He tapped the screen to turn his phone on. Cameron smiled back at him. He’d snuck this photo of her one day when she hadn’t been expecting it. But it made him happy every time he turned on his phone, so he’d put it on his home screen.
If this situation surrounding his TDY showed him anything, it was that he loved Cameron and Lizzie and the thought of leaving them tore him up.
He pressed a few buttons. One ring, two, three… She finally picked up right as the fourth ring started. “Uh, hello?”
“Cameron, thank God. Mariana is sick. Her face is flushed, she feels like she’s got a fever, and there are splotches on her face and arms. Mrs. Rodriguez says she’s probably contagious.” Daggone it. He needed to hear Cameron’s voice. He hadn’t known how much. But did he tell her that? No, he just blurted out what was going on.
“It’s all right, Alex. Calm down.” Cameron’s voice was soothing. Was she sitting on her couch right now, or was she chasing after Boomer, dealing with one of his many mishaps? Alex shook his head. That wasn’t why he called. “It sounds like she may have chicken pox. Did she get the vaccine?”
“How in the heck am I supposed to know that? I just… Valentina handled everything about Mariana when she was little. And then my mother took charge after Valentina died.” He was lucky he’d gotten Mariana’s medical records transferred when he changed stations. He hadn’t even settled on a pediatrician. Mariana had been healthy so it hadn’t been a priority.
“What about Lizzie? I’m worried that Mariana may have given it to her. The girls spend so much time together. I’ll feel awful if Lizzie was sick.”
“There’s no need to worry. Lizzie got the vaccine before she started school. And I had chicken pox as a child, so we’re both fine.”
Thank God for that, at least. “Whew. I’m glad. At least you guys won’t be infected.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be leaving for your trip? What are you going to do with Mariana?”
He sank onto the couch. Now that he knew for sure that Cameron and Lizzie were okay, he could deal with his current dilemma. “I don’t know yet. Mrs. Rodriguez can’t take her because she may be contagious. And unfortunately, in the Army, family medical leave is a bit complicated.” There he went. Unloading on Cameron again. She didn’t want that in her life anymore.
Cameron didn’t say anything for a long time. She was too quiet. Then, a few shaky words. “Why, uh, why don’t you bring Mariana here? She can stay with us while you’re gone.”
“I don’t know, Cameron. Do you think that’s a good idea?” It was all he could do to stop himself from shouting “yes” the minute she offered. He wanted to be with Cameron. But she’d made her fears about his deployments clear, and their inevitable effect on her and Lizzie. But he didn’t have a choice whether to travel or not. This was an impasse he didn’t know how to resolve. At least not in the next thirty minutes.
“Don’t worry about what happened between us right now. This is about Mariana. I know you have to go.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.” Not that he had any clue what else he could do.
“You’re not asking. I’m offering. Stop being stubborn and say yes.”
She’d called that right. He was stubborn. “Cameron, I don’t deserve this from you. I can never thank you enough. I know you’re doing it for Mariana, and I appreciate that so much. I’ll bring her by as soon as I can get her packed.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
Cameron clicked off without another word. But he’d been seeing her in a few minutes. He could say some of the things he’d failed to tell her the other night. Like the fact that he was falling in love with her. And that she was worth fighting for.
* * *
Cameron stared at the phone long after the screen went dark. What was she thinking? She was thinking about Mariana. Where she should be focused. Not on Alex. Not even after she’d tossed and turned all night, wishing she could fix what she’d broken.
“Did I hear you say that Mariana’s gonna stay with us?” Lizzie’s excited voice rang out from the doorway.
“Yes, Alex is bringing her over. Mariana wasn’t feeling well and Mrs. Rodriguez couldn’t watch her if she was sick.”
Cameron brushed her hands down her hair. Did she have time to touch up her makeup before Alex got here? She grabbed a couple of magazines from the couch and stacked them on th
e coffee table. Then she straightened one of them. And again. Okay, this was ridiculous. She took the blanket that was balled up on the couch and folded it neatly over the back.
“Everything will be okay, Mom. This will give you a chance to talk to Mariana’s dad and fix things.”
Cameron’s hands stilled. Lizzie hadn’t said much when Cameron told her that she and Alex had broken up. She’d expected a temper tantrum of epic proportions. But no, Lizzie had been calm and reasonable. “Lizzie, come sit down and talk to me for a minute.”
Lizzie tilted her head in that way that reminded Cameron so much of Josh. It had taken a long time, but she didn’t get angry every time she thought of him now. How could she, when he’d given her the best thing to ever happen to her?
“What’s going on, Mommy?”
“I know that you were upset when I told you I wasn’t seeing Alex anymore. Just because I offered to help out a fellow parent doesn’t mean that we’re getting back together.”