Chapter44
The video call was scheduled this morning, but Sam was enjoying his chat with Tanya and didn’t want to answer it. He’d been upset seeing Ashley hug another child this morning, but his teacher reassured him that all parents loved their children the most. This made him feel better.
Seeing Sam didn’t answer, Ashley worried and called the teacher. The teacher was in the rest area. Laughing, she explained, “Sam is fine; he’s video chatting with his dad and a woman I don’t know… I’ll tell him you called.”
Ashley knew it was Tanya. Chase was probably having dinner with her.
“It’s okay, don’t disturb them.”
She texted Sam, asking about his day, if he had made friends, what he ate, and reminding him to take a nap. After ten minutes, she received a voice message.“Okay, Mom, I will.” That afternoon, Ashley found Sherry cheerful, sociable, and capable. Around 6 pm, as Ashley was about to leave, Sherry offered to treat her to dinner to thank her for her guidance. “It’s my job, Sherry.”
Before Sherry could say anything, Ashley’s phone rang- it was Lily, her mother–in–law. Ashley thought she’d seen wrong. Lily disliked her and rarely contacted her. She answered hesitantly, “Mom?”
him.”
“Jake’s been secretly racing. I’m not comfortable with that. I’ll send you the address; go get Lily hung up without further ado. One minute later, Ashley got an address- it was a suburban racetrack.
“Sorry, I have an emergency,” she told Sherry.
An hour later, Ashley arrived. The racetrack was large and crowded. She couldn’t reach Jake, so she searched for him. After twenty minutes, she found him. He was surprised.“Ashley? What are you doing here?”
