Page 24 of Icing on Top

My stomach bottomed out. I jabbed the call back button and pressed the phone tightly to my ear.

“Crossfield Elementary. This is Shannon.”

“H-hi. This is Jeremiah Langfield. I saw that you called me. I-is Charlie all right?” I stammered. There was no other reason for the school to call unless Charlie was sick or injured.

“Mr. Langfield.” The secretary sounded way too chipper for my liking. “Yes, Charlie ended up getting sick in class today. While she doesn’t have a fever, we still send students home just to be safe.”

I switched my phone to speaker and set it on the bench next to me before hurrying to unlace my skates, loosening them just enough so that I could get them off my feet.

“I can be there in fifteen,” I said.

“Oh, no. She’s already been picked up.”

I paused, one tennis shoe on.

“When you didn’t answer, we went ahead and called her second contact. Grandma has already picked her up,” she explained.

“Oh.”

When first enrolling Charlie for kindergarten, the school had asked for a second emergency contact. I should have been the second contact and Sadie the primary, but life hadn’t worked out that way. So I’d written down Terri’s information since she was retired and had more flexibility in her schedule than my own parents. I’d never planned on her ever having to be called, though.

“Okay, thank you,” I said.

“Have a good day, Mr. Langfield, and we hope Charlie feels better soon.”

If I responded, the words didn’t register in my brain. My only thought was to call Terri and to get home to my daughter as soon as possible. I haphazardly tossed my things in my bag and then fought with the zipper until it finally gave.

“What’s wrong?”

Zoe stood at the entrance to the bench, eyebrows pinched together in concern now.

“Charlie’s school called.”

And I missed it. I missed it because I was too busy flirting with Zoe to hear my phone when that was exactly what I wasn’t supposed to be doing. For this very reason.

“Is she okay?”

“Y-yeah. My mother-in-law picked her up, but I—”

Zoe stepped back from the doorway when I stood. “Go. I’ll make sure everything’s locked up.”

“Thank you.” I nodded gratefully as I stepped past her, opting to take my bag with me instead of wasting another minute to drop it off in my office.

As soon as the engine started, I pressed the button to call Terri over the car speaker. I’d barely pulled out of the parking lot when she answered.

“We just got home,” she started with no preamble. “She’s lying down on the couch now. Says her stomach is still bothering her, so I’ve placed a pot next to her just in case.”

My little girl was sick, and I wasn’t there supporting her. This casual flirting with Zoe needed to stop. Today was a perfect example of how a relationship would take away from Charlie. I needed to be focused on my daughter, which meant distancing myself from Zoe.

It would be easy enough to keep our interactions at Charlie’s practices and games minimal, but planning the rec league would be harder. I couldn’t decide all of a sudden that I didn’t need her help. No, I’d already signed myself up to spend that time around her one-on-one. We would just have to keep it professional. Stay focused on the league and absolutely no playing around on the ice. All business.

“I’ll be there soon,” I said.

“Don’t rush, Jeremiah. We’re fine here,” Terri insisted. “Drive safe and we’ll see you soon.”

She was right, and I reminded myself of it each time I found the speedometer inching above the speed limit. Getting pulled over—or worse, in an accident—would do me no good and it wouldn’t make Charlie feel better.

I quickly stopped the train of thought my mind had started barreling down before I made my anxiety any worse. I would make it home safe. I would be there for Charlie.