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“May I suggest the avocado and shrimp salad? I tried it once. It’s delicious.”
Erin studied the menu, hesitating. “I’ll just have a coke.”
So the prices threw her off. “Erin, you’re my guest. Please, try the salad.”
“Tim, you’re doing too much for us. I can’t accept you spending money on me and my kids.”
Shaking his head, he took charge with quiet assurance. “Don’t make a hullabaloo out of a meager salad. Your mother is taking good care of me. I’m eating healthy for the first time in ages.”
Defeated, she sighed. “All right. Thank you.”
Tim ordered the salad and coke. “It’s nice to have an adult to talk to.” He met her gaze to show her he wasn’t inventing some vain excuse.
“You don’t have a friend at the office?” Her eyes gleamed with curious sparkles.
“Not at the office and not elsewhere. At work, I concentrate on my cases, while at home I chit-chat with Brianna about her school and friends.”
“It’s the same with me. Besides at the hospital, the staff is too eager to grab the least bit of news and twist it into juicy gossip. One has to be careful about what to say and what to hide. So I prefer to keep to myself, even if they often blame me for being aloof.”
“Don’t you feel lonely at times?”
“With so many kids to take care of, I’m never on my own. I’m used to spending one-on-one time with each of them and giving them the feeling that Mommy cares the most about each one of them.”
Appreciating her motherly technique to make her kids bask in her love, he smiled, “That’s amazing, considering you’re working so much now.”
The waitress brought their salads and soft drinks and set them in front of them. “Anything else?”
“No, thank you.”
“I’ve always worked,” Erin continued as they started to eat. “At the beginning of our marriage, Ben didn’t earn enough to support us. Then the kids came along, and while he made more, expenses increased. I started doing two or three shifts a month and paid for clothes and other things for the girls and David. After the twins’ birth, I had—”
“To quit. You must have had your hands full with two newborns and Becky being only two at the time, in addition to the three other kids at home.”
“Wrong.” She snorted. “I went back to work fulltime after the twins’ birth. Ben’s salary was far from sufficient, although he worked long hours. I had to beg my mother to babysit when he couldn’t be home at night.”
Darn! How could she handle such a demanding schedule? Why would a loving husband let his overwhelmed wife manage such a heavy load?
From the way she’d talked about him, Erin had implied her husband was a family man who adored his wife and went out of his way to look after his large brood. Was it the unconscious reaction of a desperate woman trying to hang on to her heartwarming memories of her departed husband?
Would Tim have acted the same way? Pondering his own past, he remembered he’d tried hard to provide an easier, more luxurious life for his wife. He’d studied until the wee hours to get his law degree and spent long hours working to make more money …
The money had improved, but they’d never had time for fun. Now, he’d lost Annette forever.
“When did you two find time to go out together?”
“We didn’t.” She shrugged. “Not enough time and not enough money. Besides, we couldn’t afford babysitting.”
“Your mother…” He started and regretted the suggestion.
“Mom?” A strained smile twisted Erin’s mouth. “She resented my marriage to Ben and never forgave us for marrying too young.”
Tim couldn’t blame Teresa for her feelings. She was a no-nonsense woman who adored her grandchildren and went out of her way to support her daughter’s household.
“But I never felt the urge to go out without my children. I love them too much,” she added with a smile. “Did you go out often with your wife?”
He nodded. “Annette loved to dress up for a night out. She perked up in restaurants, became more alive and energetic, telling me funny stories from work, occasionally chatting with patrons and waiters. She had such a bubbly personality and …” He stopped short, realizing he was doing exactly what he’d mentally accused Erin of doing, dwelling on only the good memories.
Frowning, he lowered his head, staring at his plate. “I can’t fool myself just because she’s gone,” he grumbled. “Everything was not rosy in our marriage.”
