I let out a deep breath. “I normally spend Saturday with Ivy. You know that.”
“Your ex-wife,” Mitch interjected.
I nodded.
I knew he understood the reasoning behind it, but the tone in his voice came off as a little judgmental.
“I needed to free up today and tonight to get stuff ready for Nina’s party, so I switched my Ivy visit to yesterday. Because the party was a surprise, I made up a story about Ivy having a problem and my needing to go to the group home last night instead of today. I jinxed myself because when I actually got to Ivy’s, they told me she’d been hospitalized. I ended up going to the hospital instead.”
“So, why would Nina get that upset? She’s used to you seeing Ivy once a week.”
“It’s never been easy for her, Skylar. You know that. Something was different about her reaction to last night, though. That’s what I can’t figure out.”
“So, what happened with Ivy?”
“The staff at the group home found her trying to climb the roof again and had her admitted. The doctor adjusted her meds and released her this morning. It’s the usual routine.”
“What happened when you got home last night?”
“That was the problem. I didn’t come home until this morning.”
Skylar’s eyes practically bugged out of her head. “What?”
“I know that looks bad, but there was a storm last night and cars on the road outside of the hospital were spinning out left and right on black ice. They actually ended up closing the road for a while. I called Nina to let her know I’d be spending the night there. Believe me, it was the last thing I wanted to do, and she didn’t seem that upset over the phone. I thought she’d understand given the situation.”
Skylar pulled the baby off her breast and covered herself. Handing him to Mitch, she got up from the couch and proceeded to smack me lightly upside the head.
“What the fuck, Skylar?”
“I’m sorry. I just had to do that,” she said as she sat back down. “Are you insane, Jake? Do you really think there are any circumstances under which it’s okay to spend the night with your ex-wife?”
“I told you. They’d closed the road. It was impossible to get home.”
“I get it, but you can at least understand that even though you had no choice, Nina still has a right to be pissed about it.”
I knew she was right. I had fucked up.
Skylar continued, “Still, though, something doesn’t sound right. I could see her being upset, but why would she leave?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
“What did she say when she left?”
“When I walked in the door, she was waiting with her coat on ready to go. She said she needed to get away. I asked if it had to do with the fact that I slept at the hospital, and she came back with ‘what do you think?’ If I thought for one second she’d feel that way, I would have fucking ice skated home last night. I really didn’t think it would bother her like it did.”
“Everyone has their limits.”
I nodded to myself, feeling like shit for hurting her. It had been almost eight hours, and I missed her so much. I just wanted to hold her and tell her how much I loved her and spend the rest of the night making love to her. But even stronger than that need was the ache in my chest, a deep knowing that there was something more to this than just my staying at the hospital.
Mitch returned from the kitchen with a beer. “Man, forgive me for saying this, but I don’t really understand how the hell you do it.”
“Do what?”
“Go to see her like you do every week. I honestly don’t think Skylar could handle it if it were me.”
Skylar rocked the baby to sleep. “It’s easy to say that, but people find ways of handling things when they have to. Lord knows, I’ve handled enough when it comes to us, Mitch.” She looked at me. “You didn’t ask to be in this situation.”
That was why I loved Skylar. She was wise. She understood that I didn’t really have a choice. Sure, in life, we’re free to do what we want, but when you’re trying to do the right thing, there is only one choice. It’s not always the easiest choice. Ivy was more like a child to me at this point than an ex-wife. She had no other family and deep down, Nina understood why I couldn’t just abandon her, why Ivy needed the continuity of seeing someone who cared about her at least once a week. Nina had always put aside her own needs to allow me to continue to look out for Ivy within reason. That was one of the things I loved about my wife. But I also understood that it would never be easy for her, and I carried a lot of guilt about that. There were rules, though. Visits were only once a week on Saturdays, and if we had a family obligation, that would always come first.
Mitch took a swig of his beer then turned to me. “Did Nina always know about Ivy?”
I bent my head back against the chair, thinking about the days when we first met and the can of worms he just opened up with that question. “No.”
Skylar smiled at me. She was one of the only people we were still friends with who also knew us back then. “Jake was still married to Ivy when he met Nina.”
Mitch looked shocked. “Say what?”
I chuckled. “You didn’t know that?”
“No. I had no idea.” He put his feet up on the coffee table. “I’d love to hear this.”
“I’ve heard Nina’s version, but I wouldn’t mind hearing yours,” Skylar said as she walked a sleeping Mitch Jr. over to a portable crib set up in the corner of the room.