Snowflakes and Second chances

ICE CREAM

“I'm not even going to ask what you're doing here, I honestly couldn't care less.” I state dryly in reply to his initial statement of me dying.

Giving Jacob a dismissive look, I make to walk away and leave him by the lake alone with the cloud of misery he always dragged around wherever he went, seeing as he wouldn't allow me to enjoy the silence anymore.

“I knew your b***h ass would be here, what better place than to continue your whoring about than where you started it? I'm certain you didn't stay put even when we were married.” It's outrageous how he thinks he can appear here out of nowhere and start throwing accusations of being unfaithful at me when we both knew he was the man w***e.

“I'm not going to explain myself to you. Do you not realize that this divorce means we have nothing to do with each other anymore? Stay the f**k away from me, Jacob.” I give him a bitter smile, and he begins laughing as he walks closer to me.

I have my fists balled in my pocket, and I'm very alert and ready to use it if he so much as made a wrong move. I was going to dunk his stupid self into the water if he tried to test me.

“Thought you might want to hear the good news, Rita's pregnant. Guess there's always been something wrong with you and that's why you couldn't get knocked up even after all these years. In just two months, she's done something you couldn't…" The rest of what he's spewing out of his mouth fades around me as my mind reels around the news.

What I had done to deserve all these and why Jacob was hellbent on making my life unbearable was still a mystery to me because what exactly was he aiming at by following me all the way back home to share the news of his mistress being pregnant?

“I wish both of you the best.” And with I hurry off while I still had my composure and refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much his words affected me.

Years of being forced by Jacob to stay on contraceptive pills, so I wouldn't take in and disrupt his life pattern until he was ready to have a change of heart, and he goes out to give another woman the same child he kept singing that he wasn't ready for?

Dad's not back by the time I return home and I begin to make dinner wanting to relieve him of having to stress about it when he returned.

Once I'm done cooking, I dish out a portion for myself and settle on the couch turning on the TV as the noise was what I needed to drown out the negative thoughts.

Laughing out at the sitcom playing on screen as I finish my meal, the sound of knocking makes me pause the show and I stand up going to check who was at the door.

“Don't tell me you're planning to stay cooped up indoors all season.” Zoey grins at me as I pull the door open and I snort as she side steps me letting herself in with the bag in her hand.

“To what do I owe this intrusion?” I joke, and she shrugs diving on the couch and sprawling out as I shut the door squeezing in beside her.

“Call it whatever you want, I know you're excited to me. Most importantly, I brought the last of my ice cream and chocolate stash.” She gestures to the bag wiggling her eyebrows at me and I give her a suspicious look.

“What's the catch? It's not everyday you share your food with me, not to talk of the last stash! What do you want?” She groans facepalming as I see through her bribery.

“Okay fine! I'm bored and too lazy to go to the salon, be a lifesaver and help me take out my braids?” I laugh as she scoots over on the couch and begins puppy eyes at me, pouting and dragging out her pleas dramatically.

“I'm not sharing the ice cream with you.” She makes a face at my condition before sighing in defeat as I snatch up the bag in triumph digging out the ice cream tubs.

Her decision to have her voluptuous chestnut curls be made into braids was definitely regretted by the time we're done tugging, untangling and separating the locs hours later.

We talk for hours, as it seemed that even the entirety of the holiday wouldn't be enough for her to fill me in on her life at the neighboring town where she ran a design school, and I was a very invested listener.

There was never a dull moment with Zoey, years of zero contact hadn't weakened our friendship in the slightest.

I knew it wasn't fair how I dodged all questions concerning Jacob and only told her we were getting divorced, but I just wasn't ready to have that conversation yet and Zoey respected me enough to not insist on it.

Dad's truck pulls up into the driveway just in time for dinner, and we all enjoy a warm meal with Zoey who'd be sleeping over for the night.

We listen to Dad give us the gist of any drama that had happened at the diner today over hot cups of tea and laughter before we head off to bed.

After losing the pillow fight on who'd get to sleep by the window, I resign to my fate whacking Zoey with a pillow as she smiles smugly sticking out her tongue at me as we say our good nights.

Taking my phone to go through it for any important notification I might have missed today, I get distracted and begin scrolling through cat videos trying to keep my laughter at bay because I could tell from Zoey's snores that she was asleep.

My scrolling is interrupted as a message pops up in addition to the long list of others I hadn't replied to, and I sit up in bed confused as to why Jacob's mother was texting me.