Bear

Chapter 4

I left the Starbucks parking lot, and drove about half way home before I had to pull over. I couldn't see through the tears that had built up in my eyes. I leaned over and opened the glove box, taking out a few napkins. I wiped the tears from my face and took deep breaths. I just sat there for several minutes with my eyes closed as I thought about everything that just happened.

My phone started to ring, pulling me from my day dream. I opened my eyes and saw that it was Amy on the car's Bluetooth.

"Hey Amy." I tried to say with a level voice.

"What's wrong?" Well that didn't work.

"Happy tears, I promise." I said.

"I'm gonna need more than that." She said.

"Can we talk about it tomorrow at brunch?" I asked her hoping she would let it go until then.

"I need a little clue first, then I'll decide."

"I had a coffee date this morning..."

"Oh no...." She interrupted.

"No, it actually went really well." I said and couldn't help smiling.

"You told him about Izzy, right?"

"Yeah, and he was actually interested in hearing about her." I said as I bit my lip.

"How did you meet this guy?"

"Work. He is a physical therapist."

"What's his name?" She asked in a flirty voice.

"Let's talk tomorrow, please. I need to get home to Mom and Izzy." I said.

"Fine but I want every single detail!"

"As always. Why did you call?" I asked her.

"Just to chat. I'll let you go. See you in the morning, babe!" She said as she hung up.

I checked my makeup in the rear view mirror, and took one last breath before driving the rest of the way home. As soon as I unlocked the door, I heard Izzy's giggles.

I tried to tiptoe so my heels wouldn't give me away. I set my purse on the table by the door, and carefully walked to the kitchen door and peeked in. Izzy was standing on her step ladder, with her apron on, mixing a bunch of stuff in a bowl, making flour go everywhere. Mom was looking at a recipe on her iPad as she measured out ingredients, and put them into the bowl that Izzy was 'mixing'. I moved completely into the doorway, and caught Mom's eye. She just smiled at me, waiting for Izzy to notice I was home. Izzy was so focused on mixing, that her little tongue was popping out of the corner of her mouth.

"What are you making?" I asked.

Izzy's eyes shot up as soon as she heard me.

"Mommy!" She said throwing her arms in the air, sufficiently flinging flour across the kitchen with the whisk that was still in her little hand. I walked over to her and stood behind her. I kissed her head and helped her stir a little more effectively.

"What are you making?" I asked again.

"Tup takes." Izzy said jumping.

"What kind of tup takes?" I asked laughing.

"Pink."

"That's my favorite flavor." I said as I looked at Mom. She motioned to the iPad, and I saw that they were strawberry. I nodded in understanding.

"So..." Mom asked simply enough to not draw Izzy's attention away from the bowl.

I smiled so big my cheeks hurt. "It went very well."