Make him love me again (Love: stand back and standby)

Chapter 10

After several attempts to get out of bed, they finally made it to her car. Driving on the highway, Susan knew it was time to tell him the real reason they had met. But something kept her from telling him the truth. Chad was quiet and to make conversation she asked: "Did you hear from your friends?"

"Yes."

"Everything alright?"

"Oh yeah, they had a blast yesterday. They sent me lots of videos."

"Really? Don't they know how many laws they broke? Maybe better if they didn't shout it from the rooftops?"

Chad shrugged. "Your boss is okay with you taking a day off?"

"My work is flexible. I may have to answer some phone calls while I drive and the rest I do tonight."

"Must be nice."

"And you?"

Her phone rang. With an apologetic look, she pushed the button on the steering wheel to take the call hands-free.

"Hi Erin here, is he gone?"

"We're in the car and you're on speakerphone."

"O, hi Chad, my name is Erin and I'm Susan's best friend."

A bit surprised, Chad answered: "Nice to meet you."

"Where are you two going?"

"I'm bringing Chad home, so..."

Not picking up the subtle hint, Erin continued: "That's a long drive. Don't you have a car, Chad?"

Before Chad could answer, Susan intervened. "He has a beautiful house in the woods."

"That's nice for him. Did you see what happened yesterday?"

Susan swallowed and glanced in Chad's direction. A frown on his forehead confirmed he knew Erin was another leftie. Nothing strange about that. She forced her gaze back on the road. "Of course. Chad didn't go there."

"What do you mean?"

Susan bit her lip. That was clumsy. Erin immediately understood what she had tried to hide. She didn't want to talk about why Chad had visited her, not with him sitting next to her. "Nothing. I think it's awful what has happened. However, there may be a silver lining in this mess."

"You converting Chad?"

Surprised, Chad looked at her. Susan tried to smile. She had to end her talk with Erin as soon as possible. "Erin, not funny. I'll call you when I'm back. Bye." She pushed the 'disconnect' button.

"What was she talking about?"

"Nothing. I mean, er, I might have told her this morning that you're not a Trump supporter anymore."

He grunted. "It's not something I'm proud of."

"Why not?"

He shrugged and looked out the side window.

Better to tell him her secret later when they were home, at his home, she corrected herself. Her mind shifted to his dog. "Who took care of Molly?"

"My neighbor."

"That's nice of him."

"They aren't all bad, you know."

"I didn't say that."

"You sounded surprised."

"Chad, please, let's not argue about little things."

"I'm tired. I think I'll close my eyes for a bit."