Page 18 of The One I Want
But once Oliver put the bug in my ear to move back to Rolling Hills, it’s all I could think about. Being here with my family and my best friends since elementary school was just too good of a chance to pass up.
If I’m about to start a new chapter in my life then I’m going to be happy doing it. And nothing makes me happier than my family and friends.
“So, has it hit you yet?” Oliver asks.
“Not yet,” I say, setting down my beer. “It probably won’t until we move in. Or start packing. Then again, Emerson started packing the day I told her I was thinking about moving.”
“I take it the kids are on board, then?”
I nod. “Their only question was if they could pick out how they wanted to decorate their rooms. Shockingly, they weren’t fans of the all-white and chrome decor that Cara had picked out for them.”
“Okay, I’ve bit my tongue for long enough,” Shane says. “Why did you marry a bitch, Wes? Was there no other girl on Kentucky’s campus?”
“Oh, thank God you said it,” Oliver says, almost as if he’s relieved to get a weight off his chest. “We bit our tongues because we knew you loved her. But we’ve never forgiven her for not letting us wear our fun socks in the wedding. They were just socks!”
I laugh, because at this point, that’s all I can do. “I promise you guys, I never saw that side of her. And you should have told me about the socks.”
“Forget about the socks, though they were fun,” Shane says. “She was horrible over the years, Wes. No person should keep their partner from their family and friends. And she did that. You know she did. How many times have you been here in the past decade? How many holidays were short visits because she couldn’t stand to be here more than she had to? She wouldn’t even let you come to our ten-year reunion. How much did you sacrifice to keep her happy?”
Fuck, he’s right. They all are. Shane, Oliver, I’m sure Simon too, if he was here. He, like my dad, openly disliked her.
I feel like an idiot. A fucking idiot.
“Why didn’t I fucking see it?” I say through clenched teeth. “I know I was on the road and away with football, but how could I not see it? How could I be so blind?”
Oliver puts his hand on my arm. “Because you loved her. But people change, Wes. She’s different. You’re different. Now, it’s time to move on.”
Shane holds up his glass. “To moving on.”
We clink our glasses, but the conversation falls silent. All I keep thinking of is how as each day goes by, the more I’m seeing the real picture.
I married the fake Cara. She fooled me for years. But not anymore.
“What’s the status of the divorce?” Shane asks.
“My lawyer called me yesterday. She doesn’t want any more than a visitation schedule with the kids in the summer and some holidays. What she really wants is money.”
“No prenup?”
I shake my head. “It never even came across my mind back then. The ink was barely dry on my contract, which was barely above league minimum. I didn’t think I needed one.”
“But now you wish you did?” Oliver says.
“Yup,” I say, taking a pull of my beer. “But money is money. I saved and have investments, so I’m fine. The kids will be fine. I’ll pay whatever is needed so we can move on and the kids can have some sort of stability. We’ve both agreed with our lawyers to just sell and split the house and everything in it. Hopefully, it’s done before Christmas.”
“Who knew Cara could be so…agreeable?” Shane says.
“Apparently she is when the price is right,” I say. “But enough about that. No more divorce talk. I feel like that’s all we talk about. Tell me what’s been going on with you guys. Oliver? Still seeing Rachel?”
Shane nearly chokes on his beer as Oliver’s face turns red.
“What?” I ask. “Oh, now you have to tell me.”
Oliver looks down, suddenly too shy to talk. Which means this is about to be good. And by good I mean really, really terrible.
“The short answer to your question is no,” Shane begins. “The long story is that he might have set a new record on how fast he proposed to her.”
I snap my head in his direction, which he can’t see. His face is currently buried in his hands.
