On cue, the doorbell rings and a happy Liz is waiting impatiently for her grandson.

“There he is!” She pulls him from my arms as I motion for her to come inside.

Liz is a very attractive women. I’d peg her for being in her early fifties with her youthful skin yet classic style. She is wearing a long, natural-colored overcoat and black leather gloves. Pulling the gloves off, she rubs her hands, then picks up Masen from his rocker.

“Okay, so the stroller’s over there and his bag has enough milk for the day, spare clothes, and a ton of diapers.”

“Thanks honey.” She smiles. “We are going to have fun today. Daddy is going to take you to the zoo.”

“Daddy?” I almost choke at her words.

She stops smiling and moves her attention back to me, looking slightly nervous. “Yes. Haden took the week off work because of the hectic wedding schedule.”

I have two options; I can be the devil and take Masen away from him, or I can ignore the way my heart just fell to the ground when Liz mentioned the wedding and act okay with it.

“I better get going,” I mumble, kissing Masen on the top of his head.

“Presley.” She stops me, clutching my arm.

I reluctantly turn to face her, struggling to keep my emotions steady.

“Let fate run its course. In the end, it will all work out.”

Fate? Fate hasn’t stopped screwing with me since the moment I told Jason we needed to end things. I can’t rely on fate. I can’t rely on anything. Call me a pessimist, a cynic, whatever the hell you want. If I wanted something to happen, I needed to do something about it. Right now, I just want to get out of here. I don’t want to think about the Jerk and his stupid wedding.

As soon as Liz is gone, I muster up every part of me to not shed one more tear. He has made his decision; I have made mine. Grabbing my purse, I head out, forcing myself to enjoy my child-free today.

“I’ll have the grilled salmon, baked potatoes with ranch dressing, and a salad on the side. You know what, throw in some nachos while you’re at it.”

I stare at my friend, amused. “Throw in some nachos while you’re at it? Please don’t tell me you’re pregnant, Vicky…”

She rolls her eyes at me while shoving a breadstick into her mouth. “No. You’d be proud of me. I haven’t touched Patrick whatsoever.”

“Wow. I am proud of you.”

“I’m happy to accept his lavish gifts while he pines so desperately for my kitty.”

“New wallet?”

“Yep.” Her mouth widens into a smile. “Chanel. Isn’t it a beauty?”

“Yes. But you realize he wants sex and you need sex?”

“Don’t worry about me. I bought this super duper vibrator with all the bells and whistles. I’ve gone through a whole pack of batteries in a week!”

Vicky spends the next ten minutes reciting the stats of the vibrator. She wasn’t kidding when she said it had all the bells and whistles. It has five-star reviews, and we have a good laugh reading what other women had to say about it.

“At the rate I’m going…I may need to buy one, too.”

I take a sip of water as the waiter places the nachos in front of us. My weakness, and today, I ignore my attempt to get back in shape; I eat like it’s my last meal on Earth. The gym can wait…again.

“I saw the Jerk yesterday. He came into the office in the morning to grab his laptop.”

“That’s nice,” I say without any emotion.

“Well, what I saw wasn’t nice. He looked like a wreck, Pres. I mean, a scruffy-looking hairy man who probably hasn’t seen a mirror or a razor in a while. He rivaled Bigfoot.”

“Maybe that’s the look he wants at his wedding.”

She sighs. “You’re not helping me here.”

“Helping you do what?”

“He looks like shit because he misses you, Presley. And he knows he is a jerk and said jerk-like things to you. I don’t know why he is marrying her if he loves you. It just doesn’t make sense.”

“He doesn’t love me. End of story. Now can we please talk about something else?”

I bite down on a corn chip, avoiding Vicky’s penetrating gaze. She knows me well enough to know this is a sore subject. She can tell, not only because I’m avoiding making eye contact, but also cause I do that nervous twirl of my hair around my finger thing and constantly tap my foot against the floor.

I swiftly change subjects. “So I’ve lined up a part time job at the Lantern House in L.A. I’ll be working four days a week. Three days in the office and one day from home. Luckily Gemma works from home as a graphic designer, so she jumped at the chance to take care of Masen till he’s old enough to go to daycare.”

“Sounds like you have it all planned out. Just like the old Presley,” Vicky says with her eyebrows raised.

Taken aback by her tone and comment, I place my fork down and wipe my mouth. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that nothing’s changed. Yes, you’ve had a baby, but you’ve turned back into Miss Plan-My-Whole-Life-Out Presley. It was fun being around you when you stopped giving a shit and just lived for the moment. The Jerk changed you in ways you haven’t bothered to notice.”

“Well, not giving a shit and living for the moment ends up with a broken heart. I’m sick of this. I just want to go live my life without all the drama.”

“What about me?” she pouts jokingly.

“What about you?”

“Will you miss my drama?”

I laugh and lean over to squeeze her perfectly manicured hand. “That’s the only thing I’ll miss. You and Kate with your constant man-drama. I’m going to have to take up watching soap operas just to get my fill.”

“I love you, Pres. Thank you for being my best friend. I don’t know what I’m going to do without you just around the corner.”

“Ditto.” I smile back. “Now stop moping, because you’re flying to visit me next weekend!”

“I’m excited! I’ve never been to L.A. and there’s so much I want to do.” She pulls out a piece of paper from her bag and places it in front of me. “So here is a list I made of things I want to do, time permitting.”

I hold my palm in front of her face. “Stop the presses. Vicky made a list?”

“Are you proud of me? Mama Presley taught me well.”

“So, you can teach an old dog new tricks?” I laugh.

We fall into a fit of laughter until the cute waiter returns with our lunch. Despite Vicky’s attempt to be organized, I’m not the least bit surprised when she follows the cute waiter back to the bar and asks him for his number.

I arrive back at the apartment and see that Liz hasn’t returned just yet. It is almost dark and I’m starting to worry about them. Not wanting to call Haden, I find Liz’s number in my cell and dial it immediately. It rings for a while before going to voicemail, only adding to my worry. I scroll through the contacts and land on Haden’s number. Just as I am about to hit the call button, a tap on the door startles me and I scramble to open it, glad to see Liz and Masen on the other side. I unbuckle Masen from his stroller and lift him into my arms. Bringing him up to my face, I smell his hair and my nerves are non-existent with my baby finally back in my arms.

“I’m sorry we’re late, sweetie. Haden just wanted some extra time with him.”

“He could have told me.”

“I know. He has a lot on his mind right now,” she defends him. “So listen, he asked me to give this to you.”

She hands me a piece of paper and I open it up to find a calendar for the next three months. My eyes divert to the boxes marked in red. In print it says “Eloise and Haden.”

“What’s this?” I ask, confused.

“Haden thought it was best to put together a schedule of when they could see Masen.”

“But…but…this is every other weekend…and it says New York?”

She puts the baby bag down and gracefully places her hand on mine. “Sweetie. It was bound to happen. If you’re moving to L.A. and Haden stays here, both of you will need to make the effort for Masen’s sake.”