Free The Truth About Love by Emma Nichols Page B

for the pump to take care of before I would allow myself to relax.  I had plenty of time.  We couldn’t go back to Lily’s until six in the evening, since there would be no one there to let us in.  The AT&T errand took slightly longer than anticipated, but I made good use of my time in there.   Once I purchased the charger, Kylie and I climbed back in the vehicle.  I plugged in the phone as soon as she was secure in her car seat and called Jules to let her know why I had been off the grid and give her the rundown on what had been happening while we were out of touch.
    “Listen,” Jules began, “I know that you didn’t ask, but I wanted you to know I sent you some money through PayPal.  Is there a way for you to get it?” 
    Tears filled my eyes.  “You didn’t have to do that, but thank you!”  
    “I know, but I wanted to help.”  Her words were like a hug.  
    “Right, because everything you’ve done so far hasn’t been enough,” I teased.
    “So how’d it go?”
    Catching her up only took a few minutes, then I told her the plans for the next day.   “ So, I have to know if I did a really bad thing…”
    When she spoke, she sounded excited, like...edge of her seat excited.   “ What’d you do?”
    With a sigh, I finally let it out.   “ So, I may have checked his email.”
    “Ohhhhh, and what’d you find?”
    “ Well, aside from the fact that he friended every girl he’s ever dated and some he’s only slept with the moment I left…”
    “What a jerk!”  She interrupted.
    “He also placed an ad on Craigslist.”  My voice grew quieter.
    “For a date?!”  She sounded shocked.
    “No.  He was trying to sell everything.  The ad title was ‘Everything Must Go.’  He was selling my stuff!”  Thinking about it still had me flustered.
    “So...what did you do?”
    I was biting on the inside of my cheek now.  This was the hardest part to admit.   “ I...deleted it.”
    “What?  How can you do that?”  She sounded confused.
    “Well, there’s an edit option on the email in his inbox.  And I chose to delete.”  I felt guilty.  “Am I wrong?  I just didn’t want him selling my things before the judge let me back in to get them!”
    My concern was met with chuckling, then all out laughter.   “ No. That. Is. Awesome.”
    Relieved, I felt able to change the subject.   “ Now I’m going to get the cord for Kylie’s pump.  It’s about forty-five minutes away.”  
    “You sound good.”  I could tell she was smiling through the phone.
    “Thank you.  I’m hanging in there.”  Mostly, I just wanted to get to a point where I didn’t feel like I was holding my breath all the time.
    “I’m almost afraid to ask, but has he contacted you?”
    This part hurt.  He hadn’t.  We had been apart for so long now, longer than we had been in years.  He hadn’t called, texted, or messaged.  By every indication, he had already decided to move on.  As much as I didn’t want to be bothered, I was.  It was as though all those years together meant nothing to him, like I meant nothing to him, as though he cared nothing for his daughter.  
    “Nope.”  
    “He will.  Then what will you do?”  She seemed so certain.  How could she think so?  Even I didn’t know the man I’d married anymore.
    Sighing, I responded honestly.  “I have no idea.  I really don’t.”
    After that, I didn’t have much to say.  All was well as long as I stayed busy.  At the moment, I was incredibly busy.  As long as I had purpose, other things to focus on, I wouldn’t feel my heart breaking into a million pieces.

Chapter Seven
     
     
    During the drive I had called Adult & Pediatric Specialists to make sure they had what I needed.  Sure enough, the woman I spoke to promised to have the cord ready and waiting for us.  With no one left to call, I had a moment to think.   All I could think was that he hadn’t called.  I checked the app, and discovered he was still home.