front of her. “Wow, you’re home late. I was starting to worry.”
“Oh, gosh—I’m sorry.”
“No problem. Just glad you’re okay.”
Kim smiled. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
Very okay.
FIVE
I don’t know how I’m going to do this.
Joshua surveyed the couch where Lara’s clothes were piled by season. He’d been all gung-ho when he’d started the project after putting Maddie to bed. But now he could hardly see what he was doing, the memories of Lara in each dress, each blouse, each skirt so vivid in front of him. He had hoped to choose a few special outfits to save for Maddie and then box the rest for Goodwill, but now every outfit seemed special. Even the T-shirts she’d only worn to the gym or while gardening had a handful of memories attached. How could he get rid of any of them?
Am I completely crazy with this move? Can I seriously pack up and leave the first real home we had together? How can I take Maddie away from the one place where she can best remember her mother? It’s a stupid idea, isn’t it? I never should have considered it. Not that it’s too late, I guess, but…
He sat with a black cocktail dress clutched in his hands, eyes trained on but not really seeing the wedding photo above the mantle. Joshua whispered his lament to God. “But I feel like I’m suffocating here. And when I do start dating, I don’t know if I could bring another woman here and not feel like she was intruding. Or like I was cheating.
“And as difficult as it is to consider dating again, I’m going to have to, if for no other reason than to find Maddie a mother. She’s got me a little nervous about all the mother-talk. She needs a mother, or at least a woman in her life, and who is that going to be? Certainly not Alisha. Not my mom, who’s a thousand miles away.”
He tossed down the dress and stood, pacing aimlessly. “And now George and Alisha are pulling this grandparents’ rights crap! They can’t possibly have a chance. I shouldn’t be worried about that, right?” He rubbed a hand over his face.
“God, I’m stuck. And I’m scared. Am I doing the right thing? Am I going to regret this?” He looked again at the picture of Lara, glowing in her fairy tale wedding dress. She’d had it specially preserved after the wedding, “in case we ever have a girl and Vera Wang knockoffs are still in fashion.” The alternative—staying here, haunted day and night by the ghost of Lara past—was aging him. And he couldn’t afford to get older any faster than nature intended, not with a four-year-old to keep up with.
“You’re going to have to do some serious work on me, God. Starting now, or else I’m going to end up going to sleep right here on these clothes.” He sat again, picked up the cocktail dress, and after staring at it for a while, put it back on its hanger. The dress she’d worn the night he’d proposed. Definitely special.
K IM PULLED HER MAKEUP BAG from her purse, humming along with the music playing over the salon’s speakers. She stared at herself in her station’s mirror and dabbed her nose with powder. She’d never thought about her makeup after applying it in the morning, but now she never left home without the bag so she could freshen up before Rick picked her up after work.
“Another date, huh?” Emma stopped by, leaning against the counter. “You two are really racking them up.”
Kim smiled. “Yup.”
“Why don’t you just put that on in the morning before you come in?”
Kim whisked the blush brush over her cheeks. “I do. But it doesn’t stay fresh. I look all wilted at the end of the day if I do that.”
Emma smirked. “A girl goes through that much hassle to look good, it means she’s got it bad.”
Kim said nothing, but her eyes gave it away. Emma laughed. “Have fun tonight.”
They’d gone out nearly every night since their first date two weeks ago. Despite how their evenings started—restaurant, mall food court, take-out, or foraging for leftovers
“Oh, gosh—I’m sorry.”
“No problem. Just glad you’re okay.”
Kim smiled. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
Very okay.
FIVE
I don’t know how I’m going to do this.
Joshua surveyed the couch where Lara’s clothes were piled by season. He’d been all gung-ho when he’d started the project after putting Maddie to bed. But now he could hardly see what he was doing, the memories of Lara in each dress, each blouse, each skirt so vivid in front of him. He had hoped to choose a few special outfits to save for Maddie and then box the rest for Goodwill, but now every outfit seemed special. Even the T-shirts she’d only worn to the gym or while gardening had a handful of memories attached. How could he get rid of any of them?
Am I completely crazy with this move? Can I seriously pack up and leave the first real home we had together? How can I take Maddie away from the one place where she can best remember her mother? It’s a stupid idea, isn’t it? I never should have considered it. Not that it’s too late, I guess, but…
He sat with a black cocktail dress clutched in his hands, eyes trained on but not really seeing the wedding photo above the mantle. Joshua whispered his lament to God. “But I feel like I’m suffocating here. And when I do start dating, I don’t know if I could bring another woman here and not feel like she was intruding. Or like I was cheating.
“And as difficult as it is to consider dating again, I’m going to have to, if for no other reason than to find Maddie a mother. She’s got me a little nervous about all the mother-talk. She needs a mother, or at least a woman in her life, and who is that going to be? Certainly not Alisha. Not my mom, who’s a thousand miles away.”
He tossed down the dress and stood, pacing aimlessly. “And now George and Alisha are pulling this grandparents’ rights crap! They can’t possibly have a chance. I shouldn’t be worried about that, right?” He rubbed a hand over his face.
“God, I’m stuck. And I’m scared. Am I doing the right thing? Am I going to regret this?” He looked again at the picture of Lara, glowing in her fairy tale wedding dress. She’d had it specially preserved after the wedding, “in case we ever have a girl and Vera Wang knockoffs are still in fashion.” The alternative—staying here, haunted day and night by the ghost of Lara past—was aging him. And he couldn’t afford to get older any faster than nature intended, not with a four-year-old to keep up with.
“You’re going to have to do some serious work on me, God. Starting now, or else I’m going to end up going to sleep right here on these clothes.” He sat again, picked up the cocktail dress, and after staring at it for a while, put it back on its hanger. The dress she’d worn the night he’d proposed. Definitely special.
K IM PULLED HER MAKEUP BAG from her purse, humming along with the music playing over the salon’s speakers. She stared at herself in her station’s mirror and dabbed her nose with powder. She’d never thought about her makeup after applying it in the morning, but now she never left home without the bag so she could freshen up before Rick picked her up after work.
“Another date, huh?” Emma stopped by, leaning against the counter. “You two are really racking them up.”
Kim smiled. “Yup.”
“Why don’t you just put that on in the morning before you come in?”
Kim whisked the blush brush over her cheeks. “I do. But it doesn’t stay fresh. I look all wilted at the end of the day if I do that.”
Emma smirked. “A girl goes through that much hassle to look good, it means she’s got it bad.”
Kim said nothing, but her eyes gave it away. Emma laughed. “Have fun tonight.”
They’d gone out nearly every night since their first date two weeks ago. Despite how their evenings started—restaurant, mall food court, take-out, or foraging for leftovers
Similar Books
