I Am a Father
"I Got A Care Package For You..."... In other stories I told you about my struggle. I opened up this account in a very dark time of my life. I suspected that my ex was not being too faithful to me. I took you through my path to being single again and becoming a stronger person in the process. Everything culminated Saturday a week ago when I went to lunch with a wonderful lady who kissed me after we went walking in the gardens nearby.
I previously discussed my anger at my ex for bringing riff-raff around my kids. This weekend I had the kids. The ex told me to drop off the kids and her boyfriend would would watch them. Raging inside I told her ok, knowing damn well that is a reckless thing to do with my kids. I started thinking about how to handle it. I called my parents and asked them to pray for me to handle the situation well. On the way over to drop off the kids I grabbed a six pack of beer at the liquor store and asked her boyfriend to help me with the kids' "care packages" I put together for them. I told him, "I got you a care package as well" and I whipped out the six-pack of beer. We sat down and drank it. The girls went to their room as we talked and it was a friendly "get to know you" sort of conversation. I expressed my concern about leaving my girls with someone who I didn't know. I told him it is nothing personal but I have to watch out for my girls. He said he understood. At one part of the conversation we were talking about the ex and I did this to try to judge whether or not he is sleeping with her I leaned in and smiled and said something like, "Well, she's got good pu$$y, don't she?" He said they weren't messing around like that and she was just a friend. He said they weren't sleeping together. And he said it staring me right in the eye without looking nervous or anything like that. He said something like he knows she would like to. The rest of the conversation we talked about work and life in Florida (he's also from Florida) and trying to figure out what the hell two rednecks like ourselves are doing in NJ. Despite all the tattoos and what other neighbors told me about him, he seems like a reasonably good guy. Or he's a good liar.
At about the point of the conversation where I said something like, "... and in the south you can't swing a dead cat all the way round without hitting a flea market, a Waffle House, or a Baptist church!" the ex walked in. Funny to see her jaw drop. She asked what I was doing here and I told her some crap like, "I'm just having a friendly conversation with Van." Rarely have I seen her so astonished.
I then took the kids to the pool and left them alone. The water was ice cold. But I think the beer made it a little more bearable. It was a good day. The lifeguard didn't even give me crap about bring the beer to the pool. I played with the kids for awhile and the ex came out to the pool. She does that when she's trying to feel me out. I didn't give her a chance to do it. I told her I had to go.
Before I left I told him some of my friends might be looking for services he offers. He gave me his cell phone number. Found out his first and last name. Now I have a little bit of intel to initiate some kind of a background check. The ex asked me why I needed his number and I told her so I could help him find work on a "word of mouth" basis or some crap like that. If he is truly a grifter, then why would he give me his information, Perhaps he didn't give me his real name. He must be one hell of a grifter.
I went back to the apartment and got my stuff. The kids gave me crap about leaving. The youngest hid my cell phone and it was awhile before I could leave. I asked the him to call my phone and I found it. And I left.
At about 9:30 tonight the ex called me and she wanted to talk. Trying to feel me out again. I told her that we can talk over email and I disconnected the call.
I shut her down. So much fun to see her squirm.
This could have been a bad situation. But it didn't. Because I got too much to live for. I told you about this really special lady in a posting I titled, "Do you want to kiss me?" (http://www.experienceproject.com/stories/Am-Dating-Again/3411209?edited=t). When we kissed this special lady awoke in me a feeling I have not felt in years. A feeling that instills a feeling of wonder and anticipation for the future. Whether or not we last past another date, she will always hold a special place in my heart. And without her, this whole situation could have turned really bad.
I previously discussed my anger at my ex for bringing riff-raff around my kids. This weekend I had the kids. The ex told me to drop off the kids and her boyfriend would would watch them. Raging inside I told her ok, knowing damn well that is a reckless thing to do with my kids. I started thinking about how to handle it. I called my parents and asked them to pray for me to handle the situation well. On the way over to drop off the kids I grabbed a six pack of beer at the liquor store and asked her boyfriend to help me with the kids' "care packages" I put together for them. I told him, "I got you a care package as well" and I whipped out the six-pack of beer. We sat down and drank it. The girls went to their room as we talked and it was a friendly "get to know you" sort of conversation. I expressed my concern about leaving my girls with someone who I didn't know. I told him it is nothing personal but I have to watch out for my girls. He said he understood. At one part of the conversation we were talking about the ex and I did this to try to judge whether or not he is sleeping with her I leaned in and smiled and said something like, "Well, she's got good pu$$y, don't she?" He said they weren't messing around like that and she was just a friend. He said they weren't sleeping together. And he said it staring me right in the eye without looking nervous or anything like that. He said something like he knows she would like to. The rest of the conversation we talked about work and life in Florida (he's also from Florida) and trying to figure out what the hell two rednecks like ourselves are doing in NJ. Despite all the tattoos and what other neighbors told me about him, he seems like a reasonably good guy. Or he's a good liar.
At about the point of the conversation where I said something like, "... and in the south you can't swing a dead cat all the way round without hitting a flea market, a Waffle House, or a Baptist church!" the ex walked in. Funny to see her jaw drop. She asked what I was doing here and I told her some crap like, "I'm just having a friendly conversation with Van." Rarely have I seen her so astonished.
I then took the kids to the pool and left them alone. The water was ice cold. But I think the beer made it a little more bearable. It was a good day. The lifeguard didn't even give me crap about bring the beer to the pool. I played with the kids for awhile and the ex came out to the pool. She does that when she's trying to feel me out. I didn't give her a chance to do it. I told her I had to go.
Before I left I told him some of my friends might be looking for services he offers. He gave me his cell phone number. Found out his first and last name. Now I have a little bit of intel to initiate some kind of a background check. The ex asked me why I needed his number and I told her so I could help him find work on a "word of mouth" basis or some crap like that. If he is truly a grifter, then why would he give me his information, Perhaps he didn't give me his real name. He must be one hell of a grifter.
I went back to the apartment and got my stuff. The kids gave me crap about leaving. The youngest hid my cell phone and it was awhile before I could leave. I asked the him to call my phone and I found it. And I left.
At about 9:30 tonight the ex called me and she wanted to talk. Trying to feel me out again. I told her that we can talk over email and I disconnected the call.
I shut her down. So much fun to see her squirm.
This could have been a bad situation. But it didn't. Because I got too much to live for. I told you about this really special lady in a posting I titled, "Do you want to kiss me?" (http://www.experienceproject.com/stories/Am-Dating-Again/3411209?edited=t). When we kissed this special lady awoke in me a feeling I have not felt in years. A feeling that instills a feeling of wonder and anticipation for the future. Whether or not we last past another date, she will always hold a special place in my heart. And without her, this whole situation could have turned really bad.
51-55, MVIP
