I lean back and close my eyes, trying to focus on my memories with Naomi, and will my thoughts towards reconciliation. What can I possibly say, what can I possibly do, to try to fix things with her and prove to her that I want…that I want everything the two of them have to offer?
Naomi
* * *
“Are you feeling okay?” Nancy asks at the beginning of my shift.
“Yeah, why do you ask?”
“Girl, you’re shaking like a leaf. How do you plan to serve coffee like this?”
“Sorry,” I say as I clasp my trembling hands together and wring them, ordering them to behave. “This afternoon I’m taking Honey to Malcolm’s house.”
“He’s the biker who knocked you up and fled the scene?” she asks.
“Yes, pretty much.”
“Is that the same guy who came by the house yesterday when Beth was there?”
“Probably.”
“She showed me his picture. He’s good-looking.”
“Yeah, he is,” I agree with a grin.
“Hard to forget a man that big and menacing with long, brown hair,” she goes on to say. “Which is why I distinctly remember seeing him at the hospital…”
“What? When?”
“The day the baby was born.”
“No, that’s impossible. Yesterday was the first time Malcolm and I have spoken in months.”
“Well, he was definitely there, right outside your room. I didn’t know who he was there for at the time, but now…”
“He was at the hospital. You’re sure?”
“Yes. And Beth said he drives a black and yellow bike that I bet looks a lot like the one that’s always at the gas station across the street.”
“Really? You’ve seen a black and yellow bike across the street?”
“You haven’t noticed?”
“I guess I’ve been busy…” I trail off as I try to make sense of what Nancy’s telling me. Malcolm was at the hospital when I was in labor, and his bike is always across the street? Has he been checking up on me all this time without me knowing it?
“Mind if I take a quick break?” I ask her, knowing she won’t care.
“Sure.”
“Thanks,” I say while removing my apron. “I’m just gonna run across the road to talk to Greg.”
“Okay. Get those shaking hands under control while you’re gone too!” she calls out as I head for the door.
There’s not much traffic on the two-lane road this morning; so as soon as it’s clear, I rush across the pavement and across the parking lot to the door of the gas station.
“How’s it going, Naomi?” Greg ask from behind the counter as soon as I walk in. “Looks like you had the baby!”
“I did, and I’m good, thanks. But I do have a question for you,” I start when I walk up to the register.
“Okay?” he asks.
“Do you know Malcolm Hyde?”
“Uh-huh.”
“How well do you know him?”
“Pretty well.”
“Could you elaborate?” I ask.
“He comes in here most days.”
“Most days?”
“Just between us?” he leans forward on his elbows to ask.
“Of course.”
“The dude is in here all the time, usually once a day.”
“And what does he do when he’s here?”
Now Greg just blinks silently at me. “Greg?”
“He watches you,” he finally says. “But not in a creepy way! Well, maybe it is sort of creepy. Mostly I think he’s just been worried about you and the baby.”
“I don’t understand…”
“Not much to understand,” he says. “The man obviously loves you and wants you back.”
“He told you that?”
“Pretty much. He’s just been trying to figure out how to go about getting you back after he fucked up.”
“That’s what he said? That he fucked things up with me?”
“Yep. Almost verbatim.”
“Well at least he’s an honest stalker.”
“You’re not mad at him for keeping an eye on you, are you?” he questions.
“I don’t know,” I say on a sigh.
“From what I know about Malcolm, he’s not someone who enjoys admitting when he’s wrong.”
“No, he definitely does not.”
“So you should probably give him a break. Or not! Totally up to you!”
“You have no idea what he’s put me through,” I tell him.
“Maybe not. But he does miss you. And he hates that you’re working again so soon after having the baby. He’s worried about you, Naomi.”
“The grumpy bastard has a crazy way of showing it,” I say with a shake of my head.
“Yeah, he does. And he’s been so grumpy that he has to pay me for running off customers while he’s here stalking you.”
“He pays you to watch me from here?”
“Yep. Which is why I’ve been giving you free gas. It’s the least I can do for all the money he’s giving me.”
“Now it’s all starting to make sense,” I mutter to myself.
After months of being angry at Malcolm and missing him, it blows my mind to think that he may have felt the exact same way about me.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Malcolm
* * *
“You came,” I say in surprise after the doorbell rings and I open it to find Naomi on the other side.
“Yep, I came,” she replies before I notice the baby seat thing she’s carrying that’s so heavy she’s leaning to the side.
“Here. Let me take that,” I tell her as I reach for the handle of the seat.
“Careful!” she warns me, refusing to let go.
“I’m not going to swing her around in the air upside down or anything,” I assure her.
“How am I supposed to know that, Malcolm?” Naomi asks, before finally releasing her hold and letting me take control of the heavy seat. “You told me to get an abortion, and then you forgot all about us until yesterday! Or at least I thought you had forgotten us, but maybe you didn’t…”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say as I avoid her gaze, staring down at the sleeping angel instead. She’s still just as tiny and beautiful as the day she was born.
“Yes, you do,” Naomi challenges. “Greg told me everything.”
“I’m gonna kick that traitor’s ass,” I threaten.
“No, you’re not.”
“Guess we’ll see,” I tell her even though we both know I’m full of shit. The fact is, Naomi and the kid have made me soft. I’m not sure how I feel about that yet. I do know that anything is better than being miserable and lonely.
“We can go sit in the living room,” I say as I start in that direction.
“I hope you’ve sanitized since your party,” I hear Naomi mutter under her breath.