And as Walker comes to stand in front of me, that grin of his sends my gut into a free-fall.
“So, what are you doing Sunday night, beautiful?”
Eli
My cell phone rings just as I’m rinsing out Amber’s favorite tumbler.
I glance at the screen and see that it’s Gloria’s parents calling. My heart always clenches when I see them pop up on my phone. Even after all these years, seeing their names on my phone still brings back memories of Amber’s mother.
The years we spent together. The trouble we got into while dating. How overjoyed we were to be pregnant.
How vibrant and full of life she was before childbirth took her from us.
I dry my hand off on my pants and reach over, taking the phone call and putting it on speaker. “Hey, hey, Miss Joanne.”
“It’s Bernie,” Gloria’s father says.
My heart sinks into my gut. “What’s wrong?”
Bernie chuckles. “Nothing’s wrong. Don’t panic. We just had a question.”
“Is Amber all right?”
“She’s fine, Eli. We were just calling to ask if she could come spend another night with us. My phone’s dead, so.”
Relief floods me. It takes me a moment to pull out of the panic my memories tend to bring.
“You there, Eli?” Bernie asks.
“Yeah, sorry. Uh, sure. I mean, if that’s what she wants to do, that’s fine with me.”
“You sure?”
“Of course. She have a good time last night with you and my parents?”
Bernie chuckles. “A blast, as always. Your parents set up the projector screen out back and we had snacks while watching two of theHome Alonemovies.”
I smile just thinking about it. “Sounds like a grand time. You guys headed to your place?”
“Yep! I think Amber’s wanting to go to that trampoline park over in the next town. So, we figured we’d take her to do that, wear her out, get her some dinner, and let her crash in her mother’s old bedroom.”
My heart aches. “She loves that pretty pink room.”
“Her mother did, too.”
I swallow the knot in my throat. “You guys have the best time. Just let me know when to come get her tomorrow.”
“Nah, don’t worry about that. We’ll bring her by when she’s ready. Figured around lunch time? We’ll make sure she’s fed before we bring her.”
“I’ll be here, Mr. Bernie.”
He scoffs playfully. “Will you cut it with the ‘mister’ crap? Always so formal.”
I chuckle. “A habit from work, Bern.”
“That’s more like it. See you tomorrow, kiddo.”
I smile and shake my head. “See you guys tomorrow.”
