Page 34 of His Best Friend's Widow
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Hailey gripped Carter and Ellie’s hands as they moved across the parking lot. “Charlotte, stay close to me, there are a lot of cars.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Charlotte said, following behind. “Mama, have we been here before?”
Hailey sucked in a breath, and the knot that had been in her stomach all morning rolled around. “Yes, sweetie, a few years ago. We came once when you were a baby, but you probably don’t remember. Then we came once to watch Landon play.”
“I think I remember that. Daddy was with us, right?”
“Yes, he was.” Hailey swallowed as they stepped up from the parking lot onto the grass of the soccer field. Yes, Kyle had been with them. Now she was here with all three kids by herself to watch Landon play soccer. She was excited to see him, but her emotions were too mixed up to pick just one. How many people would she see today that would remember her from Kyle’s days playing on the team? It had been a while, but lots of the guys were the same. Landon had said so.
Hailey wanted to shake herself. Just thinking of Kyle and Landon’s names in back to back sentences was too much. Instead, she forced a smile. She was happy to be here, after all, and the kids would have fun. If she could just focus on that for the next few hours, maybe she would be okay.
“Hailey?” A female voice called out.
“Yes,” she responded before she turned to see who it was. “Oh, hey, Ally.”
“Hey!” Ally responded. “I haven’t seen you out here in a long time.” She turned and looked at the kids. “Hi, guys, how are you?”
“Hey, Mrs. Ally!” Charlotte moved forward to hug her favorite Sunday School teacher.
Ally smiled as she hugged the girl back. “I’m so excited to see you. Are you here to watch the game?”
“Yes, we came to watch Landon play!” Charlotte announced proudly.
Hailey felt her cheeks flush bright red, even though Ally kept her attention on Charlotte.
“Really? That’s great. I’m here to watch Mr. Jackson. He plays on the same team as Mr. Landon,” Ally said of her husband. She stood and straightened to speak to Hailey. “Julie is here too. She’s watching Sarah. I just ran to the car for her blanket. It’s a little chillier than I thought it would be. It’s so hard to keep up with all the stuff kids need to go somewhere.” Ally laughed.
Hailey nodded. “Oh yes, it is when they’re little. It gets a little easier when they get older and don’t require so much every trip.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I’m always afraid I’m going to forget something. The back of my car is loaded down with everything I might need, just in case. I don’t know how you do it with three. I feel like I’m still figuring out one and don’t know how I will handle two.”
Hailey’s eyes dropped as Ally rubbed her round belly. “Oh, congratulations! I didn’t realize.”
Ally beamed. “Thank you. We’re very excited. And Jackson is thrilled we’re having a boy!’
“Oh, how wonderful.” Hailey loosened her grip on the kids as they all started walking again. Ally must be at least six or seven months pregnant. How had Hailey missed that? They had been close friends before. Kyle, Jackson, and Landon had all played on the soccer team together, and they’d been in Sunday school class with them for years. Hailey hadn’t managed to get herself to Sunday School for a long time, but was she really so out of touch that she’d missed Ally’s pregnancy announcement?
Charlotte and Ellie chatted with Ally as they moved forward while Hailey was lost in her own thoughts. How many meals had Ally and Julie brought to her in the months after Kyle’s death? She couldn’t say for sure, but it was more than once. And Ally had been the one to send her text messages and ask how she was and tell her she was praying for her. Hailey swallowed, realizing she had started ignoring the invitations to go to lunch or get a coffee. She certainly hadn’t had time for the girls’ nights they used to do. Now it was plain to her that she had put distance between them and cut herself off from her friends. She should have been there to hear her friend’s good news and ask if she was having morning sickness or needed someone to watch the baby so she could nap.
Hailey watched Ally talking to her girls and made a decision. God was pushing her back into life. Landon was giving her the time and space to find joy again, and her friends needed to be part of that. She wasn’t sure how to go about it, but she wanted to be in their lives again. Whatever that looked like in this new season.
As they neared the sideline, Hailey looked over to the team warming up on the field. She knew the moment Landon saw her. He had been kicking the ball with Jackson, but he stopped and immediately jogged to the side.
“Hey!” he called out. “You made it.”
Hailey smiled. “We did, although there were a few moments I wasn’t sure we would.”
Landon put his hand on his hips and tilted his head to the side. “Any water spilling accidents this morning?”
“I only wish it was water. It was my entire mug of coffee. On Carter’s outfit and the kitchen floor.”
“Ooo,” Landon grimaced. “Did the mug survive?”
Hailey shook her head. “Nope. Total loss.”
“Oh no, I’m sorry.”
