The Homecoming (12 page)

The waitress walked up and filled their coffee cups. She smiled and walked away. Shawn decided to just jump in. “I’m not sure where to begin. Maybe I’ll just start with the biggest part of the thing, and fill in the blanks after that. I don’t want to keep you in suspense.”

“I appreciate that,” she said, taking her first sip.

“I already told you I went to Washington yesterday to find out what they want me to do next.” Shawn took a deep breath. “This is just so crazy, I still don’t believe what I’m about to say.”

“What? What is it?” she said.

“I have been ordered to report to Boston in two weeks. Shortly after that, I’m to join some big War Bond tour that will travel up and down the East Coast by train with a number of Hollywood stars.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Like who?”

“People like Greer Garson, Hedy Lamarr, and Bette Davis—”

“Bette Davis?”

“She’s supposed to be a part of it, and at some point Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye are joining in.”

“That’s incredible, Major. Are you excited? You don’t seem like it.”

Shawn looked down and sighed. “I’m not, not even a little bit. I mean, I’m glad I’m not getting sent back to England, but this thing’s going to last at least four months.”

“Poor Patrick,” she said, sounding instantly sad. “He was so excited to get you back. How did he take it?”

“I haven’t told him yet.”

“Oh.”

“I’m going to tell him when he gets home from school today.”

“He started back to school? I’m so glad. That should really help him start to adjust. So you’re going to live at your dad’s for a while?”

“Well, for two weeks anyway. The plan is for Patrick to stay there while I’m gone. Which brings me to the reason I asked to meet with you. Okay, I’ll just say it. Would you consider becoming Patrick’s nanny, working for me that is, but being his nanny while I’m gone?”

Katherine was clearly stunned by the question. She almost dropped her cup.

“You can take some time to think it over. I know it’s a huge—”

“Yes.”

“What?”

“I’ll do it. I don’t need to think about it. I would love to be Patrick’s nanny. I’d do it even if you didn’t pay me.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Well, I guess I would need a little money, maybe for expenses, but—”

“I’m going to pay you. In fact, I want to pay you at least what you’re getting now. And I’ve already talked with Mrs. Fortini. She loved the idea and said you could move into one of her guest rooms upstairs.”

“Really? Mrs. Fortini said that? She loved the idea?”

“Yes, she did.” Tears began streaming down Katherine’s cheeks. “What? I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?”

She reached down at her feet for her purse. “Where’s that stupid handkerchief?”

“Here,” Shawn said, holding out a linen napkin. “Use this. Is everything all right?”

She took the napkin and dabbed her eyes. “I don’t know what to say, Major. I love your little boy, and I thought after the dinner the other night I would never see him again. And I have absolutely no job prospects. And pretty soon, no place to live. What you’re offering me feels like a dream. How long did you say it’s for?”

“They said at least four months, but with the army there’s no guarantees. We can say for at least four months right now, take another look at it after that.”

She dabbed her eyes again. “Well, I can start whenever you want me to.”

“Don’t you need to finish out your two weeks?”

“Not really. I can finish what they’ve asked me to do by the end of this week. And my rent is paid weekly, so there’s no problem there, either.”

“Didn’t you say at dinner you had to turn in your car also?”

“Yes, it belongs to the agency.”

“Well, you can use my dad’s car. He never drives it anymore. Excuse me—I can’t believe it.” Shawn looked across the room. “There’s a pilot buddy of mine over there. We trained together in Arizona but got sent to different bases in England. I haven’t seen him for months.” Shawn stood up. As he did, his friend saw him too and jumped out of his chair. He walked right over and they embraced. “I can’t believe it’s you, Al. What are the chances we’d bump into each other here?”

“I ain’t even from Philly,” Al said. “Just visiting my aunt and uncle a few days. Say, who do we have here?” He looked down at Katherine with obvious interest.

“I’m sorry, let me introduce you. This is Miss Katherine Townsend. Miss Townsend, this is Captain Albert Baker, the worst pilot in the Army Air Force.”

“Hey.” He feigned a punch to Shawn’s stomach. Then he and Katherine shook hands. “So are you two, uh . . .” He made a gesture with his hands, asking if they were a couple.

“No, Miss Townsend just agreed to be my son’s nanny.”

“Nanny? Really? We don’t do that over here, do we? Isn’t that a Brit thing?”

“Well, it’s a long story. Excuse me, Miss Townsend.” Shawn put his arm around Al and began guiding him back to his table. He stopped about halfway, so he wouldn’t be overheard. “Hey, Al, I know we haven’t talked for months. A lot has happened since then.”

“Looks like you’ve got a swell setup.” He looked over Shawn’s shoulder at Katherine. “She’s like Rita Hayworth meets girl next door.”

“It’s not like that. I don’t have time to explain.”

“So you’re really not a couple?”

“No.”

“Mind if I get her number?”

Shawn immediately regretted bumping into Al. “Please, Al, just leave it alone.”

“You don’t have to get sore.”

“Al, my wife died last month. The army’s got me on some four-month War Bond tour. I’m talking with Miss Townsend about watching my son while I’m gone. Okay?”

Al’s expression turned instantly serious. “Shawn, I’m . . . I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

“I know, don’t worry about it.” Shawn stepped back and held out his hand. “No hard feelings, right?”

They shook hands, and Shawn went back to his table. Katherine had been looking but quickly turned away as he came back. He looked at Katherine as if seeing her through Al’s eyes. He’d never considered how attractive she was. At this point, still in the depths of grief, he didn’t see women that way. It never dawned on him that people might get the wrong impression about their relationship.

This could make things extremely difficult.

Seventeen

“Is everything okay?” Katherine asked.

“Yeah, Al’s a great guy. I just had to clarify a few things.” Shawn sat back down. The waitress came up and offered to refill their cups. Both nodded and thanked her.

“Major, there’s something I feel I must tell you, before we go any further.” She looked away a moment. She didn’t want anything to kill this dream. “I just don’t want you to have a wrong impression about me.”

“What do you mean?”

“People could think—well, you could think—that because I work for Child Services I’ve got all kinds of experience with kids. But really I don’t.”

“Oh?”

She looked at his face. What kind of “oh” was that? “I mean, I care deeply about children, Patrick most of all, but I have no . . . nanny-like experience. My job didn’t really allow me to spend much time with the kids, beyond making sure they got in a decent situation. The amount of time I spent with Patrick actually got me into a little trouble.”

Shawn smiled. That reassured her a little. She took a sip of coffee.

“Honestly, I didn’t even think about that,” he said. “I don’t care if you’ve never been a nanny. I’m sure you’ve got good instincts from just growing up in a family. Besides—what . . . did I say something wrong?”

Katherine tried to hold back the tears. Why was she being so emotional? Sometimes she hated being a woman; men could just will things like tears into submission. What must he be thinking? She took a deep breath and blinked several times. “I didn’t grow up in a family.”

“What?”

“I’m an orphan. Well, I was an orphan. I mean, I still am, but—”
Oh, would you stop
, she scolded herself. “I was abandoned might be a better way of putting it. The people running the orphanage would never tell me if my parents were dead, but I think I figured out that one of them, or both, just dropped me off there when I was three. I was clothed and fed, but there were no kind, motherly women in my childhood. More like wicked stepmothers.”

“Katherine,” Shawn said. “I don’t care if you were orphaned or abandoned. I’m sorry, that didn’t come out right. I do care, but I mean it doesn’t affect my decision. Here’s what I know . . . Patrick thinks the world of you. After what he’s been through, that matters more to me than twenty years of nanny experience. And Mrs. Fortini was a great mom. I spent most of my childhood with her right next door. After my mom, she’s top on my list. You have any questions, she’ll have the answers. Besides, she backed this idea completely. So don’t worry about your lack of experience.”

Katherine smiled. What a relief. And she loved the way he’d said everything he had just said. “I will do my very best, I can promise you that.”

“I know you will,” he said. “I don’t have to report to Boston for almost two weeks, so you could probably finish out your two weeks at your current job. I’d like to spend as much time with Patrick as I can until then.”

Katherine understood. If she started early, she would create a distraction. And she really could use next week to take care of some loose ends and get freed up from her apartment. “I’ll start whenever you think best, but I think I’ll probably leave at the end of this week. My boss is making life pretty difficult for me since I turned in my notice.”

“I understand,” Shawn said. “I’ll take some time this week writing out your duties, so there won’t be any misunderstanding.”

“That will be helpful, thank you,” she said.

Shawn looked at his watch. “I guess I’ve got to start heading back, but there’s one more thing I need to mention.” A worried look came over his face. “I’m not exactly sure how to bring this up.”

“What is it, Major?”

“Well, you calling me Major for one.”

“You want me to call you Shawn?”

“Actually, no. I think it would be better if you did call me Major. How should I say this? You know my wife has just been gone a little more than a month.”

“I know, I’m so sorry.”

“Under any other circumstances, if I were going to hire a nanny right now, I’d probably hire someone who . . . I guess I’m saying someone who looked more like a nanny, someone older.”

“I think I understand.”

“Well, I don’t want you to have to guess at what I mean. I need to be very clear. I realized something a few minutes ago when Al came over. He thought you and I were a couple. I can see a lot of people making that mistake. So I think it’s going to be very important—if this is going to work out—for you and I to keep this relationship very professional. Calling me Major, or Major Collins, would probably help.”

“I understand, Major. I can see what you’re saying.”

“And we’re also going to have to figure out a way to keep your relationship with Patrick on a somewhat professional level. I mean, to keep it from drifting into more of a mommy role. I can see Patrick already starting to look to you that way, and I don’t think it’s a healthy thing. He’s very vulnerable right now, just losing his mom, and let’s face it—little boys need their moms. But if we let that happen, and we have to end this nanny role a few months from now, it would devastate him. I can’t let that happen. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Katherine thought she did, but it saddened her. “I will definitely do anything you ask or think is best, but . . . do you have any ideas about what that should look like? I’m not sure I’d know how much is too much or how far is too far.”

“Right now I don’t. That’s what I’ve got to work on. I just wanted to be upfront with you so we have the same expectations.”

“Well, I’ll abide by any guidelines you come up with.”

“Thank you, Miss Townsend. I appreciate the way you’re taking this. It’s just very important to me to keep Patrick from suffering any more heartache.”

“That’s the last thing I want.”

Shawn waved to the waitress walking by. “Could we get a check? Thanks.” He turned back to Katherine. His expression softened, back to where it was before his friend Al came over. “I am so glad you said yes, Miss Townsend. I hate leaving Patrick again, but it will be so much easier telling him with this piece of news thrown in.”

“Major, I’ll do everything I can to make Patrick feel safe and cared for while you’re gone.”

“Good,” he said. “I know you will.” The waitress set the check down on the table. Shawn picked it up and set down a generous tip. They stood up and made their way toward the door.

As they stepped into the elevator, Katherine tried convincing herself she was glad Shawn—Major Collins—had made the boundary lines of their relationship so firm and clear. And he was right. It was better to keep things professional. For Patrick’s sake.

As she stood there next to him, she realized . . . for her sake too.

Eighteen

Patrick looked at the clock on the wall. His teacher was still talking, but no one seemed to listen. The other kids fidgeted in their seats, some already putting their books and pencils away. Some leaned forward, gripping the edge of their desks, like racehorses waiting for the bell. The school day was about to end.

It had been a pretty good day, for a first day at a new school. No one had picked on him or made fun of him. But none of the boys had invited him to play during recess. He’d stood on the edge of the playground watching, trying to look interested. One boy named Roy did talk to him, but afterward Patrick wished he hadn’t. He led Patrick to the side of an old brick building and invited him to burn ants with a magnifying glass. Patrick had never done that before. He was pretty sure ants didn’t make any noise, but he could almost hear them screaming. It was awful.

He looked up at the clock again. One more minute. Standing near the chalkboard was a little boy—Patrick forgot his name—waiting for his punishment to start. He’d been talking in class and had to write “I will not talk in class” fifty times, then clean the entire chalkboard. That would be terrible, Patrick thought. First you’d be late getting home from school and then have to say why.