A Little More Personal

I knocked on the door and hoped someone was home. Thankfully, a little boy pulled open the door; his eyes grew wide as he stared at me. I smiled softly.

"Hi. Is Jamie here?"

He half-turned in the doorway. "Mommy!"

My best friend shut the door behind us, and I kicked my shoes off. The child ran away down the hall; Jamie led me to the kitchen where a man sat at the table with another child, girl this time, who appeared to be around eight or nine years of age.

"Reece, this is my husband, Tom, and our daughter, Clarissa. That boy is Kyle, our son."

"Hi! Are you Mommy's best friend?"

"I think so, unless she's gotten a new one?"

Jamie laughed. "Of course not. Come on, Clarissa. Get ready for Club."

"Okay, Mommy."

"Tom, work."

"Yes, Mommy."

She smiled and gave him a quick kiss. He stopped on the way out the door.

"It was nice to meet you for five minutes, Taresa. Hopefully, we'll get to talk more tonight."

"Yeah. You, too, Tom."

Ten minutes later, the two kids came running from their rooms and out the front door to a young woman's car. My best friend sighed quietly, and I watched as she began cleaning the kitchen.

"Can I help?"

"Of course not. I'm just trying to get my thoughts together." Suddenly, she stopped, dropped the sponge, and stared at me. "Is John trying to lose you? Does he not realise what a great woman he's got? Why is he doing this?"

"I don't know, Jame. I'm tired of it, though, and I don't know what to do."

"Do you love him?"

"I'm not sure. He's changed so much since from when we first got together."

"I wish I could help . . ." She trailed off, looking deep in thought. "I've got it!"

"What?"

"Come with me."

She led me down the hall, past two messy kids' rooms, past a bathroom that had toys strewn on the floor by the tub, past the room I presumed she and Tom shared, and into a large den. There was a television set was in the corner with a fluffy couch situated in front of it. The hardwood floor was covered by a deep blue rug. On the opposite side of the room, a computer was sitting on a mahogany desk. She sat in the chair, flipped on the machine, and waited for it to load.

"What are you doing?" I asked as she began typing in a URL.

"You'll see."

"No, no, no. Not a dating site."

"Just as fun."

"This isn't fun."

"Reece, you need to find someone better than John. He's not right for you."

I sighed and stared at the ceiling. "I'll give it a shot. If it doesn't work out after a week, I quit."

"Fine. But make it two weeks."