Wren
Auntie Jackie opened her door with a big,white smile on her face. “Hey, Mama. Come in here. Ezra just kicked my butt at Candy Land.”
I shook my head and followed her into her house, which was a mirror image to Jenny’s next door. “He’s a regular Candy Land shark, is what he is. He pretends he’s never played, then cleans the floor with you.”
Jackie was a pretty, statuesque Black woman in her forties. Single, with no kids, she worked from home for a private investigation firm doing background research and other fun stuff she wouldn’t tell me. She’d moved in next to Jenny and me about a year after I did and had been a second aunt to me and Ezra.
“Hi, Mommy!” Ezra popped up from the floor with his arms straight out. I picked him up, giving him a squeeze and kisses on his cheek. Thank god it was Friday. I had missed this delicious kid all week.
“Hi, baby buddy. How was your day?”
“I made a dino and ate cakes for snack.”
I reared back and scrunched my nose. “Cake for snack?” Ezra’s preschool was liberal, but notthatliberal. I didn’t necessarily object to cake for a snack, but I’d be surprised if that was what he’d actually eaten.
Jackie picked up his backpack from the floor. “I didn’t quite buy that story either, so I checked his daily report. Our boy hadricecakes for snack.”
“Oooh, yeah, that makes a lot more sense.” Laughing, I took his backpack from her. “Thank you for picking him up last minute today. I really appreciate it.”
Jenny normally picked Ezra up from his preschool slash daycare since she got off work a lot earlier than I did, but she’d been detained by a last-minute meeting. All it took was one frantic text to Jackie, and she jumped at the chance to grab Ez for me, like always.
She waved me off. “You know it’s always my pleasure. If I didn’t take a break to spend time with my favorite boy, I’d be libel to become surgically attached to my laptop.”
Ezra gave her a hug before bounding out the door to our house next door. As I unlocked our front door, the sensation of being watched prickled the back of my neck. I rubbed my nape and let the feeling wash over me. I was probably crazy, but I kind of found it comforting.
Ezra and I had a quiet dinner, just the two of us. He made a mess of his noodles, getting sauce all over his face and bare chest—we didn’t do shirts on spaghetti nights. I soaked up his voice and his presence. Working full time and seeing him less had been an adjustment for me. I was getting used to it, but that didn’t mean I liked it.
“I have three new friends, Mommy,” he said suddenly.
“Oh yeah? What are their names?” I put my fork down and listened to him.
“I like Vicky, Seamus, and Javi.”
I nodded. “Oh, those are nice names.”
He nodded back, his little stained-orange face serious. “Do you have any friends, Mommy?”
“Oh gosh, I don’t know if I have as many as you. Let me think.” I tapped my chin, legitimately racking my brain. Friends weren’t something I had in abundance, but I didn’t want my kid to think his mom was a total loser. “Well, I have a new friend named Natalie. And...um...I have a friend named Callum too. Obviously you’re my best friend.”
He cackled, like me calling him my bestie was ridiculous. “I’m your baby buddy!”
“That’s true. Silly me.”
Jenny arrived home as I was getting Ezra into his pj’s. She laid in his bed with us while we read stories and kissed his forehead good night after I did. He normally zonked right out after a long day at school, so he didn’t protest when I turned out his light and closed his door.
She followed me into my bedroom and perched on my bed while I scrambled to get ready to go out with Natalie and the girls.
“Long day?” I asked when she sighed.
“The longest. I’m looking forward to a glass of wine and some Netflix.” She shook her head when I held up a cardigan. “You can’t go out looking like a mom, honey.”
“But Iama mom. Besides, it’s not like I’m looking for a man tonight.”
“That may be true, but you don’t want to show up looking all dowdy to hang out with girls who undoubtedly are going to put in some effort. Why don’t you wear that dress you wore to the party a couple weeks ago?”
With no time to go through my meager closet, I tossed the dress on the bed and vaulted into my shower. I spent five minutes under the spray, leaving my hair dry since it was in good shape, and honestly, doing it was a little too much effort. I really didn’t know how my planned shopping trip with Natalie had become Friday night drinks, but here we were. I’d rather be curling up with a glass of wine next to Jenny, but that was all the more reason for me to go out. I couldn’t spend my life hiding and afraid of social situations.
Jenny was still on my bed when I came out. “Are you sure you don’t mind me going out two nights in a row?”