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We danced around one another in the kitchen like we’d been doing it for years. I was cooking up some eggs while she cracked open the cinnamon rolls. Then I cooked up the last of the bacon. I needed to make another grocery run in town, but that would have to wait for a different day.
“Brian, could I ask you a question?”
Her voice seemed smaller. Like she wasn’t quite sure she should ask what she was about to.
“Of course you can. We’re about to get married. You can ask me anything,” I said, grinning.
“Could you tell me about your ex?”
I felt my body tense up at her question before I drew in a deep breath.
“I figured that was coming. Especially after last night,” I said.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”
“No, no. It’s only fair,” I said.
I moved the bacon off the burner and started draining the grease into a can.
“She really left a dent in me,” I said.
“What happened between you two?”
“A lot of things. What prompted the divorce was her cheating,” I said. “I thought it was just the guy I caught her with, but it came to light eventually that there had been more.”
“How many more?” she asked.
“Enough to span the entirety of our marriage.”
I felt her gaze fall onto me as I spooned eggs onto plates for all of us to eat.
“That’s messed up,” she said.
“It was. I met her when I was in foster care. My sister and I bounced around from home to home, until we came to the end of the line; the last place that would take us in. She was there, too. It’s how we met.”
Amanda put the cinnamon rolls in the oven, then made her way toward me.
“Foster care was hell. Families don’t give a shit about those kids. But Rachel? She cared. We were inseparable. She loved me when no one else would. At least, I thought she did.”
“Brian, I’m so sorry,” Amanda said.
“I caught her cheating on our anniversary, of all days. I told her right then and there I wanted a divorce. She raked me over the coals in court. She was the one that cheated, and broke our vows, but she got to walk away with almost half of everything. She drained me. Bank, brain, heart. And it sent me here.”
I felt Amanda’s arms wrap around my waist as I turned to her. I pulled her into me, her head settling into the divot of my chest. I closed my eyes and sighed, feeling her lips press a chaste kiss onto my bare skin. Her warmth was encompassing, comforting, especially when I talked about things like this.
“I have trust issues,” I said.
“I’d be surprised if you didn’t,” Amanda said. “Are we still heading to the courthouse today? To get things settled on that end?”
“Is that what the dress hanging up in the living room is for?” I asked.
“Yes. It’s the only one I have right now, but it has matching shoes.”
“It’s a beautiful dress.”
“Thanks,” she said.
“Unfortunately, I woke up to a message from Tanya. One of her boys is sick, and she’s at the doctor with him. She won’t be able to come back in until he’s taken care of, which might push things into next week.”
“That’s fine. As long as that doesn’t jeopardize anything with Lanie.”
“It shouldn’t. We don’t have to have the paperwork ready until the first date of court, and my lawyer doesn’t have a date for me yet. As far as I’m concerned, we’re still doing well.”
“Sounds good to me,” Amanda said.
“Morning.”
Lanie’s voice caused Amanda to jump back.
“Morning, sweetie,” I said. “You ready for some breakfast?”
“Milk?” Lanie asked.
“Coming right up.”
The three of us sat down to eat breakfast while talking about what we would do for the day. Lanie wanted to get outside since she’d been cooped up because of the cold, but Amanda tried to sway her away from it. Lanie was insistent. Amanda tried to bargain, and in the end, Amanda caved to Lanie’s wishes. I grinned as the two of them went back and forth with each other, studying them as I ate my eggs.
They fit each other well. If no one knew any better, I’d almost think Amanda was her mother.
“Oh. Hold on.”
I watched Amanda pull her phone from her pocket before she left the kitchen table. She took the call down the hallway as Lanie craned her neck back, and I trained my ears onto the conversation. She wasn’t doing much of the talking, but the talking she was doing sounded upbeat. She came back a few minutes later with a massive smile on her face, and I readied myself for whatever good news she had to share.
This house needed some good news after all the shit it had seen.
“You’ll never guess who that was,” Amanda said.
