“All I know is that she’s new, and they shared their lunches. In the mind of a first-grader, it’s a serious relationship. Maybe we should start planning their wedding.” She laughs.
“It’s good that he can make friends with the new kid. We shouldn’t ruin it by planning a wedding.” I chuckle.
“Well, as far as I know, this is his only friend right now. It has me worried since all his male friends from last year just wanted to meet you.” Her voice is more sad than anything else. I hate that Reed has to tip-toe around who his dad is because of that reason. “However,” Brooke brightens her voice, “he’s excited about it and we need to be too.”
“You can be in charge of playdates with her then. I could help out more later on.”
“I haven’t met her mom or anything yet, but I’m good with that. Oh, we need to figure out Friday. What time does your plane get in? Nate and I need to be at the party by eight.”
“I could pick him up from school. What’s been happening with Nate? Sounds like things are going well.” Nate is who Brooke is currently dating. She’s told me a few things about him, but not much yet.
“Well, things are going well. And I was wondering,” she pauses, glancing down at the table for a second, “if Reed might be able to stay the night?”
“You’re planning on staying the night? That sounds like it’s going better than well. Should I meet this guy? Don’t you need my stamp of approval?” I tease.
She laughs. “You can meet him later. I don’t need your stamp as of yet. When I’m ready to introduce him to Reed, then I will let you know.” We never introduce anyone to Reed unless there is a serious possibility that they will be a permanent addition to our little family. We don’t want him getting attached to anyone and getting hurt if things end. “What about you? Any special girl I need to meet?”
“Nope. There’s no one that special yet.” Not going to lie, though. Lexie, little Miss Angry, pops into my mind for a moment.
“Ash,” Brooke starts, sounding concerned, “it’s been a while since you’ve dated. What gives? Is there something you need to talk about?”
“You sound like a therapist, Brooke. There’s nothing out of the ordinary going on.” There hasn’t been anyone lately. Well, no one that I could see Reed meeting. I haven’t turned down dates outright, but I haven’t been searching for any either.
“I’m concerned about you. I mean, I’ve never seen you go this long without someone in your life. You know, besides Reed and me.”
“No need to be concerned. I’m not, so you shouldn’t be either. I’m not worried about having someone or not. All I need is Reed, and you of course.” Reed is the most important person in my life, and so is Brooke, not only because she’s my friend, but because she’s his mom and he needs her too.
“Ash, I’ve been your friend for almost ten years. I’m not going anywhere. I just want to make sure that you have someone. I want you to be happy.”
“I’m happy. Someone will come along eventually, I’m sure.” I’m not going to worry about it.
“Okay. If you’re happy, then I am too. By the way, don’t get upset,” she warns, “but I already took care of Reed’s tuition this semester.”
“Brooke, why? I’ve told you a million times that I want to do that. At least half of it, if you want to be stubborn.” She does this to me all the time, being sneaky with paying for things instead of letting me take care of it all.
“You were at training camp, and it needed to be paid. I wasn’t about to call and bother you about it. And don’t you dare suggest a joint account again. I don’t want to have to have that argument today.”
“I wasn’t going to suggest it.” Okay, I was. “Was only going to say that maybe I should give you one of my cards instead. Then you won’t have to ‘bother’ me about Reed’s expenses.”
“Ashton, no.” She shakes her head firmly. “I do fine with the check that I get every month. The only reason I told you is because I didn’t want you to send a payment too. If you want, take care of the next semester. Okay?”
“Fine. And if you need more, all you have to do is say the word, you know. Even if it’s for you. I mean, I know you do well without me, but if something happened and you needed it…” Sometimes, I feel like I have to remind her that if she needed me, I would take care of her too.
“Listen to me. I love that you care so much, but you already paid for the house and the car. Reed has every imaginable thing and toy a child could ever want. If I need something that badly, you know I would tell you. But, we’re fine. Now, I have to get to the hospital, and you have practice. Are you coming for dinner?”
“Yeah, text me the time later, and I’ll be here.”
I guess I shouldn’t pester her so much about it. She’s right in a lot of ways and she does work with me and my schedule. She moved away from her family, more than once, just so Reed can be in the same town as me. That’s part of the reason why I want her to let me do as much as I can, but I know that she’ll let me know if she needs me.
For now, I need to go to practice.
Chapter Three
Lexie
“Mr. Steinberg, I promise you that the ice sculpture of the tiara is going to be perfect for your daughter.” I roll my eyes at the phone. After several more minutes of reassuring him that it’ll go smoothly, he finally hangs up. I resist the urge to throw the phone across the room, because it really wouldn’t make me feel better.
“How is my best friend doing?” Tiffany pops into my office.