My thoughts spiral from how I moved us around so much in those early days when I was just getting out of the abusive relationship with her dad to the way I had to work so hard as a single parent just to keep a roof over our heads.
Maybe if I’d been better at handling everything life threw at me, my little girl wouldn’t be eating lunch alone every day.
Back behind the wheel of my car, I’m wishing I could just go home and crawl under the covers instead of facing the rest of my workday when my phone rings.
I assume it’s work, calling me to tell me—like some kind of sign from the universe—that I’ve been gone too long and really do need to get back to the office.
So when I glance at the screen and see Margo’s name instead, I feel an immediate sense of relief.
“Hey,” I answer, grateful for the distraction from my spiraling thoughts.
“Oh! I didn’t expect you to answer. I just got out of a meeting and was thinking about you. I’d planned on leaving a voicemail, but this works even better! How are things going with Grant? Are you and April settling in?”
“We’re settling in pretty well,” I answer automatically. “Really good, actually. He’s been way too generous with us.”
“Good, I’m glad. So things are going well between the two of you? It’s not still sort of awkward like it was in the beginning?”
I take a second to think back on those first few days and how different it feels now that we’re talking and texting back and forth on a daily basis.
“Yeah, we’re over that initial awkwardness. He’s actually pretty easy to talk to.”
There’s a second of silence on the other end of the line. “Easy to talk to? Grant Parker?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Are we talking about the same guy here? Because the Grant Parker I know barely says two words to most people. He’s like talking to a brick wall at team functions.”
She’s not wrong, but her knee-jerk reaction makes me feel irrationally defensive. “That’s different. You know how focused he gets when he’s in work mode. It’s different when he’s one-on-one.”
“Really? I guess I’ve only ever seen the quiet, grumpy, single-minded version.”
“That’s work mode. The Grant I know asks about April’s day. He offers to pick up groceries if there’s something we mention offhand that we might like to try. He even mended one of April’s shirts out of the blue one day, just to be helpful.”
“Wow.” There’s a long pause, then she adds, “So he’s like a completely different person when it’s just the two of you—the three of you, I mean.”
“No, not completely different. He still looks stern most of the time, and he still frowns more than he smiles. But we’ve also had some good conversations, and I feel like I understand him now in a way that wouldn’t have been possible if we weren’t living together.”
“Huh.” She sounds genuinely stumped by the idea that Grant isn’t as one-dimensional as she might have thought. “That’s kind of amazing.”
Hearing her reaction makes me realize for the first time how big of a deal it really is. I don’t think Grant has changed at all—I think he’s probably always been the same kind, caring, compassionate person—but the fact that he’s let his walls down enough to let April and me see that side of him is as surprising as it is flattering.
Before I can say anything else, though, she changes the subject. “Speaking of amazing, I had my twenty-week ultrasound yesterday. Everything looks perfect with the baby.”
“That’s great news! I can’t believe you’re already halfway there.”
“I know, right? Noah has already started baby-proofing the house. There’s still so much time left, but it’s so cute that I can’t make myself rain on his parade.”
I laugh, trying and failing to picture the one-time ladies’ man so completely settled down and domesticated. But that just goes to show how different someone can be behind closed doors. Or how quickly they can change when they realize what truly matters in life.
“Have you picked out names yet?” I ask.
“We have a short list, but we’re trying not to?—”
A grinding sound and some weird clicks from under the hood cut her off, and the steering wheel starts to feel stiff and jerky.
“Oh, shit.” I signal to pull over as the temperature gauge climbs into the red zone.
“Heather? What’s going on?”
