JULIE
With David insisting on sticking around, I busied myself with putting away the shopping he had come with, then started cooking, since it looked like he was going to be around for lunch.
Frankly, I was looking for anything to distract myself from his presence and keep us in separate rooms. He, on the other hand, occupied himself with his phone and the TV, thankfully keeping to himself until Junior woke up.
As the bedroom is closer to the living room than the kitchen is, he heard Junior first and I only realized he was even awake when David walked into the kitchen with him. Still grumpy from sleep, hungry and probably in possession of a wet diaper, Junior was crying and squirming in his arms, refusing to be soothed, despite David’s desperate attempts to do so.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with him; he’s usually not this moody.”
I almost replied that he didn’t spend enough time with him to know what he was ‘usually’ like, but bit my tongue, and turning off the cooker, took Junior (who instantly stopped crying) from him instead.
“I’ll go change his pamper; lunch is ready. I’ll come back and serve it as soon as I’m done,” I answered calmly, and edged past him to head to the bedroom.
Is it possible for love to just fizzle out and die like it never even existed in the first place? I had always been certain that my feelings for David were genuinely those of true love; I had given up so much for him and fought so hard for him, for us, that what else could it be?
And yet, as I lingered over changing Junior’s diaper, dreading going back out to him, I had to wonder; if it really had been love, then where had it gone, and why would I prefer changing dirty diapers to being in the same room as him?
DAVID
When I had gone to the apartment that morning, it had been for honourable reasons; first, to spend some time with my son and secondly, to make sure he and Julie were alright.
I had succeeded with the second; Julie and Junior were fine and did not want anything, but as for the first, Junior acted like he did not know who I was and cried every time I tried to lift him. In the end, I gave up trying and left him to Julie, who just like Junior, made it evident she did not want to be anywhere near me.
Diane had always called Julie a gold-digger but I had never believed that because unlike her, I knew how pure and true Julie’s heart was and that it was the reason I had fought so hard to get her. She had never been moved by my money, only by her feelings for me, and since she wore her heart on her sleeve, those had always been crystal-clear to see.
Ironically, her transparency was now the reason she had me questioning what we had; she did not want to be anywhere near me, let alone look me in the eye, and while I still believed she wanted me to spend time with Junior and bond with him, he was not being very cooperative on that front, and she was not pushing him to either, which left me feeling like an unneeded and unwanted third wheel.
It was a cold and uncomfortable position, and one I was not accustomed to, and when I thought of Diane and our children, and how I was the center of their world, I didn’t see why I was here, and not there.
Although Julie had cooked and I had the afternoon free, I decided to put us both out of our misery and made an early exit. As I left the apartment and headed to my car, I called Diane and suggested we have lunch at a restaurant in town, and then go join the children at her parents’ house. She happily jumped at the suggestion.
DIANE
It was just after one when my phone rang, and picking it up, I was surprised to see it was David calling.
“Hi, honey,” I answered it gaily.
“Hi; are you still busy?”
“Not really; it’s actually pretty quiet for a Saturday. Why? What’s up?”
“I’m done with what I had to do; so, I was thinking we could have lunch, and then go see your parents.”
“That sounds great; it’s been a while since you’ve seen them and I know they’ll be thrilled to see you again. Do you want us to meet somewhere, or are you coming here?”
“No need to move with both cars, I’ll come pick you up; I should be there in about fifteen minutes or so.”
“Great, I’ll be ready,” I promised happily, and then hanging up, turned to Tracy with a wide smile. “I told you things were going great; we’re going out to lunch, then to see my parents. You don’t mind me abandoning you, do you?”
“Of course not; there’s not much to do anyway; so, I’ll probably leave the girls to handle things and head home early myself. I’m glad things are going so well for David and you, you’ve worked so hard to get things back on track and it’s good to finally see all your efforts paying off,” she answered with a warm smile.
“Thank you, and thanks for all your support; I don’t think I’d have gotten this far without you,” I answered honestly.
“Oh, you’re a very determined woman Diane, I’m sure you would have gotten here eventually,” she laughed, and then glanced at her watch.
“Now, you had better go touch up your make-up so you don’t keep that husband of yours waiting when he gets here.”
“Good point,” I agreed readily, and standing up, headed for the bathrooms at the back of the store, feeling like a teenager getting ready for a date, rather than a wife meeting her husband for lunch.
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