Bayview Heights Trilogy (56 page)

Lacey finally met Seth’s eyes. She still held
the pajama bottoms. “These are adorable.”

Reaching over, Seth flicked a tiny piece of
doughnut off her chin. “Hey, we’ve got to start the kid off right,
Ace.”

“I hope he grows up to be just like you.” She
said the words so somberly Seth was momentarily silenced.

“Lace…’’

Before he could finish, Josh was back, diving
into Lacey’s arms. She caught him to her and buried her face in his
hair.

Just before she did, Seth thought he saw
tears in her eyes.

o0o

As LACEY EXITED the day care, she saw Seth’s
car parked by the curb and halted momentarily. She made a show of
searching her purse to delay going to him.

You have to handle this right,
Lacey.

If only she wasn’t so tired. Her temples
throbbed and her eyes were gritty. Her lower back ached. After her
discussion with Philip last night, she’d lain awake,
second-guessing her decision, crying into the covers and even
getting angry at the fates. She’d punched her pillows so hard her
hand hurt today.

Now she had to begin the process that would
wrench Seth out of her life...

“I have two conditions,” she’d told
Philip.

“All right. What are they?”

“That you let me do this my way. Tell Seth
and handle the break in my own way.”

Philip’s jaw had clenched but he’d nodded his
assent.

“And that I go ahead with a foster-care
arrangement I’d been planning.

Then she’d told Philip all about Josh,
including Seth’s part in the process.

To her surprise. Philip had been delighted.
“It’ll be wonderful to have a baby around here again,” he’d said.
“I’ll help.—

Now, as Lacey picked her way down the icy
path toward Seth’s car, she tried to hold on to the joy of having
Josh come to live with her.

I wanted him to have you, even if I
couldn’t.
Seth’s words tormented her all the way to the
Blazer.

When she opened the door and slid in, she was
greeted by a blast of heat, a sharp contrast to the frigid weather
outside.

Without a word, Seth locked his hand on her
neck and drew her close for a thorough kiss. “There, that’s
better.” He brushed his thumb under her eye. “Rough night?”

She nodded.

“Can I do anything?”

She managed a weak smile. She wanted to say,
“Yes. You make me feel better just by being with me.” Oh, God, how
was she going to survive without him?

“Honey?”

“No, thanks.” She glanced at the day care.
“Our party was a success.”

He nodded.

“I love the pajamas.”

“Maybe I’ll order a pair in my size.

She laughed, then, as he’d meant her to. “I’d
like to see that.”

His fingers grasped her neck again. “You can
see anything you like, anytime,” he joked.

She tried to participate in the mirth, but
the knowledge that she’d never see him naked again, never kiss his
chest again, never feel him full and firm inside her made her
throat close up.

Seth’s eyes narrowed. “Lace, honey, I’m not
pressuring you for anything. I know that grief can dampen the
libido. I was trying to cheer you up.”

Oh, God, how wrong could he be? She’d like
nothing better than to make love with him now, to lose herself in
the sensations of his body against hers, to forget this awful
aching grief for a few hours.

“I know that’s what you were doing.” She
cleared her throat. “What did you want to talk about?”

His hesitation told her she hadn’t quite
convinced him. Finally he said, “I want to see you. To spend more
than a few stolen moments together.”

“You’re busy tonight, aren’t you?” she said,
casually setting into works the first part of her plan.

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Cassie’s having a
dinner at Lambert’s for me. To celebrate my twenty-fifth year at
the high school.”

Bravely Lacey smiled. She knew that once
tonight was over, she’d have to tell him goodbye. She’d told Philip
she wouldn’t do it before Cassie’s party and spoil the event for
Seth.

But she could do it after.

“I wish you could be there,” he told her.

I will be, along with a lot of others you
don’t expect.

“Me, too. Cassie’s keeping it more intimate.”
She took a deep breath. “How about afterward?”

“Oh, honey, Joey’s flying in this afternoon.”
He checked his watch. “I have to pick him up at the airport in an
hour. We won’t have any privacy at my house.”

She stiffened. She’d planned to tell him
tonight, and for her own sanity she needed to get it over with.
“Let’s meet somewhere. Just for an hour. Then you can go home to
Joey.”

If he was puzzled by the unusual request, he
hid his feelings well.

“All right. Where?”

“How about the Marriott Hotel about ten miles
outside of Bayview on the way to New York.”

“In the bar?”

“No, I’ll get a room.”
We’ll need the
privacy
. In her heart, she knew Seth wouldn’t take what she
had to say to him easily.

He didn’t respond immediately, then his arms
enclosed her. “You’re on, sweetheart,” he said into her ear, though
she caught the anxiety underlying the lightness.

Just wait
, she thought ruefully.
Just wait
.

“DAD, are you okay?” Joey’s voice penetrated
the daze Seth had fallen into as he drove to Lambert’s Party House
at six o’clock that night.

“Sure. Why?”

“You’ve been quiet since you picked me up at
the airport.”

Seth glanced at his son. God, it was good to
have Joey home. He chided himself for not enjoying it more.

“Sorry. I’m a little preoccupied, I guess.
Did I tell you how great it is to see you?”

Joey grinned. “Yeah, you did.” He reached
over and gently punched Seth’s arm. “It’s good to be home. I’m
really looking forward to Christmas.”

“Me, too.” Seth drove down a lane, searching
for a space to park. “I wonder what else is going on here? The
lot’s packed.”

“Must be some party.”

“I still don’t know why Cassie’s having a
get-together here for only ten or twelve people.”

“What did she say?”

“That they’ve added on some smaller rooms and
the chef was a former student at Bayview. She wanted to give him
business.”

“Sounds like Cassie.”

“Yeah, but I hate being the center of
attention.”

“Dad, twenty-five years in education is
something to celebrate.”

Nodding, Seth thought about the phone call
he’d received before he left tonight. From Mike Thomas—offering him
the State Ed. job. How ironic. “I know it’s a big deal,” he told
his son now, but he still didn’t like the idea of a party. However,
Mitch had asked him to humor Cassie, and Seth had agreed. He
supposed he could handle a small celebration with a few close
friends. Seth only wished Lacey could be here, but he knew that if
Philip found out she’d attended, it would make things even
worse.

As he and Joey made their way inside, Seth
sidestepped the slush and looked up at the sky. He hoped the
weather didn’t get too bad for Lacey to drive out to the hotel
later. He needed to talk to her; he was anxious to find out what
she was thinking, feeling. Something was definitely wrong. Oh,
hell, maybe it was just grief over Kevin. He quelled the notion
that it had something to do with him.

When Joey pulled open the glass door to the
party house, they ran into Mitch coming out of the rest room.

“Hello,” Mitch said easily. “Perfect timing.”
He shook Joey’s hand. “Hi, Joey.”

“Hi.”

“We’re in through here.” Mitch nodded toward
a large room.

Before Seth could comment, Mitch opened the
door and stood aside. Seth threw him a puzzled look but went in
ahead of him.

And froze.

“Surprise!”

Inside, the room was filled to capacity, with
people standing around individual tables set for dinner.

Seth didn’t move. For a split second he
didn’t understand.

Then he saw his mother, two sisters and their
families. Then Carolyn Spearman, Alex Ransom, Zoe Caufield and
several other teachers. Board members, including Leonard Small. The
superintendent of schools.

And when Cassie left her seat and headed
toward them, he caught sight of Lacey standing and clapping,
too.

Briefly he closed his eyes when he realized
what Cassie had done.

“Congratulations, Seth,” Cassie said,
reaching out and giving him a hug.

When he pulled back, he glared at her. Before
he could say anything, she slid her arm around Mitch’s waist and
leaned into her husband. “Ah, honey, you’d better tell him not to
yell at me.” She rubbed her protruding belly. “I’m pregnant and
shouldn’t be upset.”

Mitch chuckled. “He’s not going to yell at
anyone. He’s going to be gracious and enjoy his party. Aren’t you,
buddy?”

“Of course I am,” Seth said, his glare
encompassing Mitch.

He saw Joey slink away to his family’s
table.

“Come on and visit your guests for a while,”
Cassie suggested. “Dinner’s in half an hour.”

Seth spent the time hugging his mother, two
sisters and their husbands, a nephew and two nieces. Then he went
from table to table, greeting half of Bayview Heights. He took the
ribbing good-naturedly, answered several times that, no, he’d had
no clue this was in the works, and joked that it worried him that
his staff could keep this shindig a secret for so long.

He worked his way back to Cassie’s
table—where Lacey sat. She wore a multicolored velvet jacket with
sparkling gold threads woven through it. Her hair fell loosely
around her shoulders. Her eyes were sad.

“You, too, Brutus?” he joked.

She stood and gave him a quick hug. “Me,
too.”

“I’m glad you came.”

She smiled. “I wouldn’t have missed it.”

When Cassie and Mitch turned to a waiter, he
leaned over and whispered, “Are we still on for afterward?”

She nodded. “If you can get away—with your
family here.”

“I think I can. The girls flew in today and
my mom drove down from Binghamton. They’ll probably be exhausted by
then.”

“All right. You’ll be a while getting out of
here. I’ll go on ahead and leave an envelope with a key at the
desk.”

Drawing back, he gave her a searing look. “I
can’t wait.”

She squeezed his arm. “Enjoy this, Seth. You
deserve it.” Her voice cracked on the last word and he wondered
why.

The dinner passed in a blur. He visited with
his family and the people who stopped by his table. He learned that
Cassie had been planning this for months, that his sisters had lied
about not being able to come for Christmas and that the party house
hadn’t built any new rooms.

Seth was filled with a sense of well-being.
The only dark spot in the evening was Lacey. He could see her
clearly at the next table with the Lansings. Although she chatted
with everyone, her smile was brittle and she pushed her filet
mignon around the plate, barely eating any. She sipped wine but her
hand gripped the glass a little too tightly. He kept reminding
himself that Kevin’s death was still uppermost in her mind.

Abruptly he was roused from his reflection by
the screech of a microphone turning on. He swiveled toward the
noise and saw his son standing next to Johnny Battaglia on a small
raised dais. Each held a mike. Behind them, was a large-screen TV.
Seth frowned and his gaze flew to Cassie. Glancing over at him, she
shrugged and nodded for him to pay attention to the boys.

“Welcome, everybody,” Johnny said with an
ease that surprised Seth. Garbed in dressy black pants and a black
silk shirt, he looked confident and poised. “In case some of you
don’t remember me...you know, like you, Mr. Ransom, or you, Ms.
Spearman—” the audience laughed “—I’m that kid who was always in
trouble at school. And this is Joe Taylor, my foil—got that, Mr.
Taylor, foil, a good literary term.”

Joey’s deep voice came over the mike. He wore
a navy suit, with a white shirt and red tie. “I’m the angel, he’s
the devil.”

“I’m the bad seed, he’s the good one.”

Again the crowd laughed, including Seth. The
guys traded a few more barbs, then sobered.

Joey said, “We’ve got a short video clip to
show you before we go on. It’ll help explain the program we have
planned.”

Johnny broke in. “This was Ms. Lansing’s
idea. You know how those English teachers love symbolism.”

There were chuckles around the room as the
video began.

Seth watched with interest as he heard the
strains of Christmas music. Jimmy Stewart’s
It’s a Wonderful
Life
came on the screen. He listened to the kids tell George
Bailey’s story as they fast-forwarded into the movie. They paused
at the scene where Bailey hovers over the bridge, crashing waters
beneath him.

“George Bailey’s about to commit suicide
here, and he’s rescued by a somewhat tarnished angel,” Joey told
them.

Johnny joked, “Like me, maybe?”

“Nope,
I’m
the angel.”

“Anyway, this is the scene we want you to
see.”

George Bailey sat in the guard’s office and
the angel, Clarence, told him he’d come to save George’s life. When
Bailey said his life wasn’t worth saving, that it would be better
if he’d never been born, the angel replied, “You just don’t know
what you’ve done.’’

Then the screen flicked off. Seth held his
breath, suspicion coupling with warmth inside him.

“Don’t worry, my dad’s not suicidal,” Joey
said. “But for a while now, he’s been questioning exactly how much
good he’s done at Bayview Heights High School.”

Johnny added, “And we don’t have the ability
to transform the world to show him how life would’ve been if he’d
never come to Bayview. But we’ve got something almost as good.”