Shut Up and Surprise Me

12. Jealousy

"Oh, hi, Charlie," Jess says as she waves at me. Chloe's favorite teen magazine sits on her lap, and her hand is holding the end of red and white ropes while my daughter is making a braid out of it.

"Hi, Mam," Chloe greets me without shifting her focus from the ropes.

"Hi, sweetie." I walk to her and kiss her head briefly. "I didn't know Jess would be here. Where is Cassandra?" I ask, turning around to find the woman. She's usually still in the kitchen around this time, cleaning up while waiting for the meal to be ready.

"Cassandra had something urgent to take care of, and Ashton couldn't find anyone to stay with Chloe. So, I offered to help out until you're home."

"Oh. Why didn't anyone tell me about this?"

"Ashton said you were visiting a client. He was still in the middle of a meeting when Cas called, but I was basically free," she says, shrugging. "So, I thought, why not help you two out? I'm passing this area on my way home, anyway."

"Since you mentioned it, now I remember Ashton did text me to check if I was still at my client's office, and I was. I had no idea it was about Cassandra not being able to come today." I sigh. And why didn't Cassandra just call me instead? I get that she's been with Ashton way longer than she's with me, but I'm Chloe's mother. She should have tried to reach me first. "I'm so sorry for this," I say.

"Why? I enjoy talking with Chloe, and we've been doing some girl's stuff. And look!" She looks down at the ropes that are now almost fully braided. "We are making a new bandana for her rehearsal."

"Yes!" Chloe shouts when she finally makes a knot at the end of her bandana. She dangles it at me, grinning from ear to ear. "Look, Mama!"

"So neat."

"I was looking for my black ropes, but I couldn't find them. So, red it is." She tries it on her head as she walks to the mirror by the hall. Her school year-end performance is coming closer, and she takes the role of a wise man during Jesus' birth. "Now, my veil stays on my head. Good."

I smile at my daughter who is still examining her braided ropes in front of the mirror. "You can also wear hair pins to hold it in place," I say, turning around and heading to the kitchen. "Are you staying for dinner, Jess?"

"No. I mean, I would love to one day, but I promised my mom I would join her for supper a bit later," she replies from the living room. "Actually, since you're here, I better get going now."

"I'll walk you out," I say as I close the fridge door and follow her to the front door. Deep down, I'm glad she can't join us for dinner, not because I'm still holding a grudge for what happened between us. I'm just not sure what to feel when I see her with Chloe making a bandana together.

"I hope it's okay for me to step in, you know," Jess says as we walk side by side to her car. "I mean, Ashton couldn't leave the meeting, well, he could have postponed the meeting for Chloe, but I thought it was better if I offered my help. I'm not sure how you take this, though, after what happened–"

"We talked about it and agreed to put it behind us. It was a misunderstanding."

"I know." She digs her car keys out of her bag. "Maybe I'm just overanalyzing it, but you looked caught off guard when you saw me there. So, I thought maybe I was a bit too far."

"No. It's just...Cassandra or Ashton should've told me because I'm Chloe's mother. But" — I wave my hand in a dismissive gesture — "never mind. I guess it's just a phase of raising a kid together. I need to learn to trust Ashton a bit more when it comes to Chloe."

Jess chuckles. "Oh, that's understandable. I would react the same way if I were you," she says, unlocking her driver's seat. "I will make sure you're notified if I happen to help babysit Chloe again."