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“Why don’t you run downstairs and get a snack,” Frank leaned over and suggested to the girls. “Miss Lawrence will be right down.”
The girls immediately raced down the stairs, and Veronica felt her stomach clench in a way that was becoming all too familiar. Frank looked over at her and seemed to consider her for a moment before he spoke.
“How were they?” he asked her, his voice seeming more tentative than usual.
“They were great,” Veronica answered, trying to keep her voice light.
“Good,” Frank nodded. There was a long silence then
“I’m going to change out of my clothes,” he said softly.
“Right,” Veronica nodded. “I’ll be in the kitchen with the girls.”
“Of course,” Frank nodded to her. “I’ll be down in a bit.”
Veronica offered him a tight smile and then headed down the staircase to see the girls. She supervised them as they had their snack of a banana and some grapes, and then made sure they cleaned themselves up. About the time they had finished, Frank had made it downstairs.
The girls, of course, immediately rushed to them and Frank chuckled, stroking each of their heads.
“How about a board game?” Frank suggested, and the girls immediately began discussing which one they wanted to play. It seemed to go back and forth between Guess Who and Sorry! Eventually, Guess Who won out.
“Alright then,” Frank said when it was settled. “Miss Lawrence, would you like to play?”
Veronica was a little taken aback. She looked into Frank’s eyes, and she immediately felt the urge to flee.
“Actually,” Veronica countered. “I have been meaning to make a phone call.”
“Oh,” Frank said, seeming a little surprised. “By all means.”
“Maybe I can join in on a later round?” Veronica suggested, mostly speaking to the girls, who encouraged her to do so eagerly.
Veronica looked up at Frank, who gave her a smile and a short shrug. Veronica smiled back, and then turned to head across the kitchen and out onto the pool area. Once outside, she collapsed into a pool chair and ran a hand over her face.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. For a moment, she merely held it in her hand and looked down at it. Finally, she was able to find Calvin’s contact information and hit the call button.
The phone only rang once before he answered.
“Hey!” his voice sounded eager, and Veronica was more than a little surprised by his tone.
“Hey,” she said back, her own voice not quite matching his enthusiasm.
“I didn’t ever hear from you yesterday,” Calvin pointed out. “I figured you were probably just busy taking care of things over there.”
“Yeah it was a pretty wild day,” Veronica said, feeling a cold pang of guilt as she remembered just what had transpired the previous day.
“Oh yeah?” Calvin asked, and Veronica closed her eyes at the eagerness in his voice. “Tell me about it? What’s it like?”
“Well the house is incredible and the girls are great,” Veronica said, and she certainly wasn’t lying.
“What about Davenport?” Calvin asked, his voice full of innocent curiosity. “Is he very cold and distant?”
“I don’t know,” Veronica let the lie sli
de off her tongue. “I haven’t really seen him all that much.”
“Well I guess that’s to be expected,” Calvin said, and in her mind’s eye Veronica could see him nodding. She couldn’t be sure, buts he could have sworn she heard a note of relief in his voice, and it only served to compound her guilt.
“So what about you?” Veronica asked, eager to steer the conversation away from herself. “I know the movers came by today.”
