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Delilah cracks up laughing as Joel shakes his head. “You’re right. Joel’s full of shit. We wanted to talk kids. More specifically babies.”
My face alights with surprise and I bite back a smile, trying not to get excited when I could be wrong in my assumption.
“Go on,” I say, waving a hand toward them.
Joel laughs. “Delilah and I got approval to be foster parents. We’re on the list.”
“Ahhh!” I throw my arms around them as tears well in my eyes. It’s been a long road to get them to this point, and my heart fills at this news.
Taking a step back, I clap my hands together and grin. “What do you want to know?”
“You talk and box. I’m going for a run,” Delilah says, squeezing my arm as she walks away with a smile on her face.
Joel and I do just that. We box and talk until it’s physically impossible to do either, and we breathlessly fall to the floor. I think I’ve discovered more about myself and raising a child than Joel has, but hopefully he got something out of our chat.
“I think you broke me,” he says from the floor beside me. He’s an absolute mess, but I’m not sure he’s referring to boxing.
Letting my head fall to the side to look at him, I respond with as little effort as possible. I’m just as fucked. “I could say the same about you,” I huff out. “I didn’t know you could box.”
“I’ll let you in on a secret if you don’t tell anyone.”
My brows furrow as I nod.
“Summer asked me to do this last week. I didn’t want you to show me up. So I’ve been coming every day since she mentioned it.”
I laugh because that’s such a Joel thing to do, although it’s normally Delilah he’d be messing with.
“I don’t know how Delilah puts up with you.”
“Me either. I’m one lucky son of a bitch.”
“Hey, your mother is lovely,” I sass, knowing he doesn’t mean it literally.
“She really is,” Delilah says, joining us again. We both turn to look at her but neither of us move. We can’t.
“It’s a figure of speech, Luce.” Joel rolls his eyes and I laugh before turning serious.
“You’re going to make an amazing foster dad, Joel. I have absolutely no doubt. And Delilah…ah, you’re going to be perfect. I’m really happy for you both.”
Joel’s lips pull into a warm smile as he flops a hand over his face. “Me too. I’m nervous as anything, but excited for it all. Except for that shit explosion thing you decided to mention…in detail. That doesn’t sound fun.”
“Wow, you really have no clue, Joel,” Delilah adds, shaking her head.
“Yep, sometimes you have to laugh or you’ll cry,” I joke, although it’s not really funny. I’ve cried a lot. Being a mom has been the hardest and yet most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. And, while it took me four of the nine months to get used to the idea of being pregnant, the second Katie entered this world, she was my everything. Would it have been nice to have her father in the picture? Of course. But I wasn’t going to let that happen. He didn’t deserve me and he definitely doesn’t deserve her.
“Well, I’m glad that little bug grew out of that stage. Especially since I’m spending the day with her tomorrow.”
I want to say a smart-ass comment. He’s left it wide open for one. But I can’t. Instead I pull him into an awkward floor hug and press a kiss to his cheek, before rising and hugging Delilah.
I don’t think I could have done this parenting thing without my friends. They’ve all treated Katie like one of their own, and I couldn’t be more grateful. I’m often asked if I’m a single mom—when people don’t see a ring, or hear me talking about all the things Katie and I do as a duo—and while technically I am, I always sayno. I have so much love and support in my life, that I’ve never once felt like I was doing this alone.
Looking a little less disheveled after a shower, we’re all smiles as we walk to our cars. “I’ll see you in the morning when you drop Katie off,” Joel says as he waits for me to get in mine.
Delilah snorts. “Actually he won’t. He’s never up early if he doesn’t have to work. But I’ll be up and can’t wait to see Katie.”
I smile. “Either way, I really appreciate it. I’ll have everything sorted out by next week.”
“No rush. We love spending time with her. And what else am I going to do on my day off?”
