Page 28 of Finding Wonderland

“Excuse me,” Vera smiled at the clerk who was clearly annoyed with helping her, “can I leave these carts here for a moment? I forgot something. Thanks.”

She didn’t wait for him to say it was okay. Vera darted to the front of the store, grabbed another cart, and quickly gathered more things for Isla. By the time she was back at the paint counter, her paint was ready. Thankfully, the surly clerk helped her push the carts to the checkout while two other clerks helped her out to the vehicle. It wasn’t often that Vera was thankful for her SUV, but she was always glad she had it when it came to hauling things.

Stopping by a burger joint on the way home, Vera munched on the crispy, salty fries as she listened to the radio. It was some boy band Vera didn’t regularly listen to, but the song didn’t annoy her like the other ones did.

Pulling into the driveway, Vera only unloaded a few things while leaving the rest to take to Isla’s. She checked the time on the microwave and smiled. It was after eight, which meant Mason would be in bed and she could call Isla without worrying she was impeding on her time with Mason.

Isla answered on the second ring.

“Hey,” she could hear the happy sigh in Isla’s voice, “I was wondering if you were going to call tonight.”

“Phones work both ways,” Vera teased.

“I know. I’m sorry. It’s just that you have been the one calling and I didn’t know…”

“Isla.”

“Yeah?”

“I was teasing.”

“Oh,” Isla laughed, but Vera could tell it was more of a pity laugh than anything. “Sorry, I have a lot on my mind today.”

“Yeah?” Vera sat on the couch with her feet curled up under her. “Want to talk about it?”

“Well, it’s Friday, which means another week has gone by without hearing from the judge in the custody case.”

Vera let Isla talk as long as she needed to about the case, and how worried she was that she wasn’t going to get the appeal, and how much she missed Blake. After that, the conversation shifted to Mason who was doing fantastic post-surgery.

“Thank you again for being there for her.” Isla paused. “For us.”

“Anytime.” And Vera meant it, too.

“My life is a mess right now, but hopefully one day it won’t be this crazy.”

“Crazy lives are sometimes the best lives.”

“Unless they scare off the people you’re starting to care about.”

The seriousness in Isla’s tone wasn’t something Vera missed.

Is she worried I’m going to get spooked by her baggage and leave her?

It hit Vera then.

That could be exactly what Isla thinks. After all, neither of them had said anything about dating or starting a relationship after all they’d been through the last few weeks. But that hadn’t stopped Vera from assuming they were dating. Maybe wrongfully assuming.

This is why I suck at relationships.

Vera cared deeply about Isla, there was no denying that. And she wanted to date her. She wanted to get to know Isla better and truly be there for her and Mason. But could she tell Isla that? Would that scare her away? Vera didn’t know.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Vera finally said into the phone. Isla let out what seemed to be a pent-up breath on the other end of the line.

“Me neither.”

“Good.” A comfortable silence filled the line for a beat as Vera moved the phone to her other ear. “So, you’re working tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, until four.”

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