Page 77 of Fight For Us
She shook her head. “Not yet. I want to let them stay and have fun a bit longer.” She took a sip of her water bottle and sighed. “What are we going to do about the school thing?”
“I don’t know what there is to do,” I said honestly. “Maybe we can schedule a meeting with the principal and the teachers to start?”
“For sure. I’ll follow-up first thing tomorrow. When I emailed the principal before the holiday break, I requested a meeting.” She crossed her legs and started to vibrate them with nervous energy. “I’ve been thinking we can put them in the kids classes at the gym, too. Well, Lilly first and then Alex when he’s healed. You think she’d like to give it a try?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” I said. “I barely know what she’s into these days.”
Olivia raised a brow. “Time to start asking questions then. Make an effort with her. And while we’re on the topic, I’m taking the poor girl clothes shopping… with your money, of course.”
“Oh, really?” I chuckled. “What’s wrong with the clothes she has?”
She planted a soft kiss on my cheek and squeezed my thigh. “I’ve seen some of the clothes you put in the closet, Wes. You know when things get holes you’re allowed to replace them, right?”
She found me out. “Snoop.”
“Yup,” she said. “I won’t deny it.”
I fished my wallet out and grabbed my Amex. “Here, keep this one on you. Use it for anything you need.”
“I’m not going to rack up your credit card,” she said. “But I will treat your daughter to a girls’ day.”
“Thank you. She’ll love that.” I rubbed circles on her thigh and grinned.
“Don’t be surprised if you come home and half your wardrobe is replaced, too,” she teased.
“Better not… My old T-shirts are sacred. You can’t find that level of softness anywhere.”
“Because they’ve been washed a thousand times. But okay, I’ll leave the T-shirts alone… For now.” She started to clean up the picnic, balling up sandwich paper and stuffing it into the bag. “I’ll talk to Lilly about joining Krav. I think she’d love it, and then at least she’ll learn some self-defense.”
“I like that plan. Are you going back to class this week, too?” I picked up the bag of trash so I could toss it.
“I’m planning on it. I miss moving my body and getting stronger. And I’m pretty sure Mia will bug me if I don’t. She’ll be so happy to see the kids in classes, too.” She directed her gaze back toward the kids. “It wouldn’t hurt to call more private schools, I guess. I’d hate to ask them, but maybe my parents would help out with tuition.”
“I can look into it tonight, try and find one that has openings for mid-year. And as for tuition, I’ll take care of it.” I thought about Regina using private school as a part of her case against me. “I know one thing, if Lilly went to private school that would be another thing off Regina’s ‘Wes is a terrible father’ list.”
I watched Lilly finish her drawing and show it to Alex, who said something animatedly in response. Would I be willing to grovel to private school snobs for my daughter’s benefit? I hoped it didn’t come to that.
Later that night while Oliva packed school lunches for the next morning, I grabbed my phone and looked up more private school options nearby. I wouldn’t admit it, but the damn iPhone was growing on me. It was convenient and I looked forward to my daily texts with Olivia.
Like I thought, the few options we had were at least thirty minutes away and cost about thirty thousand per year. Thankfully my savings would cover it for the first year or two.
As I was about to put my phone away for the night, it buzzed as an email notification popped up.Regina.Did I summon her by speaking her name earlier? She was the Wicked Witch, after all.
I clicked the message, but before I read it, I decided I wanted Olivia to read it with me. We were in this together now, and I wanted us to behave like a couple. Passing the kid’s room, I listened to them chattering away. The dread of reading Regina’s email lifted for a moment, until I reached the kitchen. I knew I couldn’t put it off.
“You got a sec?” I asked Olivia. She was listening to a podcast on her phone while slicing apples.
“What’s up?” She touched her screen and the room went quiet. I stopped behind her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and holding her tight. She dropped the knife and rested her palms on my forearms. The small amount of comfort from holding her bolstered me.
“I got a reply from Regina, and was hoping we could read it together.”
She twisted to face me and her eyes widened. “Of course. Let me get this stuff in the fridge and we can read it in the bedroom.”
She finished up and we said goodnight to the kids before shutting ourselves in our room. “Alright, ready?” I asked.
I clicked and we read through. Olivia turned to me after we took a moment to swallow the unfriendly response. “I don’t know this woman, but I think she and my mother would get along well.”
I grimaced. “Maybe Regina has an opening in her evil witch coven? Your mother could apply.”
