I heard the shower turn on and a ragged pulse of desire hit me like I'd walked into a wall. I wanted to strip off my clothes and climb in there with her. Just to touch her again and breathe her in and know she was—Fuck. I wanted her to explain what'd happened here and what happened next. Show me the map and tell me what it said.
But there was time for that. We had all of tonight and then four more days together. We had time.
chapter twenty-two
Jude
Today's vocabulary word: intervene
Another callfrom Percy came in and then one more while I hunted down some hand sanitizer. With that handled, I grabbed some dry shorts and a shirt. I stepped outside, the rain slowing as the storm moved through, and accepted the next call.
"I called you six times," he signed.
"Nice to see you too," I replied, dropping onto the metal chair I'd found Audrey in earlier. The fresh air blowing in with the storm felt good on my skin. Good for my head too. "And you know that if I'm not able to answer right away, I'll always call you back as soon as I can."
He stared at me, his lips pursed as if he cared very little for this feedback. If only he knew how little I cared for his timing tonight. Then, "We went to a water park today and some of it was fun but it was really loud. There were a lot of big kids and they all ran around a lot." He glanced around his dark bedroom. "But I tried a churro and now I like them."
"That's…" I shook my head. Didn't know Brenda had a water park visit on the docket for today. Didn't know how much I likedthat idea, seeing as Percy managed to contract an eye infection from every public pool he'd ever glanced at. "Good news about the churros."
"They're fire."
"Fire?" I echoed, and repeated the sign back to him because I refused to believe my four-year-old understood what he was saying. "Churros arefire?"
He nodded, his chubby cheeks round as he grinned. I still saw a baby when I looked at him. "Miss Maddie came to the water park. She thinks churros are fire too."
"Mmm. Yeah. I bet she does." Maddie had been Penny's best friend. They grew up together. Maddie still lived in her childhood home, a few doors down from Brenda. She adored Percy. Me, she could do without. "How are your eyes? Anything feeling itchy?"
"I'm okay," he signed, his attention shifting to his stuffed animals. "Can we find churros in Virginia?"
"We have churros back home," I said. "What about Grandma? How's she doing?"
"Asleep." He shrugged. "I turned off the TV and checked the doors after dinner though."
God fucking help me."What about brushing your teeth?"
"Already done." He smoothed a hand over his favorite stuffie, a small, fluffy dog he called Beast.
"Okay. What else is on your mind?"
"Nothing." Another shrug. "How many days until I can go home?"
"Just a few more weeks," I said. "Do you want me to read to you? We could get through another chapter if you want."
"Miss Maddie said I could go to kindergarten if I stay here." His pouty glare sliced right through me. "Why do I have to wait until next year if I go home?"
I almost dropped the phone.If I go home.I wanted my kid to know his mother's family and where she'd grown up. But coparenting with people who kept praying I'd decide to forfeit my parental rights and turn my son over to them was a nightmare.
The last thing I wanted was for my kid to realize he was caught between people who wanted very different things for him. Still, it seemed like I was the only one with that priority.
I cleared my throat and forced myself to exhale as much tension as possible before answering. "I'm not sure that's the way it works in Michigan, buddy. I think you still need to be five by the start of September."
"Miss Maddie says I can."
I felt hard, corded tension locking up my neck as I nodded. Maddie came in strong with the fun aunt energy. This often took the shape ofDonuts for dinner!andOf course you can skip your occupational therapy exercises today!andIf you lived here, we could have sleepovers every night!"I know this is a big deal for you and it's important to me too."
"I don't want to go to that baby school anymore," he signed. "I don't want to go there ever in infinity."
Thatbaby schoolcost more than most undergrad tuition and had a specialized program for young children with communication differences. He'd learned ASL there and how to use different apps and tools to express himself.
