Nine Steps to Sara (15 page)

“Mom?”

“Jack… I was just, um…” thoroughly discombobulated, Sara gave up, ignoring the heat in her cheeks to give him a smile.  “Did you want something?”

“You promised to come up and we’d read a chapter of the Dawn Treader book together.”

“Right, yes I did,” she nodded, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was
that time
already.  I’m sorry Will, I…”

“Actually, your Mum’s coming with
me into the village for a bit,
” Will interrupted, completely unfazed by the interruption.  “So don’t keep her long, you know how women are, they like to spend some time getting to look their best,” he rolled his eyes skyward, an expression that Jack matched.  “I’ll be around to fetch you in about an hour, will that suit?”

Sara’s mouth opened and closed without saying anything, checking for any sign that Jack was disturbed by the news.  Both guys looked back at her expectantly and she nodded, finding her voice.  “Ye
s
, that sounds
fine.”

“Brilliant,” Will clapped his hands together.  “Sleep well then, Jack.  And I’ll see
you
, soon.”  With a final wink to Sara he was gone. 

Sara watched him go, wondering if she’d bitten off more than she could chew.  Her son waited expectantly, and she shook herself out of it, closing her laptop.  “You don’t mind do you, Jack?  If I go out tonight?”  It wasn’t something they’d talked about before; she hadn’t seen anyone since the divorce. 

“No, why should I?”

“It’s not a date or anything,” she added quickly.  “We’re going out as friends.”

“You’re not married anymore, Mom, you don’t have to pretend you don’t like him like that,” Jack grinned and she wondered if she was that transparent to everyone. 

“I know it’s just… uncharted territory.  I haven’t gone out on a date since before you were born,” she tousled his hair as they
ascended
the first set of stairs.  “Your poor old mom needs to ease into it.”

“That’s not what you tell me to do.  You always say I should jump in quick and I’ll get used to the water quicker.”

Sara thought about that for a moment; he was wiser than his years.  Or completely ignorant of the complexities of modern dating.  “So, you’re saying you’d be okay if I
did
decide to date Will then?” 

“I like Will, he’s funny.  He told me he was a slow starter when he was young too, and then one year he grew six inches.  Wouldn’t that be awesome?  Maybe that’ll happen to me and I won’t get called a runt anymore.”

“Aw honey, you are definitely not a runt, and no one here is going to call you that, I promise.” 

“Mom, do you believe in ghosts?”

The question was so out of the blue it made Sara pause on the stair.  “That’s a random question.  Why, have you been reading ghost stories under the blanket with a flashlight?”

“No, I mean real ghosts.  Not the stuff in books or scary movies, but from real people that died.”

“I haven’t really thought about it before, but I guess I do.  Why do you ask?”

“I was just wondering,” he said in a small voice, continuing up the stairs and Sara followed, a little unnerved by the way he said it.

“Has someone been telling you ghost stories?  Will or Katie?”  She couldn’t imagine Mrs. Poole indulging in
horror stories
. 

“No, nothing like that.”  Jack was silent until they reached the top of the next landing.  “I always thought ghosts would be scary and gross like they are in the movies but that’s always from people that were crazy or mass murderers when they were alive, right?  Most of them are probably just people who died, like us, right?”

He’d obviously put a lot of thought into it, and she was impressed he wasn’t buying into the
Hollywood
scarefest mentality.  “You know when Grandma Caroline
died;
I could have sworn I saw her standing at the foot of my bed in the middle of the night.  She wasn’t scary or gross, just sort of peaceful, like she wanted to say goodbye and let me know she was watching over me,” Sara smiled at the comforting memory, though she’d told herself it was little more than a dream at the time.  “So yes, I guess I do believe in ghosts, but I agree, they’re mostly poor lost souls who haven’t moved on yet.  Nothing to be afraid of.”

“Then you think ghosts can be
protecting
us?  Not trying to scare us away?”

“Sure, why not?” Sara allowed.  “Like you said, there are way more regular people tha
t
died than tortured nutjobs vowing to take their revenge
from
beyond the grave,” she grinned.  “Though those stories are the ones you hear about the most because they sell movie tickets.”

“
T
hat’s what I thought,” Jack nodded, pausing outside the nursery door.  “You don’t have to tuck me in and read to me tonight, Mom.”

“You don’t want me to?” Sara wasn’t sure if she should feel hurt or
just
accept that her little boy was growing older and more independent every day. 

“Naw, it’s okay.  I can read it by myself and you should get ready for your date with Will.”

“It’s not a date, and you always come first.  You know that, don’t you, kiddo?” Sara tipped his face up by the chin.  Will could wait if he had
to;
besides, it wasn’t like she planned on getting all dolled up anyway. 

“I know, but I think you’ll have fun going out with him, and I can probably read faster by myself anyway.”

Definitely getting more independent. 
Sara swallowed the disappointment, giving it one more last ditch effort.  “Are you sure?  We could do a quick chapter.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.  You go ahead, I’ll be fine.  I like reading in my new bed, all those pillows make it a zillion times easier.”

“
G
oodnight then, sweetie,” she leaned to drop a kiss on his cheek, grateful he still allowed her that.  “I love you.”

“Love you too,” he returned with a quick peck.  “Oh
,
and Mom?”

“Yes?” Sara straightened, waiting expectantly to see if he’d had a change of heart.

“I’m glad you’re dating again, you deserve to be happy.”

Sara opened her mouth to tell him again it wasn’t a date, but changed her mind, giving him a faint smile.  “Thanks, kiddo, from your lips…”

“What’s your pleasure, my Lady?”

“Ah… I’ll have whatever you’re having.”  Sara pulled off her coat, setting it aside in the cozy booth at The Pig’s Ear, the local pub.  A slightly rowdier crowd than at the
Bell
and Cross, Sara had wanted to see where the locals hung out at night; she certainly got an eyeful there.  The pub was doing a brisk business, most of the barstools occupied and the small round tables filled with patrons as well.  Will snagged one of the 4 coveted booths, likely because he was with her, she suspected. 

Everyone greeted her with a cheery smile and a lift of the mug, but after a few minutes they seemed to forget she was there and turned back to their own conversations. 

Will appeared a few minutes later with two large mugs of a dark amber brew, sliding into the seat across from her.  The booths were small enough that their knees touched, but it lent itself well to intimate conversation.  “Here you go, careful now; it’s strong enough to put hair on your chest.”

“Because
that’s
the look I’m going for,” she laughed.  “To think I’ve been going about it the wrong way for all these years.  Is that what men here find attractive?”

“I’d be more than happy to give you my opinion on the matter,” he returned her smile, eyes dipping to the neckline of her blouse.  “But I’d definitely need a ‘before’ view to render a proper judgment.”

“I think it’ll take more than one of these for that to happen tonight,” she smirked and Will immediately raised two fingers to the barman with a little whistle, signaling for two more drinks until she dragged his hand back down to the table. 

“If you’d rather hold hands, just say so,” he teased, keeping hold of her hand in his.  It wasn’t an unpleasant sensation at all, and Sara left them there, the tips of her fingers tracing over the rough calluses of his palm.  “Tell me then, of the life and times of Lady Sara Darling, erstwhile beleaguered waitress, and of late, heroine of
Darling
Park
and
Darlington
proper.” 

“Ooh, that’s taking it a stretch, calling me a heroine for basically turning up to collect an inheritance,” she wrinkled her nose.  “I haven’t been Sara Darling for a long time anyway, not since I got married.” 

“A circumstance you have since remedied, as I understand it.”  Will raised his glass to hers and she clinked against it before taking a sip.  It was much stronger than the beer she was used to in the States, but not bad.  Still, Sara wasn’t much of a drinker; she’d have to sip it or end up with Will carrying her home. 

“That’s one way of putting it.”

“How long ago did you divorce him?  Or was he the one to leave?”

“No, it was us that did the leaving.  It was… wow, almost a year ago when we left, I guess.  Time flies,” she let out a long breath.  “The divorce wasn’t final until a few months ago though.” 

“Did he mind much when you told him you were taking Jack to
England
?”

“I didn’t even tell him we were leaving the country,” she replied, hiding the guilty smile behind her glass.  “I’ve got a bet going with Joanie, to see how long it takes him to notice we’re gone.” 

Will put his glass down, brows drawing together in confusion or disapproval maybe, it was hard for her to tell.  “Surely he’ll miss his son, even if things didn’t work out between the two of you.”

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?  You’d think the one man to have a genetic link to Jack would at least show some warmth towards him, but he… he couldn’t find a way to appreciate Jack for the person he is, instead
of the idea he had in his head.
”

Understanding dawned on Will’s face, and his brow smoothed.  “Is that why you left?  Over his treatment of Jack?”

“You don’t really want to hear this stuff, do you?” Sara shook her head, feeling like they were talking way too much about her problems.

“I want to hear about you,” his fingers brushed the back of her hand gently.  “That includes your past.”

“Oh come on, no guy likes hearing about the dreaded ex, do they?”  That was the first rule in dating 101.  At least it had been the last time she was on the market.  Going on about how sucky your ex husband was seemed like a sure route to sabotaging anything new, but Will had other ideas. 

“How else am I to learn what mistakes to avoid?” he tapped his head and Sara had to laugh at the sage expression on his face. 

“I see, so this is all about research?”

“In a way,” he grinned.  “But I don’t want you to go on about it if it makes you unhappy to talk about him, what was his name?”

“Peter.  No, I guess it doesn’t make me unhappy, not anymore.  It’s not that interesting to tell, that’s all.  It wasn’t like he cheated on me, or beat us or anything dramatic like that.  He just… I think he stopped caring to include us in his life.  Everything else became more important, work was number one all the time and Jack and I… we didn’t rate a high enough spot on his to do list.  When I realized I didn’t care anymore… that’s when I filed for a divorce.  I should care, shouldn’t I?  About whether the man I love wants me around or not.”

“I’d say so,” he allowed with a nod.