By the time we got home, I was ready to get my tubes tied. Double tied for good measure. My mom had horror stories about her friends’ operations not taking the first time around. At this moment in time, it wasn’t worth the risk.

Not that I likely had to worry anyway because I was pretty sure my ovaries shriveled up all on their own accord—somewhere around minute two of being in that horrible play place. At any rate, I had texted Jack an emergency 911 regarding the missing bunny and the ensuing temper tantrum from hell.

He said not to worry and that he’d meet us at his place. I didn’t have the energy to ask why we were going to meet there instead of my humble abode. All I wanted to do was be any-freaking-where other than the tunnel of horrors.

When we walked in, Ava ran straight to her dad, her tantrum upped a notch for his sake. And what do you think he had in his hand? Another fucking stuffed bunny. Just like the old fucking bunny, but cleaner. What the hell?

“Here, Daddy has a new Bunny for you.” He smiled and handed her the un-matted, non-dingy bunny. Son-of-a-bitch, he was good.

Or so I thought, until she threw it down and screamed, “That’s not Bunny.” She pushed out of his arms and dashed away to her room. The little turkey was smarter than I thought.

I chucked my purse on the couch and moseyed up to him. “Maybe I’ll go drag it behind my car for an hour, then she won’t be able to tell the difference.” He laughed, his whole body shaking. Damn, I loved it when he did that. The normally serious look he carried disappeared and his dimples showed. It made him look ten years younger and even more delicious.

“Ah ha,” he said, pulling me into his arms. “Now you’re starting to get it. We do our best. But never let them see you sweat. They are tiny insurgents in disguise. Do not negotiate with them,” he said and kissed my nose.

“She’s so cute most of the time, it’s hard not to give her the world,” I said and laid my weary head on his chest.

“I remember when you were her age and threw a fit at that indoor playground on Eighth Avenue. Carried you out of there screaming. You yelled, too.” Elaine chuckled. “Had a mind of your own even then.”

With all the commotion, I hadn’t realized she was in the kitchen. “This is really all your doing? Faulty DNA?” I said and smirked at him. He laughed again and kissed me lightly on the lips.

Right then, my phone went off. I sighed and pulled it out of my pocket. “You at your place or Jack’s?” Audrey asked, the background noise a giveaway that she was on her car’s Bluetooth.

“Jack’s.”

“Be there in two minutes,” she replied and promptly hung up. Weird.

“I guess Audrey is coming over,” I said, frowning. This was odd.

True to her word, a few minutes later she strutted into Jack’s living room, carrying an even dirtier Bunny. Yay, but ick.

“Oh thank God, where was he?” I asked, gratefully hesitant. My hand initially reached out to take the long-lost cottontail but changed my mind out of sheer self-preservation.

“Honey, you don’t wanna know,” she said and bobbed her head. “It’ll give ya nightmares for years. All you guys need to know is that he’s back and a little wet.” She scrunched her nose up and held him in the air with two fingers.

“Thanks, Audrey. We really appreciate you bringing it all the way over here,” Jack said, relieving her of Bunny babysitting duty.

“No problem. I dropped off my two troublemakers at home first for their father to deal with. Told him they both needed baths after spending the afternoon crawling on the bathroom floor.” Ugh. She outed me in less than a minute. Some friend. Jack cocked his head like he wasn’t sure he heard quite right. “Golly, those kids smelled funky.”

He looked at me, waiting for an explanation. “Oh, and I grabbed you an extra roll of toilet paper on the way out. You should keep one in your purse from now on.” She cackled, unable to hold in her mirth.

Of course, Audrey felt compelled to share her version of the events with Jack and his mom, all of them erupting with laughter at the right parts. After her show-and-tell, she quickly left with promises of a better playdate next time.

Jack had actual real tears running down his face from laughing so hard, and every so often Elaine would bubble up with giggles for no apparent reason. Sigh.

“I’m sorry, but that was hilarious.” He wiped his eyes, still chuckling even now that Audrey was gone.

“Uh-huh. I’ll think of a way for you to pay me back.” I glared at him.

“You do that, but first I’m going to spray the shit out of this animal and toss him in the washer. Then I’m going to throw Ava in the tub,” he said and screwed his face up while looking at the mystery stains on the bunny’s fur.

I ignored him and trudged toward the freezer compartment of the fridge and dragged out the breakfast burritos I’d hidden in there. God, I’d felt so smart, sneaking them into Jack’s healthy fridge. Never again. Unknowingly, my man had changed my eating habits for the better, and my poor stomach was never going to accept frozen breakfast foods of ambiguous origins again.

Silently, I said goodbye to them and dropped the colorful box into the trash. What a shame.

Jack and his mom howled with laughter.

On Monday, true to his word, John brought a photo album and some home videos he’d downloaded to his laptop.

At first, I had agreed to just the one lunch. Then he mentioned home videos, and try as I might, the allure of seeing a much younger Jack on screen was far too tempting. My weak self gave in.

Was this possibly the dumbest thing I’d ever done? Yes. Was I putting my relationship with Jack on the line? Definitely. Could I put my foot down and put a stop to these lunches with the enemy? Absolutely. Was I going to stop? Nope.

Every day before John showed up, I would build myself up and have a speech all prepared. I was glad he was turning his life around, and I hoped he and Elaine would work things out, but I just couldn’t in good faith continue our lunches.

And every day, John would show up, lunch in hand for both of us, a bag full of pictures, and his laptop. And every day, I would learn more about their family and what kind of father John used to be.

Eventually, his charm wore me down, and the remorse he exuded from every fiber of his being began to gnaw away at my resolve. This man loved his family. Yes, he screwed things up majorly, but it was more than clear how much he regretted his actions.

At first, I had tried to hide my delight with what he brought, but I quickly gave up the ghost and full-out smiled at him. His eyes scanned my face and, in turn, he grinned until those trademark dimples showed up.

His face took on an animated effect as he pointed to the pictures and home movies while he recalled trips and birthdays. Some pictures were just of normal everyday occurrences, and it was interesting that he got choked up over those. Elaine asleep with a baby cuddled into her side, John holding a newborn Jack in his arms, looking every bit the proud papa, Iris and Blake side-by-side with a red-faced Jack plunked on their laps—those were the pictures that affected him the most.

I wasn’t immune to the emotions all of this brought up. More than a few times I grabbed tissues and passed one over to him. It never ceased to amaze me when I saw this big, important lawyer trying to hide the occasional tear that fell. My heart grew each and every time I witnessed him being reduced to a normal human being with feelings and fears.

God knows, when I first met John, I didn’t think any of this was possible. He acted like a complete ass, and I wanted nothing to do with him. In fact, I would have done everything in my power to keep him away from the man I loved.

But now, as the days passed, and John began opening up to me, I started to hope for a reconciliation of some kind between the family. He clearly missed his wife and children and regretted his actions. But what could you do when you had mistreated your entire family for years and they all hated your guts?

That was the question he asked me today. As I gazed into his eyes, the same eyes his son had, I aimed for wisdom and clarity in what I said to him. Knowing full well I risked my relationship with Jack in the meantime, I did it anyway. I couldn’t sit back while John suffered. “Your first and most important relationship is with your wife. If I were you, I’d start there. Your kids have made it clear they aren’t going to change their minds. You need to make things right with Elaine,” I told him.

“Easier said than done, my dear.” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, head in his hands—a habit, just like his son.

“You won her over once. I’m sure you can do it again if you really put your mind to it.”

“I’ve tried.” He massaged his temples. “Do you not think I’ve tried? I’ve called hundreds of times. She won’t pick up,” he said and creased his brow. “Yesterday, I waited for hours until she came out of Jack’s apartment to try to speak with her.” Hmm, interesting. John was turning into a stalker now?

“What did she say?”

“Nothing. It’s always nothing,” he answered and scratched his eyebrow. “She just glares at me with those beautiful eyes of hers and pretends like I’m not even there. I’m barred from Jack’s place, which I’m sure you know.” He gazed up at me. “The flower shop has a picture of me on their wall because I lost it in the store.” He let out a heavy sigh and got up to start pacing in front of my desk.

“The flower shop? What did you do?”

“The bastards refused to deliver any more arrangements to Elaine.”

“That doesn’t sound like reason enough to stop letting you in,” I said with suspicion in my voice, knowing damn well he likely misbehaved.

“I may have broken a vase. Or two.” He stopped walking for a brief second and looked down at me. “Why do you work here?” he asked me, a sudden frosty expression taken over his face.

“Uh, rent? Food? Gas?” I shrugged and shook my head.

“You’re smart. Really intelligent. Why would you decide to take a job that is so beneath you?” Oh, for fuck’s sake. Were we back here again?

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and asked for divine intervention. “Just when I think you’re starting to see the light, something shitty plops out of that mouth,” I said, my eyes willing him to spontaneously combust. “How could you say something like that? I thought we were friends? And I love my job. No, it doesn’t pay a ton of money, but they need me here, and I couldn’t pick nicer people to work with.”

His jaw clamped shut, and he rested his head in his hands again. “Dammit. I don’t know why I keep saying things like that.” Dark eyes found mine, and he said, “I didn’t mean it as a put-down, and I do consider you my friend.” I supposed it took a while to get rid of old habits and relearn new ones. The man seemed genuinely sorry, so I decided to give him a break.

“It’s okay,” I said and began flipping through the pictures again.

“It’s not okay. It won’t happen again. You have my word,” he said as he sat back down and placed his hand on mine. The understanding smile I gave him was reciprocated immediately, and we continued perusing the album for a few more minutes until my phone pinged. It was Jack.

Jack: What are you wearing?

Me: Why?

Jack: Just wondering how long it’s going to take me to get you naked.

Me: !!!!!!!!!!!! Not telling…

Jack: Hmm, I can’t wait. Hope you’re having a great day. See you soon.

“Is it Jack?” John asked, looking me over. It wasn’t hard to solve that mystery due to the fact I was smiling from ear-to-ear.

“Uh, yeah,” I told him and set down my phone. Jack said he’d see me soon, but tonight wasn’t soon enough.

“What’d he say?” John asked, narrowing his eyes on me.

“Nothing much,” I answered quickly and blushed.

“Must’ve been good by the look on your face.” John laughed and leaned back in his chair. “What I wouldn’t give to make Elaine look like that again.”