Chapter 3

By midnight, every essential was boxed and zipped. I dropped into bed, drained.

The phone buzzed and lit up. A text from Aaron.

"Cody loved the train. I stayed up helping him connect all the tracks. Vanessa says thank you so much."

Midnight. My husband was passing along his mistress's smug gratitude while sitting in her living room.

My lip curled. I didn't even have the energy to roll my eyes.

I opened the chat and typed back:

"Don't thank me. I didn't offer it."

"And that train was Owen's favorite Christmas present. He's been waiting for six months for you to have time to set it up with him."

Sent. Then I powered the phone down and shut my eyes.

At eight the next morning, Aaron hurried through the front door.

He stepped inside, saw the massive duffel bags by the stairs, and stopped dead.

"You really need this much stuff for Goodwill?"

I was helping Owen zip up his jacket. I didn't turn around.

"We're getting rid of a lot of dead weight."

He pulled out two printed tickets to the championship game.

"I know you were mad about yesterday. But we're going to the big game today. Just the three of us."

He fanned the paper out like he was offering us a grand prize.

For a second, I thought I was hallucinating.

Then I remembered my texts from last night. This was just frantic damage control.

I said nothing. Kept tying Owen's laces.

"There's one small change of plans," Aaron said, shifting his weight. "Cody's never watched a game with a dad before. So I picked him up a jersey to match Owen's, and I figured he could take the seat next to me in the father-son section. Owen, you're the big kid, you won't mind sitting a row back with your mom this once. Right?"

His face was a mask of forced innocence.

Owen froze. The spark that had briefly returned to his eyes was snuffed out entirely.

"Oh... okay," Owen whispered.

He looked down at his sneakers. His jaw tightened so hard it trembled.

Aaron didn't notice the devastation. "Vanessa just wants Cody to see some good soccer. I figured you wouldn't mind."

"Right, Owen?"

He had no idea. By noon, Owen and I would be at the airport.

This was Aaron's final test. And he had failed spectacularly.

Neither Owen nor I argued. We only nodded.

"Fine."

"Yes, sir."

Aaron exhaled a loud breath of relief. "Perfect. I'll let Vanessa know. We'll meet you guys at the stadium at eleven. See you both there."

He turned and headed out to his home office.

At the door, he paused. "Vivian. Owen. Thank you for being so flexible. It means everything to me."

Neither of us said a word.

After Aaron disappeared into his home office, Owen walked to the counter where the two tickets lay. Beside them, he set down the team cap Aaron had bought him last season.

"Cody can have this too."

Then he picked up his backpack. "Mom. Can we go to the airport now?"