"So, how are you and Luke doing?"
"We're good"
"And my daughter?"
"She's good too" I replied. "Listen, Kylie, I'm sorry for everything. I promise that I never had any intention to do what I did. And I don't want to throw Luke under the bus right now but it wasn't all me, you know. I didn't do this out of spite for you"
"You expect me to believe that? Why else would you sleep with my husband?"
"You took Luke from me in high school out of spite so don't act like you're the innocent one here" I restrained myself from raising my voice. Kylie had text me yesterday asking to meet her.
"Luke, look" I passed him my phone, letting him read the text.
"Kylie text you?" I nodded as he looked back at the phone. "Are you gonna go?"
"What do you think?"
"You should go. See what she has to say"
"Ugh, I don't know"
"Hey, I'm here to return your daughter" We both turned to see Rocsi and Calum coming into the living room with Lola. They had taken her out for the day so she could spend time with her 'favourite' aunt and uncle.
"Look who text me" I said, showing Rocsi my phone.
"Shit, Mads. What are you gonna do?"
"I don't know. Luke thinks I should go"
"You should" We all turned to look at Luke who was sat with Lola. "What? She should go"
"Isn't that a recipe for disaster?" Calum asked.
"We'll have to find out I guess"
"I saw you and Luke took Lola to Disneyland" Kylie said. We'd decided to meet at a coffee shop so we had neutral ground.
"Yeah, she loved it"
"I'm glad. Um, thanks for taking her"
"It's nothing. I thought she deserved a break. She's had a pretty tough couple of months"
"That's partly your fault in case you have noticed"
"And in case you haven't noticed, you're the one who got the ball rolling"
"Don't you think I know that? I've lost my daughter and husband in less than a month"
"I'm sorry, Kylie, I am but you can't put all the blame on me and Luke here"
"I know, I know" She sighed, taking a sip of her coffee before carrying on. "What are you guys doing for Lola's birthday?"
"Luke said about going to his parents"
"As long as Lola's happy. She normally is when she sees Liz"
"Well, I think that's the plan"
"As much as I'm still annoyed at you for everything, thank you for taking care of my daughter"
"You're welcome"
"Has Luke said anything to you about you being Lola's uh mum?"
"We've talked about it"
"And?"
"I said I'm happy to fill the gap but only when Lola's ready. Luke doesn't want to pressure me either"
"Understandable. Thanks for doing all of this. I've ended up dumping my daughter on you"
"Honestly, Kylie, it's fine. It's just taking some getting used to"
"I can't believe you agreed to coming here today. I thought you'd ignore my text"
"We may not be on the best terms right now but we have been friends since high school" I told her. "But I did debate whether to say yes or not"
"What made you decide to meet me then?"
"Luke"
"He thought this was a good idea?"
"I wouldn't go that far but he thought I should hear what you had to say. I agreed with him"
"I guess that's fair enough"
"So, how's things going with you and what's-his-name?"
"Chris and I are doing well. He's really sweet and he doesn't work shitty hours like Luke did so he's always there"
"What's his daughter like?"
"She's pretty cool. I guess it's the same for me and Jane as it is with you and Lola. I've developed a soft spot for that girl"
"How old is she?"
"Six and a half"
"Does she have a better idea of what's happening then or?
"I'm not sure, I think she's a bit confused still but who wouldn't be. Does Lola understand what's happened?"
"I think so. Well, in basic terms anyway"
"Lola always said you were her favourite aunt. She's probably happier with you than she ever was with me"
"I doubt it, Kylie. After all, you are still her mother. She just felt a bit neglected after you ditching her at Luke's parents and Luke working non stop all the time"
"At least she has some more stability now then" I nodded and took the last sip of my drink. "I should get going, it's nearly time to pick Jane up from school" I nodded.
"Um, well it was good to see you" I said and she nodded.
"Yeah, thanks for coming. I'll probably see you at some point?"
"Yeah, probably"
"OK, bye"
"Bye" I said as we parted ways out of the coffee shop. Well that was awkward.
