Family Dynamics (Pam of Babylon Book Five) by Suzanne Jenkins Read Free Book Online Page B

would have. He didn’t love her anymore. It was pretty cut and dried. She thought for a moment what her response should be, but none was necessary. He was in love with another woman. She decided it would be safe to look at him. Her thoughts ricocheted between wanting to scream at him, “You nerd! I hate you!” and laughing out loud. She purposely thought of all the things about him that bugged the hell out of her: his bathroom habits and dinner table manners, his ratty undershirts with the grubby underarms. She’d wondered at one time if that was also the wife’s responsibility, to ensure that the husband had nice, neat underwear. And long ago she’d decided no. She wasn’t his mother. Did the girlfriend ever use the bathroom after he’d taken a dump? Or did she even notice the condition of his underwear? The thought of his less-than-Godlike mannerisms defused her anger and pain long enough to address him and hopefully get home without losing her composure.
    “Well, I guess ‘Wow!’ is in order. I didn’t see that coming.” She looked over at him. They’d been friends for a long time. When did that end? “I’m happy for you, Frank. Sad we’re over, but happy you found someone you love.” She knew that her reasonableness may be short-lived, that she may scream “I hate your guts and hope your girlfriend has acid thrown in her face someday.” But right that second, she could be kind to him, the father of her children, the guy she’d grown up with. “Let’s get home,” she said. “I want to get my garden started before it rains.” The clouds were rolling in thick and gray. It would bring some relief from the heat. She closed her eyes as he reached for the shift to put the car in reverse. His look said about the same thing to her: “We can be kind to each other for the time being.”
    A wave of regret washed over her, goose bumps rising on her skin again, her bowels rumbling. If she could just get to Point B without the drama of a divorce. It was that journey to becoming single again that scared her to death. But being divorced, being free of a grumpy, dissatisfied, and critical husband sounded wonderful. She had worked all her life anyway, so what was another ten years? Her parents lived with her, and they were well-off. Money would not be an issue. Could she just tell him to do whatever he wanted? Could she be that reasonable? The path of least resistance would be to give him everything. To want nothing from him. Not part of his pension, not healthcare, not child support—nothing. But the reality would be that the boys would love June Brooks. They would ride bikes together, go inline skating at the park, parasail, ski, hike, all the stuff twelve- and fourteen-year-old boys loved. Having to see their mother on the weekends would be torture. Carolyn didn’t anticipate not having her boys. She didn’t have the strength to fight for them, either. If they wanted to live with Frank and go off with him and June on vacations in the summer and on their trips to warmer climes in the winter, why would she stop them?
    Now in the office with Steve, Carolyn thought of the recent time her sons stayed with her. They’d been miserable. It wasn’t worth it. Secretly, she would grow to hate her visits with her kids. It was demeaning and worse—boring. She didn’t have anything in common with her sons except what she was able to do for them, and now that was precious little. Fucking brats .
    Steve Marks would be a convenient diversion. He was attractive in a blackjack-dealer kind of way. He had his hands full with a toddler and an aging mother-in-law. He might make demands on her, but she doubted it. It would be nice to have someone to lean on while she was going through a divorce. “Do you want to go next door after we are through here?” It was a dive bar they often frequented after work. He wanted to have a drink with her but was not sure if Nelda would appreciate extra time with Miranda. He stood up to go