PART 2
Elaine’s backyard looked exactly like it did every year.
The pool sparkled under the sun. Red, white, and blue streamers hung along the fence. Kids ran barefoot through the grass while adults carried plates of ribs, watermelon, cupcakes, and lemonade.
For one second, I thought I might survive it.
Then I saw Ryan.
He was standing by the grill with one hand on Lucille’s waist. She wore a red swimsuit under a sheer white cover-up, her hair falling in perfect waves. She looked untouched by heat, motherhood, and heartbreak.
Ryan saw Daniel first.
Then he saw me.
His smile changed.
Elaine hurried over and hugged me. “Maggie, sweetheart. You look beautiful.”
I tugged at my dress. “It’s old.”
Before she could answer, Ryan’s voice cut across the patio.
“Well. This is interesting.”
People started pretending not to stare.
Ryan walked toward us with Lucille beside him.
“Maggie,” he said, looking Daniel up and down. “Who’s this?”
Daniel stepped forward calmly.
“Daniel. Maggie’s boyfriend.”
The word boyfriend seemed to freeze the backyard.
Ryan stared for a second.
Then he laughed.
“Him? Your boyfriend?”
My face burned.
Lucille looked down at her drink, hiding a smile.
Ryan shook his head. “Come on, Maggie. You obviously paid him to be here.”
The whole yard went quiet.
I felt every eye land on my dress, my body, my face, my hands.
My fingers slipped away from Daniel’s.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
I didn’t even know who I was apologizing to.
Daniel took my hand again.
“Don’t be.”
Ryan smirked. “Does the boyfriend package include hand-holding, or does that cost extra?”
Daniel looked straight at him.
“Does the ex-husband package include humiliating the mother of your children in front of them, or do you do that for free?”
Someone gasped.
Ryan’s smile vanished.
“It was a joke,” he snapped.
Daniel nodded once. “Interesting choice.”
After that, the party tried to continue, but something had shifted.
Music played again. Kids jumped into the pool. Someone passed burgers around. But Ryan kept watching Daniel, waiting for him to make a mistake.
Daniel never did.
He helped my daughter open a juice box. He asked my sons about baseball and actually listened. He complimented Elaine’s garden. When an older aunt dropped her napkin, he picked it up before she had to bend down.
He did not overact.
That made him believable.
Lucille noticed Ryan watching him too.
At first, she leaned closer to Ryan, laughed louder, touched his arm more. But slowly, her smile grew thinner.
I tried not to notice any of it.
Instead, I kept moving.
I carried plates.
“Sorry, excuse me.”
I wiped lemonade from the table.
“Sorry, let me get that.”
When my daughter spilled ketchup near Daniel’s shoe, I grabbed a napkin immediately.
“I’m sorry.”
Daniel looked at the ketchup on the stone.
“It’s ketchup, Maggie.”
I laughed weakly, but my hands still shook as I cleaned it.
Daniel watched.
He didn’t comfort me.
He didn’t correct me.
He simply noticed.
