With that being said, I knew what I had to do.
“I can go.” Inwardly, I groaned, but I tried to make my voice as cheerful as possible.
“Thank you, baby. I appreciate you more than you know.” The sound of the fire alarm blared in the background. “I have to go, but I’ll text you the information as soon as I get on the truck. Thanks again.” Multiple people could be heard shouting behind him, as the alarm continued to blare.
Before I could respond, he hung up. I didn’t take it personally because I knew duty called.
A couple of minutes later, the message came through with the information for the ice cream social, along with Onyx tellingme that he had already informed the school that Turquoise could only have gluten-free ice cream. I was glad he did, but I would double-check with them when I got there, to be on the safe side.
Since I had a little over an hour to get to the school, I took Spencer for a walk around the neighborhood, then got dressed for the day. I didn’t have plans on going anywhere, so I’d been in my pajamas the whole day after I showered this morning. I was sure Onyx hadn’t been able to tell Turquoise it was me that was coming and not him, so I hoped she wouldn’t be too upset when she saw her father wasn’t there.
My eyes scanned the school’s parking lot when I arrived and felt nauseous by the number of cars that were in it. How could so many people show up for an elementary school event in the middle of the week? I knew people would come, but didn’t anyone work? I drove around until I found a spot in the back of the parking lot.
Once I turned the car off, I pulled down the visor and inspected my appearance. I wasn’t Turquoise’s mother, but as a reflection of her father and somewhat of a guardian in her life, I needed to look presentable. After I applied a fresh coat of lip gloss, I fixed my ponytail, then gave myself a pep talk.
“You can do this, Maverick. It’s just a bunch of kids eating ice cream. How bad could it be?”
By the looks of the full parking lot, it could get really bad. I checked the time on my phone, then tried to shake the nervousness out of my hands and got out of the car.
I took deep breaths as I made the trek across the parking lot. The sun was out, but it was a little windy, but it didn’t stop theheat that I felt in my chest. The closer I got to the door, the hotter I felt.
From the outside, I could hear all the kids screaming. I adjusted the strap on my crossbody bag and pulled the door open.
As soon as I entered the building, the screaming got louder, and it was mixed in with the chatter of the adults.
I was conflicted, but I knew I couldn’t let Turquoise or her father down. I entered the gymnasium where the main event was being held and scanned the crowd for Turquoise. It took me a moment to find her, but when I did, I walked over to the table she was at.
Turquoise ran to me at full speed. “Miss Maverick! What are you doing here?” She glanced behind me. “Where’s my dad?”
I bent down to her level so she could hear me.
“Your father had to work late, but he sent me here in his absence. Is that okay?”
“Yes!” She clapped her hands, then grabbed my hand.
I laughed and followed her around the room to the different tables. She made sure to tell each person that she could only have gluten-free ice cream. So she didn’t feel left out, I got whatever flavors she got. Kids could be weird sometimes, and I didn’t want anyone to make her feel bad for being a little different.
I wasn’t sure how long Onyx would be because he sent a message saying they were trying to find a different replacement, but I had already decided I would fix dinner at his house. I didn’t want Turquoise’s schedule to be thrown off.
When we left the school, Turquoise and I drove to their house.
“I’m glad you came today,” she said as we entered the house.
“I’m glad I did too.” I managed not to overly panic at the number of people there. Turquoise was too young to understand what would have happened if I had had a panic attack.
“Can I have chicken nuggets?”
I pretended to think about it, but Onyx had already told me she could have chicken nuggets and fries for dinner.
“You sure can.” I tapped her cute little nose. “Go wash your hands while I get it ready.”
“Okay.” She ran out of the kitchen, and I put the food in the air fryer.
Once Turquoise was set up at the table with her food, I made something different for Onyx and me.
After dinner, I put Onyx’s food in the microwave, then helped Turquoise get ready for the night.
The teachers probably knew the kids would be no good after all the ice cream, so there was no homework.
