Eva sat at the table with Suzie and Emmi after dinner. Donna left them alone to give them some space.
"What's wrong, Eva?" Suzie was quick to deduce that the conversation about to happen wasn't easy on Eva.
"You remember that your uncle came to see you recently?" Eva asked as she fidgeted nervously. The girls nodded. "Your uncle would like to get to know you better. He has kissed you while you were away."
"Is he going to take us away?" Suzie asked immediately.
"No." Eva smiled as she shook her head. "He isn't."
"Did you speak to the judge?" Suzie continued.
"I did. The judge was quite nice. He made sure that you stay with me. But he felt a little bad for your uncle. So…" Eva took a deep breath in. "As I've said, your uncle would like to get to know you a bit better. We agreed that he will get to spend some time with you once a week." Eva said carefully.
"Once a week?" Suzie repeated.
"Yes. He would like to see you on Saturday. I would really like it if you tried to give him a chance. I know that it will be very difficult. I understand. But try to get to know him first, okay?" She was trying to plead with them.
"What are we going to do on Saturday?" Emmi asked as she tilted her little head.
"I'm not sure. I hope that your uncle will come up with something fun. It's a surprise."
"Will we come back?"
"Yes. On Sunday morning. You're going for a sleepover too!" Eva faked the enthusiasm trying to hide her own nervousness.
The girls looked at each other. They were scared of leaving Eva's side.
"It'll be okay, you'll see." Eva said again.
"But if it isn't going to be?"
"Hmm…" Eva thought about all of the things that could go wrong. "What if I get you a phone with my phone number so that you can text me or call me if things don't go well? Is that a good plan?"
The girls nodded unsurely.
Eva did just that. She got the cheapest phone possible and put her phone number in the contacts.
Donna went through her own crisis on the wedding day of her ex-husband but settled later that week so Eva and the girls returned to the apartment on Friday.
Eva packed them two bags with clothes, pyjamas, their favourite plushies and snacks, and a few comfort items that they liked, and a phone in Suzie's bag.
She wrote a list of things the girls liked and which she found to be helpful on their bad days.
Callum knocked on the apartment door at almost ten o'clock. Eva opened the door and started to move her hands restlessly. She was nervous and worried.
"Morning." Callum said with a voice that was filled with disdain and dissatisfaction.
"Morning." Eva responded. "Girls are about ready to go. They went to brush their teeth and to get their jackets."
"That's good." Callum nodded. He picked a phone out of his pocket and looked at it. "I don't think we ever really introduced ourselves." He pointed out without looking at Eva.
"Not really, Mr Anderson."
"Callum or Cal." Callum has said still not looking up.
"Evelyn or Eva." Eva said as she looked everywhere aside of him. She leaned against the kitchen counter which was just by the entrance and crossed her arms, waiting for the girls to come out. "I wrote the list of what I thought might be helpful…" Eva started as she reached for the piece of paper, trying to pass it to Callum.
"I don't think it'll be necessary." Callum replied with confidence, folding the paper into an uneven rectangle and putting it in his pocket.
"Shall I pick them up in the morning?"
"No need. They'll be dropped off back here."
Eva nodded as she bit her lip.
Emmi and Suzie came out of the room, looking at Callum warily. Callum put his phone away and looked at them with a forced smile. It was quite obvious that he wasn't used to smiling at people.
"Hi Suzie and Emmi." He squatted to be closer to their level. "Are you all ready?"
They nodded but before coming to him, they both hugged Eva.
"I'll miss you." Suzie said quietly.
"I'll miss you, Evaaa." Emmi said loudly.
"I'll miss you both. But it won't be long. I'm sure your uncle will take good care of you." Eva lied. She didn't have a single ounce of hope for Callum. He didn't look like a type that ever took care of anyone beside himself.
As the girls left, Eva was left with a demeaning silence in the apartment. She felt so alone without them. She felt lost.
She wasn't sure what to do with herself. After a while she went to see Donna. She vented to her about how ridiculous it all was, and Donna had her cry that she still didn't understand why Michael chose their ex-friend over her. Eva didn't have an answer.
"Men, you know." Donna sighed as she drank Prosecco with the brunch.
"Something like that." Eva agreed. She abstained form drinking and she was checking her phone regularly to see if Suzie needed her.
Hours have passed and there was no message or call.