Page 75 of Truth or More Truth
“But not always?” I tease as his wife tries to wipe the ketchup off his shirt but makes more of a mess of it.
Wendy rolls her eyes. “Definitely not always. But back to you and Bobby. If Kelli already knows about you, and you decidenotto date her dad, she might think she’s the reason why. So that’s not great for her, either.”
I groan. “Thanks for pointing out that no matter what I do, I’m going to hurt his kid.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Wendy protests and then tilts her head, “though you make a good point. Butmypoint is that while it’s great you’re thinking about her feelings, she’s going to have feelings no matter what you choose. And you can’t control or predict her feelings. Honestly, you can never control anyone’s feelings, but especially not a teenage girl’s. But you can control what you decide to do, and ultimately, you need to do what you think is best foryou. Is seeing where things could go with Bobby what’s best for you?”
I really want to try and see if it can work. It’s odd that even though Bobby and I are so different, he seems to get me—the real me that’s silly and fun, not the professional work version of me. Jeremy never truly understood me, so I hid that part of myself, which obviously wasn’t a great move. And I think I get Bobby, too, even though I’ve only known the full version of him for about fourteen hours. I also miss him more than I thought it was possible to miss anyone.
“You’re thinking hard over there.” Randall pops a fry into his mouth. He was smart enough to order his own fries today.
“I think it is what’s best for me.”
Wendy waves a fry in the air, flinging mustard onto Randall’s hair in the process. “Yessss! Go home and call him now.”
I chuckle at her enthusiasm. “Maybe I’ll finish lunch first.”
She flicks her hand at my plate. “You’re not eating it anyway. Get a doggie bag and take it home with you. And then call him!”
“Hello?”
I’m briefly startled to hear a girl’s voice come through the phone line, but it should’ve occurred to me that Kelli might answer the phone at Bobby’s house.
“Hi, is this Kelli?”
“Yeeees. Is this Melissa?” Her voice is full of glee and maybe a little mischief.
“It sure is. Is your dad there?”
“No, he went to go pick up my mom from the hospital. He said it would be a lot of sitting around and waiting, so I decided to stay here and sit around and watchCan’t Buy Me Lovewhile I wait.”
How did I forget Nanette was coming home today? I should’ve waited a few days to call, like Bobby had suggested.
“I’m so glad she’s coming home and that she’ll be OK.”
I’m not sure what else to say. I don’t feel right having a conversation with Bobby’s daughter before I talk to him. Does he want me to talk to her and get to know her yet? I don’t know how to navigate this.
“Thanks. Are you going to date my dad?”
Laughter bursts out of me at her question. “I love that you just came out and asked that, but I think maybe I need to tell him the answer to that question first.” It occurs to me that if I spend any more time talking to her now, she’ll guess my answer, and I truly do need to talk to Bobby first. “Could you ask him to call me when he has time? It doesn’t need to be today. I know you’ll all be busy getting your mom settled.”
“Oh, he’ll have time foryou,”she says meaningfully. I can hear the grin in her voice.
I stifle another laugh. “All right. Tell him I’ll be out for a few hours this evening but should be home by 8:30 my time.”
“I’ll let him know.”
“Thanks. It’s been nice talking to you, Kelli.”
“You, too. And I look forward to talking to you again … and again … and again.”
I allow myself to chuckle at her. “We’ll see. Bye, Kelli.”
“Hey, I hope it’s not too late to call,” Bobby’s voice comes through the line.
A smile blooms on my face as I lie in my bed staring at the ceiling. “Not at all. I’m a night owl.” I may be in bed, but I’ve been reading the latest Anne Rice vampire book for the last hour.
“Good to know.”
