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Gerard brightened visibly and called, “A fellow Leprechaun! That’s my girl!”
I couldn’t help but smile back at his enthusiasm.
“We tried to get David to go there, but for some reason he chose Yale instead,” she said, laughing.
“You must be so proud of him. He’s done very well for himself.”
“We are, but we never had any doubt he would succeed. David has always excelled at the things he puts his mind to. He’s always been very motivated, sometimes to a fault.”
“It’s true,” Jessa said. “When we were in elementary school, he cried when he found out he could only receive the Student of the Month award once.”
I giggled into my hand just as the three boys descended on the table. Alex climbed up between me and Jessa, as David and Brian sat across from us.
“Who are you?” Alex asked.
“I’m Olivia.” I smiled down at him. “Nice to, um, meet you,” I said, wondering if I should offer my hand.
He made a sputtering noise with his lips, sending spittle onto my top.
“Alex,” Jessa scolded. “That’s not polite.”
“It’s fine,” I said, waving him off. “He can’t possibly get more saliva on me than Sofie already has.”
Alex gave me a narrow-eyed look before grasping an iPad from the table and diving into it. What was that for?
“Watch this,” David said. “Alex.”
“Huh,” Alex snorted, his fingers gliding across the screen expertly.
“How old are you?”
“Huh.”
“Where do you go to school?”
“Huh.”
“Alex.”
“Huh.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
He jerked his head up. “No way, yuck,” he exclaimed before returning his eyes to the screen.
We laughed. David was a good uncle, that much was obvious. It hit me that perhaps he liked children and wanted some of his own one day.
“Come and get it,” Gerard said, indicating to the barbeque.
I went to stand, but David waved me down. “Burger?” he asked, and I nodded. He left the table, clapped his dad on the back and loaded our burgers onto two plates.
Brian fixed his twinkling eyes on me just as David set my plate down. “Ah, the question of the hour. What does the mysterious Olivia Germaine take on her burger? Can I guess?”
With all eyes on me, I nodded. He rubbed his hands together.
“Ketchup,” he said, moving the bottle in front of me. “Because red is the color of love.” He paused, and David rolled his eyes before taking off almost half his burger in one bite.
“Not onions,” Brian murmured, “for that would make her lovely eyes cry.” I blushed furiously as Jessa giggled. “And sauerkraut is much too sour for such a sweet creature.” He hummed to himself as he looked over the offerings. “Yes to relish, because I know she has a naughty side.” He winked at me. David was openly glaring at Brian now, and Jessa watched her brother intently. “To top it off, lettuce, extra crispy, and a touch of mayo. How’d I do?”
I was about to respond when David swallowed his food and cut me off. “Wrong. Ketchup, mustard, pickles, tomatoes.”
“Yep.” I smiled and emptied some ketchup onto my patty. He remembered. “David wins.”
“Bummer.”
“Dude,” David said, “what the fuck is naughty about relish?”
Brian looked thoughtful. “Haven’t you ever relished a lady?”
“Boys,” Judy admonished, gesturing at Alex.
“You just pulled that out of your ass,” David mumbled and Brian grinned, seemingly pleased with his quick wit.
I sighed happily. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been to a family barbeque, and I was enjoying the warmth of the Dylans’ bubble. When it came time for me to go, I was reluctant. I thanked them for their hospitality while David brought Sofie and Canyon over.
“I’ll walk you,” he said, fisting both leashes.
I nodded and turned to wave once more at the group.
“He’s gorgeous,” I said, stooping to run a hand along Canyon’s black and tan fur. “I wanted a German Shepherd when I was younger.”
“I’d get one of my own if I could.”
“I’ve never had a dog,” I said wistfully. “My dad didn’t have the time or patience to take care of one. But I love them.” I sighed.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
“Yes. You’re great with Alex.”
David shifted the leashes from one hand to the other. “He makes it easy.”
“I like your family.”
“They like you too.”
“You don’t know that,” I teased, bumping him with my shoulder and then withdrawing, embarrassed by the contact rush.
“Of course I do. I never would’ve invited you if I didn’t think they would.”
“Okay,” I accepted, because
I desperately wanted it to be true. That this lovely family might think I was a good person meant a great deal to me. When David’s and my naked and entangled bodies flashed before my eyes, the blood drained from my face. Good people don’t cheat on their husbands, I reminded myself. I held my hand out for the leash. “I have to go.”
“Thank you for coming. I’m glad you did.”
I held up my open hand before turning and retreating down the path.
I was also glad that I’d gone. There was an element of the afternoon that had been long missing in my life. Any time spent with David seemed to emphasize the things that hadn’t been there before. Simplicity. Effortlessness. And on the other end of the spectrum, passion. I’d learned today that the passion between us didn’t only live between the sheets. It was a different kind of passion, but it was there. The desire to be around him, to feed off his energy. When he wasn’t next to me, I longed for him. I thought about it all the way home with a smile.
When I got back to the apartment, I wiped the arrogant grin off my face. Bill glanced up to greet me before turning back to his paperwork. Remembering the other night in his office, it occurred to me that Bill and I didn’t have a very passionate relationship. It was loving and stable. But Bill wasn’t the type to get passionate about much, except maybe sports. And even then, it was passive in its own way.
I had seen what passion could do to a relationship. My mother had been irrational, senseless when it came to my father. She let her emotions dictate her life, and that had ultimately driven their marriage into the ground.
I’d never questioned which way was the right way before. I’d always known I would choose reliability and stability over the alternative. The alternative meant a lifetime of mess; fights, pain, insecurity. I tried not to picture that kind of life with David as I watched Bill at the kitchen table. Could David even be faithful to one person? Did the spark between us come from him, because it was the type of person he was? And did that mean everyone felt it in his presence?
Sure, for two people with as much heat as we had, there was bound to be mess. It was inevitable. But there’d also be intensity, craving, impatience. There would be passion.
