The summer had flown by. It was good in a way; summer in LA always meant more police work. People were out and about with the good weather, and with that, made stupid decisions. It had been a good summer, productive. Sharon stood back to look at her work and gave herself a nod. It was coming along nicely. The last few hours had been quiet; she needed that.
She looked over at the pile of things, Emily's new sparkling backpack on top. She'd wanted the backpack the moment she'd seen it, a giant rainbow on it. It was pure Emily, a pink and purple backpack with a rainbow. Sharon had even bought Emily the matching lunchbox even though the school had lunch each day. Emily took it mainly for snacks, her own snacks, to eat during daycare. Her daughter was growing up right before her eyes. First grade was here, and Sharon was ready for it. Sharon couldn't believe school was starting in less than a week, but Emily was ready. Her daughter was smart and spunky. She wanted to continue with dance, even though Sharon wasn't seeing any improvement with it. Sharon was just glad that Emily enjoyed it, and now she was even closer to the ballet studio.
"Sharon," she heard and smiled at the sound.
"Mommy!" she heard a squeal from the other room too. Sharon put down her paint brush and tried to wipe her hands on her already covered shirt. She walked out of Emily's room and down the hall to the source of the noise.
"Mommy!" Ricky squealed and ran to her. Before he reached her, big hands, Andy's hands, scooped him up.
"Not so fast, you little bulldozer. Mom is covered in paint," he said. He smiled at Sharon and nodded at her, "Hey, nice look there," he smirked as he tossed Ricky about, making him laugh. "We brought dinner. I mean, the kids didn't do much to bring it. We talked about bringing you something to eat while I was watching them for you since you've been working so hard. We've just been playing all afternoon, right guys?"
"Mommy is my room done?" Emily skipped toward her after checking on her dollhouse. Sharon had set that up temporarily in the living room, only until Emily's bedroom was all situated. Emily had been obsessed with that dollhouse and had gotten into the habit of reporting every doll Ricky moved, threw, touched, or basically looked at. The dollhouse needed to be moved now. It was driving Sharon crazy, having it out in the living room where Ricky could touch it all the time.
"I was just admiring my paint job," Sharon grinned.
"Any get on the walls? Your hair, I mean, I didn't think you needed to start coloring it-no grays that I've seen, but that's an interesting look, Shar," he winked. Sharon reached up to touch her hair and chuckled at the comment.
"Gee, thanks," she rolled her eyes. Sharon looked down at Emily, "If you are careful and don't touch anything, I'll show you what I painted. It is still drying. Come on," she nodded to Emily and gestured. Emily, with her toothless smile, grinned. Her pigtails were loose and looked like they'd been put in a few times today. Sharon led her down the hall, turned, and she saw that after Emily, Andy was also following, carrying Ricky, which was necessary with wet paint.
"Ohhhh, Mommy, it's so beautiful," Emily squealed. She had her hands on her mouth and started to jump up and down. "I love it."
"Looks great, Sharon," Andy nodded in agreement. The group stared at the light purple walls. She hadn't moved the furniture back into position, but the room was a huge improvement over the white contractor-grade paint that had been there, complete with scuff marks everywhere. The room was small, very small, even smaller than Emily's old room, but it was coming together and was Emily's own room. That had been important to Sharon. "The new place is really coming together," he said, looking around. "See, I bet it's starting to feel like home."
"Hmm, not yet, but getting there," Sharon nodded as she looked to him and smiled. "Thanks for watching the kids for a few hours so I could paint. It has helped so much with all the unpacking."
It was the first week of September. The private school Emily attended still started after Labor Day even though some of the other schools started in August. Sharon had accomplished a lot in the last couple of weeks. She'd closed on her new townhouse, something she wasn't 100% crazy about, but it checked all the boxes. The one thing she really didn't like was the bedroom placement. Emily's bedroom was on the first floor. She'd thought about taking it, but it was extremely small. There were then two bedrooms upstairs. Ricky's room was a little bigger, but she'd wanted him closer since he was smaller. She knew this might be an issue in a few years, but thankfully, Emily was just glad to have her own room. With the layout upstairs, there was just one hallway bathroom. It really was an odd setup, and she had been surprised that while it wasn't that old, that it didn't have a true master bedroom and bathroom. It worked, though. It was going to work for them. The house had been a renter's paradise before them, renter after renter, so it was in need of a few small fixes, but thankfully, nothing major. It really just needed paint, and she was doing that as quickly as she could. She'd painted her master bedroom, working late into the evenings, before she'd started unpacking anything in it. Emily's room had risen to the top of her list after she'd discovered the dollhouse mess that was occurring in the living room each day. She'd go, room by room, and paint. Right now, though, she was in desperate need of a shower and starving. She looked to Andy again, "I appreciate you bringing dinner, but do you mind if I get a shower first?"
"What, oh, of course," he nodded. "Want me to stay and watch the kids while you do that?"
Sharon rolled her eyes and ushered Emily and the rest of them out of the room, "Andy, you watched my kids all afternoon and brought dinner. I was hoping I could shower and maybe you stay and eat with us. I assume there is enough food?" Sharon gave him a look. By now, he's stopped messing with Ricky and was just holding the toddler in his arms. He gave Sharon a bright smile.
"Yeah, there's plenty of food. I'd love to stay and eat. I was hoping you might say that," he admitted and winked. Sharon chuckled and rolled her eyes.
"Okay, guys," she said, touching Emily's head as they walked back down the hallway to the living room area, "I'm going to run upstairs and shower. Listen to Andy, and I'll be back down soon."
"I'll get dinner ready," he indicated at the bags on the counter. She was intrigued. She didn't know what he'd picked up for dinner based on the plain, brown paper bag, and she couldn't really smell anything. She nodded to him and made her way up the stairs. She looked at the carpet, something that would need to be replaced, but right now, it wasn't that bad. She'd wanted something close to brand new, but her budget wouldn't allow it. This was close. It was a three-bedroom townhouse, and aside from the revolving door of renters, the house was in good shape. There was a one-car garage, and right now, she couldn't park in it due to all the boxes in it, but hopefully, one day, she would. Paint was a big expense for her now, but thankfully with the money she had from her dad and the sale of her house, she was doing okay. She'd put aside money for flooring, but she wanted to get the house painted first. It was a work in progress. They would be a mess for a couple of months, but eventually, it would be worth it. The house was hers, hers alone, and it had no memory of Jack.
20 minutes later, her hair still slightly damp, but now free of paint, she walked down the stairs. It was quiet. Emily was busy with her dollhouse, and when Sharon tried to catch a glimpse of Andy and Ricky, she couldn't find them. The house seemed almost too quiet, especially with Emily not screaming about Ricky in her dollhouse. She reached the bottom, and Emily noticed she was there.
"Mommy, Barbie needs a new car," she pointed to the old Barbie car Sharon had found at the church yard sale over a month ago. It was old, and yes, Sharon agreed it had seen better days, but she'd paid a dollar for it, well within her tight budget during a move.
"Hmm, yes, well, don't we all, hmm?" Sharon asked, reaching over to kiss her head. "Where is your brother?"
"He was smelling," Emily made a face. "He always smells." Andy took him away from here.
Sharon nodded, figuring that part, that Andy had removed Ricky from the room. From what she could tell, Ricky was in need of a diaper change. While he was coming along with potty training, he wasn't there all the way. It was something she really needed to buckle down and finish with him, but with everything else, life was getting in the way. Now that they were moved, she could focus on that. She couldn't wait to be completely out of diapers. That would help the budge a lot too. She turned around and saw the food still in the bag, but her eye caught sight of movement out the window. Sharon walked through the kitchen area to the sliding door. There was a small dining area right off the kitchen, right by the sliding glass door. It opened to a small yard, actually it was a pretty good-sized yard considering she was in a townhouse, and her hand went to her mouth at the sight.
Andy was standing about two feet from Ricky, if that, and had a small ball in his hand. Ricky had a toddler-sized baseball glove in his hand, and Andy was trying to help him play catch. She stepped outside.
"Hey," Andy grinned at her when he heard the door. "I think you've got a future Dodger here."
"Hmm," she nodded, "and when they asked about his love of baseball, where he bought his first baseball glove, I should say?"
"Well," he stood up and groaned, gesturing in the air, "I mean, Ricky will obviously make me famous and say that his good friend, really, his mentor, Andy Flynn, taught him everything he knows," Andy winked at her. Sharon burst out laughing and nodded at him. Ricky ran over to Sharon, and she scooped him up and kissed his cheek.
"I'll make sure he says exactly that," Sharon laughed. "What's for dinner? We should probably eat."
"About that," Andy pointed at her. "I've got an idea. So," he said clasping his hands together, "I got things that would be nice for a picnic. It's such a nice evening. Want to eat out here? I think I have a blanket in my car that would work for a picnic."
"Hmm, something tells me you were banking on a dinner invitation, Andy Flynn," she grinned at him. "A picnic sounds great, and I am glad you have a blanket because I wouldn't know where to locate one right now," she said with a chuckle. "I'll get the food if you want to grab that blanket."
"Great," he said, springing into action, "let's eat."
It took a few minutes, but eventually, they were outside sitting on the grass in the small yard. The renters had killed off any grass, and Sharon's realtor had asked that she request in her contract the backyard be re-sodded. Luckily, the homeowner had agreed, and the yard looked really nice now. The three were sitting on Andy's blanket, while Ricky, in his toddler state, mainly walked around eating. Andy had picked up some basic burgers, just meat on a bun for the kids, but he'd gotten two cheeseburgers, loaded for himself and Sharon. He'd also picked up baked beans and macaroni and cheese, perfect for the evening. Sharon had pulled some plates and drinks to make the picnic complete.
"So," Sharon said, after they had all finished eating and the kids were spending the last bit of sunlight running around the yard. She and Andy were left there on the blanket, both sitting back with feet stretched out, "I need to thank you for everything today, for taking care of my kids, for apparently buying Ricky a baseball glove and Emily bubbles," she gestured across the yard to where Emily was blowing bubbles with Ricky trying to chase them, "and for bringing over dinner. Thank you," she said as she warmly turned her head to smile at him.
"You're welcome," he said as his eyes met hers. At the same time, he reached over and lightly squeezed her hand before shifting to sit up and look back over at the kids. "I still want to take you out on a real date."
She sighed slightly, aware that he could probably hear it, and she quickly said something, "Andy, it's not that, that," she gestured, sitting up to face him.
"You're scared," he said quietly, reaching over to squeeze her knee, as she was now facing him. "I know. I've told you I am too. Neither of us want to mess this up, whatever this may be."
"Again," she added. "I can't mess this up again. I can't mess up my life again. Jack-" she started to say.
Andy squeezed her knee and stopped her, "Jack is not part of your life, this life," he gestured around them. "Fine," he rolled his eyes. "Your kids came from Jack. Yeah, yeah, I know. Sharon, you can't continue to beat yourself up thinking about what was. It is in the past, and you have to free yourself to live your life. I mean, you are already doing that," he pointed toward the house. "I'm so proud of you for doing this, for moving on and creating something for yourself that isn't Jack."
"It's not just Jack," she admitted. "Andy, the fling we had-"
"This," he said, meeting her eyes, his hand still there on her knee, "this," he repeated firmly, "isn't a fling. Yeah, we talked about how stupid it was before, the idea of no strings attached. We see where that got us. Somewhere in that we both developed strong feelings. You've told me; I've told you. So many things ruined that, or maybe, it saved us. Maybe all of that gave us the space we've needed to get to here," he said, nodding to right there where they were. "I'm crazy about you, Sharon," he said softly, lifting her hand to kiss it. He looked toward the kids and let go of her hand as they ran toward them. Sharon just bit her lip and nodded at him, the moment over with the kids there now.
"Mommy, Ricky spilled my bubbles!" Emily said, a frown on her face.
"Well, we'll have to get more soon, but it's getting late, and it is time to get ready for bed," Sharon told them, kissing Ricky's head. "Why don't we thank Andy for helping out today, hmmm?"
"Thank you," both kids said at the same time, their little voices almost giggling. Andy started to collect the things from the picnic, and he grinned at the kids.
"You monkeys are welcome. I had fun today. We'll have to do something fun again soon. Now, I'll let your mom get you ready for bed," he nodded to Sharon, "and I'll clean up all of this. I'll be on my way then because I know it's been a long day," he said clearly as he looked at Sharon. "Everyone probably needs some down time."
Sharon stood with the kids at her legs. Andy stood too, and as he did and spoke, she shook her head at him. She reached for his hand and squeezed it, "Please stay until I get the kids in bed. I do want to try; I want to talk, to work on this, us," she corrected, a nervous smile on her face. "We've said we are going to try this all summer. It's been a busy summer. You've been gone, up seeing your kids. I've been moving and just getting a grip on things here, so how about I get them to bed, and we take some time to work on this," she gestured between them, "us."
Andy's eyes lit up at that, and he gave Sharon a warm smile, "Okay, okay," he nodded. "I'm just trying to give you some space, Shar."
"Just leave the blanket," she said with a small shrug as she walked toward the door with the kids. "Maybe we could admire the stars, or sky," she shook her head and laughed. "It is L.A.; we might not see much of the stars."
"I'll leave the blanket," he said with a huge grin.
It took over another hour before the two were able to retreat to the small backyard. Sharon was glad Andy was there for several reasons, but a big one was that he'd been able to help put Emily's furniture back in its place. She'd move the dollhouse tomorrow after she unpacked the rest of Emily's room. It felt good to start to put things into place. Ricky didn't care about his room right now; Emily did, and with her starting school on Tuesday, it was even more important she give her daughter some normalcy. It was just around 8:30 when the two walked back outside, ice teas in hand. They looked at each other as the sky was starting to change into its nighttime color. Instinctively, both reached for the other's hand, and they walked back over and sat down next to each other on the blanket, looking up at the sky. There were townhomes all around, so it wasn't some private, secluded spot, but it worked for tonight.
They sat there in silence for a few moments, only Sharon's content hums audible. After a short time of that, she reached over and tapped his hand so he would turn her way.
"It isn't that I don't want to go out on a date with you," she started, slowly trying to explain. "It's just that," she paused and frowned. Andy waited. "Andy, it's several things. It's the money," she offered and frowned again. "Neither of us have money to be throwing around for evenings out and all. We can both barely scrape it together. I mean the only reason I'm getting setup here is due to the money my dad left me. I put all of that into the house to make sure my payments were as low as possible. You work as much as possible just to scrape by and keep that apartment of yours. You spent time visiting your kids this summer, staying in a run-down motel as you told me, just to afford a few extra days to see them. That's part of it." She paused, searching his eyes.
"Okay," he said, shifting to his side so his elbow was in the grass. "I mean, I get that. Yeah, everything you said is true. Sharon, I'm not asking for fancy, extravagant dates all the time. I guess I was thinking one nice one, one night where we just try to be carefree and enjoy the evening. Does this tonight, spending time together, not qualify as some kind of date?"
"Burgers with the kids?" Sharon chuckled. "I suppose that's my old kind of date."
"See, that's what I want to show you," he said, a little more of a tone in his voice. "You're not just some washed up single mom, Sharon. You're so much more than that. I love this," he gestured around them. "I love spending time with you, with your kids, just like this. I'm game for more of this. In the last few years, the happiest I've been is when I'm with you. I know I was struggling with a lot of things when I was living at your house, but man, those were some great times, just seeing you and the kids live a normal life."
Sharon listened and nodded as he spoke. The two settled into silence again to let things simmer. Finally, she cleared her throat, "Well, since we've been so hit or miss this summer seeing each other and barely talking on the phone, let's start with your summer. Tell me more about going to visit the kids. How is that working?"
Andy sighed, still on his side, propped up by an elbow. He reached for Sharon's hand with his free hand and held it as he started to talk, "It's so hard, Shar. I mean, they live in this big, fancy house. Dirtbag has some great job, makes all kinds of money. The kids are going to be spoiled rotten. I can never give them a life like that. They enjoyed seeing me, but you know, I was staying in a cheap, roadside motel. It's not like I could take them back there to hang out. I barely wanted to be there. The place had a pool that probably hadn't been cleaned in 10 years. I felt myself trying to entertain them each day, but they just wanted to be back at their fancy place. Kids said they are going to be getting a pool at the house, so again, I can't compete with that. It's just far enough away that bringing them back here for a long weekend is too much driving, but staying there is almost painful for me. I mean, I'm not going to give up; I am going to keep seeing them when I can. I just hope that Sandra and I can work out something more than a three-day weekend so I can bring the kids back here to my crappy apartment, yet better than the run-down motel. I know the kids see that, see me, see the car I have-even though I had to upgrade that this summer with all the driving," he rolled his eyes, "still, nothing I have is good enough or compares to what they have there."
"Andy," Sharon said softly, sliding down to the same position, on her side, her elbow propping her up, facing him. She looked at him and gave him a sympathetic smile, "You're trying. I know you can't compete with that, and right now, that's all the kids do see. They see everything fancy. You're right about that, and I wish I could comfort you with different words. Just continue to be there for them. This is a marathon," she frowned. "It's not a sprint. You're always going to be their dad, and whether they like the activities or trips you have planned for them, you keep doing them. Emily doesn't even ask about Jack anymore," she frowned. Her eyes met his, "She asks about you, though, and you want to know why? You are around," she shrugged. "You try to be in their lives, and in their own ways, they appreciate that."
"Thank you," he said, reaching to kiss her hand. "It just gets to me. I'm not going to see the kids until early November maybe, could even be Thanksgiving. School and schedules," he waved his hand. "I need to work it out with Sandra."
"I'm here to listen anytime," she said softly.
"I appreciate it. There's one thing I can think of that might help?" Andy said winking at her. Sharon shook her head and let out a small laugh.
"You have a look-" Sharon told him. He raised his eyebrows.
"Enough about the kids, all of them," he waved with his free hand. "Want to make out?" Sharon burst out laughing, and Andy felt the need to explain himself. "What? I mean, I haven't kissed you all day. I know we talked about not letting your kids see anything. They are young, and we aren't even sure where things are headed right now. Okay, fine," he said, gesturing. "They like me around. I like being around them. I'm their mom's friend, Andy. Fine. I've been wanting to kiss you all day. That seems like a pretty good idea now that they are asleep, and we are alone."
"It has been a long summer," Sharon said as if she was pondering it. "Who am I to argue?" Andy started to laugh, and the two moved closer, enjoying the night air.
It was a few minutes later when both froze at the sound of a familiar noise. Both jumped up, but not in time; the sprinklers came on and started spraying them. Sharon burst out laughing, and Andy did too after she did. As the two sprinted to the door, Andy called out "One of these days, we'll get it right."
When they both stepped inside, wet from the sprinklers, which started spraying right where they were sitting, Sharon continued to laugh as she looked at him, "All things considered this was a really good night."
"On that note," Andy said, turning toward her as he brushed the water off her face, "I am going to leave. We're trying to do things right this time, and maybe that sprinkler was meant to cool things down because it was certainly heating up."
Sharon smiled and leaned up to kiss him. When she stepped back, he winked at her and Andy said, "Fall might just be my favorite season." Sharon gave him an odd look for such a random saying, and he winked again, "I see good things ahead for us. Night, Sharon."