for a while before he could actually call her name. “Yes, daddy?” the girl responded, lifting her eyes from the notebook she was scribbling her homework in.
“Uh… how would you like to spend the night with Mrs. Cain and your new friend little Frank?” he finally said, trying to make his suggestion sound alluring.
“Do you mean like a sleep-over?”
“Uh, yes… suppose so.”
“Why?” the girl asked, knitting her eyebrows together into a frown.
“Why?” Teaspoon echoed, not sure what the girl meant.
“Why would I want to sleep there when I have my own bed here?”
“Uh… because… because on Saturday I’m meeting a friend, and I’m not sure what time I’ll be coming home.”
Lou rose from her chair and walked closer to Teaspoon, who was sitting on the sofa. “A friend? Do you mean Mr. Cain?”
“No, it’s not Sam. Another friend.”
“What friend? What’s his name?”
“Her name,” Teaspoon corrected, feeling his cheeks hot. “You don’t know her, sweetheart.” And neither do I, he mused, but didn’t voice the thought.
“But what’s her name?”
“Millie.”
“Only Millie?”
“Uh… I don’t think she’s ever told me her family name.”
“And where does she work?”
“I don’t know, Lou.”
“Where does she live?”
“Here in the city… but I’m not sure where exactly.”
“And does she have children?”
“I don’t know that either, honey.”
“And she’s your friend?” Lou asked in a tone that showed her obvious skepticism.
For a moment Teaspoon felt being moved back to the time when he was barely sixteen and went on his first date with a girl from her school called Ursula. Her father had grilled him with dozens of questions, and only when the man had been satisfied with Teaspoon’s answers had he allowed his daughter go out with him. Oddly, Lou had taken the part of the querulous father, and Teaspoon was as worried about her approval as he had been about Ursula’s father’s so many years ago.
“Lou, Millie is a good friend of Mrs. Cain’s, and well, I’m just meeting her for a little natter… like when you see your friends outside school.”
Lou folded her arms and looked at him in an almost unfriendly manner. “But she’s not really your friend. You only know her first name, dad!”
“Well, that may be true, but Emma and Sam think we can friends, and you know what I always say, a friend is more valuable than gold.”
Lou scowled as she exclaimed, “Dad, I know about dates, and about men and women! I’m not stupid! I’m almost ten!”
“Hey, hey!” Teaspoon reached for her, and made her sit next to him on the sofa. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he drew her towards him. “I know you aren’t stupid… quite the opposite, actually. And this isn’t a date, honey. Millie seems like a good woman, and I simply want to enjoy her company for a bit. That’s all.”
“If you say so,” Lou muttered, not convinced at all by Teaspoon’s arguments, and feeling a strange sick sensation at the pit of her stomach.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“What are you moping about?”
“Nothing,” Louise replied curtly from her secluded position on a lonely ledge in the farthest end of the schoolyard. She wasn’t in the mood for company of games, so she had hoped she’d be left alone during recess if she made herself scarce. However, Emily and Jenny had found her, and to her dismay when she lifted her eyes and saw Samantha Edgars with them.
“Don’t lie,” Jenny rebuked, sitting next to her. “You haven’t spoken a word to us all morning. Something’s not right, is it, Lou?”
Louise shrugged her shoulders and sighed. “What is it?” Emily asked in a sweeter tone.
“I…” Lou reluctantly started, but was at a loss how to put in words what was happening. In the end, she simply recounted what Teaspoon had told her the day before. “And I don’t like this. I don’t like it at all.”
For a moment nobody spoke, but then Emily started. “Your father might be telling you the truth. He must want to meet other people and make new friends.”
“And what if he fell in love? That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?”
“I… I don’t know,” Lou replied honestly.
“Lou, you know my parents divorced around the time your mother passed away. Now mom and I are living with her new husband. He’s nice… my, he’s even nicer than my father. You know what my dad is like, and Bart is so easy-going. Mom is now much happier.”
Louise listened to her friends with rapt attention, wondering if maybe she was worrying about nothing. Then, Samantha’s sharp voice rose in her usual authoritarian manner. “Friendship, love… oh, for goodness’ sake! Don’t listen to these two saps! Your father is a man, and my mom says all men just want one thing: sex. That’s why I’m sure your stepfather is so eager to meet this woman he doesn’t know from Adam because he wants sex!”
Lou stared at Samantha aghast. Her dad always said that he shouldn’t pay much heed to what Samantha said. However, she couldn’t turn a deaf ear to what she said. Samantha seemed to know more about the facts of life, as she tended to call them, than all the girls in her grade. There was nothing Samantha had a problem talking about, but there were some things Lou felt too embarrassed to ask her dad.
“Uh… isn’t sex what people have to do to have babies?” Emily asked.
“Oh not always, you silly! There are different kinds. One for babies, and one for… one for other things,” Samantha explained, her voice faltering as she trod over terrain she was very unsure about.
“But why do men want it?” Lou asked, unwilling to believe what Samantha was saying this time.
“Because it’s in their nature. That’s what mm says. They can’t help it, and that’s what they care most in life. So, Lou, if this woman has what your father really likes, and she doesn’t want you… well, I’d also be worried if I were you.”
Lou stared at Samantha with big eyes, and then two fat tears trickled down her cheeks. When sobs suddenly erupted from her throat, she jumped to her feet and fled, and no matter how many times her friends called her name, Louise wouldn’t stop.
“I hope you’re proud of what you’ve done!” Jennifer recriminated, her hands placed on her hips cockily.
“That was really mean of you,” Emily agreed.
Samantha snorted in indifference. “I only told her the truth, and if she’s such a crybaby, that’s nothing to do with me.”
The girl tilted up her head haughtily and then left her two other friends, shaking their heads and worried about their friend.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Aren’t you hungry, honey?” Emma asked as she noticed the nine-year-old moving the fork around the plate but not picking a single bite.
Louise simply shook her head, and kept her head low. Whenever she came over to Mrs. Cain’s, she had fun. Mrs. Cain was one of the nicest and kindest women she knew, and Lou felt very happy to have her as a teacher. On top of it all, it was nice to spend time with her and her cute little son when her father had his shift in the afternoon or evening. However, tonight things were different, and she had no reasons to smile or be happy. Papa Teaspoon had left her at the Cains’ a while ago because he was going out with that woman.
“We have fruit salad for dessert, which I know you love. Why don’t you have a few bits of chicken and mashed potatoes, and then I’ll bring the fruit in.”
This time Lou raised her eyes to the woman. “I’m not really hungry.”
“But you know you have to eat something, Louise,” Sam added, sharing a concerned look with his wife. “You don’t want to get sick, do you.”
Lou shook her head and forced herself to swallow forkful after forkful of chicken even though it was making her queasy. When she finished, she asked, “I’m done, Mrs. Cain. May I be excused? I’m sorry, but I don’t want fruit.”
Emma nodded her head in permission, and after picking up her plate, glass, and cutlery and leaving them in the kitchen, Lou moved to stand before window overlooking the road. From there she could see if Papa Teaspoon would arrive. Lou was supposed to spend the night at the Cains’, but she hoped that in the end her dad would have had second thoughts and realized he didn’t want to date that woman. Lou didn’t know this person her father was meeting tonight, but she knew that if she were to become Papa Teaspoon’s girlfriend, things would change for the worse.
Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Louise looked up to find Emma by her side. “Lullabelle, you know your dad isn’t coming tonight, but you’ll see him tomorrow morning.” Lou nodded miserably. “Honey, come here and talk to me.” Emma took the girl’s hand and steered her away from the window to the sofa where they sat side by side. “Would you like to tell me why you look so sad today? Is it because your father has gone out?” Lou reluctantly nodded, and Emma added, “Why does that bother you so much?”
Lou kept quiet, and as Emma thought she wouldn’t get the girl to open up to her, Louise said, “I just don’t understand why he had to go. Doesn’t he love me anymore?”
“Oh sweetheart, of course he loves you! He loves you more than anything in this world. The fact that your dad is meeting a friend in town…”
“She’s not ‘his’ friend, “ Lou cut her Emma, wanting to set things right, and a bit miffed to realize that her teacher could also take her for a fool.
Emma smiled. “Yes, I guess you’re right. But you know, it’s nice for us grownups to get to know new people and have the chance to relax and enjoy some good conversation. It’s fun.”
“Dad and I also have fun together. We also talk a lot.”
“Of course you do, but… but this is a bit different,” Emma continued, striving to explain herself. This was more difficult than she had counted on. Lou wasn’t the kind of girl who would settle for a simple explanation; she clearly had firm believes and wanted to understand everything she was told.
“Why? Because of that thing?”
“What thing?” Emma asked, her brows rising into a frown.
Lou lowered her voice and added, “The sex thing.”
“Louise!!!” Emma exclaimed aghast. “What… what on earth do you know about that?”
“Only what Sa… what some girl told me. She said that’s what men want when they date women.”
“Oh Lou, you shouldn’t trust everything you hear, and this is exactly one example of things you shouldn’t pay any heed to. As I’ve already told you, your dad is now having dinner and a nice chat with this lovely lady. That’s all, love. And when you grow up, you’ll understand what I’m trying to tell you just now. One day you’ll also go out with nice boys.” And then Teaspoon will have a heart attack, Emma amusingly thought.
Lou shook her head. “I won’t, Mrs. Cain. I’ll never have a boyfriend or marry. I’ll always be with my dad. Always.”
Emma smiled at the girl’s naiveté. “All right then.” She paused and added, “Why don’t you get ready for bed now? The sooner you fall asleep, the sooner morning will come, and so will your dad.”
Louise nodded. Emma hugged and kissed her, and as the girl rushed to the bedroom, the woman couldn’t help but smile. Louise was a charming little girl, but Emma suspected she’d be a handful as she grew up. It couldn’t be easy for Teaspoon to raise her without a woman, and Emma knew Lou missed her mother more than she was aware of. And as time passed, that absence and gap in her life would become more and more pronounced and painful. Emma tried to help Teaspoon as much as she could, but she was aware that however wholesome her intentions were, she wasn’t Louise’s mother and would never fill that vacuum. If Teaspoon were to find a nice woman and marry again, Emma knew that the girl could have a woman to turn to at all times. That was why she had talked Sam into persuading Teaspoon to ask Millie out, and Emma was convinced that the two of them could make a lovely couple. Lou might find the idea of her stepfather with another woman upsetting, but it would be beneficial in the long term.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell. “Who could be at this time?” Sam asked as he stopped clearing the dinner table and go to the door. He looked through the peephole and sent a perplexing look at his wife. “Who is it, Sam?” Emma asked, but he didn’t answer and instead opened the door.
“What on earth are you doing here, man?” he asked as soon as he came face to face with his friend.
Teaspoon shook his head and as he stepped into the apartment, he started unbuttoning his coat.
“What happened, Mr. Spoon?” Emma asked, rising to her feet and taking a few steps closer.
Teaspoon spun around after leaving his coat on a peg next to the door. “The date was… a total disaster.”
“You and Millie didn’t get on?” Emma asked, disappointed and surprised she had got it so wrong.
“It wasn’t your friend Millie. Apparently, she was indisposed and sent an acquaintance of hers in her place… a woman called Gladys.”
“Oh…” Emma gasped, at once feeling miffed with her friend. “What was she thinking? If she couldn’t make it, she should have cancelled instead of sending a… a replacement!”
“So you and this… uh… Gladys didn’t hit it off?” Sam asked, amused rather than annoyed.
Teaspoon rolled his eyes. “It’s not my custom to speak of women. Still… well, this time it’s more than I can’t stand. I patiently endured this woman’s loud, opinionated views, her rude comments to the restaurant staff, and her very lewd sense of humor… but… but when she started to badmouth her two young children, I just couldn’t stay put. I realized this was going nowhere, so I picked up the tab, bid her goodnight, and left. She wasn’t too happy, but I just didn’t care.”
Emma and Sam both silently looked at him regretfully, and as Sam was about to open his mouth to voice an apology, the pitter patter of feet was followed by a rushing draft in the form of Louise. The girl, already in pajamas, lunged against Teaspoon, hugging him tightly. “You’re back! You’re back!” Lou kept repeating over and over again.
“Of course I’m back! What did you think? That I’d leave you forever?” Teaspoon asked, framing her face between his hands.
“No, but…” Lou muttered, but couldn’t continue.
“Why are you trembling, Lou? Are you cold?” Teaspoon asked, rubbing his hands over the girl’s arms.
Louise looked up, and unshed tears glistened in her eyes. “I… just don’t like it when you leave me.”
“I didn’t leave me, love. I was gone for just a little while. That’s all.”
“But I wanted you here with me. And instead, you were with that… that friend.”
Teaspoon sighed. “And it was a bad idea, honey. Very bad indeed. I’m sorry I upset you for nothing.”
“So you won’t go with her again?” Lou asked, her mouth curving into a hopeful smile.
Teaspoon shook his head. “I won’t. I’d rather be with my little girl. I promise,” he whispered, lifting his right hand as if taking an oath. He really meant it, and he had no intention to go on another date again. All the time he’d been out, he had been unable to push Lou out of his thoughts, especially with the way the date had gone. Now seeing his girl so distraught, he reckoned it wasn’t worth it, and he had no intention to have a repeat of it. Lou was his priority, and his social life had no importance in comparison. Louise was everything for him, and he didn’t need to go chasing some idealistic romantic dream. After all, he had already known what love was with Mary, and that was enough for him. There will be nobody else, and he’ll be content with seeing Lou grow up and become the wonderful woman he knew she would be one day.