Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 85322 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85322 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
For doing his best to avoid the mafia, West was hella associated with gangsters. His ex-husband was affiliated, his future husband was affiliated, and the kid he was trying to bribe into going to college was affiliated.
I was just sayin’.
“This is so weird,” Ellie whispered to Trip. Not that she knew the definition of whispering, but she tried.
Trip didn’t say anything. He just glanced curiously between West and me.
Colby looked like he wanted to make a run for it, and I couldn’t blame him. But he didn’t say anything either, like Trip. They took their seats at the table, and Ellie climbed up in the chair at the head. How symbolic. Our little ballbuster.
Trip was more concerned about his castle. He literally placed his arms along the sides of the project, creating a barrier of protection.
West and I sat down across from them, and I let him take the lead. He’d always been better with words.
“I’d like to start by asking if you remember when we all lived together in this house,” he said, always so patient. He just knew the right approach.
Ellie scrunched her nose. “A little. I remember when I got my other room at Daddy’s house.” She nodded at me.
“I remember,” Trip replied quietly. “You got divorced. You don’t talk much.”
Oh, this might get painful. While West and I had done our absolute best to avoid fighting in front of the kids, a perceptive creature like Trip would definitely pick up on the tension. And the silence. Hell, Ellie had too. Kids were usually way more observant than we gave them credit for.
Whenever they’d expressed their curiosity—usually tinted by sadness—about why we had divorced, we’d told them this happened sometimes with parents. That we loved being their fathers but we didn’t get along as a couple.
“We’ve been working on that,” West continued. He had his dad cap on firmly, which meant his voice was extra warm and radiating comfort. “We’ve been talking more lately, figuring out why we had problems in the past, and we…” He cleared his throat and covered my hand with his on the table. I was quick to turn mine so we could thread our fingers together.
“We miss each other,” I heard myself say. But that worked, didn’t it? Not too shabby. I wanted to keep going too, and I wanted to address Ellie, because she was more like me. “You know how you sometimes get angry when you’re sad?”
She tilted her head.
West elaborated. “For instance, the other day when you were sad about not getting a pet. It made you angry with us.”
That made her huff. “Yeah.”
I felt my mouth twitch. “Daddy and I have been like that too,” I said. “For a long time, we were sad about not getting along, but we didn’t really understand why we couldn’t get along, so it made us angry instead. We started fighting.”
West squeezed my hand, hopefully in silent approval.
“And you’re a li’l hothead like me, baby girl,” I told Ellie. “You know how it’s easy to get angry when something hurts.”
“I guess…” She shifted in her seat to sit on her hands.
“Daddy and I were in a lot of pain,” West said. “That’s why we couldn’t see clearly. Feelings and emotions can be very confusing, even for grown-ups.”
I snorted softly. “Maybe sometimes more for us.”
West chuckled quietly and inclined his head, then returned his attention to Trip and Ellie. “If you have any questions about all this, you can always ask us. Whenever and however many times you want. But the bottom line is, your father and I have realized we miss each other very much. We love each other, and we’re working on talking more.” He took a breath, and it was my turn to squeeze his hand. “And we want to know what you’d think about us becoming a family that lives together again.”
Ellie perked up at that, and she chewed on her lip. “We’d all live here?”
I glanced at West. That was one of those things we hadn’t discussed yet.
“We haven’t decided on the place yet,” he answered. “I think…for now, the important thing is for us to spend more time together. The place doesn’t matter as much. But in the future, we might buy a new house. I know, for instance, you like living in the city…? You also like having a backyard and—”
“I need a pool in my life, Dads,” Trip said, very firmly.
I grinned. “We’d never take that away from you, sweetheart.”
He exhaled in relief.
But on a serious note: “You have your school here too,” I said. “We’ll find a good compromise when the time is right, but for the moment, we can spend most of our time here, and sometimes we’ll head into the city.”
My guess? We’d sell my house before the year was over. Then we’d see. Having spent time with Finn and Emilia at their house in Villanova, I could admit I was beginning to see the appeal of having that slice of heaven farther away from the city. Even though…yeah, I was always going to love the city. So…we’d see.