"Oh. Right. But she's OK now?"
"Yeah, she's totally fine. Sorry, it was such a crazy day that it slipped my mind to call you."
And I was avoiding you.
"Glad she's alright. Should I come over?"
"No. Pompom's here."
"Tomorrow then?"
"Landon."
"Is it too much to ask to see you every day?" he jokes.
"Yes," I reply. Although my brain is trilling no, of course not! Not at alllll! "I have a kid. A job. Responsibilities."
"Which I have no intention of keeping you from," he says with good humor. "Let me come over tomorrow."
"I'll think about it. Good night, Landon."
"You can't talk for more than a minute?" he growls.
OK. Maybe I have been acting a bit unfair.
"Not much to report," I say. "Just watching The Notebook. Eating popcorn. Catching up with Pamela."
"Alright, I'll let you go." Typical Landon - pushes for what he wants, then makes sure to end things on his own terms. "Goodnight Kyra."
Then again, I should probably just stop overthinking everything. Maybe he's just being agreeable after I tried to hurry off the phone call.
"Night, Landon," I say.
"Well, that went well," Pompom says blithely after I've hung up.
"It did, actually," I say, exhaling. "Kind of."
"So, are you seeing him tomorrow or not?" she asks with an evil smile.
I give her my own sweet smile. "I don't see how that's your business?"
Pompom chucks a decorative pillow at me. "Come off it. You know you'll agree to see him."
"No." I won't smile - I won't. "I don't know if it's a good idea."
Pompom looks to the heavens with an expression of utter exasperation, then gestures to the TV with the remote control. "Fine. Suit yourself. Me, I'd like to watch a non-frustrating love story unfold if that's OK?"
OK, now I'm smiling. "Let's do it."
**
The next day, I let Madison stay home from school. She seems mostly better, but she's still a bit weak and I don't want to take any chances.
We spend the day doing crafts with the help of some rainbow construction paper and kid scissors, as well as a few addition and subtraction exercises from the math workbook she's been avoiding.
For dinner, I cook up some dino buddies and broccoli, and as we're eating-
Ding-dong
"Probably just a Jehovah's Witness," I say, not moving.
"Or Girl Scouts," Madison says, her dino buddy-filled cheeks spread into an excited smile.
"Yes, we'll get the cookies at the grocery store next time, I promise," I tell her.
Ding-dong
"Fine," I say, getting up and heading for the door at her pointed look. "If it's Girl Scouts I'll just buy the cookies now."
"Woohoo!" Madison says.
I open the door and gape at what I find.
"What are you doing here?" I hiss.
Landon smiles apologetically. "Sorry. Just - you weren't responding and I thought..." He frowns. "Sorry."
All I can do is stare at him and wonder what on earth to say. Whoever I was expecting at the door, it definitely wasn't him.
"I can just go," he says.
"Mom?" Madison calls from the kitchen. "Make sure you get the chocolate ones, OK?"
I pause. Landon's uncertain eyes meet mine.
"OK, fine," I grumble, opening the door wide to let him in. "But just for an hour."
"Just for an hour," Landon answers with something of a smile.
Once I close the door behind him, I can feel my heart beating through my chest. This is it. The moment I've been dreading. Looking forward to. The one I'm not at all ready for.
He smells good - too good.
Ugh. I want to hug him and sink into those arms, escape. But I can't.
I have to keep my wits about me. If this doesn't work...
I walk into the kitchen, Landon following behind.
"Maddy," I say, trying to keep my voice as casual as possible, "there's someone I want you to meet."
And then we're standing there, me in my fuzzy flip-flops, Landon with his shoes still on, looking how I've never seen him look: sheepish and shy and uncertain and eager all at once.
"This is Landon," I say. "My friend."
Madison, midway through having one dino buddy attack another, glances up. "Oh. Hi." Her lips press together as her hazel-eyed gaze goes to Landon. "You're not supposed to wear shoes inside the house, you know." Then she holds her pink sparkly-nailed finger to her lips. "I won't tell Mom, though."
Landon laughs. "Thanks for keeping it on the DL."
"We're having dino buddies with broccoli," I tell Landon, "Want some?"
"Sure." He grins. "Got to take off my shoes first, though."
When he comes back, Madison fixes him with a curious look. "You don't actually like broccoli, do you?"
"Yeah, I do," Landon replies. "Why not?"
"Because it's... well... ick." Madison makes a face.
Landon chuckles. "It's not that bad."
Madison extends her broccoli-stabbed fork his way. "Want mine, then?"
"Madison," I scold her.
She exhales, bringing her fork back to her plate. "Sorry, Mom. But it really is gross. Plus, Janie told me her parents don't make her eat any vegetables at all."