The Fling

49

We spent at least ten minutes taking pictures, and thankfully Jared came over to take some of all of us as we stood on the porch steps by the jack-o-lanterns we'd carved two days ago. I sent a couple pics of the kids to Bert before texting Mia and Eloise that we were ready to trick-or-treat.

"Who will hand out the candy if we're all walking around?" Shawn asked me.

"I leave the bowl on the porch. Half the houses do this, and most kids are really good about only taking one or two. We'll swing back in a bit and I'll refill it, if needed."

Jared chimed in, "And I always keep an eye out. If someone dumps the bowl in their pillowcase, they'll have to deal with me!" My neighbor was not exactly intimidating, but I appreciated his determination.

"I need to put Cosmo's costume on and grab his leash," I said before going inside. My dog had a skeleton sweatshirt he wore every year, and as I was pushing his head through the neck hole, my phone started vibrating. I finished my task and pulled it from my denim jacket pocket. "Hi, Bert. Happy Halloween!"

"I'm not happy, Abi. What the fuck is Bertie wearing?"

"We are all dressed up as musicians and he wanted to be Shawn," I answered calmly.

"I doubt that. You made him do it to get back at me!"

"I'm not that devious. He came up with the idea on his own, and if I'd told him not to because it might upset you, then a lot of the work we've done in therapy would be undone. He needs to see us working as a team, so implying that you and Shawn have issues is not healthy."

He was quiet for a few moments, but then he spoke. "You can date whomever you want, but no one is replacing me with my children. I love them more than anything on earth and this really hurts me!"

The way his voice broke got to me. It was one thing to piss him off a little, which I obviously knew could happen. It was another thing altogether to hurt him. "I know you love them, Bert. They know that, too. Lately you've been a little less present, though. I wanted you here tonight and you said no, so you can't be mad at Shawn for stepping in."

"You're right. I should be there, but my life is crazy with work and other stuff. I'm not even at home right now because I have obligations I can't get out of."

I remembered him using this same vague excuse when he was cheating on me, and I hoped for Reagan's sake that he wasn't up to his old tricks. "We'll be up until probably ten since it's a teacher workday tomorrow and our kids will be hopped up on sugar. If you want to swing by when you're done at work, we'd love to see you."

"I'll text if I can't make it. I'm sorry I came in hot with the call. It just upset me to see my son dressed up like him."

I took a deep breath. "I should have told you about the costume before sending the photo. I'm sorry I handled this the way I did."

"Thanks, Abi. You're right that we need to be a team, and I promise I'll try harder."

"Maybe you, Reagan, and your parents could come here for Thanksgiving next month," I suggested. "The kids have mentioned that they miss family holidays, so this might be good for them."

"I'd like that, but we could be going to Florida. I'll get back to you."

We said goodbye, and I clicked Cosmo's leash on before grabbing my keys, locking the door, and joining everyone else. My best friends and their children had arrived while I was inside, and when I walked over, Mia handed me a mini bottle of vodka. "You look like you could use this, Madonna."

Mia was dressed as a witch and El was a black cat. They'd worn these costumes many times before, though sometimes they switched up who wore what. I liked to come up with something new every year, and I usually teased them about being in a Halloween rut. After my conversation with Bert, I wasn't in the mood to poke fun.