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The house is tastefully furnished with deep comfortable chairs, a couch, and a gorgeous coffee table in the middle. A few rugs are arranged on the hardwood floor, and a few photographs hang from the wall.
One of the photographs is of a younger Isaac with his parents kneeling on each side of him. Sadness comes over me as I look at the pretty redhead who must have been Brad’s wife. I feel dirty, and I immediately regret my decision to come over.
His wife is dead, and here I am, already clamoring for her man. Sick, that’s what I am. I make a move to stand.
“Mila!” Isaac shouts as he comes into the room.
“Hi, Isaac,” I say. “Going for a swim?” He’s in swimming shorts, and a small towel is flung across his shoulder.
“Yes,” he said and grins. He’s a gorgeous boy. His smile is contagious, and I smile back. “Do you want to swim too?”
I shake my head. “Another time. I could watch, though?”
He nods. “Okay.”
His dad joins us, and I try to keep my gaze away from his ripped chest. Isaac told me he was a fireman, and I wonder if he would be averse to putting out the fire in my pussy. The photograph pulls me again, and I shut down my filthy thoughts.
I trail after them through the kitchen to the back door. The small pool is shaped like a bent sausage, and it makes me giggle. On the corner is a medium-sized trampoline.
“You’re welcome to come and swim anytime you want,” Brad says as he pulls out a chair for me.
“Thanks,” I say. I might just take him up on that offer.
Their backyard is glorious, nothing like mine, which is all cement except for a tiny patch of grass. Still, the house has an attic room made entirely of glass. The light there is out of this world, and as much as I told Jessica I was taking a break from painting, it makes me pick up my brush.
Brad goes back to the house, and I admire the backyard. Along the fence is a garden bursting with colorful flowers. A flowery scent permeates the air, and I let out a sigh.
“Watch me jump, Mila,” Isaac shouts before he jumps and lands in the water with a splash.
I laugh at the delight in his face. Brad returns with a jug of iced tea and three glasses. He pours us each a glass and sits down.
“He’s a good kid,” I say as we both watch Isaac’s antics in the water.
“That he is,” Brad says. “I don’t know what I’d do without him.” He sounds so sad.
“I’m sorry about your wife. Isaac told me.”
He turns to look at me, and my heart skips a beat. He has dark brown eyes, but the longer I stare into them, I realize that they are not just dark brown. They are liquid chocolate brown.
“What exactly did he tell you?” Brad’s voice jolts me. It’s not exactly cold, but it’s not friendly either. I worry that I have crossed a line.
“He just told me that she’s gone. He didn’t tell me any other details. I’m really sorry. That must have been hard to lose your wife at such a young age. I saw the photograph, she was…”
Brad’s mouth opens. He stares at me incredulously. “Isaac told you his mother was dead?”
“Not in so many words,” I say feeling thoroughly uncomfortable. I’ve never been good with people and small talk. I always manage to put my foot in it, saying the wrong thing. I should be locked up. Worse yet, in this case, I don’t even know what I said wrong.
“Brenda didn’t die,” Brad says. “She ran off with another man. She left us.”
My heart drops to my feet. Horror comes over me. “I’m sorr—” I start to say and then shut my mouth. I drop my gaze and stare at my hands. That is one pain that I’m familiar with. My own heartbreak pales in comparison. Clay and I did not have a child.
“It’s fine; you didn’t know. Please think nothing of it. I’m just surprised that he told you anything, that’s all. We never talk about it.”
I raise my gaze. “If it makes you feel better, he didn’t dwell on it. He said it in a matter of fact voice.”
I can’t fathom how someone would run off with another man and leave Brad and Isaac. How? What or who could possibly replace these two?
Brad smiles sadly. “Thanks, I’ve been wondering about that.”
We exchange a look that goes beyond two strangers exchanging small talk. It feels as if we understand each other. “I do know a little of what you’re going through,” I say and immediately regret it.
“Oh,” Brad says and waits for me to continue.
I swallow a ball of saliva. “My ex-husband ran off with another woman. But we didn’t have any children.” My eyes meander to Isaac.
