Polished Off by Barbara Colley Page B

mistake of telling him it was time for you to come home, and for the past half hour, he’s been watching out the window for you. I only left the room for a minute, but that’s all it took. The little devil pulled a chair up to the door and unlatched it.”
    Davy turned his head and glared at his mother. “I not devil. Devil’s monster.”
    “Of course you’re not, darling.” She reached up and patted his back. “Mommy was just being silly.” With an oh-well sigh, she faced Charlotte. “The place is a mess, but come on in.” She motioned for Charlotte to precede her. “I’m still unpacking, but with both of us working, then me being sick ...” She followed Charlotte inside. “I just can’t seem to get it all done.”
    “Feeling better?” Charlotte asked.
    Nadia nodded. “Better than yesterday.”
    Daniel followed them inside and closed the door.
    The living room was large, with a high ceiling and two oversized windows that framed a fireplace on one wall. There were several packing boxes stacked in a corner and a small pile of children’s books on the floor near one of the windows, but otherwise the room was orderly and spotless.
    “You’ve made quite a few changes since the last time I was here,” Charlotte told Daniel, her gaze lighting on the sofa. “That’s a beautiful sofa. Much nicer than that other one you had. Must be new.”
    Daniel nodded. “Yes ma’am, it is. We couldn’t decide whether to use the old one Nadia had or that old one I had, so we figured the best thing was to get rid of both of the old ones and buy a new one.”
    “Well, I love it. You both made an excellent choice.”
    “Thanks,” Nadia said. “It’s really comfortable.” She motioned toward the sofa. “Have a seat. Try it out. And I’ll get you something to drink. Coffee? Iced tea?”
    Charlotte hesitated, unsure of just how Daniel wanted to handle telling her the news about Ricco.
    As if he’d read her mind, Daniel shifted Davy in his arms and said, “Why don’t we wait a few minutes on the drinks, honey. I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
    Charlotte held out her arms. “Why don’t I take Davy into the kitchen?”
    Nadia stared first at Daniel, then at Charlotte. “What’s going on?”
    “In a minute,” Daniel told her. “I’ll explain in a minute.” To Charlotte he said, “Maybe that would be best for the moment, Auntie.” He lowered Davy to the floor, then knelt down to the little boy’s level. Gently cupping Davy’s chin, he said, “But Davy’s a big boy, aren’t you, buddy?” When Davy grinned, Daniel released his hold on the little boy.
    Davy nodded enthusiastically. “I big boy,” he repeated.
    “And big boys walk, don’t they?”
    Again Davy nodded.
    “So, big fella, why don’t you show Aunt Charley where the kitchen is? And maybe she can find you a cookie—” He glanced up at Nadia. “If that’s okay with your mom.”
    “It’s okay,” she said. “He’s already had his supper.”
    “Well, then.” Charlotte held out her hand to Davy. “Let’s you and me go find those cookies.”
    Davy grabbed her hand. “I show you, Aunt Chardy.” He tugged on Charlotte’s hand, and with a sympathetic but encouraging look for Daniel, she followed Davy out of the room.
    “What’s going on?” Charlotte heard Nadia ask as she led Davy down the hallway. But Davy was chattering away, and there was no way she could hear the rest of the conversation.
     
     
     
    Charlotte tried to give Daniel and Nadia time, but once Davy got his cookie, it was hard to distract him for very long. The little boy adored Daniel, and since his precious “Daddy Danol” was home, he wanted to be with him.
    When Charlotte and Davy returned to the living room, Daniel was seated on the sofa next to Nadia with his arm around her shoulders. Nadia was pale and staring straight forward with unseeing eyes.
    Davy went straight to Daniel and crawled up into his lap. Only then did Nadia seem to realize that the