Page 77 of Heartsick & Lipsticks
SKYE
This is temporary,I reminded myself as I chopped carrots and celery for dinner prep at the island in Nick’s commercial grade kitchen.This is going to end very soon.
A thump echoed as I dropped the vegetables in the pot. I turned the water on to rinse off the chopping board and glanced up to the breakfast nook where Callie and Bella were snuggled in beside one another. Callie was scrolling through her phone and Bella was coloring. Behind the duo, large bay windows revealed a breathtaking view of the bridge and water.
Lola was in the room with Naomi watching eitherReal Housewives,Vanderpump Rules,Summer Houseor whatever their current Bravo binge happened to be. The two of them were inseparable. Their bond had been instant and had only grown during the time we’d been here. Gary nicknamed them the Golden Girls. He likened Lola to a combo of Blanche and Sophia, and Naomi to a mix of Rose and Dorothy.
In a plot twist I hadn’t seen coming, Lola had been behaving herself. She hadn’t gone out once. She was picking up after herself. Her room was always clean. And she’d been helping with Naomi’s care. She did her hair every day and got her snacks and water. It was a Christmas miracle… in June.
We’d been at Casa Locke for three weeks, and I kept having to remind myself that wewere notone big happy family. I wasn’t sure my brain or heart was convinced because that is exactly what we felt like. I almost didn’t recognize my life. I kept feeling like I was in the Twilight Zone.
We’d fallen into a routine. Nick cooked us all breakfast every morning before he went to work. On the nights I was on duty, I napped during the day. On my off days, I spent time hanging out with the girls or cleaning and cooking, with Carmen’s blessing of course. Carmen and I had grown close over the time I’d been there. She’d worked as a housekeeper and cook for thirty years and had four sons who were all in their twenties. Her eldest was twenty-nine and she’d tried to set me up with him. I explained that I didn’t date and why. She respected my decision but thought I should ‘reconsider.’ She found it endlessly amusing that I enjoyed working beside her and told me I was the daughter she’d always wanted.
On the weekends Lola, Naomi, Callie, Bella, Nick and I spent the days down by the water. Nick installed a wheelchair lift on the stairs that led down from the back yard to the private beach so Naomi could access it without any assistance.
Bella had been glued to Callie’s side, which Callie loved. The girls did their nails, watched YouTube and did TikToks, and Callie taught Bella cheer routines. Nick had even signed Bella up for the cheer camp where Callie was going to be a counselor. The two were leaving at the end of the week. They were so excited to be going away together.
The more I saw the girls together, the more certain I was that I’d robbed Callie of something. I’d been trying to do the right thing by her, but now I wasn’t so sure I had. I found that happened a lot in my parenting journey. I wondered if my mom ever regretted decisions that she made as a parent. She’d never said sorry to me, not once.
Whenever I was in the wrong, I apologized to Callie. But we had a lot more open communication than my mom and I did. Or at least, I hoped we did.
An alert sounded and Callie exclaimed, “Oh, it’s time for Duel!”
Bella clapped as Callie opened her laptop to play the podcast. I sometimes wondered if the content of the podcast was too adult for Bella, but she seemed to be unfazed by it. I’d brought up my concerns to both Nick and Parker, Bella’s manny, but they both said that most of it went over her head and she zoned out within minutes because she got bored, which I’d seen happen. She was always excited when Callie turned it on, though.
Nick’s voice filled the kitchen. “Welcome to Duel Point of View the advice podcast that gives you two very different points of view on everything from relationships, careers, home renovations, and finances. I’m Nick Locke here with my lovely co-host.”
“Selena Grace,” Selena introduced herself. “And today we have a very special guest on Duel, retired NFL quarterback and current owner of Ever After Matchmaking, Ben Whitaker.”
“Hi, it’s great to be here.” A voice nearly as deep as Nick’s came over the speaker.
“Wait, did he say he was a quarterback and now he’s a matchmaker?” I asked, wondering how that leap had taken place.
“Yeah,” Callie confirmed.
“So Ben, I think the first question on everyone’s mind is how did you go from quarterback to matchmaker?” Selena asked.
It was certainly the question on my mind.
“I inherited the business from my grandmother who passed away at the beginning of the year. She started Ever After Matchmaking when she was twenty-five and owned and operated it for seventy years.”
“Seventy years? Wow.” Selena infused. “That’s quite a legacy to live up to.”
“Yeah, tell me about it.” Ben let out a friendly laugh. “No pressure or anything.”
“After twelve years in the NFL I’m sure you’re used to a little pressure.”
Once the conversation turned to his football career, I was only half-listening as I continued to prep dinner. My mind immediately wandered back to the night Nick and I spent at the hotel after the benefit. That night had become the default setting in my head. The only way I stopped it from replaying over and over again, was to actively think of something else. It was exhausting.
It drained me not only emotionally but physically too. I missed him so much I ached. I missed the way he’d kissed me, touched me, spoke to me, but most of all I missed being in his arms. Each day that passed here, the intimacy that we’d shared drifted farther and farther away. It was the way it needed to be, but it also made me feel like the connection we’d had that night was in my imagination.
I was struggling with how to behave around him because the attraction between us was so strong. He didn’t seem to be having that issue. I never caught him staring at me, there’d been no longing looks or accidental touches. I felt like I was firmly in the friend-zone. Which should make me happy…
“Can I help?” I looked down and saw Bella standing beside me. She must have already gotten bored of the podcast.
“Of course!”
She pulled out her stool and hopped up.
