Page 83 of Bending The Rules

Toni nodded. “It’s pretty admirable of her. And for what it’s worth… I don’t mind doing my part. Minimal drama would be incredible.”

“Agreed.” I took the bowl of salad from her hands and started to distribute it, pausing when I saw her staring at me with a sort of half-smile. “What’s up?”

She shook her head. “Nothing really… but… look at us. Discussing the beginning stages of including me in your co-parenting like it’s no big deal.”

“Cause it’s not a big deal. Everybody’s cool.”

“No, you’re right,” she said, turning to the cabinet for wine glasses for us. “It’s not. But it could have been. All of this could have just been…different.”

“And yet… here we are.”

She grinned. “Yeah. Here we are. Breaking about five million of our random ass rules.”

“Speak for yourself,” I teased, opening the drawer in front of me to grab forks. “As far as I’m concerned, we made the rules, so… we can do what we want.”

“That’s so not how rules work. You aren’t supposed to break them.”

I shrugged. “Fine. So… think of it as… bending.”

“Bending the rules is still breaking them.”

“Okay, so… Rule #15—”

“We already have a Rule #15,” she laughed.

I raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yep.Don’t drive with your knees.”

My eyes went wide. “Ohhhh. Yeah, I got a big ass ticket for that.”

“And lost your license for six months.”

“That burrito was good as hell though.”

“That’s very true.”

“Okay then,” I said, crossing my arms after I’d put a fork on each of our plates. “Rule #226: All former rules are hereby dissolved.See. Problem solved. We start from scratch.”

At first, Toni’s face was pulled into a scowl, but then it slowly softened into a grin.

“Okay then. Agreed, we start from scratch. New dynamic, new rules. What’s the first one?”

“Head in the kitchen on Tuesday nights.” I chuckled as Toni aimed a playful swat in my direction, that I easily dodged. “What’s the problem?”

“That can’t be the first rule!”

“But itcanbe a rule?”

“Justin!”

“Okay,” I said, leaning back against the counter. “Number one rule. What should it be?”

“I want you to be the one to start.”

I nodded. “Uh… alright…Rule #1: Best Friends Forever.I’m taking it straight up tween movie on you, since you’re putting me on the spot.”

She laughed. “See, jokes on you, because I actually love that.Rule #2: Never Forget to Make Each Other Laugh.”

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