“That’s cool,” Jack says.
“He’s my spider puppy,” Aspen tells Charlotte.
“He’s not a puppy,” Charlotte cries, running away.
“I’m sorry,” Jackson tells Petey.
“It’s okay. It’s not Aspen’s fault. There’s a boy at school who’s been teasing her. He put a plastic spider in her desk, and as you can probably guess by her reaction today, it didn’t go very well.”
He gives us a wave and disappears down the road to his cabin.
“I need my bug catcher, Daddy,” Aspen says, rubbing her eyes.
“Okay, baby. Let’s go find something to put him in until we get home.”
Everyone follows suit, and soon the warehouse is quiet again.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get my stuff moved over to your room,” I tell Jenny after we finally get snuggled into bed.
“That’s okay. The club kind of changed your plans for you.” She yawns, and I almost feel bad for keeping her up so late last night.
“It was worth it to see you having fun with everyone.”
“I still can’t believe they did all of that for me. I wish I could do something for them.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll find ways to repay them over time.”
She makes a little noise of agreement. “I overheard Jesse say her and Dirk would be leaving soon.”
“They’re going to take the bike out and do some traveling. No plans other than to go wherever the wind blows them.”
“That sounds fun.” Jenny rolls onto her back and stares at the ceiling. “Are you sad they’re going?”
“I mean, yeah, but I’ll be okay. They won’t be gone forever.”
“Do you love her?”
“I love both of them,” I say, sidestepping her question.
She turns and faces me. “You asked me about Bill, and I was honest.”
I let out a sigh. “You’re right,” I agree, running my finger down her face. “I love her, but not in the way I love you.”
“She loves you too.”
“I know.”
“Would you like to hear our story?” I ask.
“I would.”
We spend the next few hours talking, and I have to say it feels as good as the love we made last night. It feels good having someone to talk to.
We share. We cry. We laugh.
And most importantly we heal a little more.
“I have missed you, Jenny,” I say, pulling her against my chest, spooning her.
