Page 93 of The Girl He Loves
She smiles broadly. “That’s great. Tell me more.”
“Well, I finally had that heart-to-heart with Brian, as you suggested.”
Her face lights up. “And how did that go?”
“Great… at first, it was a little intense. We fought a bit. But eventually, we came to a conclusion together. We decided that it would be best for everyone if Brian and his daughter met, if he was a part of her life.”
She nods quietly and shifts in her seat, riveted.
“The two of us met with her, at a diner, nothing fancy,” I go on. “It was a little awkward at first for them, but thankfully I was there, as a buffer. And Ava and I had struck up a friendship already.”
She nods. “Interesting…”
“Yes, I reached out to her. She clearly needed a friend.”
“I see.”
My smile fades. “And Joel and I… we ended our friendship. No hard feelings. We still really care for each other. We both decided that we like each other a little too much to be friends.” Of course I don’t mention the hot leggings-sex. Even now, as I sit cross-legged, in my Ann Taylor dress, like the proper lady I am, I want to bite my lip at the recollection. That one is definitely staying in my spank bank until my dying days. “I’ve even gone back to my old gym.”
“That’s great,” Dr. Russell. “I’m very happy to hear all this. You’ve made incredible progress.”
I smile widely. “And I haven’t stalked anyone on social media in ages,” I add. “I’m almost normal these days.”
She laughs. “News flash, Mischa… none of us are normal.”
41
Idon’t go home for hours — I need to take all this in, ruminate. I don’t often let myself mull over life but today’s an exception. I walk around Wicker Park, dash in and out of stores but don’t buy anything. I enjoy the beautiful almost-summer day, and I make a mental list of the great things in my life. Even after all we’ve been through, Brian and I are still very much in love. And the four of us are a tight unit — always have been. It is going to be a bit challenging to introduce Ava into our lives, but she seems like a great young woman and I have a good feeling about her.
When I finally get home,it smells delicious. Brian shoots me a smile when I step into the kitchen. He’s beautiful, standing over the stove. He’s in desperate need of a haircut but I love it when his hair is a little too long — it reminds me of our younger days. “I’m making spaghetti and meatballs.”
I take a seat at the kitchen table, next to Trevor who is diligently working on his math homework. “That’s great.”
It smells of tomatoes and homemade bread. The breadmaker is on, and the makings of a Caesar salad are sitting on the counter. Brian is busy stirring the noodles and the sauce. “It’ll be ready in about twenty minutes.”
We enjoydinner and chat about our day. Brian and I have already had a discussion about the boys — we’re telling them tonight. After pie.
I can barely eat a bite of the apple pie I bought yesterday at the bakery. Neither can Brian. The boys are enjoying theirs wholeheartedly. Once they’re all done, they clear the table as they were taught to. Brian and I usually jump right into cleaning the kitchen but today we’re leaving the mess.
“Hey, boys,” I say as they finish up. “We need to have a talk.”
The talk goes as expected. We tell them everything, from the beginning. As anticipated, they’re both shocked, speechless initially. But soon enough, they’re full of words and questions. Trevor is angry at Brian. Tristan is confused. Trevor is worried that this will change everything. We assure him it won’t. Tristan is curious about Ava.
“Well, that explains why you’ve both been acting so weird,” Tristan says. “Weirder than usual.”
“Yeah, well, we should get back to normal soon enough,” I assure him. “This has been tough on us. And it will require some adjusting on all our parts. But we are still a happy family, a strong unit.” I insist. “We will still hang out, have movie nights, play board games, go on vacation once a year. Nothing will change. The only difference will be that Ava might join us once in a while.”
“When do we get to meet her?” Tristan asks.
“Soon,” Brian tells him.
They eventually both head off to their rooms, leaving Brian and I alone in the living room. He takes my hand. “This is kind of crazy,” he says.
“It is,” I agree. “Lifeis kind of crazy.”
He smiles. “And so are we.”
“Who’s crazier?” I ask. “You or me?”
