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Charlie
ZoeyandImadeour way into the house just after four. I had everything planned out for tonight. Ms. Wilson even was going to be here shortly to watch over Zoey while I took Maya out for dinner. I had checked in throughout the day with Maya, and she seemed to be feeling a bit better. I wanted to try and get her out and have the chance to sit down and have a proper meal together. Give us the chance to talk and for me to open up to her. It wasn’t going to be easy for me, and I was really hoping a change in atmosphere would help to make it feel less formal.
“Okay, I want you to wash your hands and get going on your homework. Ms. Wilson is going to be here very soon to hang out with you for a little while tonight while Maya and I go out for dinner.”
“Really?” Zoey asked, practically bouncing up and down.
“Yes. She even got a room at the motel so she could spend some time down here with you over the weekend.” What I didn’t tell her was that Ms. Wilson had been considering moving here. She was going to be using the weekend stay here to look at potential homes. I knew Zoey was going to be over the moon about it if Ms. Wilson did decide to stay. I was also hoping she would because it would be great to have help with Zoey, but also the new baby.
“Yay!” she yelled before she took off down the hallway to the stairs.
I went and dropped my coat off and kicked my shoes off before I made my own way up the stairs. I went over to Maya’s closed door and knocked on it.
“Come in!” she called out.
I walked in and saw her in bed, watching some movie on the TV. She didn’t look as pale as she had this morning. She was sitting up and seemed to be in good spirits. “Hey, you are looking better.”
“I feel better. How is Zoey?”
“She’s very excited. Ms. Wilson is coming by shortly to spend some time with her.”
“Ms. Wilson? That’s a bit of a drive for someone her age just to spend a couple hours with Zoey.”
“I got her a room at the motel. I offered her the spare room here, but she wanted to be at the motel to have her own space. She is also going to be looking for her own place here.”
“Really?” she asked, slightly surprised, not that I could blame her.
“Loraine doesn’t have any family. She never had children of her own. Zoey is the closest thing to a grandchild she has. She misses her already, and there’s no reason for her to be in Houston. She’s healthy, and if she needs a specialist for any reason down the line, I can always bring her to Houston for the appointments. With her having no family, it would be best for her to be close so if she did get sick she would have someone there to help her and take care of her.”
She had been in my life since Zoey was little. She was family, and I wasn’t going to leave her alone in Houston, especially if she was willing to relocate.
“I think it’s great that she might move to town. If she has no other family, then she should be close. I know Zoey really loves her. How was work?”
“It was fine. I think I can see the back wall now in the office,” I said with a playful smirk.
“Progress then.”
“Do you think you feel well enough to go out with me to grab some dinner?” I was really hoping she would say yes. I wanted the chance to speak with her without Zoey overhearing.
“Um … sure.” She wasn’t too confident with her answer, but I knew it was more towards going out with me versus how she was feeling.
“Great. Ms. Wilson should be here shortly, and then we can head out when you are ready.”
I didn’t want to make it sound like an order and she felt obligated to go. At the same time, I didn’t really want her to say no. We needed the chance to speak without being overheard by Ms. Wilson or Zoey. I was truly hoping that we could have a good time and maybe going to dinner would help to ease some of the tension between us. There were only so many times we could have sex to avoid our real issues that we had to work out.
“Okay, nothing crazy though right?”
“No, just a simple dinner at one of the few restaurants open in this place. It’s just a chance for us to get to know each other better.”
“Alright, I’ll get dressed,” she said with an easy smile.
I gave her one in return before I headed out. She needed time to get dressed, and I needed to make sure Zoey was all set for when Ms. Wilson came here. I was hoping that tonight would go over well, and we could start to find some common ground and equal footing within our budding relationship.
It was roughly an hour later when I pulled into a parking spot outside of an Italian restaurant. It didn’t look very busy, but that wasn’t a surprise. Nowhere in town was busy outside of the school. I was hoping the food would be good, and it would also be good for us to get out and interact with people more. Though, I was hoping that there wouldn't be much social interaction as we had something important to discuss. I got out of my truck and went over to her side, opening the door for her. She looked confused, but I could see the hint of a blush touching her cheeks. I held my hand out for her, and she slipped her hand within mine.
“This place looks nice,” she commented as we headed towards the entrance.
“It does. I am hoping that is a good sign that the food is good. I know there are a few businesses that are holding strong and able to make decent money even with the shrinking population,” I said as I opened the door for her.
