Page 13 of The Write Choice

“Good looking out for your mom, bud.” He meets my eyes, his smile softening. “I’m here now, though. Let’s get on the ice and give your mom some time off, huh?”

He holds my gaze for another moment. I think he probably wants to say something, but whatever it is, he won’t say it in front of the kids. His eyes drop from mine to my lips, and my tongue flicks out to moisten them. He huffs quietly, then drags his eyes back to mine, his grin brightening ever so slightly.

Brandon’s smile has always been relaxed and genuine, which is easy for someone who walks through the world knowing he has enough money and privilege to solve most problems that come his way. There was a time when his laid-back nature rubbed off on me, and I could feel the tension leaving most situations, but whatever standoff we’ve found ourselves in recently isn’t going to be fixed by him showing up to ice skate and flashing me a grin.

Nevertheless, I relax a little as he studies me. He must see it, too, because his smile widens and his eyes sparkle like the Christmas lights around us.

It’s short-lived, though, as Mason starts tugging on his hand and pulling him toward the skate rentals. Brandon lets himself be led by his son, but he looks over his shoulder at me. “Enjoy your hot chocolate,” he calls. “We’ll see you in an hour.”

I watch the three of them as they walk away from me, Brandon in the middle with a tiny Christine perched on his hip and a bundled-up Mason holding his hand on the other side, both kids’ vibrant, puffy coats contrasting his black, wool one. If I had any time, I’d sketch this scene, with the massive Christmas tree lit up behind them. For now, though, I’ll have to settle for tucking the picture into a pocket of my brain and hope I can hold on to it forever.

They get in line, then Mason turns to say something to Brandon, who leans closer to be able to hear. After a moment, Brandon straightens, then tips his head back and roars his laughter into the darkening sky. I can hear his booming guffaw from where I stand, and I feel a corner of my mouth pulling up at the sound.

Brandon calms, though Mason is still beaming with pride at having made his father laugh. Brandon ruffles Mason’s hair again, then he notices me still watching them. He tilts his head at me as he shifts Christine higher on his hip. His expression seems to say, Go. I’ve got this.

I nod once and turn to get myself some hot chocolate so I can set up next to the ice rink and watch this little trio of mine.

Chapter 5

Brandon

Things don’t get much better between Katie and me after ice skating, though we both do a good job of keeping the tension to a simmer so the kids don’t suspect anything is up. Between last-minute gift wrapping, our Christmas Eve and Christmas morning traditions, and my packing to leave, we can’t even get two seconds alone to talk. It’s possible she’s inventing things to do to avoid me, too, but I’m not sure.

I haven’t tried to move back from the guest room, either, so I’m as much to blame as she is. Still, I get the eerie feeling that I’m watching my family slip between my fingers before my very eyes.

As soon as my flight lands in Chicago, I text Katie to let her know I arrived safely. She texts back right away, but it’s just a thumbs up emoji. I don’t know how to read that, so I don’t bother trying. Instead, I message Daniel to let him know I’m here and that I need to get my suitcase from baggage claim. Daniel offered to pick me up from the airport, saying it was so I could save money on a taxi, but we both know neither of us need to worry about paying for a cab. I get it, though. Despite having seen him just about three months ago, I’m excited to see my best friend again, too.

I grab my suitcase off the carousel and pop the handle up so I can wheel it out the doors to the roundabout where passengers catch their rides. As soon as I emerge from the airport, Daniel’s car pulls over and stops right in front of me. He opens the trunk, so I stash my suitcase and climb into the passenger seat just as I hear a whistle sound from nearby.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m going,” Daniel mutters under his breath as he pulls back out into the street. “You think New Yorkers are in a hurry, and then you visit a Chicago airport.” He glances at me and back to the road. “How was the flight?”

I press the button to lean my seat back a little more as I stretch my legs out in front of me. “Lonely,” I say. It’s not sad or a ploy for sympathy; it’s simply a statement of fact. Daniel and I have known each other long enough and been through enough shit together that we are always honest with one another.

He snickers as he changes lanes. “You’d rather have a toddler crawling all over you while you’re trapped in a metal tube for three hours?”

“Well, yeah, actually, but I was mostly thinking about Katie.” Katie and the almost-four-months since I’ve seen her beautiful smile, touched her, felt her body under mine. I swallow hard against the ache in my chest.

Daniel merges onto the highway toward Leade Park before he glances at me again. “Still bad, huh?”

“Bad is probably an understatement.” I pause as I rhythmically tap my foot. “I might have confronted her about the drinking.”

Daniel cocks an eyebrow, but otherwise, his expression betrays nothing of what he’s thinking. We’re both silent for long enough that I pull my hair back, frustrated. “I might have jumped the gun on this move,” I admit.

“What makes you say that? You were pretty sure about it a few months ago.”

“I got spooked. I mean, yeah, I want this promotion. And I wouldn’t mind leaving the city for good. Living in the city with kids is just different, man. I don’t know how our parents did it.”

Daniel snorts. “They didn’t. They hired people to do it for them.”

I angle my head at him, conceding that point. “Yeah, well Katie never had any money growing up. She has always been adamant that she doesn’t want me throwing our money around where the kids are concerned, and she still is.”

“Aside from that massive apartment,” Daniel mutters.

I chuckle. “Right. Well, her argument there is that the kids don’t know what real estate costs in the city, but they do know if they’re being raised by a nanny or driven around by a chauffeur. And, if they had to share a room, she’d lose it with all their arguing.”

Daniel tilts his head back and forth. “She’s probably right.”

“Anyway, I met them at the ice rink downtown the other day, and Katie looked like she was clutching the kids for dear life. The older they get, the harder it seems for one of us to keep the two of them close by. And, you know, parenting is different now than when our parents did it.”