Chapter 28 - Day 10 The Ice Cream Lady #3
He looked at the clock on the wall.
"I have six minutes."
"You're late in my feelings."
I bit my lip.
Oh God.
Adrian stared at his five-year-old daughter.
"That isn't how time works."
"It is."
A quieter voice came from behind her.
"Hi, Dad."
Luke walked toward us with his backpack hanging from one shoulder.
Adrian put Elena down and touched the back of Luke's head briefly.
"Hey."
Then Luke saw me.
He stopped.
Elena turned.
Her deep blue eyes landed on me.
And widened.
"You!"
I smiled.
"Me."
"You're the ice cream lady!"
Adrian looked at her.
"Her name is Angelica."
Elena looked at me.
"Angelica."
I smiled.
"That's me."
Luke smiled at me.
"Hi."
"Hi, Luke."
Elena's eyes narrowed.
"You remember his name?"
"I remember yours too."
Her entire face brightened.
"Really?"
"Elena."
She looked extraordinarily pleased with herself for having a memorable name.
Then her attention moved between Adrian and me.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Danger.
I recognized danger when I saw it.
"Why are you with Daddy?"
There it was.
Adrian answered before I could.
"Angelica's car isn't working."
Elena looked at me.
"What happened?"
"It betrayed me."
Luke frowned.
"Cars can't betray people."
"This one did."
"What did it do?"
"Refused to start."
Luke considered this.
"That could be the battery."
I stared at him.
Adrian looked down at his son.
Luke shrugged.
"Grandpa's truck did that."
"Apparently I should've called you."
"Yes."
Adrian's mouth twitched.
Elena grabbed his hand.
Then looked at me.
"Are you coming with us?"
"Daddy's dropping me home."
Her face fell.
"Oh."
I had no idea why that sounded like I'd personally ruined her Friday.
Adrian picked up Elena's little backpack.
"Let's go."
We walked back outside.
Elena talked the entire way.
About a girl named Sophie.
A broken purple crayon.
Someone who had apparently cheated at freeze tag.
And a catastrophic incident involving chocolate milk.
Luke walked beside Adrian, occasionally correcting Elena's version of events.
By the time we reached the Tesla, I had learned more about their school day than I'd learned about Adrian's personal life in an entire year.
Adrian opened the back door.
Elena climbed in.
Luke went around to the other side.
I reached for the passenger door.
Then-
"I'm hungry."
I stopped.
Adrian looked into the back seat.
"You had a snack."
"That was a long time ago."
"It was an hour ago."
"Exactly."
I covered my mouth.
Adrian noticed.
"Don't."
"I didn't say anything."
"You're laughing."
"No."
"You are."
Elena leaned forward between the seats.
"Can we get pizza?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Pizza."
"Elena."
"Pizza."
"Bug."
"Pizza."
I looked out the window.
I was absolutely not getting involved.
Then Elena looked at me.
"Angelica, do you like pizza?"
Oh, no.
Adrian turned his head slowly toward me.
I looked at Elena.
Then Adrian.
Then Elena again.
"I have no position on this matter."
Luke laughed.
Elena did not.
"Do you?"
"Yes."
Traitorous honesty.
Elena immediately turned to her father.
"Angelica likes pizza."
"I heard her."
"So we should get pizza."
"That logic is terrible."
"It isn't."
"It is."
"She likes pizza."
"That doesn't require us to eat it."
Elena looked at me again.
"Are you hungry?"
"No."
Adrian looked at me.
I looked at him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Don't start."
"I didn't do anything."
His eyes narrowed.
I smiled.
From the back seat, Luke said, "Dad likes pizza too."
Adrian looked in the rearview mirror.
"I know."
"So everybody likes pizza."
Elena threw both hands up.
"PIZZA!"
I started laughing.
Adrian looked at all three of us.
One against three.
He knew it.
We knew it.
He sighed.
"Fine."
Elena screamed.
Actually screamed.
"YES!"
"Inside voice."
"YES!"
"That isn't better."
I was still laughing when Adrian pulled out of the parking lot.
Twenty minutes later, I was sitting in a pizza place with Adrian Vale and his children.
This was not how I'd expected Friday to go.
At all.
Elena sat beside me.
Not across from me.
Beside me.
She had made that decision herself.
Luke sat across from us, beside Adrian.
A large pizza sat in the middle of the table.
Half cheese.
Half chicken.
Because apparently agreeing on toppings had nearly destroyed the Vale family.
Elena pulled a string of cheese approximately twelve miles from her slice.
I watched it.
"That's impressive."
She grinned.
"I can make it longer."
"You absolutely can."
Adrian looked at me.
"Don't encourage her."
"I'm supporting ambition."
"She has enough."
"There is no such thing as too much ambition."
"There is when it involves mozzarella."
Luke laughed.
Elena stretched the cheese farther.
It broke.
She gasped.
I gasped too.
Adrian stared at both of us.
"You're twenty-seven."
"And?"
"Nothing."
"That's what I thought."
Luke looked at his father.
"She's funny."
"I know."
The words came so naturally that nobody reacted.
Except me.
My hand stopped halfway to my glass.
Adrian reached for his water.
Completely unaware that two stupid words had just landed somewhere inside me.
Or maybe not unaware.
Because his eyes met mine over the table.
Just for a second.
A few minutes later, Elena suddenly asked-
"Are you Daddy's friend?"
My chewing stopped.
Adrian's did too.
Luke looked up.
Oh God.
I swallowed.
Then looked at Adrian.
He wasn't helping.
Of course he wasn't.
I looked at Elena.
"We work together."
"That wasn't what I asked."
This child was dangerous.
I glanced at Adrian again.
His expression was unreadable.
So I answered carefully.
"I think we're friends."
Silence.
I had no idea why saying it out loud felt so strange.
Adrian's eyes stayed on me.
Elena turned to him.
"Is she?"
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
Then-
"Yes."
My heart did something stupid.
Again.
Apparently it had abandoned all dignity this week.
Elena seemed satisfied.
Luke continued eating.
And Adrian looked back at his plate like he hadn't just called me his friend for the first time.
I took another bite of pizza.
Fine.
Whatever.
I wasn't affected.
At all.
We were almost finished when Luke looked at Adrian.
"What time are we doing the barbecue tomorrow?"
"Probably around one."
Elena looked up from her pizza.
"Can we swim before?"
"If you want."
"I want."
"I assumed."
Luke took another bite.
"Are we having burgers?"
"And chicken."
"Can we have corn?"
"Yes."
I listened quietly while they discussed tomorrow.
Apparently Saturday at the Vale house involved a barbecue, swimming, and enough food for Elena to have very strong opinions about the menu.
It sounded nice.
Simple.
Just Adrian and his kids spending Saturday at home.
Then Elena suddenly looked at me.
"Are you coming?"
I blinked.
"To what?"
"The barbecue."
Oh.
I smiled.
"No, sweetheart. That's your plan with your dad."
"So?"
I looked at her.
"So... I'm not part of the plan."
Elena considered that for approximately one second.
"You can be."
Oh God.
Adrian went quiet.
Luke looked at me.
"You should come."
Now there were two of them.
I glanced at Adrian.
He was looking at his plate.
Interesting.
"Elena," he said.
"What?"
"You can't just invite people to things."
"Why?"
"Because you have to ask first."
Elena turned to me immediately.
"Can you come to our barbecue tomorrow?"
I looked at Adrian.
He finally looked at me.
"That isn't what I meant," he told her.
"But I asked."
Luke nodded.
"She did."
I pressed my lips together.
Adrian looked at his children.
Then at me.
I had absolutely no intention of inviting myself into his Saturday with his kids.
"I don't want to intrude."
"You wouldn't."
The answer came from Adrian.
Immediately.
I looked at him.
He seemed to realize that too.
But he didn't take it back.
Elena brightened.
"See?"
I kept looking at Adrian.
"Are you sure?"
He was quiet for a moment.
Then-
"That's up to you."
Wonderful.
Six enormous deep blue eyes were now looking at me.
Four belonged to the children.
The other two belonged to their father.
And somehow those were the ones making this difficult.
Elena leaned toward me.
"Please?"
I looked at Luke.
He was waiting too.
Then Adrian.
Still waiting.
"Okay."
Elena's entire face lit up.
"You'll come?"
"I'll come."
"Yes!"
Luke smiled.
I smiled too.
Then I looked at Adrian.
He wasn't smiling.
Not quite.
But something had changed in his face.
Something small.
Relief.
Oh.
He wanted me there.
He hadn't invited me himself.
Of course he hadn't.
This was Adrian.
But when I'd given him the easiest possible opportunity to tell me no-
He hadn't taken it.
He'd done the opposite.