Page 12 of Bad Love

“You always get like this before board meetings,” I say as I return the ball to its drawer. “I have just the cure.Don Giovanni’s at theMet.”

He rubs a hand through his unruly hair even as his eyes brighten. It’s comical how much Monty loves the opera. He came with us one year and has been obsessed since. “I can’t take a nightoff.”

“Even for the merrytragedy?”

He groans. “No.”

“That’s unfortunate. I bought you a box. Tickets are in youremail.”

Monty’s mouth twitches under his beard. “I hateyou.”

I clap him on the shoulder with a grin. “You’rewelcome.”

4

Movingto New York brought a lot of surprises. Some, like the cost of living, weretough.

Some were delightful. Like CentralPark.

The public space is big and diverse and lush, the spring weather drawing the cherry blossoms out of their sleep. At Conservatory Water, there's a swarm of kids on a sunny Saturday morning, several steering the little remote-controlledboats.

“He’s definitely the best,” Renacomments.

My gaze lands on the red head of hair in the throng of kids. My smile is involuntary, as if the boy I’m watching is as in charge of my motor control as he is of his toysailboat.

“It’s not acompetition.”

“Everything’s a competition,” sheinsists.

We sip our coffees as we stroll down the path. Rena looks fashionable for Saturday morning in tailored pants and a sleeveless pink shell. I’ve opted for the mom’s-best-friend athleisure look in yoga pants and a T-shirt. I nearly shoved my hair under a ball cap but opted to straighten it instead and tuck sunglassesovertop.

“If it was up to him, he’d never leave thekitchen.”

“You’ll never have to worry about him beingsingle.”

“Don’t even joke about that. It feels like he was just ababy.”

“You had Rory eight years ago.Youwere a baby.” She laughs, and I’m grateful she’s my friend. Sometimes I feel as though I’ve known her way more than a year, when she joined Closer after moving home to New York fromPhiladelphia.

Not because we have lots in common. She grew up wealthy, went to a fancy college. But she had to deal with expectations from her parents, and I know too well what that’slike.

“He must have been a handsome jerk,” she says. “Rory’s dad. You were married, right?” Rena’s direct, but she respects that we’ve never talked aboutthis.

I nod. “Blake and I both came from conservative families. When we found out I was pregnant, it seemed like the only option. Now, Rory’s my everything, and I don’t regret him for asecond.”

“But?”

“But what Blake and I had was a mess.” My chest tightens. “After we separated when Rory was not even two, Blake took a job out of state and vanished from our lives. Four years ago, he came back for the summer and decided he wanted to be in Rory’s life. He was around every weekend. At first I thought it was a good thing. Then he started getting grandiose ideas. Blake works construction and has winters off, and he wanted to take Rory on the road for a month even though he had school. I told him no, and he disappearedagain.”

“PoorRory.”

“He was disappointed, but not as much as he could’ve been. I’m not sure he was old enough to fully understand whathappened.”

“How did you and Blake gettogether?”

“I was a kid.” The coffee tastes deliciously bitter in my throat. “He was handsome and talented and said the things that make teenage girls bite their lips. But we never got on the same page the way you need to in order to adult. It makes it hard to think about dating again. I don’t want to make anothermistake.”

We go back to watching the kids. One of their boats gets stranded in the middle of the water, and someone in a rowboat has to help them get itback.

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