Page 21 of Ella Gets the D
My four-year-old sits in an oversized chair next to a large bay window. Next to her is a small bookcase that doubles as an end table alongside a metal floor lamp. Her grin is as bright as the sun reflecting off the auburn streaks in her hair.
Moving us out of the only home she and Jackson have known, with only a few suitcases and the hope of landing on my feet in one of the country’s most expensive metro regions, nearly gave me an ulcer. Yet, my kids remain resilient. I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it hasn’t happened—at least, not yet.
I’m sure they’ll have a million and one questions. But for now, we’re taking things one day at a time.
Together.
Chapter 8
Ella
It takes a special form of evil to ruin brunch, and there’s one person who will always rise to the occasion. Is it too much to ask to enjoy a Maryland lump crab omelet at the new spot Morgan and I waitedmonthsto try?
On Mother’s Day?
Apparently so.
The fork coated in pillowy eggs and mouth-watering crustacean doesn’t get the chance to touch my lips. My kids are out of their seats, winding through the maze of wooden tables and chairs to get to their father.
Charles wraps them in his arms and plants a kiss on their heads. His eyes never leave mine on his journey to my table, which captures the attention of every onlooker desperate to catch a glimpse of our real-life drama. Word spread around Falls Church that I took the kids and moved out, and it’s a hot topic, to say the least.
The fake concern got so bad, I resigned from volunteering at Jackson’s school. After the sixthHey, how are you? Never expected you and Charles to split. What are you doing formoney?I hit my limit with their desperate attempts to be in my business. Gossip around here spreads fast, and I, for one, am tired of the stares and pity smiles.
They can all stub a toe. This isn’tThe Real Housewives, and we’re not in Potomac.
Morgan recoils into the potted plants behind her, turning her attention from the approaching threat in a tailor-fit heather blue suit. “What in the actual fuck,” she mutters. She adjusts a strap on her canary two-piece jumpsuit and proceeds to cut Duke’s French toast. Based on the tic in her jaw, it’s a battle for her not to curse Charles, but she keeps it together.
I draw in a breath and release it. “His mother has the kids for family dinner tonight.” She invited me, and I politely declined without referring to her husband and son as the dumbasses they are.
“So why is he here?”
“To make a scene.”
Charles hasn’t made any attempts to spend time with his children in the weeks since our split, give or take a handful of phone calls before bedtime when he’s still at the office. We both agreed that me keeping the kids during the week is best, to maintain Jackson’s school routine. He’s yet to take them on weekends, which makes this attempt to earn sympathy points around town as pathetic as he is.
If only they knew he’s not the family man he portrays, and I’m not the unappreciative wife who left him.
“Ella.” Charles’s tone is calm, a mask for a man with ulterior motives. Jade-green eyes travel down my neck to my gold initial charm and stall on my blue-and-white-striped shirt. The first three buttons are open, but he can’t see anything.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Oh, how I want to saydispleasure, but our kids are here.
Between the salt and pepper lining his jaw, his mouth curves in arrogance. Curse the bastard and his looks. “I was on the way to my parents’ and thought I’d swing by to take the kids early. You deserve the day off.”
I catch Morgan’s eye roll out of the corner of mine and press my lips together. Who does he think he is? And since when does he care about a break or if I get one?
You know what?
“Sounds good,” I say, to Morgan’s surprise. I pick up my fork, meet Charles’s flat gaze, and take a bite. Delicious. “You haven’t spent time with them, and you can make up for it now.” I shrug. “You all should get used to spending quality timewithoutme.”
Let him deal with Jackson’s never-ending snack times and Haile’s need to ask fifty-two questions about everything. He won’t last a day, but he needs to do better. Our children deserve it.
His stare weighs heavy until he accepts his fate. He has to be present as a father now that I’m no longer around to carry the family.
Haile and Jackson look up at their dad like he’s a hero who will never break their hearts. For a second, his eyes soften under their appraisal before his hardened shell resets.
“Very well.” Charles nods at a nearby table and turns back to me with a look I can’t decipher. “You look good. See you home soon.”
Bastard.
