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I wriggle myself out from beneath the covers and lean down to kiss his forehead. “Goodnight, baby.”
Simon adds, “Sweet dreams.”
I walk to my room with the tablet and sit on my bed. Simon teases, “So, want me to read you a story now?”
“Sure.” I reach over to grab a book off my nightstand. It’s a parenting book, but he doesn’t know that. “I’m in the middle of a good one...Tattooed biker torn between loyalty to his gang and the love of a good woman.”
His eyes pop. “You?You strike me as a poetry girl, or I don’t know, into Dostoyevsky or Steinbeck…Serious stuff.”
“When I’m not in school, I go for romance. And it’s not mindless or anything, it just doesn’t hurt my brain like most of the stuff I’m assigned to read.”
“I hear that.”
“I bet. I took a Constitutional Law class last year and that was the driest, more boring crap I ever had to read.”
“Don’t you remember what I said? Law is sexy.”
“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.”
“So whatdoyou do after Ethan hits the hay?”
“Oh, my evenings are very exciting. I usually have some tea out on the back deck, whip out my laptop and do a few hours of homework, mix up some muffin batter, fold laundry...You know, it’s like a regular disco party here every night.”
“Sounds nice, actually. Minus the homework part, of course.”
“What about you?”
“Well, right now I’m sitting on my mattress, which is on the floor. The mattress also serves as my couch, dining room table, ironing board—”
“Are you fishing for pity points right now, Wade?”
“Maybe. But my summer sublets are always like this, so it’s no big deal. It’s a place to sleep. That’s all I need.”
“Is it far from the courthouse?”
“Ten minutes.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, close enough to walk. Hey, so you think we’ll get some time to talk this weekend?”
I nod. “We’ve got a lot to talk about.”
“I’m sorry I freaked out about Wes.” His face hardens but then he shakes his head. “I have no right to expect that you wouldn’t have gone on with your life, especially since I was the one who left. It’s just...”
“What?”
“Him, I guess. He’s a bad guy, Charlotte.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about Wes. But like I said, I’m not with him...I never was.”
“That’s not for lack of trying on his part, though, right?”
“At least he came looking for me.”
“What are you saying?”
“Nothing.” I shake my head, pained. “I don’t want to do this over the phone, okay?” He looks like he’s going to press me on it but changes his mind. “Listen, I’ve got some homework to do. Talk to you tomorrow?”
