A Chance Encounter

I wait a few minutes, but she doesn’t respond. She started back at school a few days ago, so between Kendall, work, and school, I imagine she’s busy, but she generally responds pretty quickly, unless she’s at work. But it’s Sunday, so I know she’s off. Hell, it’s her only day off.

When I still haven’t heard from her after a half an hour, I decide to call.

“Hello?” a small voice says—Kendall.

“Kendall, is that you?”

“Yes, Easton, is that you?”

“Yes,” I say through a laugh. “What are you doing with your mom’s phone?”

“We were watching a movie and she fell asleep. Her head hurts.”

“Is your aunt Naomi there?”

“Nope, just me and Mommy.”

“I’m going to FaceTime you, okay?”

“Okay.”

She hangs up, and I call right back, this time with video. “Hi!” she yells, her adorable little face coming over the screen. “Where are you today?” I can see her walking down the hall and into her room, where Sophia set up a map for her like she asked.

“I’m still in Chicago, Illinois.”

“Still? You’ve been there forever.”

I chuckle. “Only a few days. I’ll be here tomorrow too and then we’ll go somewhere new.”

“Okay.”

“Can you bring the phone to your mom?” She said she’s sleeping, but I can’t imagine her sleeping while Kendall is awake by herself.

She nods and starts to walk again. When she gets to Sophia’s room, it’s dark, so I can’t see anyone.

“Mommy, Easton’s on the phone and wants to talk to you.”

“What—Shit! I mean shoot. Did I fall asleep?” Sophia asks, her voice sounding groggy.

“Yeah. I heard the phone ringing, so I got it and it’s Easton.”

“Thank you, Sunshine,” Sophia says. There’s a rustling and then Sophia says, “Hello?” I can’t make her out, but I’m almost positive she has her ear against the phone, thinking it’s a phone call.

“It’s on FaceTime,” I tell her.

“Oh, hold on.” There’s more rustling and then a soft light turns on and her beautiful face appears. “Hey.” Under her eyes are dark and her face looks slightly puffy. Her hair is in a tangled mess on top of her head, and she looks like she’s been run over by a train. She’s still beautiful, don’t get me wrong. She’s always beautiful. But there’s something wrong.

“You okay?” I ask, wishing I were there. Hating I’m hours away.

“Yeah.” She clears her throat and plasters on her signature fake smile. “I worked late and woke up with a bit of a headache.”

I want to tell her I’ll give her money so she can stop working, but I know she won’t accept it. It’s like she has something to prove. She has to do it all herself, so she can say she did it on her own.

“Can you take something for it?”

“Yeah, I did.” She squeezes her eyes together, like she’s in pain, then reopens them.

“Have you been in bed all day?” I ask, worried.

“For the most part. It’s been snowing and raining all day, so we’ve been watching movies. I can’t believe I fell asleep.” I hear the guilt in her words and want to say something to lighten it, but I don’t know what to say, so I ask the same thing I always ask her…

“Is there anything you need?” I already know she’ll say no. I’m pretty sure she’d rather die than take help from me, but I’ll keep asking in hope one day she’ll say yes.

“I’m okay, but thanks.”

“What are you up to this week?” I ask, hoping to keep the conversation going. This is the first time we’ve spoken since I left.

“The usual. School, work… Oh, Friday I have my four-month checkup.”

Damn, it’s already been a month since her last appointment? I run through the days in my head. We have a show here tomorrow, one in Colorado the next day… One in Utah Thursday… “I’m off Friday,” I blurt out. “I can go.”

Her eyes widen. “Aren’t you far away?”

“I can fly.” I don’t know where I’m getting a flight from, but I’ll make it happen, no matter what it takes. There’s no way I’m passing up a chance to see her, and since it’s an appointment for the baby, she won’t say no. “What time is it for?”

“Ten o’clock. But it’s just a routine—”

“Dash,” I say, cutting her off. “I want to be there. It’s bad enough I’m away for the next month.”

“Okay, well, it’s up to you.” Her voice is resigned, and it breaks my heart. “I need to give Kendall a bath and put her to bed…”

“Yeah, of course.” I force a smile. “I’ll talk to you soon?”

She nods once, then ends the call, leaving me frustrated as hell.

A second later, my phone rings and I quickly answer it, thinking it’s Sophia calling me back. “Hey.”

“Hey, sweetheart,” my mom says.

I sigh into the phone. “Hey, Mom.”

“I’m going to try not to take offense that you aren’t more thrilled to hear from your mother.”