“Yes, you are.The last time you drove out here we were almost in a fist fight with a lady and her two kids.”
“Kids my ass!Did you see those two baby giants?Looked like they escaped fromJack and the Beanstalk.”
I laugh and watch her hail down a cab that stops in front of us.She is right, those kids were about eight or ten, but they looked more like morbidly obese mini-adults chewing down on Doritos and mini-Snickers bars.Ava opens the door for me.
“Get in.I don’t want you to catch a cold.The last thing I want is Nick chewing me out about having you out in the rain shopping.”
She closes the door, and as if he could hear us talking about him, my phone rings.I smile and hold it up for her to see the screen.She rolls her eyes at it.I answer, giggling.“Hello.”
“Hey, babe.You’re in a good mood, what’s so funny?”
“You and your cousin.”I sit back and rest my arm on the door.
“You’re with Ava?”
“We were shopping; we’re in a cab heading home now.”
“She’s trying to convince you to take me to the poor house again.”
“You know it.”
“You and the baby doing okay?”
“We’re fine, we miss you.”
“I’m missing you too.I’ll be home soon.I have to be in a meeting in five minutes, but I wanted to hear your voice and to check up on you.I’m going to be working overtime to see if I can get home to you a day early.By the time I’m finished working, you’ll probably be sleeping.”
“It doesn’t matter what time you’re finished working, call me.”
“I love you, gotta go.”
“Okay.Talk to you later.”
“Tell Ava I said stop trying to corrupt you.I can imagine what she’s trying to get you to do while I’m gone.Absolutely no clubbing!”
“Scout’s honor, no clubbing.”Ava points her thumbs down and silently boos.I swat her hands away and she sits back.
“Like me you were never a scout,” he says.
“Then your only alternative is to trust me as much as I trust you.”There’s a slight pause, I think the phone gets disconnected.“Nick?”
“I trust you.I have to go, bye.”
“Bye.”There it was again.He sounded fine until the end of the phone call.Like he wanted to say something else then he changed his mind.It’s probably nothing, my mind and emotions are working overtime because I miss him.I put my phone back in my bag and look at the raindrops slide down the window.
“How’s Chris?”Ava asks a few moments later.
“He’s fine.”
“I haven’t seen him in a while.You should invite him over and we can hang out.”
“Hang out?You know he might not come if he knows it’s you, me, and him alone.”
“Don’t tell him I’ll be there.”
“That would be lying, and anyway, he’s working late today.I talked to him yesterday.”
“Invite him over another day when Nick comes back.You can do that as a friend, can’t you?”
