Page 16 of Beautiful Mess

“Ha-ha,” he drawls. “Hilarious.”

“When does the new schedule start?” Ethan’s a truck driver and has been since Beau was first born. When we were still married, he worked for a great company who always made sure to give him semi-local jobs so he could be home with us every night, but the business shut down a few years back, and he was forced to accept an offer from a competing company, but the hours suck. They’re short-staffed all the time, and his jobs frequently have him driving all over the east coast. The schedule and its unpredictability made for an interesting learning curve when it came to co-parenting. It took us a while, but we finally had it down when they offered him the Carolina and Georgia clients, meaning his travel time and the time away from his house will be cut way down.

“Couple weeks. I’m training the guy now who’s taking over my list.”

“And the remodel, how’s that going?”

“As well as can be expected,” he groans. “I warned Trey he was going to hate doing it ourselves, but he insisted because it would save us so much money, and he’s complained every single day about how hard it is and how long it’s taking since day one.”

“Sounds like Trey.”

“Oh, speaking of Trey,” Ethan says. “I wanted to see if it was okay with you if he took Beau to the Goldeye’s game next weekend? It’s your weekend and you can say no, but it’s the only home game they’re playing for the rest of this month.”

“No way am I saying no,” I quip. “That’s Beau’s favorite team. He’d never let me hear the end of it if he wasn’t able to go.”

“True, he wouldn’t.” Ethan chuckles. “But Trey wanted to make sure it was okay with you first, before we told him. So, if y’all already have plans, he would never know.”

“Well, that’s sweet, but I’m more than okay if he goes to the game with Trey. He’d have a blast, and Blakely and I can have a girls’ spa day or something equally boring to Beau.”

Ethan beams. “Cool. I’ll text Trey and let him know before we leave. He’ll be stoked to surprise Beau when we get home tonight.”

Ethan and Trey have been together for a few years now, and their relationship used to be a sensitive subject for me. It was never Trey who I had a problem with; he’s the sweetest, and he’s always adored the kids, but it was how their relationship came to be that was a tough pill for me to swallow. For the last year of our marriage, Ethan was attending a support group for men who found out later in life that they weren’t straight. I had no idea he was going to these meetings every week, and the only reason I found out was because I was convinced he was cheating on me. I went into full FBI mode on him and ended up following him one night to the group.

When I confronted him afterward, he broke down and finally told me he thought he was gay but didn’t know how to tell me. Trey attended the same support group, and it’s how they met, and while I believe nothing happened while we were still married, it was still hard for me, especially after finding everything out and feeling like everything about my marriage was a lie. Luckily, with time and therapy of my own, I’ve healed and been able to move past the anger I felt toward them.

The kids book it around the corner, pulling me from my thoughts as they race to their seats, talking a mile a minute at a level loud enough for a packed train station about stuff I can’t even make out. Ethan and I watch as they shovel slice after slice into their mouths in between gabbing, and I can’t decide if I’m more impressed that they’re able to hold a full conversation while eating so fast or disgusted by their appalling lack of manners that I know they have…most days, anyway. Tonight, they’re a couple of wild animals disguised as my sweet children. I drag my gaze up to Ethan, and we both crack up, causing them to look at us likewe’rethe heathens.

Once we finish the pizza, Anthony brings in a birthday cake, and the staff joins us in singingHappy Birthdayto our sweet boy, who proceeds to inhale his slice at an alarming pace before asking for seconds.

Right about now, I’m pretty dang happy these hyper kids are going home with their dad tonight. Mama’s got a hot date with her Kindle and a large glass of wine while she soaks in a candlelit bubble bath.

A perfect end to the evening.

Six

Conway

“What’s all this? I told you I was cooking.”

“You’ll see,” Grace quips, not bothering to look back at me as she waltzes into my kitchen, a plastic bag in each hand. I can’t help the way my gaze rakes down the backside of her, taking in the way her high-waisted denim shorts barely cover her plump ass, the sight making my mouth water.

“Mama’s making cupcakes!” Blakely says over her shoulder as she blows past me at the front door, following Willow through the house toward the backyard.

“Can I watch your TV?” Beau asks, peering up at me as he steps into the house too.

“Sure, bud.” Shutting the door, I say, “You can watch the one in Willow’s room. It’s down that hall on the left, the one with the flower sign on the door.”

“Thanks!”

Heaving a sigh, I saunter into the kitchen, finding Grace sifting through my cabinets, looking like she owns the place. “Looking for something?” I drawl.

“Yeah, where’s your mixer?”

Walking over to the cupboard to the left of the stove, I grab it, handing it to her. “You didn’t need to bake anything. I said I’d handle dinner.”

There’s a sparkle in her eye and a jut to her chin, letting me know I can expect the same level of sass I received in her office last week. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go after seeing her at Beau’s birthday party over the weekend. None of her usual bitchy attitude was in sight on Saturday, but it was probably because she was too busy in hosting mode. Is it weird to say that I was disappointed by her being so friendly?

“And you are.” Grace takes the mixer from my hand, setting it on the counter as she opens my fridge. “You have eggs, right? I didn’t want to risk them breaking on the drive over. Oh! Here they are.”

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