him.
“Are you free this afternoon?” Chloe asked, a look of hope in her eyes. “I need to get Ian home for lunch and he’ll need to rest too, but if you aren’t busy, maybe you could come by too? We could talk?”
I remembered my decision from the church, mere minutes ago. I was going to go with Abigail, not Chloe. But perhaps going to her apartment wouldn’t be a bad idea anyways. I could tell her about Abigail and straighten out our relationship. She would know that we were friends and that was all. Perhaps I could introduce her and Abigail someday and they could become even better friends.
I nodded. “That’d be nice,” I said, glancing over at my cart, which was still parked haphazardly in front of hers. I swung the gallon of milk in my hand into the cart and Chloe shook her head.
“Do these carts ever work?”
“From your mouth to God’s ears,” I said as a look on Evan’s face from the night before flashed before my eyes.
“I guess you’ll need to go home first,” Chloe continued, glancing at the milk in my cart, “but we’re done here and heading to check out so come whenever you can.”
“See you soon,” I said, giving my cart a hard yank.
Ian waved his sticky fingers at me and I saw the remains of a sucker in one hand. That explained the spot on my shirt, but I didn’t care. That kid could put a sticky spot on every shirt I had and I wouldn’t have minded.
“It’ll be fun!” Ian said as Chloe began to steer him away.
“Mr. Jones is coming over but you need to rest before you can play,” I heard her tell Ian as I gave my cart a hard push on the left to get it back on track towards the coffee aisle.
The last thing I wanted to do was hurt that woman, but I had a little time to work out what I was going to say before it had to be said. If I could find a way to say it with a little finesse, we could be friends. Good friends.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The drive home was filled with thoughts of Ian and how it felt to have his little arms around me. I had never really thought about whether or not I wanted children of my own. I guess I figured that once I found the right woman, everything would become clear.
I was a good uncle to my brother’s children and I knew if the time ever came that I would make a decent father as well. Ian was the first child that wasn’t family-related that I had felt a bond with and the bond I felt grew stronger every time I saw him.
I didn’t really understand it. After all, I had hardly heard him speak and we had not had very many interactions. But whatever it was, it was definitely there.
By the time I got home and got my sweaty milk into the fridge, I had nearly forgotten about my call to Abigail. Luckily, as I practiced what I would say to Chloe, I remembered I had another obligation to fulfill before visiting her that day.
I found Abigail’s number in my phone and paused before I hit the send button. It was presumptuous of me to program her number into my phone so soon after we had met, but it was more out of habit than anything else. I didn’t like to keep slips of paper lying around where they could easily be lost. All I had to do was hang on to that phone and I would have everything at my fingertips. My contacts, my calendar, and anything else I could ever possibly need, or so it seemed.
I hit send before I changed my mind and cleared my throat, steeling myself against what Abigail might have to say to me. After all, she quite possibly saw and misunderstood the situation between Chloe and me the night before.
“Hello?” Abigail answered in an annoyed voice that made me wonder if she recognized the phone number on her caller ID as mine.
“Abigail,” I said brightly, being cautious not to
“Are you free this afternoon?” Chloe asked, a look of hope in her eyes. “I need to get Ian home for lunch and he’ll need to rest too, but if you aren’t busy, maybe you could come by too? We could talk?”
I remembered my decision from the church, mere minutes ago. I was going to go with Abigail, not Chloe. But perhaps going to her apartment wouldn’t be a bad idea anyways. I could tell her about Abigail and straighten out our relationship. She would know that we were friends and that was all. Perhaps I could introduce her and Abigail someday and they could become even better friends.
I nodded. “That’d be nice,” I said, glancing over at my cart, which was still parked haphazardly in front of hers. I swung the gallon of milk in my hand into the cart and Chloe shook her head.
“Do these carts ever work?”
“From your mouth to God’s ears,” I said as a look on Evan’s face from the night before flashed before my eyes.
“I guess you’ll need to go home first,” Chloe continued, glancing at the milk in my cart, “but we’re done here and heading to check out so come whenever you can.”
“See you soon,” I said, giving my cart a hard yank.
Ian waved his sticky fingers at me and I saw the remains of a sucker in one hand. That explained the spot on my shirt, but I didn’t care. That kid could put a sticky spot on every shirt I had and I wouldn’t have minded.
“It’ll be fun!” Ian said as Chloe began to steer him away.
“Mr. Jones is coming over but you need to rest before you can play,” I heard her tell Ian as I gave my cart a hard push on the left to get it back on track towards the coffee aisle.
The last thing I wanted to do was hurt that woman, but I had a little time to work out what I was going to say before it had to be said. If I could find a way to say it with a little finesse, we could be friends. Good friends.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The drive home was filled with thoughts of Ian and how it felt to have his little arms around me. I had never really thought about whether or not I wanted children of my own. I guess I figured that once I found the right woman, everything would become clear.
I was a good uncle to my brother’s children and I knew if the time ever came that I would make a decent father as well. Ian was the first child that wasn’t family-related that I had felt a bond with and the bond I felt grew stronger every time I saw him.
I didn’t really understand it. After all, I had hardly heard him speak and we had not had very many interactions. But whatever it was, it was definitely there.
By the time I got home and got my sweaty milk into the fridge, I had nearly forgotten about my call to Abigail. Luckily, as I practiced what I would say to Chloe, I remembered I had another obligation to fulfill before visiting her that day.
I found Abigail’s number in my phone and paused before I hit the send button. It was presumptuous of me to program her number into my phone so soon after we had met, but it was more out of habit than anything else. I didn’t like to keep slips of paper lying around where they could easily be lost. All I had to do was hang on to that phone and I would have everything at my fingertips. My contacts, my calendar, and anything else I could ever possibly need, or so it seemed.
I hit send before I changed my mind and cleared my throat, steeling myself against what Abigail might have to say to me. After all, she quite possibly saw and misunderstood the situation between Chloe and me the night before.
“Hello?” Abigail answered in an annoyed voice that made me wonder if she recognized the phone number on her caller ID as mine.
“Abigail,” I said brightly, being cautious not to
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