by V. M. Holk
Chapter 22
I left Wyatt's house feeling great. I really need to do that more often. I get to work right on time and see Jaylah unlocking the door. I run up to her with a smile.
"Good Morning. I see someone didn't come home last night." She raises her eyebrow at me.
"Yeah I went over to Wyatt's house last night." I smile back at her.
"So, what happened with Kyle?"
"He wanted to tell me that he broke up with Tessa."
"What? That's weird, why didn't he just call and let you know?"
We walk into the back and start our daily routine. I keep thinking about dinner with Kyle and the way Wyatt acted. He brushed it off, but I could tell something was wrong. I guess I can understand, I wouldn't like it if he was out with Sue or his ex-wife.
I look back at Jaylah, "Kyle told me that he wants to go out with me more often and with the girls. He looked so sad when we left."
"That asshat, better not get any ideas with you."
"It's over between us, I hope he realizes that. He hurt me more than I think he knows."
Jaylah shakes her head and goes up front to start making coffee. I finish up all the baking in the back and bring it up. The morning ends up being a busy one, we were so caught up with our day.
I realized in the afternoon that Wyatt didn't come in for his coffee. I wonder if everything is okay. I shake it off and get back to work. I have the girls for the weekend, so I won't be in the shop the next two days. I have our weekend planned and we are going to spend tomorrow at the Detroit Zoo. We haven't gone there in a long time and I am looking forward to it.
I am finishing up my day when Julia walks in to start her shift. She walks in the back to grab an apron. As she ties on her floral apron, I fill her in on what she needs to do tonight. I hurry up to leave and go pick up the girls.
I drive to Kyle's house and pull into the driveway. I get out and walk up to the porch, I start to knock when the door opens. I see Katie smiling at me and I open the door.
"Hello, baby."
"Hi, mama. We aren't ready yet, sorry."
I follow her in the house and Kyle walks out of the kitchen. He sees me and smiles.
"Hi, Anne."
"Hi. Sorry I know I am a little early. I missed the girls."
"It's fine. They are finishing up, want a drink?"
I nod, as Shannon comes running up to me and gives me a hug. I smile down at her and give her a kiss.
"Go get ready, honey."
"Okay, mama."
I walk into the kitchen and sit at the table. Kyle brings me a glass of ice tea and sets it in front of me.
"Thanks." I smile up at him.
He sits down across from me. I look around not sure what to say.
"So, have any plans for this weekend?" he asks.
"Yeah, I am going to take the girls to the zoo, tomorrow."
"That will be nice. I miss doing stuff like that as a family."
He has that sad, far away look in his eyes again. I take a drink of my tea and play with my glass. I am not understanding where he is at. The girls come up to me and let me know that they are ready. I look over to Kyle and he nods. The girls give him a hug and kiss. I stand up and get ready to leave.
Kyle grabs my arm as I walk past him. I look at him and he drops his hand.
"Bye, Kyle. Have a good weekend."
"Thanks, Anne. I love you Katie, Shannon. Be good for your mom."
"Bye. Daddy," the girls say together and wave.
We get into the car and I look back to see Kyle waving to us. I wave back and can't shake the feeling of how sad he is. Where was this when it could have mattered for us. I shake my head of these thoughts and think about my weekend with the girls.
~~~
We had a long day at the zoo, but we had a great time. The girls are exhausted from all the walking that we did. It didn't take me long to get them to go to sleep. I get a bottle of wine and a glass from the kitchen. I throw myself down on the couch, exhausted myself.
I decide to watch a movie and relax the rest of the night. As I am sitting here, not really watching the movie I put on, I realize that I still haven't heard from Wyatt. Not understanding what is going on, I decide to text him.
Anne 8:06pm
Hey baby....whats up?
Wyatt 8:07pm
Not much, how r u?
Anne 8:07pm
miss u....took the girls to the zoo today.
Wyatt 8:08pm
miss u 2....sounds like a nice day
Wyatt 8:08pm
Saw ur dad today....he is looking good
Anne 8:09pm
good....we r going over there tomorrow
Wyatt 8:10pm
good nite beautiful.... i have 2 work in the am
Anne 8:11pm
work?
Wyatt 8:11pm
yeah a rush job, promised for Monday am
Anne 8:12pm
oh, ok....good nite xoxo
Wyatt 8:13pm
xoxo
I finish up my glass of wine, with a smile on my face. I'm exhausted and decide to go to bed. I want to get to dad's house early and make dinner. We are spending the day there, I am looking forward to have the day with dad and the girls.
I put my pj's on and crawl under the covers. I smile to myself and fall asleep with Wyatt on my mind.
Chapter 23
Summer seems to be going by so fast, but it always does. My dad is feeling better and has finally returned back to work. The doctor said he is recovering well and he has stuck to his diet. He started walking Lucy everyday, so that has been great for them both.
Wyatt and I have been doing great and seeing each other as much as possible. He hasn't said in so many words, but I can tell he doesn't like how Kyle has been. I am lost in my thoughts when I hear someone calling my name. I shake myself and walk to the front of the shop to see who it is.
"Hi Kyle, is everything okay?" I ask, walking up to him.
"Yeah everything is good. I came by to say hi and grab some goodies." he replies, smiling at me.
"How are you doing?" He has been texting me more and when he drops off the girls he always comes to the door. Our relationship has definitely changed. I am not sure how I feel about it, but it's better for the girls.
"I'm good," he replies. He puts his hand on my arm, then gently squeezes.
I hear the bell above the door ring, I look around Kyle to see Wyatt walking in. He sees us, stiffens and walks towards us. He comes around Kyle, then puts his arm around my shoulder. Kyle takes a step back, I can tell feeling uncomfortable.
"Kyle this is Wyatt, Wyatt this is my ex-husband Kyle."
I see Jaylah behind the counter, trying like hell not to burst out laughing. I roll my eyes at this whole situation. The men shake hands, then mumble their hello's. I mean really can they act more crazy, I walk out of Wyatt's arm and behind the counter. I jab Jaylah in the arm, as I ready a box for Kyle's stuff.
"Let me get Kyle's stuff real quick Wyatt." I say.
Wyatt walks over to one of our comfy chairs, and throws himself in it. I can see that he is upset, really?? I am not in the mood for a jealous boyfriend right now. Things were finally getting better, now that Kyle got rid of Tessa. I don't need to get shit from Wyatt. Kyle will always be in my life and nothing can change that.
Kyle tells me what he wants, I ring him up. He says his goodbye's to everyone, I watch him leave the shop. I look over at Wyatt to see him staring at me and frowning. I roll my eyes as I walk over to him.
"What?" I ask.
"He wants you back, you know that right?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I saw the way he was touching you when I walked in, then how he was looking and talking to you."
"Come on, really? We are divorced, I don't want him back. I don't have time for this shit right now." I am starting to get irritated and mad.
"Fine," he says angrily, then storms out of the shop.
I sigh, then turn to
see Jaylah and Amanda watching me. Amanda quickly goes about making herself busy, Jaylah stands there with a smirk on her face.
"What?" I say angrily at her.
She puts her hands up in defense, "Nothing."
I hear her chuckle and she shakes her head, then goes back to work. I get more irritated thinking about it, I mean really?? Kyle? I don't want to fight with Wyatt, but I don't want to deal with a jealous boyfriend. That's the second time I thought of him as a boyfriend, today. I don't know if I am ready for that either.
I walk in the back to finish my ordering, trying to not think about what has happened. I am loving my time with Wyatt, yet I can't stop thinking about where things are headed. I am in shock on how he acted, obviously showing his posession he feels over me in front of Kyle. I was waiting for him to start punching his chest and claiming how I belong to him. As I keep thinking, I start fuming more. I start slamming things back onto the shelf. How dare they both do that to me!
~~~
It's been a couple of days since the fight with Wyatt. He tried calling and texting me that night, I was too upset to talk to him. I have been a chicken about talking. I am not sure how I feel about our relationship right now.
Its my day off, the girls are at their friends house for the day. I finish cleaning my kitchen, I look out the window to see Jaylah pull into her driveway. I decide that I will go over and see what she thinks about everything.
I walk across the street, knock on her door, then walk in.
"HELLO." I yell for her to hear me.
I walk into the kitchen, I see flowers on her counter. They are black orchids and I freeze in my spot. I hear Jaylah come up behind me.
"Yeah those came to the shop today." she whispers to me.
I stand there not saying anything, not sure what to even say. I look to see if there is a card in the flowers. I don't see one. I turn to look at Jaylah, then look in her eyes and see her fear, then anger.
"How could you Anne!" she yells at me.
"What?"
"You know damn well! Ben wrote me a lovely note with those fucking flowers! He said he talked to you, how could you not tell me!"
I see tears forming in her eyes, as she storms over grabs the vase and throws it against the wall. I never move from my spot, not sure what to do. I feel like an ass, but I didn't want to get her upset.
"I didn't want you to worry. I thought he would leave you alone."
"Why? Why would he. He will never fucking leave me alone."
"I was trying to protect you."
"HA, that's funny. What it wasn't about you for five minutes, so you didn't want to say anything to me."
"That's not fair, Jay."
"You want to know what's not fair, THIS ISN'T FAIR!"
"I'm sorry."
"Get out, Anne! I can't even look at you right now." she spits at me and points to the door.
"But....." I start to say.
"GET OUT!" she screams at me.
I turn to leave, take one last look at her and see tears streaming down her face. It takes all my control not to run to her, take her in my arms and try to make her feel safe. What an asshole, I was hoping Ben would leave her alone. I should have known better, men like Ben, never walk away quietly.
THE END
Song Playlist for Sweet Beginning
Chapter One:
Goodnight and Goodbye
by: Ignite the Borealis
Chapter Two:
Say Something (I'm Giving Up On You)
by: A Great Big World
Chapter Three:
Starts with Goodbye
by: Carrie Underwood
Chapter Four:
So What
by: P!nk
Chapter Five:
The Lonely
by: Christina Perri
Chapter Six:
Enchanted
by: Taylor Swift
Chapter Seven:
You're My Best Friend
by: Queen
Chapter Eight:
White Christmas (my favorite Christmas Song)
by: Bing Crosby
Chapter Nine:
Santa Clause is Coming to Town
by: Burl Ives
Chapter Ten:
Never Again
by: Kelly Clarkston
Chapter Eleven:
Marrakesh Express
by: Crosby, Stills & Nash
Chapter Twelve:
Last Night
by: Carrie Underwood
Chapter Thirteen:
Dust to Dust
by: The Civil Wars
Chapter Fourteen:
Poison & Wine
by: The Civil Wars
Chapter Fifteen:
Rolling in the Deep
by: Adele
Chapter Sixteen:
Ben's song: STOP
by: Joe Bonamassa
Chapter Seventeen:
I'm Moving On
by: Rascal Flatts
Chapter Eighteen:
Calling All Angels
by: Train
Chapter Nineteen:
First TIme
by: Lifehouse
Chapter Twenty:
What If
by: Colbie Cailat
Chapter Twenty-one:
For Kyle: Against All Odds
by: Phil Collins
For Anne: Hot N Cold
by: Katy Perry
Chapter Twenty-two:
If You're Gone
by: Matchbox 20
Chapter Twenty-three:
For Anne: There for You
by: Flyleaf
For Jaylah: Zzyzx Road
by: Stone Sour
About the Author
Victoria lives in the small town of Richmond, Michigan. She lives there with her husband, Jason, who she has been with for 20 years. Her two daughters, Katie and Shannon. And, we can't forget about her beloved Weimaraner, Lucy.
She is now a stay at home mom and writer. She worked for many years as a baker and then later as a bakery market manager. She spends her spare time crocheting, reading, baking and cuddling with Lucy. She loves having coffee time with her friends and uses those times as power meetings about her book. #lovemybookbabes