My brows snap together. “I’m listening.”
Mia nods and goes into explaining how her client, whose wedding dress Lolli was modeling yesterday for last-minute alterations, was cancelled on and is now in need of a new photographer. “So I thought of you…but I also sort of already told her you would do it…”
“Mia,” I chuckle, shaking my head. “I’ve only been interning with Embers Elite for, what, six months or something. And that’s sports photography.”
“Same thing.”
“Not even a little bit.” I laugh lightly, fighting with the stupid bottle scrubber to work with me. “I take action shots…mostly.”
“See!” She smiles. “Come on. It’s no pressure. The ceremony is covered, so it’s just the reception, and they only want candid shit, no posing. So snap a few pics, no contract, and get a fat paycheck from a spoiled-ass Southern chick. It’s a win.”
I chew my lip, ideas of what moments I would want to capture already flying through my mind at warp speed. My expression must show the internal excitement at the opportunity, because Mia squeals.
“Yes!” she shouts, dancing around with Deaton, making him grin like crazy. “And before you start worrying about not being able to go for this or that reason, Ari and Noah wereveryquick to offer to babysit.”
Sadness blooms in my chest for the couple that’s been through more than anyone should go through in a lifetime, but before I start comparing their rotten apples to my sour oranges, I shut that train of thought down.
“Yeah, okay. Deal.” I agree before I think too hard about it. It’s not like I’m in a position to turn down work anyway. But honestly… “I’d love to.”
Mia makes a giant, overexaggerated happy face for Deaton’s benefit, and then without a word to me, she heads out the back door, taking my son right along with her.
I don’t wait around to see when she’ll pop back in but take advantage of the moment and run to the shower.
This is good, perfect even.
Today, I’ll be out all afternoon with Mason’s and Nate’s parents. Tomorrow is the holiday, so everyone will be around, talking a mile a minute and taking up every moment I could possibly have. Later that night, when my subconscious fights against sleep, I’ll spend the time getting my camera bag ready. Then the wedding will be here, and it will be the perfect distraction to make it through. I can do this.
I can.
“Isn’tthat just the sweetest thing you’ve ever even?” Vivian gushes, the gleam in her eyes one of happiness, but the way her hand raises to her chest at the same time tells me a little part of her is thinking of the loss her family faced not all that long ago.
Mason’s mom, Vivian, is one of the kindest women I have ever met, along with Lolli’s future mother-in-law, Sarah. From the moment we met last year, those two have become something I didn’t know I needed—women to look up to.
I’ve always known my mother was a horrible woman, but I guess I never stopped to think of what it meant to be a good one. Not to your core anyway, and these two? Well, I’d say they were one of a kind, but there’s two of them.
Gracious and forgiving, understanding and caring. Selfless and driven to give their love freely—an entirely new concept for me—and they have, to both Deatonandme.
No one calls me as much as Vivian, and no one sends care packages as much as Sarah, something I’ve asked her not to do because I don’t want her to feel obligated, and the more she does, the more likely she will. Of course, she waves me off every time, and a few days later, there’s a new box on my front porch. I swear, the only time I buy baby clothes is when I see something I want him to have. Thanks to the two of them, Lolli, and Parker, Deaton’s closet is fuller than mine.
I smile down at the little man when he starts making random sounds, his slobbery fingers reaching out to slap on the glass before us. The little bear cub on the other side comes closer and slaps his palm in the same spot.
Deaton jerks, his whole body flailing with one of those baby jump scares, and the three of us laugh as he looks up at us with big blue eyes, seeking confirmation he is, in fact, perfectly fine.
“Oh, sweet boy,” Vivian coos, bending to have a full-on conversation with the infant.
Another cry catches my attention, and I look to the left to find a little boy with blond hair stretching his arms up into the air from where he’s strapped into his stroller. He’s reaching for the man with matching features who I can only assume is his dad. Instantly, the man drops down and frees the little guy fromhis seat, happily bouncing him around as he turns them back toward the zoo exhibit.
I watch as the little boy drops his head down on the man’s shoulder, and it’s like a boulder bears down on mine in the same second.
Deaton…
“Come, honey.” Sarah’s soft voice wraps around me, and she curls her arm through mine, leading us to where my smiling baby waits with Vivian.
I didn’t even realize they’d continued forward.
Vivian’s eyes find mine, a knowing look within them as she offers a small smile, one that quickly grows when she points at the curly-haired boy now in her arms. “I think it’s time for lunch. What do you say, sweet pea?”
Together, we head for the food court, my phone ringing all the way, but I don’t answer, and I don’t look at the screen. I don’t need to to know who’s calling.