Afterward, we take turns to go to the washroom to clean up.
***
“Did you enjoy the movie?” Brad asks as we walk out of the theatre.
I giggle. “Very much so. Especially the action off-screen.”
He squeezes my hand. “We have time for a coffee before Isaac gets home.”
The coffee house is empty, and we have our pick of where to sit. Brad leads me to a table by the window.
“No one else could convince me to do what we just did,” Brad says after the waitress takes our order. He stares at me intently, and my face flushes. He laughs when he sees that I’m shy.
“That has to be the craziest thing I’ve ever done,” I tell him.
Brad takes my hands. “I feel like I’ve known you forever. How did we ever manage without you? I can’t remember. Did I find things to laugh or smile about?”
I laugh at the intensity in his expression. “I know what you mean. I feel the same. As if the feelings I experienced before were a shadow of this.”
“That’s it exactly,” Brad says.
The waitress returns with our coffees, and we drop our hands from the table. Everything would be perfect except for the thought that Clay could come back to LA. Jessica assures me that he’s back home. But for how long?
My latte is sweet and milky. I wrap my hands around the cup for warmth even though it’s hot outside.
“Are you okay? You looked worried for a second there,” Brad says. He knows how to read my mind. Something that Clay never mastered even after been married for several years.
“It’s nothing,” I tell Brad and immediately launch into an update of my painting to distract him.
“Do you think you’ll have an exhibition here in LA when you’re finished?” Brad asks.
My agent had hinted that as well. LA has a vibrant Art community. I’m sure it’s something that she can easily put together, and I’m known well enough to be able to get one of the top galleries to stock my work. I’ve been thinking along those lines too, but it depends on so much. Like if Brad and I will still be together.
I smile at Brad. “I’d like that, but it wouldn’t be any time soon. It takes me almost a year and a half to produce a collection.”
“That’s not a long time,” Brad says.
“No, it’s not.”
We sit and stare at each other. Unspoken promises and hopes for the future lie between us. Only after the custody case can we make decisions regarding our relationship.
Chapter 35
Brad
Fridays are my favorite day of the week. Always have been. The weekend is a time to spend with my two favorite people. Collins catches me just as I’m changing out of my gear in the locker room.
“Hey, how’s it going?” he says.
“Good.”
He clears his throat. I groan inwardly. That means there’s something he wants to talk about. I hope it doesn’t take long. I want to pass by the flower shop and buy Mila the largest bouquet of flowers they have.
“I want to have a word with you.” His tone is solemn.
My stomach hardens. “Is everything okay with you?”
“Yes, fairly,” he says. “It’s not about me, though. It’s about Mila.”
At the mention of Mila’s name, I stop what I’m doing and turn to face him. “What about Mila?”
A sheen of sweat covers his forehead. Whatever he wants to tell me is not good. All sorts of scenarios run through my brain. Has she been in an accident? How? She was home and had no plans to go anywhere.
“Has something happened to her?” I ask.
“No, nothing like that,” Collins quickly says. His gaze drops to the floor. “Debbie didn’t want me to tell you, but we’re family, man, and family doesn’t keep stuff from one another.”
I shift my weight from one foot to another. “Just say it, man.”
“Debbie saw Mila with a man at Sumptuous Coffee House downtown,” Collins says.
My skin burns hot and tight. “A man? When?”
“Day before yesterday,” Collins says, his gaze trained on the door.
Mila did not mention meeting anyone. It’s not like her. She’s the most honest person I know. There must be some mistake. “Is Debbie sure it was Mila?”
Collins nods, misery drawn on his face. It doesn’t make sense for Mila to meet someone and not tell me about it. “Maybe it was a stranger she was making conversation with. Mila is social; you know that.”
Collins holds my gaze. “They kissed on the mouth.”
My blood turns to ice. Kissed? My Mila kissed someone. Coldness hits at my core. I don’t believe what I’m hearing. Surely lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice.
Mila’s smiling face jumps to my mind. Everything in me refuses to accept what Collins is saying. I couldn’t have misread her so badly. Then a voice at the back of my mind reminds me that it was the same with Brenda. Cheaters don’t come with a warning sign on their foreheads.