Page 28 of The Ex Next Door
“And why not?”
“Because I’m ma—” Amy stopped herself because she was about to say the wordmarried. “Oh my God.”
“Uh-huh. Did you forget? No, you’re not.”
It was possible that she still felt married. After all, the past few months hadn’t been entirely different from Rob being away on business trips. She’d held down the fort before. But now the fort had moved, and she had a job.
“You’re free to date again, to find love again, to rediscover every part of yourself that you’ve buried.”
Amy grabbed Bianca’s hand. “I’m not ready.”
She truly wasn’t ready to be out in the world as a single woman.
“I can’t blame you,” Bianca said. “I talk a good game, but I don’t know what I’d do if I was suddenly single again. It’s scary out there. I wouldn’t know what to do first. Get a tummy tuck? Boob lift? Or take me as I am? There’s a lot of competition out there.”
Competition? Bianca made it sound like a sport. Amy loved sports, from the sidelines, cheering others on. She didn’t want to be in the game!
“I have children,” Amy said.
“Yes, they come first, but what are they going to think if they see their mother wither up and never experience love again? What kind of an example is that? Are they going to feel responsible for you and your future happiness later on?”
Maybe Bianca didn’t realize this, but she was making Amy’s blood pressure spike.
“I’m just thinking out loud here.”
“Well, don’t. Please.”
Bianca patted her hand. “You’re going to be fine. I bet you have someone new before Rob does.”
“Is Rob… Is he seeing anyone?”
Bianca’s husband and Rob were golf buddies, after all. She might know something.
“I… I don’t think so.”
But suddenly Bianca became tight-lipped and watching the kids play of the utmost importance. They were really just throwing a ball around the field, practicing catching.
“Bianca.” Amy pulled on her arm. “You would tell me, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, of course I would.” She straightened. “He’s not seeing anyone, but he signed up for Tinder.”
Oh my God.Tinder?“So I suppose my children will have to be around this woman, whoever she might be.”
“Well, same goes for you and whomever you wind up dating.”
“I need to talk to Rob about this.”
“Don’t tell him I said anything!” Bianca hissed.
“No, but if we’re going to start dating other people, don’t we need to let each other know? Should our new people meet each other? Do we all have to get along? When is the right time to introduce the kids to the new people? Where do we find the new people? What if they don’t work outeither?”
Amy was vaguely aware her voice had increased in volume and pitch to the point she was on the verge of a full-blown anxiety attack.
“Calm down,” Bianca said. “Breathe.”
“Yes. I’ll breathe.” Amy covered her face with her hands and rocked back and forth in her fold-up chair.
“It’s going to be okay,” Bianca said. “You don’t need to worry about any of this now. There’s time. Hey, look, the boys are having such fun.”
