She usually parks in the garage, so I can’t even tell if she’s home. As we always do when we’re here for yard service, we let ourselves into her side gate and go directly to the backyard. I search her windows for signs of life or light inside.
“I’m gonna tell her we’re here,” I say, heading toward her back door.
Troy clamps a hand on my arm. “She’ll know we’re here. Give her time.”
I shake him off. “If we did things at your pace, we’d never get anywhere. If I hadn’t made a move on Lorraine in the first place, we’d have never gotten with her.”
“I appreciate that, and sometimes your take-charge style is effective, but this situation calls for restraint.”
I’m skeptical, but I take his advice. My brother may sometimes be too passive, but he understands women, usually better than I do. Darian agrees with his approach, too. We filled our friends in about Lorraine’s message, and we’ve all talked about the possibilities. Troy and Darian want her just as much as Dante and I do, but they argued that she’s likely going to be in a fragile emotional state, and we need to take our time.
When I’m halfway through mowing the lawn, I see the blinds move at the back door. There’s still no actual sight of Lorraine after I finish another row, so I stop and pull off my t-shirt. I haven’t even broken a sweat, but it’s time to play dirty. I stretch my arms behind my head, making everything flex, and when I’m done mowing, I do a slow and thorough job of raking the cuttings, emphasizing my muscles and giving a good show to the windows on the back of her house, where I hope she’s watching.
“Real subtle,” Troy says when he passes by with hedge trimmings under his arm.
“If she hasn’t come out by the time we’re done, I’m knocking at the door,” I call after him.
Maybe she hears me, because when we’re collecting our things, Lorraine finally appears. She has a tray of drinks in hand, and after setting them on the table on the patio, she stands next to it, watching us.
I cross over to her immediately, searching her eyes as I go. They’re guarded, and so is her body language, one arm wrapped around her middle, the other hanging at her side. It seems we’ve gone back to square one, or maybe we’re no longer even on the board.
“How are you?” she asks as I’m about to step onto the patio. Dante is close behind me.
“We’re okay,” I say evenly, “but we’ve been wondering how you are.”
Darian and Troy are approaching, and Lorraine waits for them before answering. “I’m okay, too.” She looks down at the table. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Sure.” She’s brought out the usual assortment, based on our preferences, and we each take a glass. She doesn’t sit, so we all stand around, taking swigs from our glasses, looking at her and each other.
Fuck Troy’s slow approach. He’s not saying anything, and this is too awkward.
“So, your ex is out of the picture?” I ask her. My brother clears his throat, but I ignore him.
Lorraine gives one slow nod. “Yes, he’s gone for good.”
“How are you feeling about it?” Darian asks.
She takes a drink and then says, “Mostly fine. A little sad, and it would have been better if he’d never tried to come back, but I’ll be fine. I am fine,” she adds with more firmness, straightening her spine.
“So you realized we’re your better option?” I say it with a laugh. I’m half joking, but Troy lets out a frustrated sigh and gives me a look of warning.
“My relationship with my ex-husband, or lack thereof, didn’t have anything to do with you,” Lorraine says.
“Ouch.” I wince and fold forward as though she’s punched me.
Her eyes finally soften. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound harsh, but Nick and I weren’t right together. Things were already over between us, and there was no good reason to try to force ourselves together again.”
When I’m about to open my mouth, she adds, “The things I talked about with you still stand. I’m not a good fit for you.”
“We strongly disagree with that,” Dante says, “and we’d like to have the opportunity to show you that we’re what you need.”
She shakes her head, as if she’s confused. “The thing is, I don’t know what I need. Maybe I don’t need anything right now. Really, I just need some time to be alone. I need to heal. I need to get my head right. Rushing from my ex directly to all of you definitely isn’t the answer for me right now.”
“That makes sense,” Troy says, finally speaking up.
“Fair enough,” I say. “We can give you time.”
Dante turns his smile on Lorraine. “Can we say that the door isn’t closed, then?”