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“These things happen.”
I laugh harder than I have in longer than I can remember. She’s delightful, sexy, funny, sweet and a wonderful, supportive friend.
“Thanks for getting me over the hump—literally.”
“Glad to be of service.”
We tease and joke and laugh all the way back to Northern Virginia while singing along to classic rock. It’s the most fun I’ve had since my life fell apart, and as we pull into her subdivision, I tell her so.
“It was fun. Thanks for giving me a ride home.”
“Any time.”
As I take the turns to her house, I realize the path to her home has become as familiar to me as the roads that lead to my own place. I’ve felt at home with Iris for much longer than this weekend, which is why it was easier to take the huge step of being intimate with her than it would’ve been with anyone else.
She groans. “My brother-in-law is still here.”
I note the Maryland plates on the dark green Jeep Cherokee in the driveway. “Is that going to be a problem?”
“No. Nothing to worry about. I’m just surprised he’s still here this late on a Sunday when he has to work in Baltimore in the morning.”
“I’ll walk you in.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I’d love to say hi to the kids.” When I first met Iris, I resisted becoming friendly with her kids because it was just too painful. But over time, they’ve grown on me, and now I truly enjoy the time I spend with them.
“Oh, sure. Come on in.”
I carry her suitcase for her and follow her into bedlam.
When the kids see her in the foyer, they let out shrieks of excitement that remind me of returning from the only vacation Natasha and I took without the girls, to celebrate our tenth anniversary. The memory of the reception we received upon returning home overtakes me out of nowhere, sucking the air from my lungs.
Thankfully, Iris is thoroughly engaged in the reunion with her kids, so I have a second to recover before she notices something has happened. Grief is so fucked up, coming at me that way when I was having a good day. A good few days, I should say.
The man stretched out on the living room floor eyes me warily.
The brother-in-law, I presume.
“Your folks got invited to dinner with the Millers,” Rob says. “I told them I’d hang out until you got home.”
“Thank you for that,” Iris says.
“Mr. Gage,” Tyler says. “Come see my new truck!”
When he takes me by the hand, I let him lead me into a room littered with toys. He releases my hand and bends to pick up the new treasure, thrusting it up at me with a look of excitement and wonder on his cute little face. He has dark hair and big brown eyes. “What do you think?”
“That’s a heck of a truck, buddy. Show me what it does.”
He gives me a full demonstration of all the features, which include a snap-on plow, a toy helicopter that sits in the bed and lights and buttons that make a wide variety of sounds. “Uncle Rob said he saw one just like it at work last week, right, Uncle Rob?”
“I did,” Rob says as he sits up.
Laney launches herself at him, and he catches her with practiced ease, making her giggle in a matter of seconds with kisses to her neck. Her dark hair is a mass of curls, and her face is stained with red, probably from juice.
As I take a seat on an ottoman to further examine the new truck, I experience a sinking sensation. This weekend with Iris was great, but she needs someone like Rob. Her kids already love him, and judging by the way Rob looks at Iris, he loves her. Besides, like I told her, I’m in no way ready for a relationship with anyone, let alone one that would include three small, fatherless children.
I don’t have the bandwidth to take on someone else’s kids. That much I know for sure, regardless of how sweet Iris’s kids are.
