The news station droned on and on about the heat wave that was mysteriously passing through Riverblossom Hills and into Strangetown.
Curiously, Don listened, even though he was supposed to be helping his daughter—Alyssa—with her homework. He noticed his son was also intently watching the news, when he was still texting.
Strangetown…Home. Strangetown…and Danielle Leroy Dreamer. But, she was married to Dreamer—and Dreamer was the man who had slept with his Cassandra not once, but twice and maybe even more…
Don hated it at first. He hated everything that time, even though he himself was part of the play boy game. But, it felt so terrible to be cheated on…and that was probably why he stopped himself. It would all end with Cassandra. And, it did end with her—he even got to sincerely apologize to his exes and even get on their good terms. It was supposed to end.
Until he met her: the wife of his sworn enemy. She was the one who changed him when her cart hit his. She forever changed him—and, perhaps, it was in a good way, though he knew that it was sparking his lust for sin, again.
How could Darren ignore her? She was so beautiful—her eyes were dark pools of darkness, her lips were a pouty perfect red, and her skin was visibly smooth. She was tall—tall and skinny like a model, even if she was pregnant. How could Darren take Cassandra—who was anything and everything but perfect—and ignore his model wife?
If it was Don, he would’ve never left Danielle. But, that was if it was Don.
Don was well aware, even before he actually met Cassandra, that Darren was head over heels in love with the rich heiress—and it wasn’t the love of money. It was a real love. It was a real love, even if he was married with a pregnant beauty named Darlene. That was about twenty years, now.
Don got out of the kitchen and ventured to the study room. He sat down in his chair and stared at the book he had been previously reading: The Psychology of Marriage…by Dr. Danielle Leroy. Ironic that she wrote the book way before she was married.
And, she seemed to have it made, when she wasn’t married. It actually seemed like she was just some tired old woman who had gone through ten marriages, and getting the worse out of all of them. And, it scared him.
He had read the book the first time when he had met Marc’s mother—his first love. He thought he was going to marry her, but after the book, he swore he would never marry anyone.
Because, simply, Dr. Leroy put it in terms that everyone could understand: marriage was scary. Not because you had to share everything with your partner and not because you had to accept your partner for better or for worse; it was simply because could you stand being with your partner forever? Being with one person for the rest of your life?
That was maybe why people cheated; maybe why people divorced. Her topic was intriguing, and it still remained intriguing even after Don had lost the book.
Now, he saw it. He saw how much Danielle had regretted accepting the terms of being with that one person forever. And, even if she wanted to get out of the relationship, she was still bound by him because of her children.
Don picked up the book and flipped through the pages.
Tiffany’s eyes sparkled as she saw her dad driving up to her house.
In a few minutes, she was already at the door, waiting for him to ring the door bell. But, a few minutes passed by, and he was still in his car.
“Mom, what’s wrong with Dad?”
Kaylynn answered from the kitchen. “Maybe he’s on the phone?”
Tiffany looked one more time. “No, he’s just sitting there.” Without responding to her mom, she got out of the house and walked to her dad’s car. She tapped on the window.
He noticed and let down the window. “Hey, Sport.”
“What’s wrong? Won’t you come in?”
“…I only came to pick you up. Go tell your mom.”
Tiffany nodded and raced back into the house. Immediately after, she came out with her backpack. She plopped the backpack in the back and came up front to sit with her dad.
Don started the car and drove away.
“…What’s wrong, Dad?”
Don bit his lip. “…I was thinking, Tiffany, that I might just move to Strangetown…”
Tiffany knew the town. Her dad was always talking to her about it. And, she knew of Cassandra. But, this was kind of sudden… “Will Marc and Alyssa move with you?”
“Yeah…”
“…No fair. I want to go to.”
“Your mom needs you.”
“No, she has Anthony and everyone else. She’s really busy with work, too…I want to live with you, Dad.”
He smiled at his eleven year old daughter. “You have friends here. They’d miss you.”
“So do Marc and Alyssa.”
“But, they don’t have a mom like you do.”
“…And…and what about Lawrence and Sabrina?”
Don stared at the road. He wasn’t thinking much about them…not lately, since he hadn’t seen them for quite some time. “…Well, Lawrence will stay with his grandfather and Sabrina will stay with her mother.”
“And, Lucas? If you leave him now…when he’s so young…then, who will be his dad?”
Luckily, there was a red light. So, Tiffany must’ve thought that Lucas was really Don’s son…Kaylynn must’ve told her daughter about Lucas. “…Honey, Lucas has his mom.”
“But, what about his dad? He’s still too young—he was just born, Dad.”
“…He doesn’t need me there.”
“But, who’s going to teach him how to go fishing or how to ride a bike or anything like that?”
Don kept quiet. He kept quiet for the rest of the ride back to his house.
While Alyssa and Tiffany played, Marc came up to his father. It was rare for his son to personally come up to his dad—usually because Marc thought that Don would instantly be able to tell about his drug problem with just one look at him.
But, Marc hadn’t seen a bong since Halloween. It was about four or five days ago, so he suspected that he shouldn’t get caught.
Marc came into the kitchen and sat down at the table. He then crossed his arms and leaned back. “…Don, why do you want to move to Strangetown?” Calling Don by his first name was something Marc had done since Alyssa was born. Don didn’t seem to mind much.
“So…Tiffany told you.”
“Which surprises me even more. You told her, but you didn’t tell Alyssa or me…”
That was right. Don didn’t really want to say that to Alyssa or Marc, because he knew that if they knew, they would definitely freak out to an extent of overbearing. “…Surprise?”
“It’s not funny. We’re moving, and that’s all you’ve go to say? That it’s a surprise?”
“It’s just a thought, Marc. I might not even say yes to the thought. I was just thinking about it, you know…”
“…Why?”
Don looked at Marc and was genuinely surprised at how much his son seemed to car. “What’s it to you to know why?”
His son refused to answer, but still had that questioning look on his face.
With a sigh, Don came over to the table and sat down from across his son—but refused to look directly at Marc. “…Well…For no particular reason. I’m just kind of bored with this place.”
“…Is it Lucas?” Being the oldest of the Lothario children, Marc had just learned about Lucas’s birth about a month ago. But, it really didn’t matter—he stopped caring after Tiffany was born. “Is it because you’re confused about him?”
“I’m not confused.”
“Then, you’re denying it?”
“I’m not denying anything. If Lucas is mine, then fine. Okay, I’ll accept it. And, if we were to move, then I’d still move, even if he is my son.”
“Then, if he’s not your son, are you still going to move?”
“…Maybe…”
“Why Strangetown, out of all places? I know that you’re from there, but you never mentioned it, before. I thought you hated that place too.”
“…Well, I just remembered it’s good points.”
“Like what?”
“Well, the neighbors weren’t nosy. And, it’s not as heavily populated as Pleasantview is.”
That was a bad thing—it meant that pot and crack were far away from Marc. Even though he wanted to protest, he thought it best to keep quiet: bad enough to have your dad suspect you—worse, if he suspects you even more.
Don summed up his courage and looked at Marc. “…Marc? What if I said I fell in love?”
At that, Marc had to laugh. “I’d say you were drunk.”
“…Is it really that hard to believe?”
“Don, I’ve never seen you love anyone in your life.”
“Hey, I love my kids.”
“But not in a romantic way. I’ve seen you go through women like…like tissues. Lust? Yes, very. Love? No, never.” Perhaps, maybe Don was asking this was because…? “…Don, do you love someone?”
Don lowered his eyes. There was an answer on his tongue, but also one in his heart. If he said no—like he was supposed to—then, he knew that his heart might say yes.
Taking his silence into consideration, Marc nodded. “Hm, I never really took you as a true romantic. It’s kind of hard to think of you with someone that didn’t love you first…So, who is it? Is it Miss Nina?”
Don shot a nasty look at his son. Though he was his son, Don knew that Marc had gone too far. Nina was…was the local whore; she never loved, and seemed to only care for sex.
Marc laughed. “Just kidding. Or, unless you’re serious?”
“No. I don’t.”
“Then, who is it?”
“…Well, I don’t think I would call it love. But, I wouldn’t call it lust, either. It’s definitely more than lust—way more. There’s an attraction—but not a lust one…I think it’s understanding.”
Though Don had avoided the question, Marc wasn’t really interested.
