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“Guess what happened to me at Sherrie’s practice?”
She turns to me, and her eyes go wide. “Spill.”
At first, I didn’t plan on mentioning it, but this is a safe zone. Tina isn’t going to spread my business.
“So, we met her new coaches. Brodie and Tristan.”
She waves her hand around. “Come on. Give the good stuff.”
I tell her all about the exchanges with him and how they were both undressing me with their eyes. I don’t find Tristan attractive, he’s just not my type, but Brodie, that’s a different story.
“Holy shit. Girl! Are you gonna do anything about it? I mean, you are single now.”
She’s out of her mind. I am not going out with anyone right now, especially my daughter's coach. My focus is building my relationship with Sherrie and figuring out what I want. I refuse to waste another decade with the wrong person.
“I mean, it can just be a hookup. No one said you had to marry the guy. It might do you some good to get laid.”
Tina has been with her husband for a long time, so it surprises me to hear her suggest this. He is the worst person to hook up with, and things would just be awkward. I have to see him twice a week for practice, and that’s enough. No need to complicate things. He is her coach and that’s it. Nothing is going to happen between us.
“I agree it’s been a while, but hookups aren’t really my thing. Plus, I just got out of a relationship. Don’t you think I should take things slow?”
Tina shakes her head. “Opposite. You should use this time to figure out what you want, and there is nothing wrong with getting your needs filled. Men do it all the time. Why can’t women?”
I laugh at her point, but it has nothing to do with me. Women are able to sleep with whoever they want, but I’m not.
Sherrie and I need to work through whatever is going on. She needs her space, and I understand, but at some point, she is going to have to talk to me. She has always been a daddy’s girl, and this break-up just tore her whole word apart. Lee is right. She is going to need some time to process this, and I don’t want to rush her. Yet, at the same time, I want her to understand that neither of us are to blame. With her age, it’s hard to be able to explain anything and expect her to fully understand. That’s my dilemma.
Is she going to stay at Lee’s for a while? Does she not want to live with me? What am I going to do if she doesn’t want to come back? Her being gone is really messing with my head. What will I do if she wants to live with Lee? It’s not right for me to say no, because we are both good parents, but it’s still a knife in my gut.
“She said she wants to live with her dad. How do I even respond to that?”
Tina throws her hair up in a ponytail and then clasps her hands together. “We know how close those two are, and it’s always been like that. It’s natural. Just give her some time. I’m telling you, once she has processed all of it, she will be asking to come back.”
Tina is watching whatever the heck is on the tv now, and I’m stuck in my head. Honestly, I need to stop overanalyzing things, and just take it day by day. Worrying about what’s going to happen is going to make me have a heart attack and then what good am I to anyone?
“How long do you think Lee is going to wait to start dating?” I ask, taking a sip of wine. “Like is there a rule of thumb?”
I’m not sure why I'm asking Tina, since she was only in one serious relationship before she met her husband.
“Hell, I don’t know. Are you expecting him to sit around and wait?”
Her question actually has me questioning if Lee dating would even upset me? It’s hard because we have a long history, but we are better off friends. Is it weird for him to be kissing another woman? Hell yeah, but it’s something that I have to get used to. And I won’t cause any trouble for him or any relationships, because I want to be happy without judgment, too.
The only thing I’m worried about with this is my daughter being introduced to other women. I hope Lee has the sense to keep her out of it until he is in something serious. This is going to be confusing enough without bringing other people into it.
Am I prepared for the next step? How is my life going to be as a single mother?
8
BRODIE
The blaring alarm causes me to shoot off the cot, and raid my locker to get my gear on. The lack of sleep this week has started to take a toll on me, so I tried to sneak a nap in. My flame resistant pants are maneuvered on, and I rush to the bay. Boots on the ground echo across the bay as everyone loads up into the fire trucks. Every second counts.
“It’s on Meadow Brooke,” Tristan says.
His parents live on that street and the worry is evident in his eyes. I think it’s something we all worry about because house fires are possible anywhere. That’s why it’s so important to have an escape plan in place and up to date smoke detectors. You would be surprised how many homes could have been saved if they had put batteries into their detectors.
Damon pulls out of the bay, and heads toward the fire, and Tristan is on the edge of his seat when we turn left onto the road. It’s not his parent’s house, but only two houses down. His parents were outside, talking with the neighbors. Thank god.
