* * * * *

Mickey wandered in from my bathroom while I was sitting in bed screwing the cap back on my moisturizer.

I turned my eyes to him and smiled.

My kids in the house. His kids in the house. And Mickey, his pajama bottoms, his chest and all the rest of him in my bedroom with me.

Happy.

“Hey,” I called. “Went good tonight.”

It did. I’d had nothing to worry about. The kids were like they were when they were hanging at my bar eating my baked goods or shuffling around Mickey’s kitchen making dinner.

His eyes came to me and I saw they were distracted, but he answered, “Yeah.”

It was then I noticed that he’d walked in but he didn’t continue walking in. He was one step into the room and not moving.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

His head gave a slight jerk and he focused on me.

“Yeah,” he repeated.

I studied him and from my study, I was forced to push, “You sure?”

“Yep,” he muttered, moving around the bed to his side.

I shifted my lower body to pull the covers out from under me. I unfolded and yanked them over me as Mickey pulled his side back and slid in.

I rolled to face him.

He rolled to face me and got up on an elbow. “Cill and Auden are in Auden’s room playin’ some game. Think the girls are out, but my kids are in new beds. May take them time to settle. Until I know they’re down, not gonna fuck you, babe.”

I agreed because this was always our way when we were at his house, but the deadpan way he shared this made me uneasy.

“All right, honey,” I whispered.

He dropped to his back then twisted to reach to his light.

It went out.

I stared at him as he settled on his back.

Then I forced myself to reach to my light. I turned it out and settled myself, also on my back.

I stared at my ceiling.

My bed was big and for the first time ever with both of us in it, there felt like miles between us.

And Mickey didn’t reach out to me.

What was happening?

Before I could ask, he did. Pulling me to him, tangling us up, and I stifled my sigh of relief.

“You ever get anything back from your folks?” he asked.

I blinked at his throat in the dark.

Where did that come from?

“Well…” I started hesitantly. “Yes and no. They sent something through their attorneys but it’s just their way. They do stuff like that. It makes no sense. They’re angry with me for not taking their calls but that was months ago. They’ll chew on it awhile and get over it. Though,” I said with a smile, “the way it is with them in my life, it’s awful to admit, however true, that I’m kinda liking the reprieve.”

“Yeah,” he replied like he didn’t exactly believe me.