I typed it in again and was met with another red X. Cole must have changed the code, and of course, he didn't tell me because he didn't know I was coming home early.
I typed in his name backward. Red X.
I typed in his birthday. Red X.
I typed in CJ’s birthday. Red X.
I turned my back to the door, slid down until I was sitting, and tried to think.
Cole made the code to the door his first name because it would be easy to remember, so it had to be a four-digit code he would know just as well as his name. I took a deep breath to clear my mind hoping a simple solution would magically pop into my head. The only thing that popped in my head was Cole's face. I remembered the way his brow furrowed when he worried about me, his adorable lopsided grin whenever I laughed at one of his jokes, and his hooded eyes and the heated gaze that let me know he was about to fuck me silly. Then it hit me.
I stood up and faced the keypad. Tears blurred my vision, and I needed a moment to compose myself before I typed in my last guess.
5-4-7-2. Green checkmark.
He’d changed the code to Lisa.
As quickly as I could,I put on a tea-length black dress with a white cardigan sweater. I grabbed the specimen cup from the foyer table and tossed it in my bag and called a Lyft to get downtown.
The first thing I did when I got into the car was to open the cup and hold it to my nose. The smell was clean and fresh without a trace of disinfectant. Cole had sent it out to be cleaned but left it in the cup. It was such a Cole thing to do. He'd also had it resized. It was a perfect fit when I slipped it on my finger.
I madeit to the family court floor, but I had no idea where I was going. I wondered if I'd made a huge mistake by coming when I heard a familiar voice.
“Lisa,” Beverly called to me from the far end of the corridor. She waved me over, folded me in her arms and kissed me. “It’s so good to see you. Cole’s gonna be so happy.” She squeezed me again.
“Did I miss it?”
“No, it hasn’t started yet. You look beautiful, sweetie, but a little tired.” She took my chin in her hand and was examining the dark circles under my eyes.
“I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night,” I confessed.
“Well, you’re not the only one.” She put her arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “Speak of the devil…”
Cole stepped out of the men’s bathroom carrying CJ. He set him down and hugged his sister.
"Why he decided to take a giant crap now of all times—what, buddy?" He looked down at CJ, who had spotted me and was tugging him in my direction.
“Lisa?” He let go of CJ, who took off in my direction, and he followed a half a step behind. I scooped my nugget into my arms and held him close to me, inhaling his sweet baby smell. “What are you doing here?” He wrapped his arms around me.
“Is this a bad time?” I smiled up at him. “I could come back—”
Cole pressed our lips together. “Thank you.”
"Well, it's actually a good thing I ran into you because I'm in breach of contract with the show, and I wanted to know if you could recommend a good lawyer," I whispered.
"I love you." He took the hand that wasn't holding CJ and pressed it to his heart. His eyes fell on the ladybug ring, and he smiled.
"You changed the code. It took me a while to figure it out, but I got in eventually."
"Did I ever tell you that I find your ingenuity incredibly sexy?" He gave me a sly lopsided grin and kissed me. "Does this mean you're ready?"
I opened my mouth to answer and was interrupted by Susan’s booming voice.
“Are we ready?” Her face lit up when she spotted me. “Lisa! This is great. Button up this sweater. Your makeup looks perfect.” She grabbed my left hand and glared at Cole. “Are you kidding me with this ring? You told me you took her to Tiffany’s, not Chuck E. Cheese’s.”
"Actually, this ring is from Tiffany's," I said. "CJ picked it, and I love it." I grinned at Cole.
“She’s not testifying, Susan.” He reclaimed my left hand and interlocked our fingers.
