“I was hoping we could talk about your living situation. It’s very unusual.”
Jax told herself not to get defensive. “In what way?”
“You and Harris sharing the house. I understand why it’s important for the children to have stability, but every other week, you exchange the house.”
Jax stared at her, not sure of the point. “Yes, we do.”
“You each use the main bedroom.”
“Of course.”
Lindsey glanced around, as if making sure no one was close, then lowered her voice. “It’s like the three of you are sleeping together. That’s not right.”
Jax’s high-pitched “Excuse me?” was followed by Shawna flushing and saying, “Mom, no.”
“It has to be discussed,” Lindsey told her daughter. “If you can’t do it, I will.” She turned to Jax. “You’re sharing a bed.”
Ick and double ick. What was she talking— Jax held in a groan. Because she and Harris used the king-size bed they’d had in their marriage. Sure the sheets got changed every week, but it was still the same bed. Until now, it had never been an issue, but with Shawna in the mix, there were complications and a whole lot of things she didn’t want to think about, let alone discuss with Shawna’s mother.
Fortunately the server appeared with their drinks and the subject was dropped. Over the next few minutes, Shawna talked about save-the-date cards and when was the right time to send them while Jax wished she were anywhere but here. When the food arrived, she hoped that eating would allow conversation to return to more casual topics, but alas, no.
“As I mentioned,” Lindsey said as she removed the tomato from her sandwich, “no one in our family has been divorced, so we have no experience with the process. What do you think went wrong in your relationship with Harris?”
Jax felt her mouth drop open. She closed it and told herself to remain calm. Later, she really was going to have to go after her ex with a very large book. He deserved that and so much more.
Shawna groaned. “You’re making me regret letting you set up this lunch. Mom, you have to stop.”
“I’m only trying to get some information.” She looked at Jax. “How much was Harris and how much was you?”
Irritation flared. Jax set down her fork. “Mrs. Cipriani, I appreciate that you love your daughter and want to help her in every way possible. As a mother myself, I’ll give you some grace, but my marriage isn’t any of your business.”
They had a brief staring contest which Jax won. Lindsey glanced down at the table and nodded.
“You’re right, of course. I’m being rude. It’s just Shawnadoesn’t have a lot of life experience when it comes to situations like this and I don’t know what to do to help her. We want to make sure she’s making the right decision.”
“Mom, I love Harris. I’m making the right decision. This is my forever relationship.”
A wave of guilt washed away all the mad, leaving Jax feeling even more sick to her stomach. Everything about this situation sucked, she thought. Damn Harris for being such a selfish jerk.
“When we were first married, he was gone a lot,” she said before she could stop herself. “I lived here because of the bookstore and Ramon.”
“Ramon?”
“The bird,” Shawna said. “I told you, she has a really big bird.”
“He’s an African gray parrot,” Jax corrected. “I got him when I was twelve.”
Lindsey frowned. “You didn’t go live with your husband because you had a pet?”
“And the bookstore. It’s my business and I love it.” She also loved Ramon, but why state the obvious. “My point is, for the first six years of our marriage, Harris lived somewhere else. Even after the kids were born, he was traveling all the time. That was hard on us. We never got to establish the normal rhythms of married life.”
She paused as she realized she was telling the truth. Those first years had been difficult, but eventually she’d gotten used to only being a part-time wife. She’d been in charge of their homelife—making all the decisions.
“When he had to retire from baseball and he moved back here permanently, I was hoping we would settle in to be happy together, but somehow that never happened. The kids and I had a routine and sometimes Harris didn’t fit in.”
Which was a polite way of saying she’d found him annoying and intrusive, which didn’t make her sound all that amazing.
“Thank you for sharing,” Lindsey told her. “I know we’re practically strangers and you’ve been very kind. I’m hoping over the next few months we can all become friends.”
