“Yeah, you’re right,” Calvin said, and she could tell that there was something else on his mind.
A long silence stretched between them, and Veronica began to feel uncomfortable.
“Well I’d better get back to work,” Veronica said lamely, kicking at the wood of the deck.
“Oh yeah of course,” Calvin said, a soft laugh on his voice. “Well good night! I love you!”
“I love you too,” Veronica said, maybe a little too softly. “Goodnight.”
With that, she hung up the phone. She let out a long breath through her nose and closed her eyes. She had no idea how she was ever going to manage to tell him the truth.
After taking a moment to collect her thoughts and straighten out her emotions, Veronica stood up
and made her way back into the house to while away the rest of the evening with the girls, as well as with Frank.
Veronica returned quietly to the den, escaping notice as Frank and the girls played their game. She was content to watch them play, and when they had worn themselves out she helped Frank get them up to their rooms. Veronica made sure that extraneous toys were picked up off the ground.
When there was nothing else to keep her occupied, the only thing left for her to do was face Frank, who lingered in the upstairs open area.
“Hey,” Frank said softly.
“Hey,” Veronica replied.
Another long silence passed, and Veronica looked at the front pocket of Frank’s shirt.
“Hey,” Frank said again, more softly, and placed his fingers under her chin to lift her face so that she was looking him in the eye. Veronica looked there and saw a mixture of emotions swirling.
“Was that Calvin?” he asked her. Veronica frowned a little.
“Yes,” Veronica answered, her voice soft. Frank let out a sigh, and clenched his jaw.
“How is he doing?” Frank asked, and Veronica felt a familiar pang of guilt, now because she felt like she was being deceitful to Frank. This was all incredibly confusing and foreign to her.
“I don’t want to talk about Calvin,” Veronica said plainly. Frank blinked and drew back a little.
“Okay,” he said softly, and Veronica sighed.
“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to sound angry.
“No, no I understand,” Frank nodded. “It’s your business of course.”
Veronica nodded. They stood in silence for a moment.
“How are you?” Frank asked. “You’ve seemed a little off today.”
Veronica let out a soft laugh. That was the understatement of the year.
“Yeah I’m just trying to wrap my head around all this,” Veronica said, and Frank seemed to relax a little.
“Oh,” he said, looking around at their surroundings. “Yeah, I know it’s lot to have to get used to, but don’t worry, you’ll adjust to it.”
“I’m not talking about the house,” Veronica said, all her emotions coming to the surface. “And I’m not talking about the job.”
Frank frowned a little, pressing his lips together.
“Then what are you talking about?” he asked, his brows knitting together.
Veronica scoffed and rolled her eyes, irritation and stress coming to the forefront of her emotional struggle.