She wipes tears from her face and then totally surprises me. “From State Farm?” she asks sarcastically through her watery eyes and stuffed-up nose.
She’s precious.I swear, although I have heard it several times before, it was the last thing I expected her to say, so I burst with laughter.
She wipes her eyes again and giggles. “What are you wearing, Jake from State Farm?” she asks in her most annoyed I-know-my-husband-is-cheating-on-me voice. We both laugh.
And because I can’t resist, I say, “Uh, khakis?”
She smiles. “Hey, Jake, I do remember you. I think every girl from twelfth grade down to seventh grade had a crush on you. We all loved Jayden but were so jealous of her.” She gets quiets and says, “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Wow, I have not heard that phrase for almost four years now. It still cuts me like a knife. “Thank you.” I sit on the bench next to her. “I overheard what went down in there. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, my life is one big I’m sorry.”
“If you want to talk about it…” I look at my watch. The guys should be here any minute, but this is more important, and I’m a sucker for a pretty girl in distress. They can have guys’ night without me. I get on my imaginary white horse and draw my pretend sword. “We can grab a cup of coffee and talk.” When she doesn’t answer, I add: “You’ve already got a babysitter.”
She smiles and shrugs. “Okay, why not?”
“I just need to tell Ted something, and I’ll be right back.”
She nods, and I head back inside the bar. From the corner of my eye, I notice the guys who were here with the jackass are also gone. I didn’t even see them leave. I shake my head; I’m surprised a guy like him even has friends.
I walk to Ted and say, “Hey, the gang will be here shortly. Can you tell them something came up and I’ll catch them next month?”
“Sure, is everything okay?”
“Yeah, just making sure your sister gets home safely.” I turn to leave but turn back. “And that stays between you and me. You know, bartender-customer confidentiality.” The last thing I need right now is to have the guys razz me about a girl. They are always asking if I am dating, and they are just waiting for me to say yes so they can pounce and harass me.
Ted laughs as I walk out of the bar. Sawyer is still sitting on the bench, and I reach my hand out toward her. “Ready?”
She looks up, puts her hand in mine, and says, “Yep, let’s go.”
We walk to my car, and I open the passenger door for her. She looks at me surprised and gets in. I realize she must never have had a guy do that for her. I feel so bad for her. I walk around to the driver’s side, open the door, and get in.
“Where do you want to go?” I pray she doesn’t say Starbucks. I have not been to one since Jayden passed and hope I never go there again. Not that her death was the fault of Starbucks, but it’s the association that makes it so hard.
“How about the Wired Puppy?”
Perfect. The Wired Puppy is a locally owned coffee shop that offers the same specialty coffees the big chains do. It’s a trendy little café with a huge fireplace in the center of the dining area. It’s cozy, and inviting, and a great place to talk.
“That’s perfect.” I start the car and make our way to the Wired Puppy. Once there I park the car and get out. She gets out of the car before I have the opportunity to open her door, and again, my sadness for her grows. “Next time you are in a car with a guy, wait for him to open your door,” I say with a smile.
She laughs. “If I did that, I would be left in the car.”
I’m too saddened to laugh with her. No guy should treat a woman like this.
We get inside and grab a table by the fire pit. It’s warm and nice. At first, our conversation seems awkward; we’re just making small talk. She comments about the weather, and I ask her about work. Finally, I can’t take it anymore. I want to know what caused the argument in the bar earlier.
“Talk to me, Sawyer. I’m a good listener.”
She looks down at her hands resting in her lap and says, “I met Jeff five years ago. We were at a family reunion, and he was a friend of one of my cousins. We hit it off immediately. He was really charming. We started dating, and I got pregnant. Before the twins were born, we got married. Everything went downhill from there. After the girls were born, he began to resent me. He was never the marrying type, and I became the reason he was tied down. As the girls grew, he grew further apart from us. We never see him. He goes out at night and rarely comes home, except for a day or two here and there. Tonight was my last-ditch effort to save my marriage. You see how that went. I can’t live like this anymore, and first thing Monday morning, I’m going to the attorney’s office to file for divorce. My girls, as well as myself, deserve better than this.”
“Damn, that’s awful. I’m so sorry.”
***
That Monday, Sawyer did exactly what she said and filed for divorce. In our state, a one-month separation is required before a divorce is granted. That was easy. After the argument at Psycho Susie’s, Jeff never came back. During that time, Sawyer and I developed a really good friendship. We would hang out together and take her girls to the park. We even spent a Saturday together and took them to the zoo. Jayden and I tried to have a family, but it never worked out. We wanted all our time together to be us, and we both agreed that having a family would make military life harder, but the twins enthrall me. They are the most adorable four-year-old little girls… and so well behaved. Sawyer is an amazing mom to them too. I’ve been invited to dinner on several occasions and have had them over to my house as well. I’ve become quite the cook. It is amazing what I’ve learned to do when I am on my own and have nobody to do it for me.
After the divorce was final, I heard Jeff left town. He washed his hands of Sawyer and their girls. What kind of man does that? I am so thankful my parents raised me right. I could never treat my wife or my kids that way.
