Page 10 of Knight

“You, Jackson Knight, are not the first person to ask me for that. I’ve been used as a ringer for years. What’s your party-ready fun fact?”

“Let me think. I’m not that interesting.”

“I doubt that.”

“I know. I can juggle.”

She laughs. “No, that’s boring. Give me something better. More exciting. Something that sets you apart from all of the others.”

“Well, I have a very large penis.”

She’s now hysterically laughing. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you said that. It can’t be as big as your ego.”

“It is.”

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

“Hey there.”

“Hey, sugar. How was your day?”

“I worked today. It’s good to get into the office now and then. I like to make sure things are running smoothly. I haven’t been in much of late, so it was nice to see everyone. I haven’t seen my girls all week though. I miss them. I won’t see them until Sunday.”

“Do you see them a lot?”

“I do. Usually at least twice a week. Sometimes they tag team checking in on me. I pretend not to know why they randomly drop by, but I do. And I appreciate it. We try to have Sunday dinners all together every week too. It’s our collective catch-up time. What about your boys? Do you see them a lot, besides Payton, obviously?”

“Maybe every other week right now. They’re busy with grad school. And they have to split their family time with me and their mother. Though sometimes we all go out together.”

“I assume their mother is local?”

“She is. She lives in the city now. She has a condo. She prefers the city life.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, why did you guys get divorced?”

“I guess we’re getting a little deep tonight. If I’m truly being honest with myself, after years of reflection, I see we were never really in love. We got pregnant at nineteen and both did the right thing for Payton and got married. I don’t regret marrying her, but I regret marrying out of obligation, not love.” That’s the truth.

“She worked her ass off and supported us while I finished school, started working, and eventually started my company. I will always have some amount of love her for that, and for giving me my three boys. We just never had the all-encompassing, can’t live without each other love. If you don’t have that foundation, the small things add up and you end up growing apart.” It’s sad to say that out loud.

“We’ve been divorced for over five years, but we were mostly just cohabitating for years before that. We kind of had an unspoken understanding that we’d stick it out until the twins graduated high school. By then, even the boys asked us to get divorced. We’re both happier now. It was completely amicable. We didn’t even bother with our own lawyers. We split everything right down the middle, and each went our separate ways. We both love our boys and we’ll always have that common ground. The boys were eighteen by then, so we had no custody issues.”

“At least you had an easy divorce. I’ve heard some horror stories. I’m sad for you that you didn’t get to marry for love. Everyone should have that. It must have been lonely.” It definitely was.

We’re silent for a moment. I know she’s anticipating that I’ll ask about her marriage, but I can tell she doesn’t really want to talk about it with me, so I don’t. “Sugar, I’m really beat. Can I call you tomorrow night?”

“Of course. Have a good night, Jackson.”

“You too.”

THURSDAY NIGHT

“Hey there.”

“Hey, sugar. I hope you had a good day. Tonight, I want you to tell me about your best friend.”

“Well, you met Crazy Cassandra. She’s my forever best friend.”

“She’s the one whomadeyou dance with me, andmadeyou have a drink with me?”

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