The Restaurant(37)

Cory was all apologies when he’d called to tell her about the rental and again asked if she’d consider taking him back. He seemed surprised that she kept saying no. She knew him though and even though she’d told him it wasn’t going to happen, Cory was probably going to keep asking, hoping that eventually she’d say yes. That strategy usually worked for him. But she didn’t think it wasn’t going to work this time. Mandy did briefly consider taking him back and seeing if they could move on and try to get past it. But, she quickly dismissed the idea because she knew the trust was gone and oddly enough, she no longer found him even remotely attractive. The thought of being physical with him was repulsive. So, that made it a little easier to say no.

What she was still struggling with was why it had happened. Cory had said it had nothing to do with her, but she couldn’t help think that it had to be partly her fault, that she hadn’t been enough or did something that pushed him away. Maybe they’d just grown apart as Cory’s work consumed him more and more and they began to spend less time together. It was Mandy and the kids all the time, and Cory off doing his own thing. And it wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to get him to do more with them, with her especially. But he rarely agreed. He was either too busy or too tired from work. So, she had to keep reminding herself of that when she worried that she was somehow at fault.

It was hard, though. She’d never felt so alone before. The sprawling house seemed empty without Cory in it. His energy was big, and the house was quiet without him. Her first instinct was to move, to get out, but she knew that was selfish. This was the only home her kids had ever known and she couldn’t take that away from them. She knew that if they divorced, it was going to be stressful for the kids too. Not to mention an unexpected change and she would do whatever possible to ease that stress. So, they weren’t going anywhere.

She decided to tell the kids after she picked them up from school. They came bounding into the car, all excited to tell her about their day. While she was waiting in the parking lot, she’d called in an order for takeout from Millie’s. The kids loved tacos and it would be a fun treat for them and she wouldn’t have to cook. The food was ready when they reached the restaurant and once they got home and were all sitting around the dining room table eating an early dinner, she told them what was going on.

“So, I have some news that might seem a little strange. Your father and I have separated and he’s going to be staying somewhere else. He got a place not far from here. On the water, so that should be fun for you guys.”

Brooke set her taco down and looked confused and angry.

“Why?”

Mandy sighed. “Sometimes people are happier apart than together. Your father and I got married young and I think we’ve grown apart. We have different interests. Other than you kids, of course.”

“Is it us? Did we do something?” Blake asked. His lower lip trembled slightly and Mandy immediately got up and gave him a hug.

“Of course not, honey. This has nothing to do with you kids. Your father loves you both very much. It’s between me and him.”

“He doesn’t love you anymore?” Brooke looked dubious.

Mandy hesitated. “We both love and respect each other, but we’ve decided that this is best for us, right now.”

“I don’t understand this at all.” Brooke’s eyes watered, and Mandy gave her a hug, too.

“I’m so sorry, honey. I don’t really understand it either, to be honest. But it’s what we need to do. You’ll see your father this weekend.”

“We have to go stay with him? And leave you? I don’t know if I want to do that.”

“It will just be for one night. He’ll come get you on Saturday and bring you home on Sunday. It will be fun to see his place.” Mandy tried to sound positive and didn’t want to say anything negative about Cory. The kids didn’t need to know he’d cheated.

“I don’t like this at all.” Brooke took a final bite of her taco and seemed to have lost interest in the other one on her plate.

“I don’t either,” Blake said. But his appetite didn’t seem to be affected.

“I’m sorry, kids. I know it’s going to be a change for all of us. But we’ll figure it out. Brooke, finish your taco.” Mandy understood though, as she hadn’t felt like doing much of anything all week. “If you both finish your dinner, we’ll have some ice cream and maybe watch a movie. Sound good?”

“What kind of ice cream?” Brooke asked.

“Mint chocolate chip. I picked some up yesterday.”

That got a smile out of her. It was Brooke’s favorite flavor.

“Okay, but I get to pick the movie.”

Mandy smiled. “Deal.”





Later that evening, after they’d all snuggled together on the sofa watching a movie and the kids were sound asleep in bed, Mandy found herself wide awake. She couldn’t find anything she wanted to watch on TV and looked around for a book to read before remembering that she still had Gram’s diary in her tote bag. She fished it out, climbed into her pajamas and curled up in bed to read for a bit.

She thought she’d probably just read for a few minutes until her eyes grew heavy, but the opposite happened and she read for over an hour. And learned more about the mysterious Jay.