“True. So what about the times I am around him and you?”
“At first we will appear as friends. I don’t doubt that he is smart enough to know when his dad likes a girl, but I don’t want to get his hopes up at all until you and I are one hundred percent positive about our relationship.”
“That makes sense.”
We finish our lasagna while I think about anything else I want to ask. He’s kind of covered multiple questions with his answers though. I set my fork on the plate and push it away slightly so I can rest my elbow on the counter. I put my head in my hand and look at Ethan.
“Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Sure can.”
“Why did his mom leave?”
Ethan turns to me, his face slightly more somber now.
“I was married to his mom for two years before she got pregnant. We tried for a year to get pregnant, so when she did it felt like a miracle. We had talked about having kids before we got married and planned accordingly. We both wanted two, we were hoping it would be one girl and one boy. After Arthur was born, she started changing. As the days went by, she wanted less and less to do with him. I tried everything I could think of to make her want to stay with us. Doctors, therapists, at one point she got on medication. But after two months, she left. I woke up in the morning to a note on my nightstand that said she wasn’t made to be a mom. That she was leaving and to not go looking for her.”
Tears stream down my face as I listen to his story. I don’t understand how a mother could leave her child.
“I respected her wishes. Then I got sole custody of Arthur. That was the last time I heard from her. My therapist, at the time, told me it was postpartum depression. And that may be so, I’ll never know.”
“I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine the heartache that caused you.”
Ethan swipes a tear from my cheek with his thumb.
“In the end, I believe it was for the best.”
A scratching on the glass doors that lead to the back yard makes me jump.
“Oh. That’s the dogs. They must be ready to come in.”
I watch as he walks over, his two German Shepherds come barreling inside. One completely white and one completely black. Their noses are on me in an instant.
“Alright girls, leave her alone. She’s fine,” Ethan says to his dogs.
I pet their heads. “They are fine.”
He rubs his hands down the sides of the black one.
“This is Ore,” he says, then does the same to the white one. “And this is Oh.”
“Oreo?” I ask with a laugh.
“Yup. Arthur named them. I thought it was pretty clever.”
“It is. It’s really cute.”
“You girls hungry?” he asks them. They both stop and follow behind him. He fills their bowls then comes back to me.
Chapter Sixteen
Lily
“Doyouhaveanymore questions for me?” he asks.
“Not as of right now.” I smile slightly while shaking my head a couple times then stand.
“Thank you for dinner. It was really good,” I say as I grab my keys from the counter.