“Hey, Avey girl,” Adeline says.
“I told you they’d call,” Vivi says in the background. “She was nervous that she’d miss the call, so we’ve been staring at her iPad for the past half hour.”
I chuckle, my heart squeezing. “Avey, you know we said nine. If we couldn’t get a hold of you, we’d have called Vivi.”
“I told her that too,” Vivi says.
Avery nibbles on her lip. “I wish you were here,” she says quietly, her eyes filling with tears.
Dammit. My heart fucking breaks.
“I wish I was there too.” It’s the hardest goddamn thing about this job. I’m not around enough to be the parent I want to be for Avery. She deserves to have at least one parent who’s present.
“But you know what’s exciting?” Adeline says, squeezing my knee like she knows I’m struggling for words.
“What?” Avery asks, voice cracking.
“Your daddy and I will be home this weekend, and your Uncle Theo is coming to town. We’re all going to watch him play football on Sunday.”
Avery’s little brows tug together. “He’s not my uncle; he’s my cousin.”
Adeline coughs out a laugh and nods. “You’re right. I heard that your cousin Theo is bringing cowboy hats for everyone and he wants us all to wear them to the game. What do you think? Should we ask for pink ones?”
Avery’s lips part in surprise. “We could match?”
With a big smile on her face, Adeline nods.
“Can we wear pink jerseys too?”
Her responding laugh is light. “I’ll see what I can do.”
My heart lights up at the way they interact. It eases so much of my worry knowing how good Adeline is at calming Avery’s anxiety. She has no idea how much it means to my daughter, but I’ll make sure she knows how much it means to me.
“Can I call Mimi and Pops after this?”
I nod. “I’m sure they’d love to hear from you.”
“And Auntie Chloe and Uncle James?”
A low chuckle rolls out of me. “I’ll text them and let them know you’ll be calling.”
“Yay,” she says with a clap.
“And Mommy?” she asks.
Adeline glances away from the screen and I clear my throat. “I’ll text her too. If she’s around I’ll let Vivi know, and you can call her. Okay?”
Avery sighs, her little shoulders sinking like she knows her mother won’t be around. “That’s okay. It’s getting late. Maybe she’ll call me tomorrow.”
I’ve hated Tabitha for a lot of things over the years, but lately, with these conversations coming up nightly, I’ve come to despise the woman in a way I didn’t know was possible.The pain that comes with watching my daughter come to terms with the fact that her mother doesn’t care is unlike anything else.
“I love you, Avey girl,” Adeline says, her soft voice pulling me from my spiraling thoughts. “Thank you for letting me FaceTime with you tonight.”
Avery’s blues lights up. “I love you too. And you can FaceTime whenever you want. Sometimes I get sad when I’m away from my daddy, so I’m guessing you get sad when you’re away from your mommy and daddy.”
Adeline smiles, and I swear there are tears in her eyes. “I’m sad when I’m away from you.”
“My daddy always says he’s right here.” She points to her chest with one tiny finger. “So you can be right there too, and then you won’t be sad, okay? I’ll keep you right there.” She pats her chest with her whole hand this time, and now I’m blinking back tears.
