“Oh, we will. Much to Crista’s dismay, I’m teaching Nolie a whole new language.”
Kate looked over the rim of her glasses. “Spanish?” Emma had taken it for two years now, but teaching it?
“Teenager. She called Grandma Maggie ‘bruh’ this morning.”
“I bet that went over well,” Kate deadpanned.
“No cap.”
Kate frowned, not following. “Translation?”
Emma just laughed. “Nolie will tell you. Bye!”
“Bye, honey.”
As she opened the door to walk out, Emma slowed and turned back to Kate. “Eli’s on his way back, right?”
“In less than an hour. Maybe forty-five minutes.”
“But who’s counting?” Emma quipped. “It’ll be good to see him. I have a few things I want to talk to him about. And”—she pointed at Kate—“so do you, so don’t chicken out on the epic date we planned.”
“I will not, I promise.”
“Toodles, Mommy!”
When she disappeared—leaving the door wide open—Kate lay on the bed, letting the quiet settle and the anticipation build.
Had Eli missed her as much as she’d missed him? They’d talked on the phone once or twice a day, shared texts that were warm but careful, the way you communicate when you love someone and aren’t sure where you stand.
They weren’t fighting. They were just two people who’d been honest with each other at two in the morning and hadn’t figured out what to do with that honesty yet.
But she had a plan, thanks to Vivien’s diary, of all sources of inspiration.
Reaching for her phone on top of the comforter, hoping for a new text from Eli, her hand brushed Emma’s phone.
She went without her phone? If that wasn’t a major shift in the universe, she didn’t know what was.
She picked up her own phone. No new text from Eli, but she had a missed call from Matt. She tapped her son’s name, and he picked up on the second ring.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Hey, sweetheart. I saw you called. Did I miss anything?”
“No, I just wanted to tell you about fishing,” he said, his still boyish but clearly deepening voice filling her ear and heart. “We went up to the lake for a few hours and got some fish. Dad’s grilling tonight.”
“That sounds fun. So, everything is good there? You’re not missing Emma?”
He choked. “Please. There’s no drama and I own the bathroom. No complaints.”
There never were any with this kid, she mused with a smile. Matt had been a breeze from the day he was born—chill, sweet, and stable.
On the bed next to her, Emma’s phone vibrated a few times, making Kate hope she wasn’t missing anything important.
“Is she okay?” Matt asked, proving that he really did care about his sister, bathroom issues or not. “She barely texts me back.”
“She’s great, actually. Really great. She’s at the beach right now with Crista’s little girl.”
“Cool. Well, my friend Ashton has a sister in her class. He said things are still…dicey.”