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"Yeah. I met her at the market today. You want a young woman, right? Someone who can portray a struggling business owner but can overcome the challenges of being a woman in power?"
"That's the idea," Wyatt says, setting his fork down and giving me his full attention.
"What if I can even add another layer of depth to her character?"
"What do you mean?"
"What if the new owner has a child? Single mother and businesswoman."
Wyatt thinks it over for a few minutes, nodding his head up and down as he ponders the thought. "Let me think on it for a bit. I'll let you know."
The conversation turns to drunken afternoon exploits at the bar. Adam keeps them PG for Lola's sake, speaking in code, but it doesn't take away from his stories. It still amazes me that people get drunk in the middle of the day to the point they can't stand up.
Wyatt and Adam clear plates from the table while Chloe and I help Lola get ready for bed. Once she's settled, we head back to find the guys, but they’re not in the kitchen where we left them, and it's still a mess.
"I'll get it later," Chloe says, taking my hand and pulling me out the front door.
The sun has long set over the lake, the stars sparkling against the water. Chloe leads me down the well-worn path we travel often to the bench Wyatt built for her years ago.
Taking a seat next to her, I stare up at the sky and let the events of today sink in a little.
I found out I was pregnant.
Met a new friend.
Figured out a way to help her.
What's next? I'm not sure much more could happen that would surprise me.
"Where did the guys disappear to?" I ask after a few minutes of silence have passed.
"Good question. You wait here, and I'll go find them," she replies, bouncing out of her seat and rushing back toward the house.
That's when I feel him step up behind me.
Looking straight up, I smile at Adam, and he bends to kiss me.
"Where'd you go?" I ask when he finally pulls away and moves to take the seat next to me.
"I was showing Wyatt something."
"What were you showing him?"
"You want to see?"
Lifting an eyebrow at him as if to say, “really? Have you met me?” Adam laughs, stands, and digs into his pocket. As he pulls his hand out, he takes a knee in front of me, and I realize what's about to happen.
I'm going to kill Chloe! She told him.
"Mom I'm fine, I promise,"I say as we stand and watch the tow truck driver work to unlock my car. It has to be close to running out of gas by now. I can’t remember the last time I filled it up.
My appearance startled her when she arrived. Not just the fact that I was in pajamas either. So, while we wait for the tow truck to arrive, I have the privilege of a motherly interrogation.
"Why didn't you call Liam?"
Hmmm. To lie or not to lie? It's dark out. She won't be able to tell if I'm lying if she can't see my face, right?
"He has a group project he's working on tonight, and I didn't want to bother him."
