Keely: White or black?
Keely: image sent
I looked at the two images she’d sent, one of her in a skintight black dress that showed off her impressive cleavage.The other was a white babydoll dress that was so short, I doubted she could bend over without flashing everyone.
Malena: Black
Linny: Cheesus, I’m officially on a diet.
Nora: Cheesus?You know that’s not how that’s spelled.And I vote black.
Linny: Okay, spell police.Not everyone wants to curse.
Nora: Brent still making you go to church every Sunday?
Linny: He’s my husband.And I’ll support him with whatever he wants to do.
I snorted out loud at that.Linny loved him, and we would never say anything negative about her husband.They’d been together since high school, and she thought he could do no wrong.
Me: Definitely black.But you look hot in either.But if you want to go for the innocent look tonight, go with white.
Nora: laughing emoji followed by a rolling on the floor laughing meme
Linny: The only thing innocent looking about the white dress is the color.Have you seen how short it is?
Keely: Gotta go, he’ll be here in ten.
Me: Thanks for dinner, by the way.
Keely’s response told me that she was hurt about our comments.She dated a lot, but she never saw anyone more than a few times.
I clicked out of our group chat and opened the next message.
Vance: Has your ex-husband contacted you again?
He never called him by his name.Cockalorum was always “your ex-husband.”
Me: Not my ex yet.And no, I haven’t heard from him again.
Vance’s reply was immediate, as if he’d been holding his phone.
Vance: Your marriage is on paper only.Something that will be rectified soon.
Me: Have you heard anything yet?
I wanted this divorce finalized.
Vance: No.
I didn’t text back after his one-word reply and fell asleep.
The next few days followed the same pattern.Dinner showed up at five thirty, and then Vance messaged around eight after I’d put the kids to bed.
And after day three, I’d fallen into a rhythm, expecting his texts.Even though they were always short, I still liked that he checked in.I’d finally come to accept that we didn’t have a normal client-lawyer relationship.This was more, and I was afraid to think about what that meant.
It was Friday, and I was looking forward to the weekend.Hank couldn’t pick up the girls, which meant I’d get to spend time with them without the pressure of school or work.
When Vance’s text came in at 8:02 p.m., I was smiling.Until I opened the message.
