Chapter 10 Calliope
CALLIOPE
“Honey, you didn’t have to get me flowers!” Stacey leans forward and buries her face among the petals, inhaling deeply. “Oh, my God, they smell amazing!”
“I wanted to,” I reply, easing back in my seat. “You really saved my bacon a couple of days ago.”
“When I came to watch Nick?” She leans back and tilts her head to watch me over the top of her glasses.
“Yeah.”
“While you went off with that fancy man?”
“Oh, God, don’t.” I close my eyes briefly, then scoop up my glass of wine. “That was just a work thing.”
“A work thing in your home?”
Before I can reply, the waiter arrives at our table with food in tow. He flashes a charming smile while depositing plates of tacos down in front of each of us, then he leaves while Stacey fails to hide the fact that she’s watching his ass as he leaves.
“Stace!”
“What?” She drags her attention back to me and smirks. “Have you seen the ass on that guy? I could bounce a quarter off that thing.”
“Is this confirmation that you and Henry are over?”
At the mention of his name, she rolls her eyes and aggressively tackles one of her tacos. “That prick.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“It’s the same old bullshit. I thought we were going one way, he thought it was just a fling, and did I really expect him to delete his dating profiles? We’re not an item until I have a ring on my finger, apparently.”
“You didn’t…” I glance down at her fingers to check. “Oh, thank God.” All bare.
“Of course not! Do you think I’m that stupid?”
“Remember Las Vegas?”
“Drunk proposals don’t count.”
“Oh, that’s the criteria?” I delve into my food with a laugh, happy to have distracted the topic from Elijah for now.
“Yup. That’s the line I’m laying down.”
“Alright, my mistake.” I grin widely around my next bite, savoring the sweetness of the salsa as it collides with the spice of the beef.
“Although, speaking of Las Vegas, I think I might go back this year.”
“Ooh, when were you thinking?”
Stacey leans against the table to catch lettuce escaping her taco, then chews slowly. “Summer, I think.”
“That would be nice.” Around us, the restaurant hubbub rises slightly as a large group of people sweeps in and is seated at the far end. While it’s not a huge change, it’s enough for Stacey and me to bring our chairs closer together around the table.
“You should come with me,” Stacy says. “We could have so much fun together.”
“I can’t. Nick.”
“Have your Mom watch him.”
My next bite is chased by a mouthful of wine. “There’s no way she’d last watching him for a full weekend or longer.”
“She’s watching him tonight, right?”
“Yeah, but only because he’s spent the day with a friend and he’ll be dropped back home at bedtime so she’ll only have to tuck him in. Anything else is a… challenge.”
“Is she okay?” Stacey’s brow dips. “Scratch that, are you okay?”
I finish my next taco, mulling over how truthful I want to be. Stacy and I have never shied away from spilling all, but I’m most concerned that I won’t be able to pack all my feelings back up once I’ve spilled them. “I don’t know.”
“Talk to me,” she demands gently. “Give me something to think about that isn’t Henry.”
“Well… that night I called you because I had to go get my car at work. It was a whole thing, but I basically had to rescue her and Nick from the grocery store because she was trying to use my dad’s credit cards which didn’t work.
And of course they wouldn’t. It caused her to panic and I got this call that terrified me.
I thought I was about to walk in on another dead parent. ”
My chest tightens briefly, so I drink my wine until the sensation fades.
“And we’re arguing. It’s little things here and there, y’know? But it’s tough. She wants to redecorate but we have no money. My cooking isn’t good enough, I’m a selfish daughter for denying her what she wants because I’m trying to keep a roof over her head. Over all our heads.”
“Oh.” Stacy winces. “I’m sorry, honey.”
“It’s fine. It’s just…” I gaze down at my plate as my thoughts tumble over one another.
“Do you ever feel like everything is moving really fast around you and you’re just stuck in this one spot forever?
Nick is really excited to go back to kindergarten on Monday.
Another seven months and he’ll be in first grade.
Where did the time go? How did my little baby grow up so fast?
It blows my mind every time I look at him, and then—”
The thought of Elijah silences me immediately while Stacey stares at me, eyes wide and taco shell crumbs clinging to her bottom lip. “Then?”
“His Dad’s turned up.”
Stacey chokes as she swallows and sprays taco crumbs all over me and the table. I erupt in laughter as she chokes, laughs, chokes again, and then guzzles down mouthfuls of water to clear her throat.
“Oh, my God,” I gasp, reaching for her arm. “Are you okay?”
“Yup!” Stacey gasps hoarsely. “I’m fine. I’m fine. Are you okay? How did he find you? If you need protection—”
“Oh, my God, no, it’s nothing like that!” I reassure her between giggles, watching her gulp more mouthfuls of water. “It’s… it’s not that, I promise.”
“You never told me about him.” Stacey pats her chest. “I thought maybe he was an asshole.”
“No. He was just…” How do I word what he was? “He was a nobody. Just this really hot guy I met.”
“Does he know he’s a dad?”
“No.”
“Calliope! Okay, I need all the details right this second. Especially since you almost killed me.”
Laughing softly, I push my empty plate away and reach for my wine glass. “There really isn’t a lot to tell.”
“Spill,” she demands.
“We met at a convention. It was about the ethical sourcing of gemstones and I was there because I wanted to ensure that everything we sold was up to the top standards, y’know? There are too many scammers in the jewelry market. He and I… we met at the buffet.”
Stacey’s eyes narrow coyly. “Go on.”
“Stop!” I laugh. “It’s really not what you think.
He was… he was so sexy. It was instant attraction.
He was wearing this black shirt that was tight and open just here.
” My fingers brush against my breastbone.
“And his hair was all swoopy and thick, and he looked at me and smiled and I was turned on like that.” My fingers snap together. “Luckily, he was interested in me too.”
“Gotta be a good guy to be at a convention like that, right?”
“Maybe. Anyway, we talked a little. Had dinner. Fucked all night. You know how it is.”
Stacey chuckles over the rim of her glass. “Sure. So, what happened?”
My brow lifts in silent question.
“Why didn’t you tell him you got pregnant?”
“I tried.”
“He wasn’t interested?”
“No, no. A woman answered. I asked for him, and she asked me what I wanted with her husband.”
“Oh, no.”
“Oh, yes. I was stunned and then disgusted that I’d helped him cheat on his poor wife. I was about to tell her the truth, but she hung up on me and when I called back, I got that weird tone where you can’t tell if they’re ignoring your call or not. So I texted and it didn’t go through.”
Stacey’s mouth falls open. “She blocked you?”
“Mmhmm. And I only knew his first name and number so I didn’t know anything else. And I wasn’t going to scour through every single person who turned up to the convention, and part of me was also really scared about having a baby so I just… yeah.”
“I’m sorry. Honestly, it sounds like you dodged a bullet there. What kind of asshole travels to a convention just to cheat on his wife?” Stacy rolls her eyes. “Men are fucking pigs.”
“I know. But now that I’ve bumped into him again…
do I tell him?” Elijah’s face floods my mind.
He’s as polite and as charming as he was back then, and nothing about him suggests he’s an awful person.
There was no wedding ring on his finger, either.
I checked when I left his car the other day after he made it clear that he remembers me.
Which means he remembers that night.
Will he work out the truth about Nick? Or will he be like the man he was back then and vanish from my life without looking back? I spent countless nights agonizing over his wife and what the right thing to do was regarding Nick.
I made my choice.
And given everything that’s happened, it was the best decision of my life.
“It’s complicated,” Stacey sighs. “I mean… do you want to try and connect with him?”
“I don’t know.” I shake my head, tipping the remaining wine in my glass back and forth.
“Have you spoken to him?”
“Yeah. I don’t think he knows anything. For a while I wasn’t sure he even remembered me.”
“Did he say something?” Stacey leans forward against the table. “Was it nice? Was it mean? I have a lot of pent-up anger, so I could, y’know…”
She balls her fist, which I quickly cover with my hand while laughing.
“No, it’s fine. Honestly. He…” I shake my head.
“It’s nothing. It’s just weird seeing him again.
I still feel so raw after Dad and now this stuff with my Mom and keeping Nick happy and stuff, and work being stressful.
It’s just… seeing him again just sort of made me feel like I was having an out-of-body experience. ”
“That’s fair. It’s honestly up to you what you do. I can’t judge after how I lusted after Henry, but if I’m honest? You should stay away from him. If he cheated on his wife, then he’s not worth it. He doesn’t deserve a slice of your life, father or not.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.” Stacy grins. “Dessert?”
I nod, eager for something sweet and cool to chase away the lingering spice on my tongue. As Stacy busies herself looking for the attractive waiter, I mull over her advice.
She’s right. Elijah might be here now, but it’s for work and then he’ll vanish again.
I’ve lost enough family. There’s no way I’m disrupting my life for him. I have to stay focused and the only thing I need from him, the only thing I’ll ever need, is the truth about work and the merger.
That’s where my focus needs to stay.