Page 179 of From Rivals to I Do

“Hey, there! You ready to go, champ?”

“Yeah!”

Camilla grabbed her jacket and purse. “Better get going then,” she said.

They dropped Charlie off first since the school was on the way. Pulling up to the entrance along with all the other parents, they watched hordes of kids in colorful backpacks getting out of cars and waving goodbye to their families. Charlie opened his door and hopped out with a single “Bye, Mommy! Bye, Lulu!” He bounced up the stairs without so much as a look back.

Camilla laughed. “That was the same kid that asked to come to work with me this morning at breakfast.”

Lulu smiled as they pulled away. “Yeah? Since when is he interested in hanging out at the restaurant?”

“Since…” Camilla paused. She didn’t exactly know how she felt about Abel just yet, and she didn’t know if she was ready to even talk about it. Lulu picked up on her apprehension and looked over at her.

“What?” she asked. Then a second later, it dawned on her. “Oh, don’t tell me. The new guy, right? The one that’s really cute.”

Camilla smiled wanly. She doubted Lulu was going to leave it at that. “Yeah,” she said. “He really likes Abel, apparently.”

Lulu glanced at her again, this time with a raised eyebrow. “Uh-huh,” she said. They drove in momentary silence, then she asked, “So you never told me how you got home last night.”

Camilla felt herself blushing. She looked out of the passenger’s side window to hide her flushing skin from Lulu. “I just walked. It’s not far, you know.”

“You walked. By yourself?”

“I had Charlie with me!”

“Camilla…” She nearly turned all the way around to look at her and probably would have if they weren’t driving.

“Okay,” said Camilla. “Abel…sort of…just walked me home.”

Lulu made a surprised, laughing sound. “Really? That’s interesting.”

“No, it’s not. I mean, he was just being nice, you know? I was by myself, and it was after dark. Charlie was with me and everything. It’s no big deal.”

“Excuse me, but it’s a huge deal,” she said.

“It was after dark,” Camilla protested. “And, you know, with how he handled that robber, I thought it couldn’t hurt to have a little protection with me.” Lulu gave her a skeptical look. “It was no different than having a dog with me.”

“Sure, okay. Fine as that man is and that was the only reason you let him walk you home.”

Camilla laughed. “Come on, Lulu. We didn’t get married or anything. It was just a walk home. I mean, all it means is that he’s chivalrous, right? He’s not a jerk. Only a jerk would let a woman walk home alone with her five-year-old after dark.”

“Uh-huh. And that’s all he did? Walk you home?”

Camilla gaped at her, her face now hot with embarrassment. “Lulu! What kind of woman do you think I am?”

“What? Oh, come on, Camilla. Don’t be such a prude!”

Camilla scoffed and crossed her arms. She was a little offended that Lulu would suggest such a thing.

“All I’m saying,” Lulu said, “is that there’s no shame in taking a lover. It’s not the nineteen-fifties, after all.”

“I know,” she responded, shifting in her seat uncomfortably. “It’s not…it’s not that, though. Well, not just that, anyway.”

The mood had shifted between them. Lulu dared a look at her. “It’s Carlos, right?” Camilla didn’t respond. “Camilla…you know, you can date again…right? It’s been almost three years since… well, since Carlos passed. He wouldn’t want you to spend the rest of your life alone. He’d want you to fall in love again eventually, right?”

Camilla shrugged. “I…I don’t know,” she said honestly. It had been three years, at least according to Lulu. It felt like considerably less time than that to Camilla. She could still remember the sound of Carlos’ voice and the smell of his cologne. The feel of his arms when he held her at night still felt like it was just a day away from that moment. Three years wasn’t quite long enough for her.

“You’re going to have to move forward with your life at some point,” Lulu said. “Carlos isn’t here anymore, but that doesn’t mean you’re gone too. You’re still alive, Camilla. So live.”

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