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.“I just wanted to give you a choice.Because if you live with us, and Aunt Brenda gets really mad, shemay not let you come home with her at all.You may not get toever see her.”Anna looked sad.“Like she doesn’t let you in the housebecause you’re a forminator?”“Yeah, like that.”“If I live with you,” Anna asked, “Am I a forminator?”“Um, no.Remember I told you that’s an adult thing.But,um, she just might be mad enough to not want us around atall, because she thinks being gay is worse than being a, um,forminator.”“You could tell her Tony’s a girl,” Anna suggested.“Except that’s not true,” Mac said.“That’s not the right wayto handle things.We don’t lie to Aunt Brenda.” We just don’t tell herall of the truth sometimes.Jesus, it was hard to find a moral balancebetween Brenda’s intolerance and a child’s black-and-white view300 Kaje Harperof the world.He clutched at a straw to avoid the whole lyingissue.“Even if Tony really was a girl, unless we were married,Aunt Brenda still wouldn’t like it.She’s still mad because I livedwith your mom before we got married.”“Mac,” said Ben.“What’s a forminator?”Mac threw a harried look at Tony, who shook his head andopened his hand at Mac.Tony’s mouth twitched upward in asmall smile as he touched his throat.Yeah, now you don’t want totalk.Thanks, babe.“Okay,” Mac said.“So the real word is fornicator, and itmeans two adults who love each other and live together but aren’tmarried.Some people like Aunt Brenda think that’s bad.”“But Tony says they won’t let you and him get married,” Benpointed out.“Right.” Mac blew an exasperated breath.“May I just saythat religion and logic don’t always go together, and then we canmove on.” Ben nodded, but Mac caught his lips shaping the wordfornicator, as if memorizing.From Tony’s bright eyes, he hadcaught it too.“And you’re no help, Tony,” Mac told him.Tony touched histhroat again and gave him an innocent look.“So now I have to talk to Aunt Brenda,” Mac told Anna.“Thequestion is when.You could go back and stay with her tonight, atleast.I could wait to talk to her till the morning.”“No.I’m staying here, like Ben does.” Anna folded her armsand set her chin, reminding Mac forcibly of her mother.He hadnever budged Mai from that position either.“Okay.Then I’ll talk to her today.”“Will she let me have my things?” Anna asked.“My dolls, andmy stuffies, and my clothes?”“I hope so.” I paid for those, after all.Not that that would matterif Brenda was adamant.“Maybe I should tell her about living here and the new‘partment and all my own self,” Anna offered.BReAking CoveR 301“Thanks, princess,” Mac said, “But this is a grown-upconversation.” He looked down at her.“Will it make you verysad if you can’t stay with Aunt Brenda anymore?”“Some,” Anna said pensively.“I love her, but staying with herand being good all the time is really hard.I don’t do it right muchanymore.”Mac hugged her.“Well you do it just fine with me.I was reallyproud of the way you listened to Tony and me this morning, anddid what we asked, when you were probably curious and scared.That was very important.”“I wanted to go see the smoke,” Anna said, “But I didn’t.”Thank God.Anna wandering off to see the fire would have been thelast straw.“It was just a pile of garbage burning,” Mac told her.“Smellyand not very interesting.”Anna nodded.“So where am I going to sleep? ‘Cause there’snot enough beds.There’s two beds and four people.”Tony raised an eyebrow at Mac, glee in his eyes, waiting tohear him explain this one.Fortunately Anna was pretty shelteredand wouldn’t put two and two together yet.“Tony and I will share his bed, because it’s big,” he saidblandly.“We’ll have to get you a bed for your room, where theTV is now.”“That’s my room?” Anna wiggled down and ran to look inwith new eyes.“Can I keep the TV?”“No way!” Ben retorted.“That’s my TV!” He headed for theplayroom on her heels.Mac kicked Tony’s ankle as he went past, although secretly hewas glad Tony could chortle like that.He remembered himselfsometime in the past saying, “How hard can it be to raise a child?”Probably before Anna actually hit the ground.Man, he’d been amoron in his younger days.1 1 1302 Kaje HarperMac looked at Brenda’s house, gathering his courage.Theplace was the tidiest on the block, white siding and grey roof witha postage-stamp yard.The grass was cut and flowers bloomedalong the walk.There were blue curtains in the windows and apot of marigolds by the door.He thought Anna had been happyhere.Mac walked up and rang the doorbell.Brenda opened it withher usual caution, and looked past him.“Where’s Anna?” she asked.“She’s with a friend.I need to talk to you.”“About her school?” Brenda said.“Yes, we need to movequickly on that.” She hesitated, and then pulled open the door.“You could maybe come in, just this once.I have papers to showyou.”Mac followed her into the house.It figured.He’d come todrop the boom on her and she was finally being human to him.The interior matched the outside of the house; neat, clean,and a little Spartan.Brenda led him over to the kitchen table andthey sat down.She opened a small folder of papers.“I have ithere,” she began.Mac put his hand on the pile.“Wait, Brenda.Before you start,you should know that I’ve moved into a bigger apartment, and Iwant…I’m going to have Anna spending a lot more time with me,including nights.”“But your work.What will you do if you have to go in to workat night?”“I’m sharing the apartment with a friend,” Mac said.“We’ll beable to make sure someone is watching Anna.”“A friend,” Brenda said slowly.Her lip curled.“What kind offriend? Another one of your loose women?”“No.Actually another man, and his six-year-old boy.”“Well I won’t have it,” Brenda said sharply.“I don’t know thisman.He could be anyone.He might be a pervert.How can youleave Anna alone with a strange man?”BReAking CoveR 303“He’s not a stranger,” Mac said.“He’s my best friend.He’s ateacher, and he’s great with kids.And Anna is good friends withhis son Ben.”“Ben!” Brenda exclaimed.“That’s the boy she talks about,that told her all sorts of nasty things
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