Ch81: Biggest Mistake of Your Life

Wendy’s first instinct was to push Jeffery away, shocked as she was to being kissed most ardently and held so closely, right there on the bleachers in front of the Skylerton middle school’s soccer field. The shock wore off quickly, however. How could it not? This was right, this was how it should be.

Oh, how Wendy missed being held like this, kissed like this, loved like this. She clung to Jeffery fervently kissing him back. Her fingers tangled in his hair drawing him closer until she thought she would melt right into him…a part of her did. 

She forgot all else. They both did. The crowd moved about them, alternately cheering the winners of the game and lamenting the losers, but Wendy and Jeffery noticed none of this. They were in their own world.

“Um…I’ll go find Stevie,” Cindy said, slipping past the kissing couple and weaving through slow moving parents and lingering kids to get down off the bleachers and onto the field.

“Well, if it isn’t Mr. and Mrs…oh, wait, isn’t that Wendy Meadows now? But this is strange. Aren’t you supposed to be separated? I’m all confused.”

The snide, self-satisfied voice of Mike Lorenzo broke the spell. Wendy pushed away from her husband, her heart going the speed of a spooked horse on steroids and her head swimming with longing and regret. Back came the memories of why she was alone and lonely every day, of why her bed seemed far too big at night and why she was still separated from the love of her life.

“Wendy, please,” Jeffery whispered, still holding her fast to him. “Take me back.”

“Not here, not now,” she said through clenched teeth pushing out of his arms. Then taking a  steadying breath she turned to her old school classmate and former boss. “Hello, Mike. Fancy running into you here.” Her tone was none too friendly. Instead, it could have been called frosty as was the look she gave both him and Jeffery.

 “Where else would I be? My boy’s the star player, isn’t he? The team’s nothing without Dylan,” Mike boastfully said. 

“You may need glasses in your old age, Mike. It wasn’t Dylan who scored that hat trick,” Jeffery retorted, his pleading eyes still glued to Wendy.

Mike’s cocky grin momentarily shifted to something like a snarl. “Hey, Jeff, how’s business? Well, I hope.”

“Yes,” Jeffery said curtly, while he smoothed down his ruffled hair.

“Never did have much to say, did you? Playing with glass beads all day must do that,” Mike said, smirking. “So, back together, are we?”

“Not that it’s any concern of yours… but no,” Wendy reluctantly said. “We’re here for Stevie.”

“I’ll bet. Well, whenever you’re ready to dump this guy for good, remember to give me a call,” he said.

Wendy took one look at Jeffery, saw the clenched jaw and touched his arm as a warning. “I seem to recall telling you precisely when that would be, Mike, somewhere along the lines of when hell freezes over. Nice seeing you, but we really must be going,” she said, leading the way down the steps, Jeffery right behind her.

“Wendy, please,” Jeffery said, grabbing her arm once they reached the edge of the field where the parents ordinarily waited for their kids.

“Stop it,” she said, shrugging off his hand. “I won’t discuss this here.” She turned away from him and watched Stevie, Cindy and Jimmy, the coach, come towards them across the field.

"Hey, guys, how ya doing?” Jimmy said grabbing Jeffery’s hand and pumping it while he scrutinized his face.  In a low voice he added, “You look like shit, bud.”

“Thanks,” Jeffery replied, forcing a weak smile.

“Hi, Honey, great game,” Wendy said, forcing herself to sound cheerful.

“Thanks, Sweetie…oh, wait, you’re talking to Stevie, aren’t you?” Jimmy said, smirking.

“Yes, Jimmy, but you did good, too,” she said, giving Stevie a hug and kiss before she turned to Jimmy and did the same. “It’s nice seeing you, Jimmy.”

“Great seeing you,” Jimmy said and he held on a second longer whispering in her ear, “Give the man a break, Wendy. Jeff’s dying without you.” He then released her and grinned at Stevie. “This little man is awesome. I’m almost as proud of him as you are.”

“Thanks, Uncle Jimmy,” Stevie said.

“What did I tell you about that?” Jimmy said.

“Oh, sorry… Coach Bellows,” Stevie corrected. 

“That’s better,” he said then turned back to Jeff and Wendy. “Me and Camille would love to have you guys over for dinner. Give her a call, Wendy, set something up?”

“I will,” Wendy said, stiffly.

Jimmy cast a sympathetic glance at Jeffery and patted his shoulder. “See you at practice, Fummel,” he said to Stevie,  before he walked away.

“Okay, Uncle…I mean Coach,” Stevie said, rolling his eyes. He whispered to Cindy, “I’m not allowed to call him Uncle Jimmy while I wear a uniform.”

“But what difference does it make?” Cindy asked.

Stevie shrugged. “He thinks the other guys will think he favors me.”

“Um…doesn’t he? You are the best on the team,” she said.

Stevie grinned and shrugged again. “I’m starved. Can we go eat?”

“Surprise,  surprise,” Jeffery said forcing a grin. “I’ll take you wherever you like.”

“All of us?” he asked, looking at Cindy.

“Sure,” Jeffery said, glancing at Wendy, “If it’s all right with your mom.”

“Of course. Your father won’t mind if we’re a little late, will he, Cindy?” Wendy said.

“No, he knows I’m with you. He likes you loads, so it’ll be okay,” Cindy said smiling at Stevie.

At the restaurant, Wendy couldn’t help smiling and exchanging knowing looks with Jeffery. Stevie had pretty much inhaled his own burger and fries in no time and was now stealing Cindy’s fries even after being repeatedly chastised by his mother.

“The poor girl is going to starve with you around,” Wendy said.

“It’s okay, Ms. Meadows. He can have them. He did get a hat trick, you know,” Cindy said.

“Plus an assist,” Stevie smugly added.

Jeffery laughed. “Reminds me of…”

“Yes, I know,” Wendy replied, knowing exactly what he was going to say.  Usually she enjoyed it when they didn’t need to speak to know what the other was thinking. Now it just reminded her of times gone by, possibly never to return. She lapsed into silence as she listened to the innocent chatter of the kids.

Jeffery listened to them as well, but he also stared at Wendy as she fiddled with her salad but ate very little. He looked at it and frowned. “I’m sorry, Wendy.”

“Not now, Jeffery,” she muttered.

“No, I mean, I didn’t know your salad came with blue cheese. You hate blue cheese,” he said taking a spoon and picking out every bit of the blue cheese he could find.

“Jeffery, you don’t have to do that,” she said, exasperated.

He ignored her. “I think I got most of it out. Now you can eat it.”

“I’m just not that hungry,” she replied.

“You have to eat. You’re getting too thin,” he said anxiously.

“Who’s fault is that?” she retorted, stabbing a grape tomato and popping it into her mouth. She then closed over the container and smiled at the kids. “Ready to go?”

“But you’re not done,” Cindy said.

“Not hungry.”

“Can I have it?” Stevie said.

“Absolutely not!  Will you have your mother starve?” Jeffery said. “You had enough.”

“Still hungry,” Stevie mumbled.

Jeffery laughed and pulled out his wallet. He handed him some money and said, “ Here, go get an ice cream cone for you and Cindy and let Cindy have all of it. Got me?”

Cindy giggled as they went up to the counter.

“What can I do, Wendy?” Jeffery said quietly.

“You can turn back time,” she snapped.

He sighed and hung his head. “Then there’s no chance. Are you planning on divorcing me?”

Those words left a worse taste in her mouth than even the hideous blue cheese did. 

“Planning? No.  But you asked what you could do to make everything the way it was, so I told you. Barring that, you can start by leaving me alone. You hounding me is not helping or can’t you tell? Just let me get over it on my own time…if I can,” she said.

“And if you can’t?” 

“We’ll get to that bridge when we cross it,” she said.

Jeffery would have smiled at the mixed up way she phrased that. Had it been any other time or discussion he would have pointed it out and they both would get a good laugh out of it, but he knew she was angry now, so angry she didn’t even know what she said. 

He could see she hadn’t been sleeping well, she was losing weight and she looked tired and drained and any cheerfulness was not genuine…not much better than himself. He did that. The biggest mistake of his life did that to both of them. And there was nothing he could do to fix things.

Now if he could only find a cliff to jump off from…