One Night With Pops

Chapter Two

I walk around the supermarket, filling my shopping cart with groceries. As I check each item off the list, I'm growing nearer to picking up Roger's essentials from the medicine aisle. I'm saving that one until last because I plan to bury the incriminating item beneath my other purchases. It's a small town that we live in, and people love to gossip.

"Hey, Tanya," a voice I recognize calls out to me and I turn to see an old friend of mine.

Her name is Erica, and she was on the school track team the same as I was. Aside from the red hair dye and the tattoos, she still looks the same as she did when we left high school. Her tan skin gives her a healthy glow, and either she's had botox or she has magic tonic added to her skincare regime. She beams a smile at me, and I stop walking to have a catch-up chat.

"Hi, how are you?" I say to her, "I haven't seen you since we went our separate ways after college. Where have you been?"

Erica bounces her shoulders in an airy shrug. "Oh, you know ... here and there. I'm divorced now," she goes on to say, and the smile grows heavy on my face. It turns into an apologetic cringe.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," I say.

Erica swats the air. "Don't be, I'm not. He was an asshole."

I force a chuckle, to lighten the mood.

"So, tell me. How's life been treating you?" she asks, diverting the subject onto me.

I blow out a breath as I think of what to tell her. I don't want to rub my stable marriage in her face. Well, it's as stable as can be, given the circumstances. I'm too proud to admit I could be joining the divorcee club if things between Dave and me head south.

Just because we don't have sex anymore, it doesn't mean he's fallen out of love with me.

"I'm married, and I have two sons called Levi, and Leo," I tell her. "Levi just turned seven two days ago."

"Aww," Erica coos. "How sweet. Two little boys." Then her tone changes and she firmly states, "I don't have kids. Nope. Didn't want them."

And that leaves me feeling like 'meh' because that's fine and all, but I love my little angels. I couldn't envision my life without them. It stops me from mentioning that I would love one more. I've always wanted to try for a girl, but Dave thinks we should stick with the two kids we have. The chances of me getting him to change his mind all depend on his attitude towards sex. There's zero chance of him fertilizing my vegetable patch while he's swamped down with work.

I could always get him drunk.

Erica points at me, wagging her finger as if something has just occurred to her. "Hey ... didn't you marry David Miller?" she mentions.

I nod. "Yeah, that's right. I dumped Nick the prick, and then Dave asked me out to Prom. We've been together ever since."

Erica shakes with excitement. "O.M.G," she squeals loudly like some goddamned high schooler, and I cast nervous glances around the store. "What a coincidence. It's such a small world we live in."

I'm about to ask her to elaborate, but then she fills me in on the gossip. "You'll never guess who I have a date with tonight?"