"Oh, okay," I respond, and something in me doesn’t sit right. "I’ll wait for her call." I hang up the phone, but instead, I call her cell, and when I hear the beep, I talk. "Can you give me a call, please?" I say and then walk into the room to find Mia dressed in a white skirt and a Dallas shirt.
"Look at my shirt," she says, arching her back as she rubs the front of the shirt. "It’s like yours.”
I smile at her. "It is like mine," I agree and then walk back into Emma's room. She sits in the little nook that Erika did for her two days ago. A white plush carpet is pushed in the corner with six little pillows for her to lean back on. A basket of books are right next to her. A pink canopy is over her with big white and pink flowers all over the wall. "Ready to do your hair," I say as she puts the book back into the basket and gets up.
"Dad, can Auntie Erika take me to buy more books?" she asks as we walk back into the bathroom.
"I’m sure she can take you," I confirm, grabbing the brush and brushing her hair. She wants me to do a braid while Mia wants two ponytails. She says this holding up five fingers. I bend and kiss her neck, making her giggle.
When they are both settled, I walk to my bedroom to take a shower, leaving the door open in case they need me. I grab my phone again to call Erika, and it goes straight to voice mail. I don’t even leave a message. Instead, I text her.
Me: Erika, you call me back.
Me: Now.
I take my shower, and all I can do is think about her. Something is off. I feel it in my bones. When I get out of the shower, I look around my bathroom. Seeing her stuff on the counter mixed with mine makes my chest ache. I walk into my closet, grabbing a pair of boxers and then tossing the towel in the basket. I slip on a pair of shorts and a Dallas shirt. I grab a baseball cap and walk to the room, finding the girls watching a movie.
I clap my hands. "Who wants to go to the park?" I ask them, and they both jump up. I pack their bags while they put on their shoes. I check my phone for the hundredth time, seeing all my texts delivered but no answer.
Parking my SUV at the park, I see that the park is full. I hold their hands as we walk across the grass, and then Emma runs to the jungle gym. I watch her climb up and stand behind Mia while she tries to copy Emma.
I hold Emma and Mia up as they try to make their way across the monkey bars. My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I grab it quickly and see it’s just Julianne.
Julianne: Was wondering what time you’ll bring the girls over.
Me: I’m at the park. We’ll be by after this.
Julianne: See you then.
She ends it with a smiley face emoji, and I just put the phone back in my pocket. After an hour and a half, the girls are out of steam, so we walk back to the SUV. I turn on the air-conditioning while putting them into their seats. Once I get behind the wheel, Emma calls my name. "Can we go to the green lady shop?" I look into my mirror as I watch her. "The one that Auntie Erika always goes to." I smile and take my phone and call Erika, missing her voice. It goes straight to voice mail again, and at this point, I’m ready to drive over to her office.
"Yeah," I reply as we go through the drive-through, grabbing them the drink Erika always gets for them and make my way over to Julianne’s house. I call Erika again two more times, and I’m freaking out.
Once I pull into the driveway, I unbuckle the kids and grab their bags so I can drop them and go. They run ahead of me and open the door, running in and yelling for Julianne. I step in and close the door behind me. The smell of cooking fills the air, and I find Julianne in the kitchen. She is squatting down in front of the girls kissing them, and then when she looks up at me, her smile gets even bigger.
"Hi," she says, getting up and walking over to me. "How did it go at the park?" she asks, grabbing the bags from me.
"It was good. Girls, come give me a kiss," I say, itching to get out of here so I can go and find Erika.
"Oh," Julianne says. "I made chicken parm. I was thinking maybe we could have dinner together." She smiles up at me. "It’s been a while since we had a family dinner."