Olivia
The woman at the counter holds up two blouses and tilts her head, going back and forth between them.
It's almost closing time but she's going to be here for a while.
I smile at her and lean against the register, giving her all the time she needs even though my feet ache and my back has been screaming at me since lunch.
"The blue one's gorgeous on anyone," I tell her, pointing to the one in her right hand, "but the green would really pop with your complexion. You honestly can't go wrong with either."
She holds the green one up under her chin and looks in the mirror near the display. "You think so? I never wear green."
"That's exactly why you should. Sometimes, the things we never try end up being the best fit."
She smiles at that and sets the blue one down. "Okay… the green. You talked me into it."
I ring her up, fold the blouse into tissue paper, and slide it into one of our bags while we chat about a party she's dressing for. My phone vibrates and I ignore it as I hand her the bag and thank her. She walks out looking pleased with herself, and the store is blessedly empty when she leaves.
My day is over, and Ethan is at home with the sitter waiting on me. After the threats and pressure from Derek, I'm eager to get home and be with my boy. But my phone chirps. I pull it out and read the screen to see something that makes my stomach churn. The text is from Derek.
Derek: 5:12 PM: I heard you and the neighbor are getting close. Hope he doesn't find out what kind of mother you really are.
It makes me so angry that he's still doing this crap when he knows he's going to lose.
He's just trying to rattle me. That's all this is.
He knows about Caleb and he wants me spinning and second-guessing everything so I walk into that courtroom already defeated.
I know what he's doing and it shouldn't work on me anymore.
The problem is, it does. My hands shake as I lock the phone and slide it back into my pocket.
I busy myself running through Helen's end-of-day checklist, and by the time I flip the sign to closed and lock the front door, I'm starting to feel better.
That's one good thing about training myself to always stay positive. It means I can reset after a disruption like that. I'm getting better at it all the time, and by the time I get home, it's as if it never happened, though in the back of my head, the fear tries to get to me.
I pull up and park, seeing Ethan out back playing with his soccer ball, and head toward the house where the sitter is probably waiting for her payment. She sits at the kitchen table doing her college homework and smiles at me when I walk in.
"Hey, Mrs. Bennett, Ethan’s out back playing. I hope that's okay." She starts stacking her things up as Ethan barrels through the back door with grass stains on his knees. He's sweaty but he's smiling.
"Mom, I scored eleven goals today," he announces, holding up both hands with all his fingers spread. I smile at the sitter as she cradles her things and turns to me for the cash in my outstretched hand.
"Thank you," I mouth before I turn to Ethan.
"That's incredible. Who was the goalie?" The sitter slips out the front while I focus on what Ethan is saying and set my things down.
It's my favorite time of day when I come home and see the smile on his face.
It makes all my hard work and stress feel worth it.
"The lawn chair." He grins and grabs a juice box from the fridge, stabbing the straw through the top. "I want to ask the neighbor, but Elaina said no." That bottom lip pushes out and I chuckle.
"Sounds like an unfair matchup." I pull his hair back from his forehead and kiss the top of his head. "Go wash your hands and I'll start dinner in a few minutes."
He runs off toward the bathroom with the juice box clamped between his teeth, and I lean against the counter, pulling my phone, considering inviting Caleb for dinner, but I see the text message and cringe. I'm going to have PTSD just from answering text messages and emails from this jerk.
I look out the kitchen window and see Caleb in his yard, pulling weeds along the base of the fence. He's always out doing something, which I respect. I never see him sitting there doing nothing. He keeps busy and makes himself useful. It's an attractive quality, just one of many I admire.
I slip my phone into my pocket and walk out the back door and across the yard to where he works. He hears me coming and straightens up, pulling one glove off and wiping his forehead with his bare hand. He looks as tired as I feel.
"Hey," I say.
"Hey." He tosses the glove onto the pile of weeds and rests his hands on the fence rail.
I pull out my phone and hold it up so he can read the screen, and he leans in and reads the text. "When did this come in?" he asks, but he looks up at me and I put the phone away. I can tell he's annoyed by it, but he's not as upset as I was when it came in.
"About an hour ago while I was closing up the store." Part of me feels foolish reacting like that. I think part of me feared Caleb's reaction because Derek is dragging him into this too, and that's not fair to him. But Caleb still only seems concerned for me.
"He's escalating because he's losing control. Everything he's tried so far hasn't worked the way he planned. He's scared, Olivia. This is what scared people do—they lash out and try to make you feel as desperate as they are."
"Well, it's working." I slide the phone back into my pocket and cross my arms over my chest, grabbing my elbows. "I know it shouldn't. I know everything you just said is true. But when I read something like that, it just gets me all worked up."
"He's not going to win his dumb custody case, Olivia."
"You sound pretty sure about that," I mumble and glance at the house. Ethan will be washed up by now and he'll be hungry. I can't stand out here for too long.
"I am…" He follows my line of sight and when I look back at him, he's staring right into my eyes. It's unnerving the way he looks at me, like he cares.
"I'm starting to think you're really on my side," I say quietly.
"I've been on your side since the night you told me about him on the patio. I just didn't know how to be honest about what I was messed up in." He shrugs and looks at something over my shoulder.
We're so close I could lean forward and kiss him, and maybe I want to.
But we're right out in the open and if Derek is watching, I'll never hear the end of it.
I just want peace in my life, and being afraid of my ex-husband doesn't seem very fair, especially when it's like punishing Caleb. But I'm so drawn to him.
He leans in, and so do I. My eyes drop to his lips, and he inches closer and then a loud shout behind me has me jumping back.
"Mom!" The back door bangs open and Ethan comes flying across the yard with his soccer ball tucked under his arm. "Mom, can Caleb play? Can he kick the ball with me in the backyard? Please?"
I pull back from the fence and so does Caleb, and we look at each other for a beat before I turn to my son, smiling at him and feeling embarrassed. "Ask him yourself, buddy."
Ethan turns to Caleb with his whole body bouncing in excitement. "Caleb, will you play? I've been practicing the thing you taught me where I keep my foot pointed."
Caleb straightens and looks up at me with the warmest and most welcome expression I think I've ever seen on his face. "Alright, kid," he says, pulling his gloves off. "But I'm not going easy on you this time."
"I don't want you to go easy on me." Ethan drops the ball at his feet and dribbles toward the back of the yard, already calling out positions and rules for a game that only makes sense to him.
Caleb leaps over the fence instead of walking around to the gate, which makes Ethan cheer, and jogs off into the yard. I lean against the fence and watch them play for a moment before heading in to start dinner.
Derek can send all the texts he wants. He can file all the motions and make all the calls and twist every piece of my life into something ugly for a judge to read.
But he can't touch this. Whatever this is, this thing growing between me and the grumpy man kicking a soccer ball with my son in the backyard, Derek can't reach it.
And it feels good.