“You can’t keep punishing yourself. I left. I made the first mistake.”
“Why are you the wise one here?”
“Because I’m so much older.”
“Oh, please. I feel like I’m a million years old tonight. Worn out, tired.”
“Because you are worn out. You’ve been doing everything on your own, but I’m here now. Thank God, because your mom certainly isn’t rushing to help you.”
“What in the heck are you talking about?”
“I may have called your mom.”
“You what?” I wasn’t sure I heard him correctly with the ocean roaring in the background.
“I called your mom, looking for you.”
“Oh my God, what did she say?” The tears dried up and I felt a bubble of nervous laughter rising in my throat.
“She pretty much bitched me out.”
“Your funeral calling her, but she does love Darla in her own way. She’s the only person my mom’s really loved since my dad.”
“I’d suffer anything to have you back, Jules. You have to know that. You’re all that I want.”
“I’m sorry. I do, but can we put it behind us? I got spooked. My emotions were so amped up or something, and I went into crazy mother-hen mode.”
“Next time you get into the mood, remember that I’m your rooster.”
This time I laughed so hard, I gave the waves a run for their money.
The next morning, I gave Bryce some crap story about needing space from all the shit swirling around me. He bought my excuse, especially since I was back on the schedule and opting for more lunches, which meant more evenings with Darla.
And Drew.
The next few weeks passed in a blur.
Drew, the hot-blooded man and the doting father, usually joined us for tennis at the park, always sneaking in an ice cream cone for Darla and plenty of naughty glances my way. He even took Darla to Rocky Brook a few Saturdays on his own. Of course, she’d come home high on Drew and strawberry smoothies. Sunday mornings, I would grab a coffee and watch her beat the heck out of the boys in her lesson.
Every so often, Drew would glance up at me and wink. I wasn’t sure if it was about me or Darla’s prowess.
We’d also had a few dates. He’d been selective and careful about pushing me, but Halloween wasn’t the only thing sneaking up on us. His patience and time were both running short.
Darla was mesmerized with flyers for a costume party at the club, and I wanted her to trick-or-treat around our building. I’d probably end up working anyway.
Then Drew said he’d back me up if we told her the truth. It was a built-in bargaining chip to get what he wanted.
Against my better judgment, he’d slept over two other times, but he kept pushing for a more full-time arrangement. I feared it was only a matter of time before he took the matter into his own hands.
I continued to hold tight to my excuse: Halloween was still three weeks away.
“Did you check in with Molly?” Drew asked as I made my way back from the ladies’ room to our table at Prime Italian.
We’d driven to South Beach for the evening. It was a Friday night, and Molly was at my apartment with Darla. Drew wanted her to drive Darla over to his place to sleep, and then she could spend the day with him when I left for work.
My job was another sore subject, but tabled for the moment at Drew’s insistence at our spending the night at his place.
“Darla’s watching a movie and tired. I’m not going to have Molly move her for no reason.”
