Clarise’s eyes widened. “Okay.”
The one chased the other down the hall and into Abigail’s room. Relieved, Monica turned to Matilda. “Keep an eye on them, please?”
“Of course, ma’am.” Matilda ensured the bedroom door remained open and casually waltzed in to do some chores while giggling filled the hallway.
That only left the man standing on the other side of the living room. “Would you like a drink?” Monica offered again.
“Just a water is fine, thank you.”
Monica poured him some ice water from a carafe in the corner of the room. He accepted it while sitting on one of the couches and slung one leg over the other while listening to the sounds of his daughter playing down the hall. “I didn’t expect this, that’s for sure.”
After cleaning some more things off the coffee table, she said, “It’s a nice change of pace between them.”
“Indeed, I have enjoyed the lack of phone calls from the school and parent-teacher conferences I never thought I’d have with a daughter.”
“You have two sons now, too, yes?”
“Yup. Damon Jr. and Evan.”
“Your family has been quite blessed.”
“There was some heartache along the way, to be sure. I’m sure you know about that. You seem to know everything that happens with everyone else.”
Monica didn’t respond. She didn’t have to.I know Alice had at least one miscarriage.Possibly more. The Monroes wanted a few kids and got started the moment they married, but there was a several-year gap between Clarise and Damon Jr.Score one for me for only wanting one.Monica wouldn’t be able to bear that sort of pain.
“Is Henry home?”
Was the silence that awkward for Damon? “No. He’s in Austin this week.”
“Your new club is opening soon, isn’t it?”
That was the real conversation he wanted to have. “Hopefully. They’re about to do the final renovations, and then it’s the interior decorator’s job to go in and make it inviting. We’ll be available to reserve for private parties and classes soon.”
His terrible grin almost made her smile back at him. “Always giving me a run for my money, aren’t you?”
Two bouts of raucous laughter echoed down the hallway. Matilda said something, scolding the girls, but Monica couldn’t understand what she said. “I enjoy a good challenge, Mr. Monroe. I believe we both offer symbiotic sanctuaries to our metro area.”
“That we do.”
He was not a powerful conversationalist if he wasn’t feeling it, and it was clear that Damon did not come here hoping to chat with Monica. Instead, they were trapped here, tolerating each other’s company while their daughters worked through their feud. One that neither of their parents could fully comprehend.Some girls are just like that, I guess.The child therapist had suggested that even the smallest slight could have set something off between Clarise and Abigail. And while all evidence pointedtoward Clarise being the aggressor – and the Monroes admitting that their daughter had long been in therapy for her worries – Monica struggled to see it as malicious. Mostly, her heart broke for Abigail, who didn’t understand why this girl didn’t like her.
For months, Monica worried that Clarise was picking up on the rivalry between her father and Abigail’s mother, but this went beyond that.
“At this rate, they’ll be going to each other’s birthday parties,” Damon muttered. “Do you have Abby’s parties here?”
Monica suppressed her amusement as she picked up her glass of water from the coffee table. “Most of the time. She’s mentioned wanting her next one at the planetarium.”
“Clarise loves the planetarium.”
“Does she?”
“So does her mother.”
“What about her father?”
Damon shrugged. “I usually fall asleep when the light show begins.”
Monica hated to admit it, but Henry fell asleep the last time they took Abigail.If only he were here.She would have dragged him out of his office to help entertain Damon while their daughters played. At this rate, they would be reduced to talking about politics, andthatnever ended well even if she and Damon agreed on almost everything.He did attend my fundraisers…
