She ignored him. “Actually I think you think you’re perfect. Which, I’d like to remind you, you’re not.”
“Jeez, Melanie. I never said I was. Why are you picking a fight? We’re not in middle school.” In seventh grade he and Mel had fought tooth and nail over everything.
“I’m not picking a fight. You’re the one who brought up Perfect Jayne. Why do you think she’s perfect, anyway? Because she has long, flowing, golden hair?” Melanie smirked at her joke.
He turned back toward the window. “She’s a kindergarten teacher. She’s been living on her own since she was twenty-one. She volunteers in the community.”
“Not to mention she’s drop-dead gorgeous.”
“She is,” he agreed. Jayne was beautiful in that wholesome, girl-next-door, cover-model way. And what was wrong with that, anyway? The girl couldn’t help being gorgeous. “That doesn’t even matter. Shawn was pretty, too.”
“Was? What happened, Eddie? She got old and her body changed after giving you three precious girls? You got bored and needed a trophy wife?”
“Sergeant Wagner, the guy who is so insecure he needs a trophy wife to make him look good,” he said sarcastically. “Come on. You know that’s never been me.”
“I’ll grant you that.”
“And nothing happened to Shawn’s looks, Melanie. I’ve always thought she was pretty. But looks were never our problem.”
Unexpectedly a moment from four months ago flashed into his mind. A moment when the last thing either of them were thinking about was kids or clocks.
No, all he’d been thinking was that he missed kissing her. He missed how she melted into his arms the moment they hugged. Always. The guys at the station used to tease him about how Shawn always flattened her hips against his when they’d embraced—even if the hug only lasted thirty seconds.
But one night, the hug was all it took for his body to respond the way it always had.
Clearing his throat, Eddie brought himself back to reality. “All I’m saying is that I didn’t think you acted very warm or nice to Jayne when I invited her to the barbecue.”
“I didn’t know what to say. I’m pretty new to you dating. Plus, it was a little uncomfortable. She was here, acting like y’all were on some kind of date.”
“We were.”
“Well, I like you acting like a dad with the girls, at least at things like family barbecues.”
“You liked me fine before I had children.”
“I did. But when you were with Jayne, you seemed…weird.”
Weird? “How?”
“I don’t know. You acted all fake. And you waited on her.”
“Her name’s Jayne.”
“Whatever. You were waiting on her and I’ve never seen you wait on anyone in your life.”
He had. He’d waited on Shawn when she was pregnant. Just remembering how warm and sweet she’d looked when he brought her coffee in bed made him swallow hard.
Then he recalled how devastated she’d looked after the miscarriage. Then nothing could make her smile. He’d been so hurt, too. Had he tried hard enough to lift her spirits?
The memory was too painful. It was far easier to dwell on the evening Melanie was talking about. “I couldn’t have the girls because it was Shawn’s weekend.”
Melanie grunted, not very ladylike, either. “Convenient.”
“You’re going to have to get used to me being divorced, Mel. Bad things happen.”
“I know. But maybe you aren’t better off without Shawn, Ed.”
“I am.”
“Okay, I’ll rephrase. Maybe you aren’t better off with Jayne. I think you’ve jumped right into something without thinking.”
“If I did, that would be a good thing. Shawn always said I planned too much.”
Melanie pushed the magazine to one side and finally looked at him. Really looked at him. “I guess you’re right,” she said softly. “I miss Shawn so much, sometimes I forget how unhappy you both were before you separated. We’re all entitled to move on and change. Next time you bring Jayne around, I’ll put out more of an effort. I promise.”
“Thanks.” He paused. “Maybe one time John can join us and the four of us could go out.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Ever? It’s time for you to move on, too, you know. The guy’s crazy about you.”
After a pause she finally nodded. “Maybe one day soon. Not yet. But maybe soon.”
The familiar sound of his cell phone ring brought them both up short. “Wagner.”
“Eddie, omigosh, the worst thing happened,” Shawn said in a single breath. “I’m so sorry I haven’t called.”
“Shawn,” he mouthed to Melanie before gripping the window frame in relief. “Are you okay? Are the girls hurt?”
“The girls are fine. We’re all fine.”
Closing his eyes, Eddie began a silent prayer, asking forgiveness. Of course a part of him had hoped she’d have a good reason for not being there. Then, almost immediately, his frustration let loose. “What happened?”
“I, um, locked my purse in the house, which is where my cell phone and keys are.”
“What about the extra set?” After the fourth time she’d been locked out, he’d made copies of the keys and created a hiding spot for them in the backyard.
“I never put them back. Not after the last time I used them. I had to go next door to see Delores and ask if I could use her phone to call the locksmith. And you know how ornery she is—I didn’t dare ask to call you.”
“She would have said no,” he replied, smiling in spite of his irritation. “Long distance.”
“You got it. So the girls and I just sat outside and waited for the guy to come.”
“But he didn’t?”
“Oh, he came. The minute after I paid him, we were on our way, but by then the roads were crazy. Listen, the traffic is horrible, so horrible that I haven’t felt like I could do anything but drive with two hands on the wheel. But we’re almost at your place. Ten minutes at the most.”
“Okay. See you then.”
“Listen, did you already eat? I could run the girls to a drive-through?”
“We haven’t eaten. We’ll wait.”
“Okay. Thanks, Eddie.”
She clicked off before he could say another word.
“She’s okay?”
“Yeah.” Eddie couldn’t believe it, but he actually felt like smiling. “Locked her purse in the house, but she’ll be here in ten minutes.”
Melanie stood up again. “Sooner than that! There they are!”
Following Melanie out of the house, Eddie found himself chuckling. That had been maybe one minute, tops.
Shawn had never met a schedule she could keep.
SHE’D DONE IT. She’d deposited the girls at Eddie’s.
As Shawn drove along the highway once again, she tried not to think about how empty she felt.
She