Calvin froze for the briefest of moments, before throwing the dirty tablecloth into a box full of dirty jugs.
It’s none of my business. Absolutely none of my business.
But he couldn’t help but listen in – it wasn’t like he could walk off or stick his fingers in his ears, after all.
“What did he say?” Ash replied, sounding mildly curious.
Diana’s smile was evident in her voice. “He wanted to know if you’d like to go to the beach when you have your vacation with him next month.”
Part of Calvin’s mind took in the way Ash’s face lit up – while he wasn’t reacting nearly as exuberantly as most kids would at the idea of a beach vacation, Calvin was pretty sure that this was Ash’s equivalent of jumping up and down and waving his arms around in excitement.
The larger part of Calvin’s mind, however, was whirring at a hundred miles an hour.
Are Diana and Ash’s father no longer together?
He didn’t want to jump to conclusions. And, if it was indeed the case that they had separated, he certainly didn’t want to revel in the fact that the separation must have been painful for both Diana and Ash.
But there was definitely a small flame of hope that had been rekindled in him.
It was more like a raging inferno as far as the wyvern was concerned, and Calvin tried not to wince as it demanded that he get to one knee and propose right this second.
Cool your jets,he told it, reminding himself to continue with the cleanup process rather than just stand there and stare.We still don’t know the full story.
“Well?” Diana said, and Ash nodded excitedly.
“Yes, please.”
Diana gave him a quick hug, before pulling back.
“Would you like to call him this evening when he’s finished work?”
Ash nodded again, and Diana gave his hair another quick ruffle, before turning back to Calvin.
“Ash’s dad lives a few hours from here,” she said, in a relaxed voice that didn’t seem to indicate that this was a source of tension.
Calvin’s stomach did a slow roll of anticipation.
Could it really be that she’s not together with Ash’s father anymore?
Oblivious to his inner turmoil, Diana went on, “Girdwood Springs is wonderful and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, but itdoesmake beach vacations a bit more challenging. I’m more of a mountain girl at heart anyway, so if Ash’s dad wants to be the one dealing with sand getting into everything, then I’m more than happy to let him.”
“That sounds like it’s rough,” Calvin said sympathetically. “Ash living away from his dad, I mean. Not the sand.”
“It does have its downsides,” Diana said. “Obviously in an ideal world, Ash would see both his parents every day and everything would be wonderful. But his dad and I are better apart than together, and I know he’d have felt stifled in Girdwood Springs – he’s the big city go-getter type, loves socializing and climbing the career ladder.” She shook her head. “Our differences were causing too much stress for Ash – for all three of us, really. This way, he gets two happy parents who both see him regularly.” Smiling slyly, she added, “And two lots of birthday presents.”
Calvin nodded mutely, his head in a whirl.
She’s single. Diana is single.
Inside his chest, his wyvern soared high in the air, doing a little pirouette. Which turned into a full loop-the-loop, and several barrel rolls.
“That’s good to hear,” he said inanely. It was about all he felt safe saying right now – the news had come as such a shock that if he opened his mouth again, he wasn’t quite sure what would come out.
Better to just concentrate on the task at hand, he decided, channeling all his concentration into picking up lemon peels alongside Ash and Diana.
Between the four of them they had everything tidied in record time, with Bella contributing by bringing a different stick out of the woods than the one Calvin had thrown for her.
But quickly, a problem became apparent.
