“I’ve been thinking about it,” Casey said. “I think I know how we can get them together, or at least talking.”
“Really? How?”
“Do you think you’d be able to get your hands on your dad’s cell phone?”
“That’s not a problem. He leaves it lying around all the time, and then when it does ring, he has to hunt for it.”
Casey grinned. “My mom keeps hers in her briefcase. It’ll be easy to find.”
“What are we going to do, send fake text messages?”
“That’s what I was thinking. But first I’ll talk to your dad after school and you’ll need to go to the store and talk to my mom.”
“About what?”
Two more kids came into the atrium and joined the group at the next bench. Not wanting anyone to hear what they were up to, Kate leaned in so Casey could whisper the rest of the plan into her ear.
“What do you think?”
“It’s brilliant,” she said. “That’s definitely a high five!”
AFTER WORK THAT AFTERNOON, Sarah set her briefcase and car keys on the counter while she unpacked a bag of groceries, stowing frozen dinners in the freezer and assorted packages in the pantry. She never felt like cooking, but lately she didn’t much feel like eating out, either.
Casey came in and lounged against the island. “What’s for dinner?”
“I picked up some things we can heat up in the microwave. I hope that’s okay.”
“Sure. Do you mind if I use your phone to look up something? I just remembered that everyone wants to see a movie on Friday. I’d like to see what’s on.”
“Help yourself.” Once she’d put everything away, she folded the reusable grocery bag and stuffed it into a drawer. “Would you like to have dinner now?”
Casey put her phone back on the counter. “Maybe later. I need to talk to Henry about having him take some photographs for the yearbook. Come on, Petey. Let’s go.”
Just as well. She could feel another headache coming on. Kate had come to the store that afternoon to tell her that her father had said no to the part-time job because he wanted her to spend her time on schoolwork. Talk about a flimsy excuse. Kate was keeping up with all of her assignments now, he’d told her that himself. This was about him and Sarah. She never would have pegged him as the vindictive type, but why else would he make his daughter stay away from her?
There was nothing she could do about it, though, and right now she needed a Tylenol.
Her phone buzzed as was she leaving the kitchen.
Casey came to see me about the soccer team. Very upset. Can we talk?
Paolo’s at 7? Jon
Why would Casey be upset about the soccer team? And if she was, why hadn’t she said anything ?
Sarah called Casey and heard her phone ringing inside her backpack. That wasn’t going to work, so she called Henry’s house. His mother told her they’d taken the dog for a walk.
If she didn’t know better, she might think her daughter was trying to avoid her. She checked her watch. Six-thirty. She’d better go meet Jonathan, she decided. This could be something really important. She scribbled a note and left it on the counter where Casey would see it when she came home.
JON DIDN’T THINK he had ever been so disappointed with anyone. Casey had stopped by his office after school, on the verge of tears, and told him that her mom wanted her to drop the soccer team because she had too many other commitments. He’d met a lot of kids throughout his career and few were as capable as that girl was. Plus, she was one of his best players and the assistant captain. He was actually a little disgusted to think Sarah would use her kid to get back at him.
He was pretty sure Kate didn’t know about this. She surely would have said something to him if she did.
“Dad?” she called from the foyer. “Casey and I are taking her dog for a walk. I’ll see you in a while, okay?”
“Okay.” He still needed to make dinner, but this let him off the hook for a bit. He picked up the TV remote, thinking maybe the news in the rest of the world was even worse than it was in his, when he heard his phone beeping. Hoping it wasn’t even more bad news, he followed the sound and found it where he’d left it on the counter by the coffeemaker.
Kate came to the store today. Very upset about her job. Can we talk?
Paolo’s at 7? Sarah
Why would Kate be upset about her job? The way she talked about it, it was the best thing in her life right now. And if she was upset, why hadn’t she said anything to him about it? He called Kate’s phone and heard it ringing in her bag in the foyer. It was now six thirty-five. If he wanted to get to the bottom of this, he’d better go meet Sarah. It’s not as though he had any other options.