Page 148 of Ruin The Friendship
“No, I mean like…” I rub my hands over my face. “I have to talk to her.”
I don’t know how to explain this to her, but hopefully she’ll understand.
“Oh, I see,” Mom says with a chuckle. “She went to rest for a while since Thea ate and is calm. Can it wait?”
I look up at the ceiling. I can’t wake Lydia up, not now. “Can we FaceTime instead, and I’ll talk to Thea? That will work.”
A moment later, the call switches to video.
My beautiful baby girl’s face fills my screen, and there’s an ache in my chest, this time from missing her. “Hi, my little ladybug. Are you having fun with your grandma?”
She, of course, doesn’t answer, but her blue eyes are wide. Thea is a near-identical copy of her mother, with the same eyes, nose, and chin. She’s absolutely beautiful. I couldn’t love her more if I tried. I talk to her for a few minutes about how much I love her and her mom, as her eyes droop shut, finally staying closed. Her mouth pops open into a little O-shape as she sleeps. I talk for another minute before saying, “Okay, I should get going.”
When my mom pans the camera back to her, her eyes are welling with tears. “You’re already a great dad.”
My own eyes sting. “Thanks. Tell Lydia I’ll call her when I am on my way home.”
“I will.”
We hang up, and I tip my head back. I wasn’t able to talk to Lydia, and maybe it will mess up my superstition ritual, but I got to talk to a piece of her, and that’s perfect.
We winthe game three to one, with me scoring two of the three goals. It was an incredible game, but I’m itching to get home. I do my cool-down exercises and shower quickly, heading back to my locker in record time.
“Heading out?” Trigg asks, his voice lilting.
“Yep. I don’t want to miss any more time at home than I have to.” I grab my phone and scan the screen to make sure I don’t have anything important from my mom or Lydia.
“Makes sense. How is Lydia doing?”
“Good. She’s an amazing mom already.”
“I do not doubt that for a second,” Trigg says. “Get home, we will see you in the morning. Tell Lydia I said hi.”
“Will do.” I turn to leave the locker room, waving to everyone as I do. As I walk through the tunnel, I click Lydia’s name on my phone screen, putting the phone to my ear.
“Hi. Good game.”
“Thanks, beautiful. How are you doing?”
“Sore but good. I finished feeding her a few minutes ago, and your mom is burping her now.”
“Need me to stop and grab anything on the way home? Did you eat dinner?”
“Your mom made me a BLT. I don’t need anything else besides you.”
I walk a little bit faster. “I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
“Okay, I love you.”
I can hear Thea begin crying in the background.
“I love you, too. I’ll be there soon.” We hang up, and I sprint to my car, climbing in and backing out of the spot immediately. Thankfully, most of the post-game traffic has cleared, so I make it home quickly.
When I open the apartment door, I hear the nowfamiliar sounds of Thea crying. My mom and Lydia are nowhere in sight, but I head down to the nursery, finding Lydia in the glider, rocking back and forth with Thea on her shoulder as she pats her back.
“Hi,” I say, drawing their attention to me.
Lydia glances up, and a soft smile appears on her face. “She’s cluster feeding.”
