The Little Decisions Series (Jai Courtney)

Can You Not?

"Honey, you can put the phone down." Jai whispered in her ear, his hand guiding her toward their table in the semi-deserted restaurant.

"What if the babysitter needs us?" She couldn't believe Jai was being so casual about Denzi staying with a stranger.

Ariel, the barely twenty-something, babysitter that the agency had sent over was probably more than capable of handling Denzi, yet she couldn't help but feel a slight sense of panic. Silly, she was being silly. Jai had told her that the last twelve times she had checked her phone.

"They will be fine, we've used these agencies before, they're reputable and Ariel seems lovely. She came highly recommended, Denzi isn't her first rodeo." Jai chuckled in a low manner.

"I know," She pouted sliding her phone back into her clutch purse. "Do you think she'd call, if something is wrong? Maybe we should check in, before we sit?"

"No. She will call, or she faces a law suit she can't get out of." Her face fell into a pointed, agitated glare. "I'm teasing, lighten up. You need to get out and do something."

"I've been doing things." She protested, halting when Jai stopped pushing her forward.

"I thought you could use a break." Jai smiled, pulling her chair out. "I know you love the joey, but I think the two of you needed some time apart."

"Thank you." Her voice was quiet, as she sat, a little taken back by his gesture to push her chair in. Such acts were reserved for formal events, when they were at risk of being scrutinized for their class. Not that she was complaining.

"How was your day?" Jai asked, taking the seat placed next to her at the small round table.

Diverting from anything Denzi was good. Leaving his son with a stranger was difficult, there was no sense in the two of them getting anxious. Besides, he had a plan in place for his assistant to pop in and randomly look for some papers. Everything would be fine. Her stress was, in an odd way, endearing. Jai loved that she cared so much for Denzi.

"It was a day." She shrugged. Denzi had given Jai all of the major details, while they were catching up earlier in the evening. "We did some shopping and went to a park. I talked with my mom for a bit this morning."

"Your mum? How is Cora?" Jai was taken back by the admission.

He had heard that Cora and her daughter were on speaking terms, a small victory, but he hadn't asked to what capacity.

Smoothing her hands over the top of her legs, she took note of how the material of her trousers felt under her finger tips. "She's good, I had to call her for some...uh, I needed to ask a favour. I didn't talk long."

Jai nodded, seeming to understand that she wasn't up for discussing, in details, the talk she'd had with her mother. She had every right to her privacy and if she felt Jai needed to know the details, she would have offered.

The nature of her call had been...sensitive? Sensitive seemed to be the best word to describe the conversation. It had made her happy to see Denzi so excited to talk with Cora, even if he hadn't stayed long. When she had logged on to make the call, her nerves had been on high alert. Her palms sweaty and her mouth dry, not typical characteristics of a conversation with her easy going mother.

"Hi, mom." She spoke, as Cora appeared on the screen. Checking the time, it was a little after 10:30AM, which meant it was shortly after 8PM in Boston.

"Cora!" Denzi shouted happily at the laptop screen. "Hi, Cora! Dess what! Dess! We're in A'traya!"

"You are? No way!" Cora replied laughing at the enthusiasm coming from the little boy on the other end of the conversation. "Are you having fun with your dad?"