The Fling

61

I was up at dawn again on Sunday. Thankfully we had enough leftovers from the previous morning's breakfast that I didn't need to make anything. We ate together and then Bert went upstairs to take a shower before day two of packing and moving his stuff.

Hannah sat next to me on the couch as I finished my coffee. "I don't like it when you're gone for hours and hours and hours."

"I understand, but your dad and I need to finish moving him out today. Hopefully it won't take as long as yesterday."

Bertie, who was sitting on the floor playing with his Avengers action figures groaned loudly. "When are we getting a Christmas tree? You said we'd do it when you came back from Canada and we still don't have one."

I'd thought about this. "This year we're going to skip the real tree and put up our pretty artificial one. I promise we'll do it next weekend."

"Saturday is the fifteenth. We're seriously waiting until ten days before Christmas to decorate?" Lizzie asked.

She was right; that was really late. "Tell you what. If your dad and I get home in time, we'll do it tonight. How's that sound?"

All three kids nodded enthusiastically and said they'd like that.

On the drive over to Bert's house, I filled him in on the plan. "We need to work fast today because I'm not disappointing our kids."

"You just reminded me that I've got Christmas stuff in the storage room in the basement I need to move. I'm fine with doing the tree, unless you'd prefer I not participate since it's your house."

"The kids will like having you be a part of the tradition again." Up until today, I'd assumed Shawn would be the one picking out a freshly cut tree and hanging lights and ornaments on it with us, but there was no way that would work with Bert there. "We're going to put up the fake tree you bought when we first got married."

"That thing cost almost twelve hundred bucks, so I'm glad you're actually using it. I never liked the real ones you insisted on getting. Too many needles."

We divided up which rooms we'd pack up, and this time I brought my AirPods so I could listen to music while I worked. I selected a Christmas mix to get me in the spirit for later, and by noon I was done with my areas. I went upstairs and found Bert in his bedroom closet. "I am going to start loading boxes into the rental truck. Are you anywhere near being done?"

"Reagan has a lot of clothes, so I'll need another hour or so. She texted me to fold everything carefully to prevent wrinkles."

"Do you want help?"

He shook his head. "No, thanks."

For the next two hours, I trekked back and forth from the house to the driveway, stacking the boxes inside the cargo area of the truck, which was a bit like playing Tetris. It occurred to me that I was doing the bulk of the labor, but it was a great workout so I didn't mind. Bert joined me after awhile, and by four, everything he owned was cleared out of the rental home. He did one last walk-through and then placed the keys on the kitchen counter.

"You okay?" I asked as we stood by the truck.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a rental, so I wasn't attached to the place."

My ex was a master at suppressing his feelings, and I knew this move was much more difficult than he was letting on. He'd been building a life in this house with his wife, and now all that was gone. "If you need to talk, I'm here."

"Let's hit the road," he mumbled. "I might get to your house a little after you since I need to gas up this van."

"No prob. Can we unload everything after we decorate? I don't want to make the kids wait longer than necessary."