Chapter 15
Make it for Three
Gavin
The buzzing pulled me from sleep.
I rolled over, eyes still closed, hand fumbling across the nightstand until my fingers found my phone. The screen was too bright. I squinted at it.
Rebecca: Thinking The Parker for lunch Saturday? Let me know your thoughts!
I blinked at the message. Rubbed my eyes and read it again.
Lunch. Saturday. Lunch.
I sat up, suddenly wide awake. Sunlight streamed through the bedroom window. With Charisse still at Rebecca's for the weekend, the house was quiet. My laptop still sat open on the desk where I'd left it last night, browser tabs still up from hours of work.
Things were starting to come together. I opened a message to Andi and typed fast, before I could overthink it.
Gavin: I know you said not today. But I needed you to know I haven't stopped thinking about you. About us. I'm going to figure out how to prove it. I promise.
I hit send. Then typed again.
Gavin: Will you meet me for breakfast on Saturday morning? I'd really like to see you.
My thumb hovered over the send button. Saturday morning. Before the lunch. I glanced at my laptop on the desk. The tabs still open. I prayed this would work.
I hit send and set my phone on the nightstand.
Then I grabbed it again and opened Rebecca's message.
Gavin: Whatever is fine. We shouldn't need long. There will be 3.
I watched the dots appear. Disappear. Appear again.
Rebecca: Three? Gavin, I don't think we should have this conversation in front of Charisse. It's better if we discuss custody arrangements privately.
Gavin: Three, Rebecca.
Rebecca: Oh. Well, if you think that's best. You're right—it's good for Charisse to see us working together. I'll make the reservation.
I set the phone down and looked at my laptop again. At the plan.
She had no idea.
I got up and made coffee. The silence almost broke me before I went to turn on the news just to have some sound around me—anything to keep from texting Andi over and over. At this point, I couldn't help but miss my kid. And miss Andi.
I checked my phone again. Nothing from Andi. It was fine. It was Sunday and still morning. Maybe she was still asleep. Or having breakfast. She'd see it soon and text back.
I opened my laptop and scrolled through the tabs, staring at the details and work in front of me.
I'd spent hours researching and building things out.
I needed to get a hold of some people first thing in the morning, but I felt good about the beginnings of what I had already put together. This would work. It had to work.
I checked my phone again. Still nothing.
Morning came and went. I cleaned the kitchen that didn't need cleaning. Got the laundry done for the week and set up Charisse's lunches. I got some more work done and checked my phone constantly without seeing anything from Andi.
By mid-afternoon, my chest felt tight. I called her.
Straight to voicemail. Her voice, bright and professional: "Hi, you've reached Andi. Leave a message and I'll get back to you."
I hung up. Tried again. Same thing. I typed out a message.
Gavin: Hey, just wanted to make sure you got my message. Call me when you can?
Delivered. Then read. But no response. I stared at the screen. The little read receipt mocking me. She'd seen it. She was seeing all of them. And choosing not to answer. Why?
I scrolled back through our texts. Yesterday, during the recital. Her response: Maybe. Not today, though. My response: I'll take any day you're willing to give me.
We were still talking. Still... something. So why the silence now? I kept scrolling. Found the text from Saturday night. The one from Brianna's phone that was actually Bridget's .
Brianna (AKA Bridget): You're unbelievable. Andi breaks up with you on Thursday, and by Saturday you're already making plans with your ex? Stay away from her.
Making plans with my ex. I stood up. Sat back down. Stood up again.
She must think I'm the world's biggest idiot.
And she's right. I dropped my head in my hands, fingers digging into my scalp.
Every time I think I understand how to navigate this relationship, I prove myself wrong.
All these months with Andi, and I'm still fumbling in the dark like it's our first date.
No wonder she wasn't responding. I grabbed my phone.
Gavin: I realize Bridget saw Rebecca and me make plans for lunch. I swear to you, it isn't what you think. It's about Charisse's summer schedule. That's it.
Gavin: There is absolutely nothing going on.
Gavin: Can you please call me? Let me explain?
I hit send and watched the messages turn to delivered. This time, they didn't even get read. No read notice. No dots. No response. Nothing.
I called again. Voicemail.
Fuck.
I paced the living room. Kitchen to couch to window and back. I walked upstairs to my bedroom and found myself pacing in my room. My phone clutched in my hand as if I held it tight enough she might magically call.
She didn't.
I stopped at the window. Looked down at the street below. Sunday afternoon, people walking dogs, couples holding hands, the world moving on like mine wasn't falling apart.
I could go to her apartment. Right now. Make her listen. Except she clearly didn't want to see me.
My phone buzzed.
I nearly dropped it grabbing for it.
Jake: Yo. How's your girl? She kick you to the curb yet?
I stared at the message. Then typed.
Gavin: Everything is a disaster.
The dots appeared immediately.
Jake: What else happened!?
I dialed him, feeling like it was too much to text.
Jake answered on the second ring. "That bad, huh?"
"Man, it is so much worse." I sat down on the edge of my bed, phone pressed to my ear. "Rebecca and David are splitting. So, she asked me to lunch to discuss plans around custody. I said yes without thinking. Now Andi thinks I'm getting back together with my ex and won't talk to me."
"Dude."
"I know."
"Okay, walk me through this. What exactly happened?"
I told him everything—the recital, Rebecca's news about David, the lunch invitation I'd agreed to while my brain was stuck on Andi's text. I walked him through my shock at Bridget’s confrontation as well as Rebecca's performance in the parking lot. And then, of course, Bridget's text that night.
"And now?" Jake asked.
"Now Andi won't answer my calls. Won't respond to my texts. She's completely ignoring me."
"Just going to say it out loud, man. You asked her to breakfast the same day you're having lunch with your ex?"
"It's not like that. I have a plan. I was going to—" I stopped. "It doesn't matter. She won't even talk to me to hear it."
Jake was quiet for a moment. "Man, from her perspective, what does this look like?"
"I know how it looks."
"Do you? Because it probably looks like you're keeping your options open. Breakfast with her, lunch with the ex. See which one works out."
"That's not what I'm doing."
"I know that. You know that. But does she?"
I dropped my head into my free hand. "No."
"And you can't exactly explain if she won't talk to you."
"Exactly."
Jake sighed. "Look, maybe she needs time. Maybe pushing harder right now makes it worse. You've texted her. You've called. She knows you want to talk. Maybe step back and let her come to you."
"And if she doesn't?"
"Then you figure out Plan B. But chasing someone who's running doesn't work. Trust me. I tried that with Melissa. Made everything worse."
I stood up and walked back to the window. "I can't just do nothing."
"I'm not saying do nothing. I'm saying stop flooding her phone. You've made your case. Now give her space to process it."
"Five days, Jake. I have five days until Saturday."
"Then use those five days to get your shit together. Make sure your plan—whatever it is—is solid. Make sure you're ready. Because if she does show up, you better not fuck it up again."
"Yeah."
"You really care about her, don't you?"
I thought about Andi. Her laugh. The way she'd looked at me that first night at the bar. The way her face had fallen when I'd introduced her as my friend. The hurt in her voice when she'd told me to prove it.
"Yeah. I really do."
"Then prove it."
"Right."
"So stop texting her and start working on whatever you need to do. Make it count."
After we hung up, I stood at the window for a long time. Watching the sun sink lower. Watching the street below empty out as evening came. I needed to figure something out.
My phone buzzed.
Rebecca: Bringing Charisse back in 15. I have some things I need to take care of tonight.
I looked at the time. Four o'clock. She was supposed to have her until six.
Gavin: You’re dropping her off hours early again.
I went downstairs and waited, knowing Rebecca wouldn’t be texting me back. Fifteen minutes later, headlights swept across the front windows.
The car door opened, and Charisse climbed out, dragging her backpack. I opened the door as she trudged up the steps.
"Hey, bug. How was your weekend?"
"Fine." She dropped her backpack inside and headed straight for the couch.
Rebecca appeared in the doorway with Charisse's overnight bag. "Here. I didn't have time to help her with the science project proposal that's due tomorrow."
I took the bag. "I thought you two were going to brainstorm ideas this weekend."
"We were going to, but things came up." She glanced past me. "So, Saturday. One o'clock. I made the reservation."
My jaw tightened. Charisse was ten feet away.
"We'll talk later."
"I'm really looking forward to it." Her hand brushed my arm. "It'll be nice. Just like old times."
"Rebecca—"
"I should go. Lots to do." She called over my shoulder. "Bye, sweetie!"
Charisse's "Bye, Mom" hung in the air—it wasn’t cold, but it seemed to lack the enthusiasm she had at the start of the weekend.
Rebecca was already heading to her car.
I closed the door and looked at my daughter. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Just tired, Dad. Can I just watch TV for a while?"
"Sure, bug. You hungry? Want me to make dinner?"
"Not really."
I sat down next to her. "So, this science fair proposal. It’s due tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah. We're supposed to have three ideas with descriptions and what we'd need for each one." She pulled a crumpled paper from her backpack. The instructions sheet. Completely blank. "Mom said we'd work on it, but she kept saying later. And then today she said she didn't have time."
Of course she did.
"Okay. Let's figure this out. What are you interested in? What sounds fun?"
She shrugged. "I don't know."
"Come on. You love science. What about volcanoes? Or something with plants? Or—"
"Everyone does volcanoes, Dad." Her eye roll told me everything I needed to know about that suggestion.
"Fair point." I grabbed a notebook and pen from the kitchen. "Okay. Let's brainstorm. No bad ideas. Just start throwing things out there."
It took almost two hours. Charisse warmed up eventually, got excited about testing which materials made the best insulation. We sketched out three solid proposals, wrote descriptions, and made a list of supplies she'd need.
By the time we finished, it was almost seven. I made her scrambled eggs and toast because it was quick and she actually ate them.
After dinner, after she'd taken a shower and brushed her teeth, after I'd said goodnight and closed her door, I went back to my laptop.
Opened the tabs. Read through the details one more time. The clock on my laptop ticked past midnight. I kept working. The tabs still open. The plan still forming. I would fix this.
I closed the laptop partway and looked at my phone. One more thing I should have done days ago, before any of this got complicated.
I opened Rebecca's thread and typed.
Gavin: Before Saturday, I want to be clear about something. I'm in a relationship. Her name is Andi. It's serious. So there is no confusion, lunch is about Charisse's summer schedule and nothing else.
I hit send before I could second-guess the wording. Then set the phone face-down on the desk.
I turned the lamp off and went to bed.