Page 40 of We're Just Friends
Caley giggled and fell into my lap, letting out a big yawn.
“I think Miss Personality needs to go to bed,” Julianna said, putting the board game away.
“I wanna play again.” She gave us a pouty face, but we could tell that she was falling asleep.
“We can play tomorrow night again,” I said.
She looked over at me and smiled. “Do you promise, Jakey?”
“Pinky swear.”
She held out her pinky, and we shook on it.
“Mommy, can Jakey put me to bed tonight?”
Julianna smiled and nodded, so I scooped her up and carried Caley into her bedroom.
“Tonight was so much fun, Caley. You’re really getting good at those board games.” I tucked her into bed and booped her on the nose with my finger.
“Tomorrow night, I’m gonna win every game!”
I found her childish voice to be adorable, and it only cemented the fact that I wanted to be with her and Julianna as much as possible. “What do I get if you don’t, though?”
“Hmmm, I’ll give you my favorite purse!”
"I would look pretty ravishing," I said, standing up and taking a sashay around the room.
Caley giggled loudly. I smiled and walked over, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Go to sleep. Your brain needs it."
She snuggled in as I turned the light off and gently shut the door. By the time I got downstairs, Julianna was in her usual spot on the couch with a glass of wine. I poured myself a glass and sat next to her.
“She’s smitten with you,” she said as I placed my hand on her knee.
“I’m smitten with both of you,” I replied. “So, can we talk about the future for a minute?”
“Sure, what about?” She turned toward me.
“I’m just curious about what you want out of life. For example, how’s everything at the art gallery going?”
She sank back into the couch and closed her eyes. “It’s going pretty well. Slow, but well. We need more interactive showings with artists. Maybe it’s because everything is so readily available online, but I want to bring art back to life. I want people to actually get excited about going to art showings, to meet local artists, and to learn about it, too. My biggest pet peeve is that it can be so pretentious, and I know that turns a lot of people off.”
She took a sip of her wine and then looked at me.
“I think that’s a wonderful idea. Make art more attractive for the common, blue-collar worker. And I agree about people thinking it’s being pretentious. Plus, most people don’t have five-figures to drop on a piece, let alone four.”
She sighed and nodded. “It’s a slow process, but I know it’ll eventually happen. My boss and I talk about it all of the time. She’s trying to get a few local artists to do a showing soon, and I think that’ll be good. They’re supposed to be pretty down to earth. I just don’t think I can handle much more of the puffy-shirt scene, watching people wash down cheese with wine while trying to dissect art they have no intention of buying.”
“What about the divorce?” It was a question I had wanted to ask for a while, but only when the timing was right.
She shook her finger at me as she swallowed her drink of wine. “Above all else, I want the divorce to be finalized. But I have to get the papers signed, and I’m still waiting on my lawyer.”
I knew that she would end up getting full custody of Caley. That was a no-brainer. Cam had cut back on calling her, and I couldn’t even remember the last time he made any attempt to actually see her. The poor girl deserved so much better than what her deadbeat of a dad was giving.
“I’m sure he does, too. Especially since he’s spending all of his time with what’s her face.”
“Lydia,” she spat out. “That’s all he cares about. He doesn’t even seem interested in how Caley’s doing in school. Hell, he probably forgot what grade she’s in!”
I rubbed her knees to try and get her to calm down. I didn’t want a perfectly good evening ruined by thoughts of her ex-husband and how poorly he treated their daughter.
