Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“Oh, that’s good. Take her a bottle of wine as well.”
“Yes, sir, I will.”
He was quiet for a moment.
“Kola?”
“I’m really glad that you and Dad never got a divorce. Don’t get one in the future either, all right?”
“Just skip that?” I teased him.
“Yeah. That’d be good.”
“I’ll see what I can do, but your father is difficult.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, he says the same thing about you.”
“Me? Are you kidding? I’m a delight to have around.”
He found that hysterical.
Interestingly, he didn’t hang up but instead sat on the phone as I went about my Saturday morning tasks.
I loaded the washing machine, put him on speaker while I mopped the kitchen floor, and then when Sam came in from using the blower outside on the leaves, I handed him off. All in all, he was on the phone for at least three hours. I had a feeling that he liked hearing normal sounds that he was used to. It’s been a hard transition for me not having him around, and it seems as though the apron strings were a bit thicker than he thought as well. But we’re both getting better about being apart. There has to be change for growth, and I know that, but still, once in a while, it twinges. I miss my kids.
“Harper has a boyfriend,” Kola reported when I got him back from Sam. “He’s really nice, he does dishes, and he bought us an espresso machine, so now he’s making lattes and cappuccinos for the women Jake has over.”
“I must reiterate that you guys aren’t running a coffee shop for Jake’s one-night stands.”
“I know, but you always taught me to be courteous.”
“Yes, but there are limits, and besides, an espresso machine isn’t cheap.”
“Oh, I know, but Tighe, that’s his name, his father’s loaded, and he has a trust fund and all that. He drives a really nice vintage Mustang, and he’s vice president of one of the frats on campus. He’s amazed that none of us have pledged.”
“You could if you wanted to. I’ll bet any number of them would love to have you guys.”
He grunted. “I have enough trouble keeping up with my coursework and my part-time job. I don’t need to worry about anything else.”
“And how is it, working at the gym?”
Long-suffering sigh from him. “Kinetic is not just a gym, Pa, it’s a fitness experience.”
“I apologize.”
“The owner is super nice, though she’s not around much, but she still hires all the staff. Her son-in-law is a really good guy. He’s a counselor, and he works with teenagers, and he brings them in to exercise or rock climb so they don’t have to just sit around and talk to him.”
“That sounds very smart.”
“So how many bags of candy did you buy?”
It was fun to talk to him about how the distribution of candy went. I told him all about Hannah coming over with her coven and handing out the bags we’d hand packed the day before. They were all dressed like Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman at the end of Practical Magic, and everyone loved their costumes. Hannah was sad that Jake wasn’t home, as he would have been able to rig something so they could have safely jumped off the roof.”
“Aww, man,” I heard Jake whine in the background.
It was good to touch base.
As time slipped away too quickly, Hannah ended up sleeping over, with the coven, and we had them all on the floor in the living room, as Hannah didn’t think it was fair that they were all on the ground and she got her bed. Plus, sleepovers were meant to be all together.
The following week, that Thursday, Sam got home, looked around, smelled nothing cooking, saw me, not in yoga pants or sweats but instead in jeans, a T-shirt under a cardigan, with my boots on, and frowned.
“Where are you going?”
I scowled at him. “Not me. Us.”
“Us?”
I shook my head at him.
“We’re going to the couples therapy to support Dylan and Chris.”
“What?” Head back, eyes closed, as though he were dying. “No.”
“Yes.”
“That’s tonight?”
“That’s tonight.”
“No,” he whined, tipping his head back to look at me. “Can’t we go next time?”
“We cannot,” I assured him, gesturing at him. “Now put all that stuff down and go change so we can go. I’ll feed you after, if you’re good.”
“Yeah, but I worked all day.”
I lifted an eyebrow and stared at him.
“Fine. You worked too,” he conceded, crossing his arms, trying, I knew, to think of something else he could say. “But I have to get up early tomorrow morning for a meeting and––”
“Samuel,” I began as I stood up from the table, “if you don’t want to go, I can certainly go by myself and––”
“No, I don’t want you to go either.”
When Sam was home, he liked me home. Period.
“Well, I certainly am not about to let down two of my oldest friends, so I have to go.”