I splashed cold water on my face but it did no good. My reflection continued to mock me. No matter what I did, only time would make the red splotches covering my face disappear.
It was safe to say this was not one of those magical movie moments where all evidence of tears just evaporated within seconds. Like they were never there to begin with.
I didn’t care what I looked like. My mind drove me with my need to see Callum. I needed to see him immediately. There was no more waiting, no more putting off the inevitable.
Grabbing my phone I messaged my mom. I needed to know if she was still at the park with the girls. A plan had begun to form in my mind, one that wouldn’t enable me to chicken out.
Jumping in my car, I dialed Callum’s number and placed it on speakerphone.
“Hey, Mel!” His voice came through after only a few rings. He sounded happy and that only made this all so much worse.
“Hey.”
“I’m glad you called, are you feeling any better?”
“Aww, that’s very sweet of you, Callum. Thank you for your concern, I’m feeling much better but that’s not the reason I called. I need to see you. Like right now.”
“Did you wanna meet me at the club?”
“No, are you at home?”
“I’m just leaving the stadium, I’ll only be a few minutes.”
“Okay, I’ll be there in five. Be ready to leave, okay?” I could hear the panicked tone in my voice. I hoped that he didn’t pick up on it but he knew me better than that.
“Sure thing.”
I hung up, weaving in and out of traffic to get to Callum’s apartment in record time. I pulled up to the curb outside his building and spotted him standing outside waiting for me. He looked good. Like so fucking good that for a moment I forgot why I was there in the first place. I needed to tell him he had two children, not start working on a third.
As he walked to the car, my eyes quickly shot to the back seat. It was a mess, not to mention the booster seats strapped on either side.
Oh dear lord.
Fuck me, I just could not catch a break.
Maybe he wouldn’t notice, I reasoned with myself.
“Hey.” I smiled. I tried to calm myself down enough to act normal. “I’m sorry about all of this.”
“It’s okay. You know if you wanted to see me that badly you didn’t have to put on a rouse.” I kissed him hard and fast. My thoughts were already running rampant, I didn’t want to give myself any more sappy thoughts to think about. “So where are we off to?”
“It’s a surprise.” Thankfully he stayed silent after that.
The radio played in the background as we made the short journey to the park. It was actually only a few blocks from Callum’s apartment building but I’d had the feeling taking the car and having a place to cry if this went belly up was a smart move.
I parked in one of the empty bays that lined the street. For a Sunday afternoon, it wasn’t as busy as usual. Most afternoons, it was hard to get a parking space.
“We’re at the park?” Callum looked out over the fields and at the children playing with curiosity.
“My mom’s here.” I climbed out of my side, not offering any more explanation than that.
He rejoined me on the sidewalk and we began walking. I was slowly directing us over to the playground but I thought maybe I had better give him something, a warning of some sort.
“When we broke up, I was so crushed.”
Callum sweet as he is, cut me off. “I know, I was too. I don’t ever want to be separated from you, Mel.”
I smiled tightly, while his words were what I wanted to hear, now wasn’t the optimal time. My eyes began to mist, once again, at the emotion behind his words. I could tell that that was how he truly felt. The question was, would he still feel that way in twenty minutes.
