“Shay? We both know your father isn’t coming back. Missing him is one thing but letting it affect your life is another.”
“I understand all that, Mom. It’s not so much that I miss him—although I do. It’s just that I’ll never understand how someone can do that to his family.”
“I’m not excusing what he did, honey. I can only tell you that sometimes men who turn 40 start to feel like their life is slipping away. They believe their youth is gone and they may never be happy. So when a younger, very attractive woman starts giving him the attention he wants, well…”
“She’s barely older than me and that’s the part I don’t get. How could anyone be attracted to someone that much older than them? Doesn’t that seem…unusual?”
Erin Kimball smiled and told her daughter, “Honey, I’m not gonna lie. Your father hurt me terribly. I didn’t even see it coming to be honest. I knew something was wrong. He was restless and well, without going into detail, no matter what I did, he just wasn’t interested in me…like that…anymore.”
“Mom! Eeeew! I do not want to hear about that, okay?”
Erin most definitely wasn’t going to share those kinds of details with her daughter, but it had been over eight months she’d been with a man and before that, it had been two months. Her husband had no interest in her because he was getting everything he needed from her soon-to-be replacement.
Shay, of course, was never going to tell her mother that she’d lost her virginity to Jeremy that summer or that after a few clumsy attempts, she learned that making love was a most pleasant undertaking.
Shay Kimball was 18 and tomorrow was the first day of her senior year at the same school where her mom had been a guidance counselor for the last 15 years since graduating from college. Shay had a very good chance of being the class valedictorian and now that her father had traded in her 37-year old mom for another woman—no, a girl—who was barely 21, she would need to earn an academic scholarship if she wanted to go to college herself. Being 18, her father had no legal requirement to support her anymore, and since he moved out just after the holidays some seven months ago, he hadn’t sent his daughter a dime. He rarely even called and when he did, she didn’t feel much like talking to him and that was killing her because she had always been daddy’s little girl.
Shay was one of the three best looking girls in school, but unlike the other two, she wasn’t interested in cheerleading and parties. She was a bright, serious girl with a very good head on her shoulders.
“Okay. Message received. You won’t have to hear about it, Shay. Besides, we’ve got to go. I need to be in early to set up for registration. It’s gonna be crazy busy. And honey? I’m really glad you decided to hang out with me today.”
Shay smiled and said, “Well, since Jeremy and I broke up, it’s not like I’ve got anyone fun or cool to hang out with, you know.”
“Careful or I’ll put you in Mr. Craig’s chemistry class.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” she said as her eyes narrowed and her lips drew tight.