Chapter 7
Getting back to hard labor right at 6:00 the next morning... ugh, it sucked. I was super tired. Gee, wonder why? It's not like I got home at like 2:00 in the morning or anything. Not in Blake's mind; he didn't need to know shit. Instead, I blamed my tired state on sleeping on the floor. Which was also true. Getting home late only to sleep on the floor didn't help.
While I painted the porch boards, Blake stood the grass and painted the spindles. "Those beds are clean, I'm telling you. You don't need to sleep on the floor."
"How do you know they don't have bed-bugs?"
"They just don't. The beds are cleaned before each new tenant; I hire a guy to come in and he does a thorough job – and he checks for things like bed-bugs."
"Still gross."
"Yeah? Is it gross to stay at a five-star hotel?" he asked, nonchalantly. "Different people every day, same bed."
I didn't like how logical he was... because that was such a good point.
We had finished repairing all the porches by 12, so now we were just painting. For 'slacking' yesterday, and since we were close to done, I didn't take a long break today. Yeah, I'm an angel, I know. So, by the time we were finished at 6:00, I was sweating like a hog, hungry like anyone would be, and sore like a used hooker. Therefore, naturally, I was a little on edge.
"You hungry?" he asked, shoving all the paint cans together in a corner.
"Yeah, you could say that." All I had today was a sandwich. Another damn sandwich. At like 11:00
Finished, he turned to me. "Well, if you want, we can go to Louie's. Show you the town more. I'll pay so you don't have to worry," he shrugged.
My stomach flipped around. Was he asking me out? Was he just being nice? No, he was just being nice. Then again, who the hell just asks to take someone to dinner because they are nice? Was it some country thing? Because guess what, people in the city are not like that.
Trying to play it cool while stalling, I said, "Um, what is Louie's?"
I found out first-hand. Which meant yes, I accepted his offer. Sue me. I was hungry, broke, sick of sandwiches, and he offered to pay. His continuous nonchalant manner told me he was just being a nice guy, but it was hard to believe. Which made me insecure (even though I showered before hand and got 'dolled up'). Which is stupid; I didn't even want to be on a date if it happened to be one! Plus, it definitely was not a suitable place for a date.
Louie's was one of those casual small-town bar and grills. I've never been to a place so laid-back and where everyone was a regular. I looked over-dressed obviously for this... kind of place. Blake didn't shower, but he changed out of his sweaty shirt into a regular green tee. He looked just as casual as this place – yet, still looked amazing.
It was fairly busy, and everyone was chatting it up. Just walking in, I shook hands with maybe three people after they greeted Blake. Not a fan being thrown into social situations like that. I was nice, but noticeably stiff, even after sitting down and ordering our food.
The waitress set our drinks down and took her note pad out. "What can I get you, Blake?"
"I'll just have the mushroom and swiss burger."
The older woman smiled down to me. "And you?"
"I will have the grilled chicken salad with ranch. If it's okay, no tomatoes, light on the croutons (no more than four please) and can I have mozzarella cheese instead of cheddar?"
The waitress was swiftly writing this down. "Yeah, that's fine."
"Great, thank you."
When she left, I looked back to Blake. He was staring blankly at me with raised eyebrows, stunned. "Wow. I know I shouldn't be, but I'm surprised you're one of those people."
"I'm surprised nobody has come over to talk to you since we sat down."
His pretty blue eyes softened. "I'm sorry, you need to remember, that's how everyone is. Believe it or not, you'll get used to it."
"Doubt it," I chuckled. "Is this the only restaurant around?"
"It's the closest. Plus, I own half of it. There is a few more down the main road of coming into town, but that's it for at least 20 miles—"
"You own half?"
He took a sip of his beer and nodded, almost proudly. "Yeah. My buddy opened this a few years ago, but didn't have enough money, so we went in on it together. Unlike the gas station or marina, I don't generally work here or monitor it often."
"Is there anything else you have business in? And why so much?"
His stubbly cheeks rose with a nice smile. Like he was happy to hear me ask. "So, I moved here with my uncle. His name was Rick; he was highly respected and helped me get on my feet. He owned a good chuck of these establishments. He was smart, he knew the dynamics of living in a small town where convenience was desired. I always had an interest in it, so I started working for him and moved my way up. I love being able to provide services for people. It just feels good."
It was strange how automatically interested I was to know more. Know more about his life, this story, him in general. "Is your uncle still in town? Do you still work for him?"
He looked down to his beer. "He actually died about three years back from lung cancer. He never married or had kids. Living out here, I was all he had. He left everything to me."
Poor guy. That had to have been a lot thrown at him. "That's a shame."
He nodded back up to me and smiled. "He smoked Marlboro because no place had his preferred brand."
Uncle Rick sure was a compromising fellow. "Nope, I couldn't give Pall Malls up out of convenience. Not even for something else."
"Yeah, you're stubborn," Blake smirked.
"So, with all the business stuff he left for you, it's only you? The rest of your family doesn't help?"
"Well, they don't live here in Vermont. My parents actually live a few hours south east on the coast. Which is fine," he said, sipping at his beer and leaving it at that. "What about your family?"
"What about them?"
He smiled. "Is that a 'don't ask' kind of question too? I figured that one would be safe."
I sighed. Well... if I didn't talk, eating dinner would just be awkward. "There's not much to know. My dad and older sister live an hour south of here in Wilksberg. We grew up middle-class, comfortable, nice. My mom isn't really in the picture as much. She left dad when I was about 12 and doesn't bother with us." Which that also was fine. My mother was stuck-up and too good for us. I don't know why everyone always said we were so alike.
"That's hard. Not having a mother figure in your life."
I shrugged. "My dad remarried when I was 14. I call my step-mom my mom. Just out of habit though; we aren't close. She was and still is often away on business trips. So, dad took care of us girls."
He was listening, his eyes in mine. The whole time, in the back of my head, I was screaming 'fuck you are gorgeous' but I ignored it. It wasn't often I could focus on him without sweating my ass off from physical labor. So, his blue eyes, heart-shaped and scruffy face, was hard to ignore. However, I couldn't deny that it was nice to just talk too. I wasn't used to it. It made me a little uneasy, but it's not like I was revealing anything too deep.
Once we got our food, we continued to talk. Mostly about random stuff. He told me more about this area, then the subject switched to food, what we like, what is gross, and we told each other a few stories. You know, the shit you do on a date! God, I swear, that better not have been the case because if it was, I would so very wrongly enjoy that.
Even if I wanted to date, it was also very impossible. For multiple, and legal, reasons.
***
"Mom, I want a dog. Or lizard."
We just wrapped up a classy mac and cheese dinner when he sprung this on me. I've already had Garrett a few times while moving in here now. Sundays didn't get any easier. My chest was heavy because Garrett had to go home. Matt coming to get him made it twice as bad. Nothing but sadness and pain.
"How about... a fish?" I asked, scrubbing the pan in the sink.
"A fish ain't cool enough, mom."
"Hmm... well I would talk to your dad about that one." I'll make him be the bad guy. There is no way he would let Garrett get a dog. Matt was too busy to watch after it. As for me, it's not like I could afford one.
Garrett was looking out the window when he exclaimed, "Dad's here!"
It made my stomach hurt worse. I didn't care that I would see Matt for five minutes; it would be five minutes too long. I missed him and everything we had very deeply and seeing him made it fresh in my head.
"Alright, sweetie, get your stuff!" I said, walking towards him.
There was a knock on the door and Garrett eagerly opened the door. Matt smiled down to Garrett and gave him a big hug. Matt was tall and slender, with brown hair cut neatly around his ears. He just left work, wearing his usual black pants and button up shirt. Fittingly, he had the look of a young lawyer. You'd think he could somehow pull a few strings and get our divorce over with, but nope. It's a long process.
And it was about to get more complicated.
"Hey buddy, how was your weekend?"
"Good. We went to the beach, dad, it was so cool!"
Indeed we did. Drove a good while to a beach further south, even past the city, but it was completely worth it. Garrett and I had a blast. "We made the biggest sandcastle ever then Grave Digger smashed it; it was awesome."
"Sounds fun," Matt said with a smile.
"Oh, and can we get a dog?"
Matt pursed his lips. "Let's talk about that later, okay? Say bye to your mom," Matt said, nodding towards me – but not making eye-contact.
Garrett plowed into me with a big hug and I squeezed him tight. He laughed when I swung him back and forth. From my side-vision, I noticed Matt grabbed Garrett's things and took them out to the car. "Alright, I will see you soon, okay?" I said down to him after I stopping swinging him. "You be good and behave sweetie. I love you so very much!" Giving him a kiss, we headed outside, and he got in Matt's car. It was always hard watching him go.
After another goodbye, I shut the back car door. I turned and started walking back up to the house. Before I got to the porch, I heard Matt's voice. "Ruth."
My heart jumped. Turning around, Matt didn't get in his car. Instead, he shut the driver's door – probably so Garrett couldn't hear. Which meant we were about to talk. Lovely. Tucking his hands in his pockets, he finally caught my eyes with his brown ones, and walked up to me. My stomach hurt much worse.
"I need to talk to you. It's... really important." Matt said, looking down. "Our first court date is August 12th officially. But also, I can't help but rethink this whole 'primary' custody thing. I want full custody, Ruth," he said quietly.
So much was racing through my head, and so fast. My heart sank and immediately, tears sprung to my eyes. Because I knew just how hopeless it would be going against my lawyer husband in court. I would lose and it felt like I already have. Lost everything in just those words he said.
Biting hard on my bottom lip, my breath jumped. "So I would never see my boys?"
He looked up at me as if I insulted him. "Of course you would see him. Just when I would approve it. Ruth, it makes me uncomfortable, him here."
"Oh, you're uncomfortable? How about I hire a fucking stalker to watch you? Would that make you feel better?"
"Ruth, that's necessary."
"You... you...." I paused, taking a deep breath and putting my hands on my head. "You can't do this. I don't know how many times I need to say I'm sorry, I don't know what to do so you know, so you believe, I won't go back to any of that! And it's... in less than two months?!"
Matt controlled his anger well. Still speaking softly, he glared me down. "Lower your voice. That's just the first one about our divorce. Custody concerns won't be final until the divorce is finalized." He sighed. "I'm not taking the boys away for good, even if I win in court."
"But I wouldn't have them at all. Not on my terms or my time. I would only get to see them sometimes, when you'd let me! I—" Shaking, I crossed my arms, trying to contain it. I blinked my tears away. Now, I was just pissed. "Why do this? Just why?"
"Ruth, I'm sorry it had to go this way, it's really not my intent to hurt you. Besides, I feel I'm making the right call. Sid told me there is reason to believe that you are seeing someone."
My jaw literally dropped open. "What? What did he tell you?" Was rat-face confusing me with another person he stalked? Was he just spreading lies? Oh, I was so ready to fly off the fucking handle!
Matt half rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Well, he told me you went out to dinner with the guy living across the street."
"I had dinner – only! It wasn't a date. I work for him. Why the fuck would I still be wearing this?" I hissed, pointing at my ring. "Huh? I'm going to wear my ring and risk not having my kids in my life? Wait, is that why you want full custody? Because you think I'm seeing someone?!"
If I am still technically married, and I get with someone else, it will be used against me in court. Doesn't matter if separated or not. When it comes to custody, they take it seriously if you're screwing around with someone else while technically married. So, if I am caught dating someone else, that would make it even easier for Matt to win. And believe me, he had enough advantages.
He had everything I did wrong on record. Which alone could be enough. He also was a lawyer. All I had was my love for my kids and my dad. Even then though, I don't think he would mind seeing Matt win. He and Matt were always close. Dad even inspired Matt to become a lawyer just like him. My dad was only on my side for the sake of being able to see his grand-kids in my opinion. Dad said he wanted to help represent me because he still loved me and would put me first, but I didn't know for sure anymore. Regardless, even with my dad helping, it wasn't looking good for me.
"Ruth, I want full custody because I would be uncomfortable with our sons in your care and unsupervised. Not because you are seeing someone else. But I will use it against you to help me win."
"I'm not seeing, fucking, or dating anyone!" Forcing myself to speak more calmly, I continued. "You and Sid are trying to fuck me over. I'm not seeing anyone, and if so, show me the proof."
He pursed his lips and shook his head, turning and walking to the car. "Just informing you what I was told. Bye."
Biting my lip, I turned and swiftly headed inside. I was crying immediately, sinking down on the couch and sobbing. Sobbing right into my arm. I couldn't believe he would do this. I mean, he's letting me keep Garrett on the weekends. That was enough of a good sign that he was fine with only primary custody – or so I thought! Oh fuck, not seeing my boys, never seeing them without permission or supervision....
I understood what I did was bad. Very bad. But to wreck and tear apart this family when it doesn't have to be that way... so upsetting, infuriating, so heart-breaking. Why would Matt do this to me? Why can't he just take the time and see I've finally changed because I have! I fucking have!
We eventually were going to court to fight over them. And he could win. There was a fair chance, even a high chance, he would win. He had a lot of money (from being a lawyer and his rich family). And though my dad was similar to Matt in those ways, there was a difference. Matt he had resources and he had my past mistakes against me. I'm sure he even had everyone's support. And if I happened to start dating anyone (or if Sid kept making shit up) he would have that against me too.
This was not good.
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There might be a big problem later on.... ;) Anyway hope you guys liked this and are enjoying reading! Thank you for the feedback and the support!