That he’s not here.
That he convinced me to drink black coffee.
That he proposed.
To Reese, I send a short update and a goodnight along with a picture of Angel Oak for Bennie.Gold finding took us to this tree, and I climbed it!
Reese responds instantly.Bennie is impressed and said she’s proud of you. I didn’t have the heart to tell her she’s the only one. Mom almost bought a chamber pot chair for $300 today but I nipped that in the bud real quick. I don’t need to know antiques to know that’s a shitty deal (funny, right?) She’s fine, just a pain in the ass. Is it weird I’m getting nervous about her having surgery?
I know how she feels. I want Mom to have the surgery, but I want the surgery to be on her finger and not her brain.
All I write is,Best-case scenario is they take out too much and she forgets about you forever.
She doesn’t respond—she doesn’t have to.
Sleep eludes me.
When my phone rings at nearly eleven and Nash’s name fills the screen, I don’t even pretend I’m not going to answer it.
“Yes, Nash?”
“You like the ring.” It’s not a question.
“Pretty sure I told you I hated it.” Even in the dark, the small diamonds sparkle. “That why you called? Because your ugly ring is stuck on my fat finger? I’ll get it off.”
“Noted.” He chuckles softly. “I need to ask you something.” There’s a TV on wherever he is. “And it’s really important.”
I sit up, my heart tap dancing around my chest. “Okay ...”
“I don’t know how to ask this ... but ...” The pause that follows is long enough my body physically refuses to let me breathe. “Will you have breakfast with me tomorrow?”
Out goes my breath with a laugh and I flop back onto the accidental futon.
“You’re an ass.” I roll my eyes like he can see me. “Will you even be back from wherever you are in the morning?”
“Who says I’m not home?” I hear his smile.
Right.
“Are you?”
“If you’d stay at my house, you’d know.”
I swallow, unsure why he’s calling me from another woman’s house while inviting me to stay at his. “You know I can’t do that.”
“Hm.” More TV sounds fill the air. “I know yousayyou can’t do that.”
What sounds like a child’s voice calls Nash’s name and he responds with a muffled,give me just a minute, dude.
A child?
“Sorry about that,” he says to me.
Does he have a child?No, he can’t; he called him Nash.Maybe it’s Emma’s? But Sunny said it’s going to be a wild night. I don’t know what any of this means.
I clear my throat. “Thank you for breaking into a tree with me tonight.”
“You have fun?”
