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Hailey joined me a few minutes later, her arms loaded with books.
"What did you find?" I asked as we approached the counter.
"Mary told me about this series and it sounded awesome. I was just going to get book one but then I thought we'd have to come back and buy the rest because I know I'm going to love it. So, I thought we could just buy all five and save us a trip."
"Good thinking," I chuckled.
Ben finished ringing her up and I paid.
As we strolled down the street toward the car, I turned to Hailey and asked, "What do you want to do now?"
She beamed up at me with excitement in her eyes. "Ice cream!"
I don’t know why I had even bothered to ask since I had known full well that a trip to the local parlor was inevitable.
We pushed open the creaky door of the parlor and were greeted by the bell chiming above us. I couldn't help but smile, knowing that Mrs. Hutchinson, the nosy old woman behind the counter, would be chomping at the bit to ask her usual invasive questions about my love life, although this time, she would be armed with whatever gossip had reached her about Molly and me. I braced myself for the interrogation but was only met with her congratulations. It was refreshing to say the least.
After a cup of Rocky Road, I was ready to call it a day, but Hailey had other ideas. "Can we go to the park?"
“I have a ton of papers to grade."
"Please. Can we go just for a little while? Some of the girls were going to meet up there tonight to play soccer. They might still be there. Please." She dragged the last word out in a whine.
I sighed. "Alright, fine, but only for a few minutes."
"Yes!" Hailey cheered, pumping her fist.
"Let's go," I said, and she led the way to the park.
When we arrived, there was a gaggle of girls from Hailey's school playing soccer. Hailey ran over and joined them, leaving me standing awkwardly by the trees.
I leaned against a tree and watched Hailey play. A few minutes later, my phone vibrated. I pulled it out and checked the message.
Amy: Call me when you have a sec.
Now was as good a time as any.
"What's up, Amy? Everything okay?" I asked, keeping an eye on Hailey as she ran around the field.
"I'm great! Well, as great as I can be at eight months pregnant and working 12s."
"That bad huh?"
"It's fine, really, but enough about me. How are you doing? Any updates on the dating profile disaster?"
I cringed inwardly at her probing and then remembered I hadn't told her about the accusations made by Valerie. And then there was the development about Molly and me. I rubbed the back of my neck.
"Yeah, um, Valerie Reed got a few of the teachers at school to sign a petition for me to be removed from the Spring Fling. As if she has any pull."
"Wait what?" Amy laughed.
I shook my head, feeling half irritated half amused. "Oh, yeah. She also accused me of sexual misconduct."
"What? Did you do it?"
"God no. She’s just mad because I'm with Molly."
At the mention of Molly, I scrubbed a hand over my mouth to mask the affection I wasn't prepared to examine yet, even silently. After a decade spent focusing on raising Hailey, the feelings stirred by Molly felt far too risky to name just yet
