Chapter 13

A little yellow house in Red Bank

Hours had passed since Kimber listened to Jon’s side of their past.  The darkness in her house was like a comforting blanket wrapping around her and providing a cocoon against the world outside her windows.  The window seat was empty this time. Now, she was curled up on her sofa with nothing but a glass of red and her memories for company.

Jon’s revelations had opened the door that all her happy memories had been locked behind.  Now, they all came flooding back. For years, she’d never allowed herself to focus on any of the happy … only the huge argument and how she’d felt when her letter had went unanswered.  Right now, with the darkness enveloping her, she thought about the night they almost got caught when they crept onto the football field at Sayerville War Memorial High School. Jon had told her that he’d been in the marching band, and she had scoffed at him.  He’d taken her there and proceeded to march around on the field as if a whole band marched beside him. She remembered how they’d both laughed until their sides hurt.

And, how she’d wished she could’ve heard his laughter.

His boyish smile was infectious, and oh, how his eyes twinkled and crinkled when he laughed.

There had been so much laughter … so many smiles.  She remembered watching as he sat on his couch strumming on his guitar and jotting notes in a beat up old notebook.  He’d looked up at her and gave her that grin. The grin that made the whole world disappear. There had been many times when she’d wished she could hear his music, but when he’d brought up the Cochlear Implant surgery she’d forgotten all about wanting to hear it and felt like he considered her broken and in need of fixing.

She shook her head.  Now wasn’t the time for memories of that argument.  Right now, the thoughts of how much time they’d lost because his manager had been trying to ‘protect him’ overshadowed that argument.  If she could, she’d throat punch Doc McGhee and kick him in the family jewels for good measure.

The grandfather clock chimed the hour.

Was it really 4am already?

She took another sip of wine.  How many times had she and Jon laid in bed in the wee hours of the morning having made love until they could barely breathe?  So, they’d lain there making plans in the light of the candle burning for no other reason than so she could read his lips. That thought made her smile in the darkness of her living room.

The weight of a small body landing on the sofa by her feet startled her.  “Nicodemus,” she growled softly. The black cat walked up her leg to rub softly against her arm demanding his usual chin scratches.  “I swear you do that on purpose.” The cat just purred in response. She was cat sitting for Cam, but the cat had been with her now for almost 2 weeks, and she’d gotten quite attached.  Nicodemus had always seemed to merely tolerate her when she’d visited Cam’s place, but now seemed attached to her as well.

Cam.  Well, that was going to be the lecture to end all lectures when her friend came back from her vacation.  She’d cried on Cam’s shoulder many a night over Jon. Her friend hated him and would never understand why she’d agreed to listen to Jon’s side of things.

Cam would tell her that Jon was just telling her what he thought she wanted to hear.  But, Kimber had looked at this from every possible angle, and she just couldn’t see where Jon had anything to gain by bullshitting her.  Tonight, he’d been so sincere while sitting across the table from her. All he wanted was a chance to get to know his son. He had asked for her help with Frankie.  

Nothing else.

Maybe that’s what was really under her skin and keeping her from sleep tonight … well, this morning.  He wasn’t asking for her to forgive him and come back to him. Nope. He just wanted her to talk to Frankie and get him to agree to a meet up.  

But, did she really want to let him just waltz back into her life … her bed?  She’d had trust issues ever since he’d walked out of her life all those years ago.  Wait. From what he’d said tonight, he didn’t walk out. Based on what he’d told her … she had.  Well. That definitely put an entirely different spin on things didn’t it? So, here in the dark, alone in her very own living room, she could be honest.  There was no reason to lie to herself. Did she really want him back?

More than life itself.