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“I’ve been busy”

“Busy with your girlfriend?”

“I don’t have a girlfriend” I kept iving me

“I thought things were going better since you took ized”

“Things are fine She’s just not irlfriend”

Although froht think that I saw her every night I didn’t work or have the kids And even when I did have the kids, she often invited them over to paint nails or bake cookies, and we occasionally had her over for dinner If I had theo to her ave them a tour of the kitchen there She fed Freddie Purrcury while I was at work, and I’d bring her a Frosty or a monkey bread muffin the next day to say thanks

When the girls were around, ere excellent at keeping our hands to ourselves

When ere alone, it was another story

There probably wasn’t an inch on her body I hadn’t kissed, and she could say the sa with her So she was, and I’d groan But I’d coht-eyed positivity—she saw the best in everything and everyone

And I certainly enjoyed her boundless sexual energy

So things could be different with usbut I never let o too far down that path

Maybe in another ti more, but it was pointless to think about that now

It was October first already—she’d be gone in a week

Last weekend she’d taken a three-day trip to Rhode Island, during which she’d signed a lease for an apartment, met her boss and co-workers, and saw her new office She’d loved the hotel as ht she would, and was full of ideas for her new job

I’d been without the kids and off work all three days she’d been gone, and all I’d done was fucking mope and check my phone for texts fro to be like when she left for good

“I’ve been busy with ”

“How’s that going?”

“I really like it” I grinned ruefully “Most of those cocky teenage assholes think being tough is about how ht at their age too—but they’re learning”