7
"So who do you usually play video games with?" Zach asked during a break between races.
Maisie pulled at a loose thread in the carpet. "My friend Joel. He's the groundskeeper's son." Her face fell. "But Mr. Barnes probably won't be the groundskeeper now that Grandpa's gone. And…I guess I won't be living there anymore, anyways." She hung her head.
Zach and Gray shared a look, unsure how to backpedal to the amiable atmosphere they'd been enjoying. They were saved by Owen knocking on the doorjamb to announce his and Claire's entrance.
"Hey guys, sorry to break up the game, but we're headed to the grocery and we were hoping to take Maisie with us."
"I'll go!" Gray offered.
Claire smiled. "Thanks, sweetie, but I think you and Zach should spend some time with your mom. She's feeling a little left out."
"Left out?" Zach asked incredulously. "Why, because she doesn't have dreams about being chased by giant prehistoric reptiles?"
Claire shot Owen a quick look and he ushered Maisie from the room, telling her to go find her jacket and shoes. Then the redhead knelt next to her nephews.
"How has your mom been doing lately? Is there anything I should know?"
Gray shook his head at the same time Zach blurted, "She drinks more than she used to." He looked relieved to have said it, as it if was a weight off his shoulders.
Claire wasn't surprised. "How long has that been going on?"
"A few months, I guess." Zach glanced at his brother. "I've been at school, but Gray keeps me updated."
"I didn't want to tell you," Gray confessed quietly to his aunt. "She's trying really hard."
Claire squeezed his shoulder. "She's worried she can't help you guys. That you don't really need her."
"Well, that's stupid," Gray said. "She's our mom."
"And she loves you both so much. So can you do me a favor? Just hang out with her a little this afternoon. Make her feel included."
:
"Okay, what do we need?" Owen asked, pulling a shopping cart out of the long line at the entrance to the supermarket.
Claire ran her finger down the list. "Milk, bread, eggs…it's pretty standard." She flipped the index card over and the corners of her mouth quirked up. "Chocolate, Mountain Dew, Cheetos…this is definitely Gray's handwriting."
Owen smiled. "So, a little of the basics, a little junk food. Let's split up." He grabbed another cart and pushed the first toward Claire. "You two hit the produce and bread aisles and I'll handle the sugar and dairy."
Claire watched him take off before looking down at Maisie. She wondered if the little girl had ever been grocery shopping before. Surely Benjamin Lockwood had never taken her, but maybe Iris had.
"Anything in particular you'd like to get?" she asked brightly.
Maisie shook her head.
Inwardly, Claire sighed. She knew that Owen had left Maisie with her to give them more bonding time, and she appreciated that. But the little girl was clearly more comfortable with Owen or even Zach and Gray, and Claire didn't know how to get her to open up.
As they started down the list, Maisie followed Claire silently around the store. Claire was discouraged but continued trying to initiate a conversation.
"So, how was the game going? Who was winning?"
This elicited a small smile. "I was."
"Good for you!" Claire realized too late that Maisie might take her over-enthusiasm as condescension. "I mean, boys always think they're better at everything, right?"
Maisie nodded. "Like playing sports."
"Or driving vans."
Maisie looked confused by that comment, and Claire racked her brain for another topic of discussion as they moved around the produce section. She was trying to decide between honeycrisp and gala apples when she heard her name being called.
"Claire? Claire Dearing?"
A woman with gray hair stood a few feet away, holding a bag of onions.
"Yes?" Claire said cautiously.
The stranger's face broke into a smile. "It's Gilda Pearson, dear. I suppose I do look somewhat different. It's been a long time."
Gilda had been the Dearings' neighbor growing up, but it had been a good seventeen years since Claire had last seen her. She remembered Gilda as being a loud woman with dyed red hair and an unusual preoccupation with teddy bears. Judging by the design knitted on the front of her sweater, that last part hadn't changed.
"It's good to see you again," Claire said politely.
"And who is this?" Gilda asked, peering down at Maisie through oversized purple spectacles. "Your daughter?"
"Yes," Claire said, before Maisie could react. "This is Maisie."
"Well, it's very nice to meet you Maisie," Gilda said kindly. "You know, I knew your mother when she was just a baby." She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "She liked to run around the yard in her underwear."
Claire blushed. She didn't remember that. Maisie smiled slightly, which Gilda seemed to accept as an adequate response. She straightened and fixed her beady eyes on Claire again.
"I didn't know you were back in the area."
"I'm not," Claire said. "We're just here visiting Karen." She glanced at her watch and hoped she sounded genuine when she said, "And we really need to get going, I'm afraid."
"Say no more!" Gilda patted Maisie on the head. "It was lovely to meet you, Maisie. Until next time, Claire!" And she breezed away, the onions swinging back and forth.
Claire breathed a sigh of relief. She'd been afraid Gilda would bring up Jurassic World and the dinosaurs, but the woman either wasn't aware of Claire's former position there or it slipped her mind during the conversation. That was a can of worms Claire really didn't want to open in the middle of the grocery store.
"Why did you tell her I was your daughter?"
Claire turned. Maisie was looking at her, wearing an expression Claire couldn't decipher.
"Because it was simpler," Claire said honestly. "And…because I'm hoping you will be." She said the words without even thinking about it, verbalizing something that had been on her mind constantly the past couple of weeks.
Tears sprang to Maisie's eyes. "But you barely know me."
"I know you're a very sweet girl with a big heart." She took a step closer but stopped when Maisie took a step back.
"All my life, I thought I had a mother. Grandpa used to talk about her all the time. About how alike we were." A tear slid down her cheek, which she quickly brushed away. "I just found out that I never really had a mom at all. And now you're saying you want to be my mom, and I don't know what to believe anymore."
Claire resisted the urge to sweep the girl into a hug. "Oh honey, I'm sorry. This isn't the right time to talk about this."
"But you want me to stay with you?" Maisie asked, sniffling.
"Of course we do." Owen had found them. "If that's what you want. And that isn't something you have to decide right this minute."
Maisie ran to wrap her arms around Owen's middle, and Claire tried not to feel hurt. Then the girl turned and shyly embraced Claire, too, and for the first time since this whole thing started, Claire began to think everything might work out after all.