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Chapter 6

Author: Beancurd Pudding
"Did you send the message while standing here?"

"I reached the stairwell and spotted you sitting on the stairs," Vivienne replied. "I didn't head inside. I stood there for maybe... an hour."

I clutched my phone, a lump welling up in my throat. I turned my head away from her gaze and stared at the "Quiet" sign on the hallway wall.

Not saying another word, Vivienne took half a step closer to me until our shoulders brushed.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

I stood there for seconds before slipping
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  • Her Three Ex-Husbands and Me   Chapter 17

    "Why would we move?" "It says in books that when people get married, they move into a new house."Vivienne and I were stunned. I put down my cutlery while Vivienne turned to Blair. "Who told you I was getting married?" Vivienne asked. Blair slipped out of her chair and hurried over to the fridge. Standing on tiptoe, she pulled down the drawing and turned it over. Under the two existing lines and Vivienne's additional clause, there was a new line of text added. The letters were wobbly, clearly Blair's handwriting. She read each word out loud. "Mommy… and… Troy… sitting… in… a… tree… K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" She flipped the drawing back over and proudly held it out to Vivienne, looking like a dog that had just brought back a frisbee. Vivienne read the line and stared at it for three seconds before turning to me. I kept my head down, pretending to eat even though my plate was empty. "Troy." Her voice was tight. "Yeah?" "Did you teach her that?" "I taught her the spelling of a

  • Her Three Ex-Husbands and Me   Chapter 16

    I stuck the drawing back on the fridge and took another look at it. "Mom sure is," I replied. Vivienne came out of the kitchen carrying cutlery. She came over and stopped beside me, cocking her head to take a glance at me. It was only fleeting, but somehow, everything was in that look. A March breeze slipped through the half-open window, and the fresh leaves on the sycamore outside rustled softly in the wind, soft and delicate, like a soft murmur from somewhere distant. I took my seat at the dining table, and so did Vivienne. Blair sat right in the middle with Vivienne to her left and me to her right. The chicken pot pie was still steaming. Blair had already dug in, taking a huge bite and puffing out her cheeks as she said through a mouthful, "Troy, you're making pot pie again next week.""And the week after that, too," I said."What about the week after that?""I'll keep making it for you."Pleased with my answer, Blair put her attention back to her food. Vivienne lifte

  • Her Three Ex-Husbands and Me   Chapter 15

    "Where did she draw her?" "Up on top of the tree." I stopped stirring the chicken filling for a bit. The sauce bubbled in the pan, the savory aroma rising into my face. "I see," I said. "Aren't you going to check it out?" "As soon as I pop the pie in the oven." She stood in silence for another moment. I caught the faint sound of her sniffling. Moving in closer, she slipped her arms around my waist from behind and rested her chin on my shoulder."Troy." "Yeah?" "Cassandra told you not to lose your spine, and now you stand real tall." I turned off the stove. The rolling simmer quieted down, but the steam rose, fogging up the kitchen window. My gaze dropped to her arms around my waist. Her fingers were slender and well-defined, her nails trimmed short. She wore no ring on her finger, as the three rings of her past were no more. "Vivienne," I said, "Your ring finger is missing something." Not saying a word, Vivienne simply tightened her grip around me. "What are

  • Her Three Ex-Husbands and Me   Chapter 14

    "The Employee agrees. The Employer acknowledges. One more thing. The tree in the yard should start budding next spring." I stood in the kitchen doorway, listening to the rush of water and Blair's hopelessly off-key rendition of some nursery rhyme. Vivienne stood under the light with the drawing in her hands, a smile tugging at her lips and her ears flushed. "What happens when it buds?" I asked. "Then, you're not going anywhere." "I don't intend to." Vivienne stuck the drawing back onto the refrigerator, right where it faced the dining table. She turned to me, then suddenly reached out and picked a strand of hair from my T-shirt collar. "Troy," she murmured. "Cassandra raised you right." "She would've loved to hear you say that." "She'd be happier to know that you've decided to stay." I didn't say a word. That night, after I went back to my room, I took out my phone and opened the conversation I'd never deleted. It was the last voice message from Cassandra. I tapped to

  • Her Three Ex-Husbands and Me   Chapter 13

    I wrote my name in the space marked "Employee". Vivienne took the contract and glanced at my signature before folding it neatly and slipping it into her bag. Blair finally swallowed the mouthful of toast and cried out loud, "What did you sign?" "The contract," Vivienne replied. "Troy isn't going anywhere now." "So I get to have gumbo every day?" "That's a question for Troy." Blair shifted her gaze toward me, her eyes sparkling. A breeze drifted in through the window, lifting one corner of the drawing on the fridge before letting it fall again. The little strawberry magnet held the words "Troy the Tree" firmly in place. "Sure," I answered. "Every single day." … Maximus was sentenced in early December. He got three and a half years, plus a fine. Vivienne came home from court, set a copy of the judgment on the table, poured herself a glass of water, and didn't say a thing. Blair came over for a look. There were too many words for her to read, but she recognized Maximus

  • Her Three Ex-Husbands and Me   Chapter 12

    "You do," I said.… Over a month had passed since the incident at the hospital. November brought a bite of cold. The maple in the yard had turned mostly yellow, its leaves rattling down whenever the wind picked up. Every day after kindergarten, Blair would crouch by the backdoor and collect leaves, picking the biggest one and pressing it inside her notebook. "I'm saving them for Grandma. Fall is here." Cassandra's funeral arrangements were finally complete. Her gravestone had been set where the poplar trees on the hillside rustled softly in the breeze. I visited every week, bringing along the saved candy and fresh leaves for Cassandra. Vivienne never came along, but she always bought the candy the day before and left it on the table, with a note tucked beneath the jar. "Not too much. Cavities." I couldn't tell whether she meant Blair's cavities, Cassandra's, or mine. Nevertheless, I kept every one of those notes in the drawer alongside my employment contract. I still hadn't

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