After Eleven: Liv & Callum

Un Happy Hour (Olivia)

A/N: Hello! This is the fist story that i'm writing me self but I do love to read stories sound the themes of betrayal, groveling, and redemptions. This story  contain a fairly predictable betrayal between the main characters, who are married. If that is not your cup of tea then I would recommend reading something more to your taste. Comments and suggests always appreciated!

There's something about stepping away from the kids during the day that makes me feel like I'm playing hooky. I'm checking my phone constantly and rushing to get home so that I don't run into anyone. I can practically see the flashing neon sign above me that says, "absentee mother".

In reality, the kids are with their aunt and I am meeting a friend for coffee, but that doesn't lessen the elicit feeling of driving in my car without a tinny little voice in the backseat asking me for a snack pouch.

I check my phone again when I arrive at the cafe that Jamie and I like. Andrea, my sister, has sent me 11 pictures of my three year old daughter, Annie, in her cousin's dinosaur costume from last year. Based on past behavior, I'm assuming that'll be coming home with Annie and it's all she'll wear for the next week. I find myself smiling at the idea of making her dino shaped nuggets to eat while she wears her new favorite outfit.

God, I love being a mom but I am also incredibly grateful for my sister, mother, and friends who allow me to take time away from that job. I send back a heart emoji and ask Andrea if she wants me to bring her a coffee when I pick up Annie.

The sun is intense when I get out of the car, and I'm glad that I snagged a spot in the shade. Pulling open the door, Jamie's head turns towards me at the sound of the bell above the door. She's managed to get our favorite table at this cafe; it's a bench seat under a bay window and it's like I'm finally in my dream beach cottage. I might not be close to living in my little cottage, but the cushy bench seat and a good friend is a lovely placeholder.

"Hi Liv!"

"Hello gorgeous. I'm going to grab my coffee and then I'll head back to our seats. Need anything?"

"No thanks, I got here a little early so I had a chance to order already. See you in a sec."

With that, I head to the front counter and choose from their new seasonal lattes. An iced blueberry latte seems like the perfect answer to a sunny day.

While I'm waiting in line, I send the cutest of the pictures of our Annie-saurus Rex to Callum. Surprisingly, I get an immediate read receipt and he gives a thumbs up to one of the pictures. He must have had his phone out already because usually I will have to ask him about a text when he comes home in the evening, since he's so bad about responding during the day.

To be fair, I know that his team has been working on a proposal for a company called CXE that would elevate the clientele at the firm where he and Jamie both work. Lately it's all he can focus on, but I know that these things come and go and it's the nature of being married to a man as intense and driven as Callum. All the same, I'll be glad when he's finished with this pitch and he has more time to spend with me and Annie. In the last few weeks he's only been home 10 or 20 minutes before she goes to bed and I know that she feels his absence as well.

"What did you end up trying?" Jamie knows that I can't resist the shiny new marketing for a new flavor.

"This time I went with a blueberry latte," I take a moment to grab a cautious sip, "and it is miles better than the cranberry flavor that they tried last month."

"Well for $6 I would certainly hope so."

"Hey! Not everyone developed a fancy palette while they were living abroad in college." I draw out 'abroad' and put on a fanciful accent to give her a little ribbing. When she first came back from her European semester she fell into every stereotype of the American who studied abroad. 7 years later and I still like to remind her occasionally.