Page 53 of The Curve
First the smile, then the quivering chin and the waterfall of tears.
“Wait! Doesn’t that make you happy?”
“I’m afraid of losing you. Because I’m a mother, Atticus, and my child will always come…”
Her voice trails off, but her eyes finish the thought.
“I refuse to let you and Mallory go. I don’t care what it takes. Together we’re gonna fix this.”
“But how?”
“We can start with you telling me you love me too. I didn’t hear you say those three words.”
Her arms wrap around me and she squeezes. “Of course I love you! I love you!” A kiss punctuates the moment. Then she gives me kiss after kiss. My hands, my head, my arms, my stomach. Now we’re laughing. My legs, my ass, the spaces nobody would think of but her.
“You forgot something,” I say with a straight face.
“I haven’t forgot. I’m saving that one for tonight.”
I get a brilliant idea. “How long’s your break?”
She understands where I’m going with the question. “We have another forty minutes.”
“Let’s go,” I say leading her toward the bedroom. “We need some sexual healing.”
We lose our clothes and get in bed.
“Call in sick. Come on,” I say rolling her over on top of me.
“I can’t. I’ve got two more appointments.”
“So what? I bet you’ve never taken a sick day. We need to talk this out, so we’re on the same page when Mallory gets here. This is no time to think of doing someone’s hair.”
“Said the naked man with ulterior motives.”
I chuckle. “Well yeah, there’s that too.”
But she doesn’t move off me. Instead, she lifts my hand and puts it on her heart.
“Yours,” she says.
“Mine.”
* * *
“Coral was shocked.I said I was feeling sick and asked her to reschedule my appointments,” she says pouring us an iced tea.
“Great. Now let’s plan how we’re going forward with this bullying issue.”
“I want to address it right away. I have an appointment with the high school principal tomorrow. She sounded reasonable.”
“Good. Want me to go with you? Maybe if she’s an Maverick fan, she’ll keep a better eye on how Mallory’s treated.”
“God, I hope that’s not what she’d base her care on. No offense.”
I chuckle because that was spoken like a true parent. A good one. My lack of parenting experience shows. But Charlotte doesn’t realize the power of fame. Yet.
“None taken. But it wouldn’t hurt for me to just show up. If you’re agreeable.”
