2. Illawarra Flame Ch. 04-06

CHAPTER FOUR

On Saturday Tyler went over to Sam and Emma's place early to help them set up for Grace's birthday party. Sam's parents had flown out for it. They were so weird. They were friendly and he liked them well enough, but between the two of them they had less than an ounce of personality. Once he'd met them he understood why Sam was the way he was. He was damn lucky that he had Emma, that's for sure.

Tyler loved Sam like a brother, they'd been friends for years, but before Emma had come along the term 'wet blanket' was probably the best description for him. Sam was a good person; kind, intelligent, responsible and hardworking, but he didn't have any flair. Once Emma came onto the scene that all changed, he relaxed, he joked, he was fun to be around. Before Emma had shown up on their doorstep that rainy winter night Sam had never once called him anything except Tyler, within weeks they were calling him Gray.

Tyler couldn't believe he'd volunteered to do the face painting, he wasn't any good at art, he was vandalizing this poor child's face. She'd asked for a butterfly, she looked like someone had vomited on her. He was trying really hard not to laugh.

'Do you want sparkles?" He asked her.

She nodded excitedly. She had no idea what she was getting herself in for.

Tyler got out the special sparkle goo stick and started globbing it on her face randomly. Now she looked like a fairy had thrown up on her face.

'Oh, it's beautiful," he told her.

'Can I see?" She asked.

'Not yet, I need to check my work," he said. He leaned back and regarded her, pretending to survey his art.

'I think that one deserves a photo," it came from a woman's voice behind him.

He turned around, looking up from where he was sitting. It was Maya, god she looked amazing. He had never seen her in anything but a business suit before, which was fine, but now she was wearing a blue summer dress that hugged her figure in all of the right places. For the first time he appreciated how hard she must work to cover herself up for the office. She had an amused look on her face.

'It is one of my finer pieces," he told her with a grin.

'Can I see it now?" The little girl asked.

He turned back to the kid. 'I'm sorry but the mirror is broken, just trust me, it's gorgeous."

She looked disappointed, her bottom lip stuck out.

'Go and ask you mom what she thinks of it, I'm sure she'll be happy," he said as he lifted her off the chair and put her on the ground. He watched as she walked across the back yard and pulled on a woman's skirt. The woman's hand came to her mouth in shock.

Tyler laughed. He turned back to Maya, 'I'm afraid that Emma's handiwork on Grace's face is causing some unrealistically high expectations."

She was smiling down at him, she had nice teeth, straight and white.

'Would you like your face painted? As you've seen butterflies are my specialty, but I can also do fairies, flowers and dragons."

'That was a butterfly?" She laughed. 'Thanks, but I think I'll pass."

'Can I get one mommy?" Nicholas was standing beside her.

She nodded and Tyler lifted him into the seat.

'You have a propensity for tickling," Nicholas told him.

Tyler was taken aback, it had been weeks since he'd seen this child, how did he remember that word, propensity?

'Yes, I do, and you have a very good memory."

Nicholas nodded at him solemnly.

'Okay, what do you want?" Tyler asked him.

'Spiderman," he replied.

'Ah, of course. You're in luck, I paint an excellent Spiderman." Tyler had no idea how to make this kid into Spiderman, he seemed to remember a red and blue outfit with webs on it.

He got the face paint labeled 'red' out and started sloshing it onto Nicholas' face. His deep brown almond shaped eyes stared at him steadily. When the kids face was almost completely covered in red paint he sat back. What next? What about those spider webs? He took the black face crayon and considered where to start. Probably in the center. He started drawing spider webs in a radial pattern about Nicholas' face.

He sat back to regard his work. 'Oh, it's coming along nicely Nicholas, I think you're going to be very happy," he said.

He heard Maya chuckle beside him.

There was something missing. The red paint and black lines didn't make him look like a superhero, they made him look like a basketball. What was missing?

He felt Maya's hip bump against his shoulder, he looked up at her.

'Goggles," she whispered.

Of course, that's what was missing. He took the blue paint and drew a pair of large fly-eye goggles around Nicholas' eyes. It was better but it was still a very long way off. He had an idea.

'Don't move a muscle," he told Nicholas. 'This piece requires a prop, I'll be back in a second."

He got up and winked at Maya as he walked into the house. He went to the laundry and pulled out the box of swimming crap that Sam kept in there, the gear companies were always trying to push their latest and greatest on you. He pulled out a couple of pairs of goggles and chose a pair with a blue tint.

Back out in the backyard he pulled them from their packaging and sized them up beside Nicholas' face. He used his teeth to remove the extra tabs in the nose piece so that they wouldn't rub.

'You are going to be the coolest kid at this whole party," he told him as he adjusted the goggles on his head, making sure that they were pretty loose so he wouldn't get a headache.

He was rewarded with a big smile. It was very cute.

Tyler smiled back at him and nodded his head in approval. 'Very cool."

'What do you say Nicholas?" Maya asked.

'Thank you Tyler," he said.

'Any time champ," Tyler replied as he picked him up out of the chair and put him on the ground. 'If you need a touch up, you know who to come to." Nicholas toddled off to show himself off to the other kids.

Tyler stood up and looked down at Maya as well as he could without being rude. Her hair was held up loosely with a clip and her sundress had thin straps that exposed delicate shoulders. There was a graceful curve to her long neck and the sunshine highlighted her elegant collarbones. Tyler had always been a sucker for a woman's neck and Maya had an extraordinarily beautiful one.

He should have known. Maya's face had beautiful bone structure, she had high cheekbones and a straight petite nose. Women with nice bone structure usually had attractive necks and Maya was no exception.

'Thanks," she said.

He was confused, 'For what?"

'For painting his face."

Tyler grinned, 'What can I say, I have a talent. It would be a shame not to share it with the world."

She laughed. 'Just don't quit your day job, okay?"

A little boy was tapping on Tyler's leg. 'Can I have a Spiderman too?" He asked.

'Absolutely," said Tyler. He turned back to Maya, 'It looks like your son is a trendsetter."

She smiled at him again, Tyler liked this Maya even better than the one at the office. 'I'd better go and mingle," she said as she walked off.

He watched her back as she walked away. She had prominent shoulder blades that seemed to be just the right size and set at just the right angle. He couldn't help but survey lower over her waist and hips, her body was incredibly graceful, she moved with a rare kind of elegance. He wondered if she had back dimples and quickly chastised himself for the thought.

He was kept busy for a while with more Spiderman requests, he'd given away almost all of Sam's sample goggles. If the gear company reps could see this they'd probably have a heart attack, there were little kids wandering around the yard in top of the line racing goggles that would retail for well over $100.

Once he'd retired from face painting he found her again. He wanted to talk to her, to see her smile and make her laugh again.

'Are you done face painting?" She asked. 'Such a shame."

'Yes, a short but illustrious career, as you can see by the fine examples of my work in front of you."

'Mmm, I never knew you were a man of such varied talents."

He tried to read her expression, was she flirting? 'Oh you don't know the half of it, you should see me play the Ukulele," he replied.

She raised her eyebrows, 'You play the Ukulele?"

'Almost as well as I paint children's faces."

He got it, she laughed. Tyler smiled, he'd never taken so much delight in making somebody laugh before.

'Did you meet Sam's parents?" He asked, nodding towards where they were sitting playing with Grace.

'Uh-huh."

'Barrel of laughs, those two."

She gave him a questioning look, 'I thought they seemed nice. Reserved, but nice."

'You're right, I was being ungenerous." Tyler still hadn't gotten over the way that they'd treated Sam and Emma when they first gotten together. Things had gotten better in the last couple of years, especially since they'd had Grace, but there was still a lot of hurt going around in that family.

'Sam and Emma are taking them out for dinner tonight," he said.

'Oh, I guess you're looking after the children?"

He nodded, he was looking straight into her eyes. Please offer to stay, he thought.

There was a pause.

'Do you need help?"

'I don't need it, but if it's offered I might like it."

Jesus, Tyler's heart was beating like a maniac, he really wanted her to stay.

The corners of her mouth turned up. 'I could help," she said.

'Really? That would be awesome because playing computer games with Zach takes up a lot of my attention, and you are probably much better at changing shitty diapers."

Her eyes narrowed and she tilted her head, she couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

He let her suffer for a few seconds before he started laughing. 'You should see your face Maya, you look like you're about to punch me in the head."

'You!' She gave him a good whack in the arm to show how ticked off she was, but she was smiling.

This time Maya knew it had been her choice to stay here with him, but she still couldn't believe that she had made it. What had happened to her resolve to keep things strictly professional between them?

She had planned to play it cool today, but he had been staring at her so intensely, his eyes shining a deep amber in the afternoon light, and she had realized that she wanted to stay. She wanted to spend time with him.

Tyler plunked Grace and Nicholas down at one of the kitchen islands with coloring in books. They still had face paint on them. Gracie didn't look too bad, but Nicholas was a mess. At least she'd convinced him to take the goggles off.

Maya was wandering around holding Amy who was fussing and crying, she was trying to get her to settle down.

'Now Gracie," Tyler said in a serious tone. 'I don't have any of your recent work, the last time you gave me a picture was weeks ago. I want your best and most fabulous art for my fridge. Okay?"

She nodded. She looked very serious.

He turned to Nicholas. 'And Nicholas, I don't have any of your work at all. This simply will not do. How am I ever going to live with myself when you grow up to be famous and I don't have even one of your art pieces?"

'I'll make you one," he said. He was imitating Grace's seriousness but there was eagerness behind his eyes.

'Okay, good. Go nuts." He slid a tin of colored pencils in between them and they started coloring.

He was so good with the children. She liked the way he talked to them, he didn't talk down to them the way that most adults do, he didn't dumb things down.

Tyler went to the fridge and started rooting around. He pulled a foil wrapped tray out of the fridge, it had a post it not stuck on top of it. 'Oh Gracie, I think I am in love with your father," he said.

Grace giggled as she colored in her book.

He cooked the dinner, he changed the baby's diaper, he made the children laugh, he was a domestic god.

'It's Grace's bath time, do you want me to put Nicholas in with her?" He asked.

She hesitated for a second, Nicholas hated taking a bath, he was probably going to throw a fit. 'If you can get him in," she said with a shrug.

'Hey Nicholas, want to test out your Spiderman goggles?" He asked.

He had him in the tub in less than five minutes without so much as a whisper of defiance. Tyler showed him how to blow bubbles out of his nose under the water, Nicholas thought it was the best thing in the world.

Grace started crying when Tyler told her that she was only allowed to pick one bedtime storybook, she was used to choosing two. He was firm with her.

'Maria Grace stop it, Nicholas gets to choose one too, it's only fair."

She wasn't having any of it. 'I want mommy," she yelled in a huff.

'Mommy's not here. You can choose one story or you can go to bed on your own, it's up to you."

Grace chose a storybook and handed it to him, she was still pouting.

They read the stories in Grace's bed. Now Maya appreciated why Grace had a twin-sized bed, a toddler's bed would collapse under the weight of a man like Sam. She squeezed onto the bed beside Tyler with Nicholas on her lap, Tyler felt warm and solid beside her.

Sam and Emma were not out late, Tyler had just sent Zach to bed when they got home. Maya and Tyler were sitting at opposite ends of the couch, talking about the Smurfs of all things. He was arguing that Smurf society must be somewhat analogous to bees, with Smurfette being the queen bee. It was remarkable to her that Smurf society was something that anybody thought about.

Sam slumped down in the big armchair in the corner. He didn't look good, he looked pale and drained. Emma went straight to the kitchen and returned with a bottle of whiskey and a glass with ice cubes.

'Gray? Maya?" She offered them a drink.

'Pass," said Tyler. Maya shook her head.

Emma poured into the glass and handed it to Sam. She set the bottle down on the coffee table and sat on Sam's lap, curling her long limbs into the fetal position and resting her head on his chest. Sam's arms surrounded her protectively.

'That good huh?" Tyler asked. There was an edge to his voice, Maya looked at him and was surprised to find anger in his eyes. She was confused, she didn't understand what was going on.

'Not now Gray, just leave it." Sam's voice was tired.

She shouldn't be here, there was something way too personal going on right now. She stood up. 'I'd better get going," she said, 'I'll just go get Nicholas."

When she came back down stairs with Nicholas sleeping against her shoulder Tyler was waiting for her at the door with his dog. He opened it for her and followed her outside.

'Where's you car?" He asked.

'We walked," she replied.

He looked surprised. 'I didn't know you lived around here."

'Uh-huh, Fifth and Maple." It was only a few blocks away.

'I'm on Plumb and Eighth. Here," he held his arms out for Nicholas, 'you're on my way, I'll walk you."

She hadn't realized that Tyler lived so close, she wondered why Emma hadn't said anything to her about it. She gave Nicholas to him. Nicholas was getting big, he was almost thirty-five pounds, but he looked small again when Tyler held him.

They started walking towards her townhouse. It was dark, the shadows from the big maples made a speckled patchwork of moonlight on the sidewalk. It was surprisingly cold out-side, Maya pulled her cardigan closer and hugged her arms around herself.

'Do Sam's parents dislike Emma?" She asked.

'No, it's not Emma they don't like, it's their relationship."

Maya guessed that Sam's parents must be racist. She wouldn't have guessed it but she had been married to an Indian man and she knew from experience that people who were seemingly completely normal could have the strongest prejudices.

'I don't see how anybody could disapprove of their relationship once they'd seen them together. They're so connected, it's almost like they're twins or something."

Tyler was looking at her with a very odd expression on his face, his eyes were narrowed at her just slightly and his lips were pressed together.

'Did I say something wrong?" She asked.

'No, but if you want to know about Sam and Emma you'll have to ask them yourself," he said.

Well that was weird, what sort of a secret could they possibly have? The only thing that seemed abnormal about Sam and Emma was that they were completely seamless with each other.

They had their own world. Sometimes they would talk to each other and she couldn't follow because they were speaking a strange colloquial English that she'd never heard of before. Sometimes she couldn't follow because they were talking to each other without speaking. But that was just because they were so in tune with each other, she would like to believe that everyone had the ability to build that with a partner if they had the desire and the time. Maybe she would have had that with Hamid if she had more years with him? Something inside of her knew that was not true.

They walked in silence the rest of the way to her place. She opened the door and led him up to Nicholas' room, relieved that she had spent the first part of the day unpacking and tidying the townhouse.

Suddenly she felt nervous, she didn't want Tyler in her house. She didn't want to ask him if he wanted to stay for a drink, even though that was probably the polite thing to do. She had gotten the distinct impression today that he liked her, she had caught him looking at her from across the backyard more than once. She had liked it at the time and she'd even found herself wanting to flirt with him but having him in her space at this time of night was all of a sudden frightening. He was so big, if he decided that he wanted something from her there would be nothing she could do to stop him.

Fortunately once he had laid Nicholas down and pulled the covers over him he walked out of the room and straight back out of the house. Cassie the dog was waiting on the front porch for him, she was a ridiculously well trained animal.

Tyler tuned around to face Maya, he was so tall, she had to look up to see his eyes. He walked backwards down the front stairs until their eyes were level, his long arms extended to the railings on either side of him giving her the feeling that he was hugging her even though they were nowhere near touching.

Back outside she felt herself relax again. Now the thought of him touching her didn't frighten her, in fact she liked the idea, she almost wished that he would.

'Amy is going to her new family on Monday," he said.

She was surprised, Emma hadn't said anything to her about Amy leaving. 'Really, I didn't realize."

'Yeah, she's had two negative tests in a row so the family that wanted her will take her now."

'Negative tests?" She asked.

'HIV. Her biological mother is positive and when she was born she had the antibodies in her blood so they couldn't tell if she had it or not."

'So the family wouldn't take her?" She felt infuriated by the discrimination.

'Not until they knew she was negative, they have other kids."

'But Emma and Sam have other kids too," she retorted.

'Yeah but Emma and Sam are different." He paused for a second. 'So, I'll just have Grace on Wednesdays... I could take Nicholas for you if you wanted."

Maya was taken aback. It was an incredibly generous offer, she hated that Nicholas spent so much time in day care and she would love for him to spend some time with a positive male role model. But what was in it for him? Why would he want to look after Nicholas?

'Tyler, don't feel like you owe this to me, you don't owe me anything," she said.

'It's not for you, I thought Nicholas might like it," he replied.

She really liked the idea. She knew she was playing with fire in terms of her job, if anyone found out that she had as good as told Tyler not to work on Wednesdays and that he was looking after her kid there'd be hell to pay. But this was Nicholas' life, this was an amazing opportunity for him.