The Accidental Encore (6 page)

She pulled into her garage and rushed inside the house,
dropping her bag, keys, and purse along the way. She grabbed a diet coke from
her emergency stash in the fridge, screw the guilt, and jogged up the stairs to
her bedroom. She glanced at the bed. All she wanted to do was to lie on her
fluffy duvet and watch a good movie.

“Which is why you don’t have a boyfriend,” she muttered and
forced herself to bypass the bed and head straight for the closet. Allie
stripped out of her wool pants and button down and stared at her clothes. First
date, probably a nice restaurant, she should wear a dress. She shoved hanger
after hanger down the rack, dismissing options as she went. “I hate this,” she
said when she got to the end of her choices and nothing seemed appropriate.

She went back through her dresses slowly, looking at each
one, trying to think about the message they sent. “Too loud,” she murmured as
she passed up her favorite multicolored wrap dress. She paused at a belted gray
dress. “It’s a date, Allie, not an interview.” She pursed her lips at her
cream, boat neck jersey dress. “Too blah,” she decided and moved on. Through
the process of elimination, she pulled out her black, sleeveless, V-neck jersey
dress and paired it with silver hoops and a long strand necklace. “That will
have to do.”

After a shower and a new coat of makeup, Allie stood in
front of the mirror trying to decide if she should wear her hair up or down.
When her cell phone rang, she almost didn’t answer, but at the last minute
rushed from the bathroom and fished it out of her purse before it went to
voicemail.

“Hello?”

“Allie?” said a familiar, yet unrecognizable voice.

“Yes.”

“This is Craig Archer.” In the space of time she tried to
hide her shock, he said, “Leah’s uncle.”

Interesting. “Let me guess. Your conscience got the best of
you and you called to apologize?”

“No.” He cleared his throat. “Something’s happened.
Something way outside my area of expertise.”

“You have a question about driving?”

“Funny. Listen, I wouldn’t call if it weren’t kind of an
emergency. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t call if I had anyone else to call,
but since I don’t, you’re it.”

“Kind of an emergency?” she asked. “What kind of emergency?
Is it Leah? Is she okay?”

“Yeah, it’s Leah, but she’s not okay. Can you come over?”

“I’m kinda busy, so if this
is
an emergency, you need
to explain.”

He exhaled loudly. “I can’t talk about this over the phone.
Can you just come over, please?”

“What’s wrong? Is Leah hurt? Is she bleeding?”

He chuckled. “She’s not hurt, but there’s blood. Listen,” he
said, as impatient as ever, “she needs you. I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, I…” Allie looked at the clock. She had to leave in
twenty minutes or she’d never make it to the restaurant in time. “I don’t have
much time. How long will this take?”

“If I knew anything about this at all, including how much
time it’ll take, I wouldn’t be calling.”

Allie pictured Leah, her sweet face and unruly brown hair,
stuck in the clutches of an obtuse uncle during a semi-emergency. “Fine. But I
can’t stay long.”

“Great. Do me a favor and make it fast.”

Allie pulled the phone away from her ear when she realized
he’d hung up on her. “Urrrr,” she growled. She threw her keys, compact, and
wallet into her favorite python clutch and grabbed a wrap as she headed for the
door. “This better be worth it.”

***

Craig opened the door as soon as he saw Allie’s car pull
into the drive. He heard the click of heels on concrete before she waltzed into
the spotlight from the porch lamps. Craig forgot for a moment why he’d asked
her to come over and simply stared, concentrating on not swallowing his tongue.
She looked like a Victoria’s Secret runway model wearing some floaty black
dress that pressed against her as she walked, emphasizing every curve and angle
of her incredible body. That blondish/brown hair hung free around her sexy,
shimmering lips and eyes that seemed to glow in the night. When she stopped in
front of him, slapped her hand on her hip, and cleared her throat, he regained
his composure, but not before catching a whiff of something dark and sexy. He
ushered her into the house.

“What’s the emergency?” she asked as Blackjack rushed in
from the den. Craig snapped his fingers and ordered him down. The dog
reluctantly crept to the floor.

“It’s Leah. She…well, I was down here in the kitchen and she
screamed and when I got upstairs…” He rubbed his temple and tried to dislodge
the image of what he’d seen and what it all meant.

“Spit it out, already,” she said. Craig could tell she was
annoyed by the tiny line between her brows. “What happened when you got
upstairs?”

Craig swallowed his pride, lowered his voice, and whispered,
“She started her period.”

Those dark brows lifted for just a moment before her freshly
painted mouth puckered into a sympathetic pout. “Oh, poor thing. What did you
do?”

“What do you think I did? I panicked. I tried to call Mark,
but with the time difference, they were either off on some excursion or too
busy to answer the phone. I looked over the list of numbers he left, but yours
was the only one I recognized. She needs a woman.” He thumped his fist on his
chest. “I am
not
a woman.”

“No kidding.” Allie turned her head toward the staircase.
“Where is she?”

“Upstairs in her room. Second door on the right.”

“Does she have any supplies?”

“How the hell do I know?”

Allie sighed. “Does she know you called me?”

“I told her I’d get someone to help. I didn’t specifically
mention you.”

“Okay.” She turned toward the stairs. “I’ll be back.”

“I’ll be right here,” he said.

Her scent lingered even after she’d gone upstairs, swaying
her hips and drawing his eyes to her surprisingly muscular calves. “Not
interested,” he reminded himself and walked to the refrigerator to get a beer.
He took a long sip, hoping cold beer would help to calm his anxiety and other
unwanted urges.

***

Leah’s heart rate doubled when she heard a faint knock on
the door.
Please, God, don’t let it be Uncle Craig or our next-door
neighbor, Mrs. Rosenbloom.

“Come in,” she said. Relief swamped her when she saw Ms.
Allie, dressed up and looking like she was going to a party. “Oh, Ms. Allie.”

“Hi, Leah. Your uncle called.” She came inside, shut the door,
and closed the distance between them. Leah was too embarrassed to stand up from
her desk. “How are you feeling?”

Leah shrugged her shoulders. “Weird, I guess.”

“That sounds about right.” She placed her very cool purse on
the desk and crouched down in front of Leah. “Do you have any pads?”

“Yeah. Dad bought me some last summer before I went to camp.
I’ve got one on now.”

Ms. Allie smiled. “Good. You’ve got a wonderful dad.”

“I wish he was here.”

“I know you do, sweetheart.” She placed her hand over Leah’s
and squeezed. “Do you have any questions? Do you have the pad on right?”

“I think so. I just put the sticky side on my underwear and
folded the wings under. Is that right?”

“Yep, that’s perfect.” She stood up. With the added height
from her heels, she seemed too big for Leah’s small room. “Can I see the box to
make sure you won’t need anything more absorbent for when you’re asleep?”

Leah got up and retrieved the box from the back lid of the
toilet. She liked the way Allie’s heels sounded on the tile.

“This should be fine for both day and night use,” Allie
explained. “Usually your first few cycles are pretty light. You might want to
get some panty liners for the last couple of days when you won’t need this much
protection.”

“Panty liners?” Leah asked.

Allie handed the box back. “I’ll bring some when I come
Tuesday. They’re just a lot thinner.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“So, have any of your friends started their periods?”

“My friend Marcy has, but she doesn’t like to talk about
it.” Leah picked at the fingernail polish on her thumb. “I’m not sure about
anyone else.”

“You know, I started my period when I was thirteen. When I
was twelve, some of my friends had already started and I couldn’t wait to
start. I used to see their stuff in the bathroom and I thought I would feel
grown up when I got my period.”

“Did you?” she asked. “Feel grown up?”

Ms. Allie pursed her lips. “A little, I guess. But then I
started getting cramps and it wasn’t so fun anymore.”

Leah felt a little sick. “Cramps?”

“Muscle cramps. Do you know what happens in your body when
you get your period?”

“Not really.”

“Okay.” She put her arm around Leah and led her back into
the room. Leah watched as she slipped out of her shoes and sat down on the bed
for what looked like girl talk. “We women have a uterus, right?”

Leah nodded. She knew from health class that the uterus was
where the baby grew.

“The uterus lining swells with blood in preparation for a
baby. When a baby doesn’t happen, it breaks down the lining and discharges the
blood. That’s why you get—Oh, my.” Allie glanced down at her watch. “I
need to make a quick call.” She hopped off the bed and grabbed her purse. “I’ll
be right back.”

She stepped into the hallway and Leah inched close to the
door to hear what and who she spoke to, but then felt bad about eavesdropping
and took a seat on the bed to wait. She was picking at a loose string on her
comforter when Ms. Allie walked back in.

“Now, where were we?” she asked and sat back down on the
bed.

“You were telling me about how the lining breaks down.”

“Yes, that’s how you get your period. Sometimes, for most
people, the process causes your uterus, which is a muscle, to cramp.”

“Like a leg cramp?”

Allie laughed. “Not that acute, but similar. Menstrual
cramps are more subtle.”

“By subtle, do you mean not that bad?”

“Menstrual cramps are not as quick or painful as leg cramps.
They’re more annoying than anything. And you might not even get them.”

Leah couldn’t imagine getting a cramp in her uterus, but
figured Ms. Allie knew what she was talking about. Leah had never known anyone
as beautiful or womanly as Allie. “Okay. Thanks for explaining all this to me.
My dad went over the basics, but he was pretty quick and he didn’t say anything
about cramps.”

“If you ever have any questions, Leah, you can ask me. I
know what it’s like not to have someone to talk to.”

“You didn’t have a mom, either?”

“I did. I do, but we’ve never been all that close.”

“I think if my mom was alive, she’d go through all this
stuff with me.”

Ms. Allie’s eyes darted over to the window where the moon
glowed bright over the trees. “My mom was…not really there all the time.”

“What do you mean? She didn’t live with you?”

“My parents got divorced when I was eleven. I got bounced
back and forth between my parents’ houses. My mom was upset about the divorce
and I didn’t feel comfortable burdening her with my problems.”

“I thought that’s what moms were for. I don’t think she
would have thought of you as a burden.”

Allie gave Leah a smile that also looked like a frown. “She
probably didn’t, but I was young and it just seemed like she wouldn’t have
cared. I should have asked her.” She reached over and patted Leah’s knee.
“You’ll have a stepmom when Carolyn moves in.”

Leah’s stomach tightened. She didn’t think of Carolyn as a
stepmom. She didn’t think of Carolyn at all. “I guess.”

“Are you excited about having a woman around the house?”

Leah shrugged and looked away. She didn’t want to lie to
Allie, but she didn’t want to admit she was dreading Carolyn living in their
house and taking her dad’s attention away. “Sort of.”

“My dad remarried a few years after my parents split up, so
I had a stepmom. Of course, I also had my real mom, so it wasn’t quite the
same.”

“I still have my real mom.”

“I know you do, sweetie.”

“My dad talks about her all the time. I know I was only four
when she died, but I feel like I know her. I feel like she lives here, too.”

“She doesn’t have to move out just because Carolyn is moving
in.”

Leah got up to pace when she couldn’t sit still. “He already
took her picture down from his nightstand.” She turned to face Allie. “How
could he do that? They didn’t get divorced. She died. She didn’t want to leave
us, but God needed her in heaven.”

Ms. Allie pivoted on the bed to face Leah where she stood by
her desk. “Do you think your mom would want your dad to be alone for the rest
of his life?”