AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Anita touched her forehead. “What are you talking about?”
“You get lines when you’re dating someone,” Carly continued. “But with Wyatt, they disappear.”
“That’s . . . observant,” Phyllis said, a gleam in her eyes. “I’d like to meet him . . . officially.”
Anita huffed out a breath. “We’ll see. Now, Carly, we need to unpack and do laundry.” She looked back to her neighbor. “Phyllis, I was wondering something. What if we created a connecting gate between our gardens? You know, so you can come over to my house without all the fuss of going around front?”
Phyllis’s eyes gleamed. “I . . . would love that.”
Anita squeezed her hand. “I would love it too. We could visit each other without all the formality.”
Phyllis squeezed back.
“Can I visit again tomorrow? What’s your schedule like?”
Phyllis grimaced. “Torturous physical therapy . . . in the morning. Come for lunch? Becky can fix us . . . sandwiches.” She winked. “I have to put her . . . to work somehow.”
“I’ll bring dessert, then,” Anita said with a laugh. “Then after school, Carly can pop in too.”
“That would be lovely.”
They left Phyllis, and after saying goodbye to Becky, headed back to the house.
“If you want to call Wyatt now, I can wait to call my friends,” Carly offered.
Anita shook her head with a scoff. “You’re so persistent—what’s gotten into you?”
Her daughter just smiled and walked into their house.
“Go ahead and call your friends first.”
Carly laughed as she headed down the hallway.
Anita opened the refrigerator, then the freezer. She decided to make a chicken casserole. She pulled out chicken and began to defrost it in a pan of hot water. They had peas and carrots and pasta...or should she make rice?
The doorbell rang, and for a moment, she wondered if it was Becky. Maybe they needed help with something, or to run an errand? As she neared the door, her heart skipped a beat at the thought of Wyatt showing up. But when she opened the door, her stomach knotted.
“Bobby?”
He smiled tentatively from his spot on the porch. In one hand, he held a small bouquet of flowers.
Anita could only stare at her ex-husband. Of course he knew where she lived, but he’d never come over like this. And Carly...He must be here to see Carly. Did she know? If so, why hadn’t she said anything?
“Sorry for the surprise,” Bobby said, his smile still in place, albeit nervous. “I seem to have a problem with follow-through. I thought if I just showed up, without making promises that I’d probably break, then I could see my daughter. You know, get those jitters out of the way.”
Anita blinked. She had no idea what to say, or what to do...
“Mom?” Carly’s voice came from behind her. She’d probably heard the doorbell too.
She closed her eyes, then felt Carly come to stand by her side.
“Hi, pumpkin,” Bobby said.
Anita opened her eyes.
“Daddy?” Carly said in a quiet voice. Everything about her had gone still.
“These are for you,” he said, holding up the flowers. “I know it’s not much of an apology, but I was sorry to miss you last week.”
