Page 86 of The Ex Next Door
“Yes, baby, it is always okay to feel the way you do. I will never stop you from being sad about this. It’s very normal. What do you do when you feel sad?”
She shrugged. “I just think of the good times. But… I like to be happy.”
It seemed her daughter might be an emotional savant in addition to intellectually gifted.
“Right. Me, too. I think whenever we can choose to be happy, we should. It’s just that sometimes that’s hard.”
Amy took a deep breath and decided, well, why not tell Naomi the whole truth.
“You probably remember how sad I was after Daddy moved out. Remember when Gramma came over every day for a while because I was sick and had to stay in bed?”
“You were sad.” Naomi nodded and lowered her gaze. “I know.”
“I was kind of sick with sadness, which happens sometimes. But then one day you came in and handed me a pretty rock you found outside. You asked me if I’d go outside and help you find more.” She brushed aside the strands of brown hair at her daughter’s temple. “And I couldn’t say no to that invitation. So, I got out of bed and pretended to be feeling better. The next day it was a little bit easier pretending, same as the day after that. All of a sudden one day I wasn’t pretending. Every day you make me so glad to be here. To be your mother.”
“What are y’all talking about?’ David entered the room, eyes narrowed.
“We’re talking about how sometimes we feel sad, but we try anyway. Kind of like fake it till you make it. Before youknow it, fake becomes real. You’ll never stop feeling disappointed if you didn’t get something you wanted but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a way to be happy again.”
“What about trying to fix something if it’sbroken?’ David said.
Leave it to her son to up the stakes.
“Yes, that’s important, too. We try to fix things, but then when we can’t, that’s where the sadness comes.”
“All I wanted was for you and Daddy to try to fix it so we can all be together again.”
“We did try, honey.”
“Maybe not hard enough,” David huffed. “Is Declan yourboyfriendnow?”
Boyfriendseemed like a very small word for everything Declan was to her, but she’d have to stay with simple.
“Yes, he is. He’s not going to be your father because you already have a great one. But I do want him to be part of my life and yours, too.”
“Do you still love Dad?” David’s voice was soft and thin. “Because he loves you. He told me so.”
It was good to know Rob had discussed this with David, too, and probably right after the meeting with his new girlfriend. This is where words mattered, and she’d choose hers carefully. There were many types of love, and her children didn’t have to hear descriptions of each one. They just had to understand that neither she nor Rob was ever going to stop lovingthem. And this required understanding no matter what there would always be a connection between their parents.
“I will always love him in a special way.”
David nodded like he understood for the first time. “Okay. I get it.”
* * *
The employment offer from the school district came through, a far more generous one than Declan expected. Ofcourse, he would not only be working as a teacher but spending a great deal of his time coaching the baseball team. The commitment would mean there was no way he could manage to work part-time at the Salty Dog. Certainly not if he ever wanted to see Amy on a regular basis. Teenaged Declan would have expected her to sit back and wait for him to give her attention when he could, like the overinflated-ego jock he’d been. Now he understood if he had something special and priceless, he better not let it shatter.
On the day he signed and accepted the offer, Declan went into work early so he could speak to Cole Kinsella, who was one of the three owners of the bar. Declan hated to leave them short-staffed the way they’d been just a few weeks ago when a cocktail waitress quit. But with the turnover in the industry, they wouldn’t be surprised. At three years, Declan was practically a veteran. The only staff member who outranked him was Debbie.
Declan busied himself with inventory behind the bar until Cole waltzed in, his yellow Lab named Submarine hot on his heels. Though rarely seen in public anymore, Sub had been a fixture around the boardwalk and particularly the Salty Dog since the days when Cole and his friends took over the bar.
Cole waved at Declan on his way to the back office. “Hey, you’re here early.”
“Yeah, boss, can I talk to you for a minute?”
Cole stopped in his tracks and so did Sub, panting happily in Declan’s direction. Whoever said dogs couldn’t smile probably hadn’t met Sub.
“Sure, come on back.”
