A few seconds later another message appeared.
now things were tense the last time I came over. I also realized the kids probably overheard more than they should have. I’d really like to come over and talk to them properly. 1
I stared at the screen quietly.
And annoyingly enough?
Part of me already knew this conversation was about to change everything again.
I stared at Dave’s message for a long time after reading it.
Too long.
The kind of long where your screen eventually dimmed from inactivity because your brain was too busy spiraling emotionally to function physically.
I leaned back slowly in my chair and closed my eyes.
God.
This man genuinely did not know how to arrive into my life quietly.
Every single interaction with Dave somehow felt like somebody reopening a wound and asking me to calmly discuss architecture inside it. 2
I picked my phone back up eventually and called him before I could overthink myself into another emotional crisis.
He answered almost immediately.
“Hi.”
Straight to the point.
No pretending.
No fake casualness.
And somehow that irritated me less than usual.
“What exactly do you mean,” I asked carefully, “when you say you want to talk to the kids?”
There was a brief pause on the other end.

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