Chapter 39
THIRTY-NINE
LARS
“Okay, so, you’re taking the china from your grandparents, obviously, but what about the set we got as a wedding gift?” Lars asked before taking a sip of his water. “I don’t remember who gave us that one.”
“My aunt.” Mel looked up into the pantry, to where the box sat on the top shelf. “But I mean, I don’t need two. We never use either.”
He chuckled. Fine china and three small children was definitely not a good combination. But he hoped to be able to use it for holidays and such when they were older.
As if reading his mind, Mel said, “How about you keep it for now, and when they’re older, we’ll use it and trade off who holds on to it between holidays?”
“Does that mean we’re going to keep having holidays together?”
Mel held his gaze for a moment before saying in a soft tone, “I hope so.”
Pushing off of the counter where he’d been standing, he crossed to Mel and pulled her into a tight hug. He stayed there for a long minute. “I hope so too.”
“Mommy, what’s wrong?” a little voice asked.
They parted and turned toward Chloe. Mel lifted the three year old into her arms. “Nothing. Just giving Daddy a hug.”
“No more fighting?”
Lars reached out to comb his fingers through her unruly hair. “No more fighting.”
They’d agreed they needed to try to explain to the girls what was happening, but they’d both been putting it off. As he met Mel’s eyes once more, he knew this was it. She gave a slight nod in silent agreement then kissed Chloe on the cheek.
“Let’s go sit with your sisters. Mommy and Daddy need to talk to you.” She carried her into the living room and set her on the couch. “Allie, can you sit up here for a minute?”
Lars turned off the music playing on the speaker the girls already knew how to control then scooped up Maddie to join them. He and Mel sat on either end of the couch, and he looked at her to start because he had no idea what to say.
With a sigh, she focused on the two between them. “Girls, you know we love you more than anything in the world, right?”
Both of them nodded—Chloe with a big grin while her older sister appeared more wary, like she could sense something was wrong. Lars reached over and held her little hand. “Your mom and I care about each other a lot too, but we’re… not going to live together anymore.”
“You’re getting divrossed?” Allie asked, tears welling in her eyes instantly.
They’d already signed the papers, it was done, but neither told her that. Instead, Mel nodded and said, “Yes, sweetheart.”
Chloe started crying, which caused Maddie to cry too, even though she didn’t understand what was going on. Lars shifted her up higher, hugging her and whispering soothing words. Meanwhile, Chloe stood and wrapped her arms around Mel’s neck. “We not see you and Daddy no more?”
His heart ached for his babies. “Of course you will.”
“But Ben’s mom and dad got divrossed,” Allie said, “and now he never sees his dad.”
“That’s not going to happen with us,” Lars said in a firm tone.
“I promise.” When she didn’t seem convinced, he tried to figure out how to explain better.
“Sometimes when people get divorced, that happens because the mom and dad don’t get along, but your mom and I are still going to be friends. We’re still going to be a family.”
Her brow furrowed. “But one moves to a new house?”
Lars gave her a sad smile. “Yeah, there’s going to be a new house, but that just means you’ll have two bedrooms!” He attempted to make it sound like a fun change, adjusting Maddie to sit on his lap once more, now that she was calming down. “You’ll have toys and clothes at both.”
“But the important thing to remember is that no matter what, Mommy and Daddy love you, and you will still see us both,” Mel said, rubbing Chloe’s back.
Allie nodded and pushed to her knees to hug Lars. He wrapped his free arm around her and kissed the side of her head. “Everything will be okay.”
As she sat down again, she asked, “What about Uncle Aaron?”
“What about him?” Mel asked.
“Is he going to be divrossed too?”
Lars almost laughed. Mel looked like she was fighting back a grin too. “No, sweetheart. Only a married couple can get divorced. He’s our friend, and he’ll still be around a lot.”
“Probably more in the future, actually,” Lars said before he could stop himself. His eyes snapped to Mel’s, but she just nodded with her own small smile.
“More sleepovers?” Chloe asked, finally perking up again.
At that, Mel finally lost the fight and chuckled. “Yeah. He might have a lot of sleepovers with Daddy now.”
“Yay!” Chloe pulled away and started jumping on the couch, but Mel grabbed her and set her feet on the floor.
“No jumping on the furniture,” Mel said, laughing.
Allie climbed off the couch and asked if she could turn the music back on. When Lars agreed, she did so, then she and Chloe started jumping around, dancing. Maddie wiggled in his arms until he put her down too.
Mel slid closer to him. “That went better than I anticipated.”
“Agreed.” Lars shook his head, smiling as he watched his girls. He put a hand over one of Mel’s and squeezed gently. Maybe this really would work out.
“It’ll be okay,” she whispered, mirroring his thoughts again. After a moment, she pulled out her phone and stood. “I need to make a call. I’ll be back.”
Lars nodded. As she walked upstairs, Chloe ran to him and grabbed at his arms. “Dance, Daddy!”
With a grin, he got up and lifted her into the air, spinning around.
He danced with his girls, twirling each of them, jumping and acting like an idiot.
And adoring every second of it. Growing up, he never would’ve pictured this for his life.
He’d dreamed of playing in the majors, traveling the country, and living a life of luxury.
But the truth was, he wouldn’t trade this for the world.
Even if someone offered him a baseball contract tomorrow, he didn’t think he would take it. Not if it meant missing these moments. Not if it meant being gone from his family most of the year.
Nothing was worth more than this.
His phone rang, cutting into the moment. Lars grabbed the phone from the side table he must have left it on earlier, and he was just going to hit ignore, until he saw Aaron’s picture and name on the screen.
“Hey,” he said, answering with a grin. Before Aaron could speak, Lars leaned down and said, “Say ‘hi Uncle Aaron’.”
A chorus of “hi, Uncle Aaron” rang out. Or rather, their equivalent of those words. Chloe still said unc instead of uncle, and Maddie’s version sounded more like unt-ly, but close enough. With a laugh, he straightened. “What’s up?”
The other end was eerily silent, and Lars immediately tensed. He rushed to the kitchen where it was a little quieter. “Aaron?”
“I didn’t know who else to call.” The words sounded off, his familiar voice different than usual.
“Aaron, what’s going on? What’s wrong?” Lars’s pulse quickened, his stomach twisting as one minute passed, then another. When he realized it was because Aaron was crying, Lars ran upstairs and pushed into the master bedroom.
Mel jumped up from the small desk in the corner of the room with wide eyes. “What—”
“Something’s wrong with Aaron,” he whispered.
Nodding, she said, “Go. I’ve got the girls.”
Lars didn’t need more persuasion. Rushing back downstairs with her following, he shoved his feet into shoes and ran out the door. He didn’t even take the time to answer the girls’ confused questions.
“Aaron, where are you?” he asked once in his car, throwing it into reverse. “Just tell me where you are.”
It took another few seconds for Aaron to finally respond, and the second he said where he was, Lars understood. He knew exactly what had happened. He slowed down, knowing it wasn’t an emergency, but he didn’t stop driving toward the man he loved.
The one whose heart had just been shattered yet again.