Page 79 of Mad Love

“I didn’t tell him to call me that,” she said.

But her mom said something that put her at ease about it.

“You’re the mama he knows, Sade, and Sasha would want him to have a mama on this earth. When he’s old enough you can tell him all about her, but you’re right here, and you’re the one who’s loving him like a mother would.”

Sadie stopped repeating, “Sadie, Sadie, Sadie” to him and let him call her Mama.

I check the time again and FaceTime her. Caleb should be in bed by now and if he’s not yet, she’ll call me back.

“Hey,” she says, grinning.

She’s in a tank top and has her hair piled up in a messy bun, face clear of makeup. I love her like this. I love her dressed up. I love her however I see her.

“Hey. How’s it going?”

“It’s been a good night. Caleb went down easy. He did ask for Dada when it was time for stories. I don’t do the sounds of the wild things as good as you.”

I laugh and nod. “Yeah, I’ve heard you. Your roar is pretty weak.”

She laughs and I just stare at her for a moment.

“I miss you guys,” I say. “I don’t like not being there for his bedtime.”

“We miss you too. The FaceTime helped. He liked seeing your face.”

I want to ask her ifshemisses me, but I don’t.

“I liked seeing your faces too. Have you talked to Felicity yet? Are they coming by the house before the game?”

“Yes. She called right before you actually. We’re going in one car, my parents too. They were worried they’d get lost trying to find the family parking lot.” She laughs.

“Nice.” I grin.

“You ready for the game?” she asks.

“I am. The team is looking great, feeling strong. Hopefully we crush tomorrow.”

“You will. We’ll be cheering you on. You’ll probably be able to hear my dad from the field.”

I grin. “I want to hearyou.”

Her cheeks flush and she presses her lips to the side. “I might do some cheering too.”

“You better.”

We look at each other for a minute, and it’s nice to have an excuse to look at her and not worry that I’m gonna get caught staring.

“You’ll meet me in the family area afterward?” I ask.

“Yeah, we’ll come say hey and then probably hurry out so Felicity and Sutton can drop us off and get back to Landmark Mountain.”

“You’re not riding back with me?”

Her full lips part for a second and her head tilts slightly.

“Well, I wasn’t sure if you go party after a game or what.”

I snort. “Uh, no. I’ll be wired, especially if we win, but I’m coming home. Did you not hear me say I miss you guys?”

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