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Her words confuse me. “Stuck at work a lot or what?”
She shakes her head and gives me a sad smile. “No. Just hard for me to get away. Let’s go downstairs to the party, have some drinks, and enjoy our time, yeah? And you can tell me everything that I’ve missed about your life the past six years.”
I let out a huge breath as I stand up. “It’s not pretty.”
“I didn’t imagine it would be, Ivy.”
We walk downstairs, and I actually catch Haley’s attention this time. She serves us both a couple shots of tequila, and we both down them quickly. I can feel Aziel watching me from the other side of the room, but he gives me space to spend time with Katie.
I tell her little snippets of my past life, giving her a dry version without going into the horrible details. That doesn’t leave much of a story though, and I think she can gather what I’m not telling her. We tear up constantly, and then drink more to dry up the tears.
Katie gets a text and winces. “I should go.” She says, standing up and wobbling so hard she has to grip onto the bar top. “Whoa.”
“You’re not going anywhere. You should stay.”
She pales a little. “N-no. I can’t. I’ve got to go. If I miss my flight, that won’t be good.”
“Why?” I hiccup. “Just take the next one.”
She shakes her head, punching buttons on her phone. “An Uber is already on their way. They’ll be here soon.”
My shoulders drop. I don’t want our time to be over.
She sees the look on my face and wraps me in a hug. “We will talk soon. I promise. This is definitely not the end of us.”
My eyes tear up and I wipe them away before any can fall.
We exchange numbers, and before long, I watch Katie through the gate as she waves goodbye in the back of an Uber.
27
Aziel
Later that night, Ivy gives Lilah a bath and tucks her in bed. Lilah called out for me, so I waltzed into her bedroom with a raised eyebrow. She patted the spot next to her on her Frozen comforter set. With a heart beating inconsistently, I slink down on one side of the bed with Ivy on the other, the both of us sandwiching Lilah between us as Ivy reads a story about a girl that likes the color pink. Lilah sits enthralled, asking more questions than a kid should and pointing out the most random things she can think of.
Once Ivy is finished, she tucks the comforter around Lilah and gives her a kiss on the forehead. “Night, Lilah.”
“Night, Mommy.”
“Night, kid.” I say from the doorway.
“Night, Dad.” She flops over on her side, giving us her back.
My chest rips wide open as the two women in my lives take everything I have to offer.
“Come on.” Ivy laces her fingers through mine as we pad across the hall and into our room
Our room.
Ever so slowly, my room is being transformed into our room. At first, Ivy wanted to keep it as is. She didn’t want to intrude, she said.
I wanted her to intrude.
It was a slow progression. First, she unpacked her bags that she’s been living out of since she got here. Then she would leave her hairbrush on the dresser. Her shoes would be left on the floor on her side of the bed. Piece by piece, her items became placed around the house as she settled in.
Now, as we walk into the bedroom, she goes to the right side and I go to the left. Don’t ask me when our sides became our sides, but they did. Now they are.
“You get a little shy around her, don’t you?” She asks, crawling on top of the comforter and looking at me with her big blue eyes. In a slinky top and barely there shorts, she looks like a fucking vanilla dessert I want to demolish.
