Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
I snort out a humorless laugh. “And you expect me to just drop everything and do that?”
“You have plenty of time,” he argues.
My gaze swings over to him for a brief second before I have to look back at the road. “Did you not hear me? I accepted a teaching position at the kids’ school.”
“That’s great,” he says. “You’ll get off work at three with them and by the time you arrive in Hartford, I’ll be close to getting off.”
“You’re crazy,” I argue. “That’s not happening, and you’re ridiculous to even ask that of me.”
“It’s my job that allows you to live comfortably while you pursue your hobbies,” he volleys, and if I weren’t driving, I would seriously consider punching him in the arm.
“It’s not a hobby. It’s a career, and since it’s my first year, I imagine I’ll have to spend time after school creating lessons and such.”
Richard scoffs. “You’re going to be showing kids how to paint and make clay animals. It’s a hobby. How much time do you need to type that up?”
I take in a deep breath, so I don’t murder the father of my children, and then I say, “I’m not driving them there and back. Get off work and come pick them up. That’s what we agreed on. You’re choosing to move.”
“I’ll raise your child support,” he offers. “How much is that school paying you? Thirty thousand? I’ll pay you that to stay home. You can paint in your studio all day.”
Jesus, he has no clue. I consider what I can say to make him understand that my teaching isn’t about the money. It’s about my passion for children and art. I’ve always wanted to show others how magical and fun creating art can be. But he’s not going to get it. He never has.
“The answer is no.”
We pull up to Ella’s gymnastics and I park then jump out to grab her. She’s talking my ear off the entire way back to the vehicle, and when she sees her dad is here as well, she squeals in excitement.
The drive to get Hunter is filled with Ella and Richard talking about her day, while I curse him to hell and back because I know as soon as Hunter gets in the car, Richard is going to hit them with this moving shit. And I’ll be the one left to pick up the pieces while he does whatever the hell he wants like always.
With my mind all over the place, I completely forget where I am. So when I pull up in the car line and Landon steps up to my window, I shriek in shock.
“Is that Landon?” Richard asks from next to me. Oh, boy… shit is about to get awkward. I hit the button to put down my window and Landon steps closer.
“Hey,” Landon says with a sweet smile. “I was wondering…” he begins. But when he glances into the car and sees Richard sitting next to me, he stops and addresses Richard. “Hey, Richie. Haven’t seen you in a while. How’s it going?” He reaches into the vehicle and shakes Richard’s hand while I bite hard on my bottom lip to stifle my laugh.
“It’s Richard now.” Richard looks from me to Landon. “You two talk?” he asks, not even bothering with fake pleasantries. He’s always been jealous of Landon, and even though I never once reached out to Landon over the years, he still had plenty to say about us.
“Hey, Mom!” Hunter yells, running over to the vehicle. “Bye, Coach Landon!” He gives Landon a fist bump.
“Don’t forget to practice your batting,” Landon says. “Work on what we talked about.”
“I will.” Hunter jumps into the vehicle, and the minute he sees his dad, like all little kids who forgive easily, he forgets he’s mad at him and says, “Hey, Dad… Umm… Coach Landon wants everyone to work on their batting. So, I was… umm… I was wondering if we can go to the batting cages?”
I hate how hard it is for Hunter to ask his dad anything. From years of being let down, he fears it happening every time, and sadly, he’s almost always let down. If only Richard would catch on and realize how badly he’s hurting his son…
“We’ll see,” Richard says. “Your mom and I need to talk to you.” I glance back in the rearview mirror and see the disappointment in Hunter’s features. Damn it, why couldn’t I be better at sports? Ella is so easy to relate to. All it takes is some makeup and a couple dolls and I can bond with her all day. But Hunter is obsessed with baseball, which is something I know nothing about.
Realizing I’m still sitting in line, with cars behind me, and with Landon still standing here with an unreadable expression on his face, I say, “I better get going. I’ll text you later.” And even though I can see in his features he wants to say or ask me something, he just nods once and walks away.