by Elle Linder
“Sasha, we need to go,” Craig interrupted. “Jackson, we’ll see you in a couple of weeks when we move into the new house.”
“That’s right!” Sasha smiled. “I’m looking forward to decorating your room with you, sweetie.” She bent down and kissed his cheek and he hugged her back. Marie’s hand went limp in Parker’s. “I’ll be seeing you around, Parker.” Sasha stroked his arm, grinning wide, and then she followed Craig out the door.
The front door closed, and Marie jerked her hand away from Parker.
“Mom, what’s for dinner?”
“We’ll order a pizza,” Parker answered. She shook her head and glowered at him.
“Jackson, I’m gonna put your duffle away. You decide what kind of pizza you want, okay?” Marie stomped up the stairs, mumbling under her breath.
“Oh-oh, Mom’s mad. Is it because Sasha’s your ex-girlfriend?”
“Buddy, go in the living room while I go talk to her. Then you can tell me about Disney World during dinner.”
“Okay,” Jackson said, with his shoulders slumped as if he knew this wasn’t good.
Marie fumed in Jackson’s room. “Sasha… Sasha!!!” Just when her life was taking a positive turn…Sasha.
“Marie,” Parker said as he entered Jackson’s room.
“No! I don’t want to hear it. And I don’t want you here for dinner,” she said, leaving the room. Parker grabbed her hand and pulled her into her bedroom and shut the door behind him.
Marie whipped her hand away from him and started pacing the room with her hands on her hips.
“We need to talk about this. We both had lives before each other. You were married for seventeen years and have two kids with another man. That’s huge.”
She paced, shaking her head.
“Marie, we were only together a few months, and I haven’t seen her in three years.”
She stopped and stared at him. It was taking everything in her to not fall apart. She could only shake her head, “no.”
“Please talk to me. Don’t let this come between us. You matter to me, baby.” And her eyes shot to his.
“Did Sasha matter to you?” He stared at her. “Did you break up or did she break up with you?”
“She ended it,” he admitted. “But it has been the best thing to happen to me.” He stopped her. The distress in his eyes reminded her of the day he had gone to her office. It had broken her heart that day because she had ended it with him. But not now. Not after their glorious weekend, now she only felt betrayed. “Let’s talk this out and fix it. I leave tomorrow, and I don’t want us to be in a bad place. Please baby.”
Her hand went on top of her head as she turned away from him to continue pacing. “I don’t think I can do this.”
“Do what? Us? Talk? What?”
“Everything.” Did he honestly think him being with Sasha wouldn’t be a big deal to her? It was a huge deal. It was just another blow to her self-esteem and pride.
“Na-uh. I’m not leaving here until we fix this. Please don’t shut me out.” There was a knock at the door and they both stopped.
“Mom, can I come in?” Parker opened the door, and Jackson’s eyes went wide. “Are you guys fighting? Mom, don’t break up with Parker,” he begged her. “Mom, please.”
“Jackson, what do you need?” Her voice was flat.
“Just that I wanted Sonny’s Meat-Sa-Rio pizza,” he answered in a small voice.
“Okay. Give me a minute, and I’ll be down.” Marie lovingly stroked his hair to reassure him.
“Don’t make Parker leave.” Her eyes welled with tears at his plea. He still believed she drove Craig away and now he believed she was going to do the same with Parker. “Parker is a good guy.”
“It will all be okay, buddy,” Parker assured him. “Just give us a little time, okay?”
Jackson nodded and left the room.
“How can you tell him it’s going to be okay? You’re just giving him false hope!”
“Because I believe we’ll be okay.” He pulled her into his arms, and she tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her go. Marie stiffened, trying to hold back her tears. She just kept shaking her head, and he wouldn’t release her.
“Parker, Sasha is…who Craig left me for. If you were with her for a few months, I know you made love to her.” She blinked back her tears. “I can’t deal with knowing you touched her, kissed her and …and …well, look at her! She’s a swimsuit model for Christ’s sake!”
“The feelings I have for you are stronger than I’ve had for anyone else. The last twenty-four hours with you have blown my mind. I don’t want to lose you. In fact, I want you to come with me on location.”
“You know I can’t,” she sighed.
“I don’t want to be without you.” He kissed her tenderly, and she responded to him with a neediness she wasn’t accustomed to feeling. “You’re the only person I want, and I’ll do whatever it takes to prove it to you.”
She looked into his genuine eyes. Was she a fool to believe him? She desperately wanted to.
Marie dropped the topic of Sasha for the evening. They ordered the pizza from Sonny’s and listened to Jackson talk about his trip. She loved seeing his face light up with Parker—his favorite superhero. The next couple of weeks she’d have a lot to think about and process while Parker was away filming on location in Budapest.
After tucking Jackson into bed, she walked downstairs to the living room, and Parker put his hand out to her. She took it and sat beside him. “Is he asleep?” She nodded. “Good.” He kissed her with the same passion and love that melted her, but this time it made her chest tighten. Did it have to be Sasha?
Sasha monopolized Marie’s every waking thought as well as her dreams. No matter what she did, she couldn’t get Sasha out of her head. The last three days, post-discovery of Parker and Sasha, Marie was lower than low. Yet she tried to hold her own. The black hole that she often lobbed herself into was nowhere on the radar.
There was a new strength in her; she was in control this time. With Parker in Budapest for two weeks, she would have time to process. Unfortunately for Parker, the only way Marie could deal with her jealousy, pain, and insecurity was by avoiding him. She didn’t take his calls or text messages. She worked late, took Jackson out and she begged Lexi to come home for dinner. It had been weeks since she had last seen her, and she missed her terribly. To her surprise, Lexi agreed to dinner Thursday night, and that was what Marie focused on for the day.
“Jackson, please come into the kitchen,” Marie hollered. She had just put a pork shoulder in the crockpot.
“Yeah?” Jackson yawned, shuffling into the kitchen. It was early, and he had just gotten up. He was taking full advantage of his leisurely summer mornings.
“Look, when I text you to turn the crock pot to ‘low,’ you turn this dial right here,” she said, pointing to the knob. He nodded. “Do you understand?”
“Yes. What are you making?”
“Pork tacos, like street tacos. Lexi loves them.”
“You were supposed to make those for Parker when he gets back,” Jackson reminded her. “Are you still angry with him?”
“I can make tacos anytime. Do you want me to pick up ice cream on the way home?” She dodged his question to avoid additional questions about Parker.
“Sure, cookie dough. Why does Parker have to be in Budapest for filming?”
“He said it’s because it doesn’t cost as much for the alley and warehouse scenes. I don’t know. You should ask him.” Her answer was unemotional, and she didn’t look at him. If she did, she might break down, knowing how much he loved Parker. “Okay, I need to go to work. I’ll text you later.” She kissed the top of his head and was out the door.
When the copyright for a song stares back at you for hours on end, it’s likely your day has stalled out. And Marie’s day dragged on at a snail’s pace. The moment she arrived at the office, Parker’s name was mentioned, and it continued to be mentioned several more times befor
e lunch. It was all Natalie, who followed Parker on Instagram and Twitter. It was no secret Marie wasn’t on social media, so Natalie showed her Parker’s posts as if doing Marie a favor. Marie knew Natalie meant well, but it put her in a funk.
Her office phone rang, breaking her trance. “Yes, Natalie.”
“Hi. Um… I have a Seth Gibson holding for you.” Her voice was leery and curious. “He says he’s your neighbor friend.” It wasn’t a question, just Natalie being a nosey receptionist.
Marie’s stomach lurched. “Oh, okay, put him through.” Marie waited the two seconds to be connected to Seth. “Hello, Seth?”
“Hi, how are you?”
“Good. How are you?” Marie nervously doodled on a paper.
“I’m good, thanks.” There was silence. “I haven’t seen you in the gym since last week, and I was worried about you.”
“Oh, that’s sweet. But there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Have you been avoiding me because of Mr. Nichols? Does he not want us being friends?”
“Seth, it isn’t anything like that. I just haven’t made it to the gym. And his name is Parker.” She rolled her eyes. So much for not thinking about him.
“Well, I’m glad to hear you’re not avoiding me. I can’t afford to lose any of the two friends I have here in SoCal.”
She laughed.
“Why are you laughing? It’s true. There’s you and Mr. Bushner.”
“What?” Marie started giggling. “Your other friend is Mr. Bushner, the crabby old man who lives across from the gym?” She continued to giggle.
“Stop laughing at me, he likes to play poker, if I let him win. I don’t have the heart to turn down his dinner invitations. So, I say yes because I have nothing else better to do.”
“Oh Seth, that’s very sweet. But Mr. Bushner will never let you go now. You’re stuck with him forever.” She giggled some more.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of. I need to take up a hobby or find Mr. Bushner a lady-friend by six o’clock before he comes looking for me.”
“Aww, you sound so pathetic. You need to learn boundaries. How did you get hooked up with him anyway?”
“Shoot, don’t make it sound like I’m dating him. All I did was take over a bowl of pasta salad to him on the Fourth of July. I told you I had made enough food to feed a small army.”
“Oh my, and you’ve been with him ever since?” She giggled.
“Okay, now I’m getting frustrated, and you need to stop sounding so damn cute. It’s all your fault, you know.”
“What?!”
“Yeah, if you didn’t pick the superhero over me, I’d have somewhere to be every evening. Mr. Bushner would just have to find another poor sap to latch onto.” His tone was teasing, but his words stung.
“Seth, that’s not fair.”
“Yeah, you’re telling me. No worries, I’m just giving you a bad time. I’m glad you’re not avoiding me. I’ll let you get back to work.”
“Wait.” She paused a few beats. Should she invite him to dinner or would it be a bad idea? No, she should. “Would you like to come over for dinner tonight? I’m making pork tacos.”
“Wow, that’s an offer I can’t refuse. And not just because I want to have a night without Mr. Bushner. I love pork tacos. You’ll have to show me how you make them.”
“You got it. Dinner will be at six. Don’t be late.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. Bye…friend.”
Marie sat at her desk, stunned.
What just happened? It’s just dinner with a friend and Lexi will be there along with Jackson, and maybe even Isaac. No biggie. So why did she suddenly feel weird, like she was doing something wrong?
Marie rushed home after work and saw that Lexi’s Jetta was parked out front. Her face lit up; she was really looking forward to seeing her. “Hello, I’m home.”
“Hey, we’re in the living room,” Lexi returned.
“Hi everybody.” Marie smiled. Lexi stood to give her mom a hug. To Marie’s relief, Isaac was able to make it for dinner. “I’ve missed you,” Marie said, hugging Lexi. “It’s good to see you, Isaac.”
“Hi Marie, thanks for inviting me to dinner.”
“Seth will also be joining us for dinner,” Marie said matter-of-factly. Jackson’s head whipped around to look at her.
“Who’s Seth?” Lexi asked.
“Just a friend. He lives in the complex. I’m going to get dinner finished.”
While Marie was getting all the accompaniments arranged for the street tacos, Lexi joined her in the kitchen. Marie was chopping up onions, cilantro, jalapeños, and limes.
“Can I help with anything?” Lexi asked.
“Nope, this is it. I figured we’ll eat outside, so if you want to grab some paper plates, that would be great.”
“Sure, so tell me about Seth.”
“There isn’t anything to tell. He lives in the complex.”
“Well, Jackson seems upset about him coming to dinner.” Marie’s eyes shot up from her cutting board. “He said you and Parker argued and that you weren’t talking to him anymore.”
“He doesn’t understand what’s going on.”
“Did you break up with him?”
“No.” Marie stopped wiping the counter and turned to Lexi. “Parker dated Sasha a few years ago.”
Lexi’s eyes bulged.
“Yeah, seriously.”
“Wow, that’s huge.”
“I know. So I’m taking some time to figure it all out. I don’t know if I can handle being with him knowing he’s been with Sasha too. This isn’t something Jackson would understand, so don’t talk about it, okay?”
“I won’t. But what does Seth have to do with anything? You’ve never had men over before. Well, except Parker.”
“I went out to dinner with Seth last week. He’s nice and he’s also divorced.”
“Holy crap, you’re dating two men?!” Lexi’s mouth gaped open.
“No! I went out with Seth when I thought I wasn’t going to date Parker. But then…Lex, I can’t talk about this with you. Sorry, you’re my kid. It just feels wrong talking to you about this kind of stuff.”
“I get it.” Just then there was a knock at the door.
“That must be Seth.” Marie dried her hands on a towel and went to answer the door.
Marie opened the door to Seth holding a pitcher and flowers. “What’s this?” She furrowed her brow as he handed her the flowers.
“It’s customary to bring the hostess a gift when you’re invited to dinner. So I brought you flowers and a pitcher of margaritas.” He grinned, as she stared at him. “Margaritas go with street tacos, right?”
“Yeah, perfectly. Please come in.”
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Relax…friend.” Seth planted a friendly kiss on her temple. “Hi. Jackson, right?”
Marie whipped around to see Jackson scowling at her. She knew he saw Seth kiss her and now his arms were crossed over his chest. “Jackson, this is our neighbor Seth. He lives over by the pool.” She smiled. Jackson didn’t say anything. He just pushed his chin out and marched upstairs. “Jackson, dinner is almost ready.”
“I’m not hungry,” he said dejectedly, stomping up the stairs.
“I’m sorry, Seth. He can be a little moody sometimes.”
“It’s because of Parker, isn’t it?” She nodded. “His superhero?”
She nodded again.
“Well, where is the superhero? I would have thought he’d be here.”
“He’s filming in Budapest.” Marie led him into the kitchen.
“Oh. Am I missing something?”
“Glasses for the margaritas.” She smiled reaching into the cabinet. “Serve it up.”
“Right, it’s none of my business. It smells great in here.”
“Thanks, everything is ready. Let’s eat.”
Jackson brooded in his room the whole evening. He didn’t understand what was going on, but one thing he did understand—ki
ssing. And when a man kissed a woman, it meant something. Unless it was a parent or a grandparent. On his iPad, he looked up the time difference for Budapest—seven hours. If Budapest was seven hours ahead of Pacific time, that meant it was after midnight. He wanted to talk to Parker, but he didn’t feel right calling him, so he sent him a text.
Jackson: Hi. How’s filming?
Jackson waited for a reply, hoping Parker was still up. He remembered Parker telling him he’d stay up late while filming for nighttime scenes. He hoped tonight was one of those times and to his relief, his phone buzzed.
Parker: Hey buddy, filming is ok. What’s going on? Did you like today’s episode?
Jackson: It was ok. When are you coming back?
Parker: Not for eleven more days. Is everything ok?
Jackson: Mom’s friend came to dinner. She made pork tacos. Lexi and Isaac are here.
Parker: Sounds great. How’s your mom doing? Tell Ann I said hi.
Jackson: It’s not Ann. It’s Seth. Is Mom still mad at you?
Parker’s reply took longer than the others, and it made Jackson anxious. As he waited, he paced back and forth in his room. Finally, he decided to send another text.
Jackson: Parker are you still there?
Parker: Sorry buddy, I’m here.
Jackson: Did you and Mom break up? You can tell me the truth. I saw Seth kiss her. Can we still be friends?
Parker: I’ll always be your friend. I’ll text you tomorrow. I need to get some sleep ok?
Jackson: Ok.
The rest of the evening Jackson stayed in his room. Marie checked on him a couple of times, but he gave her the cold shoulder, wanting to be left alone. He was just like before…before Parker had come into their lives. She left a plate of food on his dresser and later brought him up a bowl of ice cream. The tacos were still on the plate, so she removed them and tossed them into the trash. At nine o’clock Lexi and Isaac announced they needed to leave.