Carly grabs a bag of Snickers off the table and holds it to her chest. “Hey now, you can never have too much chocolate available, and besides, we didn’t know what kind of Brooks emergency we had on our hands,” she says, sounding almost offended.

I just laugh at her dramatics, picking up a bag of licorice and tearing off a piece. “You know that this candy leaves with you, right? My kids will be on a sugar high for days from all this candy if they get into it.”

Jen grabs a bag of Skittles and plops down on a barstool. “You are one stingy bitch, you know that? You probably sneak ice cream behind their backs just so you don’t have to share.”

Carly burst into giggles, and I feign insult. “That is not true! Besides, between your potty mouth and the sexual jokes that continuously fly out of your mouth, I can only imagine what your motherly skills will be like and the demon spawn that you will produce.”

Jen throws a Skittle at me, and both Carly and I laugh.

“Oh, come on, Jen, you can’t even keep plants alive,” Carly adds, heading to the fridge to get a water. “You got that cat a few years back, and when you thought it would try to eat your face in your sleep because you kept forgetting to feed it, I ended up taking her. You still avoid Spunkin whenever you come over.”

“At least I gave her a cool name before I handed her over,” Jen defends.

“Are you kidding me? Do you know how wrong it is to hear my two-year-old try to say her name? Besides the fact that you named the cat after come, her little lisp makes it sound like fuckin’,” she complains as she slams the fridge shut.

Jen chokes on her coffee, sputtering coffee all over my countertop. “That is so awesome,” she stutters, cleaning up her mess with her sleeve.

“My point exactly,” I say.

“Okay, enough, let’s get down to business. I want all of the details,” Jen interrupts, standing and leading us all into the living room.

I pause at the stairs and holler up to Emma and Blake, who have been watching a movie in the media room. “Hey guys, Aunt Amanda was going to go to the park; do you want to go?”

Both run out into the upstairs hallway, meeting Amanda at the top of the stairs. “Can we invite Grace?” Emma asks.

Amanda’s eyes narrow on me. “Um, not today, sweetheart. We’ll plan something with Brooks and Grace another day, but when you get back, why don’t we go to lunch? You and Blake can pick the place,” I say.

“Awesome!” they both shout, and barrel down the stairs and towards the garage.

“Hey! I think you both forgot something,” I say, halting their descent. They turn around and run to me, wrapping their arms around my legs.

“Bye, Momma, love you,” they each take turns saying.

“Love you too, guys. Have fun, and keep Aunt Amanda out of trouble.”

“That’s a hard job, Mom. I might need more allowance for that,” Blake says.

“Good try; see you later, guys.” Amanda then grabs their hands and takes them out the door leading to the garage. I then take my seat on the couch next to Carly and across from Jen, who’s on the floor.

Breaking the silence, Carly jumps right in. “Okay, let me start by saying, um, what the hell? We all hated Brooks for ten years, taking turns comparing him to every piece of shit guy we came across over the years. I understand that he didn’t do what we thought he did, but he lied to us all. Did he even tell you why he did what he did?”

“No, not really, he just said that the issues that he had back then are not issues anymore.”

“And you’re just all right with that?” Jen asks.

“I don’t know,” I say, tucking my feet under my butt and relaxing into the couch. “I know that it feels good to be with him again. I know that the connection we had ten years ago is still there. I know that I have to move slowly and protect myself and our kids this time around, but I don’t want to run from it.”

“So, sparks, huh?” Carly inquires, scooting closer to me.

“Remember back in college when we talked about love, and Pride and Prejudice?” I ask, and both my friends nod.

“Well, Will was my Bingley. He was flexible and pleasant. I loved him dearly, but it was a safe love. Brooks is my Mr. Darcy. The passion and electricity that sets your body on fire from a single stare kind of love. It’s the unbending and unyielding sort of love that can just as easily burn you as it can heal you, but damn if it’s not worth the risk.”

“Okay.”

I look at Jen, amazed that I’m not hearing her pretend to gag over my love description. “Okay?”

“Yeah, how can I argue with that? You know I don’t want to see you hurt again, not after everything you’ve been through, so I ask that you please take things slowly.”

We both look to Carly, trying to gauge her thoughts. She’s chewing on the inside of her cheek and picking at the nonexistent lint on her pants.

“Just spit it out,” I urge. “I know that you think this is a bad idea; you are picking a hole into your sweatpants, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve also bitten a hole into your cheek the way you’ve been grinding your teeth.”

She just lets out a sigh. “All right, I’ll be supportive, too. It’s just that it wasn’t a small lie that he told; it was a planned deception, and you have no idea what the issue was. Please don’t be one of those women that we complain about that forgives so easily and we question their IQ level. If he does anything to make me question his loyalty or honesty, I will put Jen’s balls-on-a-skewer plan back into effect. Got it, lady?”

Carly is usually so reserved. Jen is the opinionated one, so for her to speak so passionately about the issue with Brooks, I know she really has concerns, and that she has my best interest at heart. I move closer to her on the couch and grab her hand. “Deal,” I say. “I will even provide the barbeque to make Rocky Mountain Oysters out of them.”

She smiles, but pulls her hand back, “Now that is just gross.”

“No, we could invite him over for a goodbye dinner and serve him his own balls. It would be priceless,” Jen jokes. “Just add a little gravy and it will taste like chicken fried steak.”

“All right, conversation is over; this has gone too far,” I laugh as I stand from the loveseat. “Let’s get the candy put away before the rug-rats get back.”

They both stand and pull me into a sincere hug. “We love you, sweet pea,” Carly says.

“I love you guys, too. Thank you for always being here for me.”

“Anytime, babe,” Jen says, patting my back. “Wait, scratch that! I revoke said friend status if any vajayjay checks for crabs are necessary; I draw the line there. So don’t turn into a Missy McSlut Muffin, because then you’re on your own.”

We all pull away from each other, “Fuck, Jen, you know how to ruin a moment,” I tell her as I walk towards the kitchen.

“What? Those things give me the hebegebees!” she explains, following behind me.

“Well that comment landed you clean-up duty,” I say as I pick up my phone, noticing the blinking light alerting me of missed messages.

I sit down on the stool and pull open the screen to find a single message from Brooks.

Brooks: I miss u, need 2 see u. Be ready at 7. I’m taking u 2 dinner.

I smile, the flutter in my stomach returning at the thought of getting to see him again and getting another shot at the kiss we started at the park.

Me: See u at 7… miss u 2.

I look up from my phone to see Jen and Carly both gawking at me.

“That good of a message, huh?” Carly asks.

“Looks like I need to call in one more favor,” I answer.

“Crabs kill, girl. Crabs kill,” Jen adds as she places the last bag of candy into the Wal-Mart sack.

I roll my eyes, “No, but thank you for that. I have a date tonight and I need help picking out an outfit. I want to look a little less like a throw- together mommy and more like a Slut McMuffin.”