Surprise

Part 9

My phone started ringing in my hand and it was Esther. I didn't want him to know who I was talking to, so, I excused myself and went upstairs to take it. "Hey, Esther."

"Hi. How are you?"

When Lizzie got a phone call and decided that she didn't need to answer where I could hear her, I looked at her like she had lost her mind, shrugged, and laid back down after pulling my sweats back on. My phone was still upstairs and I didn't have a thing to do, so I went back to sleep.

I whispered, even though I was upstairs. "I am good. Thank you for returning my call. Did you get the text?" I sat on the bed facing the door to keep a lookout. I was pretty sure he couldn't hear me. "I rented the roller rink and I sent you the address. What do you think?"

"Why are you whispering?"

"He's downstairs and I don't want him to hear."

"That makes sense. And I think that is a perfect idea. He loves skating. Ice skating, inline skating, roller skating, just don't get him a skateboard. He'll break something." Her laughter was magical.

I laughed along with her as quietly as I could. "We can get in at 11 am. I will have the food delivered at 11:30 and I will get him there around noon or 12:15. I am thinking minimal decorations and we have the place til 4. I might need your help to get the place set up though."

"Sure. I'd be glad to help. And yes, minimal is best. Seems like you have got everything under control."

"I think I do. I am excited and nervous. I am waiting to hear back from Marisa and Brad to see what help they can give me." I smiled at her approval.

"I am certain that both of them will be willing to do anything that you ask of them. There isn't anything that either of them would do for him. He's lucky that way." There was a smile in her voice. "Do you need anything else? You probably shouldn't leave him to his own devices for too long unless he's sleeping." She laughed again.

"You are probably right. We have pizza coming and he is not dressed. I love you and I will talk to you soon." She was laughing too hard to say goodbye. I slipped into some pajama pants of my own and began to head downstairs. I saw that he was asleep on the floor. I giggled to myself as the doorbell rang. I signed the slip. Tipped the driver and took the pizza. I took it to the kitchen and got plates out. I hoped the doorbell woke him up. I decided to go check.

I woke to the sound of the doorbell just in time to smell the pizza and was instantly reminded that I was hungry. I uncovered and followed Lizzie to the kitchen. While she got the plates, I opened the pizza box, took a slice, and sat down in my seat at the bar. "Perfect." I tried to say around a mouthful of pizza as I was nodding emphatically.

He was so incredibly adorable. I set a plate in front of him and got my own pizza. I grabbed a couple of bottles of water and sat next to him. "I love you."

"Wuv you too!" I was already on my second piece. I set it down to open the waters. "Tank you." I smiled and finished that piece and gave myself a bit of a breather before taking another.

I ate slowly for once. "Sleep well?"

"Yes. Did you?"

I hadn't slept since that morning, so I was unsure how to answer the question and I knew he'd wonder about my hesitation. "I always sleep better when you are home."

"That sounds like something I would say."

I smiled. "It's true though."

"I'm glad that it is. So, what did you do today while I slept?" I smiled at her for a second then looked at her with my head tilted down a bit as I finally took that third piece of pizza.

I was just starting my second piece. "I took care of some work issues. Nothing huge." I held his eyes and smiled. I took a bite of pizza and settled in.

I just smiled. "Did you have a good phone call? Everything okay? Family and friends okay?"

"As far as I know, yeah. Just lining up some things for the week."

"Oh, okay." I shrugged and went about eating the rest of my pizza and drinking my water. "I slept quite well, but I am still tired."

"Well, you had a busy few days and then got home very early in the morning. Got any plans for tomorrow?"

"Not really. Should I?"

"Just curious." I picked up my phone and texted Brad to see if he could keep Avi busy while I got some things done. I hoped he would respond soon.

I raised an eyebrow and looked at Lizzie. Since when did we use our phones when we were eating dinner or spending time together? "So it would be alright then if I just hung around the house and was lazy again tomorrow?"

I kept looking at my phone every few minutes to see if Brad responded. I was having a hard time focusing on just the two of us together. I had just put my phone down and I thought I missed something he said. "Hmmm?"

"Wow. That's a first. I was thinking to just hang out around the house and do nothing; maybe work on some music if it hits me. What about you?"

"Oh. I might have some errands to run, so you might have to be lazy on your own." I could feel his annoyance, but I needed to hear from Brad and I needed to get some things done without him. I put my phone on vibrate and slipped it into the pocket of my pajama pants and made a concentrated effort to be there with him. The rest of my pizza was totally forgotten.

"Might?" I just looked at her and smiled. If I had my way she'd never get anything done. "You finished eating? Want some tea?"

"Ummm, yeah. Tea would be great. Peppermint please." I about fell off my stool when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I excused myself to the bathroom.

I was honestly at a loss. I heard her phone vibrate in her pocket. Certainly, it wasn't something stupid because it was so obvious that she was up to something. I got up and put the kettle on for tea and pulled down two mugs and the sleepy time tea. Then I went up to get my phone. My notifications were a mess. I deleted them all and found a game to play.

I had a text from Brad that just said, 'I'm on it'. I smiled and replied with 'thank you'. I took care of business and headed back out to the living room.

My phone rang as I was pouring the water for the tea. I answered and laughed. "Okay, Brad. Sure."