Page 74 of Let's Call a Truce
“True, but also the s-e-x,” I whispered, “is on another level. Like guaranteed multiple Os a night.”
“What are Os, Mom?”
My eyes went wide in horror, and Asia stifled a laugh. I looked at Clara, who blinked at me with sweet, innocent eyes.
“Oh, nothing, honey,” I said awkwardly. “A boring work thing.”
She bounced a little in her seat. “I like hearing about your work things!”
Why did she have to be so inquisitive? A quick glance at Asia, who shrugged, told me I’d get no help from her. “Os are… applications for our company.”
Clara nodded. “Why are they called Os?”
Fucking hell, Clara.Asia was laughing hard now, and Clara looked between us, while Autumn ignored the conversation completely.
I racked my brain for an answer that made even the slightest bit of sense. “Because… we go ‘Oh’when the application is good.” So silly, but she seemed to accept it. “Who’s playing striker today?”
That got her off the topic, and eventually she and Autumn fell back into the excitement of the game, leaving me to talk with my friend, just not about anything sex-related.
Later that night, as I tucked her in bed, she whispered, “Today was so much fun. Mr. Ben is the best.”
I smiled against her hair as I kissed the crown of her head. “Yeah, he is.”
I pulled the comforter up over her, stopping to give Sophie one last kiss, too, wishing we hadn’t instituted the no-sleepovers-with-kids-in-the-house rule.
Chapter 22
Three screeching voiceson three different keys filled the car.
TheWickedsoundtrack had been on loop in our house since Ben took us to see the show the previous week for Sophie’s birthday. Right now, both my girls and Paris were singing along in the back seat of my SUV. Sophie belted loud enough to fill an auditorium, while Clara and Paris sang quieter, but no less enthusiastically, on either side of her.
Earlier in the week, Quinn had reached out. The calls she’d promised to help me prepare for the students had turned into hours of talking about everything we could think of. Good places to find clothes that permitted women to actually have curves. The apparent drama on campus between faculty and staff—hence her lack of invite to our dinner. Her recommendations for the next book that would inevitably take me a year to read. In Boston, she’d been nice but professional. Outside work, she had no filter, and I was obsessed with her. She was determined to get me up to Gainesville, her hometown and my alma mater.
“I’m visiting for some family stuff, but come up on Saturday and we can hang out!”
“I don’t know if we can fit it in. And I don’t want to take away from your family,” I said.
“It’s not taking away from them. You’re giving me an excuseto get away for a few hours, thus keeping me from losing my shit and saying something I’d regret. You’d behelpingmy relationship with my family.”
I laughed. “Why are you coming into town last-minute? Is everything okay?”
I could almost hear the epic eye roll in her voice. “Yes, everything’s fine. My perfect brother proposed to his perfect girlfriend this past weekend, so they’re having an engagement party. The rest of my family is all in Florida, and they guilted me into flying down with only five days’ notice. It’s a bit easier to drive a couple hours than fly a thousand miles, you assholes.”
“It’s kind of far for a day trip, Quinn.”
“Bullshit! It’s only two hours away, and don’t even try to lie and say you haven’t done a day trip. I know you’ve come up for games. Are you telling me football is more important than I am? Plus, you said you haven’t been in years, and it would be so much fun.”
I wanted to go. I loved visiting campus, and we had gone up at least a few times a year before Jason died, but the idea of going without him seemed overwhelming now.
“I haven’t been back since Jason’s death. There are a lot of memories there.”
Quinn sighed. “Well, I feel like a dick for pushing. No worries, I’ll come down to you. It will give me more time away.”
I paused. It would be easier to stay in Orlando. I wouldn’t have to deal with four hours in the car. But was I going to go the rest of my life without visiting Gainesville again? It was one of my favorite places in the world, so why not face it with a new friend to help fill it with new memories?
“No, I want to come. I’ll bring the girls and show them where their dad and I met.”
We coordinated the plan over the next few days. I asked if her parents could get us into the dining hall for lunch, much to Quinn’s chagrin. The dining hall was only for employees andstudents, so not only would she have to eat the crappy food, but she’d have to ask her dad—a big-shot professor—to get her passes so we could access it. She stopped outright complaining after I told her about my history with Jason there.
