Andrew
"How was school baby?" Poor girl looks exhausted.
She kicks her legs in her car seat. "Boring. I want food daddy! Chicken nuggets from McDonald's!"
I'd do anything for a face like that. She's such a fucking cutie. Only thing is, I have to check on my other baby girl. She needs to eat, and she's eating for two. "Let me call mommy, okay?"
The vacant rings begin to worry me, but I calm myself by coming up with other solutions. She's just taking a nap. Then I start to freak. Did she have anymore memories? Is she upset with me?
"What did she say?" I almost forgot about McDonald's. I'll just get something for all of us. Vee can eat when she's ready.
"We'll get some nuggets baby." Her eyes awaken with joy. Which creates the same feeling inside of me. I'll get her a happy meal, but the happiness soon fades when I think of Veronica. Please be okay.
<\3
French fries fall into the box, mixed and unmatched with her chicken nuggets. I allowed her to tear open that toy they give away to children. She handed the plastic over. No trash will be left behind. We walk to the hotel room. My bags are still in the truck. I figured we could all eat, then I'll unpack.
Stuffing the drinks into my forearms, the door clicks open. Food is placed down, I call out for Vee. "Babe?" The living area is nebulous. The lights are off in the bathroom. My heart begins to pounce. "Sweetheart?" She's not in any of the rooms. "Baby!"
I can't keep going through this with this woman. "Veronica!"
"What?" A giggle enters with her. I hear keys jingle when laid down. I sprint out to where Flower eats her meal.
"Where have you been?"
"Alllll my lieife alllll my lieieieife." She sings the song by Rihanna, but I don't think it's fucking funny.
"I'm being serious." I've lost my appetite. "Well there's some food if you're hungry."
She bashfully brushes her calves together. "I already ate. I'm sorry."
Grabbing the bag, I place it into the fridge. "When did you eat?"
"While you were gone, with Rob." Lifting from the opened door, the cool air and light are both trapped. The fuck is Rob?
I didn't realize I slammed the fridge door shut. Flower slowly chomps on her fries. "Who?"
Arms are tucked in behind her back. "This man I met on a walk. I bumped into him on accident. A sweet man that was hungry."
The only reason men are ever sweet is to get some pussy. "Why were you walking alone? Veronica, you are pregnant. What if something happened? Who is this Rob?"
"Calm down! Jeez I didn't know I was on the watch list." She has no idea. How naïve she is to believe the world is a blissful place, to take a brisk walk into the sunset. Well it's not. Is a bitter hell that never freezes over, even if you're chilled to the bones.
I'm a hair away from yelling, but I keep my bearings for Flower's sake. "Veronica, you're really getting on my last nerve."
She smacks her lips. "Why? Because I'm not your little puppets who wants to be controlled by you? I'm a grown woman Andrew."
"You're my wife!" The words protrude like fucking cake batter that spills over the cupcake sheet.
"Not anymore. We're just friends." She whips past me into the back bedroom. I follow her tightly.
"What has gotten into you?"
Tears are on the bridge of her ducts. "What? I'm not the same girl you married? I'm sorry I'm not some weak little girl who doesn't speak up for herself. You will not treat me like I'm your child!"
I slam the bedroom door shut. Silencing our words from our daughter. "You don't have to be my child Veronica. But don't fucking act like one! You're pregnant, walking around alone after your history! People aren't always nice."
"Rob was." Oh my god I'm going to lose it.
"He just wanted your pussy Veronica, come on get real! Most men are only after one thing!"
"Not him." She cuts me off. If she thinks snipping the fuse won't make me explode she's talking to the wrong one.
"You don't fucking know him! What if he drugged and raped you? Huh?" The thought of Aubrey doing that to me toys with my imagination. Sickening. "I wasn't there to protect you." My tone splinters through my teeth. "You want Rob? You fucking stay with him then. Since you're such a woman. Go!" Out of breath, I don't know why I said that. What if she actually leaves? I also don't know why she's laughing. "What's so damn funny?"
"I don't want a seventy-six year old man Andrew." I feel so stupid.
"What?" I know what she said, I just want her to validate it again.
"Rob is seventy six years old. I accidentally bumped into him. He was hungry. I took him to get lunch with me. Sorry I don't tell you my every move." The eye roll and attitude doesn't calm my mood. "It's hilarious because you don't trust me, but you're the one who cheated on me."
What? "No I didn't." If she think-.
"I saw you Andrew! You were fucking all those women! You didn't want me then, and you sure as hell don't want me now. What's up with all this friends bullshit?"
I've never seen Veronica so passionately heated. She yells until spit hangs out of her mouth. "You had no problem fucking me this morning! Telling me that you want me! What the fuck do you want Andrew?? You aren't being real clear!"
"I want you!" She doesn't get it! Everything we've gone through, she's forgotten! What's the point in being with me, when she remembers everything and will hate me. She'll hate me even more for sleeping with her after the fucking abuse she has endured!
"You have a shitty way of proving yourself." I've realized that pushing her on that bed and fucking her wont save our relationship. Sex is not the damn answer Andrew!
"What else do you want Veronica? I fucking want you! What? You want me to ask? Veronica, will you be my girlfriend? Shit, I'll even get down on my damn knee."
"No." She coolly rejects me, but can I blame her? "I don't want to be your damn girlfriend. One of your side hoes you scrape at the damn bottom. I want to be your wife!"
She's thinking like the old Veronica. This one doesn't get it. "We have to take it slow. Why do you want to rush into a relationship? Don't you see how toxic we are Vee?"
"I'm happy Andrew. Other than you not giving me what it seems we both want."
I feel like the asshole laying crumbs hoping she'll figure it out. "We're not getting married. Not when you wanted the fucking divorce. Let's start over. You want to be my girl again, or no?"
"I'll think about it."
Whatever. She'll never be happy. I'm going to sit with Flower as she eats her happy meal. While we're busy bickering over our own happiness, Flower's never crossed my mind. Is she happy?
Veronica
I've never been the type to drink coffee in the middle of the day, but everyone is different. "What do you want to order Rob?" We introduced ourselves on the walk here.
"A BLT with potato chips." He offers that happy go lucky smile that old timers only give up to the young blood. I wish Flower had grandparents. I've only just met Rob. I don't trust him enough to bring around my daughter.
"That sounds good! I'm leaning more towards grilled cheese and tomato soup with a pickle. The baby's orders."
He seems genuinely confused until, "Oh, you're expecting?" I nod happily while slurping on my ice cold water. "The father in the picture?"
I should have expected these questions. I just forgot how nosy people really are. "Yes. He's a wonderful man." Pulling up my phone, I show him a picture of Andrew and Flower. The one I snapped while they were coloring.
"Ah, one of those tattooed fellas?" He lifts his cup of coffee, not learning from his previous mistake of the coffee being too hot.
"Careful. Yeah, but he's amazing. Tattoos are art, that speak for people who don't really want to boast about themselves. Andrew is, perfect."
"The little one is real cute. I see she gets that from you dearie." Usually everyone finds Andrew stunningly handsome. Sometimes I do forget that beauty is subjective.
"She's a doll. Flower is her name. An angel of a child. A real sweetie and I don't know what I'd do without her."
I see the memories brush through his eyes. "Enjoy them while you can. They grow up fast and move out and away from you. Sometimes you won't hear from them for a year, or five."
My heart aches for him. I don't want him to be all alone. "Are you married?"
"Was. My wife passed away two years ago. Cancer." To hell with that bastard.
"I'm sorry about that." He raises a hand.
"I'm grateful for the fifty years we spent together." Fifty years? "Hold on to the ones you love. You never know when they'll decide to let go."
"Can I ask you something?" He's lived a lot longer than I have, surely he might have something to say.
"But of course."
I smile at his willingness. "That man from the photos."
"Tattoos?" I giggle.
"Yes, him. Well, we're having trouble in our relationship, but I still love him so much."
He cuts me off. "What does it feel like to be without him?"
"Well, I don't like it."
He rolls his tired blue eyes. "You can do better than that."
Mustering up my feelings, I'm about to express myself to a damn stranger. "It hurts, like hell. I feel like I'm the only one fighting for this title. Like I'm losing my nails from stretching to hold on. He says he loves me, but doesn't make a move to be with me."
"Is there something wrong with this man? You're a beautiful woman. You seem smart, I'm sure it has nothing to do with you."
"Then why does it feel that way?"
He shrugs his shoulder. "I don't know how these new generation males are. I do know that men don't throw around those three words. Sounds to me that he loves you, but he's scared of losing you. So he'd rather avoid you altogether."
That makes so much sense. "Wow, you're right."
"Of course I am! Look at me! I'm seventy six! I've seen more in my lifetime than you've probably seen in a decade." I've seen a lot too, maybe even things he hasn't, but I'm also not arguing with that one.
The waitress come by to respectfully interrupt us. We spit off our orders. "I'm glad I bumped into you Rob, literally." We share a laugh before he agrees.
"I do believe that people come into your life for a reason. And people go for a reason too. So if that man hasn't left yet, then he's fixing to stay dear." God do I hope so.
"Hey, would you like to do this again sometime?"
"But it's not over yet dear. Don't rush time. Embrace every second, because you'll never get it back. Let's see how the rest of the afternoon goes. Then we can make plans to do this again. By the way it looks so far, I'd love nothing more."
He feels like the grandfather I never had either. Rob is right. People do come into your life for a reason. Fait or destiny, or if you believe in god. Feels like he belongs. Like I've met him a time or two. Why do I have this feeling where I don't want him to leave either?
I don't know him well, but he feels like family. That's a feeling I can never forget, since Flower and Andrew were the first ones to show me what that feels like, for real.
Thank you for reading this chapter!