Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
“Fuck, we’ll work our way around this. I promise you I’ll do whatever it takes to keep that doubt out of your head. Are you working Sunday?” Mace asks, his hand sliding around my shoulders pulling me closer to hug me. Neither of us cares if Von sees us like this right now. The spa has shift rotations. Try as we might to only have it open six days a week, it wasn’t feasible when there was money to be made. The need to feel his body around mine is greater than anything else right now. Mace’s lips press against the crown of my head. He holds himself there, breathing me in, and I take solace in this moment.
“Yes, but I don’t go in until noon,” I tell him, wishing like hell we were in a different world and at a different time in our life when working part-time was still happening, so we could have more time together.
“Good, I’m taking you out tomorrow night. I’ll ask your parents to watch Von, and when you go to work, I’ll go pick him up so he’s home at a reasonable time to unwind before school starts the following day.” Amazingly, a few sentences later, he has a plan, and I’m not the one making the decisions. I think that’s the hardest part in being a single parent—every single problem you have to solve, from what to have for dinner, to planning a sitter, to cleaning the house, disciplining your child, being the driver every single time, and even celebrating the victories. It’s all on your shoulders, tiring you out in an entirely different kind of way than any physical exertion ever could.
“Okay. You’re not working at all this weekend?” I reply. Von’s eyes clock on the hold Mace has around me. I see the happiness shining through with the slow smile overtaking his face.
“Nope, I’ve traded weekends, so it’s every other Saturday until we get the firm off the ground and running. So, my weekend is free. And we’re going to have to either do a better job at hiding our feelings towards one another or let Von in on our secret. My vote is for telling him. I hate like hell I can’t openly hug and kiss you, but I’m going to leave the decision up to you. Also, tell Celeste she’s right. If I weren’t in the middle of starting up a business, you and I would be going away for a few days, reconnecting in more ways than one, returning without a doubt in your mind that we belong together.” Mace hasn’t spoken this much since he stole me away from the blind date his mom set me up on.
“Okay, let’s see how this weekend goes, and if I feel like we’re still on solid footing, we can tell Von together.” The tips of his fingers graze my chin, lifting it up until he captures my eyes with his. “Okay?”
“More than okay. Thank you, Mace, for knowing exactly what I needed without me dragging it out.” Clearly, I need to work on some of my own faults, talking being one of them. You know, before the rage builds up inside and you breathe fire because you’re that pissed off. That’s exactly what happened the day I gave Mace the divorce papers. Not one of my finer moments, yet I had enough and couldn’t take it anymore.
“You’re welcome. I learned my lesson in the past. I’m not going to let history repeat itself.” I close my eyes, giving Mace more of my weight, not really needing to respond. The only thing I need more than ever is him. He’s taking care of me in a way that’s hard to explain to a stranger. It works for us, and that’s all that matters.
TWENTY-THREE
Mace
“We can’t go out tonight.” Confusion is written on her face. I took Von to her parents’ house before she got off work. We didn’t go to the pool this morning mostly because he was still waterlogged from last night after staying out there until the yawning got to be too much. Plus, Tyra had to be at work early this morning, so there was no way we were going to keep her out later than necessary even if I was enjoying her presence. I didn’t want her to feel like shit today by not getting enough sleep. Not that Von and I did too much till almost midday anyways. Von was worn slap out, didn’t even move an inch when I got out of bed, grabbed my laptop, made a pot of coffee, and since the house was quiet, I took care of a few emails that were piling up. When Von graced me with a “Good morning,” it was with bedhead, dragon breath, and morning hugs. Kids are resilient and forgiving, way too forgiving for all the shit I’ve put him through. I took the gift he freely gave me by sitting on my lap, head on my shoulder, the original Bear in his hand, and we watched television for a good hour until he was ready to eat. Von isn’t big on cartoons; he’s more into animal documentaries of any kind. Works better for me. I’ve heard stories about some parents getting stuck watching the same cartoon over and over again, ready to throw the television in the trash because of it. We ate breakfast of the sugary variety, went to the park, and then I dropped him off at Tyra’s parents’ seeing how mine had him the last time. Before the divorce, that’s what we did, to make things equal and to not depend on just one set of grandparents versus the other