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Taeli
Erin, Jena, and Ansley show up to celebrate us moving in.
The place looks so different than it did the day Sara-Beth showed it to me. The old appliances have been replaced with new stainless steel options. The floor has been stained a dark brown, which looks beautiful against the lighter wood of the walls and matches the ceiling beams.
Even though I promised Caleb to have his father send his bedroom furniture from home, Sara-Beth had a great set sent over for each of us until we can have it shipped.
“This place is the cutest,” Ansley says as she unloads the bags of groceries they brought for us.
“Isn’t it? I never imagined it’d look so good once it was cleaned up,” I admit.
“You can hear the river when you sit on the front porch,” Erin adds.
“I know. I’ll probably spend many evenings curled up out there with a book.”
“I don’t like to read, but I’d get a swing and listen to it while I napped,” Jena says.
They gift me new towels and a faux white fur rug for the living room.
“Thank you, guys, although I have a twelve-year-old boy living with me, so I’m not sure the white rug will last,” I tell them.
“We didn’t consider that. They had it in off-white and chestnut too. You can exchange it,” Erin suggests. “Where is Caleb?” she asks.
“He and Mom had an errand to run. They’ll be here later.”
Ansley pops the top off a bottle of champagne and pours four glasses. She passes them out and then raises hers.
“To new beginnings,” she says, and we all repeat the sentiment and clink our glasses together.
We finish the bottle, and they help me unpack my room and make both of our beds. By the time we settle on the couch, it starts to feel like home.
“I talked to Damon last night,” I tell them.
“Why?” Erin asks.
“I had to tell him that we weren’t coming back to Illinois at the end of the summer and to warn him that I told Caleb everything, including the baby news.”
“How did he take it?” Jena asks.
“Not well. He wants to talk. He asked if he could fly out here.”
“What the fuck for?” Erin asks.
“I have no idea.”
“What did you say?” Ansley asks.
“I told him there wasn’t anything to talk about unless it had to do with Caleb and that coming out here would be a waste of his time and money.”
“And?”
“He disagreed. He thinks that there’s a lot to talk about. He asked me to come home and to see a counselor with him.”
“Therapy? Is he for real?” Jena asks.
“The funny part is, I wanted to see a marriage counselor years ago, after his first affair, and he refused. He thinks psychology is a pseudoscience that has no merit, and he doesn’t consider counselors to be real doctors.”
“What a title snob,” Erin mumbles. “Why now? I thought he was in love with the office tramp,” she adds.
“So did I.”
“Men make no sense.”
“How is Leona doing? Is she sad you guys are moving out?” Jena asks.
“I don’t think so. I believe we were cramping her style and cutting into her and Mayor Gentry’s alone time.” I cringe at the thought.
“I bet she’s over the moon that you guys are staying in town though.”
“She is. She actually cried when we told her,” I confirm.
“That’s so sweet,” Ansley says.
“And how did Graham take the news?” Erin asks.
“He didn’t have much to say about it, to be honest, but Damon sure did. He’s planning on fighting me for custody of Caleb.”
“What?” Jena gasps.
“I don’t know what his game is. I left. I didn’t put up any kind of fight. I tried to get him to spend time with Caleb this summer, and he’s the one who flaked. Now, he’s angry because we’re staying here when I told him he could visit anytime he wanted and that we would work out a schedule for birthdays and holidays, so he could see Caleb as much as possible. I’m not trying to keep them apart, but I have to do what’s best for me and Caleb.”
“Is it a money thing? Like he doesn’t want to pay you child support?”
I shrug. “If that’s what it’s about, he’s a bigger asshole than I thought,” I say.
“Has his side chick given birth yet?” Erin asks.
“I don’t think so, but she is due any day now.”
“God help that baby. He doesn’t need to be bringing another child into this world,” she says.
I don’t wish that baby any ill will. It’s not the baby’s fault how his parents behaved while creating him.
“Hopefully, he does a better job this time around.”
One can hope this wasn’t all for naught.
