We’d known each other awhile.
But we hadn’t known each other that long.
“Oh my God, that’s the worst,” I whispered.
“It is. And I gotta tell you, I know your ex cheated on you and the way he did was extreme.”
The consequences of sharing a lot of friends, I should have known.
But still.
Damn.
“And now you know this about me,” he continued.
I could tell he was gearing up for something.
I also could tell I wasn’t going to like that something because I might absolutely love that something.
Therefore, I opened my mouth to stop him before he could start.
But he was on a roll and I couldn’t get in there.
“Having a slew of Aunt Thises and Uncle Thats in my life because my dad would step out to get away from her games, or my mom would step out to strike back at him for hurting her, I would never do what your ex did to you. Not to you. Not to any woman.”
Oh boy.
Mm-hmm.
I loved that.
“And,” he kept going, “having those aunts and uncles fade in and out of my life, I know how important it is not to force a kid to live through a parent’s relationships. It’s disorienting. Temporary is not a concept in a kid’s emotional range. Constantly having to learn new personalities, some good, some bad, and how to live with them is no fun. Not only dealing with the bad, which just sucks. But worse is the good. People in your life that mean something to you that eventually will be gone. So I get on a level even you don’t how you’re trying to protect Juno.”
Yeah.
I loved that too.
“And I will always, Pepper, always handle your girl with care,” he continued.
Shit, shit, shit.
I knew this to be true.
Because he was mad when he was at the school.
Mad at me.
But he’d hugged Juno and let her lean on him, and he not once gave her any indication that he was not at one with being there for her and being there with me.
He kept speaking.
“But, baby, you need to get, I am not your ex. And I need to get, you’re not my mom or the other women who jacked me around.”
The other women who jacked him around?
Oh boy!
He kept speaking.
“And you’ve been giving me vibes of my mom, sweetheart. I get why. But I let that get under my skin. I know you aren’t her and I know the ups and downs you’re experiencing are about your situation and Juno. I’m not your ex, you’re not my mom. And I’m sorry. I really am. If I could rewind that time when we were by my car and replay it, I’d ask you to back off and we’d talk when I wasn’t pissed and trying to cool down. But I can’t rewind. Nothing erases me lashing out like that. And my goal is to help you learn that it’s messing with my head this much that I did it, because I’ve never in my life done something like that to someone who didn’t deserve it. So that means it is not a normal thing with me.”
Messing with my head this much…
So much, to atone, he’d spent days finding out a lot of stuff about my brother.
So much, he’d also spent days learning dire news about the rest of my family, but even dire, it was important I knew it. Especially now, with Mom sick like she was.
And then there was…
It is not a normal thing with me.
Oh man.
Oh crap.
Oh boy.
Yes, I was loving all of this.
“Last, I need you not to mistake me,” he continued. “I like everything I know about you. I want to know more. I really dig your kid. She’s awesome. So you need to know I’m not in this for a quick fuck or a short-term situation where I have someone to pass the time with. I’m serious about you. About seeing if there could be an us. And I understand you’d come to me already as an us with Juno. And I’m standing right here with you in my arms promising you that if it doesn’t work, I will not lay you out and I will not just be Uncle That to Juno. I told you I would handle her with care. What I’m telling you now is that you’ll get that from me too.”
Suddenly, I was finding it wasn’t easy to breathe.
“And that’s all I got,” he finished.
I was relieved, because all he had was all good and I wasn’t sure I could hold up.
I already knew a bunch of other stuff about Auggie that was all good.
It was piling up.
And I wasn’t certain I could keep fighting it.
But it wasn’t all he had because he kept going.
“Juno was walking home when I pulled up and she ran to me. She asked about it and I promised I’d help with the Thanksgiving show. Whether you’re helping or not, I’m in. But for you for right now, I just gave you a lot that’s gonna fuck with your head about your family and more to think on about us. And even if I don’t want to, I have a feeling it’s best for you if I leave you with it.”