I’d missed one text from Priscilla. In the time it took for face recognition to unlock the phone, my heart jumped into my throat and then back down to my ankles.
I’m good. It’s fine. Don’t worry.
That girl. I didn’t deserve her.
Margaret
“She’s decided to wait a few more weeks before another visit,” I told Tommy.
Dr. Schroeder had said it was fine for me to advocate for Priscilla. A girl her age shouldn’t have to find herself in the middle of custody negotiations, so I went for it.
“It’s not a big deal,” he said. “You were the one who was always close with her.”
“Okay, I’ll let you know when she’s feeling up to it,” I said, trying to end the call. We’d scheduled fifteen minutes to discuss school tuition and anything else related to Priscilla’s bills, and we’d finished minutes earlier.
“I guess when she’s sick of your new guy,” Tommy said snidely, “she’ll come crawling back to Dad.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and counted to five, then to ten. Hoping he would disconnect the call, I went for fifteen, then gave up. “Tommy, don’t do that. Priscilla doesn’t deserve it.”
“Oh, look at that, we’re out of time,” he said. “’Bye, Margaret. Tell the school everything will be paid in full.”
He disconnected before I could respond.
Dr. Schroeder also said the only trick Tommy had left in his bag was to emotionally torment me, and she was right. He did it in spades. While it hurt my heart to hear him talk so poorly about our daughter, it was better than him physically hurting anyone.
I put my phone on the table and pulled my earbud out, then looked at the time. I still had an hour before picking up Priscilla at school and taking her to walk Tito.
It had been three weeks since the sleepover battle and the night Mick took care of me, and two weeks since her dinner with Tommy. Her shoulder was mostly healed, and she’d grown much too attached to the dog. Mick was always bringing him over, and then he decided, why pay a dog walker to come in twice a day when Priscilla could do it a few afternoons a week?
Mick had asked Priscilla in front of me, and then of course, said if it was okay with me, but Priscilla was already jumping for joy. This would be our second time this week, and she’d texted me at lunchtime to make sure I remembered.
With the minutes ticking by, I decided to get to work. My actual promotion started in two weeks, but I was already doing a lot of preliminary work. Tony and Jane were both big believers in self-starters and self-motivation, so I didn’t have to punch a clock. I would work at my own pace, which as a single mom was a real perk.
Lost in my latest writing piece, I startled when my alarm went off, signaling it was time to pack up and go. I downed the last dregs of my coffee, shoved everything in my tote, and put on my coat.
As soon as I was seated in my car, the phone rang, and I pressedACCEPT CALL.
“Off to walk the tyrant?” Mick asked.
“Well, first, I have to pick up the walker.”
“You do that. I don’t think I’m going to be able to see you later. I have to take a later dinner meeting to go over some documents with my lawyer.”
I smiled to myself. This is how it was with Mick. Easy. So easy that a frown started to push my smile away.
What if this is a game? Or a trick?
“I’m sorry,” he said, drawing me out of my anxiety and self-pity.
“Oh no, it’s fine. I was lost in my thoughts.”
“Tomorrow? I can have something brought in for all of us,” he said, so sweet to always include Priscilla. “Tell me, what kind of panties are you wearing?”
“What? I almost just wrecked my safety-first SUV.”
He laughed into the phone, and just hearing it reverberate through the Bluetooth gave me all the feels. “Just wanted to make sure you were listening.”
“I am. Dinner tomorrow. Good.”
