Page 29 of Reluctant to Love
My phone beeps and I look down at the screen. Eleanor is calling. “Listen, just do whatever you need to do to get her to go away. I’m kind of dealing with something right now and I don’t want to have to think about Famke.”
“Okay.”
“But if it has anything to do with money, call me. No more emails, Larry.”
I hastily end our conversation, hoping to catch Eleanor’s call but I miss it. Immediately, I call her back and hope to hear good news.
“Sorry I missed you,” I tell her. “I was talking to my lawyer.”
“Everything okay?” She asks softly.
“It’s fine.” There’s no point in stirring up trouble by telling her about Famke. “How’s Izzy? Are you back home?”
“Yeah. We’re just getting settled in. How about stopping by for lunch?”
“Eleanor,” I growl. “I’m not just going to pop in for a quick bite to eat.”
“I don’t want to overwhelm her, Roderick.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose between my fingers and close my eyes. She’s right. “Of course, sweets. I’m sorry. I’ll head back to the hotel, check out and then come over.”
“Don’t forget the balloons,” she reminds me.
“Any particular kind?”
“Batman,” she says matter-of-factly.
I blink. Interesting choice. “Okay. See you soon.”
Everything seems to move in fast-forward. I return to the hotel, quickly gather up mine and Eleanor’s luggage, and check out before heading to the closest store that might sell Batman balloons.
The moment I pull up in front of Eleanor’s house, my nerves return with a renewed fury. A thousand questions race through my mind.
What if she doesn’t like me?
What if she hates the balloons?
What if Eleanor has changed her mind?
“Are you just going to stand out there or are you planning on coming inside?” The unfamiliar voice stirs me from my thoughts, and I blink rapidly. Eleanor’s mother is standing on the front porch, her hands on her hips and an expectant look on her face.
“You look pretty silly standing out here with all of those balloons,” she says.
I look up and down the street before finally taking a step forward. “I’m just a bit nervous,” I admit.
“Don’t be. Izzy will love you and Eleanor already does.”
My eyebrows pop up. “You’re sure?”
She shrugs. “The cards told me.”
The front door opens, and Eleanor stands there with an amused but annoyed expression. “Don’t listen to her,” she says. “The cards don’t know what they’re talking about.”
She reaches out and takes the balloons from me before disappearing inside. “Izzy bear, you have a visitor,” she calls out. “And he brought balloons.”
Izzy’s musical laughter fills the space and hits me right in the gut. Holy fuck. I’m going to meet my daughter.
“Gimme banoons mama,” she squeals.