When I sit back in the chair and close my eyes, the conversation replays in my head. "He said he would think about it." I repeat her words out loud at the same time a text comes in.
Cooper: I was thinking we could go out for dinner.
Cooper: Call me when you can.
I don’t even open the messages, and I spend the rest of the day avoiding his calls. He even calls the office line, and Shauna knocks on my door to tell me. "I’m busy. I’ll call him when I can," I say, pretending that everything is okay. Pretending I’m okay when all along I’m broken inside.
Chapter 33
Cooper
"Do you two want to go swimming?" I ask. "Or do you want to go to the park?" I put their grilled cheese sandwiches on their plate right next to their carrots and celery. Then turn to place it in front of them on the counter. Both of them look at the plate to see if I passed the test.
"Can we go swimming and then to the park?" Emma says, and I want to laugh. Of course she would spin it so they could do both. I look over at the clock on the stove and see that it’s just after one. I look down at my phone and see that Erika hasn’t texted me all day. Usually, we exchange texts in the morning. Sometimes, it’s only one word, but we keep the lines of communication open. It’s been a week since we’ve been back from the beach, and I know without a doubt I love her.
"I think we can," I tell them. I was getting them dressed to go to daycare when I got a call that the daycare is closed because of a broken water valve. I thought about calling Julianne, but I knew it was my day and my problem, so I brought them with me to the ice training since they had a drop-in daycare service there, but I had to cancel the off-ice workout that I had planned outside. No way would they have been quiet for two hours. "If you guys eat all your food," I tell them, grabbing my phone, "then we can go to the pool, and we can swing by the park before I drop you off at your mom’s."
I dial Erika's number as I pick up my protein shake and watch the girls. After two rings, it goes to voice mail, and hearing her voice just makes my face fill with a smile. "You’ve reached Erika." I wait for the beep and then turn.
"It’s me," I say. "Just wanted to hear your voice." I walk to the living room in case the girls are listening. "Call me back." I hang up and then text her.
Me: I was thinking we could go out for dinner.
Me: Call me when you can.
I wait a couple of seconds for her to answer, and nothing comes in. The girls finish their lunch, and we get into the pool. The whole time, my phone never rings, nor does she text me back, which is beyond weird. Even if she was in a meeting, she would usually text me back that she was busy.
When the girls get out of the pool, I carry them inside to take a shower, and then I get them dressed. "Okay," I say when Emma gets out of the shower. The phone sits on the counter as I will it to ring. "What do you want to wear?" I ask, and she holds the towel to her chest as she runs to her bedroom and comes back with pink jean shorts and a white shirt.
"You get dressed," I suggest and put Mia in the tub as I wash her hair. Emma gets dressed in the bathroom with us. I grab Mia out of the tub and wrap a towel around her before turning and walking into her room. "Emma, you can go read a story in your room. I’ll come and get you when it’s time to do your hair." She skips to her bedroom as I walk into Mia’s.
I place her in the middle of her pink carpet and dry her off. "Go pick what you want to wear," I say, walking back into the bathroom and picking my phone up.
Me: Can you call me, please?
I give her five minutes to call me before caving and calling her office line. Shauna answers after one ring. "Hi, Shauna, it’s Cooper Grant," I announce.
"Oh, hi, Cooper," she replies. "How are you?"
"Good, thanks," I say, walking back to Mia’s room. "I was trying to reach Erika, and I can’t seem to get ahold of her," I add, my heart pounding in my chest.
"Give me a second," she says as she places me on hold. I’m expecting to hear Erika’s voice next, but instead, it’s Shauna again. "Hi, sorry, she’s a little tied up at the moment," she shares, and I stop in my tracks. "She said she’ll call you when she has a minute."