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Keeping a cordial distance between us, Ava and I walk along the road headed to our part of the neighborhood.
“For the record,” I tell her, “I totally want to reach for your hand right now.But I think they’re watching us.”
She picks up her pace.“Makes me happy none of them live on our street,” she whispers back as we turn a corner.
Then, after glancing around to make sure no one can see us any longer, I dare to let my hand slide into hers.
Even with the thick knitted yarn of her mitten between our skin, it still feels so good, so strangely satisfying.
“I’ve missed you all day,” I say.“Do you have a short work week because of the holiday?”
“I have Christmas Eve off and the day after.Do you?”
I grin.“I do.So I have an extra-long weekend ahead of me.”
“Oh, really?Got any plans you’d like to share with me?”
“Plenty.And none of them involve any more singing.”
She sounds a little like a teenager as she giggles.“I hope tonight wasn’t too much of a torture.”
“Actually, it was nice to meet some of the neighbors.Except that woman named Charlisa.She looked like she wanted to have me drawn and quartered.What’s the story there?”
“She’s just being an overly protective friend.The divorce—it was rough on me.She doesn’t want to see me get hurt.”
“Then she and I have that in common.”My lips form a tight line, thinking for a moment.“Can I… ask what happened?Between you and your ex, I mean.”
She shrugs.“Life happened, really.But it wasn’t the life that he wanted.”She looks up at me like she wishes I could just read her mind.
“You don’t have to talk about it,” I tell her quickly.
“No, no.It’s okay.Bryant is… well, we were young when we married.Right out of college.And then we had Nicholas right after that.He thought he was ready for a child.And he still insists that he was.But I think that he was expecting one of those kids who doesn’t have any issues at all.You know?He was ready for the diapers and the playdates and eventually Little League and all the things that people think come with parenthood.”
I frown.“But he wasn’t ready for surgeries.”
“Exactly.Or the bills that came with it.Or the battles with the insurance companies.And the sleepless nights—I mean, those are always going to come with a baby.But they’re a whole lot worse when your child is facing his first heart surgery before he’s even celebrated his first birthday.”
“I honestly can’t imagine.”
“Yeah.Even now, I look back and wonder how I made it through those first few years.I’ve heard some moms in similar situations say how they just appreciated each moment.But…” She shakes her head.“For me, each moment, I was just gripped with worry, wondering if it would be my last with him.”
“He seems to be doing better now, though.”
She nods.“He is.He can run and play with the other kids now.The doctor even encourages him to.But he’ll have one or two more surgeries as his body grows and changes.We’re in the right place for it, though.Johns Hopkins in Baltimore is incredible for pediatric cardiology.And his surgeon says it will be a lot less risky now that he’s so much stronger.”She pauses for a moment.“And Bryant is doing better too.He’s a better dad to Nicholas when he doesn’t have to be on call 24-7.”
How easy she makes it for him.I can’t help disliking this guy.
She looks over at my silence and laughs.
“What?”I ask.
“You look like you want to kill my ex right now.”
“Kill is a little extreme.But I would like to tell him to man-up.”
“I tried.Some people aren’t cut out for adversity, Harris.”She glances downward to my pocket when my phone chimes.
I ignore the sound.Nothing on my phone could possibly be as important as enjoying the rest of my night with Ava without interruption.
