Love After Divorce

~Chapter Eleven~

Christmas marked a defining shift for Chris and Melanie in their relationship. While neither of them confessed their love for each other outright, they were definitely behaving more like a couple and the next few weeks showed a marked change in the way they interacted with each other. Both were slightly more open with affection. While there hadn't been any more world rocking kisses, subtle gestures were being made. Chris would hug Melanie from behind while she was cooking, something she loved. Melanie would touch Chris in passing, brushing his shoulder or back as she walked by. They would sit next to each other and hold hands more. Subtle smiles, looks, and small pecks were exchanged. They were behaving like a couple in love.

Even Thomas and Jessica were beginning to notice the subtle shift in the relationship. Chris was almost always at their house eating supper with them if he was off work. He loved coloring, playing the Wii with them, or just talking about their days. Friday nights were board game nights and the kids loved it. Often they played Candy Land, Connect Four, or Chutes and Ladders finishing the evening off with ice cream sundaes.

Thomas loved to wrestle with Chris and he even helped him do some minor home repairs that Melanie had been putting off. Melanie was all smiles when Thomas came out of his room with his small tool belt on ready for man's work. Both she and Chris laughed at that. Jessica loved how Chris would play tea party with her, even wearing a princess crown and a purple feather boa. Melanie laughed at that sight and snapped plenty of pictures to remember their first tea party by. Chris was great with the kids, never excluding them in anything. He even surprised Melanie and Jessica with a girls day taking them for pedicures while he and Thomas went to try their hand at fishing. The kids were loving the attention and while not understanding everything, they were beyond happy to see Melanie smiling more.

As Chris' bond with the children was growing, they were more open to his affection as well. They would now run and hug him when he came over. If they were watching a movie they'd often push Melanie out of the way to find the perfect spot on Chris' lap. When they ventured out in public, often using on of the passes Chris had given them for Christmas, both kids fought to hold Chris' hands. Night time was the most surprising for Melanie. One night Thomas insisted that Chris read him his bedtime story and tuck him in. That same night Jessica announced she wanted a goodnight kiss from Chris before her mother. These changes were bringing a peace to Melanie that she really hadn't experienced since Thomas was born. 

One thing Melanie truly appreciated about Chris was he understood that for her, her children came first. If Chris was scheduled to work for the evening, he'd always call to chat with the kids on his dinner break, which was always close to their bedtimes.   He knew that little gestures like that were important to Melanie. What he hadn't shared was that he loved them too. It made his night go by so much quicker to hear about their day at school or what they had done with Melanie. If he was busy and unable to call, he'd always send a silly picture in a text, usually himself holding his hands like a heart over his heart. The children loved seeing the texts almost as much as they loved talking to him and would always respond with a picture of their own. Chris saved everyone of them.

Melanie noticed that the kids seemed to blossom under Chris' attention. He was behaving more like a dad to them than David was, something that had Melanie greatly concerned. She had started to notice a problem with David and his behavior around the holidays. It started the week after Christmas, he was almost 9:30 on Friday getting the kids. Jessica and Thomas had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for him, and the site broke Melanie's heart. Chris was working that weekend so Melanie had time to do some cleaning and prepping for the first week back to school on Saturday. She was lonely rambling around the house by herself but did enjoy chatting with Chris on their nightly phone call during his dinner break.