My glance goes to the front door, but it’s shut. I know Trista is in there because her car is in the driveway right in front of mine, and Kynan’s been keeping close tabs on her. Been easy since she apparently muscled her way into the receptionist job I promised her. No clue how Kynan handled terminating our current receptionist, but I’m sure he did just fine.
Corinne’s head comes up when she hears my car door shut, and she turns to look at me as I walk around the back. “Hey, Corinne. I’m Jerico. I met you a few weeks ago when I picked up your aunt.”
She smiles shyly at me. “I remember.”
I look down at the blanket and see she has little teacups and saucers in front of each stuffed animal. There’s a purple dinosaur, a brown bear, a Mickey Mouse, and a gray rabbit. “You having a tea party?”
Corinne’s eyes brighten as she nods. “You want to join me?”
My eyes flick to the front door, but it remains closed. While I’m anxious to see Trista, there’s no reason why I have to do it right this second. In fact, perhaps a moment or two before I’m face to face with her to collect myself would be good. So without any further hesitation, I say, “Sure. Where do you want me to sit?”
“By Barney,” she says as she nods to the purple dinosaur. Reaching over, she moves the bear and rabbit to make room for me. I sit down on the blanket, groaning slightly because my back is a little sore from the extended plane travel, and manage to get into a cross-legged position without too much effort. I sit quietly while Corinne takes a teacup and saucer from the rabbit and pretends to pour tea it in. She hands it to me, and I take it with a smile. “Thank you. It smells delicious.”
I pretend to take a sip, and then I dramatically roll my eyes upward. “Wow. This is the best tea I’ve ever had. What’s your secret?”
Corinne giggles and takes a sip before she says, “Lots of sugar.”
“But of course,” I say with a smile. As Corinne giggles, I hear the front door open. My eyes slide over to Trista standing on the stoop with a guarded expression, but thankfully, there’s a small smile on her face.
Holding my cup up, I say, “We’re having tea.”
Her lips twitch. The amusement in her voice is evident when she says, “So I see.”
“Want to join us?” I ask.
Corinne adds, “Yeah… come on, Aunt Trista. Come have tea.”
Trista’s smile automatically beams at Corinne, but she shakes her head. “Not now, sweet pea. I’ve got some packing to finish.”
“Okay,” Corinne says in a chirpy voice, so I take it she’s not too disappointed.
Trista’s eyes come back to mine. “When you’re done, come on in… we’ll talk.”
“Be there soon,” I reply softly.
Her smile turns wistful, and she nods before opening the door and disappearing inside. I have no clue what to expect from her. She certainly didn’t run and jump in my arms, but she didn’t scream at me to leave her property either. I’m only slightly disturbed to hear she was packing, and I’m not sure exactly what that means.
I turn to Corinne and decide to pump her for intelligence. After I take another sip of tea, I ask carefully, “Why is your Aunt Trista packing?”
Corinne takes a sip with her little pinky out, and I immediately snap mine out to mimic her. When she lowers her cup, she says, “She sold her house, and we’re moving soon.”
I swallow hard, as I did not intend for Trista to move so quickly when I made the offer on her house and it was accepted. “Where are you moving to?”
“An apartment,” she says with dancing eyes filled with excitement. “It has a playground and a pool, and I get to stay in my same school where my friends are.”
My heart rate decelerates as I realize she’s not going far. Not leaving Vegas.
“That sounds nice,” I tell her. “I bet Trista’s excited.”
Corinne shrugs and her eyes turn sad before they drop down to her cup. “I guess.”
Reaching over with my free hand, I give her a little tap on her knee to get her attention. “Hey… what’s wrong?”
When she looks back up at me, my chest contracts so hard I almost wince. She’s got a light sheen of tears in her eyes, and I want to slay whatever monster put them there. “It’s my fault she has to sell the house.”
“No, sweetheart, it’s not,” I hastily reassure her, but she’s already denying my words by nodding her head vigorously.
“It is,” she insists. “I heard her talking to Grandma. She had to pay for my surgery, so she had to sell her house. Now she’s sad she has to leave, and it’s all my fault.”
A single heart-wrenching tear slides down her cheek, and I’m at a loss as what to do. I love kids. Always wanted them, but I’m woefully unprepared and ill equipped to handle a bereft six-year-old with guilt issues.
“Hey, Corinne,” I say in a soothing tone as I reach a hand out and wipe her tear away. I’m absolutely not in a position to guess how Trista is feeling, but I’m going to take one for the team. “Trista isn’t sad about this house, I promise you. She’s sad about something I did to upset her. It’s got nothing to do with you.”
I didn’t realize a six-year-old could cock their eyebrow so effectively, but that’s exactly what Corinne does. I can also tell she’s intrigued. “She’s sad because of you?”
I nod quickly. “I was an idiot and did something stupid to hurt Trista’s feelings. I didn’t mean to do it and I’m really sorry, but that’s why I’m here now. To tell her how sorry I am. Hopefully, she’ll be happy again.”
“Do you love her?” Corinne asks solemnly.
My eyes cut over to the front door, and I mutter to myself, “Shit… this is awkward.”
But no sense in doing anything half-assed. I’m already committed to getting Trista back, which means I’ve got to open myself up to everything that’s been pushed away for so long, which will be a little uncomfortable.
Sliding my gaze back to Corinne, I nod with a smile. “Yes. I love her.”
Corinne nods again and gives me a look of such sage wisdom, I doubt she’s six for a moment. “When you love someone, and they do something bad to you, it hurts worse than if you don’t love them.”
Fucking hell. She’s talking about her mom, but her logic is spot on. “Yeah… that’s why I really need to make sure she knows I’m sorry.”
?
I follow Corinne into the house. We finished our tea first. She also invited me back for another tea party, and I’m hoping I get that opportunity. I hope I get a lot of opportunities, and I swear to myself I won’t waste them. Not like I have been doing.
Jolene meets us as soon as we enter the house with a purse over her shoulder. She smiles at us, and then holds her hand out to Corinne. “Come on, honey. Grandma needs to go grocery shopping, and you’re coming with me.”
“But I want to stay here and see Jerico apologize to Aunt Trista and tell her he loves her,” Corinne says in a slightly whiny tone that would be absolutely fucking adorable if that didn’t just embarrass the shit out of me.