Mary Jane's Grave by Stacy Dittrich

toward our bedroom, dazed. Michael was behind me a few seconds later and closed the door behind us. I turned to face him, my chest heaving, and I felt short of breath. I struggled to keep my voice down.
    “What the fuck, Michael?” I was trembling. “How can you accuse me of wanting to go back to Eric when you and your ex are in discussion about getting back together?” Despite my good intentions, I heard my voice rise.
    “Please calm down and lower your voice,” he said, a frown beginning to appear on his usually calm face. He went to the bed and sat down, then fixed a steely gaze on me,
    “Sean told me about this when I picked him up the other day, but I didn’t give it much thought. I figured his mother was just fantasizing again.”
    “Told you what?” I crossed my arms in front of me and tried to calm down.
    “He said his mom has been crying a lot. I know she hasn’t dated anyone seriously since our divorce, but I figured she just wasn’t ready.” He ran his fingers through his hair, and when he looked up, his face was drawn. Despite myself, I began to feel sorry for him.
    “When I took Sean home the last weekend we had him, Vanessa acted odd. She was all dressed up as if she was going out, but she clearly wasn’t because she invited me to stay for dinner.” He paused. “Which of course, you know I didn’t.” He went on, “Before I left, she asked me if I regretted getting the divorce.”
    “What did you say?”
    “I told her I felt bad that Sean had to grow up without both parents in the same house, but she looked so fragile, I didn’t want to hurt her by going any further. She must’ve taken my answer and created a whole scenario—a faulty one—around it.”
    “I’d say your answer left all kinds of room for interpretation,” I pointed out flatly.
    “Maybe you’re right,” he sighed. “I had told her a couple of weeks ago that you and I were planning to get married, and she got really upset. She said when she left me, she thought she was losing me to you and hoped I’d get you out of my system and run back to her. When I called her bluff and filed, she decided to go along with it. Obviously, when I said I regretted that Sean wouldn’t grow up with both parents, she misinterpreted and thought I was implying that we might get back together for his sake.”
    I stood there staring at him, trying to decide whether he was telling me the truth. Actually, it was pretty clear that he was. But I was still pissed off.
    “May I ask why you never told me any of this until now?”
    “Honestly, CeeCee, I never gave it much thought! Why this is coming from Vanessa now, I don’t understand. I mean, there was almost a year when I was on my own without you, and she never said a word.”
    “If she had said something last year, would you have gone back?” I was almost afraid to hear the answer.
    “Come on! You know I wasn’t in love with Vanessa for the last two years of my marriage, even before I even met you. The answer is no.” He held his hand out to me. I hesitated, then took it and sat next to him.
    “I trust you, Michael,” I said softly. “You’ve never given me a reason not to. But when Sean told me what Vanessa had said, I got scared. The thought of going through the same garbage I did with Eric was too much. I’m sorry I blew up.” Hugging him fiercely, I let all the bad feelings evaporate. He felt good, and I was safe in his arms once again.
    Michael nuzzled my neck. “Boy, the Irish in you really comes flying out when you’re pissed off, doesn’t it?”
    I giggled as he brought his lips to mine, and when his hand moved to my hip, I moved closer and touched him where I knew he loved to be touched. Our lovemaking was different this time, and something inside me welcomed him in a whole new way. Afterward, we fell asleep holding each other, knowing that we were home together—and each other’s home.

C HAPTER E LEVEN
    The next morning, I got the girls off to school before