| |
It was already 1:30 pm and Maggie still hasn't texted me to confirm a video chat time with the kids. I know my kids are desperately missing their mother, but I'm hopeful that the scheduled call will work in my favor and not prevent me from meeting up with Kelly tonight - especially since the idea of waiting two more weeks to see her was entirely unthinkable. I had already come to rely on our hour-long chats during playdates to get me through my week.
Wanting to keep her up-to-date, I decided to send a quick message to her so that she knew there was still a possibility of us coming over for pizza.
Dale –
Still waiting for confirmation from Maggie. Don't count us out yet.
Kelly –
No worries. Since our playdate was canceled, Mazie and I are going to check out the Girls Scout/Boy Scout information session at the community center after school. Just let us know by 5:30 if you'll be able to make it.
Dale –
Are the kids old enough for the Scouts already?
Kelly –
According to the Scout website, starting age for the Daisies and Cubs is when they enter kindergarten.
Dale –
Let me know your thoughts on our local troops. Maybe I'll enroll my twins.
At this point, I was just making an excuse to talk with her. After all, I had already decided to enroll John and Katie in Scouts when they were old enough. I just figured that the entry age was six years old instead of five.
Finally, around 4:45 an alert on my Mac announced that we had an incoming call from an unknown number.
Assuming that it must be Maggie, I ushered the kids in front of the computer only to see yoga man instead of my ex staring at my very disappointed children through the screen.
"Hey, Dale! How's my favorite principal?"
"Doing fine, John."
Yep, she named our son after her lover. Luckily, they didn't meet until she was seven months pregnant, or the idea of my son not being mine would have destroyed me.
"...where's Maggie?"
"Well you know Maggie!" noticing that the kids are with me, I see him pick up his phone and send a text message.
John –
Maggie's at a nail appointment and won't be finished till after we enter the signal free zone.
"She said I get to call this week because I missed my favorite kids so much," he said looking at the children.
At least John genuinely seemed to care about the kids' feelings.
Katie and John were hurt but exchanged some general pleasantries with John before we heard the call for employees to head up to the lobby coming through John's room intercom.
After disconnecting, my John turned and said, "Daddy, why did John lie?"
"What do you mean buddy?"
"I just could tell," he said with a sigh. "At least John wanted to talk to us."
Looking to confirm that Katie had gone back to her coloring table, John leaned in and whispered, "We should get Katie some ice cream to cheer her up, I can tell she's sad about Mommy."
Since I knew how much John disliked the texture of ice cream, I knew his suggestion was coming from his deep love for his sister. Even when he was feeling neglected, he would always put Katie first.
"I've got an even better idea! Why don't we see if Ms. Kelly and Mazie want to have pizza with us?"
Apparently ‘Mazie' and ‘pizza' are the magic words because both John and Katie's faces lit up and their disappointment was temporarily forgotten.
Dale –
Hey Kelly, Maggie canceled for this evening. Any chance we can still join you for pizza?
Kelly –
Sure, meet us at 241 River Drive at 6:15.
Any special requests?
Dale –
Cheese and pepperoni.
Hopefully, pizza and some great company would help the evening end on a positive note.