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For reasons I can’t name, I’m not quite ready to share my suspicions with Evan. I mean, there’s always the chance that I’m wrong, and I will look like the most self-centered asshole imaginable if I yell at him for concealing my kid, only to find out I’m wrong.
My voice cracks a little as I say, “Why didn’t you ever mention that Izzy had a kid… I mean, she had to have had her right after high school, right?” I settle for trying to coax the truth out of him.
Evan coughs. “Right—um—is Izzy there with you?”
“She and Rory are in with the doctor. I’m in the car. Tell you what, are you doing anything tonight?”
“Just getting unpacked… why?”
“Let’s meet for dinner as soon as we’re done here. You guys can come over to my place. We can order in. I’m sure Izzy won’t want to worry about cooking. I’ve got more space than I know what to do with. It’ll be nice and quiet to catch up.”
Evan hesitates, but eventually says, “Text me the address.”
“I’m actually right down the street from Izzy, so it should be easy to find.”
The girls make their way out to the car a while later. Rory has a sucker and a roll of stickers to go with the big purple bandage taped across her forehead.
“You didn’t have to wait,” says Izzy, climbing in “I could’ve called Jules.”
“Well, we’re in your car so…”
“Right.” she clicks her seatbelt, the sound too loud in the heavy silence.
“Speaking of which, how did you get your car from the bar?”
“Jules,” she explains.
I nod, cringing internally at the stilted conversation and the suffocating feel of the air in the car, like cotton down my throat. “Evan called while you were in there. I invited him over to my place for dinner. I figured the three of us could catch up.”
“Catch up?” Izzy blinks. “At your house? With Rory?”
I shrug as I pull out of the hospital parking lot. “Why not? I didn’t think you’d want to worry about a meal after the day you’ve had. I thought I’d order something in and treat you to a nice dinner. Is that a problem?”
“Sounds good to me!” Rory says from the back seat before popping the sucker back in her mouth. “Can we get burgers?”
“Rory, no. That’s not—”
“With milkshakes?” I add.
Izzy pinches the bridge of her nose, clearly annoyed at being outnumbered.
Yeah, she’s gotta be mine..
“This is where you live?” Rory says excitedly from the backseat. “You’re right behind us! We’re neighbors, that’s so cool.”
“You like it?” I ask as we pull into the circular drive.
“I mean Kelsey Peters will never believe that I met Nathan Sterling, but she definitely won’t believe I went to his house!”
Izzy is silent beside me. She doesn’t really want to be here, I can tell, but she’ll do anything for her kid, which is refreshing, to say the least. My own mother wasn’t exactly an example of motherly instincts. The day my dad called her out on her absenteeism was the day she packed and never returned. It’s more than easy for Izzy to surpass my mother when the bat is literally underground.
Evan’s car is waiting in the driveway. I pull into the garage as Evan hops out and meets us at the front door. It’s been years since I’ve seen Evan, too. We met up a few times in the city, but life just got busy and we drifted.
He smiles and hugs me, but immediately his attention shifts to his niece. “Rory! I missed you, kiddo!” He scoops her up, frowning at her newly stitched brow. “How did that happen?”
“Kelsey Peters,” she says by way of explanation, making Evan and I chuckle. Izzy looks less amused.
“We have a little league rivalry going on with Kelsey Peters,” says Izzy. “Every day it’s something with those two.”
