Jasper
Love you too. Call me when you’re ready for bed. I miss you.
My heart lurches. God, I don’t know how I ever thought I could go without loving him.
When I finally get to the front of the line, Nora slides into the back seat, and I pull off to the side, waiting for Salem to get off the buses coming from the high school.
“How was school?” I ask, turning in my seat to look at her.
She smiles brightly. “So good. I got invited to a birthday party. It’s for my friend Alex. It’s this weekend. Can I go?”
I frown. “It’s really short notice, but I don’t see why not.”
Digging around in her backpack, she pulls out a small card, then hands it to me. “Here’s the stuff.”
I skim over it while Nora rattles on. “She invited people last week, but I wasn’t here yet, so she had to find another invitation to bring me.”
Fuck. I’m so glad she’s making friends and connecting with people. I really worried about that with both of them.
“So can I go?”
I glance up from the invitation to look at her. “Yeah, I think that should be fine.”
Bouncing in her seat, she giggles. “Thank you, Arlo!”
The passenger door opens, and Salem slides smoothly into his seat, tossing his backpack onto the floorboard.
Dropping his head to the back of the seat, he closes his eyes.
“You okay, kid?” Without a word, he nods. “I’m sorry about this morning. I shouldn’t have pushed you so hard. I apologize.”
He shrugs. “’S’fine.”
I study him for a second. “You alright? How was school?”
“Fine.”
“Just fine?” I ask.
Part of me wants to tell him to open his eyes and look at me, but I’m not sure it will get me anywhere. Other than maybe into another argument with him. It’s probably not worth it.
“You know you can talk to me if you need to,” I say when silence stretches between us.
He nods, still not opening his eyes. “I know.”
With a sigh, I put the car in drive and take off. The kids had their first therapy session this week, and while it seemed to go okay, I’m wondering if I should ask about it. Maybe Salem’s just not clicking with the therapist, since apparently that’s a freaking thing.
“When will Jasper be home?” Nora asks, dragging me from my thoughts.
I glance at her in the rearview mirror. “Not until tomorrow morning.”
“That sucks.” She flops in her seat, then turns, looking out the window.
Yeah, it really does kind of suck. “I can let you FaceTime him tonight for a bit if you want.”
“Really?” Nora leans forward in her seat. “Okay, cool.”
I’m glad she seems to like Jasper. Everyone likes Jasper, so it’s not really a surprise, but still.
