Page 13 of It Never Happened
“No shit!” His surprised eyes meet mine.
“I’ll never get over her, man. She’s been it for me since I was twelve.Andshe’s got my son. I’m a dumb motherfucker for letting her slip away.”
“What’s your plan?”
“There is no plan. I need to figure it out while I’m here. You calling me actually set some plans in motion. Now I just need to get the logistics down.”
“So you asked her but have no idea how to execute it? That’s not the businessman I know.”
“Isn’t that my way though? Fake it til you make it.” I smile. “I have until Christmas to pull the divorce papers back.”
“Pull them back? Jack, what are you talking about?”
“My lawyer drew them up, we signed them, but I told him not to file them.”
“Does she know?”
“No.”
He sits back against the bench seat, shaking his head. “This is a risky game you’re playing, Jack!”
“I know.”
“So all this time, she’s been thinking you’re divorced.” He lets out a sigh before finishing off his beer. “Not a good look, brother.”
“I was hoping she’d change her mind.”
“But you didn't do anything tohelpchange her mind.” He keeps shaking his head, and it makes me mad. “I know Courtney; this is going to make her irate.”
“I know it is!” I yell a little loudly. I run my hand through my hair and take a deep breath. “I couldn't let her go, okay? I couldn’t let it end. I had to keep working, had tokeep going until I figured it out, and now I'm here. Now I'm going to beg because I can’t do another Christmas like this.”
“So what happens next?”
“I do my best to get her to see we’re better off together than apart. If she says no, I’ll accept her decision and call my lawyer and tell him to put them through once and for all.”
“How you’ve gotten away with half the shit you’ve done in your life is beyond me.”
“Let’s just hope she sees it my way.”
“You’ve always gotten everything you've wanted, Jack. But she's your kryptonite, and I get it. I hope it works out. For my own selfish reasons, I’d really love you here. It doesn’t feel right that you’re the one who never came back.”
I nod, feeling the same way. These people are all my family, and I need them in my life.
Chapter 8
Jack
After leaving the bar with Lief last night, I went back to the Inn and sat in my room. I’m sick of living out of hotel rooms. I’m tired of living alone. I hate coming home to nothing but quiet when I’ve had the opposite and know the love that’s out there.
Problem is, once she hears I didn’t put the papers through, she’s going to be mad and probably won’t trust me. She has every right to feel that way too. We were separated for three years, and I should have done more in that time to fix things. Instead, I just waited for something to change without putting forth any effort. So when she asked for a divorce, I shouldn't have been surprised. I had my lawyer draw up the divorce papers at her request and sent them to her. Within a week she had signed them and mailed them back. He came to my office and had me sign too. I was shocked that she did it so quickly. Right then and there, it all just hit me and I realized I had failed her. I had failed us as a couple, and I had failed us as a family. Seeing how fast she wanted this over forced me to see that I couldn’t let it end this way. I couldn’t let it end at all.
I signed them but told him to hold off on filing. I started seeing our life come together again, but each time I’d try to put something into action, fear held me back. That was almost ten months ago. What does it say about me that I still couldn’t drop everything right then and there and come to her, convince her I needed her?
I tossed and turned, and at six in the morning, I sent her a text.
Me: When is the last day before break?
Courtney: Today
