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I slide underneath the covers; my head sinks into the pillow, and I close my eyes. I relax into the bed, and I even smile slightly at that initial feeling a person always gets when they first get into bed. I’m not sure there’s a way to describe that feeling, but it’s wonderful.
I don’t think I’m asleep yet when I hear my bedroom door open. There’s no one else in the house, so logic tells me that it’s Knox coming in. I crack open my eyes to see what she’s doing here. The way things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised if she were sneaking in here to slit my throat. I suddenly regret watchingChild’s Playwith her back last year. Maybe Iama terrible mother.
It’s not Knox sneaking into my room, though. I see a familiar silhouette, highlighted by the moonlight. My heart leaps in my chest, and I sit up quickly. “What are you doing here, J.R.?” I exclaim.
“You scared the shit out of me.” He clutches his chest with his hand while laughing at the same time. “Why are you still awake? It’s, like, three a.m.” He crawls onto the bed, takes my face in his hands, and kisses me.
“Three a.m. is the new ten p.m.” I smile, wrapping my hands around his wrists. I think I may cry. What a surprise this is! The best surprise I’ve had in a while. Well, besides the baby surprise.
“How’s baby?” I feel him slide his hand over my stomach, his lips against my neck.
“Baby is fine,” I tell him, and I wonder if he notices the bump that my stomach is becoming. He’s only been gone three weeks, but baby number two seems to be growing quickly. Even my jeans are growing tighter, and I’m having to wear them with the button undone. It’s actually pretty comfortable, and I think I may continue this practice even after the baby comes.
“Baby is growing,” he says.
“Mmm hmm.” I wrap my arms around his neck. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
J.R. 's arms wrap around me. “Me, too.” He pushes me back a little, and he looks at me softly. The lighting is dim, and our cheeks are highlighted in the moonlight; but J.R.’s eyes are clear, and I draw comfort from them.
He is worried about me. I can tell by the way he looks at me, and no matter how hard I had tried to assure him that everything was okay here, he knows me too well. He came home.
“How are you, Rach?” he asks gently.
I smile. It’s forced. I don’t want him to worry, but I must be honest, too.
“Things between Knox and me…” I shake my head. “Well, she hasn’t come around yet. I feel like we’ve just fallen apart, J.R. We hardly even speak to each other. I am avoiding her. On purpose.”
J.R. frowns. “I’ll talk to her. Tomorrow. I’ll take her out on the boat. I’ll talk to her.”
“I don’t know if it will do any good, J.R. We’ve had our fair share of conversations, but she’s dead-set on remaining angry. She’s angry with me. All of that time that we spent away from you? That’s why she’s angry. It’s really got nothing to do with the baby.” I put my hand through my hair. “The baby just triggered the anger.”
“You have to think about it from her perspective, Rach. She spent the first few years of her life without a dad, and then when she finally gets a dad, a new baby comes along. It’s not just a new baby, though. This baby will have a daddy from the very beginning. This baby will know me in a way that Knox did not. That’s why she’s angry.”
We have covered this scenario before, but even still, the root of the problem is me. “I can’t change what I did, J.R. I just need her to forgive me.”
He smiles. “I think I can help.”
“Well, you’re welcome to try. Again. And just so you know, not even Kelley could help.”
“I’d like to think I have more power than Kelley does,” he says with smile. “Don’t worry about it anymore. Okay?”
I nod. “How long are you here for?”
“I leave on Friday.”
“We get you for Thanksgiving?” I ask, feeling elated.
“Yep.” J.R. smiles against my lips, and then he lays me back gently. His lips run down my neck, and then back to my lips again. I sigh as we melt into each other, and for the first time in weeks, I’m happy.
“What are you doing here?” Knox asks as she shuffles into the kitchen the next morning.
J.R. is standing over the stove making French toast, and I’m at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and watching Knox confront J.R. I only lift my eyes to watch them as I attempt to be an innocent bystander of Knox’s new persona.
“Well, good morning to you, too.” J.R. smiles at her.
“Why are you home?” Knox asks. She turns to glare at me. I avoid eye contact and go back to “reading” the newest article about J.R. and the Band inRolling Stonemagazine. J.R. was pretty proud when he showed it to me earlier this morning, and I’ve already read it twice.
“I had a few days, and I wanted to come home for my first Thanksgiving with you two,” J.R. answers her. “Is that okay?”
