Chapter 22 Calliope
CALLIOPE
“Sit. Sit, sit, sit, sit!” I usher Stacey into the kitchen and show her to the stool near the island counter. “Sit!”
“Okay!” Stacey laughs. “What’s with the rush?”
“This!” I dart back to the stove and remove the pan from the heat just before the burgers burn. “Phew.”
“Honey, you could have left me waiting on the doorstep for a little longer if you were frying something.”
“I know.” I chuckle. “I just didn’t want you to freeze your ass off out there.”
“I can handle the cold!” Stacey laughs. “Besides, they say you burn extra calories when you’re trying to keep your body warm, so it’s a win-win.”
Our eyes meet and we burst out laughing. “Like you’re willing to get rid of your curves.”
“I do love my butt,” Stacey agrees. “So, what’s for dinner?”
“Are you okay with cheeseburgers and curly fries? Not the most adult food because Nick is in the next room, but!” I pause and open the fridge, pulling out a green bottle. “I have wine?”
“Girl, you had me at cheese.”
After some more laughter, it takes ten minutes to serve up the burgers and fries. After ensuring Nick is happy with his cartoon and his food, I return to the kitchen where Stacey is pouring wine into two cups.
“You don’t have to do that. I can do it.”
“I can pour wine, Calliope, relax.”
“Sorry. My head is all…” Throwing my hands up, I rustle my hair and then accept the cup from Stacey. “I’m glad you could come.”
“When you texted me to say you wanted me to come to dinner, how could I refuse?” With a warm smile, she retakes her seat while I walk back to the fridge and take a box from the top.
Back at the counter, I slide onto a stool across from her and slide her the box.
“What’s this?” she asks, quickly wiping her fingers on her thigh after devouring a couple of fries.
“A thank you gift.”
“What for?”
“You’ve been amazing these past few weeks, dropping stuff to come and care for Nick and babysitting him when I was out last night, and I just really appreciate it. Especially with my mom…”
“Ah. I saw her work in the hallway and the living room. It’s uhm…” Stacey rolls her eyes. “It’s crazy.”
“She says it’s grief. Anyway, it's just… I can’t trust her fully with Nick, so you’ve been a huge pillar for me and I just want to say thank you.”
“Aw, honey!” She snaps open the box and gasps. “No way!”
“You like it?” On the silver cushion rests one of the onyx bracelets along with a set of jade earrings.
“They’re beautiful!”
“Full disclosure, they were technically written off because of water damage to the box, but the jewelry itself was never touched. I just want you to know that because I could never afford these on my own.”
“Ahh!” She squeals and immediately hands me the bracelet. “I do not care. Put it on me!”
It doesn’t take long to clasp the bracelet around her wrist and she gasps as she admires it. “It’s so beautiful! This is too much!”
“It cost me nothing,” I remind her. “And it’s worth it. I… I don’t know where I’d be without you.” Talking with Elijah last night did an excellent job of highlighting just how much I rely on Stacey, so if anyone deserves it, it’s her.
“I love them. I love them!” She squeals again and then places her hands on the counter, fixing me with a stern look. “I know you, Calliope. You did something.”
“What?”
“You’re feeling guilty, that’s why you gave me two gifts because we both know the bracelet would be enough, but the earrings too?” She raises one brow. “Spill.”
She really does know me too well. “I kissed him.”
“You kissed him?” Stacey screeches.
“Hush!” I panic and grab her hand. “Nick is right next door!”
“Sorry. Sorry. But you kissed him? Are you insane?”
“Listen… It was a really beautiful night. He bought me flowers, sent a card, took me to this adorable bistro, and I just…” I breathe in and glance up, chasing the memories of last night.
“I felt like me again. Like a desirable woman, and I just… I loved every second, and then the next thing I know, he’s got me against the taxi and he asked me if he could kiss me. ”
“Ooh.” Stacey munches on a fry. “What a gentleman.”
“Right? And the kiss was so…” I shake my head, pressing my lips together. “I’ve never been kissed like that before.”
“He’s older, right? Like fifty?”
“No! He’s thirty-eight.”
“And you’re twenty-six, so he’s basically fifty.”
“Your math is terrible.”
“Whatever.” She grins, snacking on another fry. “So… is the kiss why you feel guilty?”
“No, I…” The words fail me so Stacey continues.
“Is it because he cheated with you on his wife? It’s the same guy, right, from the conference?”
“Yeah, but he didn’t cheat. He was never married.”
“And you fell for that?”
Over slow bites of cheeseburger and fries drenched in too much sauce, I fill Stacey in on every detail Elijah gave me about the woman who was around him at the time and the choices he made to keep his mom happy, including his current, rather overbearing, ex.
“Wow,” Stacey breathes as I finish. “That’s kind of really sad.”
“Right?”
“I mean… giving up your entire romantic life just to make your mom happy, your mom who is literally on her deathbed more worried about her son being lonely than her own life. And they say rich people have no heart.”
“Stacey!”
“I’m joking. I’m joking.” She chases her words with a mouthful of wine. “So… how does it make you feel?”
“Confused. I was angry with him for so long, y’know? I thought I’d done a horrible thing with him and then it was just… a misunderstanding. And I like him. And that scares me because… well, there’s more.”
Stacey leans forward, her eyes glinting. “Spill.”
“We met at that conference, right?”
“Mmhmm.”
My heart begins to race. “And we talked and fell for each other instantly and then slept together.”
“Mmhmm. The wild sex that broke the lamp and nearly broke your hip because you’d never been fucked that way before.”
My cheeks flush and I groan. “I really gave you all the details, huh?”
“Drunk Calliope is an open book.” Stacey chuckles.
“Well… that conference was seven years ago in June.”
“And?”
Silence falls as I wait for Stacey to connect the dots, but she stares at me like a deer, waiting for the next juicy piece of information to slip out of me. After a beat, I lift my cup and drain the remainder of my wine in three gulps.
“You’re killing me here,” Stacey says, eating her last fry.
“Okay. Nick is about to turn six.”
“Mmhmm.”
“So he’s five right now.”
“Honey, if you don’t just tell me, then I— Oh!” It clicks a second later and she reaches across the table, grabbing my hand. “Oh!”
“Yup.”
“Oh!”
“Mmhmm.”
“OH!” Concern follows and she frowns. “Oh, my God. How did I never work this out before?”
“I’ve never been honest about the dates, so you really couldn’t.”
“Oh, Calliope…” She squeezes my hand warmly. “I can’t believe this. Did you always know?”
“I did. Which is why when I called and found out he was married, or thought he was married, I was done and determined to do this myself. But all this time, I was wrong, and I don’t know what to do.”
“Do you think he suspects?”
“If he does, he hasn’t said anything. I don’t think he knows how old Nick even is.”
“Shit. I… this is huge.”
“It is.” My shoulders slump. “And he’s a big shot from a rich family. No matter how good the date was or how I feel, there’s a terrifying chance that he could be angry enough to take Nick from me.”
“True,” Stacey muses. “Or he could become the father Nick needs and the partner you want.”
“Nick doesn’t need a father,” I snap. “I’m his mom. I take care of him.”
“That’s not what I meant, honey.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” I sigh deeply and drop my head into my hands. “Sorry. I just feel like I’m being torn in two. Because what would I even do? Walk right up to him and be like, hey, so by the way, you’re actually the father of my child, please don’t take him?”
“You found Nick’s father?” screeches a rough voice from the doorway, and my head snaps up as Stacey jumps in fright.
“Mom!”
Shit.