Mimi's Daddy Ch. 33: Looking Back

The velvet dark of the bedroom made Mimi feel safer. He couldn't see her face. "Adam."

He flung an arm over her and grunted, half asleep.

"I don't know if I can fit into your family's world."

She rested her hands on his arm, toying with the soft hair on his arm. "How can I be your wife if I don't know anything about the world you move in? I don't want to disappoint you." She wiggled deeper into the covers. "Adam."

He mumbled and shifted in the bed.

"All those women are dark and mysterious." She dampened her lips. "And the place I'm most comfortable at in the dungeon has balloons and coloring books. I mean, that can't be what you want."

He gave a half snore, and she pushed him. "Adam, are you listening to me?"

He pulled her toward him in his sleep and tucked her close. Warmth enfolded her. Mimi could wake him up and make him listen, but she wasn't sure that she was ready for his answers. She didn't want to disappoint another husband. Even in a fake marriage, Adam felt more like a real husband than Wade had.

In her first marriage, they had both been too young and too inexperienced to understand how poorly matched they were. Before Adam, she had assumed that she didn't like sex and had resolved herself to a life of abstinence. She curled into her husband, nestled against him. She could feel his heartbeat against her cheek.

Now she understood why there was so much fuss about sex. She'd been surprised by how much she liked it. Closed her eyes, she tried to imagine having sex with someone besides Adam. The thought hurt. She didn't want to have sex with anyone but the man snoring next to her for the rest of her life.

In six months, he was going to return to his fancy world. He'd have everything he wanted: freedom, wealth, security for his sister. All she was going to have was the farm of her dreams and a celibate existence. Those fancy people and beautiful women would welcome him home with open arms.

Adam could have anyone. Why would he want a country girl who ran an animal rescue? Where was the glamor in that? Now that she knew what she was going to be missing, decades of celibacy sounded awful. Mimi had six months to experience a lifetime of memories. Half a year was a short time to spend with someone you loved. She winced. Did she love him? She pressed her face against his skin and breathed him in. She did, and she only had six months, less than that to soak up as many good memories as she could. No time to waste. She slowly slid her hand down his body until her cool fingers brushed his rising cock.

When she tightened her fingers around him, he whispered, "Mimi?"

***

Adam...

Mimi was standing by his mother's sink, barefoot, loading the dishwasher. He had unloaded it when they got up. "I'm going to go into the city to talk to Wade."

Her announcement was unexpected. "Why are you going there?"

"I don't want him to think that he is broken. No amount of years or trying were ever going to light a spark between us." She rinsed a bowl as she explained. "If I'd never met you, I would have kept blaming myself for the failure of my first marriage." She smiled back at him. "I don't want him to hide from love. He needs to live his life." Mimi placed the bowl on the top shelf of the dishwasher. "You are working again this weekend, and I have some things I need to discuss with him."

"If you want to wait until tomorrow, I could go with you."

"That's okay. I don't mind going by myself. We have church tomorrow and family dinner."

Did she not want him to go meet the guy? Was she reconsidering the whole life long marriage thing? He stepped toward her and slid his knuckles down her back. When she leaned into him as he put his hands on her shoulders, he kissed her cheek. "Will you be here when I get home?"

"That is the plan. Is Sarah working with you today?"

"Yes, she and Marge have a training project. I'm proud of the kid. She is picking up quickly."

"I'm glad." She dried her hands on a towel. "I'm thinking of wearing the blue dress. Do you like that one?"

"You aren't really asking me if I like a dress you are going to wear for another man, are you?"

She turned toward him and slid her arms around his waist. "Gotta make an ex suffer a little, don't I?"

Adam pulled her close. He was half tempted to tug her into the bedroom and leave his scent all over her. And marks. He cupped the back of her head. "Do you like me Mimi?"

She leaned back to look up at him. "OF course I do. I married you, didn't I?"

"For the farm house."

She tilted her head. "Why are you talking like this?"

He cupped her face. "Overwork, not enough time with you." He kissed her forehead. "Let's have dinner tonight. I'll grill some steaks."

"That'll be fine. I don't plan to linger in the city."

"Good." He twined a lock of her hair around his finger. "Do you like me, Mimi?"

"I do." She kissed his palm.

***

There was always the chance he might not be home. Mimi blew out a breath. When they lived together, Saturdays were his down day. The odds were good that Wade would be home watching movies and recuperating from the week.

His mother had told her where he lived. Mimi probably should have texted him before she drove all the way out here. Calling now might make it less stalker ish than banging on his apartment door.

Being married to Adam had shown her how many things she and Wade had gotten wrong. They'd had no chemistry, and that had been part of what doomed their marriage. She understood better now why ending the union had been a good idea. Sometimes, you are just meant to be friends. It had helped her forgive herself, and it might help him, too. They had been such good friends once. Mimi didn't miss the marriage, but she did miss her friend. She pulled out her phone.

He picked up on the second ring. "Mimi? Is everything okay?" She hadn't called him for two years.

"I'm on your first floor."

"My first floor of what?"

"Your apartment. Your Mom gave me your new address."

"Mimi, this isn't a good time. Are your people okay?"

"Yes, they are." She took a deep breath. "I wanted to tell you face to face that I got married."

"You did what? I thought you said you never would."

"I guess I was wrong. Listen, I won't keep you long. I just wanted to talk to you. Do you have a half an hour?"

"Is he treating you well?"

"Yes, Adam is great. Wade, I've been blaming you, and blaming myself for how things went unfairly. We used to be friends."

"I'm still your friend."

"But we never talk."

"Sometimes, it's hard over breakups and there are some things I haven't told you. I'm not alone in my apartment."

"Oh."

She heard a man's voice in the room behind Wade. "Just ask the woman to come up."

"You have a roommate?"

"Kind of. Come on up, Mimi."

The three of them sat down in the guy's living room. Wade and his roommate sat awful close together for roommates. She watched the way Tim kept looking at Wade. Tim had brought her the soda that she wasn't drinking. It sweated on a coaster in front of her.

"I just." She bit her lip. She didn't want to insult him. "I just think we were doomed. We didn't like each other in the way people need to have a happy marriage."

Tim snorted a laugh, and Wade placed a hand on his thigh. "Don't."

Mimi stood up abruptly. She pointed at them. "You... he.. This isn't just a roommate situation, is it?"

"No, Mimi, I've wanted to tell you for a long time." The two men held hands. "Please don't tell my parents."

She sank back down into her chair. "Your folks don't know?"

"No." He looked at Tim. "I didn't even know when you and I were married, Mimi." He smiled gently at his partner. "I mean, I knew, I struggled with longings and thoughts, but I thought that marriage and a good friend for a wife would fix me." He shrugged and looked at her. "The paster said that marriage would make me straight."

Leaning back against the cushion, her head spun as confusing things from their past fell into place.

"Mimi, if I could have loved you better, I would have."

"And Tim? He is good for you?" She lifted her hand as she searched for the right word. "Good to you?"

"He is. We have been together for two years. If I didn't think my parents would disown me, I would marry him."

Tim grinned and bumped his shoulder against Wade. "I don't need a ring to know I'm loved."

"If you explained, maybe they could come to understand. You deserve happiness." Mimi reached for her soda and held the cold glass in her hands.

"Mimi, you know my folks. They aren't like yours."

"Parents can surprise you sometimes. My Dad came to a church with a lady paster leading it to make me happy. People grow. I know they love you."

Tim smiles at her. "I see why he liked you."

She lifted her shoulders. "Just because he wasn't the right husband for me doesn't mean he isn't the right husband for you." She took a sip of her drink.

"Maybe one day Mimi. You were always more brave than I was. I'd hate disappointing them."

"How do you explain, Tim?"

Tim wrinkled his nose. "I'm his roommate. Rent in the city is expensive."

***

Mimi hugged Tim and John at the same time. Her heart was lighter than it had been in a long time. "I thought I was coming here to explain that it wasn't really our fault that things didn't work out better. The whole drive here I tried to think of kind ways to say that I just hadn't been attracted to you." Mimi winked at Tim. "Turns out that was the situation for both of us."

"Lucky for me." Tim said, as he looped his arm loosely around his partner.

She stepped into the hall, glad she had come. Looking at them, she could better understand it all. Tim was Wade's right fit. His puzzle piece.

Tim said, "Mimi, next time you and your fellow are in town, call us. Let's go get dinner."

She smiled at them both. "I'd like that. Let's plan something."

***

Adam sat in his lawyer's office.

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

Sitting stiffly in the leather chair across from his lawyer, Adam steepled his fingers. "It's what she and I agreed to. I don't want to wait until the last minute to have the divorce paperwork drawn up. Now that both houses are secure, I want my wife to have a way out if she wants one."

"But what do you, personally, want?"

"I never planned to be married to anyone. You've met my father. I don't come from father or husband stock."

"Are you sure? You don't strike me as being very much like either of your parents."

"No, I'm a self made man, and I'm well aware of what kind of person I am. If Mimi wants to bail, I want it to be easy for her."

"What about the farm house?" His lawyer rifled through the paperwork in the file. "You originally agreed to pay for the farmhouse down payment. Do you want me to work out a way she can buy the house from you?"

"Give her the farm house."

"The two of you only agreed to spending six months together to meet the inheritance clause. Do you really think she deserves the farm?"

"I do."

***

Laughter drew Mimi through the house to the back porch. The steaks smelled amazing. Marge and her wife were there. Sarah was texting on her phone, rocked back in a chair.

Adam pointed at her with tongs. "Rare, medium, or well?"

"If you cook my steak well done, I'm asking for a divorce."

His face lost all color, and she went to him. "I'm joking. Medium rare please." She placed a hand on his chest. "Is there beer in the cooler?"

Marge said, "Last I checked."

"What a day," Mimi fished around in the ice for a cold bottle. "Unbelievable, really."

Adam stood frozen.

Mimi bumped him with her elbow as she screwed off the bottle top. "What?"

He asked her grimly. "Should we talk in private?"

"No, I don't think so. You aren't going to believe this."

Sarah looked up over her phone. "What happened?"

"I met my ex husband's boyfriend."

Marge chuckled. "I'd wondered about that possibility..."

Adam visibly thawed. "So, there weren't any sparks?"

"Between Wade and Tim? I think have some." She tucked a stray curl behind her ears. "Adam, I didn't have the right equipment to cause sparks with Wade. Ever."

"None at all?" Adam held the grilling tongs tightly in his fist.

Mimi stared at him. "Absolutely Zero."

Sarah asked, "Was his boyfriend nice?"

"He was, actually. I liked him." Mimi claimed a comfortable chair and sank into it. "So many things make sense now."