“That’s the cabana,” I said when the boys and Stephanie were several feet ahead of us. “It’s small, but okay in the meantime. I’m not using the house, the garden, and the pool usually. I asked for a favor just for the boys.”
I didn’t trust Jamie and didn’t want him to know the truth about my being here.
The good thing about him was that he usually knew how to adapt himself to the company he was with. The man was a social chameleon when it fit him, which was how I had found him attractive back in the day. He had said all the right things. Now I was just happy that he was making an effort for Will’s sake to be sweet, interested, and interesting. His shallow knowledge about many topics could only survive one round of conversation, as long as no topic was discussed in depth. He now spoke with confidence about college life as if he had experienced it, and not from the temp custodian job that he had been fired from pretty quickly.
For as long as our lunch lasted, he passed as a man of the world who had done something with himself, other than drink and yell at the TV.
Yet, for as long as he was here, I was alert to any pitfall, and when the boys mentioned yesterday and spoke of Oliver, I diverted the conversation as soon as I could.
After we took everything back inside and Lennox and I did the dishes while Jamie sat outside with Will and Stephanie, it was time for them to leave. My boys were leaving. I hadn’t seen them in three months, and now they were leaving again.
“I’ll see you in June, okay?” I said, hoping that, by June, I would be able to welcome them to a home that was ours. At least, ours in monthly installments.
“So, do you want to wait for them till they bring their car from the back, and you could drive out of town together?” I tried hinting at Jamie that he should be leaving, too. He looked like he was comfortable right where he was.
“What’s the rush, Jan? I can help you clear everything.”
I hated when he called me Jan.
“Everything’s cleared, and I have a shift in Sandy Hills that I need to get to.”
“Well, your sons had me drive all the way up here for two and a half hours, so let me rest a little before I start the haul back.”
“I have to go, too,” I insisted.
By then, the boys and Stephanie approached us. I realized they were leaving, and he still wasn’t. I hugged and kissed all three of them, whispering, “She’s wonderful,” to Will, and “I love you,” to both my kids.
I saw them to the back, helped them put their bags in the trunk, and waved after them with Jamie standing beside me.
“Okay, now you,” I said when we were left alone.
I wanted to clean the place, collect my things, pick up the towels the trio had left in the cabana to take with me for laundry, then lock and leave. I had to talk to Oliver about the scholarships and thank him for everything he had done, but I felt that I couldn’t face him yet. Bringing the clean towels back was the deadline I had set my heart and mind for.
I marched toward the house, knowing that Jamie would follow me. His car was out front, and I wanted to rush him through the house and toward the front door. But as we reached the living room, he detoured and went into the smaller living room where Oliver and I had spoken on that first evening.
Jamie pretended to look at the bookcase. He stood with his hands behind his back and studied the titles.
“Come on, Jamie. I’ll be late for my shift.” I had no shift.
“You have no shift, January. You just want me out of here.”
“I do.”
“You were never a good liar,” he said.
Oh, he had no idea of the amount of lies I had been telling over the past few months.
“Jamie,” I repeated.
He didn’t even bother to turn. He was still studying the bookcase as if he found it riveting.
“This guy’s a billionaire,” he muttered with his back to me.
I knew where this was leading.
“Okay, I’m not getting into this. You ought to be on your way. Bye now.”
Jamie turned. We were standing ten feet apart. The light washed in through the large window that overlooked the beach. “Now that we’re alone, tell me, Jan, did you win the lottery or something?”
