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Her head lowers and her eyes narrow in on mine. “You’re lying to yourself, Lil. You are not happy. You’re getting by. You work six days a week, sometimes seven. You come home, cook, clean, do the kid thing, rinse and repeat. When was the last time you laughed, or smiled, or felt any kind of emotion other than hard work?” Her brows crinkle. “Is that an emotion?”
I stare blankly at her. She’s not wrong. It’s been a long damn time, but I’m not sure how any of this helps Austin.
“Hear me out, okay?”
My brows raise.
“Seriously. Don’t interrupt me, get all weird, and immediately say no.”
Oh, this is going to be good.
“I’m dying to hear this.” I grin. “Tell me.”
“There’s a bachelor auction up at the lo—”
“Nope.” I stand from the chair and leave behind any hope of relaxation I had. “Thank you, though.”
“You said you’d listen.”
“No, youaskedme to listen. I’m not going to a bachelor auction, Grace. Maybe you misheard my conversation. My son is about to get kicked out of school.”
She shakes her head. “You don’t think he feeds off of your energy? You don’t think he senses your turmoil, your loneliness, your exhaustion?”
“No. I think he’s a seven-year-old boy who likes to pretend he’s a monkey.”
Grace tips her head to the side and steps toward me. “He’s looking for attention, Lil.” She drops the words right there in the quiet library, waiting for me to pick them up.
“Are you saying I don’t give him enough attention?”
“No. I’m saying you laugh at him when he acts out. He likes to see you smile. So, he does the same in class, trying to make friends.” She huffs as though she’s getting frustrated with herself. “You need to make yourself happy. When you do, Austin will relax. Trust me. I saw the same thing happen to my nephew when my sister got divorced.”
We pause for a moment before she continues.
“The auction is tonight, and it’s for charity. You could assign your donation to the school. Maybe it would buy you some more time.”
“That’s not going to work.”
“What’s not going to work?” She stops her eyes from rolling.
“This.Your whole spiel. The doing it for a greater cause angle.”
“Actually, you’re not doing it for a greater cause. You’re selfishly going to an auction and choosing to sponsor the school your son attends in hopes that they give you more time to figure out a plan regarding his behavior.” She grins. “Tell me that isn’t a good idea.”
“It’s not a good idea.” I grab my coat off the hook by the library door. “I appreciate you, though. You know I do.”
“Well then, if you’re not going for yourself, go for me.”
I turn back toward Grace and stare at her. She’s about my age and build, but where my hair is blonde, hers is brown. And where I have boundaries and limitations, she has none. “You’re making it up. I talk to you every day. You haven’t mentioned this once. Besides, the auction is with the MC guys, right? The big, inked up, rough and tough bad boys of the mountain? That whole vibe just makes me nervous.”
“It’s dinner. One dinner. I haven’t been out in months either. It would be good for us.” She folds her hands in front of her and whines, “Please… my mom will watch Austin. You know how much she loves having him, and we’ll only be gone for a few hours. Plus, it’s up at that new lodge they built. It’s about to open, and we’d get first look inside. Please, please, please, please, please?”
“Even if I were considering this, where do I get the money to do all this donating? I don’t work six days a week because I’m rich.”
“Oh.” Grace's chest deflates as though she hadn’t thought of the answer to that question yet, then re-inflates suddenly. “It’s on me. Consider it a birthday gift. Everyone knows you can’t refuse a birthday gift. It’s bad luck.”
“My birthday is a month away.”
“Perfect timing then.” She grips my hand in hers. “You’re running out of excuses. So… I’ll pick you up at six. What’s the worst that can happen? You go on a date? You have some fun? You talk to someone other than me and a seven-year-old boy? I mean…”
