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I pause. “What are you going for?”
She makes a face. “A new phone. And I just know it’s going to take forever because of insurance paperwork after the mugging, but…” She shrugs. “What are you gonna do?”
Licking my lips, I think it over. “You know, I actually wouldn’t mind a trip to the mall, if you don’t mind the company.”
Her eyebrows rise and she blinks a few times. “Oh, well…sure, if you want to come. I don’t want you to be bored, though.”
“Nah, we’ll be fine. They have a playset there in the middle, and I’ve been trying to do things that introduce Teddy to new kids.”
At that, her smile grows more genuine. “Then yeah, let’s…go together.”
“Cool.”
Twenty minutes later, I’ve strapped Ted into his booster, Emily has climbed into the passenger seat of my SUV, and we’re on our way into Santa Barbara to hit up the mall.
“I’m glad your insurance is covering your phone,” I tell her as we merge onto PCH and head north.
“Me too. And part of me is selfishly excited that they’re apparently going to give me a fancy upgrade even though I had a much older phone.”
I grin. “You’re not one of those people who gets a new phone every time something shiny and fancy comes out?” I ask, remembering Melody’s constant desire for upgrades and her desperate need for the newest, shiniest version of anything.
Emily scoffs, and when I glance over, I find her rolling her eyes.
“No thanks. As long as I have a phone that works, I’m fine. Pretty much everything I own is a hand-me-down, so while I’m excited about the upgrade, I’m also terrified I’m going to break whatever they give me.”
I chuckle at that, imagining Emily holding a new iPhone like it’s the most fragile thing in the world.
It’s not that much longer before we’ve arrived at the mall, unloaded, and traveled inside. I take a deep breath, loving the smells of the cookie place and the pretzel place mixed together.
“I’ll be in Verizon if you need me,” Emily says, giving me a wave and heading to the right.
“Bye Emily!” Teddy shouts, using his hands like a cone around his mouth.
She giggles and waves at him then continues walking through the crowd to the other end of the mall.
Teddy and I head to the left, and I can see the excitement on his face when he spots where we’re going.
“Alright, bud,” I tell him. “Go play. Make some friends.”
Teddy smiles then charges off into the play center, a circled-off area with a slide and bars to climb and pretend horses to ride, tunnels to crawl through. It’s a toddler’s dream, and I can’t help but enjoy watching him scramble around, playing in equal parts alone and with the other kids.
But I also can’t help how my mind begins to wander back to my conversation last night with Emily in the kitchen.
It was casual. Completely casual. And yet I can’t shake off the feeling that there was something about it that…wasn’t. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I imagined the way her eyes struggled not to trace my chest. Maybe I imagined the way she disapproved of August’s friends hitting on me.
But also, maybe I didn’t.
A sharp, familiar cry draws my attention, and my eyes tear across the play area to where my son is lying on the ground, crying. I race over to him and check him out. He seems fine, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he is.
“What happened, bud?” I ask him, trying to find anything bleeding or red and swollen.
“I…I…I…fell,” he sobs, his words choked as he blurts out what actually happened.
“Oh, yeah?” I ask, lifting him up and holding him close. “And where did you hurt yourself?”
He holds out his hand to show me where it looks like he has a bit of a rug burn or some small scratches on his palm. Immediately, my shoulders sag in relief.
“I’m sorry, man. What would make it better?”
