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“Thanks. It’s just a lot to process, you know? I never imagined I’d be a single parent to this little peanut.”
“I know a little something about that. I’ve been raising my son on my own since he was a couple of weeks old.” Max pulled out his phone and showed her a photo of Caden. “He just turned seven.”
“Wow, he’s gorgeous. Seven years on your own. How’s that been?”
“My parents and extended family have been critical to my success. I couldn’t have done it without them. My mom, in particular.”
“I’ll probably move back to Houston to be closer to my parents. It’s just so overwhelming to consider it all right now. I only found out about the affair yesterday.”
“That’s a lot to deal with, and it’s incredibly overwhelming at first. But it does get easier. I promise.”
“I’m glad to hear that, because I can’t seem to wrap my head around it all.”
“The good news is you don’t have to wrap your head around it all right now. You can take it one step at a time and figure things out as you go.”
“Is that what you did?”
He nodded. “After the shock of his mother leaving wore off, I just powered through the days one at a time and tried not to get too far ahead of myself. After a while, you find a groove, and it stops being so daunting. And not that you asked me, but if your parents are willing to help, I think you’ll be glad to have them nearby.”
“They’d love to help. They’re crazy about her.”
“What’s her name?”
“Adele. That was my grandmother’s name.”
“Beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”
“I’m Jamie, by the way.”
“Max. Nice to meet you.”
“You, too. Are you from Houston?”
“No, I live in Vermont. My girlfriend is in Houston.”
“She’s a lucky girl.”
“Thanks. I’m not sure if I should be calling her my girlfriend just yet. We dated in high school and reconnected at our reunion last weekend. I’m surprising her with a visit this weekend.”
“So you broke up years ago and just saw each other again?”
“We never really broke up.” He filled her in on why they hadn’t seen each other. “Now that I know that she never stopped thinking of me or wanting to be with me, the time we spent apart seems to have disappeared, like it never happened. Not sure if I’m explaining this right.”
“No, you are. I get it. She didn’t stay away because she wanted to.”
“Right.”
“Are you worried that you’ll go all in with her again and her illness will come back?”
“She tells me that after the transplant, she has as much chance of getting leukemia again as I do. So I’m trying not to worry about whatmighthappen and live in the moment. I’m so glad to have her back in my life.”
“That’s really sweet, Max.”
“My love life, such as it was, has been a bit of a mess since I was with her, and I think I’ve realized it was because I never really got over her.”
“How could you have when you never really broke it off with her?”
“We agreed to see other people while we went to colleges on opposite coasts, but I never expected not to see her again for ten years.”
