By now, people were looking at them and Sherryn wished by some miracle the woman would vanish.

  Maurice sat unmoving, his attention fixed on the fiberglass tabletop as if he'd go unnoticed if he stayed still. Sherryn squeezed his shoulder, hoping he wouldn't start crying.

  Gloria bellowed. "You t'ink you is him madda? Maurice, come 'ere now."

  His shoulder jerked under her hand, and Sherryn murmured, "Stay right where you are. Your father's coming."

  He slumped further and let his breath out.

  Despite the air conditioning, Sherryn's body heat climbed. She'd be darned if she let Gloria intimidate her. Squaring her shoulders, she said, "You're going to have a long wait, 'cause you're not getting him."

  Seeing an opportunity to further her cause, Gloria scanned the crowd and flung her voice up by a few decibels. "You better gimme mi pickney or else! You know dat kidnappin' is 'gainst di law? People tell mi if dis right."

  Sherryn wanted to melt to a puddle and slide away as Gloria launched into her tale of kidnapping, and the wrongs committed against her. A crowd gathered near their table while Sherryn stared into the melting cup of ice cream. Her head snapped up when Maurice sniffled. She couldn't sit and wait for Reece to save her, especially when Gloria was trying to convince everybody that Sherryn had stolen her child.

  "Kidnapping? Kidnapping?" Sherryn got to her feet, waving a hand at Maurice. "You threw him off on my doorstep, and now you're accusing me of child stealing? You better get a grip."

  Gloria opened her mouth, but a man wearing a shirt with the restaurant's logo interrupted her. "Excuse me, ladies. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to—"

  Gloria spun on him. "To do what?"

  "Leave. This sort of thing cannot be condoned inside—"

  "You ca'an force me to leave before mi ready." Gloria yelled.

  The man slipped into silence and waited to speak while Gloria continued yelling.

  A pair of policemen on patrol paused outside the window. The male employee beckoned to the officers and seconds later, they cut through the people gathered at Sherryn's table.

  "Is there a problem?" one of them asked.

  "Offica, dis woman kidnap mi pickney," Gloria said.

  The policeman frowned at Sherryn, glanced at Maurice, and then spoke to Gloria. "Have you made a report?"

  "No, not yet."

  "Instead of disturbing the peace here, I'd suggest you do that. Come with me."

  Gloria folded her arms across her chest. "But she might escape wid him."

  The taller of the two officers spoke. "Doesn't seem to me like she's trying to make a getaway. My partner will keep her here."

  Reece walked up behind the policeman speaking to Gloria. When she spotted Reece, her mouth opened and closed but no words escaped.

  Having got the policemen's attention, Reece explained the situation. While he talked to them, Gloria raked Sherryn with hate-filled eyes. She pointed at Reece. "You t'ink him can stop mi from getting back mi pickney?"

  A vein throbbed in Reece's forehead, and his eyes narrowed at Gloria's words.

  Sherryn's pulse sped up at the thought of his fury unleashed on Gloria and grabbed his arm.

  "Reece!" She waited until she had his full attention before speaking again. "We should get out of here."

  The officers cleared the way to escort them outside, but that didn't stop Gloria from positioning herself where Sherryn had to pass her.

  Maurice cried openly and refused to get up. Though sympathetic, Sherryn was also impatient to get out of the store and away from the crowd. She squeezed Maurice's hand and eased him out of the bench behind her and to her other side where Gloria couldn't get at him. Reece picked up Maurice, who sobbed into his shoulder.

  From where she stood, Sherryn couldn't see Reece's expression, but could almost touch the waves of anger rolling off him. His voice erupted over his shoulder. "Gloria, I swear, if you don't leave my family alone, I'm goin' to make you sorry you ever see the light of day."

  "You t'ink is me goin' to be sorry? You watch what I goin' to do next."

  "Don't test me, Gloria. Apparently, you don't remember that I come from the same place as you."

  Sherryn had no idea what they meant, but his words worked magic. Gloria stood aside and allowed them to pass.

  As they left the store, she shouted, "Don't t'ink dis is di end. Mi want back mi son!"

  With trembling fingers, Sherryn opened the van.

  Reece strapped Maurice down while she wiped tears from his cheeks with a napkin.

  "It's all right," she whispered while blinking away tears.

  Maurice leaned his head against the door and sucked his thumb.

  She sighed, wishing as she had frequently in the past month, that Reece had considered the consequences of his actions before stepping outside of their marriage.

  Gloria came out of the store and sauntered up to the van, arms folded in front of her.

  "Maurice, don' forget where you live, 'cause you comin' right back."

  That started him sobbing again. Reece's shoulders heaved, and from the tightness in his jaw, he had his teeth clamped together. "Gloria, if you know what's good for you, leave right now."

  Sherryn fired up the van to get away from the people staring at them through the plate-glass window. The officers walked toward Gloria as if to intercept her at the same time as Reece approached her.

  She backed away, shouting abuse.

  Reece moved to follow her, but Sherryn stopped him with a plea. "Please, Reece, don't do anything to get yourself in trouble."

  He stared after Gloria, his gaze intense.

  Gloria was now in conversation with the policemen, who looked to be passing on a stern warning.

  Sherryn gripped Reece's arm through the window to get him to look at her. "Promise me you won't do anything about her just now."

  "I won't," he said, turning his head to where Gloria still stood.

  Sherryn didn't believe him.

  Twenty-Nine

  Later that evening, Sherryn watched Maurice from a corner of the living room.

  Justin sat on the arm of the sofa where she sat and pointed with his chin. "Is what happen to him?"

  Pausing to see if Maurice was listening, she murmured, "We saw his mother today. She wants him back."

  Maurice occupied the same position he had for the last hour. He sat in front of the television, staring at the cartoon characters that chased each other across the screen. He neither smiled, nor laughed, as normal.

  If anyone had told her that children worried to the extent he did, she'd have said it was a lie, but he had done nothing else since they got home earlier in the afternoon. Brandon gave up, after begging him endlessly to go outside, and went upstairs to play games on the computer.

  Maurice hadn't moved since—not even when Sherryn, in desperation and against what she knew to be healthy, offered him the day's second serving of ice cream. He'd shaken his head and leaned against the sofa, feet stretched out, sucking incessantly at his finger. Unwilling to take away the comfort he derived from the act, she left him to it.

  Justin's outrage pulled her back into the living room. "She want him back? Mommy, is what kind of woman dat?"

  Smoothing out a page in the magazine she was flipping through, Sherryn frowned. "You know I don't like it when you talk that way."

  "Yeah, but all the same, she lick her head or somethin'?"

  Despite her annoyance with him, Sherryn chuckled. "I really wouldn't know if she hit her head, but I know she's not helping him."

  They eyed Maurice's still figure before Justin eased off the sofa arm, tying together the strings in the waistband of his sweat bottoms. "Lemme see what I can do."

  Her lips twitched as Justin hung over the chair with his bottom in the air and the tee-shirt half way up his back while he spoke to Maurice. Doubting he'd be successful, she continued turning pages in the magazine. Her brows lifted when Justin passed her with Maurice in tow. Her sixteen-year-old responded with a smug smile.

  She was still wondering how Justin had convinced Maurice to leave the room when Reece walked in and sat across from her. He wore work clothes, but had pulled his shirt free of his pants. His forehead bore lines of concern.

  "You okay?" he asked.

  "Apart from what happened earlier, I'm quite all right."

  With his fingers folded together between his knees, Reece asked, "Is Maurice any better?"

  She shrugged with one shoulder. "He's been sitting in front of the television since we got home. Dunno what Justin said to get him to move, but they just left."

  A strained sigh came out of Reece.

  We seem to be doing that a lot lately, she thought, as he scratched his scalp.

  When he lifted his head, she concentrated on the magazine.

  "I'm sorry about that," he said. "You shouldn't have to be entangled with, uh, Gloria."

  Sherryn took her time closing the magazine while she gathered her thoughts. "If this is how she plans to continue, you need to call in the police."

  "The police?"

  "Yes. What she did today is against the law. She denied it, but I know she followed us. Her turning up there was too convenient to be an accident, and she obviously knows Maurice is terrified of her. If I wasn't sitting where I was, he'd have gotten up and gone to her."

  Reece hung his head and rolled his thumbs around each other, deep in thought. Another sigh left his lips before he shared what was going on in his head. "D'you think I need to tell him again that she won't get him?"

  "It can't hurt. I tried telling him, but it had no effect. He's not talking, so I gave him some space."

  She wasn't sure how to broach the idea that came to her while she fretted over Maurice, but figured now was the best time. "With all the changes in his life over the past month, it might be a good idea to arrange counseling for Maurice. What d'you think?"

  He frowned, and she expected some resistance, knowing that the idea might sound strange. In their culture, few people took their mental health seriously, sometimes with disastrous results. A year ago, a friend of Justin's had suffered anxiety attacks and then fell into deep depression, which was the result of unresolved feelings over his parents' separation and eventual divorce.

  "I have no objection if you think it will help."

  "I'm sure it will," she said. "I'll make a call to the Family Services Ministry and see what they recommend."

  Folding his hands behind his head, Reece sucked his bottom lip and stared at the ceiling. The only sound in the room was the ticking of the wall clock, and as time crept by, Sherryn grew more uncomfortable.

  Something was going on with Reece. She confirmed it when he put on a blank expression after he caught her watching him.

  Meeting his eyes, she warned him not to be foolish. To quell her anxiety, she said a prayer for him and the family.

  In one movement, Reece rose from the seat and then walked past her. His body language made her uncomfortable and she hoped he'd do the sensible thing and forget whatever he was planning.

  Thirty

  Reece stopped at Justin's half-open door. He and Maurice hovered in front of the computer screen while Justin maneuvered the joystick to his right. The younger child sat still, wincing when the figures on the screen collided in a shower of sparks and booming noise from the speaker boxes. Reece left, relieved that Justin was not so mad at him that he'd ignore Maurice. He swallowed hard, humbled by Justin's helpfulness in the face of his personal distress.

  The laughter coming from his daughters' room stopped when they spotted him in the doorway. Both of them stared at the open books in front of them, despite their carefree giggling a moment ago.

  "May I come in?" he asked.

  They nodded, and he crossed the room to sit on one of the beds.

  A current of air lifted the tangerine fabric of the curtains and he followed its movement.

  Melly flipped a page, which moved Reece's focus to where she lay. He cleared his throat and dragged his attention away from the carpet in the center of the room. The peach and mint green fabric had never been so fascinating before. "You're doing homework, right?"

  Melly and Celia nodded—a study in absorption. Melly's head sank between her shoulders as she lay propped on her elbows on the rug. At any other time, their solidarity might have amused him, but the situation was serious. Reece rubbed his palms together while he braced himself. "Um, I know that apart from our family meeting, we haven't talked about Maurice."

  They looked at him then. Melly sat up and crossed her spindly legs, while Celia observed him through her glasses.

  "What more is there to talk about?" Melly asked.

  Celia raised her brow in agreement with her sister's question.

  Reece ignored Melly's rudeness and pressed on with an explanation. "We haven't been talking much since everything happened, and I wanted to find out how you're both doing."

  His two daughters were aware that Melly was the child who could wheedle almost anything out of him. Although Justin was the eldest, when they all wanted something from him, they used Melly to get it.

  Celia wielded much power over him, as well. She was quiet by nature, and in Reece's opinion, was the most mature of his children. Like Brandon, she had an old soul. She was also much like her mother. When she withdrew from him, she did so completely. If he could reach her, then he stood a chance of salvaging their relationship.

  The complexity of his children's character awed him. While they resembled each other closely, each had their unique quirks, which made them distinct individuals. He awoke from his reverie to catch them staring at him.

  "We're doing okay," Melly pronounced dryly. "The only problem we have is whether you and Mom are going to stay together or not."

  He cocked his head, brows puckered. "You're still on that?"

  Celia remained silent while Melly continued talking, her palms spread wide. "Both of you keep skirting around what's happened and the only person who's happy is Maurice, and of course, Brandon.

  "I don't want to speak for your mother, but we haven't discussed splitting up as an option."

  He gave them his undivided attention before speaking again. "Your mother's a strong woman and can do anything she sets her mind to, but if I had to live apart from all of you, I don't know what I'd do."

  Melly watched him, her slender fingers cupped around her jaw while her elbows rested on her crossed legs. Sympathy shone from her eyes, but Celia continued to stare at him, unimpressed.

  "I know I've let you all down." He appealed directly to his younger daughter. "But haven't you ever done something you wished you hadn't?"

  Celia's gaze faltered, and he guessed what she was thinking. Six months before, she and Melly had gone into his office to leave him a surprise birthday present. What they had done, by accident, was tip over one of his two-drawer file cabinets. He'd left a glass of water on top and the result was a mass of wet papers, which they had stuffed back into whichever files came handy. Some of the documents, printed on an inkjet printer, were ruined. The rest reminded him of accordion files—they were wrinkled that badly. Both girls had stayed mum on what happened and by a process of elimination, Reece got around to them.

  He grilled each girl separately when neither admitted to creating the mess.

  After he asked Celia why she refused to look at him, she confessed everything in one breath. He hadn't punished them because he understood what they had been trying to do. However, he spoke to them about breaking his trust, particularly when their mother lectured them all the time about speaking the truth, whatever the cost.

  Now, Celia avoided making eye contact. When she did, he knew she understood his position. Her body lost its stiffness and she lowered her head. Fiddling with the tail of her tee-shirt, she answered, "You know I have."

  "Then, isn't it possible for you to forgive me?"

  Still, she resisted him. "It's not the same thing."

  "I know that." Dreading her answer, he asked, "What could I do to make things better?"

  Celia glanced at Melly. "Like she said, we want to know what's going to happen."

  "And like I've said before, these things take time. We all have to be patient and you have to trust me to work things out with your mom."

  They consulted without speaking, made a decision he was not privy to, and then nodded at him.

  "Now," he said, getting to his feet. "Can I get a hug?"

  Reece sighed as they enfolded him in a waist hug. Nothing the world had to offer was better than what he had at home. As long as he had the power, nothing would disrupt his family's peace again.

  Thirty-One

  In the living room, Sherryn sat in front of the television, listening to the news with one ear.

  "And on the crime blotters, thirty-six-year-old Gloria Wedderburn was found bludgeoned in her two room house in the Waterhouse community. There was no sign of forced entry, and based on information received, the police theorize that Miss Wedderburn may have been attacked by someone close to her. Miss Wedderburn remains in critical condition at the Kingston Public Hospital. Investigations will continue...”

  With nausea knotting her stomach, she stumbled to her feet and hurried to Reece's office. She slammed the door behind her and marched to the desk. Despite trying to calm herself, her breathing was uneven. "Tell me you didn't do it."

  Brows raised, Reece stared at her, but she wasn't fooled. She remembered his silence, and the deadpan expression he wore two days earlier, after they talked about Gloria and Maurice. His eyebrows drew together. "Do what?"

  "Hurt Gloria," she whispered.

  With one hand, she gripped her neck, the other hugged her waist. How was it possible to go from normal body temperature to freezing within minutes? She shivered, shook her head, and tried to form a rational thought.

  Please, God, don't let him have anything to do with this. I can't bear this on top of everything.

  Reece broke in on her prayer. "Hurt her how?"

  "It was just on the news. She's in hospital in critical condition. Please say you don't know anything about it."

 

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