A dry laugh shot from my mouth. "Is that supposed to help your argument? Maybe your friends are just a bunch of assholes and their wives deserve better."
Jack was always sensitive to the tone of my voice. He knew when I was angry or upset, and this conversation had caused both. He paused halfway up the slide ladder and looked at me with a worried frown.
I pushed up a smile. "I'm watching, Jack," I said cheerily. "Do you want me to catch you at the bottom?" My change of tone helped. He scowled briefly at Evan.
"No," he said firmly, "I'm a big boy." He continued up to the top of the slide but hesitated, seemingly rethinking his new brave stance.
"How about I just wait at the bottom for you?" I suggested.
"Okay." He swung his legs over and jumped up with pride when he shot off the bottom of the slide and landed on his feet. "I'm hungry, Mommy."
I took his hand. Evan followed us, but I was silently wishing we'd just end this conversation and meeting. That house was adream come true, but it came with such an enormous price tag I couldn't even consider it. Could I?
Jack sat at the picnic bench, his little legs swinging back and forth as he plowed through a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The playground always made him extra hungry. Evan and I sat at the same table across from each other.
"You'd have freedom, Rachel. You wouldn't have to work two jobs. You could even pursue dancing. You're very talented. I would see to your financial needs."
"You really don't see this as a paid escort type of thing?"
"I see it as a way to improve both our lives. I know you'd make me very happy, and I would do everything in my power to make you happy, too."
"But what about love?"
The question struck him harder than I expected. "I think that question is already answered on my side. I'm hoping you'd grow to love me as well."
"So, when you say freedom, you're not talking about my social life. I wouldn't be able to see other people during those times when you are playing husband and father to your real family."
Again, he looked as if I'd reached out and slapped him. It seemed this was all as new to him as it was to me. "I'd insist that you don't see other men. And you'd have to leave your job at Tommy's."
"So freedom with some major caveats." He looked hurt, but that wasn't my intent. "Evan," I said in a softer tone, "you have to see how this might not sound as delightful and idyllic to me. What happens when you tire of me? When I get old?"
"I won't grow tired of you, but I'll guarantee your future by eventually putting the house solely in your name. It will be yours. Even if this doesn't last, you'll have a house that is paid for."
I was more than slightly flabbergasted and, at the same time, wondering if he was serious. "Why? Why would you do this for someone you hardly know?"
"Because I watch you, when you're on stage, when you're working on the floor serving drinks. You wear that same mask, the 'everything's fine' mask, that my mom used to wear when I knew everything was not fine. We struggled. She struggled. I want to make your life easier, and at the same time, I'll have you in my life. It's a win-win."
"Mommy, all done." Jack held up his hands. They were covered in peanut butter and jelly. His face was wearing a good bit of it, too. I walked over and pulled wipes from my bag and began the peanut butter cleanup ritual. Evan pulled out his phone to scroll through some texts while I finished with Jack. Was he for real? Was all of this just because he took a shining to me and he wanted to keep another single mom from suffering the same fate as his mom?
"It has three bedrooms, brand new kitchen appliances and an air conditioner," he read off his phone. "We could drive by and look at it. I'll ask the agent to meet us there."
I raised a brow at him. "I can see why you've done so well in business. You're pushy."
Jack turned his thick little neck to look up at me. "Pushing is not nice. Hayley pushed me at day care, and I fell down."
"You're right, sweetie. Pushing is not nice." I looked at Evan pointedly to make sure he understood that comment was mostly for him.
"Let's just drive past it. You can follow me. Then I'll leave you alone, so you can think about it."
I started packing up our things. "We can drive by it, but Evan, this is still really hard for me to process."
Jack ran off to fill his pockets with acorns and rocks and other debris that I would eventually find in the bottom of thelaundry room washer. Evan walked up to me and took my hand. He'd been so careful about getting too close, but I felt a certain sense of need, of want, coming from the man. He'd really thought this whole thing through and even found a house that I couldn't have picked more perfectly for myself. I was sure it was absolutely dreamy inside. A house. The big dream. Right there, handed to me on a silver platter, but it also meant giving up on love and marriage and relationships. What about Ronan? I'd been dizzy with happiness since we'd started dating. But there was one big problem. Neither of us were financially stable enough to help each other. Even together, it would be a struggle.
Evan's hand was soft and smooth, a stark contrast to Ronan's rough, callused hand. "I think this could work, Rachel. Please give it some serious thought. I promise I want no more than companionship, some love, some physical touch, something lacking in my marriage. I'm not into anything kinky or?—"
"This whole thing is just a touch kinky, don't you think?" I'd done it again. I'd hurt his feelings. "I'm sorry. Like I said, it's just a lot to process."
"I understand. Follow me. We can drive past the house and then part ways there."