Page 24 of Lost
“Is that your mother?”
He jumped, twisting his head to look at Georgia. She stood in his open doorway, a dish towel in one hand, her eyes fixed on the screen. How long had she been standing there? Almost subconsciously his hands moved to close the laptop, hiding the image from the blonde’s view. Her eyes snapped up to meet his.
“I’m sorry,” she apologised, and she genuinely did look it. “I didn’t mean to intrude. I just came up to let you know that dinner’s ready.”
“Okay. I’ll be down in a minute.”
He had hoped his words would be dismissal enough, but his step-mother remained standing in his doorway. He watched her cautiously as she twisted and turned the dish towel anxiously. Moments passed between them.
“She was very pretty,” she said at long last, nodding towards the closed laptop. “I hope you don’t mind me saying so.”
“No.” He swallowed. “You’re right. Shewasvery pretty.”
Georgia nodded. And with one last, sad smile, she headed back downstairs.
CHAPTER NINE
It was well past eight by the time the band finally decided the song was done. Zack set his guitar down with a sigh, flexing his fingers several times as he watched Pat do his thing on the computer. He’d not even finished backing their files up by the time Chris had cracked open a beer and downed half the bottle.
“Four down,” the bassist said proudly, “and...a ton more to go.”
He toasted to the empty air and took another long drink.
When Brendan offered Zack a bottle, Zack declined. He’d told Georgia he wouldn’t be late tonight, and if he started drinking now he definitely would be. Brendan shrugged and dropped onto the couch beside him, setting the rejected bottle aside and drinking from his own. Aaron set his drumsticks down and stood, searching for his keys as he made his way out from behind the kit.
“I’m gonna head off,” he announced. “I told my mom I’d stop by before going home, and you know what she’s like.” He made a face before adding, “Everything still on for Saturday, Harmon?”
It was the first week of May, and that meant birthdays in the Harmon household. Zack almost felt sorry for his friend, having to deal with his father, his wife, and his sister-in-law all in the same week. But it gave them a good excuse to party, and that was the angle that Brendan tried to take.
“Everything’s still on,” he confirmed. “I expect you all to be there.” He eyed Zack and added, “Including you.”
Zack nodded. It had been Pat’s idea to use the party as a way to introduce Lysander to their extended band family, but Zack had yet to speak to the kid about it. He didn’t want to drag Lysander along if the poor boy didn’t want to go. But he also wanted his son to get to know all of his friends, at least so he wouldn’t be uncomfortable when they all decided to drop by the house unexpectedly. Something they’d been prone to doing before deciding to give Lysander the much needed time to adjust.
“I’ll be there,” Zack said.
He made his own exit soon after Aaron, bidding his friends farewell until the weekend. He walked swiftly to his car, parked just a few houses down, and slid into its comfortable interior. The trip home wasn’t a particularly long one — he and Pat only lived a few blocks apart — but he always preferred to drive. There was less chance of being stopped by a crazed fan if he was in his car, and it was always nice to have the BMW in case of an emergency. Especially now that he had a teenager he was supposed to take care of.
It was a quarter to nine by the time he made it home. He tossed his keys into the bowl by the door and navigated his way into the living room, where he found his wife curled up on the couch with a glass of red wine andSleepless in Seattleplaying on the television. One of her favourites.
“Hey, Georgie,” he greeted her, smiling when she looked in his direction. “How was your day?”
“Fine. Dinner’s in the fridge if you’re hungry.”
He was starving. He hadn’t eaten since earlier that afternoon, when he and the guys had taken a short break from recording to order a stack of pizzas. He said a quick thanks and went to retrieve the food, which turned out to be Georgia’s homemade lasagne — one of his favourites. His stomach growled in anticipation as he stuck it in the microwave to reheat.
Georgia joined him in the kitchen as he grabbed a fork. She took her usual seat at the table, directly opposite to where she knew he would sit, wineglass still in hand and a determined look on her face. Her actions said she had something she wanted to talk about. Uh-oh. Zack moved his meal to the table cautiously, waiting for the bomb to drop. But she kept quiet, giving him a few minutes to get started on his dinner, to savour the taste before their conversation began.
She watched him swallow a bite, took a sip from her glass…
“Zack, I want to have a baby.”
And there it was. He sighed. He should have seen it coming. He’d hoped Lysander’s being with them would have filled the hole Georgia claimed to have in her heart, if only a little, but apparently that wasn’t the case.
“Georg—”
“Don’t. Don’t start with your goddamn excuses again.”
His excuses.I’m not ready for a childhad always been the main one, but he knew he would never get away with using that again. He had a son now — indeed, he hadtwochildren — and ready or not, he’d had to adapt. But he still didn’t consider himself ready. He didn’t know if he ever would.
