Stranger Things Have Happened, I Know

Ch 31 & 32

Chapter 31

                Over the next few days, I tried really hard to move on from our huge blow out. However, I felt like someone had sliced a hole through my heart. I suddenly felt like Dave was a stranger, someone I didn’t really know. He was trying really hard to do the right things. He knew I needed my space, but he also knew that if he were to leave the house too much, I wouldn’t be able to help but wonder where he really was. And he was right. He had a few appointments and meetings scattered throughout the week and I would anxiously watch him drive away and wonder, in the back of my mind, if he was going to meet Jordyn.

                It was an awful feeling. It was a terrible cycle. I’d feel suspicious, then I’d get angry at him for making me feel this way, then he’d get frustrated that he couldn’t make me believe he was being honest and I throw out a comment about “what did he expect?”, which would make him feel terrible all over again, which would make me feel awful for beating a dead horse. And around and around we would go. We hadn’t been intimate since before the fight. We hadn’t really even touched one another, other than the quick peck on the cheek he’d give me before he left the house.

                That Friday was Chris Shiftlett’s son’s birthday party. We picked up Dave’s daughters and headed over for the festivities. We put on our brave faces and acted the part of the happy couple in love. Everyone was concerned about my bandaged hand and I recounted the story of how I sliced it opened, explaining poor Josh was had to bring me to the ER since I couldn’t reach Dave. I left out the fact that I couldn’t reach Dave because he was with his Ex-wife, car shopping. At the party, I tried to avoid Dave as much as possible. I chatted amicably with my girlfriends and we chased the kids around the backyard all afternoon. Later that night, when the kids were getting sleepy, Dave and I loaded our girls into their car seats and headed home. Once at home, I helped Dave change them into their pajamas. I pulled the covers back on their beds and they crawled in. Dave shut off the light, making sure the night light was on.

                “Kate, will you lay with me until I fall asleep?” Hayden said, popping her thumb in her mouth. My heart melted, as it always did when these girls showed me affection. Dave smiled at me as he slipped out of the room.

                “Sure, squish over,” I said and the she wiggled in, making a little room for me.

                “Are you going to be here in the morning?” Violet asked from her bed.

                “Of course,” I whispered.

                “Good,” she said, yawning. “Will you make us pancakes in the morning?”

                “Absolutely, but you have to close your eyes and go to sleep first,” I said, smiling. I laid next to Hayden until I was confident both girls were asleep and I could crawl out with out waking them up. I gently kissed their sweet little heads and tip toed out of the room. Dave was waiting for me in our bed room. He smiled at me when he saw me.

                “Isn’t that the best thing in the world?” he asked, referring to Hayden’s request.

                “It really is,” I said, smiling back. I stripped off my clothes and got ready for bed. When I crawled under the covers, Dave reached for me. I let him pull me up against him.

                “I miss you,” he said and I detected a note of desire in his voice. Sure enough, he leaned in towards me and kissed me lightly on the lips. I kissed him back but had to stop him when his hands tried to move beneath my shirt.