When I’m With You by Sandi Lynn
Chapter 22
Paisley
“Good morning, Romeo,” I said as I scratched his head. I decided that I was going to work from home today and not bother going into the office. More than enough work was piled in my computer and I would get more done at home on the comfort of my couch. After I rolled out of bed, I fed Romeo and popped a k-cup in the Keurig. Picking up my phone, I noticed there was a text message from Ben.
“Good morning. I just wanted to thank you again for yesterday and last night. It meant a lot.”
I smiled as I took my cup and sat down in my office. Meeting Ben’s family last night was nice. They were nice, and the fact that his mom read my column made it a little more comfortable.
“Good morning. You’re welcome. I enjoyed meeting your family. They’re very nice.”
“I know they enjoyed meeting you too. My mom already called me this morning and asked when she would see you again. Don’t be surprised if she invites you to another dinner real soon.”
“I look forward to it.”
“Have a great day, Paisley. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“You too, Ben. Bye.”
As I set down my phone, I couldn’t help smiling. I opened up my computer and my email with the list of questions that were waiting for me in my inbox.
Dear Paisley,
My husband has secretly been watching porn behind my back and it’s ruining our marriage. I’ve never liked porn and always refused to watch it with him, even when he begged me. He said he stopped, but I found porn sites on his computer and text messages on his phone to his friends about different porn sites. Our sex life is almost non-existent because of his porn addiction. I feel my marriage is ending and I don’t know how to save it. Please help.
Feeling Betrayed.
* * *
Dear Feeling Betrayed,
Is your sex life really non-existent because of porn or are you using porn as the excuse for some other reason? Sit down one night and surprise him by watching some soft-core porn with him. You may surprise yourself and like it, plus it may enhance your sex life with your husband. If you’re open about it, then he won’t feel the need to sneak around and watch it behind your back. Communication is the key. You also need to explore other reasons why your sex life has become non-existent. It’s very easy to use something we hate as an excuse instead of facing the truth.
Acouple of hours later, my phone rang. When I looked at it, I saw it was Charlotte calling.
“Hello.”
“Hi there. I have Piper and Keaton on the line too.”
“Hey,” they both said.
“How did it go last night with Ben and his family?” Piper asked.
“It went good. His family is really great.”
“I’m sure not as great as us,” Keaton said.
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.” I laughed.
“So…was there anything else that was great?” Charlotte asked.
I rolled my eyes. “If you’re asking if we had sex, the answer is no.”
“How about the kiss?” Piper asked.
I sighed. “The kiss on my cheek was nice.”
“There she goes with that ‘nice’ word again,” Keaton interrupted.
“I’m sorry you aren’t getting the juicy details you called for, but I have to go. I’m in the middle of working. Goodbye siblings.” Click.
I looked over at Romeo and smiled as he lay curled up on the rug, sleeping. A thought came to my mind. One that hadn’t been around for a very long time. I clicked on the Word document titled: “She Writes Love” and stared at the one paragraph that sat on the screen. The only paragraph I could manage to get out of me before breaking down. I wrote that paragraph ten months ago and hadn’t looked at it since. The only reason I opened it today was because of a conversation Ben and I had last night on the way home.
“Do you write anything else besides for your columns?” Ben asked.
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Maybe poetry, short stories, novels.”
“I’ve always wanted to write a novel.”
“Why don’t you?” he asked with seriousness.
“I don’t know. I’ve thought about it.”
“I think you should think about it again.” He smiled.
That conversation made me think of the day I wrote that paragraph. If I would have kept going, the book would have been finished by now. But I couldn’t. I wasn’t strong enough. Even ten months later, I still didn’t know if I was strong enough.
* * *
Ben
David was already sitting down at the bar when I sat down.
“Hey, good to see you, man.” I smiled.
“Good to see you too. How was your week?”
Damian set a bottle of beer in front of me and told me that my fish and chips would be up soon.
“My week was…it was good,” I said with a smile on my face.
“That wouldn’t have anything to do with Paisley, would it?”
I took a swig of my beer and nodded my head. “Actually, it does. I met her family and she met mine. She helped me get through a tough day. It was the one-year anniversary of Amy’s death a couple of days ago.”
“Oh man, I’m sorry,” he said with sympathy. “I’m glad she was there for you.”
“Me too.” I arched my eyebrow.
“Sounds like the two of you are becoming close.”
Damian set the plate of fish and chips down in front of me. “She’s an amazing friend. She’s all I think about every second of the day. I feel guilty, David.”
He reached over and put his hand on my shoulder. “There’s no need to feel guilty. Amy wouldn’t want you to feel that way. You’re young, Ben. You can’t spend the rest of your life alone or not taking chances because of guilt.”
“I know and there’s something about Paisley that captivates me. From the moment I saw her sitting in that chair at the meeting, I haven’t been able to get her out of my head. I had a dream last week about Amy and she told me to go and be happy and live my life. She also said Paisley’s name. It was weird, man. So weird and it felt so real.”
“Maybe it was. Maybe Amy was coming to you in your dream and telling you that it’s okay.”
“What? You mean like an angel?”
“Yeah. That’s exactly what I mean.” He smiled.
“Nah., I don’t really believe in that sort of thing.”
He shrugged his shoulders and took a bite of his fish and chips. “Where is she tonight?” David asked.
“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to her today.”
“Why not?”
“I sent her a text message yesterday. I don’t want to be pushy or overbearing.”
“Do you want to see her?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then call her.” He smiled.
I pulled out my phone and dialed her number.
“Hello.”
I smiled when I heard her sweet voice. A voice I had just realized I missed.
“Hi, Paisley.”
“Hi, Ben.”
“I was wondering if you’d like to come over to my house tomorrow night for dinner.”
“I would love to. What time should I be there?”
“How about six o’clock?”
“Six is great. Would you like me to bring something?”
“Just yourself would be great.”
She giggled. “Okay, but I’m bringing some wine.”
“Wine sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Bye, Ben.”
I looked at David and noticed the huge grin on his face. “Good job.”
Now I needed to decide what I was going to cook.
