I stared at my blank bedroom wall, confused. “Who the hell is going to see us? And why would they care?”
“What if another teacher saw us? Or a parent? Alamo Drafthouse is super popular you know.”
It stung a little, that she was so worried about being seen with me. I knew she was just considering her job, but it still rankled. It made me feel like I was the stupid jock that she was far too good for all over again.
“If we see someone you think might get the wrong idea, just tell them that I’m an old friend from Minnesota. Who’s going to care?”
“Hey,” she said, her voice soft. “I’m not trying to be a jerk, you know?”
Apparently, I had sounded more bitter than I’d intended. “I know. I just…we said we were going to be friends. There’s nothing wrong with seeing a movie together.”
“You’re right,” she said, sounding a lot more sure of herself. “Friends can go see a movie. It doesn’t have to be a date. Maybe I can ask the girls along? Rosa loves that movie.”
I gritted my teeth. How was I supposed to say no to that after going out of my way to assure her it wasn’t a date? “Sounds good,” I said, hopefully managing to keep the bite from my voice. “Just let me know about the numbers and I’ll get tickets.”
“Great.” She sounded genuinely happy about it, and that was enough to take away at least some of the sting that my greatplan to spend more time alone with her had turned into a group outing.
The next day,Friday, I was late to pick up Josie. I’d gotten stuck talking to the assistant coach after practice and now I was going to pay for it by royally pissing off my daughter.
I wasn’t usually the one to get her after school, but she had her computer club with Gracie so her release time matched up with my practice schedule. After the phone call with her mom had upset her so much, I was trying to put in as much face time as I could, wanting to remind her that she would always be my priority. Plus, the regular season would be starting soon, and that meant more travel, more nights spent away. I wasn’t looking forward to it.
And I wasn’t looking forward to how mad she was going to be when I pulled into the parking lot nearly ten minutes late. My stomach sank when I saw how empty it was. The other parents had probably already picked up their kids, like responsible adults would. Cursing to myself, I jumped out of the Explorer and ran towards the door.
Locked. My heart dropped into my shoes. Locked? Where the hell was my kid?
Maybe pickup from after school clubs was supposed to happen somewhere else? At Meet the Teacher Night, I’d had to find a spot in overflow parking in the teacher’s lot. I’d been running late that night, too. Jesus. I wasn’t winning many parenting points lately.
I jumped back in my car and circled around to the back of the school. The teacher’s lot wasn’t quite as empty—there were a few cars scattered around. And one of them was familiar to me.I pulled up next to the silver Prius and sure enough, Gracie was standing right there.
My relief at seeing her was short lived. Josie wasn’t with her. I met Gracie’s eyes through the front window and could read frustration and confusion there, neither emotion making me feel much better.
“What are you doing here?” she called as I climbed out.
“I’m picking up Josie. She went to science club, right?” God, what if she had skipped? What if she’d left right after school, on her own, and Gracie had been too busy with the club to notice. Or what if?—
“Her grandparents got her half an hour ago,” Gracie said, her voice perfectly calm. “Didn’t they call you?”
“Shit,” I muttered, reaching for the cell in my pocket. I must not have turned the volume back up after leaving the film room—coach kept us in there watching tape from our last depressing preseason game for hours. Sure enough, there was a voicemail notification and two texts waiting from Evelyn.
“She wasn’t feeling well,” Grace explained. “She said her tummy hurt. She used my phone to call her grandma and asked to be picked up.”
Something cold slammed right into my stomach. Josie knew I was coming to get her today. We’d talked about it this morning. Had she even felt sick at all, or had that just been an excuse to get her grandparents to pick her up instead? To get out of spending the afternoon with me?
“Hey.” Grace took a step closer, her hand coming out to rub gently across my forearm. “Are you okay?”
I wondered what my face must look like, to make her expression so concerned. I attempted a weak smile—probably looked more like a grimace—and pressed Evelyn’s contact. “Yeah. I’m just going to call them…”
Evelyn picked up a moment later. “Hi, Liam. Did you get my message?”
“I missed it,” I told her, pinching the bridge of my nose. “But Gra—Miss K. told me what happened. How is she?”
“She seems just fine,” Evelyn said. “She wanted to lie down on the couch when we first got home, but she was up and moving around not too long after.”
I nodded, the cold weight in my stomach sinking a little lower. “I’m thinking she was probably looking for an excuse to come home with you guys,” I muttered. Gracie squeezed my shoulder and I closed my eyes at the sensation of her small, warm hand giving me comfort.
“I had the same thought,” Evelyn said, sounding sympathetic. “I’m sorry, Liam.”
“Not your fault,” I mumbled. “I really appreciate you picking her up. Did you take her to the house or back home with you?”
