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The phone rings twice before he answers. “Simon.”

“Hey, Richard. Blaire said he was over there tonight.”

“He’s currently terrorizing the twins with a foam sword,” Richard says dryly. “Hang on.”

I hear muffled yelling in the background. Kids laughing, and one of the girls squealing. Then Richard’s voice again, louder this time. “Teddy! Your dad’s calling!”

There’s pounding footsteps.

“Daddy!” Theo shouts into the phone so loudly I have to pull it slightly away from my ear.

“Hey, buddy.”

“We have a sleepover! And Papa let us have soda!”

I snort. “Did he now?”

“And we played pirates and I got the treasure and Ellie cried because she wanted treasure but I got it first and—”

As he keeps talking without taking a breath, I lie back against my pillows and let him ramble.

“That sounds awesome,” I say when he finally pauses.

“I’m sleeping in a sleeping bag!”

“No way.”

“Yes way.”

I smile despite myself. “You having fun?”

“Yeah. But I miss you.”

“I miss you too, buddy.”

There’s rustling on the other end, like he’s moving around while talking.

“Mama went on a date,” he says casually.

I blink. “What?”

“With a boy,” Theo continues helpfully. “Nana said she looked pretty.”

I stare at the ceiling for a second, trying to ignore the wave of nausea that just washed over me. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. She had shiny earrings.”

“That’s nice,” I say around the bile in my throat.

Theo moves on immediately, already distracted again. “Papa says tomorrow we make pancakes.”

“Sounds good.”

But my brain’s stuck.

Date.

Blaire’s on a date.