Page 59 of August
“She told you to move back?”
“Not exactly. She said I should consider staying there when the kids are on breaks.”
“Oh,” Myra said. “What did you want to ask me?”
“Well, I can’t just not see my kids, and if they prefer to be there, they won’t spend much time, if at all, here. If and when they do, they’ll be miserable, and I don’t want that. I know he’s an asshole, and I don’t want to give him what he wants, but I was thinking that if this is what the kids really want, I might just stay there for part of their breaks to spend time with them but never go in the main house. I could get a hotel, I guess, but that would get pretty expensive, and they wouldn’t want to just hang out with their mom in a hotel room. I suppose there’s always a vacation rental thing, but the town is so small, it’s not like there are a lot of those around.”
“You’re thinking of staying in the guest house?” Myra asked.
“Maybe for a couple of nights when the kids are there. I don’t know.” Elisa sighed. “They’re coming home tomorrow, so I’m going to talk to them then, but I can’t not see my kids. If they want to be there, I can suck it up for a few school breaks. We’ll figure out summer when we get there, I guess.I know I’m not going to stay there for three months.”
Myra cleared her throat.
“What do you think?” Elisa continued as she shrugged a shoulder.
“About?”
“Myra, I’m asking you what you think I should do.”
“Elisa, I can’t make this decision for you.”
“I know, but I’m looking for some advice here. Gwen is too close to it, I think.”
“So am I,” Myra stated. “Not related to your ex, but I still have a vested interest in you.”
Elisa smiled and asked, “Vested interest?”
“Yeah. This is our second date. I was hoping for a third, a fourth, and so on. If you’re two hours away, living in a guest house, and he doesn’t want you to have me there, that could be a problem, but it’s not about me or what I want. It’s about you.”
“I wouldn’t be moving there,” Elisa told her.
“I know. But whether it’s me or it’s another woman in your future, I suspect you’d be there for major holidays, and he doesn’t want you to have anyone there.”
“It’s just for this year. We will figure something out before summer. The kids will also start to lose touch with their hometown friends, so they won’t mind being here as much. Besides, AJ will be at school earlier next year for his soccer, and I’m sure Adele will get into some internship or something. It’ll get easier.”
Myra gave her a soft smile and replied, “It’s your call. If you think you can stand it, I get wanting to spend time with your kids, Elisa. I want you to be happy. I just think if you do this, he’ll find a way to make your life miserable while you’re there as much as he can, so maybe talk to the kids first and see what they say before you make a decision.”
After the tour, they had said goodbye to Rory back at NOLA Guides and walked hand in hand back to the truck. Myra had invited Elisa inside for dinner, and things had been great. They had talked and laughed about the tour, and Elisahad told Myra that she would be keeping her ghost sticker forever. Myra had stuck hers to a napkin and used a magnet to stick it to the refrigerator, which Elisa had deemed very cute. Then, Elisa had stupidly brought up the guest house, and Myra had given her good advice, but now, it was a little awkward between them when things had been so great before. Elisa had gone and brought up all of her baggage, and things were now a little less cute and romantic, with the real world seemingly breaking into their perfect night.
???
“Hey, Mom,” Adele said as she walked through the front door with her duffle bag.
“Hi, honey,” she replied and put her laptop on the coffee table.
“Hey, Mom,” AJ said, mimicking his sister.
“Hey, baby,” she replied, causing him to promptly roll his eyes at the term of endearment before he closed the door behind them. “How was it with Dad?”
“Cool,” he said and walked into the living room, where he grabbed the bag of chips that she had open and flopped down next to her. “I got to hang out with Mike, Lee, Gavin, Wendy, and Tucker.”
“Yeah?”
“He also tried to ask Wendy out, but she turned him down,” Adele added as she sat down on Elisa’s other side.
“She said no because she’s going to school far away from me.”
“She still said no,” Adele teased.
