No Strings Attached(29)

After fifteen years of marriage, it felt more as though they were simply going through the motions of how life should be, and Micky was so sick of it. And then there was that other thing.

After Janet, Micky had never had a crush like that on another woman again. Maybe because she didn’t allow herself to, or maybe because she was afraid.

Micky honked the horn at a taxi cutting her off. She was about to give him the finger as well but then thought better of it. Driving around with children in the backseat had taught her to control most of her impulsive reactions.

Her children. Micky had dedicated her life to her children. Now it was her turn.

Micky finally reached the underground parking lot. Back in the day, before she had been pregnant with Christopher, Micky often drove up to Sydney’s Central Business District to meet Darren for lunch. She could easily park in the streets back then. So much had changed since then.

✶ ✶ ✶

Because Micky picked the kids up from school after their week with Darren, she didn’t see him very often. They mostly spoke on the phone, and only when they had to.

She would never forget that deeply hurt look on Darren’s face when she’d first told him she wanted to separate. He looked as though she’d just told him someone had kidnapped Olivia. First there was shock and disbelief, then a flash of rage. But Darren was Darren, and he quickly composed himself, started to ask her questions so he could analyze the situation with his mathematical brain. “What have I done wrong?” “Which steps can we take to fix this?” “Is there someone else?”

It had cost so much energy to convince Darren that, all things considered, Micky wanting a divorce had little to do with him—in as far as that was possible. They were in the marriage together, of course, had built this life together.

“You look good, Micky,” Darren said now. Was that a touch of nostalgia coating his voice? He got up from the table where he’d already been sitting, glued to his phone screen when Micky walked in—Christopher and Olivia certainly didn’t get that tendency from a stranger.

“So do you.” It wasn’t even a lie. Darren had lost some weight around his waist. Micky guessed his new girlfriend might have something to do with that. Perhaps she got him to do what Micky never could: join a gym. “For your health,” Micky would say. “You need to burn off the stress somehow.” But Micky was hardly a good example herself. Granted, she was a regular at Amber’s yoga classes, but as far as Darren was concerned, yoga wasn’t exercise.

“How are the kids?” she asked as soon as she sat down. It was an automatic question she always asked Darren when they were with him. After the divorce, not having her kids live under her roof had been the biggest adjustment for Micky. Even if they spent a lot of their time in their rooms, just having them present in the house was enough for her. Not having them there for a week at a time was pure torture in the beginning. That was another reason Micky couldn’t stay in the house in Mosman. If she’d stayed there, too much would have remained the same.

“Olivia wants to go to a sleepover at April’s on Saturday. I’m going to call Chuck and see what’s what. I have a sneaking suspicion Allison is watching her younger sister while their parents are out of town.”

It was odd to hear Darren talk about things like that. Before the divorce, Micky would have always been the one to inform him about matters like these, but now he had to be involved in his children’s lives a lot more.

“Not to worry, I won’t let her stay with the Hartmanns unsupervised.” He held up a bottle of Perrier. “Water?” Darren would never drink alcohol if he had to go back to the office after lunch.

Micky nodded.

“How’s the job panning out?” he asked while pouring her a glass.

“It keeps me busy.” Micky drank from the water and glanced at Darren over the rim of her glass to gauge his reaction.

“I figured you weren’t doing it for the money.”

“Waitresses get a decent wage in Australia, so it’s nothing to sneeze at.” Of course, Micky wasn’t working at The Pink Bean for the money.

“Olivia did have something to say about it being The Pink Bean,” Darren said, taking Micky by surprise. “Is there anything you need to tell me, Micks?” Darren had a huge grin on his face.

Micky’s heart was beating furiously. For a split second, she thought her ex-husband had her all figured out. Then she realized he was just joking. Just like Micky for the longest of time, he didn’t have a clue.

“You’ll be the first to know,” she said in a tone that didn’t bear contesting.