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“Okay, that makes sense. My mind is swirling.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I hate that my ex’s problems are going to dictate what our life will be for the immediate future.”
“Oh no, you mean, no wedding plans?”
“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I want my boys to be involved in our wedding, Annie, and it feels wrong to do it right now. Do you think I’m being unreasonable?”
“No, Chris, I guess not. What’s another couple of months, or even a year? It’s not a big deal.”
She looked at her coffee, now grown cold. “Do you regret buying the house?”
“No, not at all. I regret taking the job here, however. I’m not sure how I’m going to figure that out.”
That was not what she expected to hear.
“It sounds like you’re going to spend time in Mobile then.” And then she remembered something. “Chris, I thought she got remarried?”
“She did, but he left right before Christmas, unable to deal with the drama. She’s alone now.”
“Great. You’ve already decided what you’re going to do, then.”
“I’m not sure yet. I have the new job to contend with. Working on the house is quickly becoming secondary.”
“Are you moving here or not?”
“I have to.The job.”
“Okay, well, you’ll figure it out. But I feel sorry for Cindy.”
“What’s your opinion from a therapist point of view?”
“Well, truthfully, you can’t nurse her back to health from three hours away. Neither can two college-age boys be expected to take care of her. If she’s not going to have the surgery, maybe you should consider a nursing home situation.”
“I hate the way that sounds. People balk at going into a nursing home.”
“Call it a rehab center, then. If semantics mean that much to her, word it carefully. Her health insurance should cover it.”
“I’m trying not to get bogged down in details, and we might be jumping the gun. I can’t make any decisions for her anyway. I have to find out more details about it, like she might be making more of this than it is.”
She looked at him carefully. Maybe Cindy was trying to thwart their wedding plans. Was their new topic of conversation going to be about his ex from here on out?
“Why isn’t her current husband involved in some of this? Surely they must have joint assets after all of those years married to each other.”
“I’m not sure, Annie. I have to do whatI have to do,and not worry about him. Do you know what I mean?”
“No, I disagree. Sorry. You might be putting more of this on your shoulders than is necessary.”
She wondered what she would do if Steve, the father of her child, came to her and told her he was dying. Would she drop everything like Chris is seeming to do, to run to his aid?
Then she realized she didn’t have to do a thing. This was his issue. All she had to do was support his decisions, and if he did something that was contrary to her wishes, she’d find a way to deal with it. She had no control over this situation.
“Wow, everything just changed for us so fast. A week ago, we were getting engaged at Maggie and Justin’s wedding, and now we’re about ready to call it quits.”
He reached for her, pulling her to his side. “I swear to you, I never even considered calling it quits. Everything is just on hold for a bit until Cindy decides what her next move is going to be. In the meantime, we can work on the house, and a week from Monday, I start my new job.”
“A lot of life-changing things put on hold. I guess I can live with that. It’s the unknown that makes me nuts. I’m not very good atlet go and let God.”
“Me, either,” he replied. “So, we’ll keep busy. We have part of your favorite holiday coming up.”
