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“Okay,” she nods, looking minorly relieved. But I’m not going to make waves when someone is just trying to be cautious.
Katy steps off to the side for a few minutes, her phone to her ear while she nods and talks quietly into the receiver, like she’s trying to nurture Kasey on the other end it seems. After she hangs up, she walks back over, stuffing her phone in her bag.
“Okay,” she announces with a relieved nod of her head. “Kasey says it’s alright.”
Luna throws herself into Katy’s arms and gives her a grateful hug before Katy gives me Kasey and Luna’s address and hands me a copy of the house key.
“Let’s get you some dinner,” I say to Luna as she follows me out of the gym, still holding her ball like it’s a life line while her mini backpack bounces behind her. “What else do you like besides pizza?” I ask as I open the back door of the rental car for her.
Fuck, it’s been a month. I need to turn the damn thing back in and purchase a new vehicle. I’ve got plenty of money, but still, I don’t need to throw it all away on rental fees. Of course, I need to make a decision if I’m sticking around or not.
“Tacos,” she states plainly as she flops into the seat and starts buckling up.
“Tacos it is,” I concede, climbing behind the wheel and turning the engine over.
Chapter Sixteen
Ben
As I letLuna and I into her house, she wastes no time hanging up her little backpack on a hook by the door and making a beeline for the kitchen table with her takeout bag containing her taco kid’s meal. She sets it down on the kitchen table that I can see from the front door, thanks to the open floor plan of the place. She then zooms right over to some cubby shelves and starts pulling out bins.
I’m not sure what she’s doing, but I let her busy herself while I give myself a minute to take in Kasey’s place. It’s a small bungalow style house, like I had always wanted to live in once. When I pulled up, I saw the outside was charming, boasting a nice-sized porch with potted plants and a swing. On the inside, there are white walls with dark wood accents that match the flooring. There is an amazing array of photos populating the walls and shelf spaces, of family that I remember from the wedding, as well as more pictures of Luna growing up. There’s even one of Kasey visibly pregnant, in a cute sundress, cradling her belly. She’s wearing a content smile, but it fails to light up her face like I’ve seen her smiles do. What I don’t like about the photo is the fact that she’s alone. Some asshole out there is really missing out on two very incredible ladies.
When I turn back towards the dining area, I find Luna has unpacked her dinner but also has several sheets of notebook paper, pages of stickers, and markers in every color of the rainbow scattered about. She’s busy writing, drawing, and scribbling, and doesn’t even seem to remember I’m here.
“Don’t you want your tacos?” I ask as I set my own bag down by hers.
“Yeah, I’ll eat them in a minute. I just want to make something for Mom first,” she answers without looking up.
“Okay,” I say hesitantly before taking a seat across from her and pulling my food out. “What are you making her?”
“Just a nice card.”
“Oh, like a ‘get well’ card since she’s not feeling well?” She shrugs and makes a half frown that I don’t think she realizes she’s doing.
“This happens sometimes,” she says quietly. “She doesn’t feel good, or she’s sad and scared and has to go to a meeting. One time, she really didn’t feel good and had to go to a hospital for a few days, and I stayed with Uncle Matt and Aunt Melanie, but that doesn’t happen a lot. I just like to make her feel better. I think she feels bad for getting that way, because she spends a whole bunch of time with me afterwards and we do fun things, like go to the movies or get ice cream which isso cool,but anyway, I just don’t want her to feel bad, so I make her a card telling her she’s the best mom in the world and stuff like that.”
Wow.
That was a lot of sharing. And while I wasn’t looking for any more reasons to think Kasey and Luna were both amazing, I got them anyway. Christ, she’s a good kid, and that has to be a reflection on Kasey. She’s a dynamite mom that works her ass off for this kid, despite the shitty hand she got dealt. So many would just give up; surrender to the monster. Not Kasey. She obviously battles it daily and never stops for even a day, no matter how exhausting it must be.
It’s also clear to me that tonight, Kasey isn’t sick in the physical sense. Something must have happened to trigger her to go to a meeting and get herself right before she came home to parent her daughter. Amazing.
I feel bad for a moment, being privy to all this information that Kasey herself didn’t share with me, but it’s not like I sat Luna down in a concrete room and shone a light in her face. Still, I decide to leave Luna to her artwork while I continue on with my meal, inwardly deciding that if it comes up again, I’ll redirect her. I know Luna means well and she’s just a kid, but despite the fact Kasey let me in on her struggles, I don’t know if she wants me to know every little detail.
Luna makes slow work of her dinner as she makes three more cards, leaving one on the table, one on the fridge, one by the front door, and even one in the bathroom. After I’ve thrown out the garbage, my phone rings and I see Kasey’s name on my screen.
“Hi,” I greet her, not being able to help the concern in my voice.
“Hi, is everything okay?” She sounds okay, but definitely shaken up.
“Everything’s fine. Luna and I just finished dinner.”
I hear a heavy sigh blow through the line.
“Thank you, Ben.Again…” she adds cynically, and I can tell she’s being hard on herself.
“Kase, don’t start,” I gently chastise as if I’ve known her forever.
