She pats my shoulder then is quickly heading toward her car. Lexi is the type of person that always wants to start the day with a smile. It does ease me. I have no qualms that when I head back inside it might be chaotic, but it’s looking a little less stressful lately.
But that thought vanishes as soon as I return inside and turn the corner of the hall to the kitchen; it isn’t quiet.
“No, Dad has to take me to my music lesson, not to your fufu skating lesson.” Harry is standing his ground against his big sister and seems annoyed too.
Lori is unimpressed. “No, he is taking me to figure skating because someone in this family actually has talent. Besides, I have a competition coming up.”
My hands come up, trying to calm them. “Alright, relax. We probably have three more weeks before we get another nanny. Or at least that’s what the agency said. For now, can we just balance it out? I’ll ask Lexi to help so everyone can get to their afterschool activities.”
“It’s not an activity, it could be my career,” Lori says, defensive.
Bringing my hand to my heart, I’m ready to apologize. “You’re completely right.” Blowing out a breath, I twirl my finger in the air indicating to wrap this all up. I give Lori zero pressure when it comes to skating, but if she envisions a career, then I’m not going to knock her down.
Somehow, we all make it to the car in record time. On the road, Harry is occupied in the back, while Lori is in the front messing with the Bluetooth.
“Can we try to find a middle ground on the music? I bet you would find some bands that you actually like that I grew up with too.”
Lori throws me a glare as she sits back, satisfied that she won the music battle with a pop song. “Not today.” She crosses her arms, and I give up in defeat, but it’s after a little silence that she speaks up again. “Did you fix the garage door?”
Her question causes me to quickly glance to my side while I keep my hands steady on the wheel. “Yeah, just needed a little wiggle.” I swallow my lie.
“Sure, it did.” She sounds skeptical.
But she doesn’t press, instead turning her attention outside, but I can’t help but notice in the side mirror that her lips twitch into a closed-mouth smile to herself. Almost as if she has a thought that makes her glad.
I don’t try to interpret it because the warmth of her face is something that is far more important because she doesn’t do it often.
* * *
I waitfor my coffee at Jolly Joe’s after school drop-off. I hate school drop-off. The moms always give me an over-the-top smile, even if I don’t leave my car. They stand on the sidewalk with a cute little wave or drive up beside me and ensure we catch sight of one another through the windows. My awkward smiles are beginning to hurt my face. But these are the things we do for our children.
Stone and his fiancée Harlow walk into the place, the little bell ringing over the door. They instantly catch sight of me, and it feels like their looks are entertained.
“What are the odds?” Stone grins as he lands right next to me, pretending to read the menu.
“Not really. You know I swing by after the morning school run,” I highlight.
Harlow clears her throat. “I attempted to divert his attention to other topics, but it failed.” She steps forward to order with the lady behind the counter.
Stone turns to me with that grin still smacked on his face. “But while I’m here, we should catch up since you’ve avoided me the last week. Then, our boy Stuart?—”
“You hate Stuart. You try to have me fire him every week.” My tone is flat.
Stone slaps a hand on my shoulder. “Well, I look at him a bit more positively since I did a cookie pickup yesterday for Harlow, and Stuart shared some fun information.”
I take a step forward to grab my coffee order that is ready. “And what might that be?”
“Shall we take a seat? This might be a few minutes.”
Sighing, I give up. Plus, I could use an ear now. We find a booth by the window, and Harlow joins us. They both sit across from me with bright smiles.
“Stuart informed me that you seem awfully happy lately, and Lexi seems quite chipper too. Any coincidence?”
“You know that answer.”
Harlow seems ecstatic. “Is this the part where you move on from the only-benefits plan?”
My cheeks puff out while my finger taps the side of my to-go cup. “Yeah, okay? Yeah. We seem to be doing more than that.”
