Feels Like Falling - Kristy Woodson Harvey Page 0,57
phone. When I realized what I was doing, my throat burned. Almost ten months later, ten months after she had died, I was picking up my phone to call my mother. I wanted to tell her how excited I was that Wagner was coming home. Would this feeling ever go away? Would it ever get easier?
My phone dinged, breaking me out of my unhappy thoughts. Andrew. I don’t think I can make it a whole week.…
When I had decided that I couldn’t fully let Andrew go despite my initial intentions, I’d mustered up the nerve to tell him I didn’t want him around Wagner. Andrew had laughed, and, oh, the dimples. “Well, I’m around him all the time, G. I’m his badass, supercool tennis teacher.”
My turn to laugh. And roll my eyes. “You know what I mean.”
He nodded. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: you just need to relax, babe. We’ll let it play out like it needs to.”
I smiled in spite of myself, thinking about it. I had expected the tennis pro situation to be a one-day thing that maybe turned into a two-day thing. But, as Marcy sagely advised, why couldn’t it be a summer thing?
I stood up and stretched, thinking, How on earth did I get here? I couldn’t count the number of times I had thought that nothing would ever come between Greg and me. Nothing would break us up because we were as solid as couples came. Even on those days when our relationship wasn’t thrilling, we had something deeper, a firm foundation that would help us weather any storm. Boy, had I been wrong.
Part of me hated him for abandoning me. The other part of me, the part that didn’t mind having a tennis pro pining after her, texted Andrew back. Friday night I’m all yours.
He texted me back immediately. Great. I’ll pick you up at 7.
I laughed. He was good for that, making me laugh. After the year I’d had, I needed to laugh. The thought must have softened me a bit, because I texted back: How about I call you tonight after Wagner goes to bed?
How about I drive over there and kiss you good night when Wagner goes to bed?
Greg’s car appeared in the driveway. I think it must have been the sight of Brooke behind the wheel that made me type back: We’ll see.…
Greg was having fun. Why shouldn’t I?
But, really, this was nothing compared to the way my heart leapt as I ran at top speed down the four steps to the driveway and opened my arms for my little boy to fly into.
“Wags!”
“Mom!”
I kissed the top of his head. “I missed you so, so much. I can’t even tell you. I want to hear about every detail of your trip.”
He grinned up at me, his arms still around my waist. “Look. I lost a tooth!” He opened his mouth to reveal that the stubborn straggler in the bottom row had finally given up the ghost.
I gasped. “No way! Did the tooth fairy come?” I could totally see Greg pulling some crap about the tooth fairy only coming in the continental US or something.
So I was shocked when Wagner nodded enthusiastically and said, “She brought me twenty euros and wrote me a note with glitter and everything! Can you believe that?”
This was actually worse. Not only had the tooth fairy come, but now Brooke was besting me at the game.
“Wow!” I said.
“Am I taller?” He pulled away so I could inspect.
“I don’t even recognize you!” I said.
“I need new shoes too. My feet have grown.”
I nodded, and said, “We’ll get some new ones this afternoon!”
“I’m going to unpack my stuff,” Wagner said, whizzing by me into the house. The mushy time was over. On to logistics.
No doubt about it, he was his father’s child. Greg and I had butted heads constantly because I was a total mess and he was a complete neat freak. Everything had to be organized at all times.
“Hi, Gray,” Brooke said sunnily. I had never seen the woman not perfectly dressed like she was ready for a night out. Looking down at my workout clothes, I thought that maybe that’s what had happened in my marriage. Maybe I had quit caring so much. But they were such cute workout clothes.
I tried to smile, hating her and her perky, never-breastfed boobs the whole time. Before I could ruminate further, I heard footsteps behind me in the driveway.