204 Rosewood Lane - Debbie Macomber [126]
“Not quite. Are you buying the popcorn or am I?”
“You are,” he said.
“Well, in that way, I guess, it is like old times.” With three young children, a night out for them had been infrequent. Going to a movie every six months was a big deal. In order to save time, Stan generally bought the tickets while she stood in line at the snack bar.
“Where is Clark Kent, anyway?” Stan asked as they walked into the theater.
He certainly was curious. “He had a meeting to attend.”
“Are you going to tell him about this? Because I don’t want to be a source of trouble between you two.”
“Of course I’ll tell him.” She wasn’t one who kept secrets, and Stan should know that. His questions irritated her.
They sat in the back of the theater, and as soon as they were settled in, Olivia took a handful of popcorn.
“You actually like this guy, don’t you?”
With her mouth full, she simply nodded. The truth of it was, she did. Jack was intelligent and argumentative and he had a sense of humor; he challenged her and he made her laugh. He was a bit insecure, too, but she was willing to look past that.
Stan seemed about to ask her another question when the previews started, for which Olivia was grateful. She didn’t want to spend the evening discussing her personal relationships.
After the movie, they stopped for coffee and dessert at the Pancake Palace. That had also been part of their date-night routine. But as they sat in the booth across from each other, Olivia was determined not to let Stan sidetrack her, either with nostalgic references or with questions about Jack. He’d contacted her, wanting advice about his marriage. So that was going to be the subject of their conversation.
“Are you and Jack—”
“Wait a minute.” Olivia raised her hand. “Is tonight about you or me?”
Stan lowered his eyes. “Defeat has never come easy to me.”
Olivia had to bite her tongue to keep from reminding him that he’d been the one to pack up and move out of their home. He’d been the one to file for divorce and the one who insisted their marriage was over.
“What happened?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Marge wants out.”
“Why?”
“She says she doesn’t love me anymore—that we had something special once but we don’t now. She’s already filed for divorce.”
“How do you feel about that?”
Stan refused to meet her eyes. “It hurts like hell.”
Then, because her own experience had given her some insight into Marge, Olivia asked, “Do you think she’s met someone else?”
Stan’s gaze shot to hers as he slowly nodded. “I’ve thought that for some time.”
Olivia didn’t feel any sense of vindication at being right. She felt sadness for both her ex-husband and his second wife. Stan and Marge had once had a solid marriage, but apparently old patterns had reasserted themselves. She recalled that Marge, too, had been married when she’d met Stan.
“I’m sorry.”
He tried to make light of it, but Olivia knew him well enough to recognize the pain in his eyes. For the first time, she looked at him and didn’t see the strikingly attractive man he’d once been. Stan seemed old and somehow worn-out, his skin sallow and lined.
They talked for nearly an hour and she was astonished to see that it was almost nine by the time they paid for their coffee and pie.
“I haven’t been sleeping well,” he confessed as they drove back to the house on Lighthouse Road. “I have to tell you, Olivia, this divorce business has really got me down.”
She patted his hand. “Life has a way of working everything out. Don’t give up on Marge yet.”
Stan pulled over to the side of the road. The sun was just setting, and the last threads of light cast a golden glow across the shimmering waters of the cove. “I’ve always loved the view of the house from here,” he said, leaving the engine to idle.
Olivia did, too. She remembered when she’d first seen that old house with the For Sale sign in the front yard. She’d felt chills go down her spine. She didn’t even need to tour the inside to know this was the home she wanted for her family. Although the price had been a stretch for them, together they’d managed to