“Hot and sweet.”
“No problem.” She gestures to the seating area. “Grab us a table and I’ll be right over.”
I decide on a booth in the far corner and take a seat in one of the comfy chairs. It doesn’t take Jamille long to come over and she places a piping hot cup in front of me and a small paper bag.
She has a plastic cup in her hand with Cup of J written across it and when I see the small bubble in the brown drink, I know she isn’t drinking coffee. “Coke?” I ask.
“Of course.” She lowers her voice, her lips turning up into a grin. “I got to keep it in one of these cups for appearances of course.”
I shake my head at her.
“What’s up with you this morning? You seem a little tense.”
Do I still?I frown, pushing a hand through my hair. “Oh, sorry, Tanner’s teacher said something about taking paperwork to Tanner’s parents that kind of bothered me even though I know it was just a careless mistake.” All the files that I filled out while getting Tanner enrolled in school had my name as his guardian. I’d even had to take proof of my guardianship for them to put on file. I don’t expect for the administration at the school to remember every little detail, but…
Jamille cringes, her brown eyes holding understanding. “Sorry, babe.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t anything big, I’ll get over it. Tanner and Aiden are in the same class by the way.”
She lets out a groan, placing her cup on the table. “A part of me wanted them in the same class but I’m not prepared for the phone calls saying they got into trouble.”
I let out a laugh. “I’m sure they’ll act right.”
She rolls her eyes in disbelief. “So tell me, what’s going on with you and your neighbors.”
My hands start to fight at the question so I wrap them around the warm coffee cup. “Absolutely nothing.” Which isn’t true. Jamille raises a brow as if knowing I’m not telling her anything. It doesn’t take me long to crack. “Okay… I had a breakdown in the driveway and Chase came over, but nothing happened other than him telling me if I ever needed any help with the kids that I could let them know.” He’d left soon after that.
“I see.” She doesn’t push to find out about the break down and I find myself grateful for that. “And any word from Nathan?”
I shake my head, taking out the strawberry cake pop from my bag. “No. I’ve seen him at practice, which you already know, but other than hi and bye, we haven’t had much of an exchange.” Which I’m slightly thankful for, since something about the man throws me off my game.
“And Emmet?”
“Another no.”
Jamille sighs. “Girl, if I had as many men in my life as you, I wouldn’t be hiding away.”
“I’m not hiding away.”
She gives me a smile that lets me know she doesn’t believe me and reaches across the table to pet my hands. “If you say so.”
We continue to chat and I’m unsurprised at how delicious the cake pops and coffee are. I buy a couple before despite Jamille’s protest that they’re on the house. I leave and let Jamille get back to work.
As I walk back into the house, it feels weird for there to not be any kids running around. I frown and close the door behind me. I throw my purse onto the couch and sit down before realizing I have absolutely nothing to do for seven hours as I wait for Tanner to get out of school.
You could do those job applications you were thinking about…
I grab my laptop and try to do exactly that before realizing that none of the jobs I find are actually appealing.
They don’t have to be appealing, they just have to pay.
After nearly thirty minutes of no success, I sigh and close the laptop tossing it on the table. There’s no way I’m going to get applications done today, no matter how much I stare at the screen. I move around the house, trying to find something to do.
I miss the girl with paint on her jeans.
I stop by the door leading to the basement where all my art supplies are still packed away. Before I can think too hard on it, I pull the door open. I flip the switch on the wall and the lights come on, lighting up the path down the stairs. I leave the basement door open and move down the steps.
There’s nothing in the medium sized basement but a bunch of unpacked boxes. All the boxes are labeled and it doesn’t take me long to find the ones marked art.