“Tired,” she said. “Is everything okay?”
“I should be asking you that question.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re pregnant,” I said.
I bit back a groan as I fell back onto the bed. How many times was I going to sound like an idiot on the phone with her?
“I’m tired a lot,” Emma said. “Nauseous in the mornings.”
“Is there anything I can get for you?”
“Ryan, look. I’m really tired. It’s been a very long week, and I have a long line of plans to sleep for hours on end until Monday rolls around. Is there something you or the kids need?”
“Yes,” I said. “There is.”
“Then what is it?”
“Have dinner with me. We need to talk, and I’ll take you anywhere you want to go. Fast food. The finest dining in town. You and me, tucked away in a corner with whatever food you want. And I’m fully prepared to beg and say ‘please’.”
“That sounds interesting. Go ahead and give it a whirl.”
I smiled into the phone as I drew in a deep breath.
“Please, Emma. I’m begging you with everything I am-- come out to dinner with me. Let me take your hand and comfort you. Let me listen to all of the complaining I know you need to get out. Lean against my body and put your head on my shoulder and sleep. I’ll take you anywhere. Fly you anywhere. For any amount of time. Just have dinner with me, Emma. Let me support you in all this.”
I could hear her breaths on the other end of the line and I held my breath. I didn’t want to miss her answer. I didn’t want her to feel rushed in her decision. My palms began to sweat and my body tensed. I closed my eyes, readying myself for the rejection that was coming.
And then, I heard that sweet little voice.
“When were you thinking?” Emma asked.
“How does Saturday night sound?” I asked. “I’ve got a full day of decorating with the kids, and Paul could come over to watch them while we went out.”
“Decorating?” she asked.
“It’s been a long week,” I said.
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
I chuckled into the phone and was graced with that incredible giggle of hers.
“Anywhere you want to go, it’s on me,” I said. “I’ll pick you up around five?”
“I’ll be ready,” she said.”
The kids and I spent the entire next day painting the walls of their new rooms. I’d hired a few people last minute to come in and help us, but the kids painted where they could reach. Their mattresses were being delivered on Sunday, which meant the walls had plenty of time to dry. The kids and I sat on the couch, ordering a few things for their rooms off the internet. Hunter was getting a bed frame that had bookshelves all around it to store all of the books I was ordering him. Benjamin was getting a mount for his television and his new game console, along with four games he had been wanting for the longest time. Zoey was getting a new princess canopy for her bed along with a television of her own so she could stream all the Disney movies she wanted with the touch of her fingertips.
And I was getting a dinner date with the mother of my child.
Paul came over and relieved me around four thirty. The kids were passed out in their beds from painting, and I told Paul to keep all the windows open so the paint could dry. I headed down to my car and slipped into the driver’s seat, then headed to Emma’s as fast as I could. She still hadn’t told me where she wanted to go, so I had a few reservations at certain places all across town. I wanted to come prepared in case she had a specific type of food in mind.
I had a reservation for each type of cuisine, no matter what she threw at me.
I knocked on her door and shuffled on my own two feet. I’d never been this nervous to have dinner with a woman before. Ever. I stuck my hands in my pockets as I heard footsteps fall behind the door, and my heart fluttered in my chest. The door inched open and there she stood, with the most exhausted stare I’d ever seen.
But she still looked gorgeous in the blue and silver dress she had on.