Page 26 of A Match Made In Evan
“Mia’s sixteen, she can fend for herself at home for a couple of weeks,” Andi waves my panic aside, her pink nail polish glittering in the light from the fluorescent bulbs above our heads. “It’s not like she’s a little kid who needs to be enrolled in vacation care.”
“I know, but I was hoping to spend some of the holidays with her,” I admit, feeling a bit crestfallen that, with all the time I’ve had to take off to deal with the school’s demands, I completely forgot to organise some actual time off work. “She already prefers hanging out with her friends over me. Once she graduates and is officially an adult…” I trail off, upset at how fast my kid is growing up.
Andi leans over and rubs my bicep. “There’s always the Chrissie hols.”
In another six months, and far harder to get time off because every man and his dog want time off over Christmas. Still, I nod. “And September, too.”
“That’s the spirit,” she cheers, oblivious to the flatness in my tone.
I whip my phone from my pocket to make a note to investigate the dates and blink at the text notification from Ev and about a hundred (okay,four) missed calls from the school. My heartrate increases as I wonder what’s gone wrong.
“What’s up?” Andi leans over, craning her neck to peer at my phone screen.
Furrowing my brow, I tilt it away from her view. I don’t need her seeing anything racy from Ev and getting the wrong idea.
What, asks the voice in my head with droll amusement, like the silly idea that you’re fucking your best mate?
I ignore my inner monologue in preference of reading Ev’s text.
‘Mia’s sick. Picking her up cos school called me. Couldn’t get a hold of you.’
“Damn it,” I hiss, rapidly typing my response that I’ll meet him at my place before ramming my phone in my pocket. “Mia’s sick,” I explain as I shut my laptop and start gathering my things. “Ev’s picked her up, but I’ll tell Col that I’m working from home this afternoon.”
Andi’s expression droops, but then morphs into one of sympathy. “Poor thing,” she coos, pouting up at me once my laptop bag is packed and I’m pushing to my feet. “Hopefully it’s just a twenty-four-hour bug.”
I nod, grimacing. “I suppose that’s one benefit to having an almost-adult kid. I don’t need to chase her around the house with a vomit bucket and a towel.”
Scrunching her nose, Andi shakes her head. “I’m kind of glad I don’t have kids yet.”
“They’re not for the faint of heart.” I pat down my pockets, checking for my phone, wallet, and keys.
Andi sighs and gets up, out of the seat at the spare desk. She gives me a lop-sided smile. “Maybe I need to find a guy who has already done all the hard work for me, and then I can be a cool stepmum to a nice, easy, independent teenager.”
I chuckle, thinking about how much work it has been chaperoning other peoples’ teens, and I shake my head. “Teenagers are harder work than toddlers, I reckon.” I crane my neck around her, attempting to peer into Collin’s office. His door is open and, thankfully, he’s at his desk. “I’ve gotta run,” I say, easing around her and heading in my boss’s direction. Over my shoulder, I add, “ I’ll be logged into Teams in about an hour.”
Andi lets out what sounds like a frustrated sigh, but I can’t help that my kid is sick. Even though Ev is perfectly capable of keeping an eye on her for a few hours, she’s still my responsibility and I want to make sure she’s okay.
Chapter Ten
Evan
“You sure you don’t want me to take you to the GP?” I ask the miserable teenager beside me. She’s curled up under a soft, grey-coloured throw blanket, clutching a plastic bowl to her chest as though she might hurl again at any second.
Her skin is pale and clammy, and her eyes are red rimmed from the tears she shed during her last bout of violent vomiting over the toilet.
Mia shakes her head. “No.” She closes her eyes and swallows convulsively. “I just wanna rest.”
“I’m going to get you some ginger ale or lemonade or something,” I insist, trying to think of what else my mum used todo for me when I got struck down with gastro. “Maybe some dry crackers or something, too.”
Mia gags and holds the bowl tighter. “I can’t even keep water down right now.”
I have to admit, getting the ‘your kid is sick’ call from her school was kind of surreal. In all the years I’ve been her Godfather and Jay’s emergency backup, I’ve never once been called into action. I can only assume that Jay was in a meeting, or away from his phone, and I was more than happy to step in in his stead.
It was an eye-opening experience.
Firstly because I blindsided my boss with having to pack up and leave work suddenly, getting the side-eye from colleagues who know I don’t have any children of my own. Then driving across the Gold Coast to her school, feeling worry churn my stomach.
What if there was something actually wrong with her; something more insidious than a stomach bug? What if she threw up again while she was waiting for me to come and get her? What if she was disappointed that it was me picking her up and not her dad?
