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“Your time in Jersey. Specifically, your time with Tobias. Has that inspired this decision?”
I scoffed. “I’ve been seeing you for almost two years. I’ve always shared my desire to break free from my marriage.”
“You also began seeing me at the push of Mr. Tobias Elliott.” She shook her head as my eyes widened. “It’s my role to be sure your motives are present and clear to you. How did the week go?”
Stuck and slightly embarrassed, I dawdled.
She cleared her throat. “You said he pointed out how you rub your lips together when stuck in your head. Why is sharing about it this difficult?”
“Because I slept with him.”
I watched as her face opened in surprise for a split second before she relaxed the muscles. “Okay.”
“Is it really?”
“You don’t think it is?”
“I think it’s caused me to lose my mind, if I can be honest.”
Her head swayed to the side. “Why?”
I caught myself this time and separated my lips.
“Was it a bad experience?”
“It was…” Tears welled in my eyes “…beautiful. It was absolutely perfect—almost.”
“What kept it from perfection?”
“The fact that it felt rushed. My time with him was so limited. We didn’t even talk much. I mean… The first night I got there, he fed me then left to take a meeting with Dale. I was starry-eyed, reminding him how well he could sing and stuff. Then I had my itinerary with the girls.” I shrugged, truly bothered by this over the past four days since being back home. “I’ve shared with you my favorite feature of Tobias is his conversation. He’s so transparent and open to whatever. There’s no machismo with him. But because of my ‘cloak-and-dagger’ agenda up there, I didn’t ‘see’ him.”
“But you managed the time to have sex.”
It felt like a bucket of ice water had been doused over me. My mouth twisted in embarrassment. I pulled at a piece of lint on the hem of my skirt. “It was organic.”
“As it should be.”
“Then why, again, am I feeling like you’re telling me I did something wrong?”
“It’s not my intention to make you feel that way, Lennox.”
“Then what is it?”
She froze, appearing to be regrouping, then took a deep breath. “What’s your plan?”
“You mean the divorce?”
“I mean all of it. What is the plan?”
“Well…” I caught my lip-rub.Damn you, Tobias!“I’m scheduled to meet with the divorce attorney next week.” She was in the middle of litigation, and wanted to see me instead of having her paralegal take my information. A Black counselor-at-law, she was recommended by a friend of a colleague. “I guess I’ll know what’s next after that.”
“Really?” she asked with hiked brows. “Once the divorce is finalized, what will happen to your mother-in-law? Scott? Will you remain in North Carolina? What would become of your relationship—well, affair now—with Tobias?”
“What do you mean what would become of it?”
“Will it be pursued full-force, in earnest?”
Taking a deep breath, I considered that. Of course, I thought about what my post-Kelvin Richardson world would look like. I thought about it all, but never the fine details. Scott was still so young and vulnerable. Kelly-Ann couldn’t be trusted to provide him stability because she wasn’t exactly independent herself. She was now a couch potato and bike-week enthusiast.
