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He inhaled and took comfort in the lush curves in his arms. It had been a long day and Ivy had never been one to be overly liberal with her application of fragrances, but he picked up traces of Egyptian iris and magnolia.

He pulled away, and his forefinger left her chin. Their gazes connected. “Ivy, please don’t ever hesitate to come to me.”

Her sigh was soft. “I felt… bad. You’re leaving your home because I asked.”

“I’m doing it for us because I believe when this is all over, we will be stronger and closer.”

She nodded her head, and her lips tipped up in a small smile.

“I love you, Manny.”

He gave her a gentle peck on the lips.

“And I love you, Doc.”

Ivy started the next kiss. For a moment, everything was forgotten. They became lost in each other. In the tender way that only a lifetime of love could create. Emmanuel held onto Ivy and at that moment with everything he had. The knocking interrupted their connection… but as they separated, Emmanuel knew this was how he was going to make it through what came next. They couldn’t part in anger. Not if they stood a chance of coming back together. And they would be back together. No matter what.

The knocking became pounding. “Daddy! Is Momma in there?”

“Yes, Sage. We will be out soon.”

“Hurry. Oliver is working my nerves.” Ivy and Emmanuel shared a smile at that. He was certain if anyone was working anyone’s nerve, it was the other way around.

“Ready?” Emmanuel asked as Ivy left his lap.

“Yeah, let’s get it over with.”

Belying the fact, they were about to announce their separation to their children; they joined hands as they walked from his office to the dining room. The scene they came upon very much resembled the one when they first told the children about the paternity results. They all greeted each other. He tried to hold on to the jovialness of the moment.

As they sat, Emmanuel started doubting whether he could adequately describe the situation to his children. Normally announcements came before meals were served. He would have loved the extra time that the meal would have provided. Ivy squeezed his knee, and he nodded at her.

“Hey Guys, thanks for coming over on such short notice. Mom and I wanted to tell you about a temporary change.” Emmanuel was glad his children’s eyes weren’t trained on him as he continued. “We wanted to let you know that Mom and I have decided that I will move out for a bit.”

If the situation wasn’t so serious, it would have been comical how three heads looked and whipped their head in his direction in synch. Ivy and Emmanuel had rehearsed what they would say earlier this morning. However, under the scrutiny of the stares of his children, words failed him. He was the first to break eye contact as he beseechingly looked at Ivy. She slowly turned rounded eyes at him.

Sage was the one to break the silence, “Why? Why are you moving out?”

Before Emmanuel could answer, Oliver jumped in. “You can’t be this stupid Junior.”

“Oliver! Don’t call your sister names.” Emmanuel didn’t tolerate the children calling each other names. It was something they had been taught from toddlerhood.

“I don’t think you are in the position to tell me what to do… Dad.” The way he said that might as well have been ‘fuck you ole man.’

“Oliver!” Ivy admonished.

“Come on Mom, tell me you aren’t putting him out because he…” Oliver snarled as he pointed to him, “…didn’t screw around and get that woman pregnant.”

“I’m not putting your father out. I can tell you are upset, but you watch the way you speak to me and your father. We are making a difficult choice as a couple?—”

“Yeah, but we are a family. We deserve fucking answers,” Oliver shouted.

“That’s your last warning, Oliver.” Emmanuel didn’t know what he expected but it wasn’t this… Oliver was testing him.

“Or what?—”

“Oliver, stop it!” Benjamin interrupted. “You are upsetting Mom and Sage. This isn’t the way to get answers.”

Oliver turned his anger on his brother. “Tell me you don’t understand what’s going on. Am I the only one at this table willing to tell the truth? He came to us with some bullshit story about how he took a test that said he was the father of some kid. But perfect Emmanuel Campbell Scott can’t admit he screwed up. So, we are fed a load of crap about it not being true. Our family hasn’t been the same. Even you said Christmas had weird vibes. Now, he’s been put out on his ass. It’s just so perfect, and he has Mom by his side pretending everything is okay when it’s not. She’s been baking like a maniac.”

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