American Woman

Chapter 3

To say I had a hard time concentrating at work the next day was an understatement. Counting out money suddenly became like rocket science to me. When 4:00 finally came I was both relieved and anxious. Driving over there I tried to keep my focus on how fun it will be to see Zoe and kept my thoughts of Lenny out of it. At 4:55 I pull up in the parking lot. Lisa got the marital home so he is currently living in small studio apartment. I finally find their door and rang the bell.
"She's here!" I can hear Zoe yell from inside.
Two seconds later the door is ripped open and Zoe gives me a big hug. A few seconds later Lenny is jogging towards the door.
"She's fast. Like seriously fast! I see track in her future." he says while trying to catch his breath.
"No I don't want track. What's track?!" Zoe asks.
"It is like people racing each other." I giggle.
"Oh yeah I wanna do that! I'll beat everyone! I'm the fastest kid at my school. Aren't I dad?"
"I have no doubt you probably are babygirl."
"Jen come see my room! It's super cool!" Zoe says while dragging me down a hallway. As we rushed passed Lenny, he grabs my arm and whispers "daddy's room is pretty cool too. You can see that later if you want." Before I could even process what he said Zoe was guiding me towards her room. I could barely concentrate on all the toys and things she was showing me. I was trying to comprehend what he meant by what he said. Was he just trying to see how I would react or is he seriously interested in me?I hate the guessing game. I'm not the type to beat around the bush. If he is just playing games I would rather know it, be crushed, and move on than to be strung along. Before I knew it I heard the door bell ring. "Zoe, mommys here. Time to go baby." I hear Lenny call. "I will clean up for you sweetie. Let's get you to your mom." I tell Zoe. She runs towards the front door and I follow a few step behind. By the time I get there I see Lisa and Lenny talking lowly. From the look on both their faces I could tell it wasn't a pleasant conversation. As soon as she sees me she gives a small smile and cuts her eyes at Lenny. "Zoe tell daddy bye we got to get home and get packed and ready to leave tomorrow." Lisa says. "Where are y'all going?" I asked. "Disneyworld!" Zoe screams. Lisa laughs and agrees "yeah there and probably SeaWorld, hang out at the beach. Just get away for awhile." She cuts her eyes at Lenny again as she says that last part. "Be safe and have fun. Call me when you can. I love you baby." Lenny says to Zoe while wrapping her in a tight hug and giving her a big loud smooch on the cheek. "Ewww daddy that was wet!" she yells. That seemed to break the tension that was obviously in the air. "Good to see you Jensen. Tell your mom I said hi. We gotta go." Lisa says while taking Zoe's hand and walking out the door. "Bye! Have fun!" I reply. As soon as the door clicks shut I begin walking back to Zoe's room to clean up the mess we made. A few seconds later Lenny walks in and begins helping me. "I can get it. I'm sorry we made such a mess." I laugh while shoving toys back in the toy box.
"Don't worry about it. I'm used to it. And I normally have to do all the cleaning up myself."
"Well glad I could help this time. There! I think it's all back where it was. I better get going."
"What's your hurry?"
"No hurry. I just figured since Zoe was gone you may have things you need to do or somewhere you need to go."
"Well I don't. Not tonight anyway. Why don't you let me give you a proper thank you for hanging with Zoe today. I'm sure you had much better things to be doing on
a Friday night than hanging out with a 5 year old."
"Sadly not really. Plus I love Zoe. I would do anything to make her happy."
"How is that possible? No date? No girls night? Nothing?"
"Maybe a really intense game of pool with my dad. I can't even remember the last time I had a date. And most of my friends went off to college this year so I don't have a lot of options for Friday nights anymore."
"Well could I interest you in dinner tonight?"
"That depends! Who is cooking it?"
"Not me if that's what you are worried about!"
"That's exactly what I was worried about. I can remember an endless amounts of burned grilled cheese sandwiches and undercooked hamburgers while in your care."
"Haha! Well I can guarantee you I can cook both of those things to perfection now. I am also quite the expert with the microwave. But not tonight! I will splurge for you baby. How about take-out?"
"What a big spender you are! What are we talking about...pizza?"
"If that's what your little heart desires. I could even do Chinese."
"Oh fancy pants rock star!"
"Just shut up and hand me the phone!"