Package Deal (5 page)

Maybe
her mother was right, that
it was time
to begin a social life again
. And she did want to find out
if
Marc
Dunbar
was as
nice
as he seemed
.
Something told her
he was more than a
han
dsome
face and a smart mind in a
buff
body
, as if that wasn’t enough
.
And maybe,
if they went
out
, she might even tell
… but
n
o
,
she couldn’t
do that
. I
f her mother knew, she’d never hear the end of the questions, the prying.

Amanda woke early on Saturday
.

“Come on, Cece. Professor Dunbar is going to give us a tour
around town
. We have to be ready
on time
.” Amanda opened the curtains in Cecelia’s room
, allowing
morning
light
to fill
the room.

“Do
I have to
?
” Cecelia turned her back to the window.
“
I’d rather read my new book.”

“Yes, we have to
. It’s not polite to say we’ll go and then we don’t.”

“I didn’t say I wanted to go
. You said that
.”
Her daughter
rolled over and pulled
the
covers over her head.

“Cece. I’m not going to tell you again. It’s time to get up! You can bring your book with you if you want. Your waffle is going to be cold if you don’t hurry. I expect you down
stairs
in five minutes.
Why don’t you
wear your favorite jeans—the
ones
with the po
lka dots on the pockets
.
”

Cecelia was sitting on the couch
when Marcus
knocked on the door. She raised her voice
. “Mom! He’s here.”

When
Cecelia
opened the door and he walked
in,
Amanda
said, “Marcus, this is Cecelia.”

“Marc or Marcus. Either is fine.”
He
bent down and offered his hand to the child.

Cecelia
took it
then
looked
down at her feet, suddenly acting shy
.

Talk to him
.
Remember your manners
.
“Cece?” she prompted.

“Hi.” Her daughter said
quietly.

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

“I guess we’re ready.”
Amanda
reached for her sweater,
motioned to her daughter
,
and they followed Marcus down the stairs and to his car.
Cecelia climbed in the backseat
, put on her seatbelt
and
opened her book.

Marcus looked in the rearview mirror at
Cecelia
and
grinn
ed.
“What would you like to see first, Miss Curiosity?”

“
That’s not my name
.
”
Cecelia
sat back
against
the seat
and turned away from him
.
“And
I’d rather read my book.”

“As long as you don’t get carsick.”
Marcus turned to Amanda. “What’
s your p
leasure
, Professor?”

“
I vote for the boats,
and then maybe
that road everyone talks about,
the one
that wanders around the cliffs and has great views of the islands? I’m not quite sure how to get there.”

“Got it.
”Minutes later h
e stopped the car near the marina.
“
Here we are—plenty of
boats.
It’s a little choppy today and not the
best
time of year for it, but
you might want to take a whale
-
watching cruise. We have res
ident o
rcas in the bay.” He looked into the backseat.
“Do you know what o
rcas are,
Miss Curiosity
?”

“No.
And you’re interrupting me. I was
at
an exciting place.” Cecelia
frowned at
Marcus
.

“Cece. That was not polite.
”
First she barely talks, now she’s being
snippy
.
Amanda’s hand
accidentally
brushed against Marcus’ arm as she turned to look at her daughter.
The contact sent a
n unexpected
shiver down her spine.
“
Will you
please
apologize to Professor Dunbar?”

Cecelia put
down
her book with a dramatic sigh. “
My name is Cecelia
, not Miss Curiosity
.
And
I apologize.
”
Her daughter
glared at her
. “
But
I
was
at a very good part.”

“What book are you reading?”
Marcus
smil
ed at
the little girl
.

“
Narnia
—it’s got a bunch of stories
.”

“
A series, that’s what they call it.
That was one of my favorite
serie
s when I was a little girl.
”

Cecelia
stared back
at him
, a grin starting at the corners of her mouth
. “You were never a little girl.You’re a man!”

“Well, then I
guess I was a boy when I read them
.
Come on, let’s walk on the dock.” He climbed out of the car. When Amanda and Cecelia emerged, he reached for Cecelia’s hand. “The dock
can sometimes move with the wak
es of the boat
s when they go by
. I don’t want you falling into the water. You’d look kinda funny with seaweed in your hair.”

She giggled,
took his hand,
and
reac
hed out
to hold Amanda’s hand, too.

Amanda smiled to herself.
That’s better. Maybe this won’t be a disaster after all.

The three of them wal
ked to the end of the dock.
Marcus jumped up and down at the end of th
e floating portion
and it rocked.

Cecelia laughed. “That was fun! Can I do it, too?”

“Sure! Let’s s
ee how much we can make it move.
” And he jumped again.

As
her daughter laughed and jumped with this man
Amanda
was sure
had not expected to include
Cecelia
in his tour
,
Amanda
broke out in a wide smile.
He
wa
s
being a good sport.
Score one for him.

Marcus
looked
over
at
her
and winked
. “Let’s find that road with the view.”

They drove for a few miles in silence and stopped at a small deli
.
The
islands to the south
seemed to float
on the calm water
, several small sailboats dotting the blue of the protected bay
.

“It’s time for lunch,
”
he announced.

“I’ll take care of this,” Amanda insisted. She ordered sandwiches and drinks a
nd the three of them sat down at
a table in the sun. After their lunch, Marcus drove them along the beach. They watched as two harbor seals played near the shore.

Amanda look
ed
at her watch.

“
Do you need to get back home?
”
Marcus brushed his hair out of his eyes.

She nodded. “I’m not quite done with my
class
preps
.
I
like
to be at least a few lectures
ahead.” She pointed to the back
seat. “And, she’s snoozing, so
I think
it’s time
we
started back
.”

“Ok
ay
.” Marcus reached for her hand where it rested on the seat
between them
.

After a moment, she pulled it away,
her lips curving upward.

“I won’t bite.”

“I didn’t think you would.” But s
he refused to look at him, surprised that she felt so warm after his brief touch.
He was nice.
An
d the way he was with Cecelia, h
e reminded her of one of her grad school friends. He, too, had accepted
her daughter
into the adult gatherings where the students—mostly married—had also brought their children. It pleased her to see that Marcus was not put off by
Cece’s
presence.

When he reached for her hand again, she did not pull
it
away
, enjoying the warmth that flooded her
.Minutes later, they were back in front of her house.

“Do you
want me to carry her inside?” h
e whispered.

“No. That’s quite all right.
”
She
shook Cecelia’s shoulder. “Cece. We’re home. Time to wake up.”She fo
llowed her daughter up the step
s,
then turned
and waved at Marcus from the porch.

After working on her lectures, she indulged her curiosity by
scanning
the
faculty biographies
in the
College Bulletin
.
It didn’t take her long to find Marcus’
s
entry
. He was
only three years older
than she and
n
ot
married.
But
he seemed so easy
going
with Cece,
like he
’s
used to children.
Maybe his older brother has
kids
.

Several days later,
Cecelia
followed
Amanda
out of
the department.

“Can I walk home by myself now? I know how to get there and everything.”

“No. I want you to come to my office
after school
unless we make special arrangements.” When Cecelia’s lower lip began to protrude, Amanda continued, “I
like
us walk
ing
home together.”

“Do I have to stay in your office when that man is there?”

“You mean Carlton?”

She nodded.
“The man with the black hair
—
he looks at me funny
.”

Amanda looked over at her daughter.
Why
would Cece say that?
“If he’s there, just sit quietly in the other chair.”
Carlton
had seemed so benign the last time her daughter had stayed in her office
,
seeming to ignore
both
of them when she had returned
.
“You might want to draw a picture of those big boats in the bay for
Francie
—so you can send it to her. She doesn’t have views
like
that in Iowa, not like you have here—and from your own bedroom, too.” She rested a hand on her daughter’s shoulder.

“Beatrice told me that
stone
statue is
of
William Shakespeare. Why is his head so much lighter than the rest of his body?”
Cece
asked.