"It makes sense to me." Dana filled a small spin rack with greeting cards. "There's more room at Brad's place, and he has a cleaning service. He's also been known to cook in a pinch. You could concentrate on the key, and your salon, and let everything else go until the end of the month."
It was logical, Zoe admitted. It was even sensible. But… "It's not as simple as that. How can I follow through on the idea that my house may be a part of this if I'm not in my house?" "Has that taken you anywhere?" Malory asked her.
"No, it doesn't seem as if it has, but it's only been a couple of days since I started working that angle."
When this was met with silence, Zoe lowered her arms and sighed. "Okay, I know I should have felt something by now if it was important. But I can't be positive."
"Sounds like avoidance to me," Dana said out of the side of her mouth.
In defense, Zoe slanted her a long, steely stare. "It is not avoidance. It's… caution. And it's not the same as Jordan staying in your apartment while the two of you wait to move up to the Peak, or Malory moving in with Flynn. You're engaged. And I've got Simon to think about."
"Brad's crazy about Simon," Malory pointed out.
"I know that." She lifted her electric screwdriver to finish attaching the track to the ceiling. "But that doesn't mean we should pack up and move in. I don't want Simon confused about me and Brad—the sex—or getting used to that big house and all the things , and the attention, and the, well, the everyday accessibility to Brad."
Malory stopped shelving books. "Is it just Simon that you don't want getting confused?"
"No." She let out a sigh as she passed Dana the screwdriver. "I'm trying to be comfortable with my feelings, to keep them within reasonable limits. There are a lot of reasons for that."
"I'm looking at you, and I'm not seeing a woman who puts limits on herself."
Zoe took the light Malory held up, then clicked it smoothly onto the track. "You think I should do this."
"I think you should do what makes you happy. And sometimes doing what makes you happy is harder and scarier than doing what's safe."
Though she was a long way from certain about what would make her happy, or what was just going to scare her brainless, Zoe broke routine and picked Simon up from school.
"I thought I was going over to Mrs. Hanson's."
"I know." In a now practiced move, Zoe eased her shoulder out of the way as Moe shoved his face through the seats to greet Simon. "I called her. I wanted to talk to you."
"Am I in trouble?"
"I don't know." Brows arched, she asked, "Are you?" "No, I swear. I didn't do anything."
She parked the car, waved to Mr. Hanson, who was in his front yard raking leaves.
"Okay, then. Let's go inside and have a snack and chat."
"Moe." Loving the game, Simon piled out. "Cookie!" he shouted and laughed himself silly as Moe raced like mad for the front door.
"Mom?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think, when Moe has to go back home, Flynn will let him come visit?"
"I bet he will." She paused at the door while Moe vibrated. "Simon, I know you want a dog of your own. Why haven't you asked me?"
"Maybe we can't afford one yet."
"Oh." On the little clutch in her heart, she opened the door and let Moe bullet toward the kitchen and cookies.
"They cost money to buy. Even if you get them from the pound, I think you have to pay something. And you gotta buy food for them and toys and stuff. And they need shots from the vet. But I'm saving up so we can get one. Maybe next year we can get one."
Not trusting her voice, Zoe nodded. She hung up her coat, and Simon's, using the time to compose herself. When she got back to the kitchen, Simon had already dumped his book bag on the floor and pulled a biscuit out of the box for the now desperate Moe.
She poured Simon a glass of milk and got out an apple to slice to keep her hands busy while she talked.
"You know I'm trying to do something important, trying to find a key."
"For the magic people."
"Yes, for the magic people. I'm trying really hard, and sometimes I think, well, today I'll find it. And others, I don't think that at all. I'm pretty sure I'm going to need help."
"Do you need me to help you?"
"In a way." She put the apple slices on a plate, added some grapes. "Bradley wants to help me, too. And the magic people told me it's important that he help."
"He's pretty smart."
"You like him a lot, don't you?"
"Uh-huh." He reached for an apple slice as she set the plate down. "You do, too, right?"
"Yes, I do. Bradley thought he might be able to help me better if we stayed at his house for a little while."
His face inscrutable, even to his mother, Simon watched her as he munched apple. "Live there, with him?"
"Well, stay at his house for a little while. Like a visit."
"Moe, too?"
At the sound of his name, Moe grabbed his beloved tennis ball in his teeth and wedged his wide head under Simon's arm.
"Yes, I'm sure Moe could come."
"Sweet." After giving the ball that Moe had dropped at his feet a kick to send the dog chasing it, Simon reached for a grape. "He likes it over there. It's fun."
"We'd be guests, Simon, so you and Moe—" This time she gave the ball a kick. "You'll have to be on your best behavior."
Simon nodded as Moe skidded across the floor, rapped smartly against the back door, then retrieved the ball. "Okay. Will you and Brad sleep in the same bed and have the sex?"
"What?" It came out in a squeak.
"Chuck says his parents have it in their bed, and it's right in the next room. He says his mother makes noises like it hurts."
"Oh, my God."
Munching grapes, his eyes sharp on his mother's face, Simon sent the ball and Moe across the room. "Does it hurt?"
"No," she said weakly, then cleared her throat. "No, it doesn't hurt. I think we'd better, you know, pack if we're—"
"Then how come she yells and stuff, and makes noises like it does?"
Zoe could actually feel the blood draining from her face, then flashing back again like fire under the skin. "Well. Um. It's just that some people get…" Oh, please, God, help me out here. "You know how when you're playing a game or watching one on TV and you're excited, so you… you yell or make noises."
"Yeah. Because it's fun."
"Because it's fun. Sex can be fun, but you have to be old enough, and you need to care about each other and want to share this with each other."
"Guys are supposed to wear a condom so you don't make each other sick or have babies before you want to." Nodding sagely, Simon finished off the grapes. "Chuck's father has some in the drawer by his bed."
"Simon McCourt, you have no business going into Mr. Barrister's drawer."
"Chuck did. He got one and brought it to show me. They look funny. But Brad has to wear one if he's going to have the sex with you, so you don't get sick."
"Simon." She had to close her eyes a moment. "Simon," she repeated. "We're not going to stay with Brad so we can have the sex. And when two people, two adults, have the kind of relationship that includes ah, being together that way, it's very private."
"Then Chuck's mom shouldn't be so loud." Zoe opened her mouth, closed it again, then just laid her head on the table and laughed until she cried.
When Brad arrived, she had a suitcase packed for each of them, a duffel stuffed with items Simon considered essential to his survival and another filled with what she considered essential to hers. In addition, she had the cooler loaded with perishables from her refrigerator and some of Simon's favorite cereals and snacks. Beside it was the best part of a twenty-five-pound bag of dog food along with a box crammed with Moe items.
"Are we going on safari?" Brad asked as he scanned the luggage.
"You asked for it," Zoe reminded him.