Page 26 of Unbreakable
Jake:Closing early to pick up Remi. Taking her with me to spend time with the girls.
It doesn’t take long for him to respond.
Me:Alright, babe. Take Quinn.
"Where's Quinn?"asks Emerson looking around the store.
Wearing a smile, I tell her, "Jake wants me to put him to work while he watches over me, so he has kitchen duties now that Remi is in school and I don’t have her helping out. It would go a lot quicker, but my dishwasher went out this morning in the middle of the wash cycle, so everything needs to be cleaned by hand."
"I bet that burns his ass." Emerson giggles with amusement.
"Not really. He's so laid back. I don’t think there is anything I could ask of him that would make the man mad. Besides, Quinn sings when he works, and he has a nice voice." As soon as I say that, Emerson perks up. "He sings?"
"Yeah, I haven't let him on to the fact that I listen in on him. He only does it when he's alone or when he's helping Remi in the kitchen, but he's pretty good," I tell her. I check the time. I've got about forty minutes before I close up for the day and head to the school to pick my daughter up. "How about I meet you guys there. If this place is by the gym, then I won't have any problems finding it."
"Great," Bella sings. "Oh, and don’t worry about workout clothes. I need to stop by the house and drop Bree off. Sofia offered to watch her for an hour. I should have something you can use."
"Sounds good. It saves me a long trip out to Jake's and back. So, I'll see you guys in an hour?" I ask to make sure I won't be late.
With all the baked goods stored until tomorrow, I flip the open sign to closed and head to my car while Quinn locks the door.
"You going home after picking Remi up, darlin'?" Quinn inquires as he swings a leg over his bike.
"I'm meeting Bella and Emerson at a new boxing studio that opened next to the gym. The instructor is holding self-defense classes, and they asked if I wanted to join them." Pushing the button on my key lock, I unlock my car door and swing it open.
"Emerson will be there?" he asks. Nodding my head, I confirm what I said with a knowing smile. "Aw hell. This I got to see. Lead the way, darlin'. You just made my fuckin' day," Quinn proclaims as he pulls his shades over his eyes and secures his helmet on his head.
I wait outside the school in the car rider lane for about ten minutes when the bell finally rings. Eagerly I scan the sea of kids milling out of the school doors until I spot my daughter's red hair amongst all the heads. She's walking with the same young girl who walked her to class this morning, and she's wearing a huge smile on her face. I can't wait to hear about her day. Waving goodbye to her new friend, she opens the door and sinks into the passenger seat and chunks her bag between her feet.
"Mom, I had the best day," she beams closing the door and buckles in. "I've been asked if I want to join the cheer squad," she claps her hands in excitement.
"That’s great, Peanut."
"Thanks, Mom," she adds as we follow the line of cars out of the parking lot.
"For what, sweetie?"
"Letting me go to school. Being home with you. I'm happy, that's all," she shrugs her shoulders as to say it's no big deal.It's a big deal. My baby is happy.
"Bella and Emerson have invited me to take a self-defense class this afternoon. If you have any homework, you can tune us out by working on it at the gym," I inform her as I drive down the road.
"And miss you kick some butt. No way. And I don’t have any homework. I did it in class. It was super easy."
The girls don’t know Finn taught me self-defense right after I disappeared. He teaches all the women he helps to defend themselves. I haven't practiced in a long time though, so I'm hoping I haven't forgotten anything. Noticing Bella's car, I park next to her, and we climb out. Quinn backs in on the other side.
"Hey, Quinn," Remi waves.
"Hey there, shorty. How was your first day? Do I need to kick any shitheads in the balls?" he smirks, causing Remi to giggle.
"No. The boy who talked to me was nice." She tells him then quickly tries to disappear through the gym door, but not before Quinn has something to say.
"Oooh, I'm telling Jake you talked to boys," he picks at her and laughs.
Leaving Quinn, I join my daughter inside, where she has already found Bella and Alba standing near the back by some lockers. Waving me over, I wind my way around floor mats laid out across the floor.
"Here. You can use the bathroom behind us to change. The instructor should be out in a few minutes, and Emerson will be showing up in a minute too," Bella says handing me a pair of workout shorts, sports bra, and a tank.
Retreating to the bathroom, I change. When I emerge with my other clothes in hand, Bella takes them and places them in a locker where her things are located. Quinn walks in scanning the room until spotting us and strides over.
