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“A trial run for what? Being the world’s greatest tourist?”
Nervously, I glanced over my shoulder to check that Sofia wasn’t eavesdropping. There was no sign of her, which likely meant she was still playing with dolls and avoiding the camera.
“No, you dummy. For living together. For marriage. Now it’s been a month. That’s long enough to know whether it’s going to work.”
“Lea, there’s a lot more that goes into it. Sofia would have to be enrolled in school. We’d have to bring the rest of my things here. He hasn’t said a word about us staying past August.”
“Exactly,” she said. “So, what’s taking him so long?”
I opened my mouth to protest some more but found I couldn’t. Not quite. Because the truth is, my brain had led me down the same strange path.
There had been a few more moments, too, when I’d almost thought he was going to do it. A few nights when we were out to dinner or after Sofia had gone to bed and we were enjoying a glass of wine together in the onsen. He’d given me this look, and the blue of his eyes had positively sparkled. And I could have sworn he was going to say something. Ask me something.
But he never did.
“Nothing,” I lied in the end. “It’s probably not something he is thinking about any more than I am.”
Lies. All dirty, rotten lies.
“Anyway, tell me what’s new with you?” I pressed. “Did Tommy win his baseball game last weekend?”
At that, Lea launched into a play-by-play of her eldest’s game, leaving me to zone out while I sipped water. It was only when we had finally signed off sometime past six o’clock, and Sofia wandered in looking for food, that I wondered where in the heck Xavier was.
So, apparently, did she.
“Mama? Where’s Daddy?”
Before I could answer, the elevator doors opened, and Elsie walked into the apartment, sensible shoes squeaking on the marble floor.
“There you are!” she exclaimed. “We’ve been trying to reach you for the last hour, loves.”
I glanced at my phone, which now bore a raft of messages and missed calls from both Xavier and Elsie.
Xavier: running late at Chez Miso. Swing by for dinner with Sof? I’ll have the chef make her something off-menu.
Xavier: You home yet? Or stuck in the tube? What have you been up to today?
Xavier: Ces, where are you? Getting worried.
I cringed guiltily and sent a quick message letting him know I was all right and with Elsie. “Sorry, I was on the phone with my sister. Everything okay?”
Elsie nodded. “Everything’s fine. The boy just wanted you to know he had to put out some fires at Chez Miso tonight. The chef there is being a real pill and walked out for the fourth time, if you can believe that, so Xavier had to step in and cover. Again. Between you and me, I’m not sure he’ll take him back this time.”
I frowned. “Oh dear.”
At this point, I’d been around long enough to hear more than one rant about the various chefs in Xavier’s employ. They seemed like a moody type, and while Xavier dearly loved to cook, I was certain he didn’t like being taken advantage of. Especially when it came to his time.
“Is there anything I can do?” I wondered.
“No, dear. That’s why I’m here, checking to see if there is anything you need. Groceries or dinner, maybe? The boy won’t be home until very late, I’m afraid, and if I know him, that fridge is empty.”
I looked at my phone. “He did ask us to come to the restaurant. But now it’s almost six, and Sofia’s bedtime is seven thirty. I think it’s a bit late for her to be going out again.”
“Of course,” Elsie agreed. “Little Miss needs her beauty sleep, doesn’t she?”
“And dinner.”
I checked the fridge. Though I’d been keeping it full of snacks, Xavier generally took care of evening meals. And it was, unfortunately, bereft of anything I could manage. Down the hall, I could hear the clear sounds of Sofia singing one of theMoanasongs in her bedroom.
