We sat at the table together and ate macaroni and cheese. I asked Jude about school and his friends and made small talk with him. After we finished lunch, he asked if he could go outside with Bulldozer again.
“Of course. He’s going to be spoiled with all this playtime.”
“I can come over again. I mean, if you want. If that’s okay.”
“Dozer would love that. I would, too. It’s been fun hanging out with you.”
Jude nodded and followed Dozer outside. Their excited noises made me smile.
I cleaned the kitchen, keeping an eye on the backyard the whole time. Dozer was careful with Jude, like he could tell Jude was still young. I wasn’t sure how old he was, but my guess was preteen. Old enough to be smart and thoughtful and respectful, but young enough to still be scared when he was alone on his porch.
Before I walked outside to join them, I tried to call his dad again. It had only been a couple of hours, but I was surprised I hadn’t heard anything back.
“Stone Auto Repair,” a man said into the phone.
“Hi, my name is Chelsea Moss.”
“Okay, what vehicle do you have?”
“I’m not calling to make an appointment.”
“Uh, okay. How can I help you?”
“I called earlier. I’m looking for Derek Bailey.”
“Uh…” The guy went quiet for a minute. A door closed on his end. “Listen, the boss isn’t looking for a relationship. I’m not trying to be a dick or anything, but he’s—”
“Oh, my God, stop talking. Why in the hell would you think I’m looking for a relationship?”
“You wouldn’t be the first.”
I choked on my next words and struggled to get a breath out. I exhaled slowly. “Okay, um, listen, I’m his next-door neighbor. I was walking my dog earlier and found his son on his doorstep. He was locked out and alone and scared.”
“What the hell?” the man barked.
“Jude said Mrs. Walsh usually gets him off the bus, but it was a half-day, and she didn’t know, I guess, and she’s at a doctor’s appointment. I called a while ago and left a message for Derek to call me back, but I haven’t heard anything, so I wanted to call again.”
“Jesus. Fuck. Is Jude okay?”
“He’s fine. He’s a great kid. And he’s safe here with me. I’m a local. I own Serenity Salon on Grace Street. I’m home today, so Jude is fine here.”
“I know that place. You said you’re Chelsea?”
“Yeah.”
“My wife’s a client of yours. Emily says you’re a magician and always make her vision come to life. I’m a fan, too, because my wife is gorgeous and you always make her feel like it.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that. Emily Martinez?”
“That’s her.”
“She’s great to work with.”
“I’ll tell her you said that. Sorry. Sorry. Jude. How is Jude? You said he’s okay?”
“Yeah, he’s good. He was scared when we found him. He was locked out and didn’t know what was going on. Right now, he’s playing with my dog in my backyard. I am looking at them. We had lunch, and he’s been outside, but I was surprised I hadn’t heard from anyone.”
“I’ll let Derek know right now. He’ll be there soon to get Jude. Thank you, Chelsea. Thank you. And I apologize for my—”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad I reached you instead of the other guy. I gave him my name and number and said Jude was with me, but I don’t think he realized Jude wasn’t supposed to be with me.”
“Yeah. I’ll take care of that, too.”
“Thanks. Jude really is okay here. I don’t mind keeping him. But I wanted to make sure his dad knew where he was.”
“He’ll be relieved. I don’t think he has any idea Jude isn’t in school right now. I’ll let him know. Thanks, Chelsea. I’ll make sure Emily has an extra big tip for you next time she comes in.”
“Oh, no. That’s not necessary.”
“Maybe not, but it is deserved. Thanks. I’ll give you a call back once I talk to Derek. Shouldn’t be long.”
“Thank you.”
“Yep.”
I walked outside with water and sat at the table. Jude ran over and took a swig from the cup I brought outside for him, and Dozer lapped up his water from the bowl on the ground.
Jude collapsed onto the chair next to mine and let out a breath. Dozer curled up in the sunshine next to Jude, keeping an eye on the boy.
As both boys huffed exhausted breaths, I thought it might be a good idea to do something a little quieter. And out of the chilly afternoon air.
“Do you have any homework, Jude?”
“Yeah,” he grumbled.
“What do you say you get started on it and we can let Dozer rest for a few minutes? He looks tired.”
Jude looked at the dog. Dozer, God love him, panted harder, like he really was exhausted from running around in the yard. Jude nodded. “Yeah, he does look tired.”
“If you get your homework done, then you don’t have to worry about it when your dad gets home.”
“Okay,” Jude mumbled. But he followed me inside and grabbed his backpack.
We sat at the table again. I went through my phone, accepting new appointment requests and deleting emails. I scrolled social media for a bit, and before I knew it, Jude was jumping up from the table and announcing he was done with homework.
“Already?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I have to read, but my dad lets me do that before I go to sleep.”
“Okay. Now what?”
My phone rang before Jude could answer.
“Can I take Dozer outside again?”
I nodded as I answered the call from an unknown local number. “Hello?”
“Chelsea. This is Ricky from Stone Auto Repair.”
“Hey. Thanks for calling me back.”
“Yeah, you’re welcome. Listen. Derek is on his way to you right now. I let him know about Jude, and he had no idea all this was going on. He should be there soon.”
“Thanks, Ricky. I really appreciate it. I’ll have Jude ready.”
“Sounds good, Chelsea. Thanks again.”
“Thank you.” I hung up and drew a breath. I wasn’t sure if it was good or bad that my next-door neighbor was on his way to my house. But I was finally going to meet the man.
“Hey, Jude! Your dad’s on the way. Why don’t you come in and get your stuff together? We can wait in here for him so we hear when he arrives.”
“Okay!” Jude said brightly.
I breathed easier as he raced toward me with Dozer on his heels. An absent dad made me a little worried that there was more going on than I realized. It made me think maybe Derek wasn’t as devoted of a dad as I thought he was before he left his kid alone on his doorstep and with a stranger for the better part of the day.
I grew up with two parents who always worked. There were a lot of afternoons I was home alone. I learned as a young kid to rely on myself, but I always knew my parents loved me. I never thought they regretted having me. After a day with Jude, I worried he didn’t have the same assurance with his dad, but his excitement said that wasn’t the case.
Jude packed his backpack, then asked if I had a piece of paper so he could draw a picture of Dozer.
“Of course. I can send you some pictures, too.”
“I don’t have a phone,” he said.
“I can send them to your dad. And you can put them with the drawing you do.”
“That would be cool.”
I smiled. Man, this kid. I loved his innocence. The way he was so open and caring with Dozer. The way he was more interested in drawing his own picture than one I took.
I handed him some sheets of printer paper since they didn’t have lines and pulled out the pencils, pens, markers, and colored pencils I’d shoved in the junk drawer in the kitchen. I didn’t have a lot of options, but Jude didn’t seem to mind.
He stared at Dozer, tilting his head to the side. He chewed on the inside of his lip. He was focused on the best drawing ever of my dog.
I settled next to him and started my own drawing of Dozer. I glanced at Jude’s paper every few minutes. He was a truly talented artist. Miles better than I was. My drawing barely looked like a dog, but Jude’s actually looked like Dozer.
The knock on the door brought my head up from where I was focused on my paper. “I’ll be right back,” I told Jude. “That’s really good.” I tapped on his picture of my crazy dog.
“Thanks,” Jude said absently.
The knocking grew more insistent as I walked from the kitchen through the living room and out to the porch-turned-mudroom. The big window next to the door opened to the living room so I couldn’t see who was pounding on my door, but it had to be Jude’s father.
My oh-so-friendly neighbor. Goody.
I opened the door and had to duck before he punched me in the face when his next knock didn’t hit the door.
“My son. Jude. Where’s Jude?” Derek breathed. He pushed past me in a less-than-kind way, streaking through my home without waiting for an invitation.
“Jerk,” I muttered as I closed the door.
“Dad!” Jude exclaimed, almost erasing his father’s rude behavior. Spending a few hours with the kid and knowing how sweet he was made me soften my dislike of the father. A little. He was still a self-righteous jerk who thought he had a right to tell me how to live my life. But Jude was a great kid, so there was something Derek and his ex-wife were doing right.
“Jude,” Derek exhaled, dropping to his knees next to the chair Jude was sitting in. Derek ran his hands over his son’s head and hugged him close, his entire body sagging with relief when he accepted his son was okay. “Are you okay? Are you safe? I’m so sorry no one was there to get you. Why did the school let you off the bus? I’m going to call them and find out what happened. This never should have happened.”
I stood in the entryway to my own kitchen feeling like I didn’t belong. My heart warmed at the fear in his voice. A person couldn’t fake that. And a parent shouldn’t ever have to.
“Ms. Chelsea made me a snack. And lunch. And we played with Dozer. He’s so funny, Daddy! He’s not a pain in the patootie like you say he is. He likes to play catch and he licked me a lot and he runs around the room when he gets really excited, but he listens to Ms. Chelsea. She’s really nice, too. Not a pain in the patootie either.”
As if remembering I was there, Jude’s dad glanced over his shoulder at me.
Holy hotness. I knew he was attractive, but with those dark brown eyes focused on me, my pulse shot straight to the stratosphere. Then he showed humility and hung his head like he truly regretted his words.
Or maybe he just regretted them being repeated in my presence.
Either way, he stood and turned to face me. He was taller than me, with wide shoulders and grease-stained clothes. His jeans molded to his thighs and outlined the phone in his pocket, among other things. His black tee clung to his chest and hinted at a tattoo on his left arm. He took a step forward and reached his hand out.
“Thank you for taking care of my boy.” He left his hand between us, waiting for me to shake it.
My manners forced me to meet him in the middle and slide my palm over his. The shiver that raced down my spine at the feel of his work-hewn hands was less than desired. He was my jerk of a neighbor who’d left notes on my door and made me feel like I was not welcome in the neighborhood. I could not be attracted to him.
Absolutely not.
“You’re welcome,” I stammered, pulling my hand back. I wiped it down my leg as soon as he turned to Jude again. It didn’t stop the tingles left behind by touching him.
I was so screwed.
“Mrs. Walsh was supposed to be here. What happened? And why did you have a half day?”
“I called Mrs. Walsh,” I interrupted, not willing to let the woman take the fall. “She had an appointment. She didn’t know it was a half day today.”
“Thank you,” Derek growled, less than pleasantly. He kept his gaze locked on Jude instead of looking at me.
I clamped my lips shut, refraining from adding anything else.
“I really don’t like that they let you off the bus without anyone there,” Derek said. “It’s not safe.”
Jude shrugged, but he didn’t say anything.
Derek stood. He smoothed his hands over his jeans. “We should go. Let Ms. Chelsea get back to her day. I need to go back to work, but you can come with me.”
“Why? I don’t want to go to your work. Can’t I just stay here?” Jude asked.
“No. It’s not fair to Ms. Chelsea. I shouldn’t have agreed to let you leave afterschool care. I need to call.”
“No! Dad, I don’t want to go back to that! I hate it there.”
“Jude…”
“Dad, please. I’ll go with you today, but don’t make me go back to that program. Please.”
Derek hung his head. I watched the interaction. I wanted to say it was okay for Jude to stay with me, but I knew that would not go over well. Even though I didn’t mind.
“Jude…”
“Please, Dad. I’m the only sixth grader who goes there. The rest of them are elementary school. I don’t want to go back there. I don’t want everyone to say I’m a baby.”
My heart broke for Jude. He was just a kid who wanted to be like his friends. Who wanted to be the same as everyone else.
If anyone knew how that felt, it was me. Growing up overweight, I thrived on being invisible. I ached for it. I wore dark colors and stayed out of the spotlight.
Middle school was torture for almost everyone, but being a plus-size girl in sixth grade was worse. Bullying was everywhere, even at schools that shouted how strict they were against it. Even in small towns.
“Who would say you’re a baby?” Derek asked.
Jude looked at his father with so much pain in his eyes that I knew it wasn’t a threat. Someone actually said it. Someone called him a baby. And for a kid in middle school, a kid who wanted to be grown, that was the worst thing in the world.
“Never mind,” Jude said, his voice dropping so low I almost didn’t hear him. He slid to the floor in front of Dozer and wrapped his arms around the dog.
Derek looked up and met my gaze. He yanked his away as quickly as it collided with mine.
I cleared my throat. He looked at me again. I mouthed, “He can stay here,” pointing to the floor so he understood what I was saying.
Derek shook his head slowly, his eyes falling closed as he did so. When he opened them again, he jerked his head toward the living room.
I led the way, stopping near the front door, close enough for us to keep an eye on Jude but far enough so he couldn’t hear our conversation.
Derek looked back at Jude, then turned his entire focus to me. “I can’t ask you to keep him.”
“I know you don’t know me, and I know you don’t like me—”
“Whoa, wait. I never said that.”
“Your notes made it clear.” We glared at each other for a long minute. I finally gave in and sighed. “Listen, you and I don’t have to be friends or talk. But I’m available today. I’m not working, and I’m home all day. Jude can stay here. He already finished his homework, and—”
“He did his homework?” Derek blurted.
I nodded. “Yeah. Why? Was that wrong?”
Derek shook his head. He ran a hand over his shaved head and down across his beard. He stared at Jude for a long minute. “He fights me on doing his homework. He fights me on everything these days. I… Thank you for being there for him today.”
“You’re welcome. He’s a great kid.”
Derek nodded. “He is.” His gaze lingered on his son. “Are you sure you can keep him today?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
“It’ll just be until Mrs. Walsh can come get him. She usually gets him at three, so it won’t be much longer.”
“It’s fine. I promise.”
Derek swallowed roughly. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.”
Derek went back to the kitchen and gave Jude the good news. Jude whooped and told Dozer he was going to stay longer.
Dozer jumped up and barked, joining in the excitement.
Derek hugged Jude close, then walked back toward me. He nodded once, then slipped past me and out the door.
Only then did I remember I was mad at him for the note that morning.
