Page 68 of So Much More
I nod. He told me Leslie said she’d support him in doing whatever he thought was best for everyone.
“I told him this, and I’ll tell you, too. If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.”
“I appreciate that, but I don't think you understand how bad this might get. You don’t want to get involved.”
“You’re wrong. I do want to get involved. I love Ash, and I love your family—your dad excluded, obviously—and I’ll do whatever I can to help make this easier on all of you.”
“Thank you.”
I pick up a baseball from her desk and toss it from one hand to the other. She stands, reaches across the desk, and snatches the ball out of the air. “That’s a signed Willie McGee ball Diego got for me. Don’t touch it.”
“Sorry. But I’m surprised you asked a Cubs player to get you a ball with a Cardinals player’s autograph on it.”
“Diego’s a good guy. You know that. And I didn’t ask him to get it, but he knows Willie is my favorite, and he got it for me out of the kindness of his heart.”
“I’m also surprised you’re talking to me,” I say.
She purses her lips. “If Wendy can forgive you, so can I, but I’m still mad about what you did.”
“As you should be.” I’m glad Wendy has a friend like Leslie in her corner. “Hey, Wendy told me about some guy she ran into Friday night.”
Leslie’s eyebrows raise. “She did?”
“Yeah. She seems to think that if you ladies hadn’t been there with her, she might have done the same thing I did. I completely disagreed. Am I right on that?”
“You’re correct. She didn’t act like she was into him at all. She didn’t flirt with him or really even talk to him. He talked to the rest of us. In fact, she was distressed that she didn’t hate him on sight.”
I nod. “Can you talk to her about it? Make sure she knows it’s nothing like what I did?”
She nods. “I will. Now, back to your family, if you need me to get the girls away from the house while your dad is still around by taking them out to eat or to a movie or whatever, I’m more than willing. I’m sure Wendy would be, too. Did you tell her what’s going on?”
“Yes. She also said she’ll help support all of us however she can.” Although I don’t want Wendy involved in my family’s mess, either. I want her as far away from my dad’s reach as possible.
“Of course she did.” Leslie purses her lips as she thinks about something, and I give her time to process it. She finally says, “Ash said your dad will be out of town again next weekend, right?”
“Yeah. Not this coming weekend, but the next.”
“Why don’t Wendy and I take your sisters somewhere for the weekend, so you and Ash and your mom can strategize and do whatever else you need to do to prepare for what’s coming, without having to worry about the girls?”
Ash certainly found himself a winner in the woman across the desk from me. “Would you really do that?”
“Yes. Granted, I’m not sure Wendy is free then, but if she is, I have no doubt she’ll be on board.”
“Okay, let me talk to Ash about it, and you check with Wendy. And, of course, we’ll need to somehow figure out if the girls have plans already.”
“I’ll run down to the pay phone in the main lobby and call the house to see if I can catch one of them. None of your parents’ household staff would recognize my voice, so I shouldn’t get caught if one of them answers the phone.”
“Has anyone ever told you how brilliant you are?” I ask her.
“Not often enough,” she says with a smirk.
“Ash and I will pay for everything,” I say.
“You will not. Girls’ weekends are to be fully funded by girls … well, women. Your sisters won’t be paying for anything.”
I shake my head. “No, you’re doing this for our family. We’ll pay for it.”
“Don’t make me yell,” she threatens. “Because I will. And you won’t like what our co-workers will hear me say about you, because most of it will be vicious lies.”
