The Fling

63

"What on earth are you doing here?" I asked Bert.

"I left the house for work at five this morning in a sleep-deprived stupor and forgot my lunch. Since I'm on a tight budget, I wasn't going to get something out," he replied through gritted teeth.

"Have you heard of calling first?" Shawn asked.

Bert pointed a finger at him. "I didn't think I'd come home to find you almost naked and the whole place reeking of sex!"

"This isn't your home!" my boyfriend snapped.

"I bought it, so it's more mine than yours!"

"Okay...have you heard of knocking or ringing the doorbell? You saw my car in the driveway, so don't pretend you didn't know I was here!"

I needed to intervene before things escalated. "This is my home and both of you need to stop shouting inside it. Bert, please get your lunch and leave. In the future, I'd appreciate a text if you plan on coming home midday."

"We're going to talk about this later, Abi. I don't appreciate the house my children are living in being used as a kinky sex den when they're not here! Madonna? What the fuck were you even doing?"

"What I do is none of your business, and it's not like the kids would ever know!"

Shawn walked to the living room and began getting dressed. "I'm leaving. Abigail, call me later because we need to talk, too."

Both men exited without saying another word and I was left standing alone in a state of shock. I took a few deep breaths and picked up my phone, which was still playing 80's music. I hit pause on the theme song from Flashdance and called Shawn.

"What?" he said hostilely.

"I know you are mad, but can you please come back so we can talk in person?"

"No."

"Shawn, I'm on the verge of falling apart, and I need your love and support right now," I pleaded.

He was silent for an uncomfortable amount of time, and then he said "fine" and hung up. He hadn't gotten far, so it wasn't long before he was at my door, his cheeks flushed and his expression grave.

"Let's get some coffee and sit down," I suggested. Mine was still on the counter, so I grabbed it and moved into the living room while he replaced what he'd dumped in the sink before leaving. "You have every right to be angry," I told him. "I don't think that the feeling should be solely directed at me. I'm upset with Bert, too."

"You are why he's here, so I think my feelings are justified. I told you this would change things and look...it hasn't even been a week and this happened. It's not possible for us to have a normal healthy relationship with your fucking ex-husband living here!"

"What's the alternative? You break up with me because I'm trying to show compassion towards the father of my children?"

"The last thing I want is to end things," he said in a softer tone, "but I'm beginning to think that until all this is sorted out, we should take a break."

I gulped back tears. "So you're going to abandon me when I need you most?"

"Never. We can still talk and maybe even meet for coffee or a meal, but I think we need to pause the other stuff, because I don't want to be in this house while he's living here."

"I'm still establishing boundaries. Give it time!"

He shook his head. "I can't explain why, but right now, I don't feel okay with us having sex while your ex-husband is sleeping in the room next to yours every night."