A broken marriage.
A new job.
She works as a Personal Assistant on the ForNoah Youtube channel.
Noah is on the autistic spectrum and she fixes things for him.
He's a shipwright and creates beautiful works of art.
She's a woman starting over who meet...
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That Night
Theo's late.
I wipe the tear from my son's eye.
"It's gonna be alright," I say as his little brown eyes shift away from mine. "Your dad's coming up the drive soon." My daughter drops her hand on the back of his shoulders, and he stands a little straighter. The sun drops down from the sky slowly. Cool lake night air kicks up and blows his cape in the wind.
"Ok, Mommy," Ade answers nervously.
I slip Ade's backpack on to him with his school stuff. So, he has it for school tomorrow, and clutch the duffle bag with extra clothes. It should be enough for a full month if my Ex does the washing as he should.
An entire month... One in the summer, one in winter, and one in spring. Plus, every third weekend. I repeat the visitation agreement in my head again, and it still feels like walking the plank into shark-infested waters. It's not a big deal, really. But it's still a big deal to me.
Headlights come up the drive and play in the twilight. The light splashes over Little Man's tears, and his face lights up.
"Daddy!" he yells, running for his dad's vehicle. Before my ex-husband is completely out of the SUV, Ade slams into his chest.
"Simir," he waves with his one free hand at my daughter. He picks up Ade and walks him back up the drive to the porch. Sim waves back at her dad before picking up her backpack and meeting him halfway. He brings his head down for a kiss. She hesitates only a second and kisses him on the cheek as she passes him by and walks to the SUV.
My eyes connect with the blue eyes of the woman on the phone. She's pretty. The answering machine plays in my mind again, and I hear her lusty moans. Her soft pink mouth tightens when she looks back at me. Sim opens the back of the vehicle and gets in. The Ex puts down my Little Man, and Ade runs to the vehicle to join his sister. His backpack knocks against the vehicle door as he gets into the brand new SUV. Very nice family vehicle and I keep the bitter 'Where'd the money come from' look off my face.
It's been four months since the breakup and he looks good. His firm chin has a five o'clock shadow, and he styles his hair within an inch of its life. He looks as purposely perfect as ever.
"Tari, I just want to..." he trails off, and his words don't seem to match his eyes. Maybe it's the hundreds of things he could say, or maybe he just doesn't have the words. I don't know.
"Here," I shove the duffle bag into his hands. I turn to the door and with a heavy hand on my shoulder, he stops me. It's so familiar I can almost forget the past four months. Seven years of marriage kicks into me like a sour wine turning to rancid vinegar.
"Theo, you're two hours late. Please don't be late for the drop-off. It's at 3 p.m."
"Tari, can I—"
"Don't Theodore. Just don't."
When I open the door, his hand slides from my shoulder. I shut the door as calmly as I can, but I still hear him outside the thin barrier. The weight of my body slides down the wood. I listen for his footsteps to walk away. I hear it, Theo's heavy footfalls down the porch. The sound of his car door opening and then shutting. The noise of the engine to start. A whine of wheels.
In this unfamiliar house, on the cold floors.
I finally let it go.
All of it.
An ugly vomit of tears.
And let me drown.
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A/n
To go forward you must go forward. Published this a bit too early but I have bookclub this weekend anyways.
