Who invited all these assholes into my private conversation?

“All right, ladies, dinner’s being served!” Cedric interrupted the clowns planning my imaginary shower. The guys scrambled for seats but not before almost every one of them slapped me on the back and congratulated me.

“Dude, I don’t think we’re getting that stripper,” Ziggy said sadly.

“No, buddy, I don’t think we are.” I sighed and dug into my steak. I might as well join ’em, but I wasn’t going to be able to beat ’em or even get a word in.

~~Caroline~~

Easton didn’t waste any time. Once I’d agreed to his plan to move us to Seattle, things happened at an overwhelming speed. By now it was mid-November, and the holidays were looming on the horizon. I wanted to get the kids moved and settled into a new school as quickly as possible to lessen any strain on them.

I was officially overwhelmed. No amount of list making and worrying would organize this colossal life change.

Easton left on a road trip on Tuesday and returned the following Wednesday morning, which happened to be today, one week before Thanksgiving. I was pretty sure he’d want to meet the kids immediately, and I wasn’t prepared for that inevitable step just yet.

He’d been true to his word. His attorney contacted me about a temporary parenting plan. The movers had packed up our stuff and moved it to Seattle to be put into storage until we moved into our new home. We’d flown to Seattle over the weekend and were housed in a very nice suite in a hotel near where we’d be living, which I’d yet to see.

I enrolled the kids in school immediately, and on Monday they attended their first day of class. I didn’t worry much about Hailey. She was an excellent student, inquisitive and bright. She loved school. Heath, on the other hand, considered going to school a necessary evil and lived for the final bell every day so he could play hockey.

Juniper was with us every step of the way, and I appreciated her more than words would ever say. She’d already found a job at a car dealership processing paperwork. She liked it so far. Benefits were good, and the pay was okay. Neither of us had realized how high the cost of living was in Seattle, though, and a good wage where we’d lived was, in Seattle, closer to living at poverty level.

We were all anxious to get settled into the condo. The four of us in a one-bedroom hotel suite, no matter how nice, was challenging. This move was putting a dent in my depleted bank account, despite Easton paying most of the bills. I was paying for our meals, as the hotel only had a small fridge in the room, and we were eating out daily.

This particular morning, I was fretting about Easton’s return, knowing I’d be hearing from him soon. I didn’t have to wait long. The text messages started about seven a.m. I read the first few and ignored the rest. Juniper, who didn’t work a regular shift, flopped on the couch next to me, still in her pajamas. Her hair was a mess, and she was yawning. “Aren’t you going to look at that text?” She glanced at my phone, which had been beeping urgently for a few minutes.