Instant Family (21 page)

"No. But what can I do about it?" She obviously didn't expect an
answer. "Steffie has to learn how to swim. Anyway. I just wanted to
say thanks, and I'm sorry Alex took his problem to you. He could
easily have gone shopping himself. Would have done him good. He
always takes the easy way out when it comes to his child. One day
he'll learn that money doesn't solve everything. And the fact that he
pays his child support on time doesn't absolve him from his other
fatherly responsibilities. Namely, spending time with her"

"He seems very busy," Chloe put in lamely, unsure what else to
say and unwilling to be involved in this character trashing. Was this
really her Alex?

"Aren't we all? She's his daughter! He didn't want her in the first
place-that's the real issue."

"Oh." How much of this was ex-wife bitterness?

"Still, I shouldn't be telling you all this. He'd be furious if he
knew, but then, the truth always hurts, and he's very good at avoiding the truth."

Another "Oh."

"I'm sorry, Chloe. I don't mean to be such a shrew. He brings out
the worst in me."

Hastily, reassuring, "It's all right."

"He spends more time with those tradesmen and his clients than
with his daughter. He's still trying to prove something to his father,
and that's a waste of effort-the man's a monster. Mind you, when I
suggested Steffie change her name to Dwyer, he hit the roof. I didn't
mean it-I wanted to shake him up a bit. He sees her as a possession." She sighed. "Sorry, Chloe. You don't need to know any of
this, especially if you're ... well ... I don't know your relationship
with Alex. Steffie's adamant that you're not his girlfriend." She
laughed.

"He's a friend of my brothers," Chloe said through a strangled
throat. "He's been very good to them, like a father."

"I'm so sorry. Don't get me wrong. Alex has some wonderful qualities, or I wouldn't have married him. Just don't let him use you as a
babysitter." She gave a tight little laugh. "I should go."

"Thanks for calling, Lucy."

"No, thank you, Chloe. Maybe you can improve Alex where I
couldn't."

"I don't think so. I'm not interested in a relationship right now.
Like you, I have too many other things to think about."

Chloe stood holding the disconnected phone for several minutes.
Some of the things Lucy had said made sense. They explained the
uneasiness she'd felt about Alex's relationship with Stephanie. If
he hadn't wanted a baby in the first place, on some level surely he'd
resent her for the rest of her life. Or until she was big enough not to
be a nuisance.

He'd made it sound as though the fortnightly visits were Lucy's
doing. Lucy had made it clear she'd welcome a change. Who to believe?

And was it a good idea to become any more involved with a man
like that than she already was? A man who deep down didn't want
his own child? Where did that leave any other children?

But-Alex had done the right thing by Seb, and they were developing a good relationship. Julian too. To the point where she was rethinking her opinion of his commitment. Maybe he'd changed in the
years since Steffie's birth. People can and do change. She mustn't
judge him purely on Lucy's necessarily biased utterances. But he
had off-loaded the fairy problem and Stephanie onto her. And left to
go to his building site.

Seb's case was scheduled for eleven on Wednesday morning.
Julian and Katy clamored to attend, but Chloe decided against a
family gallery. She, Simone, and Alex would provide enough support. Lawyer Carla was quietly confident of a good-behavior bond
with perhaps a fine or community service. She met them outside
the Magistrate's Court building.

"I'm glad you took my advice about the clothes," she said, eyeing
Seb in his best navy blue pants and tucked-in short-sleeved white
shirt.

Chloe glanced up and down the walkway in front of them. "Is
Alex here yet?"

"No," Carla said. "We should go in, Seb."

Chloe stood undecided, the morning sun beating down on her head,
heat already shimmering up from the pavement. Simone hadn't arrived yet either.

"I'd better wait for Gran."

"Come in when you're ready." Carla led Seb away.

Chloe waited, staring up and down. The Court backed uncomfortably onto a busy road, screened from the hurtling traffic by
shrubs. Diagonally in front was a pedestrian plaza, crisscrossed by
lawyers antlike in their determined scurrying, their anxious clients,
the odd, aloof policeman. To the left and forward, close to busy
London Circuit, lay the City Police Station. A parking area stretched
to the right. Full already. The court buildings sat squeezed in like an
overweight man in a too-small chair.

Across the way lay the School of Music, where Chloe had begun
her degree. In another life. Who of her friends in those heady student
days could have imagined Chloe Gardiner standing outside the Children's Court, guardian to a miscreant awaiting trial, waiting for the
man she probably loved?

Where was he? They'd barely spoken since the fairy weekend.
Alex had work; Chloe had the usual family turmoil. Private phone
calls were virtually, frustratingly impossible at her end. She didn't
mention Lucy's call. His voice and the sweetness of the words he
spoke into her ear made those other accusations seem irrelevant and
sour.

Simone came clip-clopping along, puffing and panting in the heat.
Big sunglasses hid half her face.

"Am I late, lovey? I'm parked way over there." She flapped an
arm vaguely.

"No, but we should go in." Chloe gazed anxiously over Simone's
head. "Alex isn't here."

"He'll turn up. It's too hot standing about. I'm melting. This shirt
was a mistake polyester. Do I smell?"

"No, of course not."

"I don't want the judge to be distracted by the stench from the
public gallery."

"Don't be silly."

Alex didn't arrive.

Constable Brent Burrows sat behind them, waiting to give his evidence. He leaned forward to say hello, greeted Simone, commented
how well Seb had done since the incident. Reassuring.

"Thanks." Chloe managed a smile. Brent cared, and he barely knew
Seb.

"Like to catch a movie with some friends of mine on Saturday
night?" he asked, startling her with the non sequitur. "I'm on day shift
now for a few weeks."

Simone nudged her in the ribs. "She'd love to," she said to Brent.
"I'm more than happy to babysit."

Brent cocked an eye at Chloe. He smiled. She had to say yes.
Why not? She liked Brent. Why should she turn down a date with a
friend? He wasn't a prospective boyfriend-they both knew that.
He'd been good to Seb. Alex kissed her and said sweet things, but
Alex hadn't ever asked her out on a proper date. Just an off-the-cuff
invitation to a lunch that had never happened, plus a barbecue with
the boys. He only used her for help with his daughter. Lucy had told
her why.

"Great. I'll call you later." He sat back.

Simone wore a self-satisfied smirk and jabbed her in the ribs
again. Chloe ignored her. Where was Alex?

Expectation slowly turned to concrete in her stomach. He didn't
care. He said he did, but really, when push came to shove, he didn't.
All those words and kindnesses to Seb meant nothing. Did his words
to her mean nothing too? His kisses? Remote-control love-Lucy's
phrase.

Seb swiveled around several times, his face worried, confused, as
he stared hopefully at the door. Chloe almost leaped from her seat to
reassure him, hug him, tell him she and Gran were there for him. They
loved him, regardless. Even Constable Burrows was on his side. Carla
whispered into his ear and patted his arm. He leaned back in his chair
and didn't turn around again.

Chloe bit her lip hard against the threatening tears. How could
Alex do this to Seb? How? What could possibly be more important
than standing up for a boy who admired and trusted him? He didn't
care. She'd been right all along. Alex Bergman had just shown how
unreliable he was.

He deserved not a moment's more thought. Not one second of
her attention. How could he kiss her and hold her and make her believe that he would take on the kids, that he understood she came as
part of a package deal? She, like the naive fool she was, had believed
him.

And! And! She'd spent the whole of that Saturday turning his daughter into a fairy. No wonder the poor girl had problems, with Alex
as a father. She'd sense his basic lack of commitment.

Gut instincts were most often right. That's what Bevan said. "Go
with your guts, girls."

What had her gut told her that first day when Alex accosted her in
the corridor?

But the judge had begun addressing the court. The proceedings
were under way. Seb was her priority. Seb needed her. She wouldn't
let him down. The way Alex Bergman had. The way she'd suspected
he would all along.

"Just as I thought. Six months good behavior. And you won't be
getting into any more trouble will you, Seb?" Carla glared, but a
smile lurked behind the frown.

"No way. Thanks, Carla."

"Thank heaven that's over," Simone cried. "Thank you very much."
She pumped the lawyer's hand up and down.

"So it didn't matter that Alex failed to show?" asked Chloe, almost but not quite succeeding in hiding the bitterness.

Seb frowned at her. "He called Carla's cell and left a message that
he couldn't come."

"He didn't need to be here in person" Carla glanced at her watch.
"I have to run, folks." She flashed a smile from one to the other, shook
hands quickly with Chloe, and hurried away.

"Did you think Alex forgot?" asked Seb with a sly twist to his
lips.

"I didn't know." Chloe started walking toward the exit. "You have
to go to school. Come on."

"You did think that, didn't you?" insisted Seb, striding beside her
as they crossed the foyer. "Alex wouldn't forget to come. You should
get a cell phone."

He may not have forgotten, but he obviously thought something
else was more important than Seb. Work, probably. A man like Alex
would always put work ahead of a child. Look at the way he treated
Stephanie, only seeing her every second weekend. What sort of father agreed to those custody conditions? One who didn't want to be
inconvenienced. Sure, he loved his daughter. She wouldn't dispute
that, but it was a love based on not having her disrupt his life or work. As soon as she made any sort of demands, he off-loaded her as fast
as possible. That's obviously why the marriage broke up. Lucy was
absolutely right. He hadn't wanted a child in the first place.

A quick phone call might be enough to satisfy Seb, but Alex
Bergman had better have a very good reason for not turning up this
morning. A principle was at stake here, and whether he realized it or
not, Alex had just failed to measure up in his first real test.

Outside, the midday sun hammered down onto her head. Chloe
jammed sunglasses onto her nose, but it was an ineffectual barrier
against Seb's knowing look. He didn't know anything. He was far
too trusting.

Simone hugged Seb. "I'll see you on Saturday. Behave yourself."

"Thanks for coming.,,

Another hug. "Don't be silly. Of course I'd be here."

Exactly. Of course.

Chloe and Seb turned in the opposite direction.

"What's happening on Saturday?"

"I'm going out with Brent Burrows. Gran's babysitting."

"Can we call in and tell Alex what happened?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"You have to go to school. I've got students. Call him yourself
when you get home."

"Why are you being so nasty?"

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are. Just because he didn't come. And you don't even
know why."

"Drop it, Seb." Chloe increased her pace. Perspiration trickled
down her sides. The heat was fierce. Not a breath of wind. Summer
this year was endless. Stifling, heavy air.

"I just don't understand why you're so being so mean. It's like he
can't do anything right."

"Drop it, I said. Don't you understand?" Chloe unlocked the car.
Seb slammed the door and clipped his seat belt. He wound the window down with angry jerks on the handle. The interior of the car was
furnacelike.

"He likes you. A lot. Can't imagine why."

"How do you know?" she snapped. Had Alex confided in the
boys? Shared private things meant for the two of them?

"He looks at you all the time." Said in a tone of great disgust.
"He'll learn."

Chloe backed out of the parking space in tight-lipped silence.

Back at the house, Seb raced inside. Chloe followed more slowly.
Maybe she had been hasty in her condemnation. Alex might have
had a car accident or a breakdown. He might even be ill. She hadn't
considered any of those possibilities in her rush to think the worst of
him. Why was that? Did she basically not trust him? Why did she
immediately assume he didn't care? On his ex-wife's say-so.

She pushed the front door open. Seb was already chattering into
the phone. He glanced at Chloe as she walked through to the kitchen
but turned his back on her to pursue his conversation.

"Don't be too long," she said, knowing her tone was unnecessarily harsh. "You can have lunch before you go to school."

"Alex wants to talk to you," he called after her.

"We don't have time."

Seb joined her in the kitchen, frowning. "He'll call you this evening."

"Eat." Chloe had plunked sandwich fixings on the counter. She
would not ask why Alex hadn't made it to court. She wouldn't!

Seb began buttering bread. "I told him you were going out on Saturday night and he should come over."

"What?!!"

"What what?" He paused mid-buttering. "Jules and I can hang out
with Alex, and Katy and Gran can do whatever."

Chloe slammed a piece of ham onto her bread and slapped mustard over the top. "Seb, Alex is a grown man. He may not want to
hang out with a couple of kids on a Saturday night."