Dan and the kids would be home for lunch and they actually didn't have any plans for the afternoon. Kristi needed to run into town to the supermarket, since Dan had invited Peter and the twins over. Apparently there was a basketball game they wanted to watch. She would make a nice batch of chili which would be perfect for a cold, wet, damp day. She felt bad that Megan would not come over. She'd be just across the street alone. Kristi loved Megan's six-year-old twins, Sophie and Nicholas and was glad to have them. They played so well with Ben and Ivy.
She liked Peter, but she was on 'team Megan.' When she and Dan moved to The Point, Megan had been divorced for at least a year. They may be best friend, but Megan had never shared with her what ended her marriage. This was not how friends should think, but Kristi really wanted to know. She had hinted and Megan had never allowed the conversation to go to Peter. It was very much like when she shut her down at coffee this morning.
She liked that they got along. They co-parented well as the experts would say. When Dan befriended Peter through the kids, she was not happy. "You can't be friends with him. Megan's my friend."
Dan argued. "Kris, he's a nice guy and the kids like to spend time together. Do you want to tell Ivy that she can only see Sophie during the week? You complain that they're in daycare and you wish they were around more to play."
"I know they have to be in daycare. Of course, Megan has to work, she's a single mother."
"All I'm asking is that you give Peter a chance for the kids' sake." Dan was the reasonable one.
So she had agreed to give him a chance and in time she accepted him. Alright, she liked him, but she would never let Megan know. He was funny and had a way with the kids. It was not unusual for him to end up with all four of them trying to jump all over him. He would also start and encourage very silly conversations. She often wondered if it was these childish behaviors that ruined their marriage, although he was a responsible adult when not entertaining children.
It was good for Dan to have a friend and Peter was that guy. By moving here they had left all their friends behind and so new friends were special. One thing she respected about Peter was he never grilled her for information on Megan. He seemed to have accepted Megan's situation as none of his business. She was no more successful getting him to open up as she was with Megan. Neither of them cared to talk about the circumstances of their divorce and it ate at Kristi. She had even once wondered if the two of them were plotting against her.
The chili was simmering when Peter and the children arrived. It amazed Kristi how four children could disappear and entertain themselves peacefully. Dan offered his friend a beer, and the two sat down in front of the basketball game. Kristi thought about sneaking across the street to hang out with Megan, but she didn't want to go out in the rain. It was coming down harder than it had all day.
"Should you be worried about the road with this rain," Kristi asked Peter.
"Nah I don't think so. When's high tide?"
"Not until after midnight," Dan said.
"I should be fine then."
"I had coffee with Megan this morning." Kristi tried to get a reaction from Peter.
"That's nice. Do they know what defense is?" He called out to the TV.
"Not this quarter!" Dan responded.
Kristi wandered upstairs to check on the kids. The boys were together in Ben's room and the girls were in Ivy's. It sounded like the girls were playing house and Ivy was the mother bossing Sophie around.
"We need a daddy," Ivy said.
"No, I live with just a mommy." Sophie's response was matter of fact.
"Why don't you live with your daddy?"
"I dunno. Because they aren't friends and they're 'vorced."
Kristi quietly walked into her room thinking of little Sophie's words. I supposed she was right, since they weren't friends. Kristi rarely saw Megan and Peter together except occasionally at school events. Even when they switched the kid, he mostly just stood on the porch while they ran to him. She observed that if he went inside, he never stayed long.
Kristi read in her room for a while. Her room was a large master suite. When they bought the house it was too small, so they hired a contractor and put on a second story. This was a common occurrence - cottages were sold and renovated. She tried to keep the character of the house, but some destroyed the house down to one wall and built monstrosities. Kristi's renovations took so long Alex, their contractor, practically became a member of the family.
Megan's house was different with no large renovations. Apparently they had winterized it DIY style, and the marriage was over before they finished it. Megan had one wall without a piece of drywall. A bookshelf covered most of it, but you could still see the insulation.
Kristi had suggested her builder more than once. "Let me send Alex over, but Megan always said, "I'll hire someone when I can afford it."
Her friend also shared nothing about the financial arrangements related to the divorce. She suspected that Peter met any responsibility he may have. Still Kristi felt badly since she and Dan were more than fine financially and her best friend had to watch every penny she spent. She hoped she was ready for the added expense of the new baby - day care, diapers.
The game continued to frustrate the men.
"Are you two ready to eat?" Kristi asked.
"Absolutely," Dan said.
It took a few calls for all four children to come downstairs. There was some dissatisfaction with the chili. Kristi ended up making the boys a grilled cheese sandwich and Ivy picked around her beans. They ate quickly and dispersed, leaving the adults at the table.
The men spoke about the game, but when Peter, not Dan, realized Kristi wasn't interested, he changed the subject.
"The school music concert was great the other night wasn't it?"
"It was really cute. I like their new music teacher," she added.
At the concert, Megan sat next to Kristi and Peter sat next to Dan. Kristi noticed that they never even spoke to each other. Still wishing to understand their odd relationship, she worked on Peter.
"So Peter how do you feel about Megan's baby?" Kristi asked bluntly.
"That's her business. It's has nothing to do with me." He paused and responded almost as if his response the rehearsed.
Kristi had never met two divorced people who were so indifferent towards the other. She couldn't imagine ever feeling that way about Dan. Of course, she loved Dan and clearly there was no love between those two - maybe there never was.
When they had finished eating, she noticed Peter looking out the window towards his old house. He pulled out his phone and was busy on it, probably texting, she thought. When he put his phone in his pocket, he turned to her.
"I'll be right back."
He put on his coat and went out her mudroom door. She took his place at the window and watched as he sprinted across the street in the pouring rain. She saw the door open, and he ran in. She wondered what he was doing until he was back out in the rain and running across the street in just a few minutes. She heard him come in and the thud of his shoes being removed.
He looked at her and held up a stuffed bunny. "Last night was a rough night."
Then he called Sophie from the bottom of the stairs. The little girl appeared at the top of the stairs and when she saw her beloved bunny she bolted down the stairs. "Bunny! Bunny! Bunny!" She flung her arms around her father and the bunny.
Kristi could not deny that he loved his children, and they loved him. He was a good father, and she saw it firsthand. She was also sure that Megan felt it too. She would mention missing her children, but never them not being in good hands.
Later that night as the rain continued to come down, and the wind howled outside, Dan held Kristi.
"Stop badgering Peter about Megan. If you want to find out about their past, go ask Megan."
"I have and she is as closed lips as he is."
"Has it ever occurred to you that there is no story to tell, my sweet little gossip girl?" He quieted her with his lips.
YOU ARE READING
Shattered Hearts (TP1)
Romance(Complete) Peter isn't prepared for the reality of another man spending the night with his ex. He should be, but his heart has never let her go. Peter, who was abandoned by his father as a young boy, will do anything for his kids. He won't stop unt...
