Chapter 7 #2
“Oh, this is a topic for a different day,” I said, glancing at my watch.
“But you have fun dealing with the one who’s planning to boil your bunny if you don’t get your sexy ass out there and give her more.
As for me, my time is up. I have a recital to be at in thirty minutes, and traffic is already a bitch so let’s go over those charts first thing in the morning. ”
With that, I grabbed my leather briefcase and followed Collin out to see an extremely stunning woman looking like a viper ready to strike, and we couldn’t resist grinning at the recollection of our foolish lives before we met our wives.
I couldn’t count the number of times a full-blown stalker had shown up here and demanded to see me again, insisting she wouldn’t be a one-night stand.
“I’m glad those days are over,” Collin said as we exited the office buildings, taking the words out of my mouth.
“Makes you feel fortunate to be the happily married men you are, doesn’t it?”
“No shit. So, you’re not going to Darcy’s tonight?”
“The bar?” I asked.
“No, I’m talking about Pride and Prejudice; Fitzwilliam Darcy is expecting you at Pemberley post haste,” Collin said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “Yes, dipshit. I’m talking about the bar.”
“Okay, wise-ass,” I started, choosing to steer clear of the fact that Collin knew so much about Pride and Prejudice for fear that he’d start talking about it in depth, and I wasn’t in the mood to banter about romance novels…
for once. “I know your head is up your ass half the time, but we also have a friend named Darcy, you know? And since everyone is on pins and needles, wondering if she and Sebastian will pull the trigger and get a place nearby, I didn’t know if that is who you were talking about. ”
“Seb still has some more ass-kissing to do if you ask me,” Collin said.
“Well, didn’t we all?”
“Truth. We were all as pathetic as Playboy Stone back there, and if our ladies took us back with a simple sorry, and I can’t live if living is without you plea, we’d never appreciate the lives we have now.”
“Preach,” I answered. “Are Seb and Darcy living together?”
“Sort of,” Collin said. “From what Elena told me, he bought a place, and she’s still officially in Mexico, but I think she’s coming back. Who knows?”
“Well, we shall see if he can pull off a miracle. Going dark on Darcy for all those months doesn’t get a woman like that to trust so easily again, and I’m damn proud of her strength. I do wish she’d move back, though. Ash adores her.”
“We’re completely off track and starting to sound like our wives,” Collin said. “I felt a lot better about my life talking like bastard assholes with Stone. Anyway, about Darcy’s. Jim and everyone else are going to be there. I thought you were going?”
“Dude, it’s the boy’s recital,” I said as we approached our cars.
“I’ve missed more than my fair share of shit with my kids over the last year, and the fucking year is almost over.
I’m going to have to pass on the testosterone tug fest at the bar, but go with God and enjoy yourself even though all you fuckers should be there supporting John instead of fueling your whiskey addictions. ”
“Speaking of hitting the bottle, it appears that the ladies aren’t stopping at dressing our asses up for trick or treat night.
Laney insisted I attend Alex’s birthday party with his kindergarten class.
And with that came the task of bringing gluten-free, non-dairy cupcakes for all twenty-five kids in attendance and orchestrating games for the kids to play after recess.
Not to mention being forced to speak with other parents and chum it up with the teacher—stuff the mothers do, not us. ”
“Fucking hell,” I answered. “This is why I’d better be on time tonight. I’m not fucking Cameron Brandt, and I won’t manage to keep my sanity in a room filled with kids.”
“Or kids shoving jellybeans up their noses?”
“That’s different because it’s my kid. I chose to be a doctor and not a teacher for a reason.”
Collin grinned, “Well, I’ll repeat the exact words my wife used when I gave her the same line of shit to get out of the school room parent shit.”
“And they are?” I answered.
“That Elena didn’t go to school to be a teacher either, and it’s not her favorite thing in the world to be room parent; however, our kids go to this school, and these teachers bust their asses for them.
The least we can do is show up and support the teacher, students, and school where our children attend. ”
“Good God,” I answered. “I get that, yes, but seriously? These ladies need to slow down. I’m not trying to be president of the PTA.
I’m a surgeon and chief of my ward, and I do my best to show up for my family on my days off.
These lessons they’re pushing us through are about to get some pushback from me. ”
Collin chuckled before getting into his car. “Good luck with that, buddy. Whatever you do, don’t piss off their aggravated asses even more, or the next thing you know, we’ll be cooking Christmas dinner.”
With that, Collin and I parted ways, and I felt more irritated than excited to show up at the band recital for my son. I didn’t want to have this reaction, but the insinuation that we were a bunch of lazy fucks who were checked out was bothering me.
Regardless of what our wives seemed to think, we were all doing our best, and this pressure to be the perfect father left me with the hollow feeling that I wasn’t doing enough.