The Daddy Audition

“I’m talking family.” Andy leaned forward, his bright blue eyes fixed on his son. “If you had a wife and kids to come home to, you wouldn’t be so interested in always working late.” He sat back. “Not that I’m pressuring you or anything—just making an observation.”

“Dad, what brought this on?” Jack asked. Andy wasn’t inclined to make impromptu lectures on serious subjects.

Andy looked sheepish. “Aww, Maggie Calloway’s youngest is pregnant with Maggie’s fourth grandchild, and your mother is getting antsy. She asked me to put a bug in your ear.”

Jack laughed, relieved that the explanation was a familiar one. “Tell Mom I’m sufficiently bugged. And she shouldn’t worry. I plan on getting married one day—when the right woman comes along.”

Andy nodded, and his gaze shifted to the view of the mountains afforded by the expanse of glass to their right. “See anybody you know at the theater last night?” he asked.

The tension immediately returned to Jack’s shoulders. Apparently the impending arrival of another grandchild for his mom’s best friend wasn’t the only trigger for this conversation. “Tanya was there,” he said.

“I hear she’s doing a good job with the theater and the Arts Center,” Andy said. “Folks say we were lucky to get someone with her experience.”

Tanya’s stint in Hollywood had certainly given her some impressive acting credentials, though from what he could see, her time out there had changed her in other ways he didn’t view as favorably. The brittle, sophisticated woman who had confronted him last night wasn’t the sweet, laughing girl he remembered.

“I always liked Tanya,” his dad continued. “I was glad to hear she’d come back to town.”

“Enough, Dad. Tanya and I are not going to get back together.”

“Who said anything about the two of you getting back together?” His dad tried but failed to master an innocent look. “The two of you were good friends at one time. There’s nothing wrong with renewing an old friendship.”

He and Tanya had been a lot more than friends. Tanya had practically been part of the Crenshaw family. In fact, everyone had assumed she would be part of the family as soon as a wedding could be arranged. Everyone, apparently, except Tanya herself.

“Let’s change the subject, okay?” Jack said. “What do you have planned for today?”

“I thought I’d help the boys get that booth set up for the Humane Society for their fund-raiser tomorrow,” he said.

Jack nodded. Weeks ago, his dad had volunteered them to donate construction of a booth to house the Humane Society’s display for a festival. Andy had drilled into Jack the importance of giving back to the community. Jack also suspected these projects were yet another effort to encourage him to circulate among eligible females. “That’s great, Dad. I appreciate your help.”

Andy rose from his chair. “Do me a favor, son. Take off early tonight and go out and have some fun.”

“Don’t worry, Dad.” He kept a smile on his face until his father left the room, then he let out a breath and collapsed back in his chair. Fun. He had half a dozen major projects under way, bids to prepare for a new condo development, and a leak to fix in his roof, and his dad was concerned he wasn’t having enough fun. Well, there was a time and a place for fun and Jack didn’t think this was it.

Unbidden, his mind flashed an image of Tanya standing before him last night—arms folded, lips pursed, tension radiating from her like mist from a pond on a frosty morning. She hadn’t looked as if she was enjoying life much at that moment, either.

The two of them had had a lot of fun at one time. He recalled one evening, not long before graduation. Her parents had driven to California with her brother, Ian, who was reporting to Marine boot camp, leaving Tanya home alone with the family dog for protection and company. Tanya had invited Jack to spend the night with her, a wholly illicit and thrilling invitation. They’d sat in the hot tub under a soft fall of late spring snow, then made love in her bedroom by the light of a full moon pouring through the window.

He shook himself out of his reverie. Not one month after that magical night, Tanya had gone off to Hollywood to live her dream. He’d stayed home and worked hard to rebuild his.

And now she was back. Her dream had apparently changed. He told himself he didn’t care, but the fact that he was brooding over it proved he did. Memories of the girl she’d been and curiosity about the woman she was distracted him from mundane paperwork.

So what did he do now? Did he go back to avoiding her? Did he confront her about what had happened between them years ago? Or did he risk making a fool of himself and seek her out again, to see if there was any spark left in their old flame?

“MOMMY, I REALLY WANT to get a puppy!” Annie tugged on Tanya’s hand as they made their way Saturday morning past refreshment booths and games of chance at the Gunnison County Humane Society’s Summer Festival.

“Annie, we’ve talked about this before,” Tanya said. “Grandma and Grandpa already have a dog. It wouldn’t be fair to Misty to bring another dog into her house.”

“But Misty’s old,” Annie said. “I want a puppy. And I bet Misty would like a puppy.”

“No, sweetheart. No puppies.”

“We can at least look, can’t we?”

Tanya thought “just looking” at the cute, cuddly puppies the Humane Society had for adoption was a very bad idea. She was as susceptible as the next person to the allure of furry fuzz balls, but having to depend on her parents for a place to live was bad enough without introducing anything else into the already crowded house.

But it was too late for her protests to have any effect on Annie. The little girl had already spotted the large wooden booth with the banner that proclaimed Adoptions: Take Home a New Best Friend Today.

Annie let go of her mother’s hand and raced to the booth, where she almost collided with Angela and her boyfriend, Bryan Perry, who was the assistant manager of the Elevation Hotel. “Whoa! Annie, Fo-Fanny, where are you headed in such a rush?” Angela asked.

“I came to see the puppies.” Annie flashed a shy smile at Bryan. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re thinking about adopting a dog,” Bryan said. He nodded to Tanya as she joined them.

“Bryan wants a big dog he can take hiking,” Angela said. “While I’d like something small and fluffy that could be a mascot for my shop.” Angela ran the Chocolate Moose, a candy shop on Elk Avenue.

“I’m telling you, a chocolate lab would be the perfect dog,” Bryan said. “You could name him Cocoa or Hershey.”

“I was thinking of a little bichon,” Angela said. “I could call it Sugar.”

Bryan looked nauseated at the idea. “It doesn’t have to be a chocolate lab,” he said, “but please—we have to get something I’m not ashamed to take out with the guys. It has to be a dog that can get dirty.”

Angela laughed and slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. “Maybe instead of us choosing the dog, we’ll let it choose us,” she said.

“I want a puppy,” Annie said, “but Mama won’t let me have one.”

“Oh?” Angela’s eyes met Tanya’s.

“I’m sure Angela will let you play with her puppy all you want,” Tanya said. She stroked the top of Annie’s head. As a baby, Annie had been practically bald; Stuart had made fun of the little hair bands and ribbons Tanya had insisted the baby wear. Even then, strangers had sometimes mistaken her for a boy. No chance of that now—pink was Annie’s favorite color, and she never met a ruffle she didn’t like.

“All you people lingering on the outside of the booth, come in here and see what you’re missing.” A woman’s voice on the PA startled them. Tanya looked over and saw a petite woman with a cap of platinum hair waving at them.

“Casey, are you trying to embarrass us into adopting a pet?” Angela called.

“Hey, whatever works.” Casey Overbridge held up a ball of brown fluff. “These guys need homes.”

“Ohh! Let me hold it!” Annie ran forward, and by the time Tanya and the others had followed her into the booth, she had two puppies snuggled under her chin.

Tanya watched in dismay, anticipating the meltdown that was almost guaranteed when she tried to separate the pups from her daughter. Just then, something wet and icy cold touched her hand. She flinched, and looked to see a large, shaggy white dog grinning up at her.

“That’s Marshmallow,” Casey said. “The pups’ mom. She’s up for adoption, too.”

“Oh, Bryan!” Angela dropped to her knees beside the white mutt. “Isn’t she sweet?”

“She’s certainly big.” Bryan patted the dog’s side. “What kind is she?”

“Maybe part sheepdog or Great Pyrenees?” Casey shrugged. “All mutt. But very sweet. She’s only two and very healthy.”

“Marshmallow would be a good name for a candy-shop dog,” Angela said.