hope their minds are so addled they won't notice the difference," Maya suggested brightly.
Selene glared. "That's weak, even for you. All right, spill, girlfriend. Is that Viking of yours giving you grief?"
Maya worked her shoulders edgily beneath the gauzy layers of her dress. "The world's giving me grief. It's nothing new. Alexa's father showed up today."
"And you didn't tell me?" Selene shrieked. "Girl, what did you do?"
"Nothing, yet." Maya stood and reached for the door. "Look, I've got to get the kids to the doctor. I'll tell Axell about the road condemnation thing, though right about now, I'd say he ought to be sick and tired of all my problems."
"Does that musician fellow want you back?" Selene demanded shrewdly. "Is that the problem? You're regretting playing yuppie lady already?"
Maya tilted her head and thought about it. "No, I'm not exactly regretting it. Axell will be a much better father, if only because he'll be there and Stephen wouldn't. I'm just wondering if I should have steered clear of men altogether. They mess up my mind."
"Your mind's already messed, but I agree, men don't help it none. Maybe you should go back to living at the store until you work it out."
"Repay Axell for all his hard work by moving out? I don't think so. Besides, he's installed Stephen in the apartment."
"One round for the white boy." Selene whistled appreciatively. "I thought the place was still closed for repairs."
"Axell thinks we'll get a clean inspection next week. I suppose, if Stephen isn't paying rent, maybe his staying there doesn't count. If I dawdle around long enough, perhaps he'll get tired of waiting and leave me alone. Stephen never hangs around long."
"Oh, no doubt you'll wiggle your way out of this, too, but someday, you're going to hit that wall, girl, and you'll have to face a few realities."
"Yeah, thanks, I needed that reminder on a day like today." With a wry twist of her lips, Maya went to collect the kids.
And with her luck, she supposed she wouldn't see the wall until she ran slap bang into it.
* * *
Axell walked into the kitchen as Maya was clearing the table after supper. She caught Matty's glass as he threw it at the dishwasher in his haste to get a hug before Constance did.
"I thought you were eating at the restaurant," she said as noncommittally as she could with her heart banging through her rib cage. Axell didn't exactly have his "happy" face on, but he bent and hugged Matty, as if he were an old hand at dispensing hugs.
"I thought maybe we should talk," he said in the same offhand manner.
Maya glanced up sharply at Constance's snicker, but Axell's expression remained bland. She waved a dirty fork at her stepdaughter. Stepdaughter. She'd never thought to have such a thing, but that was the right legal term, she was certain. "You need to pick out your clothes for tomorrow. Matty, you, too."
Prepared to protest, Constance caught her father's eye, thought better of it, and grabbed Matty's hand. "We'll both wear dragons tomorrow," she said defiantly, dragging Matty after her.
"You never did tell me how you got Constance to dress on her own." Voice still neutral, Axell helped clear the rest of the table.
Baby Alexa was awake but not protesting yet. Maya straightened her in the infant seat rather than face Axell. "It was just her means of getting your attention for a few extra minutes a day. Kids have weird ways of striking back when all's not well in their universe. After she picks out her clothes, I go in and compliment her choice, find a barrette or ribbon that matches, discuss what the other kids are wearing, and she's happy."
"Are you telling me this now so I'll know how to handle the problem after you leave?" he asked quietly.
The glass in Maya's hand smashed to the floor with the same effect as the bombshell Axell had dropped. She stared at it stupidly for all of a minute before bending over to clean it up while furtively glancing up to her husband. Her husband. She was having a hard time adjusting to these labels. This one diminished her somehow, as if she weren't a whole person in her own right any longer.
"What on earth made you ask that?" she demanded, almost angrily. She'd had enough confusion from her own head for one day. She didn't need his.
Axell grabbed the infant-seat handle and Maya's elbow with almost the same motion. "You look beat.