Please god, let him have a dead battery. She didn’t have the energy tonight. This was the sucky part of dating.
That and when she’d seen him talking to Melanie’s mom. He’d been in the main hall where the elementary and middle school art was displayed. Melanie had two pieces up and Abby had caught sight of Tinker talking to her and her mom. There was nothing outwardly unusual about it—Tinker had a close relationship with them. Abby knew that.
But she’d had a feeling, and she didn’t know if she was allowed to have a feeling.
She wasn’t even sure what she and Tinker were doing. What was their status? Were they dating? Were they fooling around? Why had she ever thought this was a good idea?
She dragged herself from the car and got her bag, lunch box, and shoes from the back seat.
Will’s shriek of excitement was audible through the front door.
“Ugh.” She rested her head against the door and seriously contemplated getting back in her car and driving away. It was hours past his bedtime, which meant he was wound up and would throw a tantrum when she tried to get him to bed.
She sighed and opened the door. Setting her bags and shoes down inside the door, she stepped into the living room. Tinker, Olivia, Will, and her mom were gathered around the coffee table playing cards. Will slapped a card on the table and shouted, “uno!”
He laughed like a maniacal miniature supervillain, falling back onto the floor and rolling around.
“What’s going on?” Abby hoped her voice was calm. She was going for calm. She wanted to be calm. She was not calm. She was about three steps away from “in today’s top breaking news story” and “orange is no one’s color.”
“Hey, honey. Will was too hyper for bed, so we’ve been playing Uno,” her mom said.
“For two hours?” Abby asked.
Sue had the grace to blanche when she looked at the clock. “Oh, shoot. I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t realize it was that late.”
“It’s my fault,” Tinker said. “He was excited I was here.”
“Mm-hmm.” Her throat actually hurt from the strain of not saying what she wanted to say. So why didn’t you leave?
But she didn’t. She could see Olivia tensing up. As happy as Abby was to see her interacting and having fun, she wished it had been at ten in the morning instead of almost ten at night.
“Will, say goodnight. It’s past your bedtime.”
“Mama, no.”
Abby rounded the couch. “Yes. Come on. You can play cards again tomorrow.”
Will ran to the other side of the couch. “No,” he cried.
“William Liam Day. If you make me chase you, you will lose TV privileges tomorrow.”
“Abby, a few more minutes isn’t going to hurt,” Tinker said.
“Do not.” She cut her eyes to him. “Tell me how to parent my child.”
His face went blank. She watched the mask fall back into place. This was the guy she’d seen that first night at the party.
She hadn’t even realized anything had changed until she watched it happen in real time.
The words couldn’t be taken back. She couldn’t explain right then that she didn’t mean it the way it sounded. That she needed to get her kid to bed, and she didn’t need anyone arguing.
She’d apologize later. After Will was in bed.
Will still tried to avoid her grasp when she picked him up, but he didn’t try to run again. He squirmed and kicked and arched his back. She held him tightly.
It’d be his own fault if she dropped him because he was thrashing around, but then he’d be hurt, and she’d feel like an even shittier mother than she did in that moment.
Will pleaded for more time. Tried to bargain for a story. Claimed he didn’t like the stuffy she’d picked out. And through it all, insisted he wasn’t tired.
