Page 71 of Pour Decisions
“I don’t give a shit about my water bill.” He kisses my forehead.
We stand there for a bit longer, long enough to where I feel the urge to cry melt away. JD seems to read my mind and puts a tiny bit of distance between us.
“Can you look at me?” JD asks, gently lifting my chin with his knuckles. “We can get through this.”
Nope, the urge to cry is back.
“I just don’t know what to do,” I say, resting my face in his chest again. “I guess I should talk to her to confirm. But why would your dad lie?”
“I don’t know.” JD sighs. “But also, why would your mom want us to break up?”
“I’m not sure either. I got a vague sense that she was jealous, but she’s my mom. She wouldn’t do that because she was jealous, would she?” My heartbreak turn to confusion. “That sounds like some high school bullshit.”
“I don’t know. Some people don’t leave high school mentally.” He runs his fingers up and down the divot of my spine.
Unfortunately, he’s right. But god, could I be that dumb to not see that Mom was this bad? Assuming it was true?
“I think I need time to cool down,” I say. “Before I call her.”
“Good idea. Not too hasty,” JD says. He pauses, then says. “Then again, I quit my job, so I don’t know if I can speak to that.”
“What? JD!” I squeeze his bicep. “Are you joking?”
“I’m not. I’m not going to deal with a man like him, even if he’s my father,” he says. “I have enough savings to get by for a long time, and I think I might talk to the people who run the gin company I wanted us to buy. Maybe they need a consultant or something.”
“Oh my god.” I stare at him in awe. “You did it. I’m so proud of you.”
“You are? You don’t think I’m nuts?” The corner of JD’s mouth lifts.
“No. I’d say you were nuts if you went back into the office on Monday to work for him like nothing happened.” I brush my thumb along his collarbone, then kiss him on that spot. “We’ll figure this out, like you said.”
I just have to find the courage to ask my mom what the whole truth is.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
JD
I’ve never been unemployedin my entire working life.
And to be honest? It’s kind of nice at first. I do long, lazy workouts, read, and take Bubba for hikes. My house is spotless (though I never let it get that messy to begin with).
I ignore all of Dad’s calls and texts, particularly his questions about things going on at the company that I was in charge of. I do feel a bit guilty for fucking over my team, but they were fairly self-sufficient before.
But now I’m getting antsy and it’s only been a little over a week. I emailed Frank from June the Friday after Thanksgiving, asking if they need a consultant, and he’s been out of the office until today. I’ve been refreshing my email as I’ve been wrapping up this beef bourguignon for dinner.
“What smells heavenly?” Katrina says. Bubba leaps to his feet and runs to greet her as she comes in.
“Beef bourguignon,” I say.
“Fancy.” She appears in the doorway in her work clothes, smiling at me. I kiss her and pull her into a hug.
“How was your day?” I ask. After Thanksgiving, she decided to wait on talking to her mom until she could gather herself. Ican see that weighing on her mind, so I scan her for a few extra seconds.
“Good. How was yours? Did Frank email you back?” she asks, peering into the Dutch oven.
“Not yet, but he just got back into the office. I did a few projects around the house in the meantime.”
“A few projects?” She looks around. “JD, it looks like a professional cleaner came in here. You know most people lay around and watch TV when they’re unemployed, right?”
