After Corra shared some exciting details about the race day Sharon coaxed her for more. “What else can I say, it was great. Chris knows some people in high places. I’ve only looked up at those boxes. I never imagined I’d be sitting up there one day.”
“Chris is a good guy, Corra. I like him.”
“Yeah, he is. I’ve always liked Chris. But, sometimes I think why me, when he can have any woman he wants? And I can’t imagine the women he had in Philadelphia. I’m surprised he’s still single.”
“Maybe he’s been waiting for you?”
“Girl, please. That man has not been waiting for me. After the accident I didn’t think I’d see him again. Not in a dating capacity anyway. It was as if his whole presence at the fund-raiser was a dream. He came along and helped us, then poof, he was gone.”
“Like Cinderella in reverse, huh?”
“Yeah, just like that.”
“But the prince has come back to get his princess. Just like in Cinderella.”
“Sharon, stop fantasizing everything.”
“I can’t help it. I believe in happily-ever-afters. Maybe in school you wouldn’t have been perfect for each other. But now that you’ve both grown and matured, the time is right.”
Corra laughed. “I don’t know about all that. I’m just going to hold on and enjoy the ride.”
“That’s it, girl. And haven’t you been celibate for a long time now?”
Corra sat up and swung her legs off the side of the bed. “Okay, I’m not talking about my sex life tonight. I’m going to hang up now and go check on my son. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Aw, you’re no fun.”
Corra hung up and went to check on Jamie. The house was quiet as she walked down the hall and eased the door open to his room. He had the covers pulled up over his shoulders and was fast asleep. She tiptoed over to the other side of the bed and watched him sleep for a few seconds. His breathing was normal with a light snore. She tiptoed back out of the room and returned to her bedroom.
After her nightly beauty ritual, she lay back to read a book. The phone rang. Before she snatched the phone from its cradle, she wondered who was calling this late. She glanced at the caller ID, but didn’t recognize the name or number.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Corra. I heard you were looking for me?”
Corra dropped her book. “Eric?”
After a long pregnant pause he cleared his throat. “Yeah, it’s me.”
Corra sat up. She hadn’t heard his voice in over two years. She didn’t know whether to curse him out or thank him for calling. Seems like her chat with Cookie worked.
“How are the kids?” he asked.
“They’re fine.” Still unsure how she wanted to handle this call, she walked over and closed the door to her bedroom. “Why haven’t you called them?”
“It’s a long story—”
“Yeah, I bet it is. I know where you’ve been.”
“Who told you?”
“Cookie.”
“Yeah well, I didn’t want to call from jail so—”
“Eric, what happened? How did you wind up in jail?”
“I kind of got caught up in something and made a stupid mistake. But I’ve put that all behind me now. I don’t gamble anymore, Corra. I’m sorry I screwed everything up between us, but I didn’t mean to walk out of my kids’ lives.”
Oh, yeah. It’s just me you meant to walk out on. And what about the cheating? Are you still a cheater? Or just a liar? “You need to see your kids, Eric. Or call them if you can’t make it down here.”
“I’m in Danville now.”
“How long have you been here?”
Silence from the other end. Then she heard what sounded like him putting his hand over the phone.
“Look, Corra, I gotta go. This isn’t my phone. I do want to see the kids, so how about I come by tomorrow? What time do they get home from school?”
Tomorrow! Corra wasn’t prepared mentally to see Eric so soon.
“Jamie has baseball practice after school. He won’t be home until around five.”
“Okay, how about I stop by at six.”
“We’ll probably be eating dinner around that time.”
“Then how about seven?”
God knows she did not want to see Eric. But, she asked for this because she didn’t want to be one of those mothers who kept their kids from their fathers. “Yeah, seven o’clock is good.”
“Okay, I’ll see you then.”
Corra hung the phone up and just sat there staring into the floor. Eric had avoided her question about how long he’d been in town. If he’d been that eager to see his kids he would have come around as soon as he returned. But, Cookie must have confirmed that she didn’t want child support from him. Bastard.