On the Rebound Read online

  Nadine sympathized with the disappointed lady. It's you and me, lady. I really have no right to be by his side either.

  "You think so?" Brandon whispered. "Lately I have been worrying that I am not all that."

  Nadine grinned. "You are all that. Seriously!"

  Before she could say anything else the program began. Nadine descended into fantasy land again. She imagined that she was there with Brandon, Alisha was their child, and she was attending the musical to support her.

  She was snapped out of her reverie when Brandon got up. "I have to get a better angle to tape this," he said, moving to the end of the aisle. She's up next."

  When the performance was over and Alisha and her group got a standing ovation, Brandon came back and breathed a sigh of relief. "I was so nervous." He looked at Nadine ruefully. "I know, I am a clichéd overprotective parent."

  Nadine smiled. She hoped that the love that she was feeling for him wasn't shining from her eyes. Nothing on this planet was sexier than a father who loved his children.

  "You are not a cliché, trust me. My dad loves me to death but the truth is, like probably ninety percent of the children here, Daddy couldn't make it to these sort of things back when I was in prep school, but when he did, oh my, it was the greatest thing. Your girls are super lucky."

  *****

  When the play was finished, Brandon headed to the front of the auditorium. Nadine followed him at a sedate pace.

  "Oh Mr. Blake, you made it," Miss Jackson, a bespectacled lady in a long dress said while shaking his hand.

  "I wouldn't miss it." Brandon smiled. He hugged Alisha to him. "You did great, honey."

  "Thank you, Daddy." Alisha was bubbling over with excitement at her latest accomplishment. It made Nadine smile.

  "Mrs. Blake," Miss Jackson said, turning to Nadine. "I am so happy to finally meet you. "

  Brandon looked at Nadine and raised his brow.

  Nadine flushed. She was not Mrs. Blake but she liked how it sounded. She cleared her throat. "No, I am not Mrs. Blake. I am Nadine, Brandon's friend. I was just here to give support."

  "Oh." Mrs. Jackson adjusted her glasses on her nose. "Yes, of course. Nadine Langley. How awkward. I am sorry. I didn't recognize you at first. I love your gospel song, ‘Blessings’. I am going to teach it to my homeroom next year."

  "That's a great compliment." Nadine nodded.

  "We have to go," Brandon said to Mrs. Jackson. "I have another play in ten minutes."

  "Okay then," Mrs. Jackson smiled, "all the best to little Miss Ariel."

  *****

  Nadine followed Brandon after the little exchange, feeling ridiculously happy. When she had her own children she would probably relish these little things too: school plays, PTA meetings and the whole works. Even if she didn't have her own, she had no problems coming to Alisha's and Ariel's events. It would be an honor. If she was the next Mrs. Blake, she would be the best stepmother she could be to his girls.

  She squashed the niggling voice that told her that she was building castles in the sky. It would only result in pain. She could see it now: Ashley would reclaim her husband and she would be hurt. And when had she moved from loving Brandon to wanting to marry him. She was well and truly smitten. Wasn't there a long timeline for this kind of thing?

  She wasn't sure; she had never loved a guy before, or felt this strong sort of chemical imbalance. The jury was still out on her current emotions.

  After Ariel's play, Brandon took the girls to Devon House for ice cream, and Nadine followed.

  "Hi again," Nadine said as the girls licked their ice cream under a gazebo.

  "Hi," Brandon smiled at her. "Girls this is Nadine."

  Nadine looked at his two girls and smiled. They looked nothing like Brandon or Ashley. She had noticed this at both of their school plays.

  Alisha smiled at her shyly, and Ariel was effervescent. She came around to where Nadine sat and started chattering. She opened her arms in a wide gesture. "Peace on earth, and goodwill to men."

  "She is not going to stop saying it," Brandon chuckled. He reached for a wet napkin and wiped Ariel's dress front where the ice cream spilled.

  "Your dress is pretty," Nadine said to Ariel. She was in a frilly white dress. After all, she had been an angel.

  "Thank you," Ariel beamed.

  They were surprisingly well behaved and easy to talk to, Nadine found out. She had to take Ariel to the bathroom, and she felt like a real, honest-to-goodness mom while she cleaned her up and helped her back into her clothes.

  "Your daughter is pretty," a lady said to her in the wash room. "How old is she?"

  "Three," Nadine said, once again feeing like a proud mom. The feeling was completely inappropriate.

  "Your guy is white, huh?" The lady asked.

  Nadine, in the midst of washing her hands, stared at her, appalled. "No, he's not."

  "She looks a lot like my daughter Brianna and she's biracial too. This whole genes thing is amazing, though." The lady laughed and left the washroom.

  Nadine dried her hand and took Ariel's hand and they walked out of the washroom.

  "Why is the sun yellow?" Ariel asked her as she tried to skip into the patches of sunshine on the paved walk.

  Nadine chuckled. She didn't know what to answer. Before she could formulate a response in her head, Ariel was asking her another question and skipping along merrily. Nadine realized that she could get away by not answering anything too difficult.

  She was looking at Ariel's happy sunny face and wondering about her genes. The lady in the bathroom was being ridiculous.

  Nadine's eyes were hazel, and she had wavy hair. She got that from her mother's side of the family. Her mom had dark brown eyes. Tara had dark brown eyes and her aunt May had green eyes like her mother’s.

  Ariel must have gotten her very light complexion and light brown eyes from somewhere in either Brandon's or Ashley's family tree. Genes were really tricky.

  When she joined Brandon and Alisha, she had answered a ton of questions from Ariel, who didn't want to release her fingers.

  Brandon watched their linked fingers with a smile on his face.

  "I have never seen Ariel take to anyone in so short a time," he whispered to Nadine. "You know what they say about children and animals sniffing out the good in people."

  Nadine laughed. "Children sniffing, really?"

  Brandon grinned. "Figure of speech...Good people are like a magnet for children. They instinctively know when someone is good. I guess God made us all with that level of discernment and we lose it the older we get.

  "“Girls, want to see what a recording studio looks like?" Brandon asked them.

  "Yes!" Alisha's eyes were shining. "When I grow up I want to be a singer."

  *****

  The girls were a big hit at the studio. Gramps was in his element as he did a duet with Alisha, who was sitting beside him, intently watching his fingers on the guitar strings.

  Ariel followed Nadine and climbed into her lap when she sat down.

  Tenaj raised her brows and started laughing when Ariel curled her hand around Nadine's neck and promptly fell asleep.

  "Big day for her," Nadine whispered lovingly.

  "It suits you," Tenaj said, "the whole motherhood thing. You have always had that soft touch and I know now why you like Brandon so much," she whispered. "He's lovely. Fine as hell. Girl..."

  "No lectures," Nadine hissed. "Now is not the time."

  Brandon came to the office door and looked over at Nadine. "She's sleeping? I am going to have to take them home now. Nice meeting you, Tenaj."

  "Same here," Tenaj smiled. "Your girls are lovely. Say hi to Ashley for me; I know her pretty well.

  Brandon nodded. "I can't promise that I will relay the message. This is a busy time of the year for her. She probably won’t be at home."

  He took Ariel from Nadine and mouthed, "Thanks. I'll call you."

  When they were walking out with Nadine behind them, Alisha asked shy
ly, "Nadine, would you like to come to the end of year Thanksgiving service at my church? I'll be singing."

  Nadine looked over at Brandon and then at Alisha. "Sure, thanks for inviting me. I will be back from tour then. A day before."

  "Okay," Alisha said happily. "Have a great tour."

  "Thank you," Nadine said softly.

  "Such a polite girl," Gramps said when they stood at the door and watched as Brandon drove through the studio gates.

  "And a handsome married father," Tenaj said wistfully.

  "Oh shut up," Nadine growled.

  "Do you think you should be going to their end-of-year thing?" Tenaj asked. "Nadine, you are in over your head. Your eyes light up when the man is around, and you are looking on his children as if they are yours."

  "Yes, I am going to the thing at the end of the year. It's at their church; I would have gone to my church in any case." She chose to ignore the rest of Tenaj's rant. "I am fine."

  "What about your resolve to get Brandon out of your head?" Tenaj folded her arms and looked at her sternly.

  "You've seen him," Nadine said weakly. "You've talked to him. You know what he is like now. Please give me a Brandon antidote and I'll take it."

  Tenaj sighed. "Yes, I have to admit he is different, but girl...I am no prophetess, but I think any woman in her right mind will come to her senses and snatch back that man. As far as I know, Ashley is in her right mind."

  Chapter Eleven

  Brandon turned off the night-light and closed the door as soon as the children fell asleep. Juliet had called in sick with the flu and he had to wait until Ashley got home.

  He went to his home office and looked around. He hadn't been in there for so long that his stuff had started gathering dust. He glanced through a stack of files that he had downloaded and printed regarding Canada and Harold's business.

  He sat down in his squeaking chair and looked over the information. He had been seriously contemplating making the move a year ago to get a fresh start. He massaged his nose bridge. He couldn't move now. He had the girls to think of, and uprooting them from school would not be good. He had to decide about what to do about his failed relationship with Ashley, and he would be moving away from the start of something new and, he hoped, better with Nadine.

  He picked up the phone. He was going to check out Harold's offer of doing a three-month stint with him in the New Year. That was a long enough time for him to decide. He could take January to sort out things here and go in February.

  "There you are." Ashley leaned on the doorjamb. "Where's Juliet?"

  "Sick." Brandon looked at her with some surprise. She looked tired and slightly off kilter, like some of the stuffing had gone out of her. "She said she called you yesterday evening."

  Ashley sat across from him in an inelegant heap, "I barely heard her at the time. I was so busy with a million and one things on my brain. I hope the girls don't get sick too. I couldn't handle that along with this crazy season."

  Brandon nodded and then said after an awkward silence, "The plays were good. Alisha sang her piece without a mistake and Ariel got her line right."

  Ashley smiled. "I am happy. I feel like a deadbeat mom. I am so sorry that I couldn't make it. Today was super busy. I have been on my feet nonstop all day."

  "There'll be more plays," Brandon said helpfully. "Try to go to at least some of them."

  Ashley massaged her temples. "Well, thank God for technology; you did record a video, didn't you?"

  "Yes, I did." Brandon searched his bag for his camera and took out the card. "Please return it to me." He handed it to her. "I haven't taken off any of the photos yet."

  "Thanks." Ashley took out the pins out of her chignon one by one and then breathed a sigh of relief as her hair cascaded down her shoulders.

  "So, where are you going to spend Christmas?"

  "With my parents," Brandon said, "as I do every year. The last couple of years you conveniently never showed up."

  "I can barely wake up on Christmas Day after the Christmas Eve rush on the store," Ashley murmured. "I am sure you and your family understand that."

  "Yes." Brandon nodded. "I do. I am not sure about my family. But you don't have any Christmas memories with your children. Maybe it's time you start thinking of creating some, especially since you can."

  "Let's not argue." Ashley growled. "I think it is well established that I am not a traditional mother, not like yours. But I still love my children. Why do I have to keep defending myself to everybody?"

  Brandon looked at her mutely. In the past, this was where he would flare up and point out all her shortcomings and then that would be the start of a fight that would segue into a cold war that lasted days, until he apologized, because Ashley never apologized for anything. He was the one who was always in the wrong.

  He got up. "Well, see you."

  "What do you mean by ‘see you’?" Ashley's lips trembled. "Can't you just stay? They don't have school tomorrow and I have to go to the store early."

  "Okay," Brandon said, "I'll stay. Tomorrow I have to go clear out my office. Technically it is my last day there."

  "And then what?" Ashley rubbed her scalp rhythmically.

  "Then I take a month’s vacation in January, finish up some private projects and then head to Canada for three months."

  "Oh no, Brandon, you can't leave for that long." Ashley stopped rubbing her scalp and turned to him.

  "Why?" Brandon asked cynically. "You'll miss me?"

  "I am not a single parent, nor do I want to be," Ashley said roughly. "The girls can't go with you, can they? So they'll be left with me."

  "I have never before seen anyone so afraid of parenting their own children," Brandon snarled. "Suck it up, Ashley. Maybe then you can try to bond with them. You need to make more of an effort."

  "That's unfair," Ashley snapped, "so unfair. I do my share of parenting. I changed diapers when they were younger and did the whole staying up late thing. I am not going to let you imply otherwise."

  "Whatever." Brandon headed for the guest room, which was across from the girls’ room. "I was there, I don't need to argue about what you did or did not do. And I can tell you that you didn't do anything much."

  "Aren't you going to sleep in our bed?" Ashley walked behind him.

  "No," Brandon said abruptly. "I am working on getting the image of you and Regina in the bed out of my head. It's not happening. I may never sleep in that bed again."

  He closed the door in her face before she could protest.

  *****

  Ashley made a face at the door. She hated how Brandon was making her out to be the villain. Apart from her little indiscretions, she was a good person, she reasoned to herself. She wasn't a bad mother. So what if she wasn't a Beatrice Blake? She had her own style of parenting. Making cookies and playing with them wasn't her style, but she loved her kids.

  She went and looked in on them, tucking the sheet under Ariel and kissing her gently on the cheek and putting Alisha's teddy bear closer to her.

  She left the room and paused as she looked at Brandon's door. She wished he could be swayed with sex. They could be reconciled by the morning. She would pull out all the seductive stops, but she knew Brandon well. She knew what that withering look just now meant: Stay away; I don't want you.

  She headed to her room to watch the children's school play before going to bed. She would make an effort as Brandon said, prove to him that she was changing, win him back. She wanted back the husband that would do anything for her. She wanted what she had before.

  The month apart taught her what she said earlier; she was not great at doing the single parent thing. She had to convince Brandon that he shouldn't leave.

  It was ironic; a few weeks ago she was talking divorce, but now the thought scared her. She had no doubt that she could find somebody else soon, but nobody else was quite like Brandon. You never miss the water till the well runs dry. Now, she understood what that meant.

  She showered and put on her
negligee and grabbed her laptop, putting the photo card in the drive.

  She glanced idly at the file called Blue Mountain. She had no idea why Brandon found nature so interesting. He took pictures of misty mountains and flowers and strawberries. She paused when she saw a picture of Nadine Langley, and then another and another and then one with Brandon standing beside her, with the mountain serving as a backdrop.

  Ashley bit her tongue and then maximized the photo and looked at their smiling features. He had his hand around Nadine. He looked happy and relaxed. She had not seen Brandon looking like this for years, not since their honeymoon.

  She gasped. Brandon Blake, her super husband, was having an affair with Nadine Langley? No, Brandon was not the type of guy to have affairs. When had he even met Nadine?

  She got up from the bed. She was steaming mad. She wanted to go and knock on the guest room door and demand that he explain. She wanted to smash something. How dare Brandon act like he was better than her because he caught her with Regina, when all along he was happy with someone else?

  She couldn't sleep now; she didn't even look at the video of the girls. She stormed toward the door and flung it open. When she pounded on the guest room door four times, he opened it sleepily.

  "Ashley, what's all the noise for?"

  "Are you having an affair with Nadine Langley?" she growled.

  Brandon paused. "What gave you that idea?"

  "I saw pictures of the two of you in Blue Mountains. You looked happy," she finished accusingly. "Happier than I have seen you in years."