I have to admit I’m glad Shelly and I ended our marriage on relatively good terms, even though I didn’t want it to end at all, though I’m starting to see how complacent I’d been. How content I was with just floating along, and maybe I’m a little proud of her for not accepting that.
But even though it’s technically Shelly’s week, I get to take Amber to school on my way to work. So I still get to see her almost every day. It’s more than a lot of divorced couples get, and I’ll take it.
“Okay, Daddy!” She squeezes me tight. “What are we going to do this weekend?”
I chuckle, still not letting her go. I love our little chats in the morning, and my girl likes a nice solid plan. “Not sure. What do you want to do?”
I can feel the eyes of the lady who holds the door open every morning on me, waiting for my daughter to go in. But the final bell hasn’t rung. She can wait. Other kids are still walking in anyway. “S’mores!”
I laugh because the kid loves a good fire. Maybe that should worry me, but it’s fine. Uncle Oakley was more than happy to build a firepit in our backyard when he discovered how much the kid loves to be outside and loves to roast marshmallows at all the company parties he has.
He’s always sure to have a fire going for her when we go to his house. “We can probably do that. It’s supposed to be nice. Anything else?”
She pulls back from my hug and puts her little finger on her chin, thinking really hard. “Can we sleep in the backyard? In the hammock?”
I smile at her and stand up, ruffling her little hair but being mindful that her mother took time brushing it out and putting it into little pigtail braids. “It’s still pretty cold for that, Amber.”
There goes that little lip poking out. “Fiiiine.”
I chuckle. “We’ll have a good weekend, I promise. Now go have fun! Learn lots.”
She giggles, rolling her little eyes just like her mother and bouncing up to the front door, then greeting the nice woman shyly and turning around to wave bye to me one more time.
I wave, my heart clenching as I watch her walk into the school. When did she get so big?
I try to shake it off and make it out to my truck, driving into work and finding myself pretty excited about the day. I wonder if Dakota will hang out with me all day today too.
The thought has a smile forming on my face as I pull into the Oakley’s Crew parking lot.
I walk inside the shop and can’t hold back a shocked laugh when I see Travis straddling Oakley’s lap, both of them totally lost in a heated kiss. Why my laugh came out shocked or startled, I have no idea. It’s something I’ve seen many times.
I clear my throat loudly, and Travis darts off his husband’s lap, looking flustered, but Oakley just leans back with a satisfied smile on his face. “Mornin’.”
I chuckle as I walk over to the coffee pot and pour myself a mug. “Good morning.”
“Well it was... but someone had to get here early,” Oakley says, giving me shit but earning a soft punch in the arm from his husband, who nods toward the giant clock on the wall.
“He’s right on time.”
Oakley just shrugs his massive shoulders. “Not according to my co?—”
“No,” Travis scolds and cuts him off quickly. He looks a little sheepishly at me. “Sorry about that.”
I just laugh into a sip of coffee, trying to hide my grin. Truth is, it’s nice to see two people so in love they can’t keep their hands or lips off each other. I try to think back to a time with Shelly when we were like that. Were we ever? Maybe when we were love-struck teenagers, but it feels like it faded so fast.
“You okay?” Travis checks in, moving closer to grab his own mug.
I nod. “Yeah. Just ready to start the day.”
“How’s it going at Mr. Gordon’s?”
“Almost done, actually. Probably get it finished Monday.” My gut twists and turns, and I hope they don’t notice how uncomfortable it makes me. I’m almost finished at Dakota’s house. I won’t be seeing him every weekday very soon, and I don’t like that. Not at all.
“Wow.” Travis looks impressed. “I can’t believe you actually built a greenhouse all on your own. I thought that was impossible.”
I shrug, trying to play it off as not a big deal, my stomach still flipping a little. “Dakota did help me out. I didn’t do itallalone.”
“Well, I’m proud of you,” Travis says, and somehow, it doesn’t sound condescending.
