Morgan

Chapter Thirty Two - Divorce Finalized

It's two months later when the divorce is finalised. Annie and I are officially no longer married, and I'm still surprised, that it is real, and that she gave me everything I desired. Now as we walk into a restaurant, we look to each other with a sadness, but also a peace to know that part of this was over. We could move on somehow to healthier places in our lives.

"Kids you can order whatever you want" Annie announces and they excitedly grab the menus as we all sit down.

"So you two get divorced and we reap the benefits ... I like it" Jamie says.

Annie and I share a look "teenagers" we both say with a smile.

"But you still love each other right" Gage asks.

I reach for his hand and squeeze it "Mommy and I will always love each other because we made the most beautiful humans together... and that means we will always love each other Gage... because our love made you"

Jamie pretends to stick her fingers down her throat and Annie playfully whacks her with her hand. "Stop it or no dessert for you" she reminds her, and she instantly behaves.

It had been two months of working on a friendship with Annie, and we were closer than we had been in a very long time. It made it easier to spend time together with the kids, and as promised she didn't touch me again, but it didn't mean I didn't spot the way she looked at me sometimes, like she wanted to.

March and spring brought with it new starts, not just for Annie and I but also Blake and Mia, they were now embarking on a secret relationship that my parents knew nothing of and the family meals had been torture. Blake could not hide the way he had fallen for Mia and she could not hide the way her eyes looked for him whenever he left a room. I would have to fake a break up with Mia this week because I needed her and Blake to just get it together and be official. They were adorable together and as long as he treated her right I could more than get on board with Mia becoming a more permanent fixture in our lives and our family.

Then there was, Lydia Keaton, the self proclaimed straight and strictly dickly sibling. She was currently pretending she wasn't seeing Paige. She had kept it under the radar as well as possible but I loved stalking her on social media when she went out and seeing her tagged pictures that she forgot to untag herself from. My little sister was flirting with the Kinsey scale and when she was ready to discuss it, I would be ready. I just had to avoid the inevitable meeting of Sam again because I had seen her in some of the tagged pictures and Lydia had even followed her and vice versa on social media. This meant Sam was now only once removed from me, and had intimate access to my life, and the pictures on Lydia's profile. Too close for comfort.

***
"So you are breaking up with your pretend girlfriend this weekend?!" Annie asked as we both awaited the kids at her car. They had run in to grab their weekend bags as they were staying with Annie for a weekend visit with her parents.

I look toward her, leaning against her car, arms crossed over my chest "yes Mia is getting dumped. I have to come clean at tomorrows family event before Mia and Blake forget themselves and just begin kissing"

"Your mom would faint if she saw that" Annie replies with an amused smile.

"She would... so I have one more night before I'm single again" I reply "and a divorced single at that... it kind of feels weird"

Annie nods and walks over to stand beside me, her hips pressed against mine.

"It does feel strange...but now that we are both single with no strings ... fancy that bit of fun you promised me" she asks cocking an eyebrow playfully.

I laugh and nudge her "I never promised you anything" I retort.

She shakes her head "you most certainly did... and I'm ready to collect on that promise"