Wednesday Read Free Page B

left.
    When I get back to the beach house,
I can’t help but wonder what it was.
     
     

 
ARIA
     
    After we get
settled in at Mom’s, Cade is quiet, withdrawn. My brother, Jack, was there to
greet us with his wife, Philly, and their five-year-old twins: Leo and Logan. Little
devils.
    Leo told Cade his room was haunted
by the man who lived there before Nana. Logan snapped the waistband of his
underpants and challenged him to a race.
    Cade hid behind my legs, clinging
to them like a PMSing woman to her last chocolate bar. He didn’t leave me for a
second. My poor boy. He didn’t engage with the kids. He watched them, oh how he
watched their every move. Even smiled a few times at their antics, but he
didn’t join in.
    Thankfully, they didn’t stay long,
sensing we needed time. Or should I say Philly sensed it. My brother is a
completely oblivious man-child. In fact, I’m quite sure he taught the boys the
underwear snapping trick, right after their burping and farting contests.
    Though I am determined not to raise
a Neanderthal, I worry about Cade. I know I should’ve taken him to more
classes, had him spend more time with kids his age. Not that there were a lot
of options living by a college campus. Still, now what? He can’t socialize? He
can’t relate to children? He’s going to end up as some recluse ordering weird
shit off the internet? Or become an agoraphobic, never able to go out in
public. He’s not even four yet and I’m convinced I’ve ruined him for life.
    Hell no! We would fix this
situation pronto.    
    “Hey buddy.” I shake Cade into a
little dance. “How about we go to the grocery store to pick up some of your
favorite foods? That way it’ll feel more like home.”
    “Can I get a treat?” he asks, eyes
wide.
    “Hmm,” I say, tapping a finger to
my chin. “Let me think about it.”
    “Mommy,” Cade howls out, impatient.
    “Hmm,” I continue, drawing out my
answer.
    “Mommy,” he says again in a huff.
    “Okay,” I finally tell him and I’m
rewarded with a huge smile. Then I flip him over my shoulder and we head to the
store. He squeals into the early spring breeze.
    Once we get there, I plop Cade in
front of the bakery shelf and I’m greeted by one of Mom’s friends working
behind the counter.
    “Aria,” she sings. “Your mom told
me you were coming home. And this must be your little one. What an angel.”
    My stomach sinks. Though her words
are kind, there is judgment in her eyes. I nod to Cade when he looks up at me.
Our code for be on your best behavior . See, there is this way people
look at you as a young mother – like you don’t really know what you’re doing.
Like your child is a big oops and oh boy, let’s watch how she handles it.
    It’s why, in the beginning, I
always wanted Alex with us when we went out in public. I’m ashamed to say, he
made Cade and me seem like we were a real family and not an oops.
    I’ve since gotten over that and I
will never apologize for my son. But that doesn’t stop me from taking the path
of least resistance from time to time.
    “Hi, Mrs. Thorton,” I say. “This is
Cade and he’s very interested in the cupcakes.”
    We make small talk and I repeat the
same information I gave to the neighbors and the mailman when I arrived just a
few hours ago: I missed the Florida weather; I’m excited to bring Cade closer
to his family; I’ll be taking classes at the university this summer. I leave
out the part about my divorce. Thankfully, the people around here are polite
enough to let it go.
    At least to my face.
    Mrs. Thorton brings out some
freshly baked treats and I realize it’s going to take Cade a while to make a
selection. “Take your time,” I tell him. “Pick out something for you and for
Nana. I’m going over there to get our fruit.”
    “These look belicous,” he tells
Mrs. Thorton, and the judgment in her eyes begins to fade. That’s my son, the
charmer. But shit, we need to work on those Ds.
    Jerry’s is a