One Love by Lynn Emery

down the hall.
    “ I think we have time before
they’re off to college,” Shauntelle said with good humor.” Stay a
while for a glass of iced tea.” She tugged him toward the
kitchen.
    ” No, really. I should get
home. Work.” Alex let himself be led despite his words.
    “ Don’t panic. I’m not up to
something.” Shauntelle threw a glance back at him before she went
to the refrigerator.
    Alex chose not to respond to that one.
Shauntelle was a wonderful mother and nice person in a lot of ways.
She just did not understand that the world was not created to do
her bidding. The twins had inherited her will to rule.
    “ Uh-huh. I can only stay a
few minutes. That state project has me working like crazy.” Alex
accepted a glass of fresh brewed tea.
    Shauntelle sank down onto a chair at
the breakfast table.” At least sit down for goodness sakes. I’ll
have to crane my neck to keep looking up at you.”
    “ So what’s up?”Alex sat down
and stretched out his long legs. He sipped the tea and savored the
fruity taste. It was one of Shauntelle’s favorite
concoctions.
    “ I just thought we could
chat about things. Like work, the kids...” Shauntelle lifted a
shoulder. “Dating.”
    Alex he choked on the tea.” Say what?”
he blurted between coughs.
    Shauntelle glared at him.” How
flattering. I didn’t mean to scare you with a fate worse than
death!” She banged down her glass on the table.
    “ It’s not that. Look, we’re
happily divorced. Let’s not spoil a good thing.” Alex knew
instantly his candor had been the wrong move.” I mean--”
    She waved a hand in the air.” I
understand. Take a deep breath and relax. I’m not talking about
us.”
    “ Oh.” Alex tried to be
gallant enough not to groan with relief.
    “ I mean me and someone
else.”
    “ But you’ve dated in the
last year or so, right?”Alex looked at her. Shauntelle was
surprisingly conservative, even prudish.
    “ Nine months.” Shauntelle
cleared her throat.” I think maybe I’ve found someone special. But
I’m not sure.”
    “ Umm, well that’s great.”
Alex felt weird having this discussion with his ex-wife.” These
things take time.” That sounded like good neutral advice. In fact,
it sounded like his grandmother.
    “ I don’t want to rush into
anything.” Shauntelle looked at him.” How long did it take you to
feel... comfortable. You know.”
    ” Maybe you should talk to
your friend Dori about this. Or your sister.” Alex looked for an
escape route.
    “ In a lot of ways, I feel
close to you. When did you feel right letting someone get
close?”
    Alex rubbed his short curly cut hair.”
Well...”
    “ You and Karin seem to be a
solid couple.” Shauntelle propped both elbows on the table. Her
expression showed she was genuinely looking for advice.
    “ We do have a lot in common;
share a lot of the same interests.” Alex stared into his
tea.
    “ So how did you know it was
right?”Shauntelle cocked her head to the side. She gazed at him the
way their daughters did when waiting for grown-up
wisdom.
    A realization hit him like a sharp rap
across the shoulders. He did not know it was right, not since
seeing Lanessa. Maybe he needed a support group for people who were
driven to self-destructive relationships. What did they call it?
Co-dependency. Or maybe there was a new psychobabble word for it.
The woman stood with a drink in her hand and a wealthy looking
brother at her side. She had not changed despite what he’d heard.
Still daydreams about the good times they had shared kept coming to
him at odd moments. Alex mentally slammed that door shut once
again. He sat stiff.
    ” Karin and I aren’t on a
timetable. We learned to be friends first.”
    “ How exciting,” Shauntelle
said in a dryly.” Sounds one step from saying she’s just like a
sister to you.”
    “ What are you talking
about?”Alex got up. He grabbed a bowl of nuts, crackers and other
treats Shauntelle kept on the counter.
    “ Face the