Page 57 of Last Chance Christmas
“I’m better off without him. He wasn’t really interested in being a father. But it hit my mom pretty hard. She had to be hospitalized for a while, and I had to live with another family and go to public school after being homeschooled my whole life. Talk about an eye-opening experience.”
“That had to be traumatic for a little kid.”
He tried to shrug, but his shoulders were too tense. “Yeah, it was rough for a chubby kid with long hair and weird clothes, who wasn’t ever allowed to watch television.”
“You? Chubby and awkward? I can’t picture it.”
“I was. And the kids were relentless. It was right before Christmas, and they couldn’t believe I’d never heard of Santa Claus. They thought I was the alien. One day I even ran away and called my dad at work, begged him to pick me up. He refused. He said, ‘I told her you’d end up some weirdo with the way she was raising you. She made her choice and I made mine. Better get used to it, kid. I’m not your dad anymore.’”
“Oh my word, Anthony. That’s awful!”
“I got over it. It just…it just really messed with my mom, you know? She never fully recovered, and even today, she can be detached from reality. She takes everything too far. She’ll become paranoid about harmless things. So every phone call is an emergency. And I love her, I really do. But I know I can’t feed into her delusions.”
“That’s got to be rough. Do you think she’s lonely?”
“Good news is she has kind neighbors that help her out. I know if there was a real problem, one of them would call me.”
“But what about you? She probably misses you if you’re her only family.”
“After we get through this case and Vaynes is behind bars, I’ll go check on her. But for now, we have to stay vigilant. I don’t want to scare her.”
“Right.” Della nodded. “I wouldn’t want her to get caught up with this if Vaynes is tracking me.” She paused. “But when this is over and you do go to visit, if you want someone to go with you, I will. Maybe she could use another friend.”
“You would do that?”
“Of course. So she’s a little quirky. Everyone could use a friend. And I happen to like quirky people.”
If Della followed through on that, she’d be the first of his friends to meet his mother. Maybe he shouldn’t be so embarrassed by her, but the few times his high school buddies had seen her, they’d been cruel behind her back. And he’d never brought home any dates, too scared that by the end of the visit, she’d be touting the need for revamping the education system so that her future grandchildren wouldn’t be brainwashed. It took a special kind of person to mesh with Kimberly Thomas.
But something about Della made him wonder. Would she really be as accepting as she said?
Twelve
Della tried to shore up enough courage to face Vaynes, but her heart went out to Anthony. No wonder he cared about his image so much. Maybe it even explained his lack of Christmas spirit. An experience like that made a lasting impression on a kid. It made her grateful for her own upbringing. And only spurred on her passion to help children in similar circumstances.
It was the whole reason she wanted to go into foster care and why she loved the toy drive event. Maybe she’d see if Anthony would attend with her. If anything could melt a grinch’s heart, it was seeing the joy on a child’s face when they received a gift they weren’t expecting.
And maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have a date this year for the firehouse Christmas party.
But it wasn’t about that. They’d just met.
Right now, she needed her game face on.
They walked into the gym. It wasn’t anything fancy, but the big windows looking out toward the mountains gave the space an airy feel, despite being filled with ellipticals, treadmills, weight machines, and the smell of perspiration.
“Do you think this will work?” she asked Anthony in a low voice.
“I hope not.”
She almost missed his grumbled reply. “I’ll be fine. Just go get your coffee like we planned. The place is two doors down.”
“I don’t like it.” His facial expression didn’t hold back. His hands fisted on his hips, and the way he swept the room over, not missing a thing, screamed vigilant cop. But she needed Anthony to leave so Vaynes would approach. If the man knew her routine, he’d show. The plan was for her to linger close to the exits and in the more secluded areas. She’d even do a stretching routine in one of the empty classrooms. Penny would keep her in sight the whole time.
“Penny’s already here, over in the corner at the rowing machine, and isn’t that Officer Ramble at the free weights?”
Anthony gave her a stiff nod. “Yeah, but his arm is in a sling. He’s still recovering from a gunshot wound.”
“But he’s close and can sound the alarm if needed. Which means I’m covered. Now go get your coffee and take your time coming back.” She pulled her hair back into a high ponytail while she spoke.
