Chapter 21

Bright Thursdays In Geneva

Yeah, it had been a great idea. Although she didn't forget one single thing. Denny's smile, Denny's eyes, Denny's kisses were still on her mind most of the time she was awake. And when she fell asleep, she dreamt about him ... She missed him and she had a feeling that soon she would miss him even more ...
She let out a sigh. She knew she had done the right thing ... Then why did she feel guilty sometimes?
A man's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Danny! Come back here or you'll be grounded!"
She smiled realizing who it was. Danny and daddy as she had secretly dubbed them, walked in the park every Thursday around the same time she did.
When she had first heard 'daddy' calling the little boy 'Danny', which sounded so much like 'Denny' she thought fate had found yet another cruel way to mock her. But she eventually got used to the two of them walking by her bench every week.
Danny was a cute little angel with blonde curls and sky-blue eyes, while daddy was a tall young man, probably in his early thirties, who seemed a little unsettled around his kid. The boy, on the other hand, clung to him for dear life.
That was the reason why she was so surprised to see Danny running away from his father. Before he could get any further the little boy tripped and fell.
Lynn picked him up and was met with teary eyes.
"Aww, ne pleures pas, petit ... Voila"1 she said and took out a perfumed tissue from her handbag to wipe his face.
He stopped crying for a moment but then saw his father approaching and started again.
"No go home, papa!" he wailed through tears and buried his head in Lynn's sweater.
"Oh, so you speak English" Lynn observed trying to distract the child.
But his father answered for him.
"Yes, he speaks English and he's also not behaving right now. I'm sorry Madame, I'll take him" he said, but as he reached for him, Danny wailed even louder and kicked his feet like mad.
"I don't think he likes that" Lynn observed getting a hold of the boy's little feet which had barely missed her belly. "Let's sit down for a while and maybe he'll calm down" she suggested and they both sat on the bench.
"I don't know what's gotten into him. He's not usually like this" he said pointing to Danny who sat in Lynn's lap head buried in her chest still not looking at his father.
"I know he's a quiet child. I've seen you here before" Lynn said smiling.
"We've seen you, too" he said returning the smile.
He remembered the first time he had seen her so well. It had been January, right after the school term started. An older lady whom she resembled a lot accompanied her the first few times, probably her mother or older sister... His heart used to skip a beat every time he saw her and that was something that hadn't happened in a long time ...
But weeks passed by and he soon realized she was off limits.
"Really?" she asked jokingly. "I've practically witnessed your son learn to walk" she continued smiling at the memory of the wobbly Danny from a few months before.
"And I practically witnessed your baby grow" he said pointing to her belly. "Speaking of which, I hope Danny didn't hurt you ..."
"How ... um ... oh, no, I ... I'm fine" she managed to say realizing he obviously said 'Danny' not 'Denny'. Definitely forgotten, huh, Lynnie? she thought. "I've heard you calling him that" she said.
"Well, his name is actually Darius, but he's been called Danny since before he was born" he explained.
Lynn noticed something in his voice when the word 'born' came out, but couldn't really put her finger on it.
"Darius is quite an unusual name ... but a very nice one, too" she observed smiling.
"Since I already introduced my son to you, maybe it would be nice to introduce myself, too. Rudy Fuchs" he said extending his hand.
"Lynn Winston" she answered and shook his hand.
They sat in silence for a while until Rudy spoke again.
"How about the little guy over there" he said pointing to her belly, "Does he have a name yet?"
"How do you know it's a little guy?" she asked smiling once more.
"Believe me, I know. I have two. I can tell this is a little guy" he answered half serious making her laugh. It was safe to talk about kids, he wasn't flirting anyway. For Heaven's sake she was pregnant, you don't flirt with pregnant women because they're usually married, too. He glanced at her hands and noticed she didn't wear a ring or wedding band. But that didn't prove anything. Her fingers are probably swollen from being pregnant and she took the ring off ...
"You have one more son?" she asked finding it harder and harder to look away from his eyes. He had nice eyes, dark blue, slightly different from his son's. And he also had nice lips ... "Okaaay, Lynn, back off, married man" she told herself. Married being the operative word. Way more dangerous than med students. She took a quick glance at his hand. Yup, there was a wedding band.
"Yes, Max. He's 9 years old"
"I've never seen him with you two"
"He's at school. Boarding school, actually. I see him on week-ends ... Those are the only times I get to spend time with them both, plus walks in the park every Thursday with Danny ..."
"That explains why he clings to you like he's afraid you might leave him. I couldn't help noticing." she shrugged.
"Probably ..." he admitted a hint of sadness in his voice.
"I understand him completely. My parents are both doctors. Not too much time for family. But we turned out fine, my sisters and I, we had each other".
"Yeah, my boys are pretty close, too" he said.
"What about their mother? Do they get to spend time with her?" Lynn couldn't stop her curiosity.
"No. She died" he answered curtly.
"I'm sorry" Lynn said suddenly feeling bad for asking.
"Thanks" he answered.
"You know, there are two of them in store for me, too" she told him trying to lighten the mood.
"How come?" he asked not quite understanding.
"I'm having twins" she explained smiling.
"Oh ... so there are two little guys in there" he said pointing to her belly once more. "Any names?"
"I don't even know if they're little guys. They might as well be girls or one of each" she laughed.
"Either way you must have names picked up. Come on, I'm curious. Let's hear them out." he pleaded.
"Well ... I like Noah for a boy and Deanna for a girl. So if they're one of each ... And then James or Matthew for a second boy. I don't have anything for a second girl, though" she said.
"Maybe your husband does?" he offered.
"Maybe he would have" she agreed. Then added "That's if I were married. Which I'm not".
Suddenly the day seemed brighter to Rudy. She wasn't married and by the way she said it ... maybe the father wasn't part of the picture at all? Could he take his chance and ask? But he didn't get the chance.
"I think he's fallen asleep" Lynn said gently handing Danny to him.
He took the sleeping child from her and as he stood to leave he asked
"Would you like to have coffee with me sometime?"
"Not before the babies come" she answered but seeing his disappointment she continued "I'm only allowed to drink milk by then".
He smiled and waved before turning to leave. The day was bright after all.