After filing his company for bankruptcy, Kyle's wife leaves him and his three-year-old son. Now a forty-two-year-old divorcee with no parenting skills or money, Kyle decides to move back to the small home town he grew up in.
He should have lost all...
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The first thing Kyle did when he got home was to message Chaska.
Message to: Chaska.
I hope you got home well.
SUN, 9:00 PM.
Message from: Chaska.
I did.
SUN, 9:01 PM.
The blunt reply had thrown him off a bit, and he wasn't sure how to carry the conversation after that, so he didn't. He put his phone away and rolled up into bed, wondering if he had done something wrong along the line.
Monday rolled around and Kyle had to drop Otis off at school. The child was holding on to his project—a macaroni art piece his Nana had helped him to put together.
"It's lovely," Gabbie said when she took the work from Otis. Otis gave her a big grin, looking from her to Kyle before he disappeared into the nursery to look for Chaska.
"You're not going in? You usually meet up with Chaska," the lady said after a while. Kyle blinked, realizing he had been standing without purpose.
"I'm not sure I'm going in today. Thanks for asking though," he said, smiling at Gabbie who smiled back at him. He was still nervous about seeing Chaska. After their conversation on Sunday—or more accurate, lack thereof, Kyle had been wondering if he had stepped on Chaska's toes. So, he was deciding to leave Chaska be today, or maybe for a few days.
The man buried his hands into the pockets of his faded jeans as he walked down the stairs. He didn't have a call to answer today or tomorrow even, so he was free until Wednesday.
It had only been a few seconds into him getting into his car and putting on his seatbelt when Kyle's phone started buzzing. The man's eyes moved to his phone. It was vibrating on the dashboard, but it soon stopped before it rang out with the sound that meant Kyle had gotten a text message.
Kyle grabbed his phone from the dashboard before unlocking the screen and checking his messages.
Message from: Chaska.
You didn't come inside today. Did something come up?
Monday, 9:30 AM.
Kyle stared down at the message, wondering what to reply to it, but he couldn't think of anything. His mind strayed a bit, and he wondered if Chaska would mind if he called him now. The man had tried to call him at first, right? With a little hesitation, he found Chaska's number in his contacts and pressed the call button, waiting patiently in the driver's seat of his car as the phone rang.
"Hello?" The voice from the other end made Kyle's face grow warm.
"Hey," Kyle muttered into the receiver, winding up the window before putting his cell on the phone stand. "I hope I'm not bothering you," he added as he started the car engine and drove into the main road.
