Adult Responsibilities

Chapter 14

A week had passed since Andrew and Kate had gone on their first date, and there had been many dates since. The two had talked and texted every day, and they'd seen each other every day as well. Even if it was just a short meet up for coffee, Andrew made it a priority to see Kate every single day, even going so far as to bring her a salad outside of the hospital on a day where she worked another double shift just to catch a glimpse of her for ten minutes. Kate was floored at how amazing Andrew was, how sweet, kind and attentive, and she was falling for him... hard. The feeling was mutual, as Andrew had never felt like this before. He barely believed it was possible to meet someone and fall so head over heels for them so quickly, until it happened to him. Kate was the girl of his dreams, and he would have done anything to prove to her that he was worth her taking a chance.

The weekend of Trey's preseason game in Los Angeles was fast approaching, and on the Thursday before the Saturday game, Sally called Kate to chat about the visit. Kate's parents had encouraged her to try to be positive about the whole thing and to let Trey's parents handle the particulars. It was against Kate's nature to let go, so concerned about Lila and her feelings that she could barely breathe. But she told herself her parents were right and she silently willed herself to be polite and positive when Sally called to discuss the weekend.

"JD and I will pick Lila up Friday evening, and then we'll take her to meet up with Trey. Saturday we'll take her to the game, and then we'll see if he has time to spend with us Saturday evening. We'll bring her back to you Sunday, alright?" Sally asked breathlessly, and Kate could sense her nervousness over the phone. "OK, Sally, that sounds fine," Kate said tersely. "Would you like me to talk to Lila in advance to see if she has concerns or questions?" Kate asked, and Sally sighed. "Yes, if you think that's best, that's fine dear. I'll also talk to her both Friday and Saturday to make sure she's OK and we'll call you Saturday morning to chat or Facetime." Kate took a deep breath, trying her best to remain calm about the whole thing. "OK, that's good. I trust you," Kate said softly, and Sally paused before continuing.

"Kate, thank you so much for this," Trey's mom said. Kate shook her head a little, feeling sorry for Sally. She was a great person and Kate always ended up pitying her, knowing how mortified she and Trey's father were about his behavior. "JD wanted me to tell you that he plans to make sure Trey knows how difficult this is on you guys. He wanted me to be sure you understand that we don't just gloss over everything with him and make it seem like its fine," Sally said, and Kate silently groaned. "Sally, you guys don't have to do that. He's an adult, he makes his own decisions." The older woman sighed. "Kate, I just... I want you to know how much we appreciate how adult you are about all this. We love you like our own daughter, I hope you know that," she said kindly, and Kate's chest felt tight as she didn't know what to say. "I'll have Lila ready," she said, her voice short, and Sally thanked her softly before hanging up.

Later that night, Andrew had called to check in, and he was asking Kate about her weekend plans. She still felt awkward talking to him about everything going on in her life. He loved to hear about Lila, but when it came to her troubles with Trey, she didn't know exactly how he felt about it, but he'd asked so she figured it would be better to be honest.

"Can you hang out tomorrow night Kate, or are you busy with Miss Lila?" he asked sweetly, and she sighed a little. "Well, actually, I'm free this whole weekend, except for work. Lila is spending the weekend with her other grandparents," she said, and Andrew grinned. "That's great, sounds fun for her. And fun for me," he said, chuckling a little, and Kate smiled to herself a little. "Yeah, its good but... I'm a little stressed about it," she admitted, and Andrew furrowed his brows. "Why? I thought you liked the Hendricks's?" Andrew asked, recalling Kate had said they helped with Lila often, and Kate sighed. "Um, I do. But this weekend, they're taking her to watch Trey play football because the Bears play the Rams in the preseason. And then he's visiting with them." She paused, and she heard Andrew let out a deep breath on the other end of the line. "Oh... I see. I get why you're stressed," he said softly, and Kate paused, thinking it over.