“It’s great. It’s hard to find people who need a decorator around here, but when I do find them, it’s a fun gig. What do you do?” I asked.
“Hair stylist,” she said. “It’s also a fun gig, and everyone around here needs someone. I’m not used to this small-town thing yet.”
“Where are you from?” I asked. She didn’t sound like a northerner.
“Raleigh.” I nodded in understanding. “Garrett made me move here when we got married, and how could I tell him no?” she joked, throwing a feigned scowl in his direction. He reached down and kissed the top of her head, not missing a beat. It was a small gesture, but one that sent a pang through my heart. Bruce used to be the same way.
Ethan began kneading my shoulders behind me, and after seconds, the tension had left me. He had no way of knowing what ran through my head. I looked up at him, and just as before, he was gazing down on my face. I furrowed my eyebrows and he leaned forward and whispered in my ear. “We were friends for years. I know when something is bothering you.”
I bit my lower lip and leaned into his hands. I wasn’t betraying Bruce by allowing a friend to massage my shoulders.
I glanced toward Derrick briefly and made eye contact. He came rushing toward us and sprang onto the back of Garrett’s legs. “Tall man,” he shouted, pounding at Garrett.
Sylvia covered her mouth. “Isn’t he the most precious thing you’ve ever seen?” I laughed as Derrick laid it on thick with a smile to her. He knew when he was being fawned over, and he ate it right up.
“Mommy, can tall man and me go swimming?” he asked. I eyed the lake wearily before looking at Garrett.
“I think we should invite everyone swimming,” Garrett proposed. I glanced at Lance, who smiled wildly and lifted Lindsey in his arms.
“I agree,” Lance shouted, running toward the water. For all she struggled, Lindsey couldn’t break free of his bear hold as he dove them into the lake.
Sylvia laughed out loud at Lindsey as she resurfaces with a scowl permanently fixed on her face. If looks could kill, the one she gave Lance would have dropped him in a heartbeat. “I could use a dip,” she said, standing. Sylvia looked down at Derrick and her smile widened. “Want to race to the pond?” she asked him. He looked at me and I nodded.
Derrick’s gaze went up to Ethan before he spoke. “You too. You have to take off your shirt or it will get wet. Leave it with mommy/”
Ethan shook his head. “I burn if I take it off, kid,” he said. Ethan’s earlier words rang true when I realized that I was still able to read him like an open book just as he had read my discomfort. He wasn’t being entire truthful. His tanned complexion told me that much. I read discomfort in every crevice of his face.
“You’d better go chase Sylvia before she beats you,” I told Derrick, patting him on the behind and sending him off. He struggled to peel his shirt off as quickly as he could, tangling his arms in it. With my help, he raced toward the pond. “Be careful,” I shouted.
“I won’t take my eyes off of him, mama,” Sylvia shouted. I felt much more comfortable when she grabbed a pair of arm floaties before entering the water. Derrick was a good swimmer, but things sometimes went wrong in water, and I couldn’t be too careful.
I kept my eyes glued on Derrick for a few minutes before I was confident that he was safe. “Garrett wouldn’t let a fly harm that kid,” Ethan promised, sitting at my side.
“I know. I just have to make sure.”
“So how does it feel coming back around? Everyone missed you,” Ethan asked. I shrugged. It was nice being around people who had been close to me before my life with Bruce, but it also felt like two worlds were colliding. My world with Bruce was always so separate from my world with Ethan, and I kept them that way intentionally.
“It’s weird, but nice,” I admitted. “It’s been so long that I don’t feel like I have a place anymore. And I don’t know how to approach you. You’re different.”
I spared a glance at him before looking back at the water where Derrick sat on Garrett’s shoulders. “Different how?” he asked. He looked genuinely curious.
“Grown up, I guess. You aren’t as playful, and you never would have passed up an opportunity for some water fun,” I teased, poking him on the chest. “I can’t put my finger on it, but you’re more reserved.”
He nodded. “A lot has changed. You’re different too—grown up, I mean. We’re not the young partiers we used to be,” he claimed. “It’s nice having you back. It took a while to readjust to a life without you.”
He looked unsure with himself as he made the claim. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I couldn’t come back. It would have been too much with Bruce,” I told him.
“We were just friends.”
I shook my head. “I recall being a little more than that when I left.” He didn’t say anything. The last thing he said to me was that he promised he’d wait for me. I knew I couldn’t promise the same. I loved him, and I thought we could be together after I returned from New York, but then I met Bruce. “We both know that’s not true,” I said.
I wished I hadn’t let go of our friendship. “It’s not,” he agreed. “We don’t have to go back
