“Can we go next door to Auntie Laurie’s?” asked Harper. “Mia’s there, I saw her.”
“Sure, that’s fine. I’ll meet you there when I’m done.”
The girls raced out the door, and Oakley gathered up their bowls and dishes from lunch. Since she was always making something for the girls anyway, she’d started offering a daily lunch special. That day was tomato soup with sourdough, all organic and local.
A few more regulars came in for that. The day was so lovely that they all ate outside, either in the green backyard or out on the lanai.
There was no one left inside, so Oakley took the chance to make a quick call that she had been putting off. The phone rang only once, and Trent answered with real fear in his voice.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me.”
“What’s going on? Are the girls okay?”
She frowned, surprised by his panic. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”
“Jeez, Oakley.” His office chair creaked as he sat back. “Don’t scare me like that. Just send a text message like a normal person.”
He mostly ignored her text messages, but she let the inane comment pass.
“I called to tell you that I’ve cut back to one day a week at the Pilates studio. I’ll just be working up there on Sundays now. So I can still pick the girls up every week, but you’ll need to drive down here to pick them up on Fridays.”
He let out a breath of frustration, loud in her ear. “That’s a long way to drive every Friday. It’s a huge chunk of my day.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ve been driving it twice a week for months.”
“Okay, okay. Fine. I’ll figure it out. I’ll take calls in the car.”
“Great.”
“Anything else?”
“That’s it.” She was about to hang up when he spoke again.
“Actually, while we’re talking…” He trailed off.
“Yeah?”
“I’ve been meaning to tell you… I mean, you should probably hear it from me, instead of the kids…”
“Spit it out, Trent.”
“We’re getting married,” he said in a rush. “Next month. Just a small wedding, but her parents are flying out. The girls will be there. I just… thought you should know.”
Oakley was quiet for a moment, grinding her teeth together. Finally she said, “Okay, thanks for letting me know.”
“And, uh…”
“What?” She said it in a clipped voice, ready to be done with the call.
“The, um… the girls are going to have a little brother.”
A sudden wave of vertigo sent the room spinning.
“Oakley? Hello? Are you there?”
“Congratulations,” she managed to say. “Do they know yet?”
