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“Was it something I did?” I interrupt her. “Had I ignored him? Gained too much weight?” Nahla frowns at that one. “Was it because we didn’t have sex enough? Now that I think about it, I can’t even remember the last time he told me he loved me.”
“Men can be assholes, Syd.”
I stare into her big black eyes. Nahla is Brazilian. Jet-black hair with a wideset pair of black eyes. Her skin is creamy olive, and her ass is Instagram-worthy. Headstrong, exotically beautiful, she can put any man in their place when needed. She bleeds confidence, defends her morals until she’s blue in the face, and doesn’t have a single insecurity that she leads on to. She’s worked harder than anyone I’ve ever met, which explains why she’s a lawyer. No man in their right mind would ever cheat on her, and if they did, she’d cut their fucking dick off.
“Kenneth wouldn’t cheat on you,” I point out, raising an eyebrow, challenging her to disagree with me.
“No, he wouldn’t. Only because he’s terrified of me.”
I struggle with opening the wine bottle in front of me.
“Here. Let me.” Nahla takes the bottle from my hands. “I like my wine without glass.”
I let her take it because I, too, like my wine without glass. And the last thing I need is to cut myself. News flash, I’m broke.
“What am I going to do?”
“I have a plan, but tonight, we’re not going to worry. We’re gonna drink this wine and forget about that lying, cheating bastard.”
Her words send a clog of emotion through me. “I’m supposed to be mourning him, not hating him.”
Pouring three glasses of wine, Nahla opens the pizza box with the other hand, pulling out a slice. “The only reason I’d be mourning that asshole would be Tatum losing her father. He was a bad husband.Bad.”
I take my wine in hand, swirling it around in the glass. “Was he though? Or was I a bad wife for not seeing this sooner?”
“That’s crazy.” She chews her pizza slowly. “There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re an amazing mom.”
“Wife. Was I good a wife though?”
“You didn’t cheat on him, so that’s better than him.”
Sadie walks in with Tatum. “Is Collin’s mom coming to get her tonight?”
I nod and take Tatum in my arms. Thankfully she’s fully clothed now in what looks to be a lace dress, clip-on earrings, and bright pink lipstick. “Yeah, she asked to spend some time with her.”
“Oh, I think she might be here.”
Tatum spots the bowl of Cheerios. “Yay, teets!”
Sadie looks at her, curious. “What’d she just say?”
“Teets.”
“As in….”
I gesture to the bowl. “Toasted Cheerios.”
Tatum takes a handful and shoves them in her mouth. I smile at her, loving that Collin was a shitty human, but he gave me the best possible gift in the world. A daughter.
“Why don’t you eat some pizza before Grandma Karen takes you?” Don’t laugh. Yes, my mother-in-law’s name is Karen. And yes, she fits the mold. I’m sorry to all you Karen’s out there who suddenly hate their name due to this stereotype. If it makes you feel better, at least your name isn’t Jeffrey Dahmer. I went to high school with a kid who had that name, and he had to change it.
Tatum squirms in my arms, attempting to shove a few more Cheerios in. “Okay.”
I set her on her feet, where Nahla hands her a plate with a cut-up slice of pizza on it. It takes an army to raise a kid. Or three women. Whatever. We’re an army now.
“There’s a girl crying in the living room,” Karen says, coming into the kitchen, her brow pulled together. “Is she okay? Did she know my Collin?”
Notice how she saysmyCollin? He’s her baby and can do nothing wrong.