All Chapters of Her Three Ex-Husbands and Me: Chapter 11 - Chapter 17

Vivienne came downstairs just in time to catch the end of the conversation. She lifted an eyebrow at me, and I shrugged. She walked over, leaned down, took the half-eaten carrot stick from Blair, and bit into it. The mother and daughter duo shared it back and forth, each bite leaving its mark on the carrot. Seth was the last to show up. One weekend, Seth showed up at our front door but didn't come inside. He wore a dark outdoor jacket, his buzz cut even shorter than the last time I'd seen him. A pair of earbuds hung around his neck, making him look like he'd just left the gym and happened to stop by. He carried an insulated food container. "Troy." He stopped at the foot of the steps. "I brought some lasagna for Blair. My mom made it. She says I can never finish the whole thing, so she sent some over."I took the container from him. It was surprisingly heavy, and the rich savory scent of cheese and beef escaped from beneath the lid. "Are you coming in?" "Nah," he blurted, rea

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

"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

"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