Page 63 of Knight

I smile. “He is. I’m smitten with him too.”

“I can see that. I’m so happy for you. It’s been a long few years for you, Darian. I’ve been so worried about you. It’s good to see you living your life again.” She pauses for a moment. “Where do you see this relationship going? Do you think you’ll get married?”

I’m surprised by the questions. “Get married? Why would we get married? We’ve both had all the kids we’re going to have. There’s no reason for us to ever get married. There’s no reason for me to ever get married again. Jackson understands that my one and only husband is Scott.”

“WasScott. You mean Scottwasyour husband, Darian. He’s not currently your husband. Your vows were untildeath do you part. You’ve reached that.”

I look at her like she’s got three eyes. “That’s not how I see it, Mom. I committed my life to him.Mywhole life. Jackson gets it. You’re making an issue where none exists. We’re happy as we are.”

“Are you sure about that? I watched him tonight. He’s very much in love with you, Darian. I’m pretty sure you’re in love with him too.”

I nod. “I am.”

“Well, in my experience, when a man looks at a woman like that, they want forever. And they want it to be official. Jackson seems like a wonderfully sweet man who would take care of you. That’s all we want. You’re very young to be a widow, Darian. You have a lot of life left to live. We don’t want to see you spending it alone. You need someone like Jackson by your side.”

My mother can be so old school sometimes. “Mom, Jackson and I take care of each other. Despite how young I was when I married Scott, I’m actually a pretty independent woman. While your generation may haveneededa man, I do not. Do IwantJackson in my life right now? Yes, I do. Do Ineedhim in my life? No, I don’t. Jackson and I will continue spending time together as long as webothwant that. Neither of us has any need for the formalities of a marriage.”

She contemplates my words for a moment. “Have you two discussed this?”

“No, we don’t need to. We’re on the same page.”

“Hmm.”

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing. We’ll see. Good night, sweetie. See you in the morning.” She gets up to head back to her room.

I mumble good night to her. Ugh. Mothers. They’re always fucking with your head.

* * *

The hockey game was a blast.We got booed by the Philly fans when we showed up in our red Caps jerseys, in a sea of orange Flyers jerseys. For some reason I find upsetting Philly fans to be very exhilarating.

Ovi scored a hat trick, and the Caps won the game. When the game was over, Jackson surprised us all with a short meet and greet with Ovi. We got tons of pictures with him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my father as happy as the moment he shook Ovi’s hand. Naturally, he gushed all over Ovi, and told him that he’s the greatest player of all time.

Cassandra copped a feel, so the pictures ended rather abruptly, but we all got the photos and memories we wanted. I’m so grateful to Jackson for this special day.

* * *

JACKSON

It’s Friday morning and we’re leaving for Colorado in a few hours. Darian is gone for her weekly visit to the cemetery. She goes every week on Friday mornings. I’m pretty sure she just talks to him about her life and the girls. I don’t think the girls go with her. Perhaps they go on their own at other times.

She’s never spoken with me about it, other than to say that she goes to visit. I certainly don’t want to pry. I can’t say it doesn’t bother me a little bit, but I would never say that to her. If it’s what she needs to manage what she’s been through, then so be it. I try not to be too insecure about it.

She usually returns a little emotional. I generally give her an hour or two to herself before I speak with her. I’m usually at work when she goes anyway.

An hour after she returns, I poke my head in to see if she’s ready to go to the airport. She nods her head. I can tell she’s been crying, but I don’t acknowledge it. I don’t want to make her feel self-conscious.

We watch Wedding Crashers on the flight out. It’s Darian’s favorite movie, and she belly laughs the whole time.

With the time change, we land in Denver at 4:00 local time. We grab our luggage and rental car. “Let’s go check into the hotel and clean up. We’re having dinner at my dad’s house tonight. I thought tomorrow we could go skiing for a bit, and then tomorrow night we’ll be with Will and his entire family. For New Year’s Eve the following night, we’ll be with just Will and Frankie at the party, sans the kids.”

She looks surprised. “We’re not staying with your father?”

“No, his place is kind of small. He won’t let me buy him a bigger place. I want some private alone time with you anyway, and you’re kind of a screamer.” I give her a big smile.

She smacks my arm. “I’m not that loud.”

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