Caleb (The Unseen Series Book 1) (13 page)

“He’s still a monkey,” Raj replies.

“Stop the back-talking,” I snap and watch the boy recoil. “I’m sorry, but I asked you to stop, so please stop.”

“Yes, SJ,” he answers quietly.

“Sorry, SJ,” Gur adds.

“Let’s move on, okay?”

We visited The Sant Ocean Hall next. It’s a one-of-a-kind interpretive exhibition, which demonstrates how the ocean is connected to other global systems and the daily lives of people around the world. Mitch loved seeing the male and female giant squids that made me squirm, but we all enjoyed seeing an exact replica of a living North Atlantic right whale. It was huge.

We stopped for something to eat at The Atrium Café and I almost had a heart attack at the price. No wonder the museum is free, the cafeteria is where they make their money. Though to be honest, it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. I just hoped it wasn’t going to be too much.

After lunch we went to see the Butterflies and Plants: Partners in Evolution exhibit, where we got an up-close look at how butterflies and plants have evolved and diversified together for millions of years. I found it totally fascinating, the children not so much.

Following that, we went to the one exhibit I really didn’t want to see. The
O. Orkin Insect Zoo. There’s a variety of hands on activities and live insects on display that the children loved, while my hairs were standing up the whole time. Just as we were about to leave, it’s time for the daily tarantula feeding that the children insisted on staying for it. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life. So while I stood as far back as humanly possible, Gur and Raj watched as Maddie and Mitch got up close and personal with the eight legged freak. I finally managed to coax them away and lead them from the insect zoo as quick as their little legs would move.

Even as we entered The
Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals, I still felt like my skin was crawling. The children were far less impressed with the two hundred and seventy mammals and dozens of fossils that were displayed in a bunch of different environments, but they still enjoyed it.

“Mom, why is there an elephant fossil?” Mitch asks in complete puzzlement. “Aren’t they still alive?”

“That’s not an elephant,” I start to explain. “You know when we were listening to the man about how we evolved from apes, well elephants evolved from these big things. They’re called mammoths.”

“But they look just like elephants,” he says, clearly unconvinced.

“Yes, but they were actually pretty different,” I say and lead him toward the display where there are a number of pictures of mammoths. “See, they had fur and were a lot bigger.”

“Kind of like how monkeys have fur and we don’t?” he asks.

“Probably,” I reply uncertain while nodding my head and smiling. My answer seems to have pleased him because his questions stop there and he begins to look at something else.

The last room on our list is the one I was most looking forward to and hoped the children would like too.
The Last American Dinosaurs. The exhibit features a giant, plant-eating Triceratops and a fourteen-foot-tall cast of a T-rex. As I suspected, all four of the kids are amazed, even Maddie who I thought would be scared. The room was beautiful with murals of ancient environments all around us. There was a video presentation that told you about the earth when dinosaurs roamed the planet and their theory about how they became extinct and finally, we got to join in on a virtual reality dig that was just out of this world.

“That was awesome SJ. Thank you for taking us,” Gur says as we leave the museum.

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself,” I smile in return. “See, museums aren’t that boring are they?”

“When can we go to the space museum?” he asks.

“Next time, it’s a bit late now and we have to go and meet up with Caleb,” I tell him.

We walk the block back to Archives station and spot Caleb almost straightaway, the poor guy stands out like a sore thumb.

“How was your day?” he asks as he gets up.

“It was awesome!” Maddie says, practically jumping on him.

He laughs as he catches her. “I’m glad to hear it,” he says and then leans over and places a light kiss on my lips. “I wish I could have been there.”

“Can he come next time, Mommy?” Maddie asks.

“I can’t see why not,” I answer, suddenly realizing how attached Maddie has gotten to Caleb and how it will affect her when he’s gone.

“There’s this room full of gems and stuff and it has a super huge diamond, I told Mommy I would buy her one like it one day,” she tells him.

“I’m sure we can think of something,” he replies.

“See Mommy,” she yells excitedly. “I told you it’s like Cinderella.”

“Why’s that?” Caleb asks her with a quirked brow.

“It’s nothing,” I jump in. “How did you do today?”

“Not bad,” he says slowly, clearly confused by my change in subject. Obviously I wasn’t as calm and collected as I thought I was. “I got twenty-seven dollars.”

“Nice one,” I answer, aware that my voice is an octave to high. I take a deep breath and calm myself down. “That’s great, let’s get you some clothes.”

After a quick stop off at Goodwill, we head back to the apartment.

“You’re back,” Rita says, greeting us at the top of the stairs.

“Were you waiting there for us?” I ask, wondering why the hell she’s hanging out in the hall.

“No,” she answers too quickly. “I was in the bathroom and I heard the kids when I came out.”

“Yeah, okay,” I agree.

“What did you get up to today?” she asks.

“We went to the museum and I learned that Raj is a monkey,” Gur says, walking past him mom and into their apartment.

She looks to me and I just shake my head. “I tried explaining evolution to them and then they started calling each other monkeys.”

“Ah,” she replies, nodding her head as if it makes perfect sense.

“We went to the Natural History Museum,” I tell her.

“Do I owe you anything?” she asks.

“No, don’t be silly,” I reply. “Could I ask a favor? Can you have the twins so I don’t have to take them to the soup kitchen tonight please?”

“Of course, don’t worry,” she says and opens her door wider to let the children pass. “Come in and I’ll get dinner started.”

“Thank you Rita, see you in a little while.”

“Do you think I’d be able to help out tonight?” Caleb asks, his question halting me for a second.

“Yeah, I can’t see why not,” I reply, hoping my hesitation didn’t show.

“Why are you so shocked I asked?” He smirks, knowing he’s caught me red handed.

“I don’t know,” I answer.

“Yeah you do, come on I want to hear you say it,” he mocks me.

“I guess I didn’t think you would want to help.”

“But I’m doing the experiment,” he says.

“I didn’t think you would want to do more than you had to.” He goes to interrupt, but I stop him. “I know, I’m tarring you with the rich boy brush again. I’m sorry, please forgive me?”

“Of course I do, SJ,” he laughs and pulls me into his embrace. “I was just teasing you. To be honest, a month ago I probably wouldn’t have wanted to do more than I had to but then I met you.”

“What do I have to do with anything?” I ask, blushing profusely.

“You’ve opened my closed-off mind to the world around me and the people too. As shallow as this sounds, I never paid attention to anything or anyone unless they made me money. You make me want to give it all away or at least do something useful with the money racking up interest in my account.”

“Wow, that’s amazing Caleb,” I say, desperately trying not to cry. “I’m glad I’m not the only one learning from this experience.”

“So am I,” he replies. With his gorgeous smile and his arms wrapped around me, it takes all my strength not to melt into him. “Ready to go and eat?”

Chapter 12

When
a woman hints at something, us men should apparently be mind readers and know exactly what they’re hinting about. How comes it doesn’t work both ways? I don’t think she even realized I was trying to tell her I’m not taking her home away. I suppose that’s just SJ, she’d resigned herself to the fact that she is losing her home and doesn’t see the point in dwelling on it.

“Where did you go?” SJ’s voice startles me.

“Sorry, I went into my own world,” I reply, looking up to see we are outside Central Kitchen.

“In your own universe more like. If I hadn’t stopped you, you would have walked into that door,” she laughs.

“It’s a good job you’re not evil or sadistic,” I reply.

“What do you mean by that?” she asks.

“Because I would have let you walk into the door and laughed my ass off,” I say.

“Remind me never to go into a daydream around you.” She scoffs. “Next time I won’t stop you.”

“Wow, you’re mean,” I tease.

“Coming from the
gentleman
that would allow a lady to walk into a closed door,” she responds.

“Because it would be hilarious, not because I want you to hurt yourself.”

“I’m not sure I’m comforted by that statement.”

I laugh at the worry crease that forms between her eyebrows. “When Edward and I were in school, there was this one really old door and it was really heavy, it would literately slam shut. Anyway, one day we were walking to class and another student had walked through the door. He held it open for us, but we were taking too long, so he let it go. It happened in slow motion and I swear it was the funniest thing ever. Edward was talking to me and as he turned back to push the door open, it came flying back and hit him right on the nose, blood went everywhere. I checked he was okay and then burst into a fit of laughter I couldn’t help it.”

“That’s horrible,” she says while trying to cover up her own laughter.

“But funny,” I point out. Within seconds she can’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.

“I’d love to hear more about your school days,” she says when she calms down.

“I’ll give Edward that pleasure,” I say and her brow knots. “My friend in New York, I recently embarrassed him in front of his wife Dana who wanted to know more about his school days, I’m sure he’d love to return the favor.”

“Awesome, I can’t wait,” she chuckles and opens the door for me to enter. It isn’t until I’m getting my apron on and my hard on has softened that my words filter into my brain. Did I seriously just invite my tenant to meet my best friend and his wife?
Stop kidding yourself Caleb—she’s more than a tenant. But are you more than a landlord to her?

I shake the thoughts from my head. I have no business thinking of SJ like that, even if I am most definitely and unavoidably falling in love with her.

“You’re on clean up,” SJ says when she reappears wearing a similar apron to mine. “Clear tables, take the trays and plates to the kitchen, empty them and then load them in the dishwasher. Billy will be working with you out back, he’ll unload the dishwasher and bring the clean plates and cutlery back out front.”

“Okay, so just clear and load,” I say, simplifying what she just said.

“Exactly,” she giggles and it’s the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard.

We spent the evening feeding the homeless and hungry residents of Fort Lincoln. I didn’t really get to see SJ much, I was kept on my toes through the whole dinner rush.

“You having fun?” SJ asks when she pops her head through the door to the kitchen.

“Yeah, I am,” I reply genuinely.

“Good.” She smiles and then turns her attention to the chef. “We need more baked potatoes, please.”

“SJ?” I call her quickly and she turns her attention back to me. “When this experiment is over, I want to help here as much as I can.”

“Really?” she asks, genuinely shocked by my statement.

“Yeah and I’m also going to do something about all the homeless people here,” I tell her. “I need to make a difference.”

“That’s great, Caleb. I’m glad you’re taking something from this,” she says with a smile, but there’s something in her voice. Disappointment maybe?

“Are you okay?” I ask, unable to keep the frown from marring my forehead.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I just need to get back out there,” she replies flippantly, picking up a tray of baked potatoes from the counter and walking back out the door.

I don’t see SJ for the rest of the evening, but once the final person has been escorted out the door, she comes back to the kitchen.

“Do you need any help or are you all done?” she asks.

“I’m almost done here. Are you ready to go?” I ask.

“Yep, ready when you are,” she says.

“What did I do?” I ask her and because she looks like she’s about to argue, I continue, “What did I do or say to upset you? I don’t like the distance that’s suddenly formed between us.”

“For someone who is obviously smart enough to make millions of dollars, you sure are dumb when it comes to people.”

“It’s billions actually, but I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

“It doesn’t matter, it’s my own problem. I said I wouldn’t bring up the apartment block when you accepted the bet, so I’m not going to.”

“Please tell me what you want to say. I want you to be open with me,” I say in a gentle tone, letting her know I welcome anything she wants to say. “This is a learning curve for me, I’m learning so much, help me learn more.”

She shrugs and shakes her head slightly. I place my hand on her shoulder and squeeze gently, letting her know I’m listening. Eventually, she takes a deep breath. “You’re talking about helping people Caleb and that’s amazing, but you have an apartment block full of people who will be homeless in six weeks. You could start by helping them.”

“I thought we already discussed this and you were going to accept my help,” I say, more than a little confused.

“What about everyone else?” she asks. “Maybe you should start by not knocking down our home, because that will keep a hundred of us off the street.”

“SJ, I’m not knocking down the building because I want to make you all homeless. I’m doing it because that building isn’t safe, it’s falling apart,” I tell her, raking my hand though my hair and gripping tight to the ends of the longest tendrils. “Part of the deal when buying that building was that it was knocked down, which is why the landlord’s son didn’t bother repairing anything. The demolition would have cost a lot of money and then he’d just be left with a plot of land.”

“Our old landlord never said anything about that,” she says, clearly unconvinced.

“He was appealing to the DCRA before he died, the son was more interested in the money. If he didn’t demolish the building, the courts were going to repossess the block and tear it down themselves. When I looked to buy the place, they told me I had six months. I planned to tear it down anyway so it worked well for me. By the time all the papers were signed, it left me less than four months. I gave the tenants three months and the demolition is to go ahead the first of October,” I explain.

“That’s like four days after we have to move out,” she says, looking completely shell shocked. I nod my answer and give her a moment to take in all this new information. “Couldn’t you appeal?”

“I could,” I reply.

“But you won’t,” she says.

“No.” Before I get a chance to explain, she stalks out of the kitchen.

I leave Billy to finish tidying the kitchen and run straight out the front doors of Central Kitchen. I’m on the sidewalk less than thirty seconds after SJ, but she’s nowhere to be seen.

“Fuck!” I curse aloud and then quieter under my breath, “
Fuck.”

I make my way back to the apartment block, hoping that SJ will speak to me so I can explain. I climb the stairs two at a time and knock on her door.

“She’s not here,” Rita says when she opens her front door.

“But she
was
here obviously,” I counter.

“No, she stopped at the convenience store to pick up a bottle of wine or two. Thanks to you, we have a little spare cash and we decided to treat ourselves since we’ve never been able to do that before.” I can’t help but smile. SJ would normally argue about wasting money, seems like she
is
learning something from this too.

“Shouldn’t you be in a shelter?” SJ ask, appearing at the top of the stairs.

“I was thinking about that,” I start while she eyes me warily, “you know how you won’t eat at the soup kitchen because you don’t want to take food out of the mouths of people who need it? Well I don’t want to take a bed from someone who actually needs it.”

“What are you going to do then?” she asks.

“I’ll sleep in my car,” I answer. “I won’t turn it on or use the heating, AC or anything like that—I’ll just sleep.”

“Okay, I’ll get your keys,” she responds and opens the door to her apartment.

“Can I talk to you about what happened at Central Kitchen?”

“Don’t worry about it Caleb, I said I wouldn’t argue with you about the building and I’m not going to. This is your business, not mine.”

“SJ, please let me explain,” I plead.

“Here are your keys,” she says, handing me the keys she retrieved from her cupboard. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

I sigh and let it go. She clearly doesn’t wanting to talk about it. “See you in the morning,” I reply.

I make my way down to my car, nowhere near ready to spend an uncomfortable and clammy night in the back seat of my Audi Q5. First things first, take out the child seats and put them in the trunk. After managing that, I climb into the back seat and get comfortable.

I spend the next ten minutes tossing and turning, my mind working overtime with thoughts of SJ and the uncomfortable ridge between each seat isn’t really helping. I need to explain it all to her even if she doesn’t want to listen. I’ll just have to make her hear me out.

I’m deep in thought again when a knock on the window scares the living daylights out of me, causing me to fly up and get ready to defend myself. I breathe a sigh of relief at the sight that greets me. SJ is at the window looking a little sheepish and worried.

“You scared the crap out of me,” I tell her, taking a few deep breaths to slow my rapidly beating heart.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think,” she hurries to say.

“It’s fine,” I assure her. “Is everything okay?”

“I was pretty hard on you earlier. I’m sorry. I was wondering if you wanted to join me and the girls—we’re just having a glass of wine. I know it probably won’t be the flashy stuff you’re used to and will probably taste like crap, but you’re welcome to come up if you want.”

“You sure?”

“Come on.” She chuckles and starts to walk back to the building.

***

We’ve worked our way through the four bottles of wine SJ brought, all of which cost less than four dollars a bottle. She was right, the white wine tasted like crap and the red wine tasted like motor oil. Nonetheless we’ve started the fifth bottle that Rita went to get after I promised that when I had access to my money again, I’d repay her. She came back with two and we are all pretty merry, but that isn’t stopping us from pouring another glass.

“I found another apartment,” Rita and SJ’s neighbor Claire, suddenly says.

“Oh wow, really? Where?” SJ asks.

“East of the river,” she replies. Even I know that isn’t an area you want to raise your kids in.

“Where?” SJ asks again.

“Kenilworth,” she answers.

“Claire, you can’t go into that territory. Jake’s bar is in Kenilworth,” SJ tells her. Now how would SJ know about Jake’s?

“Due to my circumstances, I’ve been offered an apartment there. I can’t turn it down. I need a roof over mine and my children’s heads.”

“What are your circumstances?” I ask. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

I watch as the petite woman seems to try and disappear into the couch. “My husband, I mean ex husband, he umm...” she trails off.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry I asked,” I say quickly. SJ told me some of her story but there is clearly more to it.

“No, it’s fine,” she says, taking a deep breath and continuing. “He used to beat me. At the time I really thought I’d done something wrong. He would tell me it was my fault and I’d believe him. I see it all clearly now though, he was conditioning me right from the start. I do something he approved of and he’d treat me great, I do something he didn’t like and he’d ignore me or just give me one word answers. When I’d ask what was wrong, he’d say he had a bad day at work or he was tired. I loved him—I wanted him to be happy. It didn’t take long before I was automatically doing the things that pleased him.” She shrugs and exhales a trembling breath.

“It’s okay, Claire,” Rita says as she gives her shoulder a comforting squeeze.

“I didn’t even realize I was doing it. I suppose when you love someone, you do whatever you can to make them happy,” Claire continues. “Gradually the one word answers turned into him getting in my face. A year after we met, he proposed and I accepted. I put his moods down to work because I knew he’d been working really hard to get a promotion. When he hit me the first time, he’d had a particularly bad day. He didn’t get the promotion and he went to a bar to drown his sorrows. He came home drunk and hit me because his dinner was cold.” Her voice is trembling and I see the first tear roll down her cheek. “He rubbed my face in the plate of food while he raped me over the kitchen table.”