Page 24 of Kiss From A Rose

"Jude?"

"I feel like an asshole. She sounded so sad and loving in that I'll-always-love-you kind of way, and it pissed me off."

I leaned back on my chair in my office and closed my eyes. "Why does it annoy you?"

"It's just that she's always so damn giving that she makes it hard, you know?"

I thought about it for a moment and snapped my eyes open. "No, son, I don't know. Your mother isgiving and loving. Why the hell are you so angry with her?"

"I…just…don't know."

"Is it because you see me mistreat her?" I hated having to ask this question, but I knew I had to.

"You don't treat her badly, Dad. You're so patient with her; you're good to her."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Of everyone in my life, you're the only one saying that. Everyone else has been congratulating me because they think I've been treating your mother like shit because I wanted her to take off."

"I don't see that."

"And they think I'm screwing around with Aimee." I threw that in because I was frustrated.

Long pause.

"Jude?"

"Well, Willow and I wondered. It's none of our business, Dad, and—"

"What do you mean? You guys would be okay with me cheatin' on your mother?" I bellowed.

Jude growled. "I don't know.Okay? I just don't know, Dad."

"Inevercheated on Rose. Ineverwanted to. I still don't. I've only ever loved her. I feel like I'm in an alternate universe where the marriage I thought I had is not what anyone around me seems to think I had. And the worst part is I don't know what Rose thought of our marriage."

"You do know, Dad," Jude said wearily. "She left."

That struck me in my solar plexus like a fucking thunderbolt. "Yeah."

"I have her number. I'll send it to you."

"Thanks."

"Dad, I don't know how to make it up to her."

"You and me both, son."

"Dad?" Jude sounded like a little boy.

"Yeah?"

"Am I horrible son?"

Fucking hell!"Not to me, but, yeah, you've been treating your mother poorly, and I failed to notice that. But everyone else did see it, includingalways-stonedMike."

Jude chuckled at that, as I hoped he would. "I think I should talk to someone."

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