Better Than Perfect (19 page)

“Zachary John Harrison.” She’d never heard him swear before. She wasn’t naïve enough to believe he’d never done it. Just not in front of her.

“Zach, you shouldn’t speak to your mother that way.” Johnny stepped in. While she appreciated his intentions, it only made the situation worse.

“You slept with my mother.” The venom in Zach’s voice was heartbreaking. “That doesn’t make you my father.”

He stomped past them and dashed up the stairs. His bedroom door slammed.

“Johnny, I’m so sorry.” She knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but did it have to be this hard so soon? “He’s not usually so rude.”

“Why don’t you go change. I’ll talk to him.”

“No. I should talk to him. I’m his mother.”

“Yes. You are his mother.” Johnny’s jaw twitched. He was angry. At Zach? At her? Or did this bring up old wounds from his childhood? “But he needs a little man-to-man conversation on what it means to be respectful to a woman. Especially to his mother.”

Oh. A man-to-man conversation?

“He also needs to know that I’m not using you. Or anyone else in this house.” Johnny’s voice softened. Enough for her to think maybe he could smooth things over. “I’d like to talk to him. If that’s okay with you. I’d like to let him know my intentions are honorable.”

“Do you think that would help?” It felt so natural to ask Johnny for advice on her son. It was like she had an ally. She was no longer alone in this parenting deal.

“I hope so.” Johnny shrugged. Then he squared his shoulders, ready to face the challenge.

“Me too.” He had no idea how much they all stood to lose if it didn’t.

“Come on.” Johnny tugged her hand. Led her up the stairs and stopped as they reached the top. He gave her a questioning look. He didn’t know which room was Zach’s.

She indicated the correct door with a nod. Johnny took a deep breath and poised, ready to knock.

Alice slunk down the hallway toward her room. Slipped out of her dress and hung it over a chair. She’d toss it in with the rest of her dry cleaning later. As she reached for a change of clothes, she realized she could still smell Johnny on her skin.

After pulling her hair into a high ponytail, she stepped into the shower. She scrubbed the makeup off her face and used a generous amount of body wash to soap up her arms and legs. A quick rinse, and she toweled off to dress and face her son. A boy, who until this morning, had thought her biggest sin was her tendency to be somewhat overprotective.

* * * *

Johnny knocked on Zach’s bedroom door. He fully expected to be told to go to hell.

“Come in.” Zach sounded more than a little contrite. He really was a good kid.

Johnny gave Alice all the credit for that. He slowly pushed the door open and stepped into Zach’s room.

If, by some miracle, he was ever elected to the Hall of Fame, he had a feeling it wouldn’t look much different than this kid’s room. There were pictures of him, memorabilia, and a huge poster over Zach’s bed.

“Oh. It’s you.” Zach slumped on the bed, where he resumed tossing a ball toward the ceiling. A trick Johnny had performed numerous times as a kid when he’d been hurting.

“Yes. It’s me. I wanted to talk to you. Man to man.” Johnny stood in the doorway, waiting for an invitation to come into the room. A sincere invitation.

“Yeah. I guess.” Zach sat up, still holding the baseball in his hands. He glanced at it, rather than Johnny. Not exactly sincere, but Johnny understood.

“Nice room.” He supposed it was something that Zach hadn’t torn the poster from the wall. “Are these your Little League trophies?”

Johnny approached the shelf of awards Zach had earned. He picked up the one closest to him. Read the inscription. T-ball. The Tigers.

“Yeah. Everyone gets trophies when they’re little. Doesn’t mean anything.” Zach sounded almost embarrassed. “My mom thinks they’re cool, but…”

“She’s pretty proud of you.” Johnny put the trophy back. “Most of the time.”

“Yeah. I guess.” Zach knew he’d been less than respectful, but at thirteen probably couldn’t admit it.

“You should show her more respect than you did just now.”

Zach didn’t say anything, so Johnny turned around to gauge his reaction.

“I know.” Zach looked him square in the eye briefly, before staring down at his shoes. “I just… She’s my mom. And she’s never brought a guy home before. I guess I freaked out a little.”

“Sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” Johnny hadn’t wanted the kid to find out about them. Not like that. “And I’m sorry if you think I’ve overstepped my bounds. But I can’t stand to see any woman treated with disrespect. Especially not a woman I care about.”

“You care about her.” Zach didn’t ask. Just confirmed what they both needed to know.

“Yes. Very much.”

“Good.” Zach met his gaze. He didn’t need words to tell him that he wanted to protect her, too. “I’m glad. Because... Well, she’s my mom.”

“Yes. She is. And I respect your concern. I should have thought of that earlier. And planned to get her home sooner. So you wouldn’t have to see…” See what? Her in last night’s dress? With her makeup smudged and the glow of a long night of lovemaking?

“I’m glad I know.” Zach sat taller. Like he was letting Johnny know that no man, no matter how big, was going to mess with his mother. “I’m not a little kid anymore. I can handle the truth.”

“Good. Because I plan on seeing your mother.” Johnny was glad the kid wanted to hear it straight. “I plan on seeing a lot of her. If that’s what she wants.”

“Do you think you’ll get married?”

“I don’t know.” The question was a little more than he was prepared for. But he should have had a better answer.

“Do you love her?” Zach crossed his arms. Her own father hadn’t been so protective. Once he found out Johnny was an athlete, he decided that was more than enough reason to make him feel like he wasn’t good enough for his daughter. Then again, he hadn’t made her feel quite good enough either.

“Yes. I always have. Always will.” Johnny saw no reason to deny the truth. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean things will work out between us.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about me.” Zach sized him up, and apparently found him acceptable. “I won’t act like a spoiled brat anymore.”

“Good.” Johnny wanted to pull the kid into his arms for a hug, but thought that might be pushing his luck. “Now, what do you say we make some breakfast for your mom?”

“You cook?” Zach gave him a skeptical glance.

“Sure. When you’ve lived alone as long as I have, you’d better learn how.” Johnny had to restrain himself from reaching out and ruffling the kid’s hair.

“Yeah, but you can afford to hire someone.” Zach popped up, headed for the hallway. “You could buy your own restaurant or eat someplace different every day.”

“Nah. I like being able to take care of myself.” He liked the idea of taking care of someone else even more.

“Yeah? My mom is always trying to get me to be self-sufficient.” Zach skipped down the stairs, toward the kitchen.

“She’s a smart lady.”

“So why, exactly, did you guys break up?” Zach held the refrigerator door open, staring at the contents like he couldn’t really see anything.

“Sometimes I ask myself that very question.” Johnny started pulling items from the shelves and set them on the counter. Eggs. Milk. Bacon. “We were both young. Maybe too young to have been able to make things work.”

Johnny filled the coffeepot with water and Zach pointed to the cupboard above the coffee maker. Sure enough, he found a bag of ground coffee and unbleached paper filters inside.

“Bread?” Johnny asked, and Zach pointed to the shiny stainless breadbox on the counter. “Thanks.”

“Pots and pans in the drawer under the stove.” Zach seemed to realize this would be more efficient if Johnny knew where things were. “Mixing bowls and such in here. Dishes up there.”

“Appreciate it.” Johnny found the equipment and supplies he needed. “You like French Toast?”

“Sure.” Zach tried to sound like he couldn’t care less, but he couldn’t quite pull it off.

“Good. Wash up and help me.” Johnny pushed up his sleeves and washed his hands. He waited for Zach to do the same.

Together they cracked the eggs into a shallow dish. Poured a splash of milk and sprinkled a dash of cinnamon into the mixture. He showed Zach how to dip the bread, making it moist, but not too soggy. Then arranged each slice into the hot, but not too hot, pan. He put slices of bacon in a separate pan on the back burner of the stove.

By the time Ali made her way downstairs, breakfast was ready and Zach had set the table in the breakfast nook.

“So? You guys are good?” she asked as Johnny poured her a cup of coffee.

“Yeah. Sorry I was rude.” Zach slid into the back of the booth. “It’s just that things are kind of weird at Tyler’s house. I guess his attitude rubbed off on me.”

“Oh?” She looked at Johnny to see if he knew anything about it, but Johnny shrugged. “What happened? Did you two have a fight?”

“No.” Zach looked down at his breakfast, shoulders slumping a little as he doused the French Toast in real maple syrup. “It’s just that he’s still mad at his parents for getting divorced. And his mom’s, like, mad at Ty for reminding her of his father. It’s not a good vibe over there.”

“I see.” Ali moved toward Zach, like she wanted to comfort him, but she must have known that she couldn’t fix this. Not at his age.

“It’s so screwed up.” Zach shoved a forkful of food in his mouth. “I’m glad things didn’t get like that with you and…”

He glanced up at Johnny. Looked almost guilty about the direction of his conversation.

“I’m glad you never had to get divorced.” He mumbled that last part. Like being widowed was somehow better.

“Me, too, Zach. Me, too.” She looked down at her plate before taking a bite of her breakfast. “This is really good.”

“Zach made it.” Johnny hoped a change in topic would get them all on the right track.

“You did?” She looked at her son, beaming with parental pride.

“I helped. But Johnny did most of it.” Zach looked equally proud and embarrassed. Johnny knew the feeling. Knew it a little too well.

“That’s terrific.” She dug into her breakfast with much more enthusiasm.

“At least I know that Tyler isn’t mad at me.” Zach’s mood darkened once again. “I mean, I thought he didn’t want to be friends anymore since he quit playing baseball.”

So much for changing the subject.

“I guess he quit around the time of the divorce.” Zach gulped down half a glass of milk. “I think he should have kept playing. I mean, it would have taken his mind off things at home.”

“Yeah. Keeping active is sometimes a good thing.” Ali glanced over at Johnny. She knew all about his troubles at home. And how baseball had saved him.

“He’s kind of mad at everyone.” Zach reached for another slice of bacon. He’d already cleaned his plate. “So I guess I can’t take it personally.”

“I’m sorry things aren’t going so well between you and Tyler. You two have been friends for a long time.” Ali sipped her coffee. “Since, what, t-ball?”

“Yeah. But we won’t even go to the same school next year.” Zach’s tone was drifting toward sullen. “I don’t see why I have to go to private school. Again.”

“Zach. Can we talk about this later?” She stabbed at the remains of her breakfast.

“Maybe I should get going?” Johnny was starting to feel like he’d overstayed his welcome. At least Zach’s hostility had faded. Or rather, shifted.

“Sure. You’re just trying to get out of doing the dishes,” Alice teased him, knowing full well, he was man enough to stick his hands in a sinkful of soapy water.

“I’ll get the dishes, Mom,” Zach offered. He got up and carried his plate to the sink. “Johnny did most of the cooking. I was just his assistant.”

“Thanks, Zach. I appreciate it.” Ali sounded a little choked up. Zach really was a good kid. Almost too good.

“I need to get going.” Johnny wasn’t sure he was cut out for all this. Between the discussions about other people’s family dynamics, the understanding that long-time friendships could change, and the way Zach could be disrespectful and accusing one minute, and offering to help the next had him wondering if he was suddenly way, way out of his league.