"Well, it's a heavy responsibility, being foliage," Audrey deadpanned, holding out her hand. "Milkshake Tax, please."
Lily rolled her eyes with the dramatic flair of a seven-year-old but obediently pushed her tall glass across the table. Audrey took a sip of the pink, whipped-cream-topped monstrosity. It was a long-standing inside joke; Audrey always claimed a sip as a 'parental fee,' and Lily always pretended to be outraged.
"Hey! You took a huge sip!" Lily protested, a huge smile breaking across her face.
"Inflation, bug. The economy is tough," Audrey teased, wiping a smudge of ketchup from her daughter's cheek with a napkin. It was a perfect, insulated bubble of normalcy.
But as they pushed through the heavy glass doors to leave, the crisp afternoon air hitting their faces, the bubble collided violently with the outside world.
Walking directly toward the entrance was a trio of people. Audrey recognized the broad shoulders and the tailored navy coat before her brain even fully processed his face.
Nathaniel.
He was walking between two women—an older, elegantly dressed woman with sharp, familiar hazel eyes, and a younger woman with a bright, easy smile.
Nate looked up. He froze mid-step on the pavement. The sudden, unguarded flare of warmth in his eyes as he looked at Audrey sent a heavy flush straight down to her toes. For a fraction of a second, they weren't standing on a crowded sidewalk; they were back in the dark, breathless space of his bedroom.
Then, his gaze dropped to the little girl holding Audrey's hand, and his expression instantly smoothed into a mask of polite surprise.
"Audrey," Nate said, his voice a low rumble.
The two women beside him stopped, turning to follow his gaze.
"Nate," Audrey managed, her grip tightening slightly on Lily's hand.
"Mom, Sarah," Nate said, clearing his throat, a faint flush rising to the sharp angles of his cheekbones as he gestured toward Audrey. "You remember Audrey, don't you?"
The older woman’s eyes widened in genuine, delighted shock. She stepped forward, an incredibly warm smile transforming her face.
"Audrey! My goodness, of course we remember you," Nate’s mother exclaimed. She looked at her daughter, Sarah, who was already nodding with an amused, knowing gleam in her eye. "How could we forget? You were the only serious girlfriend he ever brought home to us. We were so convinced you two were going to—"
"Mom," Nate interrupted quickly, his voice tight, the flush on his neck deepening.
An agonizing, suffocating awkwardness descended upon the group. Audrey felt the heat burning her cheeks, the unspoken reality of what she and Nate had done forty-eight hours ago hanging invisible and heavy in the space between them. Everyone laughed, a brittle, strained sound that did nothing to cut the tension.
Lily, entirely oblivious to the heavy subtext, looked up at her mother, her brow furrowed in innocent confusion.
"Mommy," Lily piped up, her high voice carrying perfectly over the quiet street. "Who was whose girlfriend?"
The adults froze. Nate ran a hand over his mouth, suppressing a desperate, dark laugh, while Audrey felt as though she might spontaneously combust.
"That was a long time ago, sweetheart. Before you were even a thought," Audrey deflected smoothly, gently nudging Lily forward.
Nate’s mother immediately bent down, her eyes crinkling as she looked at Lily. The awkwardness melted into pure, grandmotherly adoration. "Well, aren't you just the most beautiful little thing? Look at those eyes. What's your name, darling?"
"Lily," she answered proudly, clinging to her half-empty milkshake cup.
"It is so lovely to meet you, Lily," she said, before straightening up and looking at Audrey with genuine warmth. "It really is wonderful to see you again, Audrey. Truly."
"You too, Mrs. Evans. Sarah," Audrey replied, offering a polite, practiced smile. She risked one final glance at Nate. The heavy, burning intensity in his hazel eyes made her breath catch in her throat all over again. "Have a good evening."
"You too," Nate murmured, holding her gaze for a dangerous second too long.
Audrey hurried Lily to the car, her heart hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs all the way back to the suburbs.
∞∞∞
The morning rush was a chaotic blur of packed lunches, lost permission slips, and burnt toast. Audrey had barely slept, her mind trapped in an exhausting loop between the devastating finality of the divorce papers and the electric collision with Nate’s family.
