The next morning, Roger went back to Shay's apartment. He rang the doorbell and Noah answered.
"Roger!" he squealed, and he jumped into Roger's arms.
Roger laughed. "Hiya, kiddo," he said, grinning. "How are you doing? Do you feel three yet?"
"Not really," Noah said.
Roger smiled. "Is your mom still around, or is Lena here?"
"Mommy's upstairs," Noah said. "Lena comes at eight."
Roger nodded. "Oh, OK," he said, and he walked up the stairs after setting Noah down. Noah walked beside him. "Shay?" he called.
"Carter, I told you," she yelled, "you can't be here!" She flung open the door. "I—"
"Shay, it's me," Roger said, before she could accidentally yell at him more. He looked down at her small frame. "Are you OK?"
Shay nodded. "I'm fine," she said, though Roger knew she wasn't. He could see she had put on a lot of make-up to hide her tear-stained cheeks and the circles under her eyes, in an attempt to deny that something really was wrong.
"Shay, talk to me," Roger pleaded with her. "You shouldn't hide your pain from me. I can't let you leave when you're like this. That's not who I am. I protect people, especially the women in my life, and it hurts me when I can't, especially when she won't let me. Please don't push me away."
He looked deep into her forest-green eyes that drove his heart crazy so much. He took her into his arms and held her close. It took a moment, but then she broke down and cried. Roger rocked her back and forth, burying his face in her sweet-smelling hair. He heard the doorbell ring and he looked up.
"That's Lena," Noah said. "It's eight o'clock."
"Well, then, I guess you'd better go answer it, buddy," Roger said to him, smiling down at the boy.
"OK," Noah said, and he turned and went down the stairs.
"Shay, listen to me," Roger said quietly. Shay looked up at him. "Call your boss at CK and tell him or her that you had a personal emergency and that you can't come in until this afternoon— or at all, depending on how long you think you need to settle down. Then go wash off your make-up, dress down, and come with me. We'll worry about the Cat Scratch Club later."
Shay looked up at him again. "Really?" she asked.
"Really," he said, smiling at her.
"Thanks, Roger," she said, smiling at him, and she went to go make the call. As she was doing so, Roger went downstairs to talk to Lena.
"Hey, Lena," he said.
"Hi, Roger," she replied. "Has Shay left yet?"
"No, but she's about to," Roger said. "Actually, she's not going to work today. She was pretty upset about Carter yesterday, so I said she should spend part of the day, or the entire day, with me to settle down." He smiled down at Lena.
"Aw, you're so sweet," Lena said, smiling at him. "You're so good to her, Roger. You may not know how much she appreciates it."
"I know," Roger said, smiling. "But I can't help it. It's who I am."
"Roger, I'm ready," Shay said, coming down the stairs.
"Hey, Baby, you look great," Roger said. "No wonder you're a model and a strip dancer."
Shay laughed. "Thanks for saying that right in front of the child, Baby," Shay said. "Hey, Lena," she added, as Roger laughed. Noah ran up to Lena and hugged her. "Thanks for watching Noah today. I guess I probably never tell you that enough."
"It's fine, Shay, and you're welcome," Lena said, smiling at her. "You need a break. I understand."
"Yeah, sorry about the meltdown," Shay said. "You two are awesome."
"It's OK," Roger and Lena said together.
"Now go have fun, you two," Lena said. "I'm gonna take this guy with me, and we're gonna have a fun time with Mark, aren't we, buddy?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said.
"See you, um, I guess later, buddy," Shay said, kissing Noah on the cheek before leaving with Roger.
Shay and Roger walked through Tompkin Square Park together, holding hands, that afternoon. Roger could tell she was both physically and emotionally better after having spent the day with him. They sat down on a bench and Shay lay against Roger's chest, as he caressed her back with his fingers.
"Are you better now?" he asked, looking down at her.
"Yes," Shay said, "thank you. I'm glad you convinced Carter to leave me alone and that I should take off work today. I did really need a break, even though I love my work; my modeling job, that is. I'm only in the stripping business for the money it makes."
"You deserve a break," Roger said, smiling at her. He noticed Shay was rather quiet. "Is something wrong?"
"Roger," Shay began, "I never told you what Carter did to me when we were together in high school, did I?"
"No, you didn't," Roger said cautiously. He pulled her close to him. "Tell me whatever you want."
Shay's face clouded as she relived the memories. "We started going out in junior high," she began. "Carter was an eighth grader and I was in seventh grade. My parents adamantly advised against it, because of his father's history, but they eventually let me go out with him, after weeks of begging. At first, when I said or did the wrong thing, he would just get impatient. But after about three months, when we would fight, he would grab me and hit me. I didn't tell anybody, though, because I was popular being with him, and I was afraid that, if I did tell anyone, he would know and would come down on me harder." She looked down, ashamed, and tears fell from her eyes. "I know, stupid, right?"
"No," Roger said, "you didn't know any different."
Shay nodded. "I guess not," she said. "I got pregnant right after my freshman year of high school ended. It was a stupid one-night stand at an illegal party I never should have been at with him. My parents were furious with me about it, since a cop had to drop me off at home, and after they found out I was pregnant, they threw me out. A week or so after I was thrown out, I told Carter. I was already seven months along by that time. He hit me so bad, I went into premature labor. Luckily, somebody found me and took me to the hospital, where they got it stopped and I was treated and released. I lied to the hospital staff about my injuries, saying I'd fallen, and they didn't question me.
"My parents sent me to a home for unwed mothers after that, and I gave birth with only a few women staff members with me. But I felt all alone. After I saw Noah, I knew I couldn't give him up. So I lived with relatives in the Bronx until I was 18. The day I turned 18 that fall, I secretly got a job at the Cat Scratch Club at night, and it supported Noah and I enough that I didn't have to live off my relatives anymore. That's where I met Mimi and found out all about you, because you were all that she talked about. Luckily, I finished my schooling at the alternative high school and got my GED.
"The manager of CK here was at the Cat Scratch Club one night— out with his friends for a night of partying, I guess— and he saw me perform and offered me a modeling job on the spot. I must have gotten a lucky card that day, because a few weeks later, Lena told me she'd gotten a job at the local community center's daycare, so she could watch Noah for me, even though he was only a few months old. Since all the thanks she's gotten from me is a check, dinner sometimes, and an actual 'thank you', I've been a really shitty friend and mother. I wish I could have done better. Noah deserves Lena for a mother, not me." Shay wiped the tears from her eyes and looked away from Roger.
"Shay, you're doing the best you can," Roger said, looking down at her. "Noah's such a good boy, because of both you and Lena's teamwork. I can see why you're best friends. You're so close because of your struggles."
Shay nodded. "Yeah, we are," she agreed. "That's a good theory."
Roger smiled. "And you haven't messed up," he said. "Noah loves you and you love him, no matter what you have or don't have. You still have 15 years of Noah's life to show him you can be even more of the best damn mother in this world. If hat means changing your lifestyle a little, then so be it." He gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. "You've done the best you could by him, and if that's not enough, it's the best you knew how. You have friends here, Shay. We'll help you with whatever you need. Lena's already proven that." He smiled down at her.
"Thank you, Roger," Shay whispered, wrapping her arms around him. "Thank you so much. I love you."
Roger pulled away to look down at her. "You do?" he asked.
"Yeah, I do," Shay replied, smiling up at him. "There's no use denying it anymore."
Roger smiled as tears burned the backs of his eyes. "I love you, too, Shay," he said. "I will never hurt you."
"I know," Shay said, and he pulled her into a passionate kiss.
When they got back to Shay's apartment, they saw Lena and Noah were in the living room, putting a puzzle together. It was a child's puzzle, but Noah was still concentrating, and did not look up until Lena got to her feet.
"Mommy's home!" Noah exclaimed, and he ran over to Shay and hugged her happily.
"Hi, sweetie," she said, smiling at him. "Did you have fun with Lena today?"
"Yep," Noah said. "We watched a movie and had pizza for lunch. Then we went for a walk, and now we're doing a puzzle."
"That's great, buddy," Shay said. "I'm glad you have so much fun with Lena."
"Me, too, Mommy," Noah said, resting his head against her thigh. "Did you have fun with Roger?"
"I sure did, baby boy," Shay said, looking down at him.
"What did you do?"
"Well," Shay began, and she went into the living room to sit down with Noah, Lena, and Roger, "we walked to the park and sat around and talked."
Noah nodded. "So Lena's leaving now?" he asked.
"Yep, so we had better show her to the door, like a gentleman, OK?" Shay asked him.
Noah nodded and walked with Lena to the door. As Lena waved to them and Noah shut the door, Roger leaned over and whispered to Shay, "Preparing him for prom a little early, aren't we?"
Shay laughed. "I hope not," she said. "My little boy's gonna grow up faster than I want already. I don't want to rush it."
Roger laughed as Noah came back up the stairs to them, and they went back into the living room.