Sadie almost felt a little trepidation about calling Mandy. She wasn’t sure why, but somehow, things seemed different. When Mandy left on her dream vacation, Sadie was a huge spaghetti-like mess of worry and fear over the impending divorce and custody hearings. Okay, so she was still a spaghetti-like mess, but she felt different. The difference was probably the jaguar shifter staring intently at her right at that very moment.
She hadn’t called Mandy the previous night. Mandy should have been in bed by then – though knowing Al, there was a good chance she wasn’t.
Lorenzo was sitting across from her, trying to look nonchalant, but honestly, he seemed just as nervous as she was.
Sadie breathed in and out and finally dialed. Mandy picked up on the second ring.
“Hey Mom!” she chirruped cheerfully.
“Baby!” exclaimed Sadie in relief. She was surprised that tears actually came to her eyes on hearing her little girl’s voice. “I’ve missed you so much,” she admitted.
“I’ve only been gone like a week,” chided Mandy in a teasing voice.
“I still missed you. Are you having fun?”
“Yes, it’s the best vacation ever! We’re going to Epcot today, I can’t wait, and tomorrow we’re going to Animal Kingdom and…”
Mandy happily chatted about all the things they were going to do, and all the things they had already done. Sadie half paid attention. What Mandy was saying really didn’t matter so much as the sound of her voice – that’s what Sadie cared about.
Her eyes flickered over to Lorenzo and she smiled. He nodded and relaxed a little.
“Did you see all the pictures I posted?” asked Mandy.
“I did, they’re wonderful.”
“I bought you a present,” said Mandy shyly.
Her heart fluttered happily. “Oh, baby, you’re very sweet but you should spend your money on yourself.”
“Well, Dad paid for it,” admitted Mandy. “He said you needed to see what you were missing. He said I should make sure I post as many photos as possible for you to see.”
“Aha.” Yep, that sounded like something he would say.
Lorenzo’s phone started ringing, and he got up from the kitchen table, walking away as he answered.
“So, baby…”
“Who was that?” asked her daughter, who clearly had bat-like hearing.
“Oh ah…” Sadie flustered and didn’t answer quickly enough.
“Was that a man?” Mandy’s voice bubbled with excitement.
“Well…”
“Was that your boyfriend?”
“Uh, baby…”
“Julie, my mom has a new boyfriend!” cried Mandy, calling to her best friend.
“No, no, no…”
“Karen my mom has a boyfriend!”
“Good for you!” called Karen from the background.
Sadie groaned. Good lord, she was telling the whole world!
“Send me a pic,” said Mandy excitedly.
“I will certainly not!” huffed Sadie, but Mandy wasn’t listening.
“What’s his name? What does he do?” asked Karen in the background.
Shit. “Okay, baby, I have to go, love you, love you, love you!”
Sadie blew a few kisses and quickly hung up. She was panting as if she’d run a marathon. Jeez. Though, at least Mandy was open to the idea of her dating. More than open, in fact – her daughter wanted to encourage her, and she was pleased about that. Well, Mandy had accepted Karen with little fuss, and to Sadie’s chagrin, loved her. Maybe she would love Lorenzo… she wouldn’t blame her.
He sauntered back into the room. “Everything okay?”
“Mmmm hmmmm. You?”
He shrugged. “Just my mom wanting us to come for dinner. My dad’s making a curry. He makes his own naan breads.”
“He sounds like a treasure.” She thought of Al and how he had expected her to cook for him, his friends, for dinner parties at the drop of a hat. He couldn’t even imagine getting in the kitchen and doing anything for himself.
Lorenzo chuckled. “I’m sure he’d love to hear you say that.”
“I hope you said yes to dinner.”
He hesitated. “I said I’d let her know.”
Sadie frowned before realizing why. She placed her phone on the table. “Mandy’s fine and happy, and I trust Al to take care of her. In spite of how I feel about him, I know he loves her.”
Lorenzo nodded. “How come you’re not with him anymore?”
Sadie looked away from him. “I…”
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“No, I want to. How about we get out of here and go for a walk, so we can be alone.”
Lorenzo almost did a double take. “I’m sorry, are you saying you actually want to go on a walk?”
“Oh don’t look so shocked. Maybe I’m starting to like them.”
She wasn’t but she did want to talk to him away from prying ears.