Page 132 of Nothing But It All
I worried that Jack’s stepping back from the shop would make him resent me later. I tried to talk him into staying there, riding it out until the kids were out of school. We’d make it, I promised. We’d figure it out.
But he was having none of it. His mind was made up, and I eventually caved. To my surprise, he seems to revel in his new role in the family. He calls himself my “trophy husband,” which I find hilarious.
Yet it’s also kind of true.
“What are you doing?” I ask, laughing at Billie as she comes through the back door. “My lord, woman. What did you bring?”
She sets four bags on the table and sighs. “I didn’t know what kind of a gift to get Michael, so I got four.”
“Um, that’s overkill.”
“He’s my godson—unofficially. Sort of.” She waves a hand in the air. “I’m the one he’ll call if he gets arrested while in college. Or if he’s drunk. I have to keep those lines of communication open, even if I have to buy his love.”
“He’ll be fine. Ava will keep him in line.”
Michael and Ava were thrilled to get accepted into the same college. They’ll both be living on campus in the fall and have lots of plans for their first year living away from their parents. I’m relieved that they’ll have each other there to lean on. What the two of them have is really special. I love it for them.
I grin. But I lovethatfor me.
“Hey, gorgeous,” Jack says, making a beeline for me. He plants a loud, wet kiss to my lips. “My God, you’re stunning.”
“Get a room,” Billie says, pretending to gag. “How are you, Jack? Miss me?”
“Like I miss having kidney stones.”
She glares at him, making him laugh. “Okay, all joking aside, what do you guys need me to help with? I know you’ve been busting your ass on the scrapbooks for your new hotshot actress friend.”
I blush. “She’s not my friend. She’s a client.”
“Whatever. The star ofMelomieknows your home address and sent you flowers last week. You’re friends.”
“But not best friends,” Jack says, inserting himself into the conversation. “That’s me. Then you. You’re second place, Bills.”
“I accept begrudgingly,” Billie says. “Shit. I left my makeup bag in the car. My lipstick will melt. I’ll be right back.” She jogs to the door. “Shit, shit, shit.”
Jack shakes his head. “She’s a mess.”
“But she’s consistent.”
He grins. “So are you, my boss wife. Do you need anything else from your executive assistant?”
“I do. But nothing you can deliver right now.”
“Oh, Lo.I can deliveranywhere.”
The glimmer in his eye sends a bolt of energy to the apex of my thighs.
Jack can deliveranywhere. He’s proven that over and over again the last few months.
That’s not the only thing that he’s proven, though. He’s proven that he’s an even better version of the man I married twenty years ago. He listens and pauses when I speak—and rather than turning away or lashing out when we disagree, he absorbs my words.
Jack is present. He’s not only home for dinner, but he’s a part of the process.Except for hamburgers. Never again.He’s generous with everything and free with his time, acknowledgments, and love. He’s been delivering on all those things.
I’ve been trying my best to deliver too.
That’s the thing, really. I was so focused for so long on all the things that were wrong with Jack and our marriage that I forgot to see the good. The reasons why I fell in love with him in the first place. The ways I might have been failing him too.
I’m more patient than before, and more kind when frustrated. I stop by the shop a few times a week to say hello, and I bring dinner there on the rare occasion that Jack can’t make it home.
