SAWYER: Come with me and my cousin’s kid to Westport on Sunday? We’re hitting the LEGO store.
I see the dotted message bubble show up, but no message comes through for several seconds.C’mon angel, don’t overthink this.
TORI: You want to spend your Sunday with me… AND my kid?”
I grin. Yup, I do.
SAWYER: And Violet. She’s younger than Sawyer and kinda shy, but I think it’ll be cool. Who doesn’t love LEGO?
SAWYER: Besides. We’re friends aren’t we? Friends hang out.
TORI: I thought we were the other kind of friends…
SAWYER: Why can’t we be both? I like hanging out with you and Cooper. So let’s do more of that.
SAWYER: We can do more of the OTHER kind of hanging out when the kids aren’t around…
TORI: Okay. Sure, we’ll come.
SAWYER: Yeah… you will. When Coops in school. *wink emoji*
TORI: *facepalm emoji* I walked into that one.
TORI: You know he’s at school right now… right?
SAWYER: Are you booty callin’ me angel?
TORI: That depends on if you’re saying yes or not.
SAWYER: Be there in a few.
When I honk my horn outside Tori’s house Sunday morning, I look in the rearview mirror at Violet, who’s strapped into her seat. “You good, kiddo? I promise, Cooper’s a cool dude.”
She just nods, which is normal for her. She’s a quiet kid, but I’m hoping she has fun today. Tori and Cooper reach the truck, and I hop out to open the door for them. “Hey guys, glad you could join us.”
“Hi Sawyer! I’m so excited, Mom said I could open my piggy bank and bring some money to buy a big set today.” Cooper scrambles into the back of the truck. “Hi. I’m Cooper,” he says excitedly to Violet, who gives him a small smile and a quiet “hi” back.
“That’s Violet. She’s super smart and super artistic. If you’re lucky, she’ll draw you something. I have a unicorn on my fridge at home that is so realistic, I keep thinking it’s gonna come to life,” I say, watching Coop buckle himself in. I close the door, then pause a beat before opening Tori’s. “Hey, angel. How’s your weekend going so far?” I give her a wink.
She bites her lip. “Lots of laundry to do.”
I laugh under my breath as she climbs into the truck, and I close the door before jogging around to my side. When I showed up at her house on Friday, I was greeted by a lace-covered angel holding a jar of honey.
Let’s just say, things got a little sticky. In more ways than one.
I climb into my truck, and after double-checking everyone’s buckled, we head out. The drive to Westport isn’t long, but it’s long enough for Violet to come out of her shell as soon as she finds out Cooper’s a fellow animal lover.
“Mom, did you hear that? There’s an adoption fair happening next weekend. Can we go? Please?” Cooper leans forward. “Violet told me all about it. There’s gonna be a bouncy castle, too. Even if we just go to look. Please?”
Tori shifts in her seat to look back at him. “Coop, a dog is a lot of work. Who’s going to feed it, clean up the poop, and walk it every day?”
A quick glance in the rearview mirror has me catching Cooper with his hands clasped in a prayer pose. “Please, Mom. Please? I’ll help. I promise. I’ll feed it, and clean up the poop, and we can walk it to school every day. Please!”
It’s obvious this is a long-running conversation, so I wisely stay out of it. But out of the corner of my eye, I see Tori relax against the seat, and it’s obvious she’s close to giving in.
“We can go and look. No promises, becauseifwe get a dog, it’s got to be the right dog for our family.”
Cooper cheers, then turns and gives a startled Violet a high five. “Thanks, Mom. Hey Sawyer, you wanna come with us?”
