“Should I be worried?” Callie asked, her face growing pale.
“No, not particularly.”
“Hmm, well that was convincing.”
He rubbed his hands on the front of his pants a few times. “The thing is—I’m a little nervous about having everyone under the same roof this upcoming week. I think we should come up with a game plan.”
“A game plan?” She frowned. “What are you talking about?” She laughed. “Wait, is this about Sasha? Because I told Taylor all about her this morning, so now all the kids know about her.”
“No, it’s not about Sasha,” he said. “It’s about us.”
Callie stiffened. “Oh. What about us?”
“You know.”
She didn’t argue.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve had all our kids over here together,” he continued. “And their partners are coming too,plus Ariel’s kids. That’s a lot of people. A lot of people who might notice something’s going on with us…”
Callie whipped her head around to make sure nobody was within earshot. “Shh. Someone might hear you.”
“Mallory’s out and Sasha’s taking a nap with Dot. I think we’re safe.”
“Even still, I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your voice down a little.” She shifted nervously in her chair. Callie hadn’t expected this conversation, and it was making her stomach turn. Or perhaps it was because of the two cups of coffee she’d downed that morning without eating. Either way, she was itching to get this over with. “I think you’re being a little paranoid.”
“And, no offense, but I think you’re being a little naive. Where are we even going to put everyone?” he asked in a hushed tone this time. “There’s not enough room in the house.”
“Ariel, Chris, and the kids are staying somewhere else,” she said. “So, we’ll just have to find room for Taylor and Erica. I figured they’d want to sleep in his old room… Which I’m now realizing is the room Mallory’s been staying in.”
“Right.”
“Then we’ll put them in Ariel’s old room. I can move the sewing table and machine into the basement and then we’ll have to bring the queen bed back up and swap out the twin.” She clicked her tongue. “We really shouldn’t have gone with the twin in the first place. I know the room is small, but when are weevergoing to have a guest staying over who is small enough to be comfortable on a twin mattress? It makes no sense.”
“I don’t know,” he said. “But that’s not really the issue here.”
No, but couldn’t it be?
Callie was desperate to change the subject, but David was resolute.
“The reason I bring up the space is because I wanted to point out that we’re going to be on top of each other a little bit. Everyone’s going to be in everyone else’s business and that’s… not ideal for us.”
Callie furrowed her brow. “We’ve had everyone home in the past and things weren’t that crazy,” she noted. “And that waswithAriel, Chris, and the grandkids. This week we’ll have less people than that Christmas. We know how to handle things. Besides, the kids don’t suspect a thing.”
“I’m not so sure about that…”
Callie inhaled sharply. “Why? Did Mallory say something to you?”
David shook his head. “No. But she’s been really on edge lately. Acting kind of weird.”
“That’s just because of Sasha.” Callie let out a nervous chuckle. “She’s suspicious of Sasha, but not us. Taylor too. Honestly, I think the kids are going to be too busy trying to uncover information about our new guests that they aren’t going to pay us any mind.”
David rubbed his face a few times. “Well, I don’t exactly want them bothering Sasha either!”
“No, of course not.” She shot him a look and put a finger over her lips. “I’m just saying, I don’t think we’re going to have any problems. We’re going to have to play a little defense for Sasha probably, but other than that, everything is going to be smooth sailing. You’ll see.”
David looked down at the floor, visibly unconvinced.
“What?” she said, leaning forward. “What’s making you pause?”
