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“Then that’s where we’ll go. How was school?”
“Great. We had a pep assembly to get everyone pumped up for the game and all my classes were basically just us talking and not doing much because no one could focus on school work.”
“Sounds like a good day.”
“Definitely,” she agrees.
We pull into the middle school pickup line to get Cody and he rushes over, climbs into the back seat of my truck, and drops his backpack on the floor behind my seat.
“Hey. You brought snacks, right?”
“Hi, Cody. Nice to see you. I had a good day, how was yours?”
He’s already ripping open a Rice Krispies treat package he found in the canvas grocery bag I stashed back there and he mumbles around a bite of the gooey treat, “Sorry. I’m starved. Lunch sucked today.”
“Can you pass me one of those?” Brooklyn asks and for some reason it warms my heart that she feels comfortable enough around me to ask for food. A lot of teenage girls are nervous to eat around people they don’t know well, but she’s really blossomed the last few weeks especially.
At my mom’s last night, she didn’t seem nervous at all. Of course, Cody being there helped, and when her dad showed up, that helped also, but I have a feeling even without them there, she would have been comfortable.
She seems to adore my mother, and the feeling is mutual. They got into a deep conversation about a specific brand of makeup, if makeup can be deep. I guess to women it can. Corbin Rae showed up, too, and the conversation continued. Corbin and Brooklyn broke off from the group, huddling close and talking in a hushed tone.
When I asked Corbin what it was about she just smiled and shook her head.
I have a feeling it had something to do with boys. Weston, in particular.
Corbin seems to be adopting Brooklyn as her niece already. It makes me a little worried. If things don’t work out between Hadley and me – which I’ll be devastated if they don’t – it’s not just Hadley’s and my heart that will be at stake here. My family has grown to love the two of them.
“Me, too.”
Cody hands both of us a Rice Krispies treat and we tear into them.
The one-and-a-half-hour drive goes by quickly, conversation revolving around school and the upcoming game. I notice Brooklyn keeps checking her phone and I assure her that her mom is okay and will call as soon as she can.
During halftime, my phone rings and I stand from my seat, climbing the stairs two at a time and answering along the way.
“Hadley, thank God.”
“I know. I’m so sorry. If I thought yesterday was bad, that was nothing in comparison to today. Do you have time to talk?”
“Yeah. The kids are sitting in the student section but I have eyes on them. It’s halftime time right now so if I see them moving from their seats to get a drink or something, I’ll have to call you back.”
“Thank you for watching over my girl,” she says in a contented voice. “It means so much to me.”
“It’s no trouble at all. I like being around her, you know that.”
“Yeah. Still…”
“Hadley, are you okay?”
“I will be. Um, Dad’s going to be staying with me for a few days.”
“Pardon?”
“Yeah. Let’s just say Mom moved to a whole different level of devious.”
“Oh, no.”
“The only thing she didn’t lie about was that my parents are getting a divorce. Of course, she lied at the time because my dad just asked my mom for it today.”
