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“So, Ethan, what is it that you do?” Sarah, Amelia’s mother, asks me from across the table as we all sit down to eat. The sun is beginning to slide down toward the horizon, granting a reprieve from the hot September day, so we are eating outside on the patio, enjoying the cooler weather.
“Ethan’s a divorce lawyer,” Amelia answers for me, placing her hand over mine as I gather my composure. I don’t know how much she’s told her parents about me or how we interacted with each other when we first met, so I’m glad she felt the need to interject.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“And how did you get into that?”
Wiping my mouth with my napkin, I set my fork down. “Well, I knew I wanted to practice law and just kind of fell into that area after my own divorce.”
“You’re divorced?” George, her father, now asks.
“Yes, sir. And I have a son.” There’s no point in trying to make excuses.
“Really? How old is he?”
Amelia answers for me. “He’s five, almost six, and just the cutest little guy. Oliver is a great kid, a testament to Ethan and how well he’s raised him.”
“Where is he tonight?”
“With my mom. I moved back to L.A. to be closer to her. She helps me a lot with him, and she loves being a grandmother, so…”
Sarah nods. “Understandable. I mean, I personally can’t wait to be a grandmother, too, you know.”
Nick pipes up. “Jesus, Mom. Don’t scare Elena and Ethan away already, all right?”
Everyone chuckles. “All in due time, but that begs the question, do you ever want more children, Ethan?”
Suddenly that cool summer air feels a thousand degrees hotter in a flash. “Uh, well, never say never, but I guess it just depends on the situation. After my divorce, I never thought I’d date again either, but then I met Amelia.”
“Ethan’s practice is in the same complex as mine. That’s how we met.”
“Oh. I figured you met through Nick,” her mother explains.
“Not exactly, but Nick is the reason we both ended up with offices there.”
“You’re welcome, you two.” Nick smirks from across the table.
“And before the question is asked, no, Amelia and I did not see eye to eye at first,” I declare, inserting myself back into the conversation. “I was a bit of a jerk. A divorce attorney right across the courtyard from a marriage counselor wasn’t exactly ideal for either of us. But we eventually started to get along, and I apologized for being an idiot, because I was.”
Her father raises his beer. “As all men are at some point.” Everyone laughs. “At least you owned up to it. I can respect that.”
“Obviously, Amelia has the capacity to see the best in people, so she gave me the opportunity to show her that, and I couldn’t be more grateful. She definitely showed me that she wasn’t backing down, though, before we called a truce.”
“It doesn’t surprise me that Amelia would hold her ground when someone threatens her job.”
I turn to her. “That she definitely did.”
“You know, Amelia got into therapy because of us,” her mother explains.
“Mom…”
“Is that right?” I look between Amelia and her mother, eager to hear more about this. Deep down, I always wondered how and why she chose the area she did. We decided not to discuss our jobs so long ago that it doesn’t seem valid at this point, given that now we’re actually dating.
“Yes. George and I almost divorced when she was sixteen.” Suddenly my stomach begins to twist as I watch Amelia stare across the table at her mom, whose eyes crinkle at the corners as she smiles softly. “She begged us to see a therapist, to try to save our marriage. And even though George and I weren’t sure there was anything to be saved, we did it for our kids.” She looks at Nick now, whose arm is around Elena’s shoulders. “It was tough, and things didn’t magically get fixed overnight. Relationships, and marriages, are complicated, which you’ll find out as you experience them yourself. But eventually, we realized how much we truly loved each other and all that we had to fight for, and now we’re better than we ever were.” George leans over and kisses his wife, and my heart twists a bit.
I don’t see happy couples much in my line of work, so it’s comforting to know there are people who are happily married and fight for that.
“After watching what they went through and how much therapy helped them—and Nick and I because we talked to someone too—I realized that I wanted to be able to help people like Dr. Collins helped us. So, I majored in psychology and never looked back.”
Looking at Amelia next to me, so many things about her start to click into place. I already knew she was passionate about her work, but now the amount of pride she takes in it makes even more sense, and the connection she feels to her clients. The woman has an emotional connection and investment in what she does, which I can relate to completely—because I can connect to what I do too.
“Now, I’m not saying every marriage can be saved because, believe me, we’re not naive,” Sarah continues. “But I’m proud of our girl for helping as many people as she has.”
“And now she’s been nominated for best marriage counselor by the Los Angeles Times,” Nick adds, reaching across the table to clink his glass with Amelia’s.
“Oh, now you’re going to be nice?” she teases him back as they touch glasses.
“My brotherly love has various levels, Sis. But you know how freaking proud I am of you.”
“Thank you.”
“That’s incredible, Amelia. I wish you would have told me,” I say as a twinge of irritation sparks in my chest.
“We can talk about it later.” She clears her throat and then changes the subject, avoiding my gaze. And I know it’s not the time to press her, but something about the way she dismisses me doesn’t sit right in my gut. “So, Elena? Is Nick more or less mature than the high school students you teach?”
She laughs while Nick rolls his eyes. “Honestly? They’re about the same.”
“Hey, I take offense to that,” he admonishes as everyone laughs.
“Don’t, baby. I enjoy being with someone who makes things fun. It reminds me not to be so serious all the time.” Nick leans over and kisses her as the attention shifts to them.
And for the rest of the meal, everyone talks about work and life. I share stories about Oliver, Amelia and Nick trade embarrassing stories about each other, and even their parents get in on the action. And for just a second, I catch a glimpse of the type of family that I’ve never been a part of—two parents who love each other so much that they were willing to go to therapy to save their marriage and their family, two kids who had the example of a healthy relationship in the sense that their parents took the good with the bad and worked past it, and a woman who deserves to have the same one day.
And that’s when it hits me. Perhaps I was foolish about how strongly I would feel for Amelia and what that means for us moving forward. Because no matter how much I care for her or can see her fitting into my life, there’s one detail I can’t get past: I don’t ever want to be married again, and I’m pretty sure that’s something she wants down the line, something I may not be able to give her.
