Leo wasn’t in the mood for a cuddle and he wriggled and squirmed. Jess was about to put him down when he flung himself forward, arms outstretched. “Pa-Pa!”

Jess looked over his curly head, struggling to bring the couple who were walking toward her into focus. “Who’s that?”

“Pa-Pa.” It was Rick.

“And who’s the lady?”

“Non.”

Leo was kicking now, struggling to get down. Every bone in Jess’s body ached and her arms felt floppy so she let him slide off her lap and watched him run to Rick. Nick’s father scooped him up and swung him around and around. Once, she’d watched Nick do the same thing. Leo giggled and squealed like only happy children can.

Joy and relief swooped through Jess, momentarily dispersing her general malaise. Leo knew his grandparents! Despite Libby’s refusal to have anything to do with her son and Nick’s failure to stand up to her, he’d involved his parents in the life of their son. Jess blinked back tears as Rick adjusted Leo on his hip and Rosa kissed his chubby cheeks.

She raised her phone, capturing the moment of two doting grandparents making a fuss of their grandson—a boy Libby hadn’t been able to give them. She instantly emailed it to her ex-friend. Suck on that, sweetheart.

“Jess.” Rick now stood above her, but he didn’t extend his hand.

“Is this Leo’s?” Rosa picked up the brightly colored backpack.

Their aloofness chilled some of Jess’s euphoria. It was obvious their enthusiasm for her son didn’t extend to her, but she aimed for conversational, hoping to bring them around.

“Yes. I put his swim trunks in today. I thought perhaps Nick might take him swimming. Do you know what he’s got planned?”

“We’ll bring him back here at 6:00,” Rick said.

“I meant, as in the activities?”

Rick and Rosa exchanged a look. “We don’t know.”

“Like hell you don’t.”

Angry at the obvious lie and their lack of consideration for her, she stood wanting to neutralize the power imbalance. Her head spun and the ground tilted. She threw out an arm, trying to regain her balance, but red hot pain seared her, sucking the breath out of her lungs. She staggered forward.

“You’re drunk!” Rosa pushed her back onto the bench.

“No.” But the word was cotton wool in her mouth and unspoken sentences a jumbled mess in her head.

“Sort yourself out,” Rick said. “You’ve got four hours to sober up.”

They walked away. Jess lay down on the bench and closed her eyes.