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“Have you become a couch potato?” I teased.
“Nothing like that. Hell, I work sixty plus hours every week.”
“That sounds terrible.”
“Nature of the beast, if you want to be the best.”
I wasn’t sure helping people dissolve their marriages was something you should aim to be number one at, but I didn’t mention it. “What about downtime? I would think you would need some in your line of work.”
“Yes, but Morgan has helped me to see it shouldn’t be filled with mindless activities.”
She was a monster. I shouldn’t have, but I rolled my eyes. And yep, he noticed.
“You don’t agree.”
“Not at all. In fact, I have it on authority from an athletic trainer I once dated that watching sports is actually good for you. It increases your heart rate, respiration, and skin blood flow—which I’m all about. And you tend to have more friends and higher self-esteem. Which, judging by our latest interactions, you probably don’t have an issue with your self-esteem, but I can’t speak on the other areas.” I smirked.
His eyes widened. “You aren’t afraid to speak your mind, are you?”
“Have I ever been?”
He thought for a moment, and a smile began to slowly form on his beautiful face. “Overall, I remember you as being sweet, but now that I think of it, you were awfully opinionated.”
“I think you meant to say right.” I nudged him with my elbow. “But I am still mostly sweet,” I threw in there.
“I’ll give you that one.”
My cheeks pinked. “Well, since you’ve given up on watching sports, I’ll tell you that last night there was the prettiest grand slam you’ll ever see.”
“Really?” He sounded depressed.
“Honestly, the ball seemed to sail for days, and the way the players ran around the bases was like a well-choreographed dance. It was beautiful. Maybe you could sneak in a clip.”
“Maybe,” he whispered like he was afraid his momma would catch him and scold him.
Yep, Morgan had gotten to him again. Why, oh why, did he love that woman? Maybe he really did only love her for her mind. Though, let’s be real, she had a rocking body. Perhaps I should have gone to college and enhanced my chest. No. That wasn’t me. I wanted someone who loved me for who I am.
We came to the intersection and waited in silence for the crosswalk signal to give us the go-ahead. The park was in view. There was hardly a soul there. Only a couple of people walking around the lake. Most people were in church. Normally, I would have been too, but I felt like God would forgive me since I was doing a good deed. I would read the Bible to Tom before we started in on Twilight. Jesus, then vampires.
An uncomfortable tension hung in the air. After what seemed like fifteen minutes, the signal changed, and I hustled across the street, hoping to outrun the yucky feeling. Once on the other side, I took a deep breath and let it out. I reminded myself that I was only catching up with an old friend and to quit thinking in terms of what might have been.
“So, do you like your job?” I asked as we headed to the path that led around the lake. What a happy place it was with tulips galore and ducks swimming about. The sunshine felt good on my skin—I only hoped I didn’t burn too badly in the midmorning light.
“I’m not sure like is the right word, but I get a lot of satisfaction from it,” he answered matter-of-factly.
“From helping people get divorced?”
“I help people make course corrections.” He defended himself.
“That’s putting quite the spin on it.”
His eyes narrowed. “I’m not spinning anything. Marriage is one of the most destructive forces on earth.”
I stopped in my tracks and slapped my hand against my chest. “Whoa. That’s some strong language.”
“It’s true. Marriage destroys more lives than disease.”
“It’s also beautiful and lifesaving at times.”
“Very rarely, in my world.” He stalked off.
“Maybe you should step out of your world for a while,” I kindly suggested as I jogged to catch up to him.
“I doubt it would change my mind. I’ve seen firsthand what a seemingly good marriage can do.”
“If you are speaking of your parents, you’re looking at it all wrong,” I said, my tone pleading for him to believe me.
He looked at me with such disdain.
He didn’t scare me. “It’s true. Your parents’ marriage was as good as any. Even you have to admit that. Yes, your daddy made a huge, life-altering mistake, but it didn’t have to permanently destroy anything. That was a choice made by your entire family.”
Brooks’s cheeks were so red, they looked as if I’d slapped him.
“I’m not defending what your daddy did, but he isn’t the only one who made mistakes. Even your momma would admit to that. And by the way your momma’s been behaving, I would say she wishes she would have given it a chance to work out. To create something beautiful out of the mess.”
