The Rules of Dating(106)

I’d always thought Maya left because she was selfish, but maybe I’d been looking at it wrong. “Over the years, I’ve thought about what I might say when Saylor eventually asks about her mother. I could never come up with a response that wouldn’t hurt her. But I think I have one now.”

Maya wiped her tears. “What?”

“When she asks, I’ll explain that sometimes walking away isn’t a selfish act, but a selfless one, that her mother loved her enough to want a better life for her than she felt she could provide.”

“Thank you.” She sniffled. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

I nodded toward the door. “I should go relieve the sitter.”

“Could I…ask you for a big favor?”

I raised a brow with a smirk. “You mean another big favor?”

Maya laughed. “Yes, definitely.”

I stood and offered a hand to help her up. “What do you need?”

“Could I possibly take Saylor for ice cream tonight? Just the two of us?”

I might’ve found a way to accept what Maya had done, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to trust her that much…

When I didn’t immediately answer, she nodded. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but it wouldn’t take more than an hour. When I was a little girl, my mom worked two jobs. There were four of us kids, and we didn’t get to see her that much, but every Sunday afternoon, she took one of us out for ice cream alone. I can’t tell you how much I looked forward to those once-a-month dates with her. I always imagined I’d have children of my own someday, and I’d keep up the tradition of taking each of them for ice cream alone.”

Fuck, it was hard to say no when she explained it. “Where would you take her?”

“There’s that cute little ice cream shop right down the block. I pass it all the time. I think it’s called Coyle’s?”

Coyle’s was only five or six buildings down. She wouldn’t even have to cross a street… “And you won’t say anything to her about who you are?”

“Oh God, of course not. I wouldn’t do anything to confuse or hurt her.”

“You’ll be back in an hour?”

“I promise.”

Even though it freaked me out, I nodded. “Okay. But please be back in an hour.”

Maya wanted to wait a few minutes for the blotchiness on her face to fade, so I went into the apartment first. The sitter was gone by the time she came in, and when she appeared, Saylor ran to her.

“Hi, Maya! I’m learning how to line dance at school. You want to see?”

“I’d love to. I’ve never line danced myself.”

“I can teach you!”

For the next ten minutes, Saylor counted steps as she moved side to side, and back and forth. Maya followed along like a good student. Watching them was the first time I second-guessed myself about whether keeping Maya’s true identity from my daughter was the right thing to do. But then I remembered Maya hadn’t even asked to keep in touch with me after she left tomorrow. She wasn’t interested in keeping tabs on how Saylor was doing. Whether she had good reason or not, she didn’t plan on being in my daughter’s life.

When they were done dancing, Maya knelt down. “That was so much fun. But dancing really made me warm. You know what I think we should do to cool off?”

“What?”

“Go get ice cream after dinner.”

Saylor jumped up and down. “Can we, Dad? Can we go get ice cream with Maya?”

“I have some work to do, sweetheart. But how about if Maya takes you?”

“Okay!”

Forty-five minutes later, I was completely tense watching the two of them walk out the door hand in hand. I stepped out into the hall as they headed to the elevator. “It’s only going to take an hour, right?”

Maya turned and smiled. “Yes. We’ll be back in a little while.”

I waited until they disappeared from sight before going back into my apartment. I decided to take a hot shower, maybe put the showerhead setting on massage and see if I could get the knot in the back of my neck to loosen up.

It helped a little. But I’d been so preoccupied with letting Saylor go out with Maya that I forgot I’d never restocked the bathroom with towels after doing laundry. So I creaked open the door while I dripped all over the floor.

“Saylor? Are you here?”

No response.

“Maya?”

Silence.

Using the shirt I’d worn to work today, I at least covered my junk before darting to the laundry room. I grabbed a towel out of the dryer and wrapped it around my waist. But as I walked out of the room, I realized something looked different. It took me a minute to figure out what it was.

The top of the dryer is empty.

Maya’s big suitcase had been stashed there for weeks, since the first day she’d moved in. An ominous feeling came over me, but I reminded myself she was leaving in the morning. She’d probably come home earlier today and brought it into her room to start packing.

Yeah, that’s why it’s missing. Still, I ran to the guest room to check.

My heart stopped when I opened the door. All of Maya’s shit was gone. She’d had crap piled on top of the dresser for weeks, and now it was completely empty. But I was in denial, so I ran to the drawers and yanked every single one open, praying to God she’d just tidied up. But they were all empty, as were the nightstands and closet. And there was no sign of her suitcase either. Then I noticed something in the middle of the bed. It was a letter, typed and folded. I grabbed it, and my heart sank finding US Citizenship and Immigration Services at the top of the paper. The letter was dated last week.