44. One bed
CHAPTER 44
One bed
CALUM
My smile is permanent. I’ve been grinning since we boarded the plane to Manville. The thought of seeing Mum dampens the mood. I look at Cathie to seek comfort, but she’s fast asleep. Mace is also asleep in my arms. The boys have the seats behind us. I can’t seem to sleep. I’m scared of Cathie’s reaction to seeing Mum.
I curl a piece of her hair around my finger. It’s at shoulder length now. She nods in her sleep, and I tilt my body towards her so her head rests on my shoulder. She moans but doesn’t move. Moments later, she whimpers in her sleep, twisting in her space beside the window. I shake her gently, and her eyes flutter open.
Fear shadows her features for the first few seconds. I use my free hand to cup her face.
“Hey, I’m here,” I tell her.
“Cal?” she whispers.
“Yeah,” I say. Her body sags against her seat, and she rubs her hands over her closed eyelids. Therapy has helped her, but sometimes, her fear shows. I don’t know if we will ever get to that point where she’s not scared of me leaving. I’ll never. “Cal is here. Your baby is here.”
She stays quiet, so I pull the footrest from under us, converting our seats to a makeshift bed. There are no pillows, but I doubt she cares. I feel empty when she pries our son from me.
“Macey,” Cathie murmurs. She smooths his bouncy hair out of his forehead. He blinks, and his pure blues focus on Cathie. “Have you told your mum about…? What does she think?”
Attending couple therapy helped. I realise I’ve grown resentful of my mother, which is to be expected. But I didn’t realise I had buried resentment for Cathie for keeping Mace away from me. It all still falls back to Mum because I love Cathie. How can I resent her? Turns out the human body can store a lot of contradicting emotions. I’m getting over it. I’ll handle Mum.
“I haven’t told her.”
Cathie frowns. She’s probably rehashing Ebun’s words from the last meet. After Ebun made me tell Cathie how I felt to help her understand my perspective, she suggested talking to my mum. We all know a therapist’s suggestions are not just suggestions. You kind of have to do them. Cathie expects me to confront my mother. I have to be the one to tell her about Mace.
That’s not fair.
“Why not?” She jams Mace’s hands together. He snickers. “You don’t want her to know?”
“It’s not that. I don’t know how to tell her.”
“You’re still upset,” she says. I nod. “Even at me?”
“No. Never at you, Superstar.”
Cathie rears back, and her head touches the plane’s wall. I look out the window, at the grey clouds gathering outside. This is not a conversation I want to have. It’s not plane-appropriate.
“But you said you forgave her,” she says.
“I know what I said.”
The plane jerks. Murmurs travel through the air. An attendant strolls down the aisle with a trolley. I look to Cathie to know if she wants anything, but she shakes her head. We wave the attendant off. I take her hand, and she brings mine up to her lips for a kiss on my knuckles.
“Cal, I want Mace to grow in a happy environment.”
“Me too. I’ll tell her when we get there.”
A yawn escapes me. Cathie laughs. “Go to sleep, Mr Dissick.”
Her fingers dance on Mace’s forehead. I watch them until my eyes can’t stay open anymore. Last night was hell with the preparations for today. She’s staying for Manville’s tour. If she doesn’t enjoy it, she’s leaving. Our future depends on the tour’s success. I can’t let her go.
My head jerks in a nod. I right myself, and Cathie chuckles. “Go to sleep, Cal. You need it.”
It takes a few more seconds for my eyes to close and my body to fully relax. I wake up to the voice of someone talking about seatbelts. The skies are dark. Cathie is awake, watching me.
When the fog in my brain clears, I say, “Hey.”
“Hey,” Cathie replies. I rub my knuckle over Mace’s nose. Our little man sneezes in his sleep, and she swats my hand. A flight attendant walks in at that moment. “We are about to land.”
We settle in our seats, seatbelts in place, as the plane lands on solid ground. The heat of her gaze follows me as I slip my hand into hers. The plane steadies, and she lets out a soft breath. I unclick her seatbelt and carry Mace. We’ll need a nanny. The boys are helpful, but it will be tough to combine music, Cathie’s business, practice, and a toddler when the tour starts.
“Good flight?” I say to start a conversation.
She nods. “I guess so.”
Cathie stands first and waves. My gaze strays to my best friends. We exit the plane and grab our stuff. In a few minutes, four of us are cramped in a car Scott arranged for us. Sam stays in the front while Lucas sits behind with us. He’s quiet, head on the window, and fingers tapping his knee. Mace sits quietly on his mother’s lap. I stretch a finger to him, and he curls his tiny digits around mine. Scott knows about Mace, but Mum doesn’t. Will she be waiting for us at the hotel? Is she staying there? When the shock passes, she’ll be happy to see Mace.
“I think I’m nervous,” Cathie whispers so Lucas doesn’t hear.
Manville is awake at this time of night. Lights flash around us. We drive past a billboard with a soccer player. People gather around it for pictures. Others go about their business like it’s daytime. I grin at a quiet Mace. He has her blues. They look like mine until closer inspection.
“Me too.”
Mostly because of Mum. I’ve been so worried about my feelings, but what about Cathie’s? She has every right to be mad. But she isn’t. I’m the one clinging to the grudge. I draw closer to her. My hip touches hers and my arm rests evenly against hers. My heart swells. We are in Manville with the people I care the most about.
Cars drive past ours, people and buildings blend into one. But I have no time to admire anything when I have these beauties beside me.
Sam throws us a look. “Scott went out to handle some business, and he will be back later.” Lucas grunts something in reply. “Our rooms are ready. We don’t have to wait up for him.”
The car slows in front of an enormous building. Cathie’s eyes take in the hotel that looks like something straight from an old fantasy movie. It’s a tall building that seems to go on forever.
“It’s pretty,” she says.
It reminds me of the houses in Wells Spring. I place a hand on her lower back and guide her to the entrance, leaving the boys to handle our belongings. Someone opens the glass doors for us. She stops at the lobby, her eyes big with childish excitement as they take in the beauty of the walls. She lifts Mace in the air, and I place my hands under him to prevent any mishap. We stop at expensive hotels all the time, and try as much as I can, I can’t replicate her joy.
“Look at, Macey. It’s so beautiful.”
“It is.”
I fish out my phone to take a picture of them. Cathie switches position so his legs are circling her neck from behind. Before she can intertwine their hands above her head, he fists her hair. She yelps but maintains her smile for the camera. I extract Mace from her and she massages her scalp.
The lobby is empty. Asides from the beauty, I’m guessing Scott chose it for privacy.
“Is your mum here?” she asks.
No idea. The boys don’t mention her, and Scott knows better. “I don’t know, Cathie.”
Her eyes lift to mine. “Sorry for asking.”
“Don’t be sorry,” I say. Using my other hand, I bring her in for a side hug. Her lips brush my jaw, and I grin. Mum almost ruined this. “It’s fine, Superstar. I’ll talk to her later. I promise.”
We continue to the reception desk. Lucas and Sam are already there. They wave the keycards at us, and we all head to the elevator. I yawn. The long days of practice have got to everyone. Lucas isn’t as cheerful and Sam is moody. I hope Scott allows us a free day tomorrow.
The elevator pings. Sam steps out first but doesn’t move. “Our luggage will be sent up.”
Lucas nods in reply, already walking away. We catch up to him as he inserts a keycard into his door. He opens it and dumps his bag on the rug to hug Cathie and place a kiss on her cheek. I glare at him, but the idiot doesn’t waste a glance on me. He didn’t even kiss Mace.
“See you later, yeah? And you too, Macey.”
“Yeah,” Cathie says. She pushes herself up on her toes to return the kiss to my friend’s cheek. My mouth opens. I haven’t received a kiss today. Lucas hides a smile. Sam chortles. “Later.”
Once they are gone, I push my cheek towards Cathie. She steps back. “What is it?”
“My kiss,” I reply. Cathie shakes her head, and a corner of her lips curls. “No kisses for me?”
“Nope.”
I frown. “Are you serious?”
“Very,” she answers.
“Cathie.”
“Calum.”
We gawk at each other, but at no point does she reach forward to kiss my cheek. I push down the hurt and hug Mace a little tighter. Our footsteps echo in the empty hallway as we cover the distance to my room. I open the door and enter without checking if she followed. If she can kiss other men, she can find her way. Seconds pass. I poke my head outside the door.
She’s still in the hallway.
“Are you coming or what?”
Cathie shakes out of her trance. When she’s in the room, she asks, “Am I staying here?”
In Yorkrinth, we stayed in separate rooms, except when we had sex. She wasn’t kidding about dating being in the future. We haven’t defined what we are yet. Just Cal and Cathie.
“Yes, Cathie. We are sharing a suite.” Her face pales, and she swallows audibly. “Do you have a problem with that? We can find something else tomorrow, something better for you.”
The place is too big for one person. As much as I hate the words that left my lips, I need her to be comfortable. She rocks on her toes and darts a look at the door like she wants an escape.
“How many beds are in this suite?”
“One. One bed.” Her eyes pop open, and I do the honourable thing by saying, “You can have the bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“Of course not. We can share the bed.”
A slow smile spreads to my lips. She scowls, and it breaks free. She cannot expect me to keep still. This is operation get into Cathie’s good grace so we are back in a relationship the moment she thinks she’s ready . We enter the room together, and she sets up the foldable crib. Once Mace is inside, she kisses my cheek and runs into the bathroom.