Hello! Where's everyone at?" Aubrey's voice followed the sound of the front door opening. "Yoo hoo!"Cherish walked out of the kitchen, drying her hands on an old towel, her brows scrunched up over the bridge of her nose. "What are you doing here?""Babysitting," Glen said as he walked through the doorway to the hallway. He stopped by earlier saying he needed some more clothes. Cherish hadn't realized he intended on changing right then and there, however, which only added to her confusion when she glanced at him. He was dressed up…well, dressed up for him. He wore a pair of dark jeans and a gray pullover. He even wore socks with his sneakers. "Why is she babysitting?""Hey, Aubrey!" Jordie ran out of the hallway and hugged their neighbor. "Daddy said you were going to hang out with me tonight. Can we have pizza?"Aubrey gave Cherish a smile as she walked past her to tousle Jordie's hair. Cherish watched for a moment and then turned her attention back to Glen. She popped an eyebrow at
Glen couldn't help but smile as Jerry embraced Cherish. It was like stepping back in time, back into a period when his life was uncertain and Cherish's was chaotic. Yet, she was happy back then, and he wanted her happy again. He wasn't sure what that would take, but he knew he would do whatever was necessary. So far, the only way he knew to get that started was to take her back to where it all began, where they began. Once Jerry finished hugging Cherish, he turned and grabbed Glen, hugging him as well. "Man, the place has not been the same without you two around here. How's that baby boy?""He's doing great," Cherish said, a smile on her face that Glen had not seen in days. "About to turn five.""Wow," Jerry said, shaking his head. "Has it really been that long? You two have stayed away way too long. First round's on me." He turned to the waitress walking by, a small girl with breasts that oozed out of her skimpy top, and blond hair she had pulled back into a tight ponytail. "Erin, ho
Cherish stretched, sleep fighting her to ignore the morning and just stay in bed. As she reached out, her arm touched… She jerked to the side of the bed, eyes wide, wondering… Glen slept soundly beside her, his arm tucked under his head, his dark hair mussed up from a hard night's sleep. Confusion added to the fog of her waking brain as she stared at him. Why...? How..? She closed her eyes as last night's adventures broke through the cloudiness of her mind, the games of pool, the beers, the… the blowjob she gave Glen in his car. She felt the blush warm her cheeks and neck, waking her up even more. She couldn't believe she went through with it. Hell, she couldn't believe he even suggested it.She leaned back down on the bed, propped up by her elbow, hand on her head as she smiled over at him. His breathing was calm, restful. It had always given her a peaceful feeling at night whenever she would wake up and hear him beside her, like everything was right in her world. She felt safe. Well,
Tina did as expected, and Jordie had extra bananas on his pancakes as well as double chocolate milk. She said nothing about not having seen Glen in a while or Cherish eating there by herself earlier in the week. Glen and Cherish sat across from each other with Jordie kneeling in the booth beside his mother as he leaned on the table. Tina gave him some coloring pages and crayons to keep him occupied, which left Cherish and Glen time to sit and chitchat without the little boy interrupting them too much. Not that they could talk about too much with tiny ears right there, but they still managed to appear like a normal couple and not one in the throes of upheaval. They appeared normal, and for the first time in a couple of weeks, Glen felt normal, a feeling he didn't want to lose anytime soon. He even reached out, taking Cherish's hand in his as they waited for their food, and Cherish didn't pull away, but rather smiled, holding his hand in return.Glen made a fuss over the food and service
It had been two hours, and Cherish already wanted to scream. The woman she replaced, Kim Rosa, was a disorganized mess. None of the files had any semblance of order, and some even had information in it that belonged in someone else's file. The records were a shambles, the record books riddled with coffee rings, and the computer files a spider web of chaos. How the woman managed to function or answer any of Bernie's questions was beyond Cherish's capacity for comprehension. She blew out a burst of frustrated breath, her bangs flipping up at the gesture. It would be a nightmare just getting everything organized."You settling in okay?" Bernie leaned in her doorway. Her office was next to his, and she usually saw him as he went in and out, getting a cup of coffee, following his wife around, or talking to the installers out in the warehouse. Whether he left his office or returned, he always stuck his head in her doorway to check on her and see how she was doing. So far, in the mere two hou
"He's doing it again," Amy whispered, giggling as she leaned over toward Cherish."Stay in your row, Miss Wynn," Mr. Walker said, looking at her from over the top of his glasses.Amy leaned back in her seat, still giggling, as she raised her eyebrows at Cherish, pointing at Glen with her eyes suggestively. Cherish just rolled her eyes as she turned her attention to the front of the room. She didn't need to turn around to see Glen staring at her. Mr. Walker had a glass cabinet in the front corner of the room beside the chalkboard; she could see Glen's reflection in the glass. He was too busy staring at her to notice she stared back at him.Once class was over, Amy and she headed to the cafeteria for lunch. Glen left as well, but soon disappeared in the crowded corridors of Eau Gallie High. He wouldn't be out of sight long, however, Cherish knew. They shared the same lunch period, and Glen always found a spot with his friends near whatever table Cherish and her friends ate. It wasn't li
"Finally went for it, huh?" Brent shut the driver's door to their work truck and moved to the bed of the truck and his tools. "I know what I said before and all, but are you sure this is what you really want? After what she did?" He shook his head as he pulled his tool bucket from the back of the truck. "Glen, what makes you think she won't do it again when she gets bored?""I don't know that she won't." Glen grabbed his own tool bucket from the back of the truck and followed Brent to the back of a house along the Indian River. "I can only hope she doesn't. Hell, I'm hoping we can figure out what made her do it in the first place and fix it. Jordie deserves a whole family.""But you deserve a wife who won't cheat on you. What happens if she does it again?""Then we deal with it." The truth was, Glen didn't have an answer for his friend. He could only hope Cherish and he could work through their issues and salvage their marriage. He could only hope she wanted it as much as he did and wa
She shouldn't have done it, she knew. It was an impulse. A knee-jerk reaction to the changes that became her life recently, a lifeline to a past she longed for even though it had changed the course of her life. However, Cherish couldn't stop herself from writing Nick's cell phone number down, not sure if she threw his business card away or not. She knew she wouldn't use it, so she wasn't sure why she even bothered. She tried to justify it, at first. What if Jordie grew seriously ill, and she needed Nick's medical history? It was a precaution against future possibilities. She would never need to use it. All right, she doubted she would use it. No. She would not use it. She picked up the piece of paper, ready to rip it into shreds and throw it away. However, she stopped herself just before she tore the paper, the numbers staring at her, reminding her of the experiences, the adventures, the carefree nature Nick Pepper brought with him to her life. They had fun. They didn't care about soci