“Isn’t that what I just suggested?”
“Yeah, but then you said you would stay here until Saturday. I really don’t see how you staying here till Saturday helps.”
“It gives the kids time to—”
“Please. It’s not like we told them we were moving in together permanently. They know that the reason you’re here is that you’re helping out. And now I’m better, and I can manage on my own. Can’t we just keep it simple? We tell the boys it’s time for you and Shane to go—and so you go.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
She wasn’t, not really. She wasn’t sure of anything right now.
He went on, “It seems too abrupt to me. I think it’s better if we give them a few days where things stay the same but they know change is coming.”
“Why drag it out?”
“We wouldn’t be dragging it out. Not for them. We would be giving them a chance to deal with the change. Think of it like when you go on vacation,” he said. “You know when you’ll be coming home. You might feel sad that the fun time is ending, but you know what’s going to happen, so it’s expected, not abrupt, not confusing. You don’t haveto wonder what went wrong. Nothing went wrong. It’s just how life goes.”
He was right, and she knew it. True, somethinghadgone wrong between the two of them. But their sons didn’t need to be dealing with that. “You’re an amazing dad, you really are.”
He almost smiled. But not quite. “Thank you.” He said those two words softly. Solemnly. And then he continued, “So tonight, we’ll sit down together, the four of us. You’ll them that you’re feeling much better, and you’re able to get along here at home without help. Then I’ll explain that when Shane goes to Lenore’s, I’ll be moving back to my house. That gives them all of Thursday and Friday with everything staying the same as it’s been for three weeks now. But then on Saturday, Shane goes to Lenore’s, and I go home, and we’re back to the old routine.”
“I get it,” she said.
“So we’re set?” he asked.
“We are set,” she echoed woodenly and then pressed her lips together to keep herself from begging him to stay.
Because he shouldn’t stay. She needed himnotto stay. She needed to start getting used to it being just her and Dillon again.
He got up and put his cup in the sink. A moment later, he was on his way back out the door.
* * *
Riley thought that the conversation with the boys that night went as well as could be expected.
Unsurprisingly, neither Dillon nor Shane wanted to go back to the way things had been before. They said they liked sharing Dillon’s room. First, they tried bargaining, promising never to get in a fight, not ever again. When that didn’t work, Dillon suggested that they could all moveto Josh and Shane’s house for a while, and the boys could share Shane’s room.
“So then it could be fair, and we can go fishing.” Dillon turned to Shane for support.
Shane exclaimed, “That is a really good idea!”
Riley tried to let them down easy. “It’s not about fairness, though fairness does matter. But remember that the reason you came to stay here is that I needed help after I hurt my ankle.” She smiled at Shane. “And I appreciate you and your dad coming to help when I needed a hand. But I’m well now, and I don’t need help around the house anymore.”
Josh backed her up by turning to Shane. “So it’s time for you and me to move home again.”
“Well, I don’t want you to go,” insisted Dillon.
Shane popped in with, “And I don’twantto go. But if you guys want to come stay at our house for a while, that would be good…”
No one ever said that reasoning with five-year-olds was easy.
In the end, the boys were not pleased. But at least nobody cried, and everyone used their inside voice. By the end of that conversation, they seemed to accept that it was time for Shane and Josh to go home.
The next two days flew by. Riley was careful around Josh, and he returned the favor. She constantly reminded herself that him leaving was for the best. If it hurt this much to lose him now, how much worse would it be if he stayed longer?
They would only grow closer.
And she couldn’t afford that.
