Avalon and Maddock

Chapter 10: Maddock

Ah, fuck, I thought, when Landon blurted out the bullshit about meeting my girlfriend.

I could see the storm clouds gathering on Avalon's face, and I held up a hand. "It's not what you think. Not at all what you think, and if we can get the boys settled inside, I'd appreciate it if you could listen to the whole story from an adult who knows exactly what went down because in less than two minutes, I can set your mind at at ease."

For a full minute, with Land and Chris circling their mother's legs like koi in a pond, her emotions warred on her face.

Should she listen to me?

Go inside with the boys and slam the door in my face?

Tell me to fuck off forever and file for divorce?

Kill me on the spot and become a widow?

That last one looked like it might be winning.

"Avalon, please, hear me out," I pleaded. "I promise you that it's not what you think, but it does have the outcome I've been hoping for."

A little less warring, but still undecided. Unhappy laser beams shooting at me from her eyes.

"I am doing everything I can to save our marriage, Avalon. I do not have a girlfriend. I have never had a girlfriend, nor will I have one. But I do have an explanation, and I want you to understand what went down today."

War, war, war...then a slight inclination of her head. "Fine. You can come in and explain. But not to put any pressure on you or anything, but if the explanation makes me angrier than I already am, I'm done. Out. And you don't get to pull your bullshhhh --" she looked at the boys -- "baloney about finishing counseling before we can d-i-v-o-r-c-e, and you won't fight it, either. Deal?"

"Deal," I said, and followed her inside the house. Once we had the boys eating a snack in front of the TV, we went into the kitchen area where we could still see them, but far enough away that they wouldn't pay attention.

She turned and looked at me, and I launched right in.

"Took the boys out to the park after lunch. We were coming home so they could have a quick nap before I brought them to you. Chris and Land were right beside me at the back of the SUV when Salem walked out in front of us. The boys grabbed my legs and stared at her. I asked her what the hell she was doing there."

Avalon's face was granite, but I had to continue.

"She blew it. She did everything I'd been hoping she would do so I could fire her ass with no negative blowback that could sink the company. She said since she couldn't get to me at work or through calls or texts or even emails, she followed me home from work last week to see where I was living. Strike one was following me home. Strike two was confronting me in the parking lot where I lived. Strike three was talking to me in front of the boys."

Tipping her head to the side was Avalon's tell that she was listening closely. She was listening very closely.

"Landon asked her who she was and she told him she was their daddy's girlfriend. I've never wanted to knock a woman down to the ground in my life but that was a close one. So I reminded her that she'd just broken the terms of the agreement reached with HR and the company to continue her employment and that included no contact with me either at the office or away from it. She said she didn't care if she signed papers agreeing to stay away from me, she wanted to talk. So I told her to get the hell out and expect to be getting a call from HR within five minutes. Then I moved the boys around her and got them up to the condo."