“She’s not my mom,” Lucy said, raising her voice for the first time.
Max stopped pacing and was facing the window looking out into the street. It was dark,so I knew he wasn’t looking at anything outside, just his own reflection in the glass. His body was so tense I was wondering when it was he would finally fall apart and what would happen when he did.
I got up and walked to him. I put my hand on his back and gently rubbed it up and down. He looked at me. His eyes showed such pain and confusion.
“Lucy,” I said, turning my face to her but keeping my body facing Max, “why are you here?”
She paused at my question and then tears ran down her cheeks. “I’m sorry.” She gathered her coat and backpack. “I didn’t know what else to do. I thought you could help me. I’m sorry.”
She was halfway toward the door when Max caught her and held her in his arms. I heard her sob into his chest, so I gave them a moment and went to the kitchen to prepare a drink. I had a feeling cold chocolate milk wouldn’t go down well this side of the Atlantic, but hot chocolate was a universal, heart-mending medicine, so I took three cups from the cupboard and warmed up milk on the stove.
When I came back to the living room carrying a tray with the hot chocolate, Max and Lucy were sitting on the sofa together. She seemed to have calmed a little but was still quiet. I put one mug in front of her and one in front of Max with a bowl of marshmallows I’d found in the cupboard. I’d never had the combination before, but all the Christmas movies I’d seen as a kid made it look delicious.
They both filled their mugs until there were no marshmallows left. When they realized what they’d done, they both laughed.
“My mom died when I was ten.” Lucy took out a photo from the pages of a notebook she carried in her rucksack and showed it to Max. He gasped. The photo was of a beautiful young woman with dark, curly hair down to her shoulders. I presumed she must have had some Hispanic heritage from her looks. She was holding a small baby and looking up at the man standing next to her. I didn’t need to guess it was Max’s dad because they looked very similar, the only difference was that Max had blond hair, a contrast to his dad’s dark, but they both had the same brown eyes.
“She had cancer. Dad wasn’t around much. Mom used to say he was busy working so he could provide for us. I was actually happy when he wasn’t with us because every time he came to stay, there was always lots of shouting and I used to see marks on my mom’s arms and sometimes on her face after he left. In the beginning, I didn’t notice much, I guess I was too young to understand, but at school, I never saw any of the adults with those blue marks on their skin, so one day I asked her. She got reallymad at me and made me promise I wouldn’t talk about it again. She was so upset, so I did what she asked.”
“You saw bruises,” Max said, and Lucy nodded, her eyes red with tears running down her face again.
“Just after I turned ten, Mom kept getting sick. We didn’t have insurance, so she never went to the doctor. She died a few months later. I heard a doctor tell my dad she had a rare type ofcancer.
“I used to stay with a neighbor when Mom went to work, so I thought I would stay with her after Mom died, but then Dad came to get me and said I was going to live with him and his wife. I didn’t understand at first.” Lucy stopped for a moment to drink some of her chocolate.
“I’m so sorry to hear about your mom, Lucy,” Max said.
I could see he was hanging by a thread, and I was going to suggest we call it a day so I could find a way tocalm him down, but then Lucy continued.
“My dad’s wife was so beautiful. She had this perfect white skin that looked like a china doll, and her eyes were so blue it was like I was looking at the sky. I thought she was going to be my new mom. All I wanted was my old mom, but this lady looked like an angel, so I wondered if my mom had sent her from heaven to look after me.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“She was reallymad that I was living there. She kept shouting at Dad. Asking him how he could do this to her. I tried being nice to her and remembered all the good manners my mom had taught me. I tried so hard, but she justpretended I wasn’t there. They both did. There was always a plate with food at the table for me, and they took me shopping for things like clothes and school supplies, but the rest of the time, they didn’t talk to mevery much.”
Max had his face hidden by his hands while his elbows were resting on his knees. I couldn’t tell how he was taking the news that his dad had had a mistress and a child. I also didn’t understand how he didn’t know about it. Where was he when this happened?
“So you’ve been living with them all this time?” Max asked without raising his head.
“Yes, until last week.”
“What happened?”
“Two weeks ago, I was looking for something in Dad’s office, and I saw somepapers on his desk. They mentioned you. There was a will and your birth certificate. I didn’t know about you, so I read the papers. It was a combined will leaving everything to you if they both died, but it had an old date and there was a paper with a recent date.”
“I don’t want a fucking cent from them,” Max said with his fists clenched so tight his knuckles were white.
I kneeled in front of him. He readily opened his legs to let me get closer. I ran my hands through his hair, and he relaxed under my touch.
“Baby, why don’t we call it a day and carry on tomorrow?” I was relieved when he nodded.
“Lucy, do you have anywhere to go?” The way her gaze moved from me to Max told me she didn’t, even if she’d remained silent. I was going out on a limb, but I looked Max in the eyes as I spoke to Lucy.
“Would you like to stay here for the night? We have a spare room.”
She looked down at her hands and nodded shyly. “I won’t be any bother; you won’t even know I’m here.”
My heart broke a little for the young girl, but it filled with pride when Max got up to show Lucy the spare room.
