The Parent Trap Page 9

  Kate wandered downstairs and into the kitchen.

  “Hey,” he said. “How was your day?”

  “Fine.”

  He grabbed a bottle of sparkling water from the fridge, took out a pair of tumblers and filled them, adding a lime wedge to each.

  “Here you go.” He leaned across the island and set hers in front of a stool, a silent invitation for her to join him. To his surprise, she accepted.

  He set out a cutting board and knife and went to work on the vegetables for the sauce.

  “I hope your classes went well,” he said, deciding it best to avoid questions if possible.

  “Yeah, they’re okay. Mr. Balcarres, my art teacher, is really awesome. Our first project’s going to be a mixed media collage. I’ve already started sketching out my ideas for that.”

  Huh. More words in one stretch than he sometimes heard in a whole day.

  “Good for you. I’ll look forward to seeing that when it’s done.”

  “He said everyone’s piece will be on display because he’s set up an exhibit wall near the main office. All through the term he’ll be choosing everyone’s best pieces for a show at the art gallery. Isn’t that cool?”

  “That’s very cool.” He’d met Emile Balcarres in the staff room at lunchtime and immediately liked the man’s calm and thoughtful demeanor. Now that it sounded as though he was the kind of teacher who went the extra mile for his students, Jon liked him even more.

  He pulled a couple of saucepans from the pot drawer next to the stove, set one on an element and poured in a generous glug of olive oil to start the sauce, then filled the other with water for the pasta.

  Kate sipped water and checked her phone for messages. “Have you heard from Mom today?”

  “No, I haven’t. I know she’s been really busy, but she knows this is your first day at a new school. I’m sure she’ll call.” If she didn’t, he’d send a discreet message to remind her.

  “Whatever.” Kate set her phone down and picked up her water. Better to focus on the positive, he decided.

  “Did you meet Casey’s friends today?”

  “Some of them. Her best friend who lives across the street will be back on Friday.”

  “Right. She mentioned that when we were on our way to school this morning.” He tossed chopped onions into the pan and stirred till they were coated with hot oil. While those softened, he minced the garlic and measured oregano into the pan, then added a pinch of hot pepper flakes.

  “Mmm. That smells good,” Kate said.

  “Thanks. I thought it’d be good to celebrate with one of our favorite meals.”

  “My all-time favorite.”

  He didn’t know what had changed, but whatever it was, he was glad for it. He opened a can of tomatoes, dumped it into the pan, added the fresh tomatoes he’d chopped because he liked the texture they added to the sauce and gave the whole thing a good stir.

  “I’ll let that simmer for a bit before I cook the pasta.” Meanwhile, he’d start on the garlic bread.

  “Soccer practice went well,” he said, hoping to keep the conversation going but shift the topic away from her for a bit. “Lots of great players.”

  “I’ll bet Casey’s pretty good. She told me she’s been playing for three years.”

  “She is.” And her experience showed. He hoped the rest of the team would give her the nod as captain, or at least assistant captain, but he couldn’t reveal that to Kate.

  “We had lunch with Alycia. She’s on the team, too.”

  Right. Another good player, if memory served. He unwrapped the French bread and set it on a cutting board. “What did you do after school?”

  “Oh.” A guarded look flickered across her face and was gone again a split second later. “Not much. Nothing, really. I walked home and then I worked on some ideas for my collage.”

  “Good for you. You know, if you want to stay at school on the afternoons the team has practice, you could work in the library and then we could drive home together.”

  “I’ll see. I don’t mind walking, though.”

  “Sure.” Since these kinds of conversations were few and far between, he resisted the impulse to remind her that wherever she was after school, she needed to spend time on her other homework, too. He’d save that confrontation for another day. Besides, she was likely to change her mind about walking when the still-mild weather turned to rain.

  He sliced the bread into two lengthwise halves and set them on a baking sheet. In a small bowl he whipped a stick of butter, added minced garlic and chopped parsley, and slathered the mixture onto the bread. After generously sprinkling both halves with freshly grated Parmesan, he moved the sheet to the counter next to the stove.

  “On my way home, I ran into Sarah at the grocery store.”

  Kate raised her gaze from scanning the phone screen, momentarily wary. “You saw Sarah?”

  “I did.”

  “Did she say anything?”

  “Just that she and Casey are going out for hamburgers tonight, and we chatted a bit about school.”

  “Ah.”

  “They seem to eat out a lot, or fix fast food at home, so I thought I’d run over later with some leftover sauce and garlic bread. Sort of a thank-you for the cookies, and for having us over for pizza on Saturday night.”

  “I can take them over,” Kate said. “I didn’t see Casey after school and I wanted to ask her some stuff about the...um...about our science class.” Abruptly, she slid off the stool. “I’ll just run upstairs and take a look at my notes.”

  He stared after her as she raced out of the room. What on earth was that about? He loved his daughter more than life itself, but that wasn’t enough to skew his perception of what was real and what was, well, not. And on the first day of school, he knew with absolute certainty that science would be the last thing on Kate’s mind. If he had to guess, whatever it was that she so desperately needed to discuss with Casey had nothing to do with schoolwork. More likely it had something to do with the kids she’d met today, maybe even a boy.

  Right now, it didn’t matter. He was so happy about having a pleasant conservation with her, and so relieved that she seemed to be making friends, he’d let her deliver the sauce and garlic bread and find another excuse, make that an opportunity to talk to Sarah. She was right next door, after all. That should provide plenty of chances to see her, whether by design or otherwise.

  * * *

  BY THE END OF THE WEEK, Jon had not had plenty of opportunities to run into Sarah. He hadn’t had any, unless he counted fleeting glimpses of her leaving for work in the morning or returning home at the end of the day. And it wasn’t as if the glimpses were the result of spying on her. They weren’t. But he had been hoping for a face-to-face encounter that looked as though it happened by chance, like the way she’d shown up at the Paolo’s after he went in to pick up pizza, and the way she’d bumped into him at the supermarket. Apparently the only way those things happened by accident was if they really were an accident.

  Otherwise he’d had a good week. Classes and soccer practice had gone well. He had finished unpacking and hauled all the flattened cardboard cartons to the recycling depot. Best of all, though, had been his dinner conversations with Kate. Georgette had called several times and while Kate said very little about those chats with her mother, he had the impression they weren’t terribly satisfying. His ex had a tendency to talk about her life rather than delve into anyone else’s, even her daughter’s, but that no longer felt like his problem. For the first time since the divorce he felt as though his relationship with Kate was on a solid footing, and he hoped to keep it that way.

  This afternoon she had stayed after school with Casey to help set up for Club Day on Monday, an event that would feature all of the school’s extracurricular activities and give them an opportunity t
o solicit new members. He had offered to wait and drive the girls home when they were finished, but she had insisted they could walk. Now that she seemed willing to take on some responsibility, she was proving herself worthy of a little independence.

  He went into the kitchen, poured himself a cup of coffee and carried it out onto the deck. That morning he’d gone for a run in the dense fog that had blanketed the bay. He’d liked the stillness, the silence intermittently broken by the foghorn from the lighthouse on an island off Shelter Point. By mid-morning the fog had lifted, and now bands of high clouds streaked the sky. The temperature warmed and cooled as clouds periodically obscured the sun, and the breeze off the bay hinted that fall wasn’t far away.

  Sarah’s deck was unoccupied. She would still be at her store, and she didn’t seem to spend a lot of time out there anyway. If he had to guess, he’d say she was a bit of a workaholic, although in spite of that she made time for her daughter. Come to think of it, the girls should be here soon, although it would be a while before Sarah came home.

  He debated running to the grocery store later on to pick up things for dinner—if he timed it right, he might even run into her there—but this was one of those rare days when he wasn’t inspired to cook. Maybe he and Kate would go out for a meal instead. Besides, the invitation for Sarah and Casey to come over for homemade pizza tomorrow night still stood. The girls could occupy themselves after dinner, and that would give him and Sarah a chance to talk. He was still on the deck, empty coffee mug on the rail in front of him, when he heard Kate come in. He went inside in time to see her toss her bag on the island.

  “Hi, Dad.”

  He placed his mug in the dishwasher. “Hey, how was your afternoon? Everything all set for Monday?”

  “Yeah, it’s all good. We set up tables in the main hallway and helped hang up posters. It was fun, and I found out there’s a photography club. Mr. Balcarres is the sponsor so I’m definitely going to join that.”

  “That’s a great idea.” In truth, he couldn’t be happier. After the first week of school, she was fitting in, had made friends, was getting involved. And as always, she looked a little like a photograph herself. In white jeans, short black boots, a long silver-and-white print top and a cropped black jacket, she could have stepped off the cover of a fashion magazine. Even her oversize purse was a perfect match for the rest of the outfit. He took a closer look at it and registered the DKNY logo. Kate had a sizable handbag collection but he’d never seen this one before.

  “That’s a new bag, isn’t it? Where’d you get it?”

  “Oh, yes, right. It is.” She seemed surprised that he noticed. “It came in the mail yesterday. Or maybe by courier. I’m not sure. Mom sent it to me.”

  Really? That was out of character for Georgette. She was more inclined to transfer funds into their daughter’s bank account, to which, at his insistence, Kate had restricted access. Ditto the credit card she’d given to Kate and that he had promptly confiscated. Money, that Georgette had no problem throwing around, but her time was closely guarded.

  “That was nice of her. I’m surprised you didn’t mention it.”

  She snatched the bag off the counter, shrugged as she slung it over her shoulder. “I guess I forgot. And, you know, I assumed she probably told you herself.”

  Georgette revealed little to him, and he was okay with that. “I haven’t spoken to her in a while. Have you?”

  “Day before yesterday, I think.”

  Was it just him, or did she sound less disappointed than usual. “You should send her a text or an email to thank her, let her know the bag arrived.”

  “Sure, maybe later. I’m going up to my room now. What’s for dinner?”

  “Not sure. I thought we might go out.”

  “Can Casey come?”

  “Of course, if it’s okay with her mom.” Or maybe Sarah would want to join them, make it a family night. Or he could order takeout for the girls and invite Sarah to have dinner with him. Right. He’d gone from family night to date night in point-zero-eight. Like that was going to happen.

  “I’m sure it’s fine with Sarah. She has a business meeting or dinner or something tonight.”

  Did she? Or maybe business dinner was a euphemism for a date.

  “She’s, I don’t know, like on the Chamber of Commerce or something. Casey says they have meetings once a month. Anyway, she usually stays home and her mom orders takeout for her, so I’m sure it’s okay for her to come with us. I’ll text her and let you know.”

  So much for date night, he thought after she left the room. It wasn’t as though he’d had a shot at that anyway, but he liked knowing Sarah wasn’t on a date, either. And if he couldn’t spend the evening with an attractive woman, he’d rather spend it with a pair of teenagers than a roomful of stuffy businesspeople.

  * * *

  KATE TOSSED HER bag on her bed and plopped herself next to Princess, who was curled up with her nose resting on her back paws. She unzipped her ankle books, toed them off and shrugged out of her jacket.

  “Life can be such a drag sometimes.”

  The cat opened sleepy eyes.

  “Not your life. Mine.”

  Princess’s eyelids slid shut again. Kate wrapped her arms around the cat and brushed her cheek against Princess’s soft fur.

  “When Mom calls, she always talks about what she’s doing and never asks about my new school. My dad never stops talking about what’s happening in my life, and he even noticed the DKNY bag Sarah gave me.”

  Who knew he paid attention to those things? Not me.

  “So I lied and said Mom sent it. She could have, right?”

  Except her mom never sent things like that. She’d given Kate a credit card so she could buy whatever she needed, but her dad wouldn’t let her have it because there was no reason he could think of for a kid to have a credit card. He had let her use it to buy school clothes before they left the city, and even then there’d been a spending limit because he was covering half the cost himself.

  “Which makes no sense, since Mom has way more money than he has,” she told Princess. “And she doesn’t care how much I spend on clothes, but that’s my dad for you.”

  The cat stood, stretched and curled up again, this time on her other side.

  “Dad just doesn’t get it and it’s totally unfair.”

  That was why she’d had to lie about the bag. He thought designer clothes and “fancy” handbags and salon manicures were a waste of money. She could tell he liked Sarah, but if he saw all the amazing things in To the Nines, he would say Kate was wasting her time. She needed to go to the library and do homework and study and get good grades in stupid subjects that had nothing to do with what she wanted to do.

  She sat at her dressing table, ran a brush through her hair, checked her makeup.

  Sarah had invited her to take a look around, but then she’d complimented Kate’s outfit and had actually let her help in the store. No one had ever done anything like that for her before. Sarah listened to her ideas, had told her to go ahead with the displays, and when Kate went back on Thursday, she’d made a point of telling her about all the great things her customers had said about the windows.

  Sarah was cool. She had great taste in clothes, there were fashion magazines on her coffee table, and she didn’t just work in a clothing store, she owned one. It was weird that Sarah and Casey were so completely different but still got along so well. Kate had never met a parent and a kid who were such good friends. In a way it wasn’t fair that Casey, who had no fashion sense whatsoever, had such a cool mom who totally did “dress to the nines,” even when she was serving up pizza and hanging out on the deck.

  If anything, Casey seemed more like the kind of kid her dad wanted. When Sarah and her dad suggested she go with Casey on the first day of school, there was no polite way to say no. Besides, t
here were advantages to being friendly with a Goody Two-shoes, not the least of which was getting her dad off her case. Now she was glad she’d agreed. Casey knew everyone, and although she didn’t seem to have any close friends, all the kids seemed to like her. Especially Dexter, who was easily the cutest boy in the whole school. She was pretty sure Casey liked Dexter, too, and she was equally sure the girl didn’t have a clue he liked her back. Kate didn’t know why, but she hadn’t mentioned it to Casey.

  Kate slid off the bed and sat at her dressing table. She sorted a handful of lip gloss tubes, debated between Really Raspberry and Iced Coffee, decided on the pink and swiped it on. Good choice. This color worked better with her white-and-silver Diesel T-shirt and the orange-and-white striped scarf she’d paired with it.

  She stood and wandered around the bed to the window. Her dad had suggested she start on her homework, but she had all weekend for that. She could work on Sarah’s Facebook, though. This week she’d taken enough photographs to schedule several posts a day until the next time she went in and could take some more. Her dad still didn’t know she was helping Sarah. She had to figure out a way to tell him, though, and it had to be a way that didn’t make him freak out.

  This afternoon hadn’t been the right time, but she’d have to do it soon, before Sarah let something slip. Kate had been tempted to ask her not to tell him, which might have worked if she hadn’t already sort of lied to Sarah by pretending to text her dad to let him know she was there. Looking back, that had not been a smart move. Now she’d lied to Sarah about having her dad’s permission, she’d lied to her dad about the bag, and by not telling him where she was going after school she was sort of lying by omission. Some would argue that wasn’t really lying, although she knew her dad wasn’t one of them.

  She opened the curtains wider and was wondering what Casey was up to when she saw her sprinting across her front yard. The front door of the house across the street opened and a boy raced down the steps two at time. The two met in the middle of the street. Casey flung herself into his arms and he twirled her in a circle before setting her down.