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In an effort to distract herself, Charli curled up beneath her comforter with her tablet. She opened the app where she currently had a book on the go, but it didn’t capture her attention the way it usually did. Maybe reading a romance wasn’t really helpful when it kept making her think about her own romance with Blake.
Finally, she set her tablet on her nightstand and turned off the lamp. After a moment’s hesitation, she picked up her phone and stared at the screen.
Should she message him?
She didn’t want him to feel pressured to talk to her if he was focused on his family. But she missed him. It was tempting to leave all the contact up to him, because then she wouldn’t have to make herself vulnerable to hurt.
However, if she was truly going to give this second chance a real shot, she had to meet Blake halfway. If Blake could make her feel special by sending her a message, then perhaps he’d also feel special if she sent him a text to let him know that she was thinking about him and Amelia.
With that, Charli brought up her text conversation with Blake. She didn’t allow herself to think too much about what she should say before tapping out a message.
Happy Thanksgiving, Blake. I hope you and Amelia are having a good time. Layla and I miss you both.
After a moment’s thought, she added two heart emojis. She wasn’t sure that Layla actually missed Blake, but she was certainly missing Amelia. And Charli missed Blake, so her statement was true.
She pressed the button to black out the screen, then set her phone on the nightstand, refusing to stare at it, waiting for a response.
It took her awhile to fall asleep, but when she woke up the next morning, the first thing Charli did was pick up her phone and check the notifications.
Smiling, she flopped back onto her pillows and tapped the screen to get to Blake’s message.
Blake: Happy Thanksgiving to you too! Sorry I didn’t reply last night. Amelia and I are sharing a bedroom, so I’m going to bed earlier than I might usually. Also up earlier than usual because of that. We miss you and Layla too.
Charli glanced at the time on the screen and saw that it was nearly nine.
How are the two of you doing? I bet you’re enjoying the warmer weather. They’re saying we might get some snow later today.
Normally, she’d be rushing to get ready to go find a tree on the morning after Thanksgiving. But when the others had realized that Blake wouldn’t be able to join them, they’d decided to change the plan and go Christmas tree shopping on Sunday afternoon, so that Blake and Amelia could tag long.
She hadn’t told him that yet.
Charli wasn’t sure if she should expect a response right away. But she was in no rush to get out of bed, so she propped herself up on her pillows and began to scroll through her phone.
The knock on her door had Charli looking up from her phone. “Knock, knock, Mom.”
“Come in, sweetie,” Charli called.
The door slowly opened, then Layla appeared with a tray in her arms. “Breakfast in bed!”
“Oh, that’s lovely.” Charli set her phone on the nightstand as Layla approached the bed. “Did you do this yourself?”
“Nah. Uncle Will and I made it together. He’s taking a tray up to Auntie, too.”
Charli helped her settle the tray on the bed, smiling when she saw that there was enough for two. “This looks delicious.”
“I wanted pancakes,” Layla said as she climbed under the covers next to Charli. “And Uncle Will said Auntie did too.”
They shifted around so that they both had access to the plate with the stack of pancakes. Layla had brought two forks and knives, and there were small bowls with toppings, along with a creamer pitcher with some syrup in it. After they prayed for the food, they prepped their pancakes, then dug in.
When her phone’s text alert went, it took all her willpower not to snatch it up to see who had sent the message. It was entirely possible that it was from a sibling or one of her parents.
“Your phone went, Mom,” Layla said as she lifted her glass of chocolate milk.
Charli glanced at her, then leaned over to pick it up from the nightstand. She fought the urge to smile when she saw the message was from Blake.
Blake: Weather is nice. We’re doing okay. Amelia wants to go home, so I’m glad we have tickets for tomorrow. Probably should have just gotten them for today.
“Blake says that Amelia wants to come home,” Charli told Layla. “I texted him earlier to see how they were doing, since I thought you’d like to know.”
