Adopted: Family in a Million. Barbara McMahon

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СКАЧАТЬ she had the insane urge to make sure her hair was tidy and she still wore lipstick.

      She looked back and smiled politely. After a second’s hesitation, she sat beside him.

      “I’m sorry I didn’t thank you properly yesterday,” she said.

      “I didn’t find your child. The teacher did.”

      “Just being willing to help was a good thing. I appreciate it. And the fact that you looked. Many people would have been too busy.”

      “I’m glad he was safe,” Zack said, glancing over at the children. The folded newspaper at his side indicated he’d been there for some time. Did he have a child playing with the others?

      “I’m Susan Johnson.” She reached out to shake his hand. His palm was hard, callused. His grip was firm without being too hard. The tingling sensation that ran up her arm surprised her and she pulled back quickly, more aware of the man than she ought to have been.

      “We met yesterday. You were a bit flustered, though. No lasting aftereffects after your scare?”

      “Just a constant worry of that child of mine making me gray way before my time,” she replied, sitting back and relaxing, her gaze on Danny. She was not taking the chance he’d run after some other man today.

      After a few moments of silence, she glanced at Zack and was surprised to find him watching the children play. Somehow he didn’t seem like a man who spent a lot of time with children.

      He noted her look and returned her gaze. “I haven’t seen kids play like this in a long time. I’ve been on assignment overseas for the last five years.”

      “Are you in the military?” she asked, curious.

      “No, construction. We’ve been building bridges and dams and housing projects in the Middle East. When I had leave, I toured Europe. I’m on leave right now—enforced unfortunately. Got too close to a land mine.”

      “Oh my gosh,” she said. “I’m sorry. Are you all right?”

      “Things will work out. I’m back on my feet and everything is functioning. But it’ll take a little while until I’m one hundred percent again. I’ve been gone overseas so long, I feel like a stranger in my own country.”

      “You’ll get used to things quickly, I bet. Are you from New York?”

      “No. Originally from Chicago. But I haven’t lived there in fifteen years. I’m thinking of subletting an apartment close to the hospital where I’m getting physical therapy until I decide where to settle.”

      “You picked a great place to recuperate. I love New York. I’m from here originally and can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

      “Hard place to raise a kid, though, isn’t it? Don’t you wish for a backyard where he could play safely by himself? Maybe get a dog? A safer neighborhood?” Zack asked.

      Susan took a breath, startled that he captured the ideal Tom had often voiced. Was it a universal male thing? Her defenses rose when he mentioned a safer neighborhood. It was something she thought about a lot. The few blocks surrounding their apartment were not the best in the city, but it was the best she could afford. It wasn’t too much of a problem while Danny was still little. She worried about when he got older. What if he fell in with the wrong crowd. Even a gang. She would like a better home, but her talents were limited and she earned more where she was than a teacher would. Which was the only other thing she had trained for. But she wasn’t sharing that with a stranger, no matter how much he interested her.

      “He’s too young to take proper care of a dog. Maybe when he’s older. Pets are allowed in our building, you know.” There would be no house with a yard for them.

      “Oh,” Zack said.

      “The preschool he goes to two mornings a week is close, as is shopping. And I don’t have the upkeep of a yard.”

      “Do you work nearby?” he asked.

      “At the UN. I’m a translator. German.”

      And lucky to get such a well-paying job after her husband’s death. They’d planned on her staying home with the baby, not having a day care provider be with their child all day. Unfortunately things didn’t turn out that way.

      “And your husband?”

      She took a deep breath. The shock of loss still startled her. “He died a couple of years ago. He was an attorney.” Susan sought Danny. He laughed as he slid down the slide, chased by two friends. She smiled at his happiness. So often he lapsed into sulks with his father gone. He and Tom had enjoyed a special bond by the time Danny turned two.

      “Sorry to hear about your loss. Cute kid you have.”

      “I’m so grateful for Danny. He kept me going when Tom died.”

      Susan watched her son. She didn’t want him to forget Tom, so she had photographs all around the apartment. She told him stories about Tom as a boy. And about how they had met and got married. She wanted Tom to be a part of his life even though Danny’s memories would fade over time. She wondered even now if he had any real memories, or just the stories she told about his daddy, and the pictures he saw every day.

      Sometimes Susan couldn’t remember a detail or two. She’d panic and search in her mind. She never wanted to forget anything about the man she’d loved so much.

      “Do you have a child here?” Susan asked, looking at all the children. There had to be twenty, of all ages from toddlers with their mothers nearby to children aged seven or eight.

      “No. I just wanted a place to sit in the sun and read the paper. It was only after I was here a while that children started arriving. The playground is quite a draw, isn’t it?”

      “Closest playground in this area. With all the apartments around here, you know there’re lots of kids,” she explained. “We come as often as we can. It’s a great way for Danny to play with friends and get fresh air and sunshine. Probably not so appealing to people who want to also enjoy the fresh air but not have the noise.”

      Zack shrugged. “It suits me. I like to watch them. I know very little about children. I live in a world of men in a harsh environment. No grass where I’ve been the last eighteen months. This is like an oasis.”

      “Where have you been?”

      “In a small country in the Arabian desert. We were building a dam across a river. The lake behind it will give irrigation to hundreds of acres for agricultural purposes.”

      “Did someone protest?”

      “No.” He looked puzzled.

      “You said you are recovering from a land mine explosion,” Susan said.

      “Oh, that. I was temporarily assigned to another site our company is handling, closer to the war zone. That’s where the mine was.”

      “Anyone else hurt?”

      He shook his head. “One man killed, but no one else injured.”

      “That’s СКАЧАТЬ