Dub told us about a house in our old neighborhood he looked at earlier. Too bad we moved. I would have loved jogging with him and Rosie in the mornings. We still live close, so it’s not impossible, but it would have been so much easier to just jog down the street and knock on his door. As lovely as the house sounded, I really hoped it was a temporary move. I know he loves Maia, but I was still in the dark about what led them to this place of stress and confusion. Hopefully he’s ready to do the work this time.
Desi asked if she could hang out with some friends when she returned from walking Rosie. I was very curious about who the kids were and where they were going, especially since she didn’t talk about any particular friends. I cut her some slack, however. This was her first hang, and I was happy she had some mates to chill with. Besides, I dropped a lot on her today, and she probably needed the space. I granted permission, and Dub left shortly after. Sophia and I had dinner, and because we were alone—and I was not sick—I finally got that premium massage. Oh. My. Watcher. That’s all I got to say!
The next morning, I woke up very early, just before sunrise, to go for a walk. I figured at that hour my chances of being seen were slim to none. I felt so blah after a week of no workouts and could just feel my muscles deflating and joints stiffening. Rosie was still sleeping, so I grabbed Kooper instead. I wanted to jog, but wasn’t sure if I should. Kooper liked the slower pace, anyway. Rosie had just finished her breakfast when we got back, so I chose that moment to update them on me, not because I thought they would understand, but because I needed to get comfortable talking about it.
“Hey, guys, let’s have a family meeting real quick.”
“I know you probably think I look funny, and that’s fine. We’re going to have a new family member in a couple of days. I don’t know what he’s going to look like. I hope he’s cute, but frankly, he could be scary. Regardless of how he looks, he’ll be family, okay? It’s fine if you’ll need to warm up to him, but I expect you to be nice to him. We good? Okay, you can go now, Rosie. I know you’re itching to get outside.”
Just after 7:00, my phone rang. I felt like 7a.m. calls were early enough to be alarming and annoying, yet late enough to technically not be rude. It was Chi Chi, so my anxiety shot through the roof.
“Good morning, Mrs. Ross. Everything okay?”
First, she gushed about being Mrs. Ross and how great everything had been between her and Nixon. Then, at some point, she finally got around to telling me why she called and gushed about how cute Desi was with all her friends at the romance festival? Luckily, Chi Chi speaks at the speed of water, just going going until she can’t go anymore because I had some thoughts. The romance festival was not on Desi’s agenda, so did she lie to me? Is that boy already in her head, causing her to make bad choices already??
Chi Chi had clearly been itching to tell me this all night and waited until the first possible moment to call me, so I couldn’t let her know she’d accidentally snitched on my daughter and played it off like I knew. After the gushing, she let me go. When Desi came down for breakfast, I brought it up immediately. She was on her computer, typing away, probably chatting with her friends. Disappointment tried to creep in, but I knew my daughter. She wouldn’t lie to me. I had to give her the benefit of doubt and find out what happened instead of going in hot and accusing her of being deceitful.
“Chi Chi called,” I told her. “She said you were at the romance festival?”
“Yeah, it was fun,” she said, still typing.
Alright. She didn’t deny it, so that’s good.
“I thought you were at your friend’s house.”
“I was, but Breanna text me and said they were meeting some kids from school at the festival and asked me to come.”
I was relieved she hadn’t lied to me. Deep down I knew she hadn’t, but teenagers were so volatile; you never knew what they’d do.
“Ah, okay. Got it. I’m glad you had fun, but you have to let us know when you change your plans, Des. If something happens, I don’t know where to find you.”
“Oh, okay. Sorry. Why are you dressed like a burglar, though?”
Sophia couldn’t contain herself, and I heard her snickering behind me. Crazy woman. I didn’t want to ruin the vibe with my sad story of how I still struggled to accept my situation, so I pivoted and asked her to tell us about her evening, and she was more than glad to share. It turned out she only knew one kid, so she enjoyed meeting the others and getting to know everyone the most. Her friend seemed to be interested in Lex; that sly devil, ha! Most of her evening was just talking and throwing flowers at each other, and it sounded like a fun, innocent evening. Next thing I know, she’d introduce me to someone. How were we here already?
