Page 101 of Just This Once

“Well, well, well, look what we have here. My former best friend hanging out with her brothers.”

I wrench back. “Former best friend?”

Marianne sighs when she catches up. A sound I know I’ve made every day since I met Dante. They’re dramatic, Clara and Dante. The two of them missed their calling in the theater.

“Whenever I text you to hang out with us, you’re busy with your man. Like he’s got you chained up to your bed.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Griffin mutters, dropping his chin while Ian slaps his palm over his eyes.

“Jesus. I didn’t need that picture in my head.”

“I am not chained to the bed. Obviously.”

“So you’ll hang out with your brothers but not us?”

“You literally saw her two weeks ago,” Marianne says and holds out her hand for my coffee, which I share with her.

“Yeah, for like a minute. We haven’t been able to go to Tabby Cat for wine and whine.”

I toss my hand up. “Because we’re working on the house.”

Dante convinced me to renovate, making his former apartment a third floor with two bedrooms, another bathroom, and a big walk-in closet that would give us a lot of extra storage space. When we aren’t at work or with the kids, all of our wakinghours are spent ripping out old kitchen appliances and putting up walls. I have no idea what I’m doing, but watching Dante do his thing is a sight to behold. If Clara were attracted to men, she’d want to watch him drywall too.

“A likely excuse,” she says and points at my cell phone on the table. “Put it in your calendar. Drinks on Friday.”

Following her orders, I type in the new event on my calendar, knowing Dante will receive the alert since we shared our calendars, along with the kids. All four of us are connected.

I’m still waiting on my day in family court for full custody, but the kids have yet to go back to Craig’s house. Although he hasn’t pushed me or them about it. I honestly think he wants to give up the little custody that he has because he doesn’t actually enjoy being a parent. It’s a chore to him, and I would rather he—really, all of us—realize that and work through to more friendly terms when the kids can maybe come to a place where they might call him when they’d like to see him. Instead of everyone being forced into something they don’t want to do.

With Dante’s help and the support of my family, I am more than capable of providing for Maddie and Jake, and they are much happier for it.

“So what are you two up to besides being a pain in my ass?” I ask Clara, and she tips her head back down the street in the direction they came from.

“We were at Chapter and Verse, and Nicole’s husband was there.”

Ian actually spins around in his chair as she goes on.

“He’s such a dick. It seemed like they were in the middle of an argument, and she was trying to make him leave. I mean, Marianne and I were standing right there. That’s her place of work, and he was, like…”

“Talking down to her,” Marianne fills in, and Griffin folds his armsover his chest.

“She doesn’t deserve that.”

“I always got a weird vibe from him,” I say, and Marianne nods.

“Condescending nerd.”

“The worst kind of nerd,” I agree.

Ian doesn’t add to the conversation, but he’s turned back around in his seat so I can see the set of his jaw. The way he’s brooding.

He doesn’t abide anyone being mistreated, especially women, and I know he has a soft spot for the mousy bookseller next door to his tattoo shop.

Clara, oblivious to the tension, slaps Ian’s shoulder. “Oh hey, by the way. We needed a few more volunteers to run the cleanup, so I added your name.”

Ian’s eyes widen in surprise. “Youwhat?”

Clara grins, unfazed by his reaction. “You’re super scary-looking. If anyone can make people pick up trash, it’s you.”

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