Page 58 of About that Fling
Jenna opened her mouth to rely, but the doorbell rang. Setting the last piece of silverware on her placement, she smoothed down her hair. As she crossed the living room, she felt oddly self-conscious. Throwing open the door, she greeted her friend with a smile.
“Hey, chica,” Jenna said, leaning in for an air-kiss. “How are things going?”
“All right.” Mia’s hair looked rumpled and her cheeks seemed flushed from something besides the glow of pregnancy.
“Everything okay?” Alarm rippled through her as she studied her pal.
“Fine.” Mia sighed and walked into the house, her steps heavy and slow. She set her purse on the table by the door and moved toward the kitchen clutching a bright blue bowl filled with fruit salad. Jenna fell into step beside her, trying to read her best friend’s mood.
“Gawd, what a morning.” Mia set the bowl on the table. She turned to lean against the kitchen counter near the spot where Aunt Gertie set down a baking sheet lined with biscuits. “I walked Katie up to the door with a bunch of extra tomatoes from our garden. She’s been gobbling them up all weekend, and I thought Ellen might like to have some, you know?”
Jenna bit her lip. “You talked to Ellen?”
“No. She didn’t even come to the door. Not even when Katie called after her and said I wanted to say hello. She just yelled from the back of the house for Katie to give back the tomatoes and say her goodbyes.”
Any relief Jenna felt for her near miss got wiped out in an instant by a fierce sense of sadness for her friend. “I’m sorry, Mia. I know how hard you’ve been trying.”
“It’s okay.” She pasted on a smile and pushed away from the counter, reaching over to hug Aunt Gertie. “Everything smells delicious. What can I help with? Need me to stir the gravy or put the biscuits in a basket or something?”
“Sit down, sweetheart,” Gert said, waving her toward a chair. “Goodness, you look like you’re about to burst.”
Mia seemed ready to argue, but she cast a look down at her ankles. “Thanks, you’re right. I swear, I’m running out of shoes that can fit. Why the hell didn’t anyone tell me about all the swelling?” She dropped heavily into a chair. “Thanks, you two. I’m so happy to be here right now.”
“Are you okay, dear?” Gertie frowned as she began piling the biscuits into a wooden bowl lined with a crisp gingham cloth. “You look awfully worn out. Is something bothering you besides the run-in with Katie’s mom?”
Mia picked up a grape that had fallen from the fruit salad bowl and rolled it around between her fingers. “It’s been a rough weekend.”
Jenna grabbed the biscuit bowl and tucked the cloth around the edges, covering everything carefully before carrying it to the table. “What’s going on?”
“It’s Mark. Things have been—strained lately.”
“How do you mean?”
“We’re having trouble with boundaries,” Mia said, setting the grape down and fiddling with the tines on her fork. “I don’t think it’s unreasonable to put limits on how often Ellen calls, or at least on how often he answers the phone.”
Gert frowned and began ladling the gravy into a bowl. “Are they talking about Katie?”
“That’s just it—I’d totally understand if they needed to talk about grades or soccer camp or dentist appointments or even how Katie is doing with friends. Believe me, I get it. I married a guy with a kid, and I know that will always be top priority.”
Gertie started to carry the gravy to the table, but Jenna headed her off and picked up the bowl. She set it down in front of Mia, then turned to grab a spoon for Mia’s fruit salad. “So what’s different about these calls?” Jenna asked.
“Mark answers them all the time,” Mia said. “Even if we’re on a date. Even if we’re in the middle of family movie night or being intimate.”
Gert’s eyes widened as she lowered herself into the seat beside Mia. “He talks to his ex-wife during sex?”
“Well, not during sex.” Mia made a face. “I mean the sex stops so he can answer the phone. He’s not pumping away while they chat about curfews and college plans.”
Jenna grimaced as she shoved a serving spoon into the fruit bowl, then took a seat between Mia and Gert. “Have you talked with him about how it bothers you?”
“I tried.” Mia bit her lip and reached out to take a biscuit. “He said he feels guilty.”
“Guilty?” Jenna watched her friend’s face, remembering Adam’s words. Had more than one marriage been wrecked by the affair? Did it matter at this point? It’s not like Mia owed her a detailed explanation or justification for her every action.
“About not being married to Katie’s mother anymore,” Mia said. “About breaking up the family when he chose to leave. About a lot of things, I guess. ‘Daddy guilt.’ That’s what one of the books I read called it.”
Jenna grabbed a biscuit and split it open, breathing the doughy fragrance of buttermilk. “How long had they been divorced when you and Mark got together?”
Mia bit her lip as she opened her own biscuit. “They’d been divorced a year or so. I know Ellen hoped they’d get back together, but Mark wasn’t interested.”
