Toys and Baby Wishes Read online

  He disappeared down a narrow hall that led to a partitioned-off section she assumed was the bedroom.

  Looking around curiously, she studied the man through his decor. A whimsical mobile of airplanes dangled in one corner. The extra long sofa and chair trimmed with oak were covered in a beige and navy quilted fabric. Some type of board game sat on the narrow antique cobbler's bench. Navy blue drapes were drawn across the windows. Lexa wondered how often Josh used the miniature basketball backboard and net that stood in one corner. She sank down on the chair next to a three-foot high old fashioned gum ball machine and smiled.

  She liked everything she knew about Josh. It was a shame they couldn't... She remembered the pain when Richard had said to her, "I love you. But I want children. And if you can't give them to me, we don't have a future." When she'd brought up adoption he'd said, "I want my own children." He'd left. He'd walked out. She'd been so hurt, so angry. And the rejection still hurt. Sometimes she only felt like half a woman. She tried to tell herself that wasn't so. She tried to tell herself the right man could accept her as she was.

  Why was she even thinking about it? She was simply going to tour a toy store.

  If Josh wasn't on his way out.

  Her thoughts of Richard brought back the shadows of the years spent with her step-mother Loretta. How many people

  only wanted to love their own children? Lexa knew she'd love Dani's child with so much love he or she would never feel abandoned or as if they were a burden.

  Lexa stood when she heard Josh's footsteps in the hallway. His oxford shirt was open at the collar, the sleeves rolled up. His black jeans emphasized his trim physique. With his hair still damp, he was as sexy as a poster idol.

  "Did you come for the grand tour?"

  "Yes, but if you're busy...."

  He grinned. "Not a plan in the world."

  He didn't bother with a coat, but led her out the door, down the steps and around to the front of the store like an eager kid ready to show off his prized possession.

  As they strolled down the aisles, Josh smiled at the employees they passed and the few remaining customers. Lexa stopped to look at a display of crystals a child could grow in a dish pan, a telescope powerful enough to see the craters on the moon in detail, an ant farm with live ants. There were the usual toddler toys, blocks and stuffed animals, plus sundry electronics and skateboards.

  But what really caught her attention were the crib mobiles hanging from fixtures on the top shelf. She stopped to examine one made of cloth. Animals floated from a circus big top. Thinking out loud, she said, "I like the ones that play music."

  Josh took her elbow and led her to another section of the shelf. "Look at this one." He wound the center and Brahms' lullaby played sweetly. As Lexa checked the shapes on the mobile, Josh took a box from the stack and shook off the lid. "This mobile changes with the child."

  Lexa picked up a plastic ball textured with bumps on its surface.

  Josh explained, "The pieces are interchangeable. Every few months, you change them to meet the child's developmental stages. More color, more texture, more interest. And look at these busy boxes with the lights and music."

  Lexa reached for a toy that could hang on the playpen or crib. When she pushed a button, a clown danced. When she slid a piece of plastic to one side, it revealed a mirror on the other. She pushed another button and the toy mooed like a cow.

  She laughed. "This is terrific. I'll have to--" She stopped.

  "Do you have someone you want to buy this for? We have different types. I can show you the others."

  She laid the busy box on its display holder. "No. I just think they're educational."

  Josh gave her a long look. When she didn't say anything more, he pointed to table displaying radio controlled cars. "Let me show you my favorite."

  Lexa strolled behind him intrigued by his enthusiasm. She'd made a mistake coming here today. Josh was too...likeable for her piece of mind. He didn't just own a toy store. He enjoyed owning a toy store.

  Josh picked up a display model that looked like a black Jaguar with orange markings. He crouched on the floor and pressed the control. The car veered to the right, slightly to the left, then zoomed down to the long aisle at top speed.

  Lexa hopped out of the way. "I didn't know they could go that fast!"

  Josh stood, the control still in hand. "That was slow. You should see us race them."

  "Us?"

  "I'm the moderator for a radio car club. The kids get together twice a month and race their cars."

  Kids. He did like kids or he wouldn't spend his free time with them. He liked kids and toys and...

  "Lexa?"

  "What?" She suddenly realized she'd missed a question.

  "Would you like to come watch sometime? As long as the weather holds, we race them in the back lot."

  "Here?"

  "In the winter we borrow a school gymnasium. Next year I don't know what we'll do." He pushed a button and the car came back toward him.

  "Why? Is there a problem?"

  "I've started talking with a contractor about expanding the store. We'll be adding on in the back and it will cut the macadam space in half." Josh picked up the car and put it on the table.

  "Business is that good? I thought all retail sales were down."

  Josh stooped down and picked up the car. "Maybe it's because we're smaller than the chains, but with seasonal incentives and our party planner campaign, we're doing great."

  "What's the party planner campaign?"

  "We have a website with a register. A parent comes to us with a list so all the child's friends and relatives know what he wants and they don't duplicate presents or buy something that has to be returned. And then we give a package deal on party plans. For instance, if they want a Ninja Turtles theme, we coordinate paper goods, prizes, favors, balloons. We've been doing this for a year and the response has been unbelievable."

  "Who takes care of all this?"

  "I have two people who coordinate it. I'll have to put somebody else on it for Christmas, maybe two. We're going to try the lists for Christmas and see how it goes. Stores who give personal service have an edge on the market these days because service is hard to find. And if the last six months are any indication, next year at this time I'll be thinking about hiring more employees at the Harrisburg store."

  When they turned down another aisle, Josh pulled a box from a shelf and grinned mischievously. "Come into the back with me and we'll try this."

  "Can't we try it here?"

  "You'll be safe with me in the storeroom," he kidded. "I promise I'll leave the lights on."

  She laughed. "You bet you will or I'll tell Clare." The idea of her and Josh in a dark storeroom gave her a pleasant shiver. As she gazed into his eyes, the connection between them was too strong to ignore.

  But she did her best and lowered her gaze to the box in his hands.

  His voice was husky. "You have to set this on a flat surface. Come on."

  The storeroom was a large area with stacks and stacks of shelves, cartons as yet unpacked, stray toys that were defective or damaged. Josh set the box on a workbench against the wall and pulled out the wooden box inside.

  "It's called Space Tilt," he explained, taking a small silver ball out of a plastic bag and setting it on the number one. It was really popular in the 80's. but toys cycle like everything else. A moveable piece of plastic with maze-like grooves and lines was set on top of a wooden frame. The object was to move the ball from numbers one to thirty-five by tilting the board and making sure the ball would travel along the lines, avoiding the holes.

  Lexa put her purse on the workbench and said, "You go first and show me how it works."

  Josh positioned the ball and began tilting. He made it to number eleven before the ball dropped down a hole. "I made it to twenty yesterday. I must have lost my touch."

  "Do you practice often?" She had the feeling this was a habit.

  He raised his hand in a boy scout ple
dge position. "I must confess, I try out many of the toys before we sell them. How else do I know what to reorder?"

  She laughed and took her turn at tilting. The ball fell in the hole at number five. "It's not as easy as it looks. Let me try again."

  He chuckled. "I'll warn you, it's as addictive as a video game. You keep attempting to beat your own score."

  It was addictive. The more Lexa tried it, she wanted to try again. As soon as she was able to match Josh's skill, she and Josh took turns. Josh had reached twenty three and Lexa nineteen when Josh looked at his watch. "We've been at this an hour. You must be starved!" He let his eyes wander from the lapels of her wine colored suit to her grey kid pumps. "Let alone uncomfortable. I don't see how women wear those high heels."

  "I'm used to them. But my toes are beginning to pinch." She checked her watch. "I do have to go."

  "Have supper with me. I can whip up some omelets--a salad."

  Oh, how she'd like to. She hadn't enjoyed time with a man this much in years. But she couldn't. Not safely. If she stayed, she might want to stay longer. "I can't. But thanks for the tour. You really love the store, don't you?"

  "Business management can be a dry field. I wanted to use my skills with something I enjoy. I didn't want to dread coming to work. And I don't. Ever." He winked. "Besides, owning the store will be great when I have five kids and can bring home the toys at a wholesale price."

  Five kids. She'd been right about him. That meant he was wrong for her. She smiled politely. "Well, thanks again for the tour. If I know anyone who need toys, I'll certainly recommend your store."

  She retrieved her purse from the worktable. "Say hello to Clare if you see her before I do. I'd like to help her move, but I'm going to visit my sister this weekend."

  "Do you do that often?"

  She'd been doing it more lately, so Dani could talk if she needed to. "About twice a month." Lexa checked her watch again. "I do have to go. I'll probably see you around."

  He nodded. "I'll walk you to the door."

  Lexa walked beside him, aware of his appeal, his rugged handsomeness, the pull toward him. She told herself she knew what was best for both of them.

  ***

  Lexa entered her apartment Monday evening and dropped her briefcase on the floor with a tired sigh. She needed to catch up on sleep from the weekend. She and Dani had talked late into the night Saturday. Her sister and Rob had broken up for good. Lexa sighed. Dani was unhappy without him. She was young and in love and didn't want that love to end. Her pregnancy was a reminder the love hadn't been strong enough to survive.

  But Dani was sure about the adoption. She didn't want to raise the baby alone.

  Lexa checked her answering machine and found several hang-up calls. She'd gone to the kitchen for a glass of juice when her cell phone rang.

  "Lexa, it's Clare. I called before but you know how I hate to leave a message."

  "I had a meeting at the Y and turned off my phone."

  "Oh, I forgot you do that Mondays. Must be senility."

  Lexa smiled. "Not even when you're a hundred and three. Are you moved?"

  "Moved but not unpacked."

  "I can help if you'd like."

  "Josh is coming over tomorrow night."

  "Uh, I'm busy tomorrow."

  "You have another meeting?"

  "No, but--"

  "I need to talk to you and Josh."

  Before Lexa left for Penn State, Clare had told her she had plenty of help to move. Josh had arranged for help from his store. So Clare had wished Lexa a happy weekend and told her to have fun. Lexa had been relieved Clare didn't need her help because she didn't want to see Josh again. She didn't want anything to start between them. She had the feeling it could.

  But if Clare had a problem....

  "What time would you like me to be there?"

  "We'll have a pot luck supper. Come around six. Or is that too early?"

  "No. My last appointment is four-thirty. I'll come after that."

  Lexa said good-bye to Clare and closed her phone. There was no earthly reason why she and Josh couldn't be friendly.

  ***

  Lexa mounted the steps to Clare's new house. It was sixty years old and nestled between tall spruce trees set far back from the street. There was already a fresh coat of paint on the door trim. The brass knocker was engraved with Friendship House. Clare had said something about getting black shutters for the windows to dress up the white siding, but that wasn't in the budget until spring.

  Lexa lifted the knocker and let it fall twice. When no one answered, she tried the knob, found it unlocked, and stepped into the long living room.

  Josh was arguing with his aunt. "I told you I'd hang the drapes."

  Clare glowered at him from the three-foot step ladder. "You were busy replacing the light fixture upstairs."

  "Can't stay out of trouble, can you?"

  Lexa felt awkward, overhearing.

  Clare looked up and saw her. "Lexa! Good. Now you can help me keep Josh in line. What am I going to do with him? He keeps treating me as if I were ninety-nine, frail and an invalid."

  "I do not. I just want you to use your common sense."

  "My common sense and yours must be different."

  Josh let out a frustrated sigh. "Will you please get down from the ladder?"

  "I'm not finished."

  Lexa crossed to them and said softly, "She has two more pins to clip. You could hold the ladder steady until she does."

  Josh didn't look as if he appreciated her interference. But he did as she suggested. He asked his aunt, "Are there any more drapes to hang?"

  Clare gave the curtains a critical look and climbed down. "No. Everything's done except to bring a few boxes from my bedroom to the living room. I can do that tomorrow. Jim and Trudy will help me unpack."

  Josh shook his head with affectionate exasperation. "What am I going to do with you?"

  "Put up with me because I'm not going to change."

  Lexa laughed. "Score one for Clare."

  Josh suppressed a smile and held her eyes with his. "Whose side are you on?"

  "Does anybody ever win these go-arounds?" Lexa asked, taking off her jacket and laying it over a stack of boxes.

  "I do," they chorused in unison.

  Clare closed the stepladder and leaned it against the wall. "I made barbecued hamburger and pasta salad. I hope you're in the mood for a picnic because in this atmosphere, that's all you'll get. Everyone else is out for the moment."

  "What can we do?" Lexa asked.

  "Follow me to the kitchen."

  Josh motioned in front of him. "Ladies first."

  Lexa had tried to forget the quicksilver sparkle that danced in his eyes.

  The kitchen was a bright room with birch cabinets and blue-checked café curtains at the windows. Clare took a few placemats from a drawer and spread them over the maple table. "Josh, get the food out of the refrigerator. Lexa, silverware is in the drawer beside the sink."

  As Josh went to the refrigerator, Lexa passed in front of him. Her hip brushed his. Their gazes met. Lord, he seemed to see right through her. Flustered, she turned away and pulled out the drawer. She'd find out what Clare wanted, eat, and run. She did have to make a few calls.

  "So, Clare. Why did you need to see me and Josh?" She looked at Josh. "Or do you already know?"

  He set a tray of fresh vegetables and a casserole of pasta salad on the table. "No, we've been too busy to talk."

  Clare smoothed out creases in the tablecloth. "Lexa, do you know anything about the financial advisor who talked to the seniors?"

  Lexa grabbed napkins from the pack lying on the counter. "I went to see him the next day to find out his qualifications. He said he graduated from Temple with a degree in accounting. There was a diploma on the wall, but something about him doesn't ring true."

  "Mary was here this afternoon. She was thinking about investing money from C.D.'s that were up for renewal. She went to Mr. Stanley to see what h
e thought. He advised her against it. He proposed she put her money into an adult community. Leisureville, she called it. It's in Florida and just getting started. There's a swimming pool, tennis, shuffleboard, a social club. There are plans to start another in South Carolina and Texas, too. She can invest as little as two thousand dollars or as much as she wants. And if she invests now, she gets her name on a list. If she wants to buy one of the houses, she would get first choice. Stanley says she'll earn more interest than she could hope to get on C.D.'s, a money market account or a mutual fund."

  Lexa had been listening carefully as she placed silverware in their proper setting at the small dinette table. "Can she afford to risk her money?"

  Josh shrugged. "Maybe it's not much of a risk. If it's run by a stable corporation, it would be like a bond or a real estate investment trust."

  "I'd like to know the name of the company so it could be checked out with a rating service," Lexa said, obviously worried.

  "But wouldn't Mr. Stanley have done that?" Clare looked perplexed.

  Lexa took the plastic wrap from the food Josh had brought to the table. "He should have." Lexa began thinking out loud. "Unless he has an ax to grind. Some interest of his own. But then he wouldn't be advising in good faith."

  "I know, you don't like his eyes," Josh remembered. The hairs on Lexa's neck prickled. She also remembered her proximity to Josh, his warm breath on her cheek when he'd asked her what she thought of his eyes.

  Josh fished serving spoons from a drawer. "Most people

  are still babes in the woods when it comes to finances. And they can't tell a scam when they hear it. I have a friend who's a detective in the police department. Maybe he can make a check on Stanley and find out if he's legitimate. There are too many con artists out there who prey on the elderly."

  Lexa was glad Josh wasn't dismissing his aunt's concerns. With a contact in the police department, he could probably get farther than she could.

  Supper with Josh and Clare was an experience for Lexa. Josh and his aunt laughed, argued, and joked freely with no undercurrents or hostilities. It was different from her own family. When she went home, she and Dani ate quietly with their father and only engaged in polite conversation. Lexa was worried how her father was going to take the news that Dani was pregnant.