ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟝𝟞
????????????? ????
Cameron.
Earlier this week, I had called Dr. Hastings. I hadn't really known what to say when she answered.
I'd spent the first few seconds staring at the wall in my office, wondering how exactly I was supposed to explain that my wife hated therapy so much that she would rather reorganize an entire school than sit in a room and talk about our feelings.
Eventually, I told her the truth. Dixie and I weren't going to continue the sessions.
At least, not for right now.
Dr. Hastings had been incredibly understanding. She hadn't argued with me or tried to convince me that I was making a mistake.
Instead, she reminded me that the door was always open if either of us decided we wanted to return.
Then she'd said something that really stayed with me.
She told me that if I wanted to get closer to Dixie, I needed to stop trying to solve everything with conversations.
Sometimes, she said, people needed to remember why they enjoyed being around each other in the first place.
Take her somewhere, do something simple and give her a reason to laugh.
It sounded easy enough, but it really wasn't.
I had already told Dr. Hastings about the anniversary dinner I'd planned. She'd laughed through the phone, but she'd encouraged me to keep trying.
I'd been thinking about it ever since.
It was obvious one ice cream trip was going to magically fix our marriage.
I wasn't that naive.
Dixie and I still had too many things sitting between us. Our argument, her leaving, and the many, many weeks we'd spent apart.
And now Ted.
I still didn't completely understand what was happening there, but I knew something about the situation had been bothering her.
She'd barely stopped thinking about work since she'd come home.
I took another sip of coffee and stared down at the kitchen counter. I just felt restless.
I glanced toward the staircase, then back at my coffee.
I should leave her alone. That was probably the safest option.
I'd learned that pushing Dixie when she didn't want to talk usually resulted in one of two things.
Silence, or an argument. Neither of the two sounded particularly appealing- but I'd also promised myself I wasn't going to stop trying.
I set my coffee down. "One conversation."
I started toward the stairs, then stopped. It wouldn't even be a conversation.
I sighed. "An invitation."
That sounded more appealing.
~
The library had always been one of my favorite rooms in the house.
It was massive.
There were several chairs scattered around the space, along with a long leather couch Dixie had claimed years ago.
I found her exactly where I'd expected. On the couch with a book open in her lap, and her legs tucked beneath her.
She looked completely absorbed in whatever she was reading.
She looked calm. That was something I hadn't seen much lately.
I didn't want to ruin it, so naturally, I walked into the room.
"Hey."
"Hey." Her eyes lifted from the book.
I shoved my hands into my pockets. "What are you reading?"
She looked down at the cover.
"A book."
I stared at her. "Very informative."
"Thank you."
I nodded slowly.
I looked around the room, and Dixie looked back at her book.
Well, this was going wonderfully.
I walked a little closer. "Is it good?"
"Yes."
"What is it about?"
"Things." She turned another page.
I blinked. She was going to have to speak more than that if I wanted this to work out.
"Important things?"
"I guess so."
I stared at her for another second. She didn't look up.
I wanted to laugh, but instead, I took the chair across from her.
"Sometimes I genuinely can't tell if you're joking with me or trying to make me leave."
"It's both." She finally looked up.
"I'll take that."
She rolled her eyes and returned to her book. I leaned back in the chair.
Neither of us said anything for a few, then I remembered why I'd come upstairs.
"So. Ice cream."
Her eyes lifted again. "What?"
"Ice cream."
"Okay?" She frowned.
"I was thinking we could go get some."
She closed her book halfway. "I have work."
"Of course you do."
"I do. And I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do about Ted."
I sighed.
Ted.
I rubbed my tight jaw. "Dixie, you've mentioned him at least three times since breakfast."
"Because I need to figure out what's going on."
"You don't have to figure it out today."
"I kind of do. He controls whether I get my job back."
I looked at her. "I thought the case you won was supposed to help with that."
"It should..but he hasn't responded to me."
I nodded slowly. "Then maybe give him a little time."
"I've already given him enough time."
"Dix.."
She closed the book completely. "I'm not trying to be difficult. I need my career back, Cameron."
"Yeah, I know you do."
"And I don't know what he's thinking, and I don't know whether he's going to give me another chance, and I don't know if Georgia has convinced him I'm some kind of liability, and.."
"Dixie, you're spiraling."
"It's like every time I'm trying to think, you say that." She frowned.
"The thing is, you're thinking about everything at once."
"That's called being productive, you should try it." She said.
"No, it's called giving yourself a really horrible headache you'll regret later."
She glared at me.
I held up my hands. "I'm just saying."
"I don't have time for ice cream, I have work." She looked away.
"It would take an hour. You can work afterward."
"I don't want to."
"Well, I'd like to spend an hour with my wife."
That shut her up for a second. I watched her expression change.
She looked down at her book. "I don't know."
"I was thinking Molly could come too."
Her head finally lifted.
"She's been feeling a little lonely since she got back."
Dixie's expression softened immediately. She looked toward the window. "Molly's been lonely?"
"She's trying to act like she isn't, but she's eleven. She doesn't always know how to explain what she's feeling."
Dixie sighed. "You're right."
"I thought ice cream might be nice."
"Cameron." She groaned and leaned her head against the back of the couch.
"Come on, please?"
"I have so much work to do, and the media is still following me...and what if somebody recognizes me?"
"Then they recognize you."
"What if they follow us?"
"Let them."
"You say that like it's easy." She stared at me.
"It's not." I leaned forward. "But we don't have to go somewhere crowded."
She shook her head.
"I don't want cameras, and I don't want people asking me about Justin Deyes."
"Then we don't talk to them."
"I don't want someone asking about us."
"Our business. We don't owe anyone an answer, right?"
"And what if they ask about you?" She looked down at her hands.
"I'll ignore them."
"What if they ask about Molly?"
That made me think for a little bit. "Then I'll handle it."
Dixie looked at me.
I softened my voice slightly. "We can leave whenever you want."
She was quiet. I could see the exhaustion on her face.
She looked overwhelmed. Everything had piled on top of her at once.
I knew better than anyone that Dixie hated feeling like she couldn't control what was happening around her.
I stood. "Come with us. You don't have to talk about Ted."
She gave me a look.
I smiled faintly. "Unless you really want to."
She sighed. Her eyes dropped to the book in her lap, then she closed it and set it beside her.
"Fine."
I smiled. "Is that a yes?"
"Yes. Fine."
"Molly's going to be happy."
"I'm not wearing anything stupid, okay?" She looked at me.
I smiled to myself. She was talking about the matching outfits I had gotten the both of us to wear for a family picture.
"You don't own anything stupid."
She stared at me. "You've clearly forgotten the Christmas sweater."
"The reindeer one?" I laughed.
"Yes! The one with the blinking lights."
"That was a great sweater."
"Right.."
~
Turns out the ice cream plaza was a lot more crowded than I'd expected.
I suppose half the city had decided that today was the perfect day to stand outside in ninety-degree weather and eat frozen dairy products.
Molly's shoes had also come untied about four times in the last five minutes.
I had already stopped twice to tie them. Within thirty seconds, the laces were dragging across the pavement again.
"Molly..your shoes." I groan.
She sighed dramatically. "They suck."
"You just don't know how to tie them properly." Dixie, walking beside us, laughed.
"I do know how."
"You clearly don't."
"I do!"
Dixie glanced at me. "Cam, tell her."
I looked down at Molly's untied shoelaces, then back at Dixie.
"She's got a point." I say.
"Rude." Molly rolled her eyes.
"It's alright, you'll survive. You've survived worse."
She immediately looked at me. "That's not funny."
My smile disappeared. Dixie looked at me too.
I cleared my throat. "Okay. Bad joke."
"Very bad." Molly nodded.
"Noted." I crouched down again and tied her shoe properly. I hoped it was properly.
I pulled the knot tight. "There."
"That's better." Molly looked down.
I stood again and we continued walking. The heat was becoming unbearable.
Dixie fanned herself with one hand. "How much farther?"
"The ice cream place is around the corner." I checked the map on my phone.
"How far?"
"Two minutes."
Dixie groaned. "The thing is, you've been saying two minutes for the last ten minutes."
"I've been estimating."
"I just want to sit down." Molly said.
Dixie spotted a small outdoor seating area tucked beside one of the restaurants. "There."
She pointed. "Can we sit there?"
"Please, I'm hot." Molly immediately nodded.
I couldn't blame either of them. We crossed the plaza and found an empty table underneath a large umbrella.
"I'm melting." Dixie dropped into the chair with a sigh.
Molly sat beside her. "I'm melting more. So are we going to get ice cream or what?"
"Exactly." Dixie leaned back in her chair. "Isn't that the whole reason you dragged us all the way out here, Cameron?"
I glanced at her. She gave me a coy little smirk.