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“No.”
“When is she coming?”
“Sometime this fall,” I tell her. “Are you sorry we moved here?”
Sammy looks up at the sky as though trying to keep gravity from releasing the tears that have formed in her eyes. “I’m happy we’re here. I don’t want to live in a place if Beth is going to be there.”
For the life of me, I don’t know why Beth would plan to move to Chicago without talking to me first. While it’s true we haven’t spoken in nearly twelve years, this is the kind of thing that warrants contact. I reach out and tenderly take my daughter’s hand in mine. “We don’t need her, Sammy. We’re doing great on our own.” And while I’ve always believed that, I’m starting to wonder if that isn’t just a lie I’ve been telling myself.
“Yeah, we don’t need her.” Sammy’s enthusiasm is underwhelming.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” I ask, hoping a change of subject will make her happy.
She looks up at me with sad puppy dog eyes. “It doesn’t matter now.”
My poor baby. I make a mental note to call Beth and give her a piece of my mind. It would be one thing if she came back to the US and lived in New York City or Los Angeles. But coming back to Chicago changes the game entirely.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
MELISSA
Anna walks into the shop ten minutes before closing. “Not you again,” I tease. I may have been mad at her last night when I found out she set up a Catch.com profile for me, but I’m not upset anymore.
“Nice to see you too.” She walks past me and goes straight to one of the lounge chairs. Once seated, she demands, “How was your date with Tim?”
“He’s a nice guy,” I reluctantly tell her.
“And?”
“And Paige joined us so we’re going to give our first date another shot in a more private location.”
“Why was Paige there?” She sounds shocked.
I lock the door and turn over the open sign before sitting down on the chair next to her. “I told her where we were going, and she couldn’t resist the temptation.”
“I would have come too, had I known it was a party. But it turns out I was busy setting up appointments for a new client. You’ll never guess who that is.”
“You’re Jamie’s realtor?” Before she can confirm this, I add, “I’m going along to see the log home tomorrow.”
“Really, why?” It’s her turn to be confused.
“Sammy and I have a back-to-school shopping date that Jamie would only approve of if he got to drive. We’re going to see the house on our way to Milwaukee.”
Anna arches an eyebrow like she’s inspecting a particularly gnarly bug under a microscope. This forces me to add, “I would have canceled the shopping trip altogether, but Sammy needs some help from a fellow redhead. The least I can do is suffer through one day with her grumpy dad.”
“If you say so.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you hardly know Sammy, so the least you could do is nothing. Instead, you’re taking an entire day out of your weekend to help her out.”
“I like her,” I say truthfully. “Plus, I know how hard seventh grade can be and if I can do anything to make her transition easier, I’m happy to do it.”
Anna slips off her flats and puts her feet up on the pincushion stool in front of her chair. “So, it has nothing to do with her dad?”
“I offered to take her shopping before I knew he was joining us. So, no. Now tell me about the house. Isn’t it too big for the two of them?”
“It’s huge, but Jamie loved it so much I don’t think that’s an issue for him.”
