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“I know. I’m ashamed.”
“If you are really that guy that would judge me because on one of the worst days of my life I took a swim in my skivvies, then you are not the guy I thought you were.”
“I guess I’m more conservative than you thought I was.”
“Conservative?”
“Well, small-minded might be a better word.”
“Well, I don’t want to be with someone like that. Sorry. I’m glad this happened. I’m glad all these problems cropped up now instead of later, after we were married.”
“Can we talk?”
“We’re talking, Chris. I’m pissed! You came across as this great, loving guy. I told you I screwed Steve the first day we met, up against Bayou Cottage, no less, and you laughed; you embraced me like it was fine, you got it, passion and all that. Was that a lie?”
“No, but I guess I just forgot that side of you.”
“The side that would deal with the news that my son’s grandmother hit him with a stick by jumping in the water in my underwear? Is that really so earth-shattering?”
“I didn’t like it that my brothers saw you like that. I was jealous.”
“Well, deal with it. Your brothers have beautiful women that are the loves of their lives. They aren’t going to lust after me. It’s not who they are.”
“I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Let’s start over.”
“We can start by taking one day at a time. You have your new job in a week. I have to deal with whatever the sheriff decides to do about my former mother-in-law.”
“Then what?”
“Nothing. I have the next day. I have to finish my thesis. You have to move into your house. I am not moving in with you unless I feel one hundred precent right about it. We’ll just have to see.”
“Will we still see each other?” he asked, the look on his face so pathetic that Annie was on the verge of giving in just to soothe him.
“We will see each other tomorrow morning. What happens after that will determine whether we see each other the following day and the day after that.”
He eyed her glass of wine. “Can I have one of those?”
“Yes. Help yourself,” she said, not feeling like she wanted to placate him.
She went to the couch and sat down while he got a glass and filled it, coming to sit across from her in the chair he had already claimed as his own.
“Can I ask you not to strip in front of my brothers again?”
“Oh my God, is that really all you’re worried about?”
“It’s a big one on my list of requirements that my friends don’t see my girlfriend naked. I’m sorry! Do you want me taking my clothes off in front of your girlfriends?”
That made her laugh. “No, I guess not. But I wouldn’t walk out on you if you did, especially if you did it in response to the day from hell.”
He leaned over and grabbed her to hug, nuzzling his chin on the top of her head. The gesture softened Annie who put her glass of wine down and hugged him back.
“Jesus, I’m so sorry. I’m not responding to stress very well, either. I’m upset that that woman hurt your son. I’m upset that my ex might die. I’m upset that my sons might cause problems for us. The weekend was just fucked all around, starting with Cindy and the boys showing up at our house, and then finding out that she’d been in touch with Val.”
“But that’s resolved and she apologized. I don’t see why you should be giving that a second thought. There was just too much to deal with. We should’ve stayed home. Having CPS show up at Maggie’s was the icing on the cake.”
“At least you’re not under the microscope,” Chris replied. “You’re an excellent mother, Annie. And that you acted right away is commendable.”
He let her go and reached for the wine again. Stifling a yawn, he saw the value in relationships with people his own age, with grown kids.
