Once again, I couldn’t tell him that Rick wouldn’t let me get a job, all the better to keep me under his thumb. I tilted my head to the side, following a seagull’s flight over the ocean until it was a mere speck in the distance.
“I wasn’t sure I was qualified,” I said slowly, which was actually true. “Everything is so different here. Back home, you just need good references and to love kids, but here I thought I’d need a childhood education degree or be able to speak a second language.”
He looked chagrined. “I have to admit I only hired nannies who spoke another language, and one of them actually did have some kind of child psychology degree.” He grew quiet for a long moment, then sighed. “I know I told you my wife was a lawyer, and she was a great one. But she didn’t know a lick about children when Harrison was born, and what little I knew from having kid brothers wasn’t much help. But she was an amazing mother, just a complete natural. I think you’re great with kids naturally, too.”
“Thanks,” I said, more than touched by his words. I really was beginning to love Harrison and Ava and was glad he thought I was doing a good job. “I’ve actually read quite a few books about early childhood development. I really find it fascinating, but I mostly just think kids are a lot of fun.”
The look on his face threatened the safety of my heart, so I looked down at Ava, who was stirring awake near my feet.
“They certainly think you’re fun, too,” he said, reaching over to shake Harrison’s shoulder. “Kids, it’s time to get dinner and then head home.”
Their groans were half-hearted, and we shook the sand from the blanket and rolled it back up so it would fit in the pack, then trudged our way back to the boardwalk. Will decided on a family style restaurant that had a bar and an old fashioned jukebox that played raucous country music. I felt right at home and relaxed into the booth next to Ava, while Will sat next to Harrison. The kids flicked a sugar packet back and forth, subdued from a day full of playing out in the sun. Everything was fine until I looked over at the bar to see the bartender staring daggers at me.
My stomach turned over, as I recognized him as one of Rick’s friends, another piece of work named Charlie. He’d been at Rick’s apartment plenty of times, making my trips to the refrigerator to fetch beers double. He was just as slimy and mean as Rick, but thankfully he was single so no other woman had to suffer as his girlfriend. I looked away, but it was plain as day he’d seen me and recognized me, too. My stomach churned with fear, and my appetite disappeared. When the server put our fried oyster appetizer in the middle of the table, I nearly had to run to the bathroom.
“Are you okay?” Will asked, looking at me with concern.
I inwardly cursed myself for letting my fear show. I was perfectly safe here, and Will lived far from Coney Island. So what if Charlie told Rick he’d seen me? He’d still never find me.
“I’m fine,” I said, forcing myself to take a bite. After a few minutes I thought I really might be, but when Charlie set our drink refills onto the table instead of our regular server, I started to shake. Maybe it was a normal part of his bartending duties, but I didn’t think so. I hadn’t seen him take drinks to any other table.
“Thanks,” Will said, barely glancing at him. He was preoccupied with keeping Harrison from trying to feed his new fish the oyster breading.
Please go away,I prayed, keeping my head down.
He didn’t go away. “Hey, Bailey,” he said. “It’s been a while. Where have you been?”
Will looked at me questioningly, then gave Charlie a once over when I couldn’t find my voice. Oh God, I didn’t want a scene. Panic almost made me get up and run, thinking that maybe Charlie had called Rick and he was on his way here now.
By some miracle, I sounded normal when I was able to answer. “Just around,” I said. He still stood there, and I could feel his eyes boring through the top of my head.
“Thanks,” Will repeated more forcefully. “We’re good here for now.”
“Sure thing, man,” Charlie said, taking his sweet time as he sidled away.
My skin crawled, and I was finding it difficult to breathe. How long until Rick arrived and ruined everything for me?
“Do you know him?” Will asked.
I was sure his voice wasn’t really accusatory, that I was being paranoid because of my fear. I managed a weak smile and shrugged.
“I think he was a friend of someone I worked with at my last job. I met him once, but don’t remember his name.”
Will accepted that and went back to helping Harrison with the maze on the paper placemat. Charlie never returned to our table, and thankfully Rick never crashed through the doors, but I couldn’t calm my shaking. The perfect day was ruined, and I could barely contain my tears, wondering if I’d ever really be free.
Chapter 15 - Will
I kissed the kids goodnight and pretended I didn’t see the dog creep into Ava’s room to climb up on her bed as I left. She loved that little dog, and it brought out a softer side in her. She was always gentle with it, and I didn’t want to ruin a nearly perfect day by being a hardass. I was slightly sunburnt, way too full of junk food, and completely worn out, but after I took a shower, I couldn’t help but settle onto the couch in the media room to wait for Bailey.
As usual, she’d been a miracle worker with the kids. I knew their hot buttons better than anyone, and there were at least three times that day when things could have popped off. However, Bailey either got things back on track with a clever redirection or just used her calm, firm voice to get them to stop and think instead of throwing fists or biting.
When Bailey didn’t show up for our appointment to watch television, my first reaction was a disappointment, then I started to worry. Was she okay? I was certain she was as tired as I was, so maybe she just wanted to turn in early. Then again, her behavior had changed abruptly at dinner, and I hoped she wasn’t sick. She was probably the heroic type to drag herself around until she literally dropped. I thought back over the evening, how everything had been going great. She had been talking about going to the pet store to buy that ridiculous fish a bigger tank, and Harrison wanted one of those pirate treasure chests that made bubbles. I piped up how it had already cost about eighteen dollars in tickets to win the damn thing, and all three of them railed against how mean it was to keep it in that tiny bowl.
I didn’t mind being ganged up on for such a good cause, and I was happy that Ava and Harrison weren’t at each other’s throats, or worse, conspiring together to make Bailey miserable. It seemed they really liked her, and of course, so did I. Probably too much. Yes, definitely too much. Which was why I noticed right away when she went pale and got all jittery when we sat down at the oyster place. She looked like she might pass out when the sleazy bartender came over and said hello. I had a surge of unwarranted and unwanted jealousy when he knew her, and wanted to knock him out when he kept staring at her.
It was my ridiculous jealousy that made me question whether or not he really made her as uncomfortable as it seemed to me. She could have just been feeling the effects of the day once we got off our feet. But the more I thought about it now, I was sure she acted like she’d seen a rattlesnake when he approached our table and spoke to her. Then, she barely ate a bite of her meal.
Her answer when I asked if she knew him was simple enough, and I let it go at the time, but now I was worried again. Once it was almost ten, I knew she wasn’t coming out to join me for some television time, and I didn’t really have a reason to call her out and question her about it. I certainly couldn’t pry into her personal life just because someone from before she started working for me said hello to her. I just really didn’t like the way he stared at her. Even now, my fists clenched tight enough to turn my knuckles white. I took a breath and forced myself to relax. This wasn’t a great ending to a nearly perfect day.