Page 31 of An Unexpected Match
Brendan dutifully followed suit, donning a sports coat, but foregoing the tie. If he was the celebrant, he told Arden, he got some perks.
The girls had each drawn a picture of their daddy, the hero. Arden had also sketched a drawing of Brendan a phone in one hand and a sword in the other. His eyes gleamed when he looked at her after receiving the picture. She knew he, too, remembered their phone conversations.
Eugenia and Love contributed stories of previous celebration dinners, recounting events in their lives and Arden’s that kept everyone enthralled.
After telling about Arden’s honors in high school, Eugenia turned to her. “Isn’t that right, Arden?”
But Arden had missed the story. She was picturing another sketch, one with Brendan and his daughters. This time she could envision him surrounded by clouds of flour and dirty bowls piled higher than his head. The enchantment in Hailey’s and Avery’s eyes would balance the scene. She ought to use dark clothes to emphasize the contrasting white of the flour.
“She gets like that,” Eugenia said indulgently.
“Spaces out?“ Brendan asked, studying Arden.
She was looking at Hailey, but he didn’t think she was seeing her.
“Whenever she’s thinking of a painting,” Love explained. “I’ve missed that.”
Eugenia nodded. “Happens at the oddest times. She’ll get a notion and want to paint it, so goes into almost a trance as she decides how she will do it. Right, Arden?” She ended in a louder tone.
“What?” Arden looked at her aunt.
“I was telling Brendan that you go into a trance if you are planning a picture.”
“Oh.” She glanced at him almost guiltily. “Sometimes.”
“And does he know you often stay up all night working on a painting?” Love asked teasingly.
Arden shook her head.
“I won’t while here. I know I have to be up early to deal with the girls. You don’t have to worry about me neglecting my duty,” she told Brendan.
“Were you thinking of a painting just now?”
She nodded. “One of Hailey and Avery.” And you, but that part she’d keep to herself. Her fingers itched to get to her sketch pad.
It was late by the time the aunts had been driven home, the girls put to bed and Arden escaped to her room. She thought she heard Brendan call her, but ignored it if indeed he had. She needed time and distance.
And the soothing familiarity of her sketching. Her charcoal pencil flew across the page. Sketch after sketch poured from her. Brendan on the phone in some phantom city in Latin America. Brendan cutting cookies with Avery. Brendan laughing at something Aunt Love had said. Brendan seriously attending the steaks on the grill.
Tired, Arden lay back, flexing her fingers. Glancing at the clock, she was shocked to see it was after three.
Scrambling to gather all the sketches, she put them in a large portfolio and tied it tight. The work was good, but she would have done better to have gone straight to sleep. It’d be morning before long.
Still keyed up, she tried to relax. Turning off the light, she stared into the darkness. Even in the black of night, she could see Brendan’s face, remember their kiss, feel the craving for another.
Turning on her side, she tried to ignore the clamoring of her heart as she drifted off to sleep.
Arden awoke Sunday morning aware it was the first day since she’d moved to the Ferguson place she was not responsible for the girls. Delighting in the knowledge, and the unexpected sense of freedom, she planned all she’d do on her day off.
First, she’d treat herself to breakfast at the restaurant near her aunts’ retirement home that offered dining on the terrace overlooking the water. She’d buy the Sunday paper and take her time reading, eating and enjoying quiet time alone.
Then she’d pick up her aunts and drive them to church in their former neighborhood. They’d all like to see old friends. Maybe they could stop for lunch at the cafeteria near the university. She’d call Patti after taking her aunts back to their home to see if she wanted to go to a movie.
With the entire day ahead of her, Arden took her time getting dressed. Before she was ready, she heard her charges thundering down the stairs. Smiling, she wondered again how two such dainty little girls could sometimes make such a racket.
In deference to the warm weather, she wore a cheerful primrose yellow sun dress. White sandals showed off the pale pink polish on her toes. She pulled back her hair to allow her neck to stay cool. She'd stop by the kitchen on her way out, to let Brendan know she was leaving and to tell the girls goodbye.
When she walked in, Avery and Hailey were seated at the kitchen table eating cereal. Brendan stood by the counter, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Her breath caught for a moment when she first saw him. He wore shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt. The muscles of his obviously fit body were clearly displayed again. Sleek and masculine, he embodied all she’d ever imagined in the perfect male physique.
