Bonus Chapter

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I was writing this for a chapter in Skylar and Josh's book, but since it won't be ready for a while, I decided to add it here for a little insight on Colton's future. If you're content with the ending , you don't have to read. Enjoy!

Skylar is 28, for a time frame

"Dad, why are you sleeping in the guest room?" Lucy asks at the breakfast table. Crystal already went to work without much of a goodbye to me, which Lucy noticed.

"Your mom and I had a fight last night, no big deal." I hate lying to Lucy, but Crystal and I agreed not to tell the kids yet.

"Okay... will you drive me to school? And can we stop by Starbucks?"

After she orders some sugary filled drink at Starbucks, I drop her off at her school and then head to the lawyers office.

Why is getting a divorce so complicated? I'm giving Crystal whatever she wants to speed things along, and because I feel guilty. She's not the one that wanted the divorce, she thought that we could work through our issues in therapy. I knew it was a mistake to marry her in the first place, so I knew we shouldn't waste money with therapy.

Lucy and I head over to Skylar and Josh's place for little Abigail's second birthday. Crystal couldn't get off work.

My little girl is pregnant again, and it brightens my day.

She can tell something's wrong, and asks about Crystal and I.

"Dad, please, just tell me what's wrong. I can handle it- I'm a big girl," she says, and I have to remind myself that she's twenty-eight and not my little girl.

So I tell her, "I just want to start off by saying this decision has nothing to do with you, or any of the other kids. It's something that your mother and I agreed would be the best for all of us."

"I'm not following," she says, staring at me blankly.

I rub my temples, feeling a headache beginning to form. "Your mother and I have been on a break for a while now. We didn't want any of you to worry so none of you knew, not even Lucy. We're both still living at the house, but I sleep in the guest room now. We came to the peaceful conclusion that we should separate permanently."

"What? Did you say permanent separation? Like a divorce?" I nod in response.

"As I said, it's not your fault, it's not anyone's fault. We've been drifting apart for quite a while now, basically our whole marriage. I realized a few weeks ago that I wasn't as happy as I should be with her."

She starts to cry. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid.

"What made you realize that?"

I sit down at the kitchen table and she follows suit. I finally admit to myself what set off me wanting to take a break in the first place.

"I was looking at an old photo book at my parents' place. I was fifteen, sixteen, and there was a birthday and random pictures with my old friends. There were also a few photos from lacrosse camp. Trinity, she just looked stunning, in all of them. I started digging around and found the old albums she left me when she gave me you. There are these letters in there, some she left for me, and I remembered how it felt to be with her, how alive and in love I always was. I love your mother, but I realized we don't have that spark anymore, the one I had with Trinity, the one I used to have with her. I want to experience that spark again." I can't believe I didn't realize this was about Trinity. Well, not directly, but I always knew my feelings for Crystal and my feelings for Trinity were very different.

Skylar hugs me and it makes me feel so much better. She tells me she understands, and then asks, "when are you telling everyone else?"

"I don't know, they might not be as forgiving as you, especially Lucy." Little Lucy, she is going to be devastated. Crystal and I agreed on 50/50 custody, and we agreed that she would rotate houses each week. If Lucy wants something different, which I hope she won't, than we will accommodate. I wish it didn't have to be like this, but I think I deserve to be happy, and to be with someone who makes me happy.

Josh interrupts the moment by running into the house and bumping into Sky. "Sorry, Abby's standing! I need to find the video camera, I think she's about to walk!"

"I think it's in the office," she tells him, and he runs off. "I better go back out there. I hope you find what you're looking for." She hugs me again and goes back to the party.

As expected, Lucy is very angry. Crystal and I decide it's best to give her space instead of following her to her bedroom.

Crystal and I haven't been alone in a room for a while. We're always with the lawyer, or Lucy, or some other person. I stare at my hand, and my ring that means nothing now. It's going to be odd running around without it on.

"You know, I should have never gotten back together with you after you moaned Trinity's name. It should have been a huge red flag that you would never love me like you loved her," Crystal says, breaking the awkward silence.

I twist the ring on my finger. "Yeah... I'm sorry, for everything. You don't deserve this."

She just shrugs. "We both did some pretty stupid things. Now we just have to try and make this whole not being together thing work for Lucy."

When Skylar was eleven, so about seventeen years ago, Crystal had an affair with her old professor. I caught her through her text messages and emails. We went to counseling and worked through it without the kids knowing. A few years later, I stared having feelings for a coworker, and we had a three-month long affair. I felt terrible, and told Crystal straight up. We went to counseling again, and it even went as far as me moving out for a while (we had to tell the kids I was on a business trip), but we worked through it.

Looking back, it was such a loveless marriage. We were more like coworkers, and our job was raising the kids. After Robert was born, there wasn't anymore time to be romantic and rekindle love, and neither one of us was trying very hard to do that. So we played through the motions of being a married couple, and we lied to ourselves about how we truly felt, for the sake of our family.

I decide to move out of the house and buy a new one. I want a fresh start. It's only fifteen minutes from the other house so Lucy won't have too much of a problem getting from place to place. She agreed to splitting her time weekly between houses.

The first week is Crystal's week, so I'm lonely in the house by myself. Skylar visits on Wednesday and allows Abby to spend the night. We bake cookies, and then go to the pet store.

If I'm going to be alone every other week, I need a dog to keep me company. Abby helps me pick out a rescue dog, a cute German shepherd puppy who's only four months old. She insists on naming her Flower, and there was no way I could say no to her cute face.

Skylar's face is priceless when she sees I have adopted a puppy. She has always loved dogs. I think she's planning on adopting one of her own soon.

"She is so stinkin' cute! Yes you are," she says, rubbing Flower's ears.

"I pick her," Abby boasts, petting the dog, who loves the attention.

"You did a great job baby girl," Sky praises. I join the girls on the floor to fight for the attention of Flower.

"I'm glad it took you forty-five years to finally adopt a dog," Skylar says sarcastically, "where was my dog when I was growing up?"

"You were always stealing everyone else's, there was no need to get our own. Besides, your brothers were like dogs, were they not?"

She laughs while nodding. Tristan was the funniest because he used to play fetch all the time. We'd throw a toy, and he'd go get it and bring it back in his mouth.

"Well, I'm definitely getting a dog soon. It's basically child abuse if you don't let your child grow up with a dog," Skylar jokes, then picks up Addy.

"Leaving already?" I ask, even though it's already nine, past Addy's bedtime. It's only Thursday, which means two more days until Lucy comes. I'm glad I have Flower now, or else I would lose my mind out of bored-ness.

"Bye Dad, love you," Skylar says, hugging me. Addy hugs me, too.

"Bye grandpa, love you!" She announces. I kiss both of their cheeks before they head out the door.

It takes some adjusting and getting used to, but I become increasingly happy as the weeks go by. I will admit that I love having the house to myself, getting to do things you can't do with kids. I cherish the days that my children visit, and Abby always brings light into my life. Tristan's fiancé gives birth to the next Daniel a few months later, Joseph King, Joey for short. He's a chubby and adorable baby.

Being single after twenty-something years of marriage is crazy. You spend your marriage trying not to flirt excessively and not stare at other women, and then suddenly you're supposed to remember how to causally date.

I never really did much causal dating in the first place, so I have no idea how to go about doing it. I'm moderately good at flirting, but I haven't asked someone out in a long ass time, and Crystal and I rarely had time for dates.

My first date after my divorce is four months later. I met her at a coffee shop. She's interesting enough, but there's no real spark. We go out a second time, but after that I don't call her, and she doesn't call me, so it's done.

As a man in my forties, I already have a family and career. I went through the whole marriage thing, and it didn't work out. After about a year of searching, I'm starting to think destiny's plan for me doesn't involve a love interest. It would be nice to have someone to grow old with, but I won't force it with someone, like I did with Crystal.

It's at Joey's first birthday party that things start looking up.

I arrive a little late because I slept in, but no one notices. I place my present on the table, and look around the backyard, which is filled with people and bouncy castles and other kid things. I never understood the need to go all out on a baby's first birthday.

Tristan and Kelly greet me, and I steal Joey away from Kelly. He's still a chubby little thing, fitting into clothes meant for sixteen month olds, but the pediatrician says he's healthy, so we don't have to worry about it.

"Have you seen Mom yet?" Tristan asks me, looking around. She's been very flaky at family events, which has me worried. She should be here for her kids.

I help him look, and spot her walking into the yard. "Over there."

Tristan looks to where I'm pointing and frowns. "She brought someone."

It's been a little over a year since the divorce was finalized, and the only jealousy I hold right now from seeing Crystal with another man is that she has already found someone, when I'm having no luck.

His name is Kurt, and he's a pretty nice guy. We bond over sports, and he's the kind of guy I won't mind being around Lucy.

I'm helping with clean-up when a dark haired woman I've never seen before walks through the gate.

"Thank goodness you're here!" She heads straight towards the little baby tent that Joey and one of his friends are in. "I'm going to kill your daddy, yes I am." She holds him close and walks over to me. "I'm so sorry, my ex was supposed to pick him up. I hope he wasn't too much of an inconvenience."

I smile at her to reassure it's fine. "Not at all. Joey loved the company."

She rearranges the boy so he's sitting on her hip. "Do I know you?"

"Nope. I'm Colton, Joey's grandpa and Tristan's dad." I stick out my hand so she can shake it.

"Nice to meet you Colton. I'm Alice, this little devil's mom."

Her eyes are a dark shade of green mixed with some brown, and there are a bunch of freckles sprinkled across her nose and face. She's on the shorter side, but makes up for that with her perfect posture and confident demeanor.

There's something about her that makes me want to talk with her some more. She must be in her early thirties, thirty-six at most, so only ten or so years younger, which is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

How do you go about asking someone for their number? I was never good at that.

She smiles, and I realize I have yet to let go of her hand. I pull away, embarrassed, and then remember that I am a grown ass man.

"Here," she says, handing me a business card, "call me sometime."

I grin as she walks back to her car. Maybe I have a chance after all.

I don't know what's going to happen in the future, but I know that me and my family are going to be just fine.

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