I Don't Belong To You

Chapter 21

"Wow. You...you're gorgeous."

"You said that."

"Because I meant it."

"Well, thank you dear. You don't..." she smooths out the wrinkles of the dress, "You don't think it's too much? Too tight for meeting the parents?"

Becky shakes her head immediately. "Not at all. You're...just...," Becky lets out a deep breath and turns back to the mirror, continuing to tie her tie.

"Just wow?" She smirks and approaches her from behind, grabbing her slender hips and watching her loop her thin red tie with expertise.

"Yeah, like so many wow's." Becky smiles at her widely as she finishes off with a tip clip to keep it snugly in place.

"Well, you don't look so bad yourself."

Becky is sporting a suit similar to the one she was wearing when they first met except this time, instead of heels she's wearing oxfords with her tight black pants cuffed at the bottom. As she stands in the mirror next to her, Becky's tie complementing her dress nicely, she admits that they make quite a beautiful, stylish couple.

Becky's arm wraps around her shoulder easily and she stares in nothing short of adoration as she kisses her hair and closes her eyes.

"Why are you actually the most beautiful thing ever and how did I get so lucky to call you mine?"

She sighs, thinking the same thing about Becky as she wraps her arms around her waist.

"I don't know," she says honestly. Because she has no clue how someone like Becky could want her.

And she could almost understand why Becky would feel the same. Because they're both so battered and bruised and the reality that someone wants them not just in spite of their flaws but because of them is a heavy thought to bear.

"I don't know either."

They stand in silence for a few more minutes until Ritchie comes in with one shoe on and his sweater on completely backwards.

He had insisted on dressing himself in the clothes that she had laid out for him so they left him to it for a few minutes.

They both share a laugh at the finished product.

"Hey bud, let's get your shoes on and fix you up a bit."

Becky lifts him easily so that he's standing on their bed and she watches with intensity in the hopes of overlooking the fact that she referred to it as "their bed" at all.

Becky pulls off his sweater to reveal a poorly buttoned red dress shirt and they both barely manage to stifle another laugh.

"Here let's sit, huh? Fre will work on the shoes while I work on the buttons."

"I buttoned by myself!" He says proudly as he carefully seats himself on the edge of the bed, feet dangling off the edge.

She seats herself just as carefully, crossing her legs and then lifting his little foot to tie his black converse.

As Becky works the buttons and Freen compliments him on how handsome he looks, it hits her how good this feels.

For a moment, she forgets that Ritchie is not her child. She forgets that she and Becky aren't happily married and that they're at a high rise in the city as opposed to a 2-story house in the suburbs.

This false reality only further excites her for the real thing down the road, especially as they finish and Ritchie throws his arms around her neck. He's a little too heavy for her to carry but she manages anyway because, much like Becky, she can't refuse him anything.