Page 50 of Marriage and the Midlife Crisis

Chapter 17

Melanie

I went back to work on Thursday, mainly because I was tired of sitting around feeling sorry for myself.

Neela greeted me with a hug and told me that she hoped everything was OK.

“I’ve been worried about you, but I didn’t want to intrude,” she said, giving me a concerned once-over.

I just told her we’d had a rough few days and mentioned I’d need a couple of hours off here and there for some appointments, including tomorrow morning.

“Of course, whatever you need.”

I thanked her and headed to Jen’s office so she could catch me up to speed on anything I’d missed this week. I’d talked to her the night before, but we hadn’t discussed work at all, only the boys’ visit and my talk with Ryan.

Jen had apologized that her son had called his cousins, but I had assured her that I didn’t fault Cody at all. “From what the boys told me, the poor kid was freaked out after he overheard you and Mark talking, so it was only natural that he called them to find out what was going on. He had no way of knowing that they hadn’t been told yet.”

“Still, Mark and I feel terrible about it. We thought he was still in the shower, otherwise we would never have been discussing it in the living room where he could hear us.”

“Really, Jen, it’s OK. It was better that the boys found out sooner rather than later anyway.”

So now, we spent some time discussing the status of the various projects we were working on. By the time I stepped back into my office, my brain had switched into work mode, and I was able to dive right in. Unfortunately, work mode didn’t last very long. Tanner called me on his way to class an hour later, just to see how I was doing.

We chatted for a few minutes, and I asked if he had talked to his dad since they had gone back to Bloomington yesterday morning.

“Nope.”

“Don’t you think you should?”

“Not really. I’m pretty sure I said everything I wanted to say to him then.”

“Tanner,” I chided. “I know you’re upset with him. It’s not a secret that I’m upset with him, too, but he’s still your dad, and I don’t want the problems he and I are going through to affect the relationship that you and your brother have with him.”

“He hasn’t acted like much of a dad lately,” he said defensively, and I sighed, knowing that was true.

“I know. He lost his way for a while, but I think he’s trying to find his way back. Just…keep an open mind, OK? Let him prove himself.”

“Are you going to take your own advice?” His question sounded as if were wary, but hopeful.

“We’re starting marriage counselling tomorrow. I can’t promise things will work out, but yes, I’m going to try to keep an open mind.”

After promising me he would do the same, he hung up, and ten minutes later, I had almost the very same conversation with Garrett, who was on his way to his history lecture.

“I’ll text Dad later today,” he grudgingly promised before he hanging up.

I was able to get through the rest of the day without any family drama, only to have my mother call me when I was pulling into the parking lot of the convenience store near the condo. I still hadn’t made it to the grocery store, so this would have to do for tonight.

Mom just wanted to touch base to make sure I’d had a nice birthday, and to remind me to stop by their condo to water her ficus – which she had named Fernando when she bought it three years ago – simply because she has a thing for the actor Andy Garcia, who played a character by that name in the Mamma Mia sequel. The fact that she sang the song from the movie to the ficus whenever she watered it drove my dad up a wall, which is probably why she did it.

I lied to her about my birthday, then lied by omission when I said I was stopping by their condo on my way home to give good ol’ Fernando his weekly watering, then lied to her about Ryan’s and my plans for dinner.

“I put a beef roast in the crock pot before I left for work this morning, and Ryan is taking care of the veggies to go with it,” I assured her, when she worried that stopping to water Fernando would interfere with our dinner preparations.

“Oh, that sounds delicious, and I know it’s Ryan’s favorite. I’m sure he’ll be pleased.”

“I’m sure he will,” I murmured, wondering just how many lies I could tell my mother in one phone call without creating bad juju for myself.

Twenty minutes later, I was heating up the microwavable lasagna meal I had bought – along with a bottle of sweet tea and some coffee creamer – at the convenience store and was dutifully pouring the contents of the watering can over the soil in Fernando’s pot.