Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“Drills are stupid,” he complained. “Wish Dad was here, so he could pick him up like he used to. Then, we wouldn’t have to wait here forever. So, stupid.”
That one hit hard.
I’d tried hard to manage the boys without their father’s help. Sometimes, I made it just fine. Others, like tonight, I struggled. I hated that I couldn’t do more. I hated that I wasn’t enough on my own, but I did my best not to let it show. I just swallowed hard and answered, “Well, he’s been pretty busy at work these days, and he can’t manage like he used to.”
“Busy with CeeCee,” Lucas grumbled under his breath. “It’s only gonna get worse when she has the baby.”
“Baby?” I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. Thinking I might’ve misheard him, I asked, “CeeCee’s pregnant?”
“Yeah.” Lucas continued to stare out the window, trying to hide the hurt, but I could hear it in his voice when he said, “Dad told us the last time he called.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“I thought he did.”
“No, he kept that tidbit to himself.”
And just like that, I was thinking back to the days when Cee and I were inseparable. We were both happy and loved our families more than anything, and then, just over two years ago, she and Dan destroyed every facet of our lives. It made me sick to even think about it.
Dan and I met in college at my spring sorority social. He was tall and handsome with this goofy grin that tugged at my heart. He asked me to dance, and that’s all it took. We fell fast and hard, and as soon as we graduated, we tied the knot, moved into a new apartment, and started our new life together.
I got a job as a librarian at the local elementary school, and I couldn’t have been more excited. I’d spent weeks getting the library organized and decorated. I was so proud of it and couldn’t wait for the kids to see it. And just as I’d hoped, everyone raved about all the work I’d put in, and the kids loved it.
And then, in the second week of school, disaster struck. One of CeeCee’s second graders managed to topple three bookshelves, sending thousands of books falling like dominoes.
While half of the teachers avoided eye contact and pretended not to notice the disaster, CeeCee rushed over and dropped to her knees beside me, muttering curses under her breath that didn’t belong anywhere near an elementary school.
That was CeeCee.
She was this young, beautiful, spitfire redhead with a temper that could catch fire and a mouth that would’ve made a sailor blush. And while we were polar opposites, we clicked, like two puzzle pieces that shouldn’t go together but did.
Years passed, and we built a whole damn life together. She became my person. My sounding board. My ride or die. We raised our babies, went on girls’ nights, and brought food to each other when one of the kids was sick. We shared holidays and yard parties, and playdates with the kids.
We did it all.
And even when times got hard, our friendship didn’t fade. If anything, it grew stronger. She was the one I called whenever I got upset over something at work or had an argument with Dan. She was the one who brought me coffee the morning after Thomas fell and busted his chin open, nearly scaring the life out of me.
She knew everything about me.
And then, one afternoon, one simple, stupid afternoon, everything fell apart.
I was washing dishes when I noticed Dan’s phone light up. I glanced over and noticed it was a message from CeeCee. There was something about it that made my stomach turn. Thinking I must’ve read it wrong, I dried my hands and picked up the phone.
The second I clicked on the message, my whole world crumbled at my feet. There were so many of them. It was one message after the next, and they made it clear that my husband, the love of my life, and my dearest friend were having an affair. I didn’t want to believe it, but there was no denying it.
It was right there in black and white.
My entire world imploded in the span of seconds. Everything I thought I knew was a lie. And now, I’d learned that they hadn’t just moved on without me, but they were starting a family of their own.
Lucas looked over at me with those big, worried eyes, and I knew falling apart wasn’t an option. So, I exhaled and said, “This is the first I’ve heard about it, but that’s great for them.”
“You aren’t mad?”
I slipped my arm behind him and leaned in as I pulled him close. “No, sweetie. I’m not mad. Just a little surprised.”
“It’s not fair.”
“No, but it’s okay. We’re making it just fine, and that’s all that matters.”