“Relax,” Andrew said. “I knew what you meant. And I wasn't worried.” His phone rang just then, and he glanced over at me, a querying look on his face.
“Go ahead and answer it,” I said. “I'll keep track of Emma if you need to go someplace quieter.”
“Thanks,” Andrew said, turning partially away from me as he answered the phone. “Hey,” he said warmly to whoever it was on the other side.
He listened for a minute, walking a couple steps away from me and then half-turning towards me, as though he was about to start pacing right here in the middle of the museum. I raised an eyebrow at him and was surprised to see him blush faintly and turn away.
“I'm not home right now, babe,” he said.
Renée.
“I don't know when I'll be home today.” He paused, listening. “That's a nice idea, but I'm not at work, actually. I took the day off. No, I'm not sick.”
I wondered how he was going to explain this one to her. He was such a workaholic that there was no way she was going to buy the notion that he had just decided to take a day off work, for no reason whatsoever. The sick excuse would have been a good one if he was looking for an excuse. Otherwise, he was going to have to tell her exactly what he was up to, but I couldn't see him doing that, either.
He started to look agitated, beginning to pace and to fidget. His fingers drummed against his leg. “Look, I'm a little busy right now, so why don't I call you tonight?” he finally suggested. “I promise I'll explain everything then.” He paused. “Yes, okay. Talk to you then. Bye.”
He hung up, looking towards the sky for vindication.
“Why don't you just tell her about us?” I suggested, carefully not looking at him.
I knew, again, that I had no right to tell him how to handle his relationships. Still, I couldn't help thinking that things would be easier for both of us if he just came clean to his girlfriend about the fact that his daughter was currently living with him. Besides, it wasn't as though he could hide that forever.
Or if he could, he wasn't the kind of man who I wanted to have around my daughter.
“As I said, it's complicated,” Andrew said, frowning over at me. “I don't want to risk telling her just to potentially have everything blow up in my face.”
“It's not the media that you're worried about, is it?” I asked.
“How do you know?” Andrew asked sharply.
“Because if you were worried about being found out by the media, you probably wouldn't have come here with us today,” I pointed out. “Don't you think this little outing could seem suspicious if someone were to notice us and recognize you? You're here with a mysterious woman, not your sister, and a young girl. You know the conclusion that people would be drawing.”
Andrew was quiet for a minute.
“Look, honesty is really the only way to handle this,” I told him. “If you're not honest with her, that's how you're going to lose her.”
“And I, of course, should trust you, because you're a woman and you know these things,” Andrew said snidely. “Never mind the fact that you've never had a conversation with her, let alone dated her for a few months.”
“I'm not trying to start a fight,” I said. “Let's not do this here. But how else are you going to explain where you were today if you're not sick and you're not at work?”
“I shouldn't have to explain where I am,” Andrew said, sounding cranky. “I'm a grown man, and she's a grown woman. We should be able to do what we want to with our own time, without being subject to scrutiny by the other person. I don't ask where she is every day. I don't ask what she gets up to. For all I know, she could be fucking someone at the gym, or bringing someone home after her nights out at the bar with friends. But I trust her not to do those things, and she trusts me in the same way.”
I blinked at him, surprised that he was getting this worked up about it. He must really have feelings for the woman.
Suddenly, Andrew was off. At first, I thought he'd decided that he'd had enough and he was leaving. But when I looked, I saw that Emma was on the ground, crying loudly and holding her hands out in front of her. She had clearly fallen hard, probably tripping over her own feet in her excitement.
And Andrew was there to kiss it all better.
I watched as he knelt down next to her, concern etched in every line of his face as he inspected her hands and helped her wiggle all her fingers. Once he was satisfied that there was nothing broken, he bent down and kissed both of her palms. Then, he reached out and ruffled her hair.
Emma chirped something at him, and he threw his head back and laughed, opening his arms to her. Emma hopped up and leaped into his arms, letting him catch her.
Andrew came slowly back over to me. “Emma says she's tired and wants to go home now,” he said.
I raised my eyebrows at her in surprise, but her shriek of laughter confirmed that he was just kidding. “That's not what I said!” she giggled.
“It isn't?” Andrew asked, widening his eyes at her. “Silly me. That's what I heard.”