Page 21 of Love Complicated

The cats swarm her legs, anticipating food, some of them jetting inside the house while others sit patiently at the sliding glass door and wait for me to bring them the food.

“Mrs. Jacob?” a voice on the other end of the line asks.

I cringe every time someone calls me that. It’s like a dagger to the heart.

I hand Tori a measuring cup for the bag of cat food she’s opened. She brushes her hand over my shoulder, as if to say, it’s going to be okay. If it wasn’t for Tori and my parents, I would have gone insane already.

While talking to the cats, Tori takes it, smiling and scoops out a heaping portion into the four bowls I have set outside for my stray loves.

“Yes, this is her.” I hold the phone between my ear and shoulder to fill the water dishes.

“Mrs. Jacob. . .” Ugh, there’s that damn word again. “This is Charlotte with Lake Shore Academy. Your son Cash was causing a bit of trouble this morning in class, and his teacher asked that you come to the school this morning to meet with him. Is that possible?”

Of course they didn’t call Austin for this. The mother does everything. And I’m not surprised the school is calling. Cash is a pain in the ass sometimes, and ever since the divorce, his behavior has gotten worse.

“I suppose I could. What time?”

“Around eleven thirty?”

I glance over my shoulder at the clock on the stove. It’s already eleven, but the school is just down the street so I know I can get there. “Sure. I’ll be there soon.”

I hang up, and Tori is leaning on the counter beside me, her arms crossed over her chest. “Let me guess. . . Cash?”

“Yep.”

She laughs, taking the cat from Ada’s arms before he turns blue, if cats turn blue. “What did he do this time?”

“They didn’t say.” I sigh and put my phone in my purse. “I bet he was talking back. You know him.”

Tori rolls her eyes. “Yeah, I do. He called me a butt crack the other day.”

I raise an eyebrow. “He’s acting out because of the divorce, and I’m not sure who they have filling in for Mr. Burke. Cash probably wasn’t expecting a different teacher.”

Brushing Whispers thick gray hair from her black pants, Tori stands and picks up Ada before she takes off for the cat again. “Who’s the teacher?”

I shrug, swinging my purse on my shoulder. “I don’t know, but I’m about to find out.”

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