“I’m speaking tohim,” she says without turning to look at me. “Explain yourself, Charlie. Three seconds.”
He takes a big step back. “I would never do that. What Colt said is true. I love that boy. I’d die before I’d put him in danger. I told Colt the truth about what happened.”
She doesn’t respond. She continues to look into his face as if she can read his mind. She must be satisfied with what she sees because she nods and turns away from him.
“Fine. You two can get the hell out of my house. Come and pick Evan up tomorrow.” Evan runs out of the room and goes directly to Vickie.
My heart melts when she picks him up, hugs him tight, and rains kisses on his face. Evan giggles at her actions.
“Look, Vickie.” He opens his mouth and points to his missing bottom tooth.
“You have got to stop growing up so fast.”
Evan giggles and says, “I’m hungry. Daddy wouldn’t let me have McDonald’s on the way over here.”
“Your daddy is the worst. You know what? That sounds really good. I’m going to take you, and you can get whatever you want.” She puts him down and takes his hand. Evan bounces up and down in his excitement. “I need his booster seat,” she says to no one in particular. She grabs her purse from a nearby chair.
“Can we make mac and cheese instead?” Evan asks. “I really want some.”
Vickie drops her purse and nods. “I made some last night and couldn’t bring myself to eat it. Let’s go warm it up.”
They rush off to the kitchen, leaving me and Charlie standing in the middle of the hallway. “You can watch TV in my bedroom while it warms up in the oven. How does that sound? Let me go turn on the TV for you.” She picks Evan up and carries him to the bedroom. She comes back a couple of minutes later.
“You can pick him up in the morning.” She opens the front door and gestures for us to leave. “Drop off a change of clothes and leave it at the door. Goodbye.”
Charlie lets out a cackle but sobers quickly under Vickie’s stern glare.
“I came here to talk to you. To apologize.” I lean my crutches against the wall and hobble to the living room. Charlie grabs the ottoman and helps me elevate my leg.
“You’ve already done that. I don’t need to hear it again.” She eyes my leg, and for a brief second, she softens. The Vickie I fell in love with returns and she runs a hand through her tightly coiled hair. I wish I could hear her thoughts. I know she’s thinking of a way for me to be more comfortable, but she won’t show it. “Can you two please leave before I lose my temper?”
My Queen Vee doesn’t have a temper. She holds it all in and tries to show as little emotion as possible, but maybe that’s what I need to do. I need to get her to explode and let it out.
Evan returns, complaining about being hungry and thirsty. They go into the kitchen, leaving me and Charlie in the living room.
“She’s going to kill us both,” Charlie whispers. “I’ve never been scared of a girl before today, but she still loves you. I can see it in her eyes. But seriously, Colty, why? She loves you. She loves Evan. I don’t understand.”
“It was a lot, Charlie. I was depressed about a lot of things, and I screwed up.”
“I know all about that, but fix it and hold on to her. She’s all Evan talks about. I’m telling you, a fur coat is the answer.”
Before I can call him an idiot, we hear a ding in the kitchen and Evan’s nonstop chatter. He tells her everything about baseball camp and his swimming lessons. He even invites her to come see him play. The smell of the food from the kitchen finally reaches us, and I hear Charlie’s stomach growl.
“Damn, that smells good. Do you think she’ll let me have some?” Charlie asks. He gets up and goes to the kitchen, abandoning me.
I sit there and wince at the throbbing pain in my knee. Charlie’s right about one thing, stress is not helpful to the healing process. I’m supposed to start physical therapy next week, but the doctor won’t allow it if I don’t heal enough to sustain the therapy.
Minutes later, Charlie returns with a tray. I normally stay away from carb heavy meals, but it smells good, and I had some when Vickie made it with Evan before. It was just a few short weeks ago when we were happy and in love, then I mucked it all up. There’s also a Caesar salad, diced fruit, and a bottle of water.
He leaves it on my lap and returns to the kitchen. My stomach growls, and I devour the food in front of me.
“I love the evil one’s mac and cheese,” I hear Evan say.
“Who is the evil one?” Charlie asks. I can tell he has his mouth full.
“That’s Vickie’s evil stepmother, but she’s really nice.”
“She can’t be that evil if she makes food this good,” Charlie mumbles.
