Neither of the women made any indication they knew what was going on. According to both of them, I didn’t even have a child. Much less one who was being torn away from me by his father. I trusted Nick and Vince hadn’t spilled my secrets to them, and it seemed I was right in that trust. These weren’t women who would just ignore the situation if they knew what was happening with me. As painful as it was to see the baby and the closeness of the family, I was glad they didn’t know. I wanted to see something positive for a change.
We chatted for a little while, and I got a chance to see the baby a bit closer. There was no getting her out of Minnie’s arms, so I would have to wait for another opportunity to actually hold her. I was enjoying the conversation when Nick called.
“I thought you said you would be here in just a few minutes,” he said.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I am here. I’m in the break room with your mother, Merry, and the baby. Where are you?”
“In Vince’s office. Come and meet us.” He hesitated for a second. “And bring the cinnamon rolls.”
I laughed, promised him the rolls, and ended the call. “I’ve been beckoned to Vince’s office and tasked with bringing them cinnamon rolls.”
Merry laughed and gave me directions to the office while I grabbed the platter. I rode the elevator up, and as I walked down the hallway toward the office, I realized my heart was beating faster in my chest. I tried to tell myself it was because I knew they were going to want to talk about what was going on. But I knew that wasn’t really entirely the truth. My heart was speeding up because I was about to see Vince. All I could hope was that he wouldn’t notice. He was being so sweet and kind. I didn’t want to make it weird.
When I got into the office, the men were sitting in the sitting area leaned toward each other. As soon as I stepped into the room, I heard Grant’s name and my chest tightened. Part of me wanted to be angry they were talking about what was going on without me. I didn’t like the idea of being a topic of conversation or having my personal life discussed behind my back. This was such a private issue. I hadn’t even intended Vince to know.
But I couldn’t let myself be fully angry. They wanted to help me. I was so grateful for what they were doing, and I needed to put down my guard. I needed to push away my lifelong compulsion to keep a smile on my face and handle everything on my own. Right now, I needed all the help I could get.
“Hey,” Vince said when he noticed me. “Come sit down.”
Nick was closest, but I was drawn to the spot beside Vince. I sat down and put the platter of cinnamon rolls on the table in front of us. Each of us picked one up and dug in before continuing the conversation.13VinceI didn’t expect to see Lindsey that day. Not that I didn’t want to. I woke up with the same compulsion pulling at my stomach that had drawn me to go see her at the bar over and over the last few weeks. But I didn’t think I was going to get a chance to see her so soon. Nick only came up to the complex to visit with the new baby. She was the first newborn brought into the family, and it was exciting to get the chance to meet her.
Technically, Darren’s daughter, Willa, was the first grandchild. But none of us even knew she existed until recently. As a toddler, that little girl was an absolute delight. All of us adored her and were thrilled to have her be a part of the family. But that was different than seeing a brand-new baby.
When Lindsey walked into the office, my breath caught slightly in my chest. It was a reaction to just her general presence that was getting familiar. The fact that she was carrying a massive plate of fresh cinnamon rolls didn’t hurt. I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to have her baking up treats in my kitchen and curling up in bed with me to eat them.
Having thoughts like that floating around in my head didn’t make it any easier to have her come into the office. Especially when she decided to come sit down beside me rather than going to Nick. We settled in, and she joined the conversation Nick and I were having. Soon, it felt completely natural having her there.
I wanted to ask her what she ever saw in Grant. My first instinct was to question why she would ever even hook up with a guy like that. But I bit my tongue. She didn’t need any more negativity right now. I was sure she questioned herself constantly and blamed herself for getting into this position.