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“So, how does it feel to be settled in a normal life again?”
I shrugged. “I miss the road. Honestly. I’d much rather be in a bar right now,” I muttered.
“Well get used to having beers with me,” she said. “Starting over is hard, it’s boring and frustrating. But once you get into the swing of things you’ll be okay. You’ll meet a woman, settle down and things will start to look up,” she promised.
“Yeah,” I sighed then glanced around. “So, where’s this marvelous dinner you toiled over for me?”
“It’s getting delivered, Chinese,” she said. I looked at her and she met my gaze, deadpan. We both burst into laughter and Kaden laughed at us.
“I should’ve known it was too good to be true!” I said.
“Look, you were lucky that I even remembered to order something,” she said.
“Yeah, yeah. Chinese is good,” I said. “So, what about you? You’re tellin’ me that I’ll meet someone and get settled…what about you?” I asked in a low voice. Amy took a deep breath then let out a long sigh. “Wow, should I get popcorn?” I asked.
“It’s…you know…the men in this city are hit or miss,” she said. “I was dating this guy for a little while, like on and off but it just wasn’t panning out.” Amy shrugged.
“Do I have to beat someone up? He’s an idiot,” I said. She waved her hand dismissively.
“He is an idiot, you don’t have to beat him up,” she said. The doorbell rang and she smirked. “That’s the food, be right back.” Amy handed me her beer and then darted towards the front of the house. I stood up and walked to the kitchen table to put the bottles down. Kaden yelled the dogs’ names and seemed to be trying to corral them like horses. They were running around him in a circle instead.
“What are you trying to do, K?” I asked. He spoke half baby gibberish and half English, to the effect of trying to get the dogs to stop. I chuckled and pulled out my phone. I heard Amy talking at the door and figured she’d be a while. Impulsively, I went to Facebook and the first post on my feed was a picture of my ex-wife. Melissa looked happy while holding her baby as she looked down at a birthday cake. The number one was the only decoration on the yellow cake. My chest constricted as I studied Melissa’s golden curls and tan skin, her green eyes and feline features. Her daughter looked just like her, gorgeous.
I couldn’t help myself, I scrolled to the comments on the photo and saw the caption, “Nia’s first! Next cake we’ll be cutting is at the wedding!”
“Wedding?” I said out loud, just as Amy walked into the room with two bags of Chinese.
“Wedding?” she echoed, sounding confused instead of dismayed. Amy peeked over my shoulder then huffed and grabbed my phone.
“Hey! How’d you do that?” I asked. I stood up and saw that she carried the two bags with one hand and my phone with the other.
“Josh, this is not healthy. Stop snooping on Melissa’s life,” she said angrily. I paused, surprised by the adamance in Amy’s voice.
“She’s marrying that…wad,” I said, glancing at Kaden who’d stopped chasing the dogs to listen to us.
“He’s the father of their daughter, what do you expect?” Amy said. She started to unpack the bags on the kitchen table. I turned around to pick Kaden up.
“He’s a homewrecker,” I muttered.
“Doesn’t change his paternity,” she said. I stifled my own sigh and sat down with Kaden on my lap. Amy didn’t have a high chair for him, she thought they were dangerous. Which, they weren’t, but to each mom their own. “I thought you let go of her—of them,” Amy said.
“I did.” I said. She and I both knew that I was lying. It was hard to let go, even two years after the fact. Melissa had been the love of my life. We were happy, we’d been trying to get pregnant. When trying got hard, that’s when the distance showed up and he stepped into the picture. Or she went searching for him. Either way, she cheated and I found out.
“Seriously, Josh. You should block her and stop yourself from checking in on her,” she said firmly. Amy left the table to get plates, knives and forks. “It’s not healthy,” she added. Kaden picked up a fork and reached for the container of sesame chicken. I smoothed his wild hair back and kissed his forehead before helping him get his food.
#
Wednesday came around all too fast. I only had classes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If I didn’t have the general class on my schedule, I’d have Fridays off. I skipped my usual office stop before heading to my first class when I spotted a couple of my students heading into the psychology building. Thankfully, the classroom was empty, I was almost an hour early for my developmental psych class.
I grabbed a desk I knew wouldn’t be used, set it up next to the podium and took a seat. I started going over the lecture I’d give for about ten minutes before she walked in. The girl from Monday, Naomi. She wore shorts that showed off long legs and a tank top. Her auburn hair was loose around her shoulders and she wore a backpack instead of the purse she had Monday. She was still frustratingly beautiful and distracting. She had a delicate beauty about her: flawless cream colored skin, gently sloping nose, pouted lips, and naturally red, arched brows.
She sat in the back again, even though there wasn’t assigned seating or anyone else in the room. She didn’t even notice I was in the front. When she sat down, she crossed her ankles and then rubbed her temple. I wondered what she had on her mind. She was the oldest student I had that semester and I admired anyone with the courage to start college over for a better career or prospects. Another student walked in, a blonde kid that looked like an athlete. I hadn’t learned his name yet.
He gave me a head nod, “Morning JJ,” he said.
“Good morning,” I said. He spotted Naomi and made a beeline to sit next to her. He even, not so subtly, pushed his seat closer to hers. Naomi glanced up at him, did a double take, then smiled. It was friendly, I didn’t know why I was watching her so closely or why I cared if she looked at him with a friendly smile or not. Students were off-limits. The guy started chatting with her, she seemed quiet at first, then they started to talk about a couple other classes that they had together. I could tell from the engagement in his eyes and the inflation of his chest that he liked her.
Again, I had to stop myself from analyzing them, her. I forced myself to pay attention to my phone and the lecture points I’d written down.
