“There isn’t much to tell. My father was never in the picture, so it was just us, and that woman is a whirlwind. I think she spent so much time living for me as a single mother that now she’s busy living for her. We aren’t as close as we used to be, but she fits me in when she has time.” I’m not bitter about it and love that she’s finally enjoying the life she deserves.
“Was she a fun mom?”
“I think unconventional is more like it. School wasn’t always mandatory but traveling was. Dress codes were the devil and wearing the loudest thing possible was more acceptable. Why take civics class when you can go out and protest? The type-A part of me bucked that type of upbringing, but I can appreciate it now.”
“Was it hard growing up without a dad?”
“It’s all I ever knew, so to me, it just was. Of course, I was desperate to have one so I could be like other kids, but my grandpa was always there, being my dad when my mom couldn’t be. I’ve recently wondered if that’s why I clung so tightly to my marriage for as long as I did. It died years before either one of us realized it. Now that I’ve gotten some distance, I realize it was more my fear of failing that kept us together more than anything.”
He chooses not to opine, and for that, I’m grateful. The cold water on my toes, the sun on my cheeks, and the warmth of his skin beside me are too perfect to follow that line of conversation.
Slade
“At least the guys are a little livelier now, huh?” I ask as Blakely and I try to figure out where we want to set our stuff for movie night under the stars.
Sounds luxurious. It is not.
A portable screen has been set up at the bottom end of an amphitheater. There are grass sections about ten feet wide that are then portioned off by a curved concrete step about a foot high before another section of grass. All in all, there are ten different levels of grass seating for us to spread out on.
There is also a concession stand, complete with cocktails, set up to the side.
We make our way up the levels, my eyes already scoping out the highest one . . . and for good reason.
Testosterone Ted lifts a beer bottle in greeting as we pass him, and Gemma waves animatedly at me. Harley Hal shouts from where he’s sitting in a lawn chair while Baseball Bobbie lifts his hand in a mock salute.
We definitely bonded over the shots we took and the gripes we made about Horrible Heather. Gripes none of them would ever have voiced in front of their wives or girlfriends, but after a little alcohol, were totally fine expressing in front of me.
“I’m beginning to think us women need to break into the bar too.” She laughs. “Maybe then we’d all relax and bond some instead of always being on edge.”
I tug on her hand and pull her closer so I can kiss her right in the middle of everyone getting their stuff situated. This time, it isn’t for show. It’s because I want to.
Hell, I wanted to on the dock but told myself not to. She’s going to start thinking the only reason I asked to tag along is to have sex with her, and while I’m not going to lie and say that isn’t a bonus, it isn’t the real reason I came.
Sitting at home and waiting for Ivy to wake so that a decision could finally be made on whether I’d get to return to my residency was weighing too heavily on me. I needed a break.
She leans back when the kiss ends and the smile that lights up her eyes is worth everyone watching us right now. “What was that for?” she asks.
“For the dock.” It’s all I say before I grab her hand and lead her to the back of the makeshift movie theater.
It was for her silent comfort when I found out the latest on Ivy was more of the same. It was for her reminding me how lucky I am to have the parents I have and the upbringing I did, and for just sitting with me and watching the sunset with our fingers linked and no words spoken.
“You want all the way up here?” she asks as I lay out the blanket and then she tosses some pillows against the concrete wall for us to rest our backs against.
“Mm-hmm. It’s optimal viewing up here.”
She gives me a look that says she doesn’t buy it. And she shouldn’t because I don’t give a shit about watching the movie Horrible Bosses. I mean . . . the irony there is that Horrible Heather chose it.
Maybe she has a sense of humor after all.
It doesn’t really matter. I have other plans for us.
Like sneaking off to finish what we started earlier.
It takes a few minutes for everyone to get settled, and Blakely and I drape the huge Pendleton blanket over us. There’s a chill to the air tonight that makes her snuggle in closer against me, and I’ll take it.
Horrible Heather and her boyfriend, who I’ve nicknamed Dismal Dan since he refused to join us guys earlier today, stroll in right before the lights at the front of the amphitheater flicker to tell us the movie will be starting soon. Of course, it was perfectly planned for her to have center stage. Anyone who can’t see that is blind.
She gives her fake little finger wave to everyone, and then like a queen, she takes a seat in the middle. Perfect. She’s far away from us.
The lights dim completely, the movie begins to play, and people become settled.
“What happened today with her?” I ask quietly.
“Nothing that
