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“So, he’s already eaten breakfast and his bag is ready to go,” she says, nodding toward the duffel bag at the door. When I turn back and face her, she’s grinning widely. “I’ll give him a call later tonight before bed, if that’s okay.”
“Of course it’s all right.”
“I assume you’ll be either at home or your mother’s?” she asks, fiddling with something in her purse.
I clear my throat. “Either. We’re having dinner at mom’s tonight and then we’ll be heading home,” I tell her. Max comes back to the doorway, monkey and prized baseball in his hands.
“Alone?”
When I glance her way, I can see the smile on her face, but it’s deceiving. There’s a glint of something dark, something hostile just beneath the surface. “You know, Jensen, we haven’t really talked about the whole dating thing,” she says, pulling a tube of nude-colored lipstick from the bag and applying a thin coat. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
I open the door for Max. “I’ll be right out, Buddy. Why don’t you hop in the truck and we’ll get going?” I ask, watching as he runs to his mom and gives her a goodbye hug and kiss. Then, he runs out to my truck and climbs in the driver’s seat like he’s done a hundred times. After I make sure he’s out of earshot, I glance back at my ex. “Dating thing?”
“Oh, you don’t have to play dumb with me. We’ve been divorced for a while now and it’s natural we’d both start dating again. I’ve had a few dates, but nothing too serious, but that doesn’t mean that’s not about to change,” she replies with a shrug.
Before I can open my mouth, she continues. “The point is, I don’t think we should bring our dates around Max.”
“Okay,” I reply, the word sounding more like a question than a statement.
“You know, we don’t want to confuse him.”
It’s like the light bulb switches on. This is about Kate.
“Confuse him,” I parrot.
“Are you being difficult on purpose?”
“I’m not trying to be difficult; I’m trying to figure out what you’re talking about,” I tell her, crossing my arms over my chest.
Ashley exhales loudly. “Dating. I don’t want you to bring your dates around our son. He has a mother and I won’t let you try to replace me,” she spits out, the friendly smile from earlier very much gone.
“Replace you? I’m not trying to replace you. I’m not bringing any date around him.”
“Kathryn Elliott? Or whatever in the hell her last name is now.”
Called it.
“Kate and I are friends, Ashley. Not that I owe you any explanation, but we’ve only hung out in public once and that was the festival.” I decide to gloss over the time we invited her to join us for pizza.
“She won’t replace me,” she bites, her eyes burning with anger.
“Of course she won’t. You’re Max’s mom, Ash. I’d never try to replace you in his eyes,” I reassure, trying to calm the storm brewing across from me, though it is true.
“Just in your eyes, huh?” she sasses, the hurt and anger still very much alive and well.
Exhaling, I close my eyes for a moment. What the hell am I supposed to say that won’t piss her off further? Our relationship has been more of a ticking time bomb than anything else, especially in the last year. I don’t want to hurt her. I don’t want to fight or argue or anything anymore. I’m just…tired.
“Ash, what’s done is done. We weren’t right for each other. We tried. Maybe it was doomed from the beginning or maybe it happened somewhere along the way. I don’t know. What I do know is we’re tied together for the rest of our lives. We have an amazing little boy who needs both of his parents. We need to let go of the past so we can move forward and be the best we can for our son.”
She snickers at me and throws her purse over her shoulder. “Sure, move forward. Easy for you to say when the one you’ve always wanted returns to town, huh? Should be no problem for you to move forward. Anyway, I’m not kidding about the dating thing. I don’t want you to bring dates around our son.”
I rub my temples as a full-blown monster headache starts to spread. “Ash, I won’t bring random women around Max, but I won’t keep Kate from him. She’s my friend and the few times they’ve interacted, she’s been great with him. He likes her.”
My ex-wife snorts and rolls her eyes. “She bought him with money. Of course he likes her.”
I know this conversation needs to be done, and the only way to accomplish that is for me to quit engaging. Kate didn’t buy him, at least not the way Ashley is referring to. A few quarters in the dirt isn’t like she bought him a new gaming system or a bike just so he’d like her. She was entertaining him while I was on the phone. Four quarters does not equal buying someone, but there’s no reasoning with Ashley when she gets like this.
Stepping back to the door, I grab Max’s bag and walk onto the porch. “Call my phone later when you’re ready to speak with him. I’ll make sure he’s nearby.”
