Page 2 of Finally, Our Forever

“Listen, Maci, I know you didn’t expect to find me sitting on the couch when you came into the living room. I knew you were home, and I saw Bennet in here watching TV by himself and—”

I don’t give him a chance to finish. I smile to myself, remembering how much he hates when I interrupt him.

“So, what? You thought to yourself that you would join him? How did you even get in here, David? You shouldn’t even have a key anymore.” I glare at him, pointing my finger in his direction. “This is crossing the line.”

He looks down at his hands and stretches his fingers out a few times. “Maci, you know I didn’t want this. I’ve been doing it your way for some time now. I gave you the divorce. I hoped that after a few months, you would be over the fight and start to miss us again. I want my family back. I want my home back.”

I can’t go back to that life. There was something that didn’t connect with us. We didn’t enjoy doing the same things. When he did make time for us, our conversations were stilted, and our sex life was almost non-existent. You’re not supposed to be lonely while married. That’s not the kind of marriage I wanted, anyway.

His pleading eyes almost have me feeling guilty. Then, I remember Alison bouncing on his dick on our bed, and my anger is back. I still can’t believe she did that to me.

“The key, David. How do you still have a key to MY home? I want it back, and any other copies you may have.”

I stand my ground, exhausted already at 11:45 in the morning. He sighs heavily, but stands up and reaches into his pocket for his keys. He pulls one of them off and hands it to me. I hold out my hand, waiting for him to drop it into my palm. He places the key in my hand but doesn’t let go. His fingers wrap around mine, and he caresses them for a moment. His touch is equivalent to that feeling you get when you see bugs in your house. You know there isn’t anything on you, but the fear has a creepy sensation running over your skin. He lets go before I can pull my hand away from him.

“I only kept a copy for emergencies, Maci. I saw him sitting in there alone, and you didn’t answer when I knocked. He saw me, though. You know Bennett; he was excited, and I couldn’t just leave him there without talking to him. I waited a few minutes and decided to come in. I wasn’t sure where you were.”

I give him an incredulous look. “I was just—” I start.

“I know, babe. I heard the shower when I came in. Look, I came over to see if you and little man wanted to go and do something together. When you all left last night, I started to do some thinking. I miss you and Bennett. Damn, Maci, I miss us, our family. Maybe we could try again, see if we could do things differently this time around.”

David looks at me so expectantly, his eyes drilling holes into mine, begging me to agree. He’s a decent father to Bennett—from what I’ve seen, at least. He gives him attention while I’m around, but he never keeps him for the entire time he’s supposed to. At first, he claimed it was because he had been called into work, but eventually he would call me and tell me to come pick him up early, not giving any explanation.

It breaks my heart each time I must pick him up early, because I see how much it hurts my son. I know he craves his father’s attention and love, and I see how he tries to please him when they are around each other. I want to say yes, to stop the hurt I see in his gaze, but I can’t agree. I would only be giving hope to a relationship that is already dead, a relationship with too many scars. Damn, I hate doing this, being the villain.

My shoulders sag. “David, I’m going to tell you no. Not because I’m not willing to do things together as a family, but because I know it will mean something different to you than it will to me. I want you to be happy, just not with me.” I try gently.

“You’re such a stubborn bitch, Maci!” he explodes.

Yep, and there it is. His asshole is shining through like it always does when he doesn’t get his way. I’m not phased that he’s acting this way, because it’s nothing new, but I am pissed. Even though this behavior is normal, it still doesn’t make it okay for him to talk to me that way.

“Okay, David. Well, I listened to what you wanted to say. I will see you on Wednesday to drop off Bennett. Now, I’m going to call him in here so you can say goodbye, and then I’m asking that you leave.”

He gives me a sharp nod, knowing he screwed up with me.

“Bennett, come say goodbye to your daddy. He needs to get going. He wanted to stop by and say hi on his way to town.”

Bennett comes back into the living room. He’s wearing the jeans and t-shirt that I picked out, with a Volunteer’s ball cap on his head. He jumps into David’s arms and squeezes him tight.

“I’m going to miss you, Daddy. Love you.”

David hugs him back tight and kisses his head, and stares at me pointedly while he does. I can feel the range of emotions going through him in that one look.

“Love you too, buddy. See you on Wednesday, okay?”

David sets him down and walks to the door. Opening the door, he looks back at me. “See you later, Maci. Think about what I said.”

I stare at his retreating back, baffled that he is still pushing. Why won’t he listen after everything I said to him? Taking a deep breath, I look at Bennett and smile.

“You ready to watch some football, little dude?”

“Oh yeah, Momma. I love football game days.”

“Me too, buddy. Let’s go. Nana is already going to skin me alive for being late as it is.”

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