My jaw drops. I’ve never seen her so worked up. “No! Simmer down. Elodie comes from a small town here in Illinois and works hard. She’s recently been promoted to manager. A great mother, too. You two will hit it off.”
“Fine. If she is all of those things, then consider being together and get married. We didn’t send you to Catholic mass growing up for nothing.”
“I’m not sure tradition is for me.” It’s partly a lie, but there is a piece of me eager to go buy a damn ring.
My mother hums a sound of perhaps disapproval, but then she calms, the moment stretches, and her features lighten. “I have a granddaughter?”
“Yeah. You’ll see a resemblance.”
Now she’s beaming, and I’m relieved our conversation is back in the right direction. “I was getting worried that I might have to wait forever. You’re pushing your late thirties. When can I meet her?”
My chest tightens as I take a deep breath, my mind flooded with apprehension. “Soon. Just not yet. I only just met her. We’re going to need some time to adjust and get to know one another. I’ll send you photos, though.”
She sighs. “Fair enough. You can only hold me off for so long, though.”
“I figured.” I grin and grab my tie, which is lying on the seat next to me. “Listen, we can talk more about it later. I’vegot to run. There is a minor crisis at the office, and I need to jump into it.”
“Of course.”
We say our goodbyes, and it’s good to know that she will have joy in her life again. It’s not often we talk about my dad’s absence, but it’s fresh enough in our heads, as it’s only been a year. Lola is a gift in a way. Unexpected, but she will bring a little extra happiness to my mom. My elation at the thought is ruined when the driver informs me we are approaching the restaurant for the breakfast meeting.
Two hours later,Foster and I exit the car after our ride from the restaurant and step onto the busy sidewalk. It was an early-morning breakfast meeting at the crack of dawn because he has a plane to catch at ten.
“That was excruciating. Now we have to cram a leadership meeting into ten minutes, all because someone in our Miami office fucked up some numbers,” he complains.
Rightfully so, there was a miscalculation in import tax that ran into the seven figures.
“Everything is fixable, remember that,” I encourage, even if I’m going to get dragged into this headache too.
Entering the bustling building, people are in line for elevators, and the escalators are full. To my right at Beans, it’s busy too.
Foster and I head straight to the elevator reserved for the top floors, and luckily, we don’t have to face a line since the top floors indicate seniority and not many people get that privilege, so we have space and fewer members of staff.
He jabs his finger into the buttons, and we both look up to see the light moving above the doors.
A strange sensation tugs at my leg. Confused, I frown.
“You have a kid at your feet,” Foster flatly points out.
Looking down, I see Lola, and I’m quick to crouch down level with her.
Elodie is hot on her trail. “Sorry, she just sprang free from my hand on our way to daycare.” She lets out a long exhale.“She’s been a fun one this morning.” I sense the sarcasm.
“Has she now?”
Lola pulls on my suit pants.
“Why, hello there.”
Elodie steps forward. “She kept asking about you last night. Well, more why did our friend have her favorite toys.”
“At least you remember me, even if it is for my toys.” I grin.
Lola stares at me with neutrality and hugs her bunnies. “Dada.”
For a moment, I freeze, disbelief rippling through me as if time pauses.
“What did you say?”
