Staring after the man across the bar, who was hastily making his exit, I made a quick decision. Thankful that I’d changed from my heels into my flats twenty minutes ago, I took off in a fast paced jog.
I’d only gotten a glimpse of the man's face, but I had to know.
Was it him? And if it was, why was he here?
It probably wasn’t even him, but that didn’t stop me from chasing after him. Weaving in and out of patrons. I needed to know.
My staff probably thought I’d lost the plot, but I didn’t care, I’d answer questions later.
I accidentally knocked into someone, apologized, and burst through the entrance out onto the street. I huffed as I stopped to scan the sidewalk. It was pretty sparse out on the street, but a lone figure crossing the road caught my eye. The familiarity of the man’s coat, of that head of hair, his size and stature. I had no doubt it was him - unless he’d suddenly cloned himself; the man crossing the street outside of my club was none other than Callum Wright. The one that I let get away.
I had unknowingly paused on the sidewalk, watching him in the distance, deliberating my options. Once again, a deer caught in headlights, frozen.
Should I stay or should I go - I had no idea.
My insides were torn. The guilt that had held onto me for the past six years was pulling me in Callum’s direction, urging me to chase him down. My pride and old wounds were what bound me from taking even a step further.
After what seemed like hours, when really it was only minutes, I sighed and admitted defeat. I turned, avoiding any eye contact with Flank and walked back on inside. I grabbed my bag and jacket from the barstool and waved goodbye to Tommy. It was time to head home.
On the way out, I ducked past Flank quickly as he ID’d a group of women. I couldn’t bring myself to face him and his questioning gaze. Surely he must have known that Callum was here - he let him in! That only brought up more questions.
Flank knew who Callum was to me, he was one of two people fromWith the Melodythat had known me back then, that knew the great love story that had been Callum and Melody. Why wouldn’t he have warned me that Callum was here?
I walked around the back to find my car as I tried to clear my mind. All these questions and no answers in sight. The uncertainty bugged me the whole drive home.
As I pulled my keys from my bag, I steeled myself to enter the house, the home I’d poured all my efforts into making a warm, safe haven for my girls. Despite everything that was going on with me, I had to compartmentalize. Fingers crossed that Callum’s visit tonight was just a fluke thing. Hopefully, I’d never see him again. Then all of these crazed thoughts could be put to rest, for good.
It was just before nine when I pushed open the front door. I dropped my purse and jacket on the sideboard before venturing further through the house and into the living room. The TV was on, which wasn’t unusual, but my mom was nowhere in sight. “Mom?”
“In here, sweetie,” she called softly from the kitchen.
I grabbed the remote and shut off the television before following after the sound of her voice. Entering the kitchen, I saw that she was unloading the dishwasher, and I groaned dramatically.
“What are you doing? I’ve told you not to do that,” I chastised as I walked over to help her.
“You know that I don’t mind. You’re always so busy, it’s nice to be able to help out.”
“You’re here to watch the girls, not clean up after us.” I put away the last bowl and walked over to her. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her cheek. I was exhausted but I was so grateful for this woman. She was my rock. The best mother, the best grandmother, and my best friend.
I couldn’t imagine how I’d have handled life without her.
She gave me a tight squeeze before we finally pulled apart. She looked as exhausted as I felt. As always, I offered, “You’re welcome to spend the night.”
When I bought my four-bedroom dream house, I’d made sure to put extra effort into doing up the spare bedroom. I wanted it to be luxurious, and fully functional, for such the occasion that my mom or sister came to stay.
We’d lived there three years and I would’ve been able to count on one hand how many times that bedroom had actually been slept in. Once by a drunken, delirious me.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll pass. I am ready to call it a night though… I’ll see you tomorrow?” She smiled at me tenderly before grabbing her keys and purse.
“Same time,” I answered, following her to the front door.
“Perfect. I’ll see you then.” My mom kissed my cheek once more before heading towards her car, the silver hybrid parked beside mine on the driveway. I waved, then watched until her car was out of sight before closing the door.
I locked up and made my way through to the bedrooms, turning lights off as I went. Creaking open the door to Ava and Hallie’s room I saw that they were sound asleep. As they should have been, it was way past their bedtime. But on occasion, they’d stayed awake waiting for me to get home from the club.
Secretly, I loved when they did that. Tonight, I had no such luck. I guessed I’d just see them in the morning.
Down the hall, my bedroom door was open and the bedside lamp was already emitting a soft glow. Which meant that my mom had made her way in here as well, tidying up the very limited mess that we make. She’d even turned down my bed.
