Brayden – Sunday
“Can I wear them now, mommy?” Lanie asked about the new shoes I was getting ready to buy for her.
“Me too, mommy,” Nina said to her mom, Emma. “We’ll be twins,” she said to Lanie.
“Yes, me and Nina want to be twins,” Lanie said.
I looked at my best friend Emma who gave me a smile. Our girls were as close as we were. Best friends. I hoped they’d stay that way as Emma and I had. We’d met in elementary school and built a friendship that spanned nearly thirty years. Even when we’d gone off to separate colleges, we’d stayed in touch.
We married around the same time, and had our first children within a few months of each other. But then Derek, her husband became ill with a rare form of cancer. It was heart-breaking to watch him wither away. To see the pain and grief of my best friend and not be able to do anything. He’d died a few years ago, and Emma was back to living a full life, at least for herself and her daughter. I admired her strength. It made me feel petty to complain about Brayden.
“It’s okay with me if you wear your new shoes,” I said. I’d gotten them for school because her current pair were getting too small for her.
“Me too,” Emma agreed.
“Yay,” the two girls grabbed the shoes and went to sit down to put them on. I ran my credit card through the payment machine.
“I wonder how long before we’re back here,” Emma said looking over at the girls. “Nina is growing so fast; she’ll be out of those shoes before I know it.”
“I know what you mean.”
“She’ll send me to the poorhouse just in the cost of clothes alone.”
I put my card back in my wallet, feeling grateful that I didn’t have to worry about money. I never had. My father was a successful VP and so money was never an issue for us while I grew up. Brayden was successful as well as frugal. He’d grown up in a family that struggled financially, which was probably why he worked so hard and we never wanted for money.
However, the saying that money can’t buy everything is true. It hadn’t been able to save my mom. And I didn’t think it would save my marriage. In fact, it was Brayden’s focus on work that was the source of our marital problems. Or maybe it was his young, voluptuous secretary.
I had no proof he was cheating and in fact, a part of me chastised myself for thinking he would do such a thing. But he wasn’t having sex with me, and he did work late a lot. The few times I called after seven to check on him, she’d been the one to pick up his phone…his cell phone.
“How about lunch?” Emma said as she finished paying. “Then you can tell me what’s weighing on your mind.”
“Lunch sounds good,” I said, not wanting to discuss my woes with Lanie around.
We made our way to the food court, where the girls ordered pizza, Emma got a pretzel and I bought a salad. Perhaps it was time to do something about the extra weight I’d packed on since becoming a mom.
We sat at a table and chatted about the goings-ons over the last week.
“Can we go play on the playground?” Lanie asked me, pointing to the indoor play area near where we ate.
She’d eaten a good amount of her pizza so I said, “Sure.” I picked up a napkin to wipe her face and hands.
“Me too, mommy?” Nina asked Emma.
“Yes. Work off some of that energy.”
With the kids off climbing in the play area, Emma leaned toward me. “So, what’s going on?”
I shrugged as I watched Lanie run with a huge grin on her face. “Same old, same old.”
“Come on, Ter, you can’t fool me.”
I sighed. “I just think things between me and Brayden have fizzled out and I don’t know how to get it back. I’m not sure he’d even want it back.”
She frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
I looked her in the eyes, wanting to be able to see if she’d tell me the truth of her feelings. “Do you think Brayden would cheat?”
“What?” Her eyes widened, giving me an answer that I liked. She didn’t think he was a cheater. Then again, how would she know? All she saw of Brayden was the fun-loving, happy-go-lucky family man.