“Uh . . .” I had to think. “That’s your mom’s wedding.”
“But that’s Saturday,” Hallie said. “Couldn’t we see her Friday when she gets here? Or Sunday, the day after?”
“Maybe.” I tried to swallow and couldn’t. “I’ll—I’ll text her and find out when she gets in. I also need to check with Mom about the wedding schedule.”
“Okay. Can we go out for breakfast?”
“I guess.” But I didn’t want to go anywhere. I just wanted to stay in bed, stare at her photo, and feel sorry for myself.
“Can we go to Winnie’s bakery?”
“Can’t we go somewhere else?”
“No, that’s our favorite place on Saturday mornings.” Luna giggled. “You still have Cheeto dust in your chest hair.”
Dropping my chin, I gave her my best grumpy Dad face. “Go get dressed, and put that nightgown in your laundry basket. It’s got jelly all over it.”
“Can you text Winnie right now and ask about the weekend?” Hallie pleaded.
“No.” I needed to think about exactly what I was going to say to her. “I want to talk to Mom first. I’ll do that when I drop you guys off today. Now go get dressed.”
That afternoon, after hugging the girls goodbye in the driveway, I asked Naomi if she had a minute.
“Sure.” She sent the girls into the house with instructions to clean their messy rooms, and turned back to me with her arms folded. “What’s up?”
“Winnie is going to be in town next weekend, and the girls want to know if there’s any time they can see her.”
Naomi sighed. “Next weekend is going to be really busy with the wedding.”
“I know. I can tell them it won’t work.”
“No, no, don’t do that. They talk about her all the time, and they’ll be sad if they miss her visit completely.” A chill October wind blew her hair across her forehead, and she tucked it behind her ear. “How long will she be here?”
“Friday to Sunday.”
“Is she staying with you?”
I made a face like the question was crazy. “No! I have no idea where she’s staying. Why would she be staying with me?”
“Take it easy.” Naomi held up her hands. “The way the girls have talked about the situation, I sort of thought you might be more than friends.”
“Well, we’re not. She’s not in town to see me.”
My ex studied me carefully. “But you care about her.”
I closed my eyes. Clenched my jaw. “Naomi, don’t.”
“Dex, come on. Don’t get mad. In the two years since we split up, the girls have never once mentioned a female friend, and after she came around, it was nothing but Winnie this and Winnie that. It’s obvious she was around a lot.”
“She was,” I admitted.
“It’s okay. It’s not like I expected you to be alone forever. And you’ve always been very accepting of my relationship with Bryce.”
“Me being alone forever is a lot more likely than a relationship with Winnie.”
“Why?”
I scowled at her. “Why do you even care?”
“Because I care about you, Dex.” She poked a finger at my chest. “Maybe you find this hard to believe, but I do actually want you to be happy. It’s true that our marriage didn’t work, and I don’t think you tried hard enough to save it, but I don’t believe it’s because you weren’t capable. That’s what drove me crazy all the time. You could be a good partner to someone—if you let them in.”
I rubbed a hand over my jaw. “You should know better than anyone, that isn’t my thing.”
“Oh, believe me, I know.” She sighed. “But maybe you and I were just the wrong fit. Maybe I was never going to get over feeling shut out. Maybe your emotional baggage and mine were always going to prevent us from giving the other what they needed. And I wasn’t going to settle for being unhappy, Dex. That’s why I asked you to leave.”
“I know.”
Her voice softened. “And you didn’t fight me.”
I shook my head.
“At the time, I was hurt, but I came to accept that we were better off apart. And now I found someone who can give me what I need.”
“I’m glad for you,” I said, and I meant it.
She smiled. “Thanks. And we’ll figure out something for that weekend. I need them Friday for the rehearsal and Saturday is the wedding, but I was going to have my mom take them back to her house at maybe ten or so. They’ll be tired.”
“Why don’t I just pick them up from the reception?”
“That works. Let’s say ten-thirty in the lobby of the yacht club?”
I nodded. “I have to work Monday, so I’ll have them back Sunday evening.”
“Okay. Thanks again for letting me have them during your weekend. If you’d like them for an overnight during your off days this week, just let me know. We can work it out.”
I thought for a moment. “I have some coaching sessions Monday and Wednesday, but Tuesday would work.”
She smiled. “Perfect. I’ll tell them you’ll pick them up from school. Oh—they have dentist appointments that day. I think at four-ten and four-forty.”
I took out my phone and put the appointments in. “Got it. They’ll be there.”
“Good.” She paused. “I wasn’t going to say anything about this, but I ran into your sister the other day and she told me about your dad. That’s . . . that’s tough. And I’m sorry.”
I adjusted the cap on my head, feeling guilty because I still hadn’t talked things out with Bree. “Yeah. Thanks.”
“Are you going to see him?”
“I don’t think so.”
She nodded. “I get it.”
“Do you think I’m being too harsh?” I asked. Naomi had been around since high school and all through my mom’s illness, so she knew the history.
Exhaling, she lifted her shoulders. “I think you have a powerful sense of right and wrong, and you’ve always known which side of the line he’s on. But I also know that letting go of painful shit from the past feels better than hanging on to it.”
“Yeah.” I hefted my keys in my hand, impatient to leave. “I’m still thinking about it.”
“Good luck. And Dex . . .” She put a hand on my arm. “I know your first instinct is to shut down when things get emotional, but don’t shut Bree out. She’s worried about you.”
I stiffened, annoyed even though I knew she was right. “I know. I’ll talk to her.”
Twenty minutes later, I knocked on Bree’s back door. Justin pulled it open, holding Prescott over his shoulder. “You knock now?”
“Wasn’t sure if I’d be welcome.” I rubbed my jaw. “Last time I was here, there was some, uh, shouting.”
He shrugged. “Family shouts sometimes. Come on in.”
Their house smelled delicious, and something about it reminded me of childhood. I messed around with my nephew Peter in the family room for a few minutes, then took Prescott from Justin and held him out from me. “Hey, buddy.” He made a gurgling noise and smiled at me.