Tea and Destiny by Sherryl Woods

finished their baths by the time he went to get them. The bathroom floor was under a sea of puddles. Plastic boats and toy animals were underfoot and soaked towels were scattered everywhere. For the most part, as near as he could tell, they had managed to wash off the worst of the dirt in the process of creating the watery havoc.
    “Okay, guys, into bed.”
    “Will you come and tuck us in?”
    Hugs and kisses later, the house was quiet. He knocked on David’s door, poked his head in and found the boy doing his homework.
    “Don’t stay up too much longer.”
    “I won’t.”
    “I wish you’d come with us tonight.”
    “It’s okay. I had stuff to do here.”
    Hank nodded. “Maybe another time.”
    “Yeah, sure.”
    Sighing, Hank shut the door. David’s aloofness saddened him, especially since he now knew the cause. He’d stayed behind tonight simply because he’d been afraid of doing something wrong. It was safer to stick with something familiar, to sit quietly in his room doing his homework. Nobody got angry at a straight-A student. Nobody got rid of a thirteen-year-old who never made any noise. Hank vowed to keep trying to include him in more activities, to give him back his boyhood.
    After Hank had cleaned up the bathroom, he went outside to wait for Ann. He took a beer with him and settled down in the hammock. Rocking it to and fro with one foot, he began drifting off. Rousing himself, he glanced at the illuminated dial of his watch. It was almost ten o’clock. He sat straight up, nearly tumbling from the hammock in the process.
    “What the hell? Where is she?”
    Ann would not go off and leave those children alone unless it had been an emergency. Now wait, he reminded himself. They hadn’t been alone exactly. Jason had been there, which explained the makeshift dinner. Still, surely she should have been home by now. What if one of the kids had gotten sick? What if Melissa had had one of her dreams and had awakened frightened and crying? Jason couldn’t have coped with that. The more he thought about it, the more furious he became.
    It was typical female behavior. His own mother hadn’t been able to stand the loneliness of the house at night. By the time he was ten he was used to theabsences, accustomed to her flighty refusal to accept parental responsibility. His father had apparently had enough of her flirtations within the first year of the marriage. He had gone before Hank had even been born. The whole experience had colored Hank’s relationships with women. He enjoyed them, appreciated their beauty the way a connoisseur appreciated a fine vintage wine, but he’d never wanted to possess one in any sort of lasting way. He’d learned from the cradle on that there was no such thing as a lasting commitment when it came to a woman.
    Still, everything he’d discovered about Ann ran counter to that image. She’d always seemed rock solid, dependable. She was an instinctive nurturer, one of those people who gave a part of herself to everyone she met. She adored these kids. She’d never once given him any reason to doubt her love or her commitment to them. A blinding image of her car crashing made him sick to his stomach. He began pacing. If she didn’t get home in the next half hour, he’d call the police. In the meantime, he’d ask Jason what he knew about her absence. Surely she’d at least called.
    He tapped on Jason’s door, then heard Paul’s sleepy voice. He stuck his head in. Paul was blinking at him. There was no sign of Jason. Damn that kid. He’d obviously sneaked off the minute he heard Hank go outside.
    The only thing left to do was wait. He paced some more. It was nearly midnight when he finally heard the car door slam and heard Ann’s voice as she called out a cheerful good-night.
    “Thanks, Tom. I’m glad I went.”
    Tom? He’d been tucking in kids and worryinghimself sick and she’d been out on a date? He watched as she came around to the kitchen door.
    “So you had a good