Page 26 of Nightclub Surprise
Letting them have a moment, I hung back, making sure each kid had found someone before joining Tawny andCalum.
Calum was talking a mile a minute, telling her about the fire and the helicopter ride and how I was like a hero, coming in and savingeveryone.
Tawny looked at me over her son’s shoulder. “You are a hero, August. You always havebeen.”
What I’d just done was nothing compared to the things I’d done in the war. But I took the compliment. “Thanks, baby. You ready to headhome?”
She nodded, still clinging to her son. “I am. I just want to get my baby boy home and hug him for a very longtime.”
“I bet you do.” Wrapping my arm around her and Calum, I led them to the car as the second helicopter arrived, reuniting six more children with their relievedparents.
Although Tawny seemed to still be in a state of shock, Calum was anything but. He rattled on and on about the events, saying how he’d never forget any ofit.
Tawny ran her fingers over my arm as tears fell from her pretty green eyes. “How are you, August? Are youokay?”
“I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about either of us, we’re good, baby. You look like you need a stiff drink and a hot bath though.” Turning the corner, I headed to my place. Tawny was in no condition to complain, and she needed some tender lovingcare.
She looked around, then at me. “Where are yougoing?”
“To my place,” I said with agrin.
“Yes!” Calum shouted. “Finally, we get to see yourplace!”
“No,” Tawny said. “Go to myapartment.”
“Baby, youneed…”
I didn’t get to finish as she said, “No, August. Take us home. I want to gohome.”
“Well, I’m already on the freeway, and I’ll have to find an exit, and that’ll take a while,” I tried to stallher.
“Momma, I wanna go to his place,” Calumdemanded.
“No,” came her sternreply.
“Tawny, it would be quicker and better if we go to my house.” I took the next exit, turning around to go to her little apartment anyways, but hoping she’d change her mind. “I’ve got a jacuzzi tub where you can relax. And there’s an indoor pool where Calum can playtoo.”
“I don’t want to go there, August. Please,” she said, and then broke down, cryinghard.
“Okay, baby. Okay, you don’t have to cry,” I tried to soothe her. “I’m taking you home,baby.”
My words should’ve eased her cries, but they didn’t. She went on and on, her face in her hands as her sobs continued. I supposed it was because it was the first time she’d come close to losing her son. Leila had been right, there were definitely some differences between a single mom and women who didn’t havechildren.
“Mamma, it’s okay. You don’t gotta cry,” Calum made his own attempt at soothing hismother.
“You don’t understand. Neither of you understands at all,” Tawnywailed.
“You’re right,” I admitted. “We don’t understand. But I’m taking you home the way you wanted. You can calm down now. I had no idea taking you to my place to pamper you would do this to you.” My response had come out sterner than I had intended, and I took a deep breath to calm myself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you—you don’t know how sorry Iam.”
That only made her cries go an octave higher, and I had no idea why. Calum was out of danger, and we were getting closer to her home by the second, so I didn’t understand why she was carrying on the way shewas.
She cried all the way to her place, and once we got inside, she went to her bedroom and closed the door behind her, shutting Calum and me out. I could still hear her crying, and every now and then she would shout something, but it was always a grief-stricken question like ‘how?’ and ‘why did I dothis?’
Did she mean me? Why did she get involved withme?
Calum and I sat in the living room after I’d fetched us both bowls of ice cream. Finding a cartoon on TV that I could stomach, we sat and ate our snack, trying to ignore the sounds coming out of his mother’sbedroom.
“Man, I’m never goin’ on a field trip again,” Calum mumbled then took anotherbite.
