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Isaac waves from the middle of the field, and I wave back and blow him a kiss. Now, as for that boy, he can ask me for anything, and I’d gladly give it to him. He’s grown on me. Brad and his wife did a good job raising him. He’s polite and appreciates every single thing you do for him.
I fish my cell phone out and take a selfie, which I immediately send to Jessica. I send a text along with it.
Enjoying the day out here in LA. I insert a laughing emoji. Unbelievable, isn’t it?
Her reply comes immediately.
It couldn’t happen to a more deserving person. I forwarded it to David, and he sent an envious angry emoji.
I send her three laughing emoji. It feels good to be alive.
Half an hour later, and the boys are done with practice. I watch as moms and dads come for their children. Then when everyone goes, I pad across the grass to where Brad and Isaac are gathering their things.
“I didn’t know you were so good,” I tell Isaac. “Way to go.”
He grins. “Did you see me hit the ball with the bat?”
“I did.” I don’t know much about baseball, but I’m determined to learn. It looks like a fun game, and it’s something that Isaac and Brad clearly enjoy.
A warning bell goes off in my head. Entrenching myself so much in their lives will make me as dependent on them as I was with Clay. There’s a marked difference, the other side of my brain argues. Brad is not Clay.
That’s for sure. The two men are so different that it’s a wonder that a person can fall for both. As much as I hate the thought, the fact is I fell hard for Clay. Ours had been a whirlwind romance, and within two months, he proposed, and we got married shortly after.
There had been no parent to urge me to take it a bit slow. Jessica tried, but I waved her off, which had been easy because she and David had got married three months after meeting. She couldn’t exactly counsel me about the risks of getting married to a stranger.
“How about a pizza?” Brad says.
“Yes, please,” Isaac shouts.
“Count me in,” I say.
It’s a nice feeling being in the empty field. It stretches for miles behind us. It’s as if we’re the only ones left in the world. I wish I could have brought my paint and canvas. Then I remember they are all back home. The plan was to take a break from painting.
I decided then and there to stock up. I want to paint again. I’ve filled my sketchbook with drawings. I should have brought it along, but Brad doesn’t know I’m a painter. It’s not a secret, but I like being a little mysterious.
We troop out of the field and head to Brad’s car. After stowing everything in the trunk, he opens the door for Isaac and then comes and opens my door. Tears spring to my eyes. I can’t remember the last time a man opened the car door for me, if ever.
“Thank you,” I tell him and hop in.
The pizza place is fairly crowded, but we make a beeline for a table where the occupants are about to leave. Isaac and I sit down, and Brad goes to order the pizza and drinks.
“Can I go and play?” Isaac asks, his eyes glued on the colorful play area in the corner.
“Sure, why not? I don’t think your dad will mind.”
And sure enough, as soon as Brad comes with our food, Isaac tries to eat as quickly as he can.
“He wants to go and play,” I tell Brad.
He chuckles. “Slow down, or you’ll end up in the ER rather than the play place.”
It’s nice to do something as simple as going out to eat pizza. In my other life, Clay and I rarely went out to eat or do anything, really. He didn’t like how other men looked at me. I didn’t ever see anyone looking at me apart from the usual glances from strangers. The few times we went at the beginning of our marriage were not fun for me either. It was eerie to watch Clay’s eyes darkening by the minute and his attention on the people around us.
It feels so good now to just sit and chew on the delicious pizza with no worries that Brad will get upset if another man looks at me. I feel like an adult for the first time in years. I chuckle at that.
“Can I go now?” Isaac says.
“What about your milkshake?” Brad asks him.
Isaac sips from the straw. “I’ll drink the rest of it later.”
We laugh at the speed in which he gets off his chair to leave. He walks in through a small gate, waves at us, and disappears in a toy house.
