Clarita texted me and asked if I could meet for lunch one day.  I figured it was about Joey.  We rarely got together otherwise.  We were civil with each other, but we weren't friends.  I texted back a meeting place and it was set for the next day.

I arrived first and got us a booth and started looking over the menu.  I saw her walk in a few minutes later in a tailored pantsuit and jacket.  She was always dressed to the nines.  I stood up and gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"You look great," I complimented her as she sat down opposite me.

"Thanks, you too," she said.  "Thanks for meeting me."

"Of course," I told her, glancing over the menu. 

We made small talk as we decided on our lunch and waited to put in our order.  After the waitress wrote everything down, I waited for her to bring up whatever it was.

"So..." she began, adjusting the silverware on the table.  "I wanted to talk to you because I've started dating again."

That wasn't what I was expecting, but Clarita was a beautiful woman.  I was glad to hear she was finally making time to start dating again.

"Oh," I said.  "Congrats."

"Thanks," she said, looking down for a moment.  "I've already talked to Joey about it, but Lin...I'm dating a woman."

That certainly wasn't what I was expecting.  For some reason I felt a bit of a blow to my manhood.  She was gay but she had married me?  Had a child with me?

"Oh," I said, dumbly, fiddling with my napkin.  "Right on."

She chuckled a little and I smiled uneasily.  "What?"

"It's nothing you did," she told me.

"I know that," I told her.  "I'm just...surprised you're just now discovering it."

"Well I think I've known deep down all along," she went on.  "I'm sorry I got you caught up in it."

"Hey, we loved each other and it felt right at the time," I assured her.  "Things happen.  I'm at peace with the divorce."

"I just wanted to make sure you're on board with this," she told me.  "Not that you really have any say, but I'd like us to be united for Joey's sake."

"Of course," I told her, picking up a tortilla chip from the basket the waitress had just set down.  "Does she seem okay with it?"

She nodded and got chip as well.  "She seemed a bit thrown off.  Like you.  But I think she's good with it."

"Great," I told her.  "Then this shouldn't be a problem."

"How's it going with the kids?" she asked me.

"Okay," I told her.  "Jack doesn't understand any of it, but Alex misses her mom a lot especially.  She gets kind of tearful, especially at bedtime."

She nodded and dipped another chip in the salsa.  "How's coparenting with Pippa?"

"Great," I told her, and meant it.  Now that we were under the same roof things were way easier.  A little more uncomfortable sometimes, but overall better.  She didn't say anything and I finally looked at her and she had an amused look on her face.  "What?"

"Are you together?" she asked me.  Even though we'd been divorced for six years, she could still read me like a book and I couldn't lie to her.

"Not exactly," I told her.  "We kissed for the first time the other day."

"Ohhhhhh," she said knowingly.  "Is it going somewhere?"

"Maybe," I said, then took a drink.  "The kids don't know anything so don't mention it to Joey."

"Of course not," she said.  "I hope it works out."

"Thanks," I said.  "And for you too."

The rest of lunch was pleasant enough and we caught up on a few other things.  I paid the bill for both of us and gave her another kiss on the cheek goodbye.

After dinner that night, I decided to check in with Joey.  I fished out my phone and called her up.  Usually we didn't talk a whole lot when she was at her mom's but her mom dating was a pretty big deal.

"Dad?" she answered.

"Hi sweet pea," I told her.  "You free?"

"Uhhh...yea," I could hear her moving some papers around.

"Good," I said, walking back to my bedroom.  "I had lunch with your mom today.  She told me the news."

"Ohhh," she said, pausing.  "About Victoria?"

"Mmmmhmmm," I said.  "Are you feeling okay about it?"

"Of course," she said quickly.  "It's great."

I knew my daughter's voice well and could tell she wasn't completely used to the idea.  I smirked as I laid down on my bed.  "It's okay if you're not.  Having your mom start dating is a big deal."

She sighed and I could picture her lips twisting to the side the way she did when she was thinking.  "I don't know.  I want her to be happy but it kind of took me by surprise."

"Yeah," I agreed.  "Me too.  I was married to her so it was a big surprise for me."

She laughed a little.  "Did you meet her?"

"No," I said.  "Did you?"

"Yeah, she came over for dinner Monday," she informed me.  "She's nice."

"Well good," I said.  That was the most important thing.  If my ex was going to be with this woman, she'd be around my kid a lot.  I didn't really have any say in the matter, but I wanted Clarita to pick someone good for my daughter.  "Hopefully I'll meet her soon.  I won't keep you long.  Just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine," she told me.  "I'll be back Sunday."

"Alright," I said.  "Call anytime.  Love you."

"Love you too," she answered, and we hung up.  It was after nine and I was already exhausted so I got into my pajamas and brushed my teeth.  I planned on reading for a while but I think I fell asleep pretty quickly.

I was awoken to a scream down the hallway.  My first thought was that it was Joey, but then I remembered she was at her mom's.  I raced out of bed and looked for the source.  Pippa's room.  Should I go in?

I settled on knocking and calling her name.  "Pippa?  You okay?"

I heard more strangled screams and I pushed the door open.  I found her asleep, thrashing around in bed.  I rushed to her side, sitting on the side of her bed.

"Pip!" I tried to gently call her.  I put my hand on her shoulder and tried to gently shake her awake, but whatever this nightmare was she was in deep.

"Pippa!" I said more loudly.  I shook her some more and finally her eyes flew open and she bolted upright.  She screamed at me, looking absolutely terrified.

"It's just me," I tried to reassure her, grabbing her hand.  "It's Lin.  You're safe."

As she tried to catch her breath I noticed she was wearing a little white tank top and some short shorts.  Her olive skin was glistening with sweat.  I just held her hand and gently shooshed her as she gasped for breath and her brain released her from her terror.

"You were having a pretty bad nightmare," I told her gently, searching her face.  "Take some breaths."

She nodded and pulled the sheets up a little.  It felt a bit intimate, seeing her this way.  When she got up in the mornings she had long silky blue robe on.  I'd never seen her this way and frankly, she was sexy as hell.  Right now, though, I was focused on calming her down.

"Sorry," she apologized, looking embarrassed.

"You don't need to be sorry," I assured her, rubbing at her hand.  "I'm glad I was here.  Let me get you some water."

I got up and went to the kitchen, then returned with a full glass.  She accepted it gratefully and drank about half of it, then set it on her bedside table.  Finally, she seemed back to her normal self.

"You wanna talk about it?" I offered. 

She scrubbed a hand over her face.  "It's a recurring thing that happens from time to time," she informed me.  "It's...traumatic."

"Sorry to hear that," I said gently, studying her.  It seemed to me like this was more than a regular nightmare.  That's when I noticed she was shivering a little.  "You cold?"

She rubbed at her upper arms and pulled the covers up tighter.  She seemed self-conscious and I was afraid I'd overstepped my bounds.

"I'll leave you be," I decided, getting up.  "Call if you need anything though, okay?"

She nodded shakily as I got up and walked to the door.  While I was up I checked on the little kids.  Both were still sound asleep.  They slept like rocks.  The house was quiet so I wandered back to my room and climbed back into bed.  I couldn't help but think about Pippa.  What was her nightmare about that had gotten her so shaken up?  I'd never seen her that way.

I figured she needed her sleep so I got up quickly when I heard Jack crying.  I scooped the little guy up and changed his diaper, then carried him out to the kitchen.  We were starting to introduce him to solid foods now.  I set him in his high chair and got out the Cheerios.  I sprinkled some onto his tray and he started to dig in.  I filled his sippy cup with water and he was a happy camper.

A few minutes later I heard Alex in the hallway.  She stopped in the bathroom then started to walk out.  Her eyes must have been blurry from sleep because she stubbed her toe hard on the kitchen island.  She immediately started wailing so I scooped her up and kissed her cheek.

"It's okay," I cooed as I rubbed her back.  "Take some deep breaths."

I walked around the kitchen with her as she calmed down, then set her on top of the counter.  "Let me have a look at that foot."

She rubbed at her eyes as I picked up her foot gently and had a good look at it.  Her big toe was a little red but otherwise it looked fine.

"Hmmm..." I gave her a mischievous look.  "I think we'll have to amputate."

She wasn't sure whether to cry or laugh, so she started out with a combination of the two, but soon slipped into giggles.  I laughed, then kissed her toe and foot excessively and soon she was a happy little girl again.  She was clingy this morning, though.  I poured her cereal and she insisted on eating it on my lap.

I let her sit as I talked to her about the day ahead.  We'd enrolled her in preschool last week and she was just getting used to it.  Pippa wandered out with her robe pulled tightly around her, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Morning," I told her from the kitchen table.

"Morning," she said quietly, a bit hesitantly.  I hadn't had a chance to get the coffee going with both the kids needing help so Pippa started it.  She moved around the kitchen, getting her own breakfast ready and brought me a cup.

"Thanks," I told her.

"Sure," she said, then sat down at the table with us.  As we all talked I noticed she wouldn't look at me.  I think she was embarrassed about last night but she had no reason to be.  Everyone had nightmares.

Alex finished up her last bite and I set her on the ground.  "Alright, kiddo.  Bring me your toothbrush and toothpaste."

Alex wandered off to the bathroom and returned a few moments later with the two items.  I squeezed out a little bit of her kiddy toothpaste onto the brush and told her to open up.  She wasn't quite ready to brush herself yet.  I gave her teeth a good brush then told her to finish up herself.  She started running.

"Alex, walk!" I reminded her and she slowed down.  We didn't need a toothbrush down a throat.  Pippa stood up with her bowl and grabbed Alex's on the way to the kitchen.  She returned with a wet washcloth and began to wipe down Jack's face and hands as he protested. 

"You feeling okay?" I asked as I watched Jack get reluctantly cleaned up.  She detached the tray and scooped Jack up, then put him on the ground to crawl around a bit.

"Fine," she said, turning the washcloth on the messy tray.  She scrubbed at it vigorously.  Her fingertips were turning red.

"Easy," I urged her and she realized what she'd been doing.  She breathed out and walked to the kitchen to rinse out the washcloth.  I stood up, grabbing my mug to get a refill.  "That was a pretty intense nightmare you had.  You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," she told me, her voice with a hint of annoyance.  "Just drop it."

"Okay," I told her.  "No problem.  Just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Win, wook!" Alex held up a naked Barbie with dripping wet hair.  There was already a little puddle forming on the floor.  "I gave her a bath!"

I grabbed the paper towels and extracted the Barbie from her grasp.  "Sweetheart I don't think Barbies are supposed to take baths.  Did you give her a bath in the sink?"

"Nope.  In the toiwet!" she informed me.  I looked at her and saw she was serious.  I stood up and took her hand, guiding her back to the bathroom.

"Alex, the toilet is not for playing in," I told her as I guided her to step up on her stool at the sink.  "It's dirty.  And we definitely don't give dolls bath in it.  We need to give your hands a really good wash."

I turned the faucet on to warm and tossed the Barbie in the trash.  Alex whimpered and protested.  I squirted a bunch of soap into her little hands and then proceeded to rub her hands and arms down all the way up to her elbows.  I lathered her up for a good couple minutes, paranoid about the toilet germs.  Finally, I decided she was clean and helped her dry off.

"Okay, let's get you dressed then you can wake up Elliott," I decided.  I followed her to her bedroom and fished out some clothing for her.  She was good about putting it on herself as long as I set it on the floor face up.  I left to give her some privacy, then heard her door open a minute or so later.  She ran to the next door and flew into Elliott's room.

"Ewwwwioooooooot!!!" she called loudly and I smirked as I cleaned up in the bathroom more.  I heard Elliott groan in protest and the bedsprings squeak.  Alex's favorite thing to do was jump on Elliott's bed to wake him up for school.  Usually it ended up with her getting tickled mercilessly.  It was better than Pippa having to nag him endlessly to get up.

Finally the house was up and getting ready for the day.  I watched Pippa throughout the morning and noticed she still seemed uneasy.  I offered to take Alex to preschool so she could chill out at home with Jack.  I carried Alex and walked her into her happy little classroom.  Her clinginess from the morning seemed to have dissolved and she went off to play.

I did a couple errands while I was out and returned home around 10:30.  The house was quiet and I realized Jack was probably down for his mid-morning nap.  I grabbed a quick snack and opened up my laptop at the kitchen.  As I was getting to work I realized I heard soft crying coming from the hallway.  Pippa.

I wondered if I should just let her be but the sound was killing me.  I hated to think of her locked away in her room upset.  Quietly I padded down the hallway and knocked on her door.

"Pippa?" I called gently.  "Can I come in?"

It was silent for a few moments, then she said yes.  She was sitting up on her bed, her face pink from crying.  When she saw me approach she started to break down again.  I just sat next to her and put my arms around her as she sobbed.  It broke my heart.  What was she going through?  Did she trust me enough now to let me help?