Free Headhunters by Charlie Cole Page A

my answer
was right or not or sensitive or not, but it was the truth and I hoped that
Alaina could see that.
    “No… she’s not,” Alaina said and for a moment I envisioned
her as my own daughter and how life would be when Melissa was older.
    “That’s true,” I confessed. “And I’m okay with that.”
    Alaina looked at me quizzically.
    “I’m not trying to replace Claire, okay?” I said. “I’m not
trying to find a mother for David or Melissa… I’m not trying to replace you…
I’m just trying… I’m just trying to be happy, Alaina. I’ve spent a lot of time
being unhappy. And I didn’t like it much. I didn’t like what it did to me. What
it did to us… So, I want to be happy… and right now, more than anything, I need
a friend… okay?”
    Alaina had the hint of a tear in her eye and I didn’t want
to get her started. She nodded and hugged me. We were okay, I thought. We’d be
okay.
    “No promises,” she said, but her voice was light and sweet.
    “No promises,” I agreed. We walked back to the dining room
together just in time to see Jessica blowing on Melissa’s stomach and making
her shriek in laughter. “Although she does do that extremely well…”
    Jessica shot me a withering look that told me to shut the
hell up and I took her hint. She could hold her own, hold a tune… and hold onto
me… She was someone I wanted in my life.
    Later, after the presents had been unwrapped and the plates
cleared, Jessica decided it was time for her to go. Alaina caught Jess in the
doorway and thanked her for coming and gave her one of those hugs that only
women can seem to pull off with one another. David and Mel joined quickly and
hugged Jess, each one latching on to one of her legs.
    “Can you come over next week?” David asked.
    “And we can have a tea party and dress up my dolls and watch
Dora the Explorer and finger paint and…” Melissa kept talking and Jess kept
listening, but looked up at me and smiled warmly. I shrugged. This was my life
and what I’d come to realize I’d truly wanted.
    They said their good-byes and I walked Jess to her car.
    “Thanks for coming,” I said. I couldn’t help but smile when
I looked at her.
    “Was it okay?” she asked. She saw the kids and Alaina
watching from the door and waved at them. They waved back and Alaina gave us a
little grin,  pulled the kids inside and closed the door to give us a moment of
privacy.
    “Was it okay that I was here today?”
    “I couldn’t imagine it without you,” I replied.
    “You’ve got cute kids…”
    “Want them?” I asked.
    Jessica grinned, blushed and looked away. I wondered if I’d
said too much, crossed a line that I shouldn’t have. We’d been fast friends at
the beginning and it had only grown since then. We stood there in the August
heat, letting the warmth of the day hang between us, clinging to us, holding us
close.
    “It was perfect having you here,” I said, hoping to add some
finality to my approval. “You’re the best.”
    Jessica smiled and I enjoyed just watching her. The dimples
in her cheeks as her smile spread. The way she pulled her hair back over her
ear when it fell into her eyes. Suddenly I felt like we were standing closer
together than we had a moment before and I wondered who had moved, her or me.
    “You really ought to give them separate birthday parties,”
Jessica said offhandedly. “They’re old enough… they’re their own little people
now, you know?”
    I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out.
Jess saw me floundering. She reached up and put a hand on my cheek and gave me
a quick peck on the lips. It wasn’t our first kiss… Our first kiss had been in
a stairwell at the office. We’d paused for a moment, passing each other on the
stairs and stopped to talk. She had told me that she was sorry that she hadn’t
emailed me the night before and I’d told her it was fine, it was nice to see
her just then and before I knew it… before either of us knew