The Friends We Keep

“Good, and you?”


“Great.”

They looked at each other. Silence stretched between them. There was genuinely nothing to say, she thought with some regret. They’d been married, had made a child together. Even so, it was as if Eric was someone she’d only known a little bit, a long time ago.

“I’ll go get Tyler,” she finally said. “I’ll be running errands while you’re gone, but I’ll have my cell with me if you need anything.”

“Thanks.”

She’d barely made it through Whole Foods when her phone rang. She put the last recyclable tote in the back of her car, as she answered.

“Hello?”

“Hey, we’re done with lunch and he wants to go home. You around?”

Nicole wanted to stomp her foot. It had been what? An hour? This was Mischief Bay. In summer! There were dozens of things to do. The Long Beach aquarium wasn’t that far away. There was a kid’s art exhibit at the POP and a farmer’s market in Santa Monica. And that was what she could remember off the top of her head. Imagine if she really tried.

But this wasn’t about her, and Eric obviously hadn’t thought about what he would do with his son so he was ready to avoid his responsibility once again.

“I’ll be home in less than ten minutes,” she said. “I’ll meet you there.”

“Thanks.”

She’d barely pulled into the driveway when Eric drove up next to her. Tyler jumped out of the front seat and hurried over to her.

“Hi, Mom. We went to McDonald’s. I had a hamburger.”

“Good for you.” She smiled and held out her keys. “Want to open the front door by yourself?”

“Uh-huh.”

He took the keys and let himself in. She’d thought he might come back out to say goodbye to his dad, but no such luck. Eric got out of his car and walked over to her.

“He’s growing,” he said.

“He is.”

Eric shoved his hands into his front jeans pocket and drew in a breath. “I want to talk to you about something.”

Relief poured through her. “I’m so glad you said that. This situation is impossible. Eric, Tyler needs you. You’re his dad. But he hardly ever sees you and I worry you’ll become less and less important to him. You can’t get back this time in his life. He’s still young enough to want to hang out with his parents. I don’t know when that’s going to change, but I know it will and then what? You’ll want to be friends and he won’t be interested.”

She paused to draw in a breath. “I want you to have a good relationship with your son and I’m willing to make changes to the parenting plan if that will help. But if you want to keep things the way they are, I guess that’s okay, too. Just know you can’t keep disappointing him. You have to show up when you say.”

Eric’s gaze was steady. “I didn’t mean Tyler. I had something else to discuss.”

What could possibly matter more than their kid, she thought, both irritated and disappointed. “Okay. What?”

He reached into the backseat of his car and pulled out a large shiny blue envelope. “Two tickets to the premiere of my movie Disaster Road. I’d like you to come.”

She couldn’t have been more surprised if he’d held out a snake. “Why would you want me there?” she blurted.

“You were a big part of what happened to me.” He smiled. “I know I wasn’t the best husband, especially once I started working on the screenplay. But even though you didn’t approve, you supported me and I’m grateful.” He shook the envelope. “Please come. The movie’s going to be rated R, so you shouldn’t bring Tyler, but maybe a friend.”

She took the tickets. “Thank you, and um, congratulations. You must be excited.”

“I am. So I’ll see you there?”

“Uh-huh.”

Tickets to Eric’s premiere. Who would have thought? And while she was happy for him, she couldn’t help thinking he should be more worried about his son than his upcoming movie. But if he had been, there never would have been a problem, would there?





Chapter Twenty-One

While Andrew always helped the mornings he was home, he also had a way of adding to the chaos. Or maybe that was just her temper talking, Gabby thought as she got the twins seated for breakfast. Either way, she found herself oddly grateful her husband was out of town.

“Guess what we’re going to do after camp,” she said as she portioned out eggs and bacon.

The twins both looked at her, wide-eyed and hopeful. “What, Mommy?” Kennedy asked.

Kenzie’s brows rose as her mouth opened in a perfect O. “I know,” she breathed happily. “I know. I know, Mommy. I know.” She clapped her hands together. “We’re going to get new school clothes.”

Makayla, sitting across from them, shot Gabby a fearful glance. “Are we?”