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“Hi?”
“I’m Tessa,” she says, charging into my office. She drops a backpack that looks as big as she is and plops down in one of my side chairs.
“Eliot.”
“I’m supposed to be at the coffee shop doing homework. Uncle Owen lets me walk there until he’s finished with his shift.” Wait, what? “But I decided today to find you. Uncle Owen says you’re his girlfriend, but I’m not buying that since you haven’t come over even once. So I decided to come meet you. You should know it’s chill with me if you want to come over.”
“Owen’s your uncle?” I’m trying to catch up. She talks much faster than I can listen.
“Well, yeah. Who did you think he was?”
“Your dad?”
“Gross. Even someone my age knows you can’t marry your sister. So, do you want to come have dinner with us sometime? Uncle Owen isn’t a great cook, but it’s edible. We eat a lot of eggs. Like a lot a lot.
“Anyway, Uncle Owen says you’re really smart. Do you think I could come get help with math when I need it? I promise I’ll only come here when I can’t figure it out.”
“Sure?”
“Cool. I’d better go before I get in trouble because he can’t find me. Oh, do you think you could talk to Uncle Owen about letting me go to the middle school dance with Colton? He’s really yummy. Colton, not my uncle. Anyway, I’ll see you later. Bye, Eliot.” She sweeps out of the office the same way she swept in.
“Bye?”
Her head pops back around the doorframe. “Oh, he really likes you too. You should call him.” Poof, she’s gone again.
It takes all my concentration not to answer with another question again. What just happened? Maybe those gas-fume marshmallows were deadlier than I thought. I think I’m hallucinating.
I rewind everything trying to piece it together. Why did I never consider that she might be his niece? So did his sister have an emergency that required her to leave Tessa in Owen’s care? Or did she just dump the girl and run?
My head hurts. It’s only four-thirty, but I’m going home anyway. I can catch a nap before dance lessons this evening.
Packing up my laptop, I head out the door. That’s the beauty of owning your own small business. Sure, you work twice as hard, but you can also leave early when you need to. I walk the handful of blocks to my house. I’ll just lie down for a half hour. They say that’s enough to recharge your batteries.
I’m woken up by the faint sound of my phone ringing in my purse. I didn’t even make it to the bed for a nap. I’m face down on the couch. With a yawn, I hunt through my purse for my phone.
“Hello?”
“Where were you? Owen had to dance with Missi,” Austen blurts out. “She was on him like he was the last life raft.”
“What time is it?” I rub my eyes and stand. Crossing to my living room window, I draw back the curtain to look outside. It’s dark out.
“It’s eight. You missed dance class.”
“Shit. I laid down for a nap. I guess I slept through it.”
“Did you know it’s his niece living with him, not his daughter? He doesn’t have a daughter, or a son, for that matter. I asked when he introduced us to Tessa. She sat on the floor the entire night. She’s adorable, Eliot.”
“Yeah, I know. I met her earlier today.” I’m still struggling with processing what’s being said. Moving to my refrigerator, I pull out a bottle of water. Austen’s still rambling on about something.
“Hey, I need to get something to eat. Do you think this can wait until later?”
“Fine. But you need to figure your shit out, Eliot. He’s not going to wait forever.” She hangs up.
How come I’m suddenly the bad guy in this relationship? All I did was take a nap. I remember being the woman scorned when I went to sleep. I check my phone. Yep, same day. Except now I’m being told I’m the bad guy. That was some nap.
This all seems like something that can keep until tomorrow. It’s not like I have a leash on him anyway. If he wants to tango with Missi, then that’s his right. Doesn’t mean I still won’t cut that bitch. Oi. I need another nap.
seventeen
