and fetch the box of donuts. “It’s donut time!” I select the most colorful one of them all, the one with sprinkles, and hand it to him. His eyes are wide with excitement. I break off little pieces for him because I don’t want him to choke.
Weston smiles at the sight of Ethan scarfing down his donut.
“Go on,” I urge. “I’m sorry. Toddlers…”
His mouth is a hard line when he resumes his story. “Perhaps an emotional affair. They were certainly discussing the possibility of having a physical affair. Bridget was more than willing, but Gabe did not want to be unfaithful. There was clearly a very strong physical attraction between them. Bridget mentioned our open marriage, and Gabe told her that his wife would never go along with something of that nature.”
“She was obviously wrong,” I point out, stating the obvious.
“She was…” he says. “The plan that night was for them to check us out. We were to eat at the same restaurant and enjoy our meals. Then Gabe was to come and say hello, introduce himself and feign surprise to have run into her, the woman from the furniture show. They were testing the waters, sort of speak.”
“Then what happened?”
He ventures another bite of his lasagna. It’s probably cold by now. “Well, apparently, as soon as he saw me, he changed his mind. He didn’t want me anywhere close to his wife.”
I laugh. “I don’t blame him. Just look at you.”
He grins widely as he reaches for his wine. “Well, I did have my finest suit on.”
“I bet you did. I bet he took one look at you, and knew he’d lose his wife if he didn’t hold on tight.”
He smiles, and I can completely understand this man’s fear. Weston Hanson is… What exactly? Enigmatic.
“But then a few things happened,” he goes on. “First, our friends cancelled on us, and then Mirella’s and Gabe’s reservation was lost. Gabe was livid. I thought he was going to punch the hostess. Bridget intervened just in time, and invited them to sit with us.”
“And the rest is history.”
“Exactly.” He shakes his head. “I don’t understand why she wouldn’t just tell me about him straight out. Honestly, I think she got off on the secrecy and deception. And Mirella would have never agreed if she knew about the pre-existing relationship between them. She was in my boat. She thought our initial meeting was pure fate, and that we were destined to find each other.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “It doesn’t mean that your love wasn’t real.”
He nods, a whisper of a smile traces his lips. “I know. It was. It was very real. It was the stuff of love songs.”
“So that’s when you decided to leave your wife?” I ask. “When you found this out?” It doesn’t seem to be enough to break a marriage, especially when kids are involved. Yes, she was a bit deceitful, but—
“No, there was more.”
24
“More?” I ask, on the edge of my seat.
“I suffered a pretty serious head injury when I wrecked my car,” he tells me, glass of wine in hand. “I suffered from amnesia for about a month.”
“Really?” I ask. This story keeps getting better and better.
Ethan is done with his donut, and officially fussing. I reach for him. “Please go on. I just need to get Ethan cleaned up. I can still listen.” There’s no way he’s not telling me the rest of this story.
“At first, I’d lost all memories of the previous five years, but eventually, day by day, memories came back, in fits and starts. I slowly reconnected with my world. I slowly remembered my life… and Mirella. I remembered the heartbreak and emotions that had led me to this moment. My body was still pretty messed up, and I was in physio, and it made me realize that as hard as it was, I had to let her go. I hadn’t remembered her when she first visited me in the hospital, and weeks later, she was already gone to Phoenix. I chose to let her be. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”
I’ve finally cleaned up Ethan, and I let him loose. He runs to his new toys. “God… I’m so sorry.”
Weston dips his head, staring down at his plate of food, remembering her.
“Can I clear your plate?”
“Yes,” he says. “I’m sorry. All this reminiscing has curbed my appetite. It was delicious.”