Chapter 134
“Hugo…” I say, looking at him.
He must see something in my face that tells him I see him differently than before. He starts to straighten slightly, all while keeping his face open and his smile easy and soft.
“If were to ask you…” I lick my lips, nervous.
He leans toward me a little. “Yes?”
“Feel free to say no,” I say, tripping over my words.
“Esther,” Hugo says with a small smile. “Just ask me what you want to ask me.”
It’s a bold move to ask out my boss. This is not something I would have ever thought myself capable of in my entire life. Still, looking at Hugo and feel so safe, makes it easier.
“Hugo, would you consider going on a date with me?”
I still have feelings for Miles. He’s still the one that in a perfect world, I would love to be with. However, we don’t live in a vacuum. Reality doesn’t often give happy endings.
As much as I care for Miles, since he is engaged, I owe it to him, his fiancé, and myself to try to move forward however I can.
And Hugo… so kind and gentle. A man who would want to move slowly. He’s the kind of man who I would want to move forward with.
His eyes on me brighten with pleasure. “I’d be happy to, Esther.”
Relief fills me at once, pushing away my nerves. “You mean it?”
“I do. You’ve been through a lot. But we’ll go slowly. We’ll take time to learn each other. And most importantly, you must never feel obligated to me in any way. Nothing that happens between us personally will affect your employment here.”
“You won’t get in trouble?”
“Kimberly is your direct supervisor,” Hugo says. “We’ll make her aware of our situation to ensure you are not influenced by me, even accidentally.”
“Okay…” It might be the remaining high from my house closure, but excitement still courses through me. “May I hug you? I want to do so when I’m not as close to tears as last time…”
He laughs lightly. “Of course. I would like that too.”
He holds open his arms and I easily slide into the space between them.
Holding Hugo is nice. It’s not the all-encompassing lust and passion of touching Miles, but it’s soft and comfortable. I’m lucky to have him.
When I tell Cynthia later via text, she replies with six thumb-up’s and sixteen thumping hearts.
When she does finally type words, it reads, I APPROVE, in all caps.
Later, at the end of the day, I’m eager to share the good news with my daughters. As soon as I come through the front door, I rush to the living room where they are doing their homework and announce, “We got the house!”
Violet feeds off my energy at once. She hops to her feet and cheers.
Iris isn’t quite as reactionary, though she does smile and give a little, “Yay.”
Good moods are flying high – until Garnar steps out of his office. “What did you say?”
I refuse to let him ruin my excitement for the day, or the excitement the girls feel, so I straighten. “I’m closing on a house tomorrow.”
A muscle ticks at the corner of Garnar’s jaw. Glancing at our daughters, who are glancing at him, he inhales and exhales deeply. Then he gestures for me to come closer.
“Come into the office to talk about this, Esther.”
I’m hesitant to. He looks like he wants to fight and yell, and he doesn’t have any right to do that. But if I refuse, he might still yell, just in front of the girls. Not wanting that, I relent and walk into his office.
He closes the door behind me.
“Listen, Garnar,” I start, hoping to get ahead of the shouting.
“I want equal custody,” Garnar say.
Whatever I was about to say dies in my throat. That wasn’t what I expected him to say. At all.
“I know what the judge said,” Garnar continues. “I know they want you to have full custody with me only seeing them in part… But the girls need their father. With everything that’s been going on, including your recent exploits in the news, I don’t think you want us to revisit the courts…”
“You don’t have to threaten me, Garnar,” I say, sighing. “One of the reasons it’s taken me so long to find a house is because I was specifically looking for one near here. Same neighborhood, same school. We may not work together as a couple, you may be a lousy husband, but you are a fantastic father. I have no interest in taking your kids away.”
“So you agree to equal shared custody?”
“Yes.”
Garnar immediately slumps in relief. “Admittedly, I thought this would be more difficult.”
“I’ve never been the enemy, Garnar. We don’t have to be friend, but I hope we can at least be amicable.”
“As long as you keep the girls out of your bizarre personal life…”
My bizarre personal life?
Which one of us cheated on their spouse with that spouse’s sister?
Before I can say that aloud, I think of Selena smiling down at her engagement ring while Miles kisses me on the dance floor.
I can’t accuse Miles while I’m being such a hypocrite.
“Fine,” I say, wanting the argument to end.
“Good.”
With that resolved, I step out of the office and back into the living room. The girls quickly look away, pretending they weren’t looking even though I caught them.
I let them get away with it this time.
I clap my hands. “Well, if you girls are going to have two bedrooms, then maybe we should go to the store and buy you a second pair of everything.”
Violet and Iris look at me with wide eyes.
“We aren’t… moving?” Violet asks.
“We can keep our stuff here?” Iris asks.
I smile at them both. “You know have two homes, girls. And you will always have those homes.”
Garnar comes to stand beside me. “She’s right.”
Despite all of our differences, I’m so relieved that we could come together in this.
Iris sighs, smiling. She’s clearly relieved.
Violet is relieved too, but she shows it differently. She starts crying instead.
“Oh, honey,” I say. Rushing to her, I pull her into my arms. “It’s okay.”
“I’m happy,” she says. “I’m so happy.”
The next day, I go to the closing and officially take ownership of the house.
That night, I take the girls shopping to pick out new comforters, sheets, and other things they’ll want and need for their individual bedrooms.
Violet wants new clothes, but I keep her on track with housewares instead, reminding her, “You can bring your clothes both places.”
Saying that, I imagine they’ll eventually end up with two pairs of wardrobes too. For now though, we need to focus on necessities.
As we stand in the checkout line, I purposefully turn my back to the magazine rack, not wanting to see any pictures of Miles and Selena.
Iris doesn’t. She looks openly and tilts her head.
“Mom,” she asks me.
“Yes, honey?”
“Did something happen with you and Miles? Why is he marrying this other lady?”
