Page 47 of Second Round

“Yeah.” That was true: if you were physically there all the time, maybe you weren’t mentally there. And I liked the fact that Jackie didn’t trashherex.

It was tough to broach the subject of what was really bothering me. I sipped my wine and stared outside. There were shadowy trees visible in the eveninglight.

“Leo, did something happen with you andCharlotte?”

“No, it’s not that. But it’s tough to be so far away. She’s not happy about not seeing me forsolong.”

“You talk to her all the time,right?”

“Yeah, we Skype or FaceTime twiceaweek.”

“Oh, that’s great.” Jackie continued. “I’m not sure if this is what’s bothering you, but here’s the deal with my kids. When Brent left, it made them worried, like they weren’t sure if they could rely on anything in their lives. So what’s been really important is for us to have a routine. They get more upset about Brent cancelling than if he’s not there all the time. So you have to keep your promises. Feeling like a priority is almost more important than the quantityoftime.”

“Makes total sense,” Iagreed.

When I took this job, I came right away because both Lucky and I agreed the situation was urgent. But I could have insisted on taking a few days off between jobs and gone to see Charlotte. Or maybe figured out a way that she could have come here for her March break. I said that she was the most important thing in my life because I loved her so much. But did I act likeshewas?

I could make her my priority. We could set up times to chat that would be sacrosanct. I felt betteralready.

I stretched. The tension in my shoulders was gone. Itwaslike a sitcom here. My issues got solved at Jackie’sPlace.

“You know, even if I can’t do every Wednesday, I could let you know ahead of time which ones willworkout.”

Jackie’s bright smile appeared again. “That would begreat,Leo.”

“At least let me bring something. How about the wine?” Although the Malbec that she had chosen tonight was agreatone.

“Deal,” she said. “But next time, I’montop.”

I laughed. “We’llsee.”

16

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Jackie

“Anything else?”Marco Zennaro asked as he tucked a side table under his arm like it weighednothing.

I peeked into the van. “No, that’s everything. Thank you so much for letting me storeeverythinghere.”

“No problemo, Jackie. Hey, did Shar tell you that I’ve got this poker buddy, Sid? He’s divorced and looking around. You guys might hit it off. Can I give him yournumber?”

“Actually, I have this great boyfriend right now. But thanks anyway.” My cheeks flamed as I answered. In fact, I got a total body hot flash each time ImentionedLeo.

Sharon returned from the house and smacked her brother on the shoulder. “Don’t pimp out my best friend to your poker buddies. She’s too goodforthem.”

I closed the vandoors.

Marco stood there, table balanced on his hip. “You two want to stay for a drink or something? Gina’s supposed to drop bylater.”

Sharon kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks, but we need to get back. We left Hannah and Kayla alone, and Jackie’s been sweating bullets thewholetime.”

“I haven’t been sweating,” I protested. After another discussion with Brent, we agreed that Hannah could begin babysitting. So the two girls were in charge of themselves and Tristan while Sharon and I drove to Coquitlam to drop off my stash of extra furniture before our first openhouse.

Sharon nodded. “Yeah, checking your phone every thirty seconds and calling her twice in an hour shows what an ice-cold bitchyouare.”

It was easy for her; Kayla had been staying by herself for a year—a fact that Hannah recited regularly. We thanked Marco again and got intothevan.

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