Allie

"I don't know, Charity, I haven't heard from him."

It's been a few days since Lucas made his love-you-and-will-wait-for-you declaration. Then he drove off into the sunset to "break up" with Kat.

That was Saturday and it's been nearly a week. He calls at night to talk to Jadon and asks how I'm doing. I haven't otherwise seen him, but am aware his parents left a few days ago and I heard Kat's voice in the background during the phone call last night.

Guess they're still going mediocre. Or maybe strong, who am I to judge?

"I don't get it. From what you told me, he sounded serious and responsible and not at all what we thought he would be like. Now he's just gone?"

Lucas was working at an earlier time this week and I haven't even run into him. I'm guessing he is avoiding me. "I don't know, Charity. It's not really like him."

"Well, I won't say what I want to, because I don't want to come off with some sort of bias, but you should screw both of them and just do the rest of this on your own. Or find someone better. That reminds me, did you get your birthday present?"

I set my phone down on my bed and hold the box on my lap. "I have it."

Is it normal to talk to my best friend about my relationship with her brother? Yes. Does she support Ted and me together? Absolutely. Sort of. It just took a while once things actually happened.

Is she mad at Ted for reacting the way he did the other night and for not responding to me at all since? Totally. She's coming to town in a couple of days and promises to kick him in the shin on my behalf.

Ted's prior encounters with other women weren't ignored when he first asked me out. I knew he had a past. It doesn't bother me. It's normal to have multiple experiences with people in your life. I'm not one to hold that against him considering I am the one with a child in the relationship.

Charity loves her brother, as do I, I just wish he wasn't so distant because of this. I know he's uncomfortable with Lucas as competition. The thing is Lucas kind of made it into one just before he disappeared. At that moment when he said those things before he left, I thought that things could be different. I was going to consider seeing how things would be with Lucas because he was showing me a completely different side than I expected from him.

But both Lucas and Ted have turned into ghosts, it seems.

Charity has spent the last day and a half telling me to just go rogue and be on my own. Get away from both of them. She might be right.

I thought that maybe if Ted were the right guy, he wouldn't have been ignoring me this week. He would have stepped up and still tried to be part of this family the way he always has been.

If things were meant to be with Lucas, he wouldn't have disappeared after basically telling me he was turning his life around for me.

It's become a practiced art for me this week to not overreact to this stuff. I am trying to turn over a new leaf. Be an adult about adult relationships and all that.

But I kind of want to kick both guys myself. I've wanted Ted since I was a kid and we're together now. Things have been great. But the second Jadon's father came into the picture, he's been "mad" at me. How is that adult behavior? Also, where is it coming from?

At this point, I don't even want to tell him what happened with Lucas. Maybe that's selfish.

Lucas is... that's a different animal altogether. I was ready for that and then he just vanished.

"What is it?" I shake the box for the tenth time as though shaking will tell me what she got me for my birthday. If it were one of those magic balls, sure, or some sort of shaking device.

"Just open it. It's the answer to your problems."

There's a pen on my nightstand that I use to stab into the tape on the box and open the flaps. There's a black box on the inside with a red satin ribbon tied around it.

"Oh, this looks fancy what is—" I drop the whole box on the floor as soon as I see it. "You did not get me that."

Charity cackles through the speaker. "Sure did. I told you. Answer to your man problems."

"Charity! I have a child!" I have to whisper-yell so said child doesn't hear me and come in the room.

"You're not going to use it in front of him! You hide it well and high enough where he can't reach and then wait until he goes to bed."

No. Just no. I don't like it. "I can't believe you."

"Come on, you're so tense and uptight all the time and I say dump both the bastards and just do life right. Do you, boo."

I hastily pick up the box. I'm throwing that out. I'll have to wait until it's dark out so no one sees what I'm putting in the garbage though. Gosh, that would be embarrassing if Mrs. Van Klusky across the street saw it. She's the elderly neighbor that walks outside in her bathrobe with curlers in her hair while holding one of her eight cats. "Charity!"

"Hey, I also got you your annual massage and pedicure. Don't freak out. I am texting you the details so you can have you time. Then maybe tonight you'll have... you time." She lowers her voice into her most seductive tone for that last part.

The innuendo is disgusting. "You're deranged."

"You're uptight."

"You already said that."

"I'll say it again. You are uptight. A little battery-operated orgasm might do you more wonders than you realize."

I shove the box under my bed but then think about it. If Jadon comes in here for any reason, he might find it. The closet seems as good a place as any. "I've got to go. I'm dropping Jadon off at daycare and then will head to the city for my yearly birthday appointment you so kindly gift me with." As for the other gift, I'm getting her something worse in return.

Are chastity belts real? Maybe I'll get her one of those.

Once I have the thing covered by old chunky sweaters I keep on the top shelf– knowing I'll never wear them again– I hang up with Charity.

I can't believe she did that.

It doesn't make logical sense, but I'm patting down the sweaters in case of, I don't know, an earthquake or something. It would be mortifying if someone came in and found—

"Allie, I hope you don't mind," dad barges into my room and I jump so fast I knock down the sweaters. The box comes down but I slap it into the closet mid-fall before he sees it. "You okay?"

"Yes!" No. I am the opposite of okay. I am without words right now. Also, I can't breathe.

He frowns. "I was offering to take Jadon for you so you don't have to. Go get yourself some coffee or something before you head to your appointment."

"Oh," I try to appear cool as a freaking cucumber. "Okay, that would be nice."

He nods and looks down at the sweaters I knocked down with my impromptu closet shakedown. "You going to clean those up?"

"In a second." When you can't see that damn box.

"Right. Ted called. I guess he's planning to take you out tonight for dinner so I'll probably see if Lucas wants to come over and we'll have a boys' night."

Lucas? Here? After the hiatus? I doubt it. I'm not holding anything against him, but he's not been around so I wouldn't count on it. The only reason I know he's seen Jadon at all is because Jadon said his daddy came to visit him during "school."

But also, I'm wondering why Ted didn't just talk to me. Why he needed to call my dad to set a date with me. For my birthday.

What the hell is that about?

"Well, I'm going to grab him and get him in the car. I'll see you later."

Dad leaves with Jadon a few minutes later while I stand guard at the closet unmoving out of fear that the second I pick the damn thing up someone would walk in. Once I hear the front door shut and their voices are outside, I reach for the thing and put it back where I had it before.

The fact that I can't even say what it is says enough right there. I am not someone capable of using one of those if I can't say the v-word.

But I have an extra hour now, so I can definitely think about what I wear and get ready slower than I was planning. And forget about the thing.

It's July. It's usually hot right now.

So why are there storm clouds outside?

"Ugh," I will not let today be a bad day. It's going to be a fantastic birthday.

No man troubles. My child is safe and taken care of. I don't have to go to work.

Today is about me.

Dad gave me the same movie theater gift card he always does. I will trade it with another mom friend that doesn't like the gift cards her husband gets her on her birthday, and I'll get my toes painted.

I'm thinking red.

Yep, I won't let the past week get to me and I certainly won't let two guys ruin it for me.

It's disappointing. It's almost a love triangle, which I hear can be pretty interesting, but not. Neither "interested" guy is even around. I feel like the center point in the triangle floating off into space.

Nope. Not today, Satan. We're not having those kinds of thoughts. Get the massage and toes painted. Maybe grab a bottle of wine and attempt a bubble bath at the end of the night.

Enjoy a free dinner with a guy that loves me while he gives the world's best excuse for his absence.

Wear a smile, even if it's raining, because... shit, I forgot what the rest of that line is. Oh well, I understand the sentiment.

Be positive.

My phone rings while I'm getting ready and it's a text from Lucas-freaking-Kennedy telling me Happy Birthday.

Well.

That's more than I can say for Ted right now.