“Well,” my mom begins, “we have to go.”
I wrap my arms around her neck and squeeze her so tight she squeaks. I loosen my grip. “I love you.”
“I love you too, B.” She lets me go and there are tears in her eyes. She hurries to get in the rental car before she completely breaks down.
“Well, Kid—” my dad ruffles the hair on top of my head, destroying my bun “—we’ll see you soon.”
I open my arms wide. “Come here,” I say. “There’s no way you’re leaving without giving me a hug.” He chuckles and wraps me up in the biggest bear hug ever. A tear leaks out of my eye, absorbed by the material of his shirt. “Bye, Dad. I love you.”
“Love you too, Kid.” He ruffles my hair again and then gets in the car.
I stand in the lot and watch them pull away. My mom looks back and I wave. She lifts her hand too, and keeps it there until they completely disappear from sight.
I exhale a heavy breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
I get in my car and drink my milkshake. I don’t have any meetings with clients this afternoon so I have nothing to do until it’s time for Group. I decide to call Ryder.
“Hey?” he answers on almost the last ring.
“I just said goodbye to my parents,” I say, the sadness echoing in my voice.
“Oh. How are you feeling?”
“Sad,” I answer honestly. “What are you doing?”
“Just hanging out here at the house with Cole. Do you want to come over? It’s pretty boring here but you’ll be with us.”
“Yeah.” I nod. “I’d like that.”
“I’ll see you soon then.”
“Yep.” I hang up and drop the phone on the seat beside me.
I finish my milkshake and get out and toss it in the trashcan in front of the diner. I then decide to stop by Target and pick up a few toys for Cole. I get an assortment of things—like puzzle piece alphabet letters and a talking dinosaur thing—since I don’t really know what he likes.
When I get to Ryder’s house, he answers the door with Cole clinging to his leg screaming bloody murder.
“The Terrible Twos,” Ryder sighs, stepping back so I can come inside.
“What’s he upset about?” I ask.
“I told him he couldn’t hold the fish.”
I snort. “Interesting.”
“Yeah.” Ryder chuckles. “Being a parent is weird sometimes.”
“Maybe this will make it better.” I hold out the bag from Target.
Ryder peeks in the bag and grins at what he finds. He looks back up at me and the look in his eyes makes my stomach clench in anticipation. He looks like he’s about to kiss me, but he quickly shakes his head and the look disappears.
“You got these for Cole?” he asks, even though he already knows.
I nod.
“Me! Me!” Cole cries, having heard his name. He lets go of Ryder’s leg and makes a grabbing motion with his hands.
Ryder pulls out the large size racecar I got. “Here you go, bud.” He hands it to Cole after pulling off the price sticker.