Page 53 of Tomorrow Belongs to Us
She’s a gorgeous woman. She has it all: wealth, money, privilege, but these are not the things I care for. Inside she is empty and fickle, and has the warmth of a cold brick.
I want, Ineed, someone with heart and with whom I can have a conversation. Someone with whom I can have a shared emotional connection. Someone who is on the same level as me. Someone I can appreciate life with.
I shake my head, not wanting to be reeled into a conversation I don’t care for. “Don’t you have someplace to be?”
“We will always be together, Lance. We’ll always be bound together. You won’t ever be rid of me.”
“What are you saying?” I don’t plan to be rid of her. She’s the mother of my child. I'm not sure if it's real or imagined, this subtle warning in her tone.
“Cassie will always be the link between us,” she says softly.
Alarm makes the hairs on the back of his neck creep up slowly. “We will always have Cassie. I'll always be in your life,” I tell her, as fear mushrooms inside me. I touch her arm wanting to make her feel better, even though I no longer want to be with her.
“Why can't we try again?” she asks, desperation taut in her voice. “We don't have to divorce.”
“It’s too late to try again.”
“But this is a mistake. Let’s try again.”
“We did try.” I remind her of the counseling we've had numerous times. It was always short lived.
She and I are so different. It's a regret I will always have, that I didn't see it sooner. That her beauty masked the ugliness beneath. That I succumbed to her body, so easily. She doesn't ignite my heart. She doesn't make me feel anything.
Cassie throws her arms around my waist, catching me by surprise from behind. I turn and face her.
“Daddy! Thank you!” She is bright and vibrant like a sunflower and in her hands is the artistic paint set I bought her.
My chest constricts and I struggle to take in air. I know what Vivian is up to. She wants to have a good time, but she also wants me in her life. Getting her hooks out of my back will be the bane of my life, but for Cassie’s sake I have to put up with whatever this woman throws at me.
Vivian bends down and gives her a big kiss and a cuddle, making a show of her going away. “You be good, Cassandra.”
“You have fun, Mommy.”
“Can you bring her back?” Vivian asks, straightening.
“I'll have her back by late Sunday afternoon. Does that work for you?” I had plans to go to the gym, and mark some papers, but I will put all those plans to the side and make sure I have quality time with Cassie.
“I’ll let you know if I’m running late,” she says. She’s always thinking of herself.
“Do you want to do some painting?” I ask Cassie. “Or shall we watch a movie?”
“Can I do both?”
“Both.” I chortle to myself. “Bring your paint set in here and I’ll put the TV on. Want some popcorn?”
She nods. Of course she wants popcorn. I make her favorite and we settle down, me on the couch and Cassie on the floor, with her paint set on the coffee table, but my mind isn’t on the Disney film.
I wonder what Megan is thinking. What’s she doing. What she’s feeling.
I wonder how she is.
I left Megan Summers once before, and now we’ve been thrown together again. This is a second chance and I’m not about to turn away from it. If only I knew where she lived, I’d march up to her home right now.
But I can’t do that because Cassie is here. I text her instead:
We need to talk
There’s no reply. I wait a while to see if she’s read the text. She hasn’t.
