That's when Eli pulled on my pants leg and said, “Mama, hold me?”
Reese's gaze fell on the toddler, and there was a moment of surprise in his face – but also a question in his eyes. I could see it on his face, plain as day, as he studied the child in front of me. I picked up my son, cradled him in my arms, facing him away from Reese.
“Listen,” I said, “It was nice catching up, but I really have to help my mom in the –”
But Reese stopped me from walking past him and into the kitchen. He stopped and looked at the child in my arms, then back at me, then back at Eli again. Eli looked back at him like he would any new person – with a wary curiosity.
“You have a kid?” Reese asked.
“I do, yes,” I said. “His name is Elijah. Eli for short.”
“How old is he?”
I could see Reese putting the pieces together, one-by-one. He was doing the math in his head, trying to find proof that this wasn't his kid.
“Three years old,” I said. Almost four now, but Reese didn't need to know that much.
“And what about medical school?” he asked me quietly.
“It didn't work out,” I said. “Now if you'll excuse me –”
Luke came down the stairs at that point, pulling Reese away. Thankfully so. Eli and I escaped into the kitchen, and I tried to remain calm.
We gathered around the dinner table, Reese sitting next to Luke – which meant he was directly across from me. I refused to look at him, and instead focused my attention on Eli. The meal was fairly uneventful, even though Reese kept staring at me, trying to get me to meet his gaze. I refused to acknowledge him, choosing to keep my head down and eat quietly, not saying much. Speaking only when I was spoken to.
“So what are you doing now, Maya?” Reese asked during a lull in the conversation.
“Well, I'm taking classes again. Planning on becoming a nurse,” I said. “And working as a receptionist part-time.”
“Oh yeah? A nurse, huh?”
“Ye
p,” I replied. “A nurse.”
It wasn't medical school, but it was close enough. As close as I was going to get anyway. And even that was hard as hell – not that I'd ever admit it to anyone. I was struggling with working, being a single mother and going to school. But I'd made that decision. I'd made that choice. And now, I was living with it.
“I'm looking at going back to school too,” Reese said.
I merely nodded, not wanting to continue the conversation – in fact, hoping that the meal would end and we could all scatter to the winds once more. But my mom, ever the gracious host, was always the talker.
“That sounds wonderful,” she said. “And what are you considering going to school for?”
“Sound engineering, I think.”
“Right on,” Luke said. “I was thinking of doing something like that too.”
Luke was working at a restaurant nearby, waiting tables. I rolled my eyes as he spoke since he'd never mentioned going back to school before. If it wasn't for me wanting to keep to myself, I would have mentioned how that was the first time he'd said anything of the sort. But I just wanted the evening to end, so I kept quiet. It took everything in me to hold my tongue, but I did it.
I tuned out the rest of the conversation, and dinner passed by without Reese speaking to me again. Thankfully. I hoped this would be the last of our interactions. Hoped it would be the last time I saw him ever again, quite honestly. He could leave, we'd go our separate ways and hopefully there'd be no more family dinners with him anytime soon. One could hope, at least. Especially since he wasn't really family. Not to anyone but Eli, but no one even knew about that.
After dinner, I expected Reese and Luke to disappear somewhere. Just like old times. I figured they'd play basketball in the driveway or listen to music in the basement or run off downtown to a party.
I was really hoping for the latter, that they'd go away, but they hung around instead. They went outside, presumably to shoot some hoops like they used to do. Eli fell asleep, so I put him to bed in my old room and went downstairs to help mom clean up from dinner. The dishes were already done, though, and my mom and dad were nowhere to be found. They likely retreated to the den to watch some television before bed like they normally did.
I turned to go back upstairs when the back door opened. My heart skipped a beat when Reese came inside – and Luke wasn't behind him. We were alone. We stared at each other for one long, awkward moment before I turned to leave, but he grabbed my arm.
“Wait, Maya – we need to talk.”